Meeting of the (half) minds

The next day, it was business as usual for Lynn Loud Jr. Get up. Eat a lot of breakfast. Got out for her morning jog. It was starting to become a habit for her. However, today, she decided to mix things up a little. She figured she would stop at the nearest public pool (grateful for the fact that she wasn't banned from this one) and go for a swim, get cleaned up and then have some lunch in town. So with her jog finished, she made her way to the locker room to change into her one piece swimming suit, then headed out to the pool. When she got there, she found she wasn't the only one from the marathon there. Among the citizens of Transylvania, there was also Talking Tina sitting poolside, in an old fashioned pink one piece with the little skirt attached, Bolten Jr in lightning bolt print swim trunks, swimming stiffly through the water, a goblin-ish boy with orange skin, a tuft of red hair on his head, and an angry face on the back of his head and torn, brown shorts, and Kaspa, who was standing on the diving board, wearing a simple black top and swimming skirt. She was about to dive when she saw the werewolf girl approaching. "Hey Lynn!" She called out, waving. This got the attention of the other race participants, who looked toward her.

"Hey Kaspa. Hey everyone." The confident athlete greeted them with a smile.

"Hello Lynn. My name is Talking Tina." The living doll said in her voice box tone that Lynn found super creepy.

"Hey…" Bolten Jr responded, looking kinda irate that she was interrupting his exercise.

"Nice to meet you, Lynn." The goblin said in a squeaky voice, before turning his head to the angrier head. "Shove off!" He snapped, sounding like an angry chipmunk. Lynn just raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and looked up at the gorgon as she dove off the platform and into the water. She glided through the water like a torpedo before emerging with a splash, getting Lynn in the splash.

"Hahaha hey!" Lynn laughed softly as she shook to get the water out of her fur.

"Tee hee. Sorry, Lynn." The serpentine gal said, resting her arms on the side of the pool and winking at her.

"Ah, it's ok. My sisters tend to splash a lot more...always aimed at one another."

"You have sisters other than Luna?"

"Yeah. Nine of them, plus a brother." She explained. Kaspa just looked at her like she had grown a second head, Tina's jaw nearly fell out of it's socket, both faces of the goblin had a look of shock on them and...Bolten Jr was focused on his swimming and not paying her any attention.

"Holy spit! Your parents didn't know when to say when!" The ruder half of the goblin exclaimed.

"No fooling? Are they all as cute as you?" The gorgon girl asked with a grin.

"Well, Lily is positively adorable, and Leni can be too." Lynn said with a light chuckle, not quite catching that she was called cute. "And a lot of girls think Lincoln is cute." Kaspa just giggled softly as she lifted herself from the water and sat down on the pool's edge. The sporty werewolf took a few steps back from the pool, stretched a bit, then got a running start before diving into the water. She then proceeded to swim laps in the pool, while Kaspa watched her with a smile. With all the extra fur she now had getting wet, she was weighted down more and it took more effort for her to swim. However, she liked the challenge and soldiered through it.

"My. It's rather impressive she can move so fast with all that wet fur." Tina commented, spectating as Lynn went from one end of the pool to the other.

"Yes...very impressive." Kaspa said, grinning a bit.

"Kaspa? Earth to Kaspa?" The living doll said, walking over and waving her hand in front of the gorgon's face. Her eyes don't leave the werewolf in the pool. "Oh….I get it. You have your eyes on the little werewolf." She said with a grin.

"Well, duh." The serpen-teen replied with a snicker.

"I didn't think you swung that way."

"I don't." Kaspa replied. "I swing every way. And right now, I'd like to swing her way." Tina giggled a little, smirking at her.

"Have you told her that much?"

"No. I have dropped a few hints, but…"

"Not getting it, huh?"

"She seems a pretty thick!" The rude goblin face snapped.

"A little, but I find that kinda adorable about her. Almost like naivety." Kaspa said with a bit of a sigh.

"I suggest you be more direct with her." Tina said in a matter of fact voice. "After all, you don't know if someone else is after her heart. You may lose her before you even had her."

"...perhaps you're right…" Kaspa mused, looking down at her tail. Then a light bulb seemed to light up in her head. "I know. I'll invite her to lunch after this, and talk it over with her as the restaurant."

"A fine idea." The polite goblin side said.

"I agree." Talking Tina said with a nod.

"Whew...what a workout…" Bolten Jr said as he finally pulled himself from the water. "...is she still going at it?"

"Yep. And not showing any signs of slowing down." Kaspa spoke up. "I think she's up to six laps."

"Six!? But...I had only done eight myself…" The reanimated young man seemed astonished and disappointed to hear that.

"Yes, but your style is different to hers." The polite goblin side pointed out. "You maximized your movements to get the most out of it. She just goes." The four of them watched as the WereLynn continued to speed through the water: Ten laps. Twelve laps. Fifteen Laps. She eventually came to a stop after nineteen laps, pulling herself out of the water. Seeing the dripping wet lycan, Tina quickly took cover behind the Frankenstein-like boy right when Lynn started to shake. Water went everywhere, Kaspa laughing lightly as she covered her face with her arms. The goblin boy and Bolten Jr were less amused as they were soaked.

