Okay, I got to explain something, seeing how ImI updating out of nowhere. Especially to A Hopeful Observer, my most trustworthy partner in this behemoth of a story. You see, since Hope is going to be busy with school for a while, I thought that I could cut him some slack and re-read and edit a chapter on my own, which would also serve as the final chapter of the year.
So, I'm not doing any of this with a bad intention. I hope I made that clear.
As for why this chapter's so short, I wrote it on my phone's writing app, which doesn't tell me how many words I've written so far.
But enough talk, let's reply to reviews!:
1) Nobody245:
* Did I say Proto-Sibling? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I said a progenitor.
* Let me be blunt: The Proto-Sisters are supposed to be the very embodiments of what the sisters would be if they lacked their good qualities, and an exagerattion of their bad traits too. And plus, you can't exactly expect the Proto-Sisters being close to Proto-Lincoln/Sincoln to be a good thing: If anything, expect that the closer the sister was to Proto-Lincoln, the more she'll either A) Have been hurt by him, B) Been warped into a monster, or C) Both.
* It's gonna take a while, indeed, especially with a little revelation later down the line... one that may make you wonder what the heck was up with Proto-Lincoln before... I nearly said too much.
2) Hatoralo: Sam's in Luna's caste. And I'm not sure, they have homicidal prototypes to take care of first.
3) ChernoMan (Chapter 27):
* Fun fact: Lona and Lolana/Lanola were names I had for the fusion as well, but I wanted to try stay in the "four-letter name" motif the sisters seem to have.
* Yeah, I'm excited to see how many brains are broken trying to figure that one out. XD
4) ChernoMan (Chapter 28):
* Fanatic Clyde, thank you very much.
* There's another one coming up, yes.
* On Calliope?
* He's good. Although, considering the stuff Ronnie Anne's learning, he's probably worried she might end up discovering something... big...
* Every Proto-Sister left some kind of business unfinished: The Proto-Sisters that we know now don't care enough to fix them, so it's up to the Neo-Sisters to do it.
5) Observant Guest:
* Just for fun, could you tell me what are those guesses you got?
* Yeah, and to be fair, they're so egotistical and ignorant of their own ranks, they probably believe only Cristina herself would dare strike against them. Which, to be fair, isn't necessarily wrong...
* Remember: For every answer found, another question pops up. Short answer: Let's hope they don't find too many answers.
* Penelope's a rare case of being right, but being wrong at the same time, really. Let's just be happy she was willing to shed some light on the Calliope thing, that was really needed.
* Yeah, Carol needs to hang around sisters that aren't Lana, Leni, or Lori. I wonder if I'll be able to have her hang out with Lucy?
And now, to the chapter!
Episode 29: Sleepless in Royal Woods! So This Is A Night Life?
Nighttime had arrived at the city of Royal Woods, and the Loud household, home of the new gods of this dimension, was about to become just as quiet.
Most of the residents in the house were asleep, with Luna and Luan about to go to bed as well.
"Well, time to hit the hay," Luan said, only to groan when a pack of hay materialized in her bed. "Ugh, I wasn't even making a pun!"
Luna, meanwhile, took a deep, somber breath, which Luan noticed. "What's wrong?"
"I'm still processing everything that happened yesterday," Luna answered as she rubbed her temples. "The hydra attack, the invasion, Lucy's sort-of demise..."
Luan frowned. "Yeah, I know how you feel. I haven't felt this down since I did that prank on Maggie."
Luna raised an eyebrow. "What prank?"
Luan avoided eye contact and removed the hay from her bed as she said "Goodnight, Luna." with a yawn.
Shaking her head at her sister's dodging skills, Luna said "Good night, Luan." in response, and promptly tucked herself and fell asleep.
Luan followed soon after... But after about five minutes, Luna opened her eyes and got up.
"That's strange, I don't feel tired anymore," Luna looked up. "Hey, Luan-"
The loud snorts that ensued confirmed Luna's doubts: Luan really was fast asleep. And seeing that, she tried to fall asleep again.