"Oops...sorry about that." Lynn said, chuckling in an embarrassed manner.

"Don't worry about it, Lynn. I don't mind getting wet. The water is good for my scales." The gorgon girl told her.

"I do." Tina said from behind Bolten Jr. "I can't get wet."

"Then what're ya doing at the pool, ya moron!?" The rude goblin head piped up. The living doll simply huffed and looked away from the two faced creature.

"So...Lynn, do you have any plans after the pool?" The hopeful gorgon inquired, mentally crossing her fingers.

"Just to get a big lunch." The WereLynn responded once she wrung out her ponytail.

"Oh? Mind a little company?"

"I'd love some company. I don't like eating alone." Kaspa smiled brightly, feeling pretty giddy about this turn of events. After the intense workout she just went through, Lynn moved to one of the many lounge chairs on the side to rest her muscles a little. The serpentine teen grinned and decided it was an opportune time to try and get her attention a little. She leaned back, letting the sun shine off her scales and showing off her figure a little. Her plan did kinda work; Lynn was looking at her, but she wasn't really paying her a lot of attention. However, it does mean she wasn't watching as a trio of bat/human hybrids entering the pool area and trying to casually make their way over to where Lynn was sitting. Most people either ignored them, or looked away in fear (as they knew who they were). Tina, however, did spot them and nudged Kaspa, gesturing with her head to indicate she should look. When she did, she saw the three bat men standing directly behind Lynn, malice in their eyes. She glared at them and rose from her seated position. However, before she could make a move, a flower pot fell from the heavens and clocked the one on the right on the head. The other two blinked and looked at their downed associate, along with Lynn. Everyone else just looked confused, even more so when a second flower pot was smashed on the head of the bat to the left. The last bat punk saw the writing on the wall and decided it was time to go, but before he could get anywhere, a iron cauldron fell on his head. He staggered around for a few seconds before he joined his friends in a heap.

"Whoa...weather never said anything about raining flower pots…" Lynn commented, looking up at the clear sky. "Talk about rotten luck." She looked down at the bat men. "You guys ok?"

"Nebber bletter…" Came the slurred response from the bat with the iron pot on his head.

"if you say so." She said with a shrug before hopping off the chair to go get a shower. Meanwhile, behind the wall that surrounded the pool, the Boo Brothers were fading into view, covering their snickering mouths with their hands.

"Looks like those guys went to pot. Nyuk nyuk nyuk" Shreiko whispered.

"Good work, brothers." Freako told them quietly. "But why the cauldron, Shreiko?"

"I couldn't find a flower pot…"

"Where'd you even get it anyway?" Meeko asked his goofy brother. He got a shrug in response, but then they heard a soft tapping behind them. They slowly looked around to see a pair of green skinned witches standing there: arms crossed and tapping their feet a bit. One was tall with a long beak of a nose, the other short with a plump, round nose. "Uh oh…."

"So, you're the ghostly whipper snappers who took our cauldron…" The taller of the witches said, glaring at them.

"Scatter, brothers!" The leader of the trio declared before all three of them disappeared.


After Lynn got herself cleaned up and changed, she waited outside the pool area for Kaspa to get changed. She emerged a few minutes later, smiling the werewolf girl before they moved along the streets of the Transylvanian village. "Sooo..where are we going?" The Loud werewolf asked.

"I know of a nice little sandwich shop downtown. They have marvelous turkey clubs, and incredible lemonade." Kaspa replied. "I stop by there every time my family and I visit."

"They have meatballs? I love meatball subs."

"Hehe. They're not great, but they do have them." Lynn seemed even more eager to go now, so they sped up their walk over to the sandwich shop. After ordering their food, they moved over to the closest table (Kaspa couldn't sit in a booth), sipping on their lemonades while they waited.

"Mmmmm. This is good." Lynn said, licking her lips. "What do they used to sweeten it? It doesn't taste like sugar."

"A special kinda syrup. It's the owner's secret recipe, so I don't know what's really in it." The gorgon replied. "But enough of lemonade secrets...tell me about yourself, Lynn."

"Well, I'm really big into sports, as you could probably tell." The werewolf girl said, a proud smile on her face. "All kinds of sports; from lacrosse to football. You name it, I probably played it."

"No big shock you're here then, ready to run in the marathon."

"You better believe it." The girls were so engaged in their conversation, they didn't notice as an invisible man (his face and hands all wrapped up) joining the sandwich makers on the line and taking over making Lynn's sandwich. He glanced up at the two teens before pulling out a small bottle from his apron and adding a few drops to her meatball sub before hiding the bottle and pouring on the siracha. "So, what about you, Kaspa? What makes you tick?"

"Well, I'm not as much an athlete as you, outside of running." She admitted. "I jog and run for fun mostly, but I've been in a few competitions. Won a few too. Not bad for a gal without legs, eh?" She inquired with a giggle. "Anyway, my passion is more aligned with traveling and exploring. Seeing new places, climbing tall mountains, sailing across the seas…"

"Sounds awesome. Like a travel log show or something?"

"No, but that's not a bad idea." She said, considering the idea with interest. Then she felt a sharp pain in her tail. "OUCH!" She pulled her damaged tail and stroked it, looking up to see an angry troll woman stomping through.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, moss face!" Lynn shouted, shaking her fist at the rude monster. She was ignored as the troll slammed her fist on the counter.

"Meat sandwich! Now!" She bellowed.

"Certainly, ma'am. Once we are finished with the current order, we will make your-" The invisible man started to say in his best customer service tone, still holding Lynn's sandwich. The troll glared at him and snatched the sub from his hand. "Whoa! Ma'am..that's not your sandwich…"

"Mine now." She stated.

"You don't understand. That sandwich has already been paid for, by Miss Lynn Loud…"

"What!?" Lynn growled, rising from her chair.

"Mine now." She repeated flatly.

"Are you deaf as well as ugly!?" She shouted, stepped out from the table, her teeth bared.

"Lynn, calm down…"

"I will not! She stepped on your tail, and now she's swiping my lunch!"

"MY LUNCH!" The troll woman screeched.

"Ma'am, that is not your-" The invisible man frantically tried to say, but the troll took a huge bite of the sub, sloppily chewing it up with her mouth open. The WereLoud extended her claws, nearly frothing mad. There were three things you never messed with around Lynn: her family, her win, and her lunch.

"MY LUN-" The troll went to shout, but then her face turned bright red. Her bulbous yellow eyes started to water, steam billowing from her ears. "AGH! IT BURNS!" Lynn went from wrathful to mirthful in about a second.

"Hahahaha! What's the matter?" She taunted. "Can't handle a little spice?"

"YOU LITTLE PEST! YOU SHOULD TELL WHEN...When…." Her face went from bright red to more green than usual. "...Don't feel so good…" She threw her large hand over her mouth, dropped the bitten hoagie, and made a mad dash for the rest room. In the isolated chaos, the invisible man had taken the chance to slip away.

"Hmph. Some people can't handle a little heat." The sporty werewolf huffed.

"My apologies, Miss...we will remake your sandwich right away." The golem behind the counter told her, looking very sorry.

"Thanks." She replied before she sat back down. "Sorry I got so heated there, Kas."

"It's ok, Lynn. I was about one step away from giving her my entrancing gaze." The gorgon girl responded before smiling sweetly at her. "Besides, it was rather flattering how you stood up for me."

"What are friends for, Kas?" She said. From across the restaurant, a small goblin was watching the two of them from behind a newspaper. He chuckled a bit before hiding behind his afternoon paper.

"Speaking of...are you seeing someone?" The serpent gal asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"...not really." Lynn answered with a bit of a blush.

"Would you be opening to dating?" She asked cautiously, just in case her crush just wasn't interested in dating.

"Of course I'd be open to dating." The WereLynn answered with a confident smile.

"...even someone not your species?" She asked, starting to lose her nerve.

"...never really thought about it." Lynn admitted, considering the matter. "...I suppose I would...if I liked them enough." Kaspa opened her mouth to say something else, but at that point, her sandwich and Lynn's new sub was ready. Cursing the timing, as well her own beating around the bush, she still thanked the sandwich artist for their food. The moment she was given her meatball sub, Lynn immediately tore into it.

"Mmmmmm. Very good." She said, her muzzle covered in sauce. "Not like Dad's, but still good."

"Glad to hear you like it." The scaled teen said, Lynn's voracious eating not disturbing her in the least. Being rather hungry herself, she started to eat her own sandwich. It takes them only a few minutes to finish their lunch, but they hung around to drink their lemonades too.

"This place is pretty good. I'll have to bring the others here sometime." The athletic Loud commented with a smile. Kaspa simply smiled in return, trying to spur herself to just outright ask her. However, actually being with her crush...wanting to confess to her...it was more difficult than one would assume. Still, it was encouraging that Lynn felt friendly enough with her to eat with her and talking pretty freely with her. It was a start and one she would take. Once their drinks were finished, they bid good day to the living statue behind the counter and departed from the restaurant. As they were both headed the same way for most of the trip, they decided they would walk home together too (much to Kaspa's delight).


Not far away, a small group of the Leatherwing Clan had holed themselves up in an alley a couple blocks down. They had seen Lynn leaving the shop and, knowing she would have to pass that area to get back to Castle Dracula, set themselves up to ambush her. "Alright, everyone...when the kid passes by, we'll all jump her at one. A couple of us will grab her arms and start beating on her, while you two break her legs." The leather clad leader of the gang said, gesturing toward two of his clan who were carrying clubs. They nodded in unison as he crept closer to the way out to the street, listening carefully. He smirked as he heard Lynn and Kaspa coming closer, judging by their voices...but then their voices got quieter. And quieter. The bat punk blinked, the whole of the gang looking confused. Shouldn't their target be here already? The leader of the pack slowly peeked out from the alleyway, only to find no sign of the two.