Try as she might, however, the girl just couldn't manage to fall back asleep again.
"What the heck, dude?" Luna asked out loud.
"Something the matter?"
The rockstar turned around and saw Lori standing at the door, gesturing her to come with her.
"Why, dude?" Luna whispered.
"Because I need to talk with you," Lori whispered in response. "It's important."
Finding no reason to distrust her sister, Luna took a deep breath and went with her to the backyard, where she and Lori leaned against the tree while they looked at the night sky.
"So, I saw you waking up after you tried to go to sleep," Lori remarked. "Is there literally something keeping you awake?"
"No, I... don't feel that tired, for some reason," Luna answered, before thinking about it a bit further. "In fact, I don't feel tired at all."
"Really, now?" Lori asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's interesting, I figured it would take you a bit longer for that passive ability to activate."
Luna threw a confused look at her sister. "Passive ability?"
Lori rolled her eyes, then turned to a nearby bush. "You know, I'd love to tell you more about this ability."
The eldest sister walked to the bush, reached inside it, then pulled Sam out of it as she said:
"But we're literally being watched."
Sam chuckled nervously. "H-Hi, girls."
"Sam, what are you doing here?" Luna asked as the blonde rocker was dropped on the floor. "Shouldn't you be asleep at this hour?"
"Lamp, I'm offended by your statement! So much so, I may not call you by your name for a while!" Sam stated as she stood up, with Luna and Lori rolling their eyes at her words. "You should know most aspiring musicians need to learn how to stay awake for the whole day just in case their concerts take place at night!"
Luna hummed and scratched her chin. "Now that you mention it, Mick Swagger did have both day and night concerts..."
"That doesn't matter," Lori shot a glare at Sam. "Tell us what are you doing here before I literally kick you out."
"I just wanted to see if everybody was doing okay after the beach deal," Sam put her hands on her pockets. "Especially the little goth girl... What was her name?"
"Lucy," Luna quickly corrected. "Look, Sam, you don't have to be here: I'm not going to hold what happened there against you, but seriously, get out of here before-"
And then, the trio heard someone bark, and they turned around to see it was none other than Charles, who was also growling at Sam.
"Aw, you have a dog! Why didn't you tell me you had one of those?!" Sam chirped as she walked closer to Charles. "He's adorable!"
"I would be careful if I were you," Lori said as Sam walked closer to Charles. "If you scare him, he might bite you."
"It's alright, Luna's Older Sister," Sam sternly replied as she tried to pet the dog. "I'm sure this dog won't-"
Predictably, Charles bit Sam as soon as he got the chance, causing everybody to suddenly go silent.
Then, light blue, violet, and lavender energy surrounded Sam as her mouth started glowing, culminating in Sam looking at the sky as she screamed at the top of her lungs, shooting a purple beam from her mouth that pierced the skies. And the scream continued for a while, allowing Luna to watch in sheer shock... While Lori wasn't even fazed.
And mere seconds later, the girl laid on the ground, whimpering as she clutched her bit hand.
"Wow, that was something," Luna remarked, shivering from the scene as she slowly patted Charles. "Good thing I don't need to worry about Charles biting me, right?"
"I wouldn't be so trusting," Lori answered. "After all, Charles may be part of the family, but even he has his limits."
Luna paused, then continued petting. "Nah, he wouldn't bite me! He's got a heart of gold, just like Leni!"
Misjudging that as an insult, Charles bit Luna's hand even harder than he did with Sam. And like with Sam, the same energy started surrounding Luna, along with the small rocks nearby floating up as the ground shook.
"O-Ok, I'm fine now," Sam said as she stood up. "What did I miss?"
"Get down." a worried Lori ordered.
Sam raised an eyebrow, and as soon as Luna opened her mouth, Lori tackled Sam and pinned her to the ground, narrowly dodging the shockwaves sent from Luna