"Looking for someone, old bean?" A polite voice from behind caused the bat man to jump and turn around in shock. There, he saw Brunch and Crunch smirking at the mohawked goon. The Hunch Bunch had overheard the gang and enacted a plan of their own to get Lynn to alter her course. How? Simply by standing in the path she planned to take. She didn't want anything to do with them (other than giving them a lifetime worth of lumps), so she naturally took another route with Kaspa.

"What do you want, Humpty Dumpty?"

"Cute...I simply wished to pass a message. If you know what's good for you, you will leave Lynn Loud alone." Brunch told them, his smirk turning into a scowl.

"...are you threatening us?" The punk leader seemed to be positively dumbfounded by this idea. "You dare threaten Zervan and the Leatherwing Gang!?"

"Threat. Promise. Call it what you like." Brunch replied with a shrug. "It's all the same to us." Zervan sneered at them, pulling a switchblade from his jacket. "Now now. Let's not do anything foolish, my friend. Crunch here has been taking mace classes."

"Heh. Thanks for the warning." The gang leader said with a sinister grin, pulling his sunglasses down. He took one step toward them, then froze as the big tongued hunchback pulled a flail with a spiked ball from behind his back, a big grin on his face.

"Blo ahead. Blake bly day." Crunch sputtered, holding the flail with both hands. Zervan hastily retreated until his back hit the wall. The rest of the gang looked even more confused until the weapon wielding hunchback stepped into view. Given what they were armed with versus what he had, they were equally terrified.

"I believe our point has been made, yes?" The sophisticated monster man inquired, adjusting his monocle. "You leave Miss Loud be, or else we'll have to hunt you down and make an example of you...and just so we're clear...this conversation never happened, correct." The bats all fearfully nodded in agreement. "Smashing. I thought we could come to a reasonable agreement. Very well then. Ta ta for now." Brunch motioned his cohort that it was time to go. The two hunchbacks departed from the area, causing the Leatherwing Clan to breathe sighs of relief...until Crunch leaped back into view, grinning like a maniac, still carrying the spiked ball and chain. The bat punks all screamed and scrambled to get away from him. Brunch snickered at his friend, shaking his head. "Crunch, you are incorrigible…"


"Thanks for directing me to this alternate way." Lynn said as she and Kaspa continued on their way. "Those Hunch Bunch jerks make my blood boil…"

"What'd they do to you?" The gorgon asked with a tilted head.

"They turned me into a werewolf…"

"...say what?"

"I used to be human, but because Mr Rotters needed a werewolf, he had those goons bring me here and had me injected with werewolf blood…" Kaspa gasped in horror. While she didn't know the full extent of the danger of that stunt, she did understand it was a terrible thing to do.

"I'm sorry to hear that...but if it's any consolation...you're a really cute werewolf." She told her, playing with her ponytail a little. She blushed a little and chuckled.

"Thanks Kaspa. You know, it's really lucky that I met you on my first jog in Transylvania." She said, smiling at the serpentine girl. Now it was her turn to blush. Just then, Lynn stopped, noticing a coin on the ground. "Hey. A quarter." She said with a grin, picking it up. "This is really turning into my lucky day."

"Hmmm. I always pegged you as the kind of girl who made her own luck." Kaspa said with a slight teasing tone to it.

"Hehehe...well, truth be told...I've been trying to give up that way of thinking…" The werewolf Loud said, rubbing her arm a bit. "It caused a whole heap of trouble in the past. Lincoln's told me I've gotten better...but sometimes…"

"It's ok, Lynn. I getcha. Old habits die hard. I understand." She said, patting her on the shoulder. "I mean, I nibble on the tip of my tail when I get nervous."

"Your tail?"

"I don't have fingernails." She held out her hands to her. Like she said, there were no nails on the ends of either set of fingers. "I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it. Point is, we all have our bad habits."

"Heh. Yeah." Lynn felt a little bit better. "Buuut...can we not mention this to Luna or Pop Pop?"

"My lips are sealed." Kaspa replied, miming a zip of the lips.

"You're the best, Kas." Lynn told her with a big smile, patting her on the back, which made the gorgon's cheeks go even more scarlet. The two continued to walk down the sidewalk when she felt something smack her shoulder. She blinked and looked around, but saw nothing. She then looked to to her new monster friend and grinned. "Oh, that's how you want to play, huh?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Kaspa asked, having no idea what she was talking about.

"Well, challenge accepted." Lynn said, in full competitive mode. "Race you to...where ever we have to part ways." The monster girl was still lost, but shrugged. A race sounded fun to her.

"Alright. You're on."

Meanwhile, far up ahead, the invisible man from before was getting himself set up in an alley. He was responsible for instigating Lynn to want to race. It was all part of his plan. He picked up a baseball bat and knelt down to the ground, holding the bat at the ready. The unseen being was prepared to break her legs to get her out of the marathon for Mr Rotters. Lynn and Kaspa started running down the walk. Lynn wasn't really going all out, but she was still getting slightly ahead of her serpentine admirer. Not that Kaspa was complaining, mind. The WereLoud was about a block away from the ambush when a blur purple, black and gray zipped past her and something forcefully pushed her to the cement. "Hey!" She shouted as she looked back up, thankfully not hurt by the fall.

"Ha! Eat my dust, fuzzy wuzzy!" Zeral shouted back at her as he sped ahead. He didn't get too much further as he felt solid wood strike one of his four legs. The ghoul let out a blood curdling scream, which covered the distinct crack of a bone breaking. He fell to the ground, holding his now broken leg. If the invisible man could be seen, he would have had a look of 'oh spit…' on his face. He hastily ditched the bat and made himself more scarce.

"Karma's a witch, isn't it?" Lynn muttered as she got up, running over to join the crowd Zeral was gathering with his wailing and tears with Kaspa.

"YOU! YOU DID THIS TO ME!" The ghoul shrieked, pointing at her.

"What? I wasn't anywhere near you, you dufus!" Lynn snapped. As much as she would have loved to just leave him there and let him and the crowd figure things out, but her spirit of fair play got the better of her. "Alright, you lookie loos! If you aren't going to be useful, back it up!" She instructed, getting the citizens to back up from Zeral. "Good. Now someone call an ambulance!"

"I'm on it." Kaspa said, pulling her own phone from her skirt pocket and calling the nearest hospital.

"Ok. Ok. Now, does anyone have ANY first aid experience? Anyone?" She asked the crowd, only to be met with silence. "No one? Really…? Sigh...Ok...just keep real still, Zeral, or you'll make things worse." She tried to explain to him over his screeching and screaming. The ambulance arrived a few minutes later, along with a police car. Naturally, the injured wight started pointing the finger of blame for his shattered bone at Lynn. However, as all the witnesses could attest to her being nowhere near him and nobody seeing what actually happened, there wasn't much the officers could do. They simply loaded the wailing ghoul onto the ambulance and got to work getting the bystanders to move along. "Geez...try and do the decent thing…." Lynn grumbled as she and Kaspa were shooed away.

"Don't worry about it, Lynn. Everyone else knows you did good." The snake like teen told her, gently scratching her behind the ears. The WereLynn trembled for a second, but then a very goofy, contented expression crossed her face. The gorgon gal was surprised by this reaction: surprised, but delighted. "Oh, you like that, huh~?" She cooed, keeping up the gentle scritching on her head. Her tail started to wag a little, the athletic sister almost getting completely lost in the sensation, a very deep blush on her face. She did, however, remember she was out in public and snapped out of it.

"Kaspa…don't do that…" Lynn kinda whined after ducking out from under her hand.

"Awww. Why not?"

"...cause then everyone is gonna wanna do it…" She muttered, her face still very red.

"Hmmmm...good point. I don't mind sharing usually, but in your case, I'll make an exception." Kaspa said with a giggle, getting a small laugh out of Lynn. "...but that is so adorable, I just can't help myself…"

"You better learn to…"

"Uh oh...I think my hand has a mind of its ooooown~" She teased, reaching for Lynn's head.

"Don't you dare…" Lynn warned her while giggling some herself, backing away.

"Resistance is futile, Lynn. You will submit to the scritches."

"Not if you can't catch me!" She said before she bolted down the sidewalk. Kaspa just smirked and slithered after her. She had a feeling she wouldn't be able to catch up with Lynn if she really wanted to get away, but she thought she would just enjoy the game while it lasts.


Back in Cerano's summer home (specifically his study), the well to do ghoul was pleased with the numbers he just crunched. According to his ledgers, in ticket and merchandise sales, he made more than enough to pay back the bank with interest, and there were still a few days left until the race. "This is going even better than I thought." He said to himself. "And if all goes well with the pay per view, along with my little wager, I'll be set for afterlife." He sighed happily, leaning back in his chair. It was at this point his antique telephone on his desk rang. "Cerano Rotters." He answered after he answered it, in good spirits. These good spirits quickly soured when he received a reply. "Transylvania General? Why are you calling me?" He inquired. "...WHAT!? Someone broke my cousin's leg!?" He roared into the mouthpiece. "WHO WAS IT!? WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!?...DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!...WHAT BLOOD PRESSURE!? I'M ALREADY F'ING DEAD!" He was breathing heavily after that short tirade, steam gushing from his nose as the one on the other side of the phone took the chance to explain what happened. "...No one saw anything? No one was near him when he was injured? Suspect it was a trip?" Cerano growled as he rubbed his forehead with one hand. "...how long would it take for him to recover?...TWO WEEKS!? That's too long! The race is in five days! Can't you just remove that leg and put a new one in its place?...I don't give a fig how expensive it will be! Money is no object! Just get Zeral back on his feet, pronto!...yes, I'll have the check over there ASAP...now, how much would it…..That much!?" His hand froze mid way to his pen after he heard the price. "...no, no...go through with the operation...I will pay….thank you. Good day…" He hung up the phone, and pulled it off the hook again, furiously dialing another number. "Zervan...gather your fellow associates...we need to talk...NOW!"

Thirty minutes later, Zervan, the invisible man (back in his trenchcoat and wrappings) and the goblin were seated in Cerano's study, with the ghoul in question pacing back and forth in front of them. He was fuming with rage, which made the invisible man nervous and Zervan uneasy. The goblin, however, was simply sitting there, cool as you please. "So….who wants to explain to me why ZERAL is in the hospital...instead of LYNN LOUD, hmm?" He inquired in a voice of forced calm.

"Zeral is in the hospital?" The Leatherwing leader asked in shock.

"Yes...my cousin...in the hospital….WITH A BROKEN LEG!" He bellowed in their direction.

"It...it was simply a tragic error…" The invisible man stammered.

"A tragic error that cost me TENS of THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS!" He yelled, getting right in the invisible fiend's face.

"I promise you, sir...I shalt fail again…"

"No...you won't...because YOU'RE FIRED!" He screamed so loud, the see through man fell back in his seat. "Now get out of my house!" The trenchcoated being scrambled across the floor, to his feet, then out the door. "As for you two, I don't hear either of you being any use!"

"It wasn't my fault…" Zervan tried to say.

"I don't want to hear it!" He then glared at the goblin. "And what about you!?"

"Mein friend, while I have not made an active move against Miss Loud, it does not mean I have not been busy. I have been watching her. Watching and listening. And I think I've found ze flaw of my associates' attemots." The goblin replied calmly.

"I'm listening…"

"Zey were trying to take her down on a physical level. Not a bad idea, but...a little limiting, ja? No. What we need is to strike on a mental level, and I know just how to do that. Interested?" He grinned as he saw Cerano and Zervan were giving him their undivided attention. "Wunderbar. Now, while I was following her, I heard her make a few references to luck. By itself, not much, I admit...but it sounds like she really believes in it. With zat bit of information, I did a quick search on social media...and did I hit ze motherlode of information on our little werewolf on HeadSpace. Short version: Miss Loud is superstitious." Now Cerano was starting to grin. "I see you see where I am going with this."

"Now this is the kind of skullduggery I expected when I hired you." The ghoul said, sounding pleased. "But can you pull it off?"

"But of course. I will need a few resources, but I promise you...by the fall of the sun tomorrow, Lynn Loud will be so shaken, she will begging to go home."


It was mid afternoon when Lynn had finally returned to Castle Dracula, in really high spirits. She had a really good work out, had a fun afternoon with Kaspa, and found a place to get a good meatball sub in Transylvania, and she was ready to tell her family and Francisco all about it. At the same time, the Boo Brothers had landed on top of the castle, looking kinda tired. "Whew...though we'd never lose those witches…" Meeko commented, wiping the sweat from his face.

"Yeah, well, at least the kid was safe the whole afternoon. I call that a win." Freako said, resting his back against a nonliving gargoyle.

"Am I ever beat." Shrieko said as he slumped over the edge of the gutter.

"You shouldn't have taken the nice old battle-I mean, lady's cauldron, stupid."

"I had to think on my feet. It was that, or let the bat boy be the one that got away."

"Instead, we ended up abandoning our post to avoid getting mercilessly pummeled by those hags. You're darn lucky that nothing happened to the kid in that time." Freako scolded him.

"Brothers, let's not fight…" Meeko interjected, trying to put an end to the squabbling. "Lynn is safe. That's the important thing."

"Yeah...yer right, Meeko. But we still gotta be more careful. We can't be caught with our guard down again." Unbeknownst to the ghostly trio (no, not that one), Brunch and Crunch were scaling up the back of the castle, headed for the roof.

"Are you sure you saw them up here?" Brunch inquired quietly.

"Bleah. Blall three of blem." Crunch replied in a hushed voice.

"Right then. Let us hurry before they get away, or worse, make their move…" The two hunchbacks double timed it up the wall. When they eventually get to the roof, they took cover behind a chimney as they observed the ghosts. At that moment, Shrieko was leaning over the side to check on Lynn's room.

"See anything, Shrieko?" The fat, bald ghost questioned his taller brother.

"Yeah. I see the girl in her room talking to her sister."

"Good. Good." Freako said, still lounging on the statue. "We'll keep an eye on her for a little while longer; see if she plans to go anywhere else."

"You hear that, Crunch...seems clear they're up to something…" The well spoken monster man said quietly.

"Bleah. Blet's get em.."

"Now hold on a second, Crunch. We need to take a moment to-"

"Blarge!" Crunch yelled as he ran right toward Shrieko.

"Wait!...sigh…." Brunch shook his head as the Boo Brothers turned to look at the charging, screaming hunchback.


Moment earlier, inside Lynn and Luna's room…

"...and after that, we pretty much raced until we had to part ways." The WereLynn said, concluding her retelling of the events of the afternoon to Luna.

"Heh. Sounds like you had fun." The rock and roll Loud said with a smile, chilling out on her bed.

"Yeah. Kaspa's really cool. Though she was asking a few funny questions. Seemed really interested in whether or not I planned on dating in the near future."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Like if I was seeing anyone, or if I would date someone other than my own species." Lynn answered, shrugging a bit. "A little odd, but she probably had a friend looking for a date." Luna frowned lightly as she heard that, looking up at the ceiling.

'Hmmm. Curious about her interest in dating...and then there was how she was looking at her at the party and after they first met...the blushing...' She thought to herself. 'I dunno. It doesn't sound like she's asking for someone else. It sounds like…she was asking for herself.' Luna blinked as she came to that conclusion. '...How did I not see that before?...that's just adorable.' The third oldest sister grinned a bit, then looked over to her fur bearing sister, who was giving her a funny look.

"What's with you?"

"Oh. Nothing." Luna replied. 'Should I tell her? I mean, it may be better for her to find out for herself...but Lynn was never really one to pick up hints that well. Would telling her affect her friendship with her though?' Before she could really give the issue any more thought, the sounds of footsteps could be heard above them.

"Huh? What's that?" Lynn asked, gazing upward.

"I dunno. Monster squirrels?" The older sister suggested with a shrug. That theory was was thrown out the window they heard a pair of voices screaming just outside. The Loud sisters (as well as Albert and Francisco next door) ran to the window to see what was going on. They could see a tall thin ghost flailing around in the sky, with a hunchback clinging to him as the two fought. The Loud sisters just watched with mouths agape until the two of them ended up soaring right at them.

"Hit the deck!" The sporty werewolf yelled, both she and Luna diving for the ground as Crunch and Shrieko crashed through the window. The two start wrestling around on the ground, with Freako and Meeko going through the ceiling to try and help their brother.

"What the bloody 'eck!?" Luna asked in shock. At that moment, Brunch had just climbed down and jumped through the broken window.

"Oh bother…" He groaned, face palming at the scene before him.

"You!?" Lynn snarled, springing to her feet, fangs and claws bared.

"What're you doing here!?" Luna demanded to know.

"I could ask them the same thing, Miss Loud." Brunch replied calmly, pointing toward the ghosts fighting his friend. "Crunch and I caught them following Lynn around last few days, as well as spying on her on the roof just now."

"Wait...following me?" The WereLynn asked, confused, but then snapped back into anger. "Why should I believe you!?"

"...It kinda makes sense, sis...they were at the party, they somehow were there when you met the Hex Girls, and now here they are again…" Luna said with a frown. She didn't necessarily believe him, but she had to admit the circumstances were suspicious.

"Luna! You're not seriously believing the guys who flipping turned me into a werewolf, are you!?" The ponytailed and very angry teen snapped before she jumped into the fray, right onto Crunch's back. During the struggle, Meeko ended up getting thrown to the side, landing right on Lynn's bed. While he was dazed, Luna walked over and glared down at him.

"Alright, bloke. Start talking. Why are you lot following my sister?"

"Whoa! Whoa! Wait, Miss Luna! We don't mean any harm! Your brother sent us!" The chubby ghost said hastily and fearfully.

"...what was his name?"

"His name? His name...I know it began with an L…." Meeko mumbled, struggling to remember, which didn't help his credibility. Her frown becoming more pronounce, Luna reached down to grab the overweight specter. "Wait! Lincoln! His name was Lincoln!"

"...and how do you know him?"

"S...Shaggy introduced us! And Lincoln asked us to watch Lynn after she was turned!" The third eldest Loud blinked. He knew Shaggy as well?

"Hold on...you know Shaggy as well?" Brunch inquired, his attention on the dumpy spirit. Before a response could be given, the door suddenly burst open and in ran Albert, Francisco and Dracula. The moment they entered, all activity in the room stopped: Crunch was standing on one foot, Shrieko's neck in one hand, his other hand trying to shake WereLynn, and Freako about to smash the hunchback with a chair.

"What's going on in here!?" Albert asked, glaring at the ghosts and monster men invading Luna and Lynn's space.

"Calm down, sir. I believe what we have here is a serious case of misunderstanding." Brunch said in an attempt to defuse the situation. "If everyone will simply unhand one another, I believe we can get to the bottom of this."

"Give me one good reason we should listen to you!?" Lynn snarled.

"Miss Loud, I vill vouch for them." Dracula said in a calm, but angry tone. Lynn blinked and looked back at the vampire lord with surprise. "Here him out. That is all I ask." The little werewolf looked between Brunch and Dracula, growled angrily, but climbed off of Crunch and moved to the nearest chair. Said hunchback released Shrieko, who joined Meeko and Freako over on Lynn's bed. "Go ahead, Brunch."

"Thank you, Count. Now then, here is my understanding of the situation we find ourselves in. You three…" He pointed at the Boo Brothers. "...were sent here, by Miss Loud's brother, in order to protect her in the days following up to the Monster Marathon."

"Right in one. Lincoln was worried for his sister, especially after that Mr Rotters creep turned her into a werewolf." Freako piped up.

"And those two had a hand in it!" Lynn shouted, pointing at the Hunch Bunch.

"Ahem...yes, that is true, Miss Loud. However, as much as I know it is probably little to no consolation, it was not a task we enjoyed doing."

"Blot at all." Crunch added.

"And why should we believe that?" Albert asked, his arms crossed.

"I suppose you don't have much cause to trust us...after that. But we assure you that we have been doing what we can to protect her as well."

"Oh ho. That's rich. You two have been stalking the kid since we got here." Shrieko interjected.

"Blo blere you!" Crunch accused.

"Well...we can't argue with that." Meeko commented with a shrug.

"Wait a second...you guys saw us?" A surprised Freako inquired.

"Crunch saw you lurking about on Mr Rotter's roof the day of the party for the runners of the race." Brunch explained. "And from there, I suppose we both assumed the other intended ill toward Miss Loud."

"How do we know that you still don't plan to hurt Lynn for that Rotters jerk!?" Lynn's crush snapped.

"Because they aren't vorking for Mr Rotters." The vampire father interjected calmly. "They are vorking for me."

"Huh!?" The Loud sisters, their Grandfather, and Francisco all looked confused at Dracula's statement.

"After Lincoln informed me of what had happened, I paid the Hunch Bunch a little visit." He started to explain, moving toward Lynn. "Vith a little...persuasion...I convinced them that ensuring the safety of Lynn vas in their best interests." He smiled lightly at her, before turning to the Hunchbacks. "As I must admit...they vere doing a fine job of it."

"Blank you, blaster." Crunch sputtered.

"Though I must say I am surprised Lincoln took matters into his own hands." The vampire lord said, looking toward the three goofy ghosts. "Especially vithout him and Sibella telling me."

"That's our bro for you." Lynn said with a slight smirk. "When it comes to his family, he goes above and beyond."

"It was actually Shaggy who recommended us to the kid." Freako informed them.

"He asked us to 'ghost' Lynn before and during the race, just in case ol Hook Nose tries anything funny. Nyuk nyuk nyuk."

"And try something funny he did." Brunch spoke up. "It seems he had employed some...extra help of his own in order to deal with Miss Loud. The Leatherwing Clan."

"The who?" Luna asked.

"The LeatherVing Clan...one of the most disruptive gangs in the area…" Dracula said with a snarl. "Are you sure, Brunch?"

"Positive." The sophisticated monster man confirmed with a nod. "Crunch and I overheard those bat punks mentioning how they planned to break Lynn's legs. Thankfully, we were able to convince her to change course simply by standing in her path."

"Wait...that's why you were just lurking there?" Lynn inquired.

"Indeed. We suspected you wouldn't listen to us, so we had to use that mistrust to our advantage."

"...that's pretty clever."

"Bat punks? Hey. We dealt with a few of them at the pool." Freako piped up.

"You know...come to think of it...a few strange things have happened today besides…" The WereLoud commented as she remembered. "At the sandwich shop, a troll got sick from a sandwich meant to me, and Zeral got his leg broken after he ran past me after that…"

"Haha. Serves him right." Shrieko said with a laugh. He was the only one laughing. Everyone else looked positively alarmed.

"This is more serious than I thought." The Count said with the the biggest frown anyone had ever seen on him. "Miss Loud, I think, for your safety, it vould be best if you didn't leave the castle grounds until the day of the race."

"But how am I going to train for the race?" Lynn asked.

"The castle grounds are quite expansive. There should be plenty of room for you to run."

"What about when Kaspa wants to hang out with me, or if we want to go into town?"

"Miss Kaspa is more than velcome to spend time with you here if you are villing to vouch for her. As for your family and friend...I suggest they stay as vell." He could see that the werewolf girl looked really down about this. "I am sorry, Lynn, but it is for the best."

"Excuse me, Count." Meeko said, a little nervously. "What if we or the Hunch Bunch went with her whereever she went?"

"I'm afraid not." The vampire lord said firmly. "I am sure your hearts are in the right places, but here is vhere Miss Loud will be safest. It vill only be for a few more days." He tried to reassure her, though by the look on her face, it didn't help. "In the meantime, if you lot wish to help by patrolling the halls and grounds…" He directed his attention back to the three ghost brothers. "...that vould be most appreciated. The same goes with you, Brunch and Crunch." They all nodded in unison before Dracula bid them good day and left the room, a furious look on his face. With this new information, it seemed he had to pay Cerano a visit much sooner than he expected.

"Sorry about that, Lynn...but Dracula's right. Your safety comes first." Albert told her, patting her on the back.

"I know, Pop Pop, but I was really enjoying seeing the town…" Lynn complained, her head in her hands.

"Well, I suppose now would be a good time to introduce ourselves." Freako said, moving over to Albert and Luna. "I'm Freako, and these are my brothers, Shrieko and Meeko. We're the Boo Brothers, at your service." Albert, Luna and Francisco each shook their hands, introducing themselves to the ghosts as Lynn walked over to her bed, slumping down on top of it. 'What a way to end to an otherwise great day…' She thought to herself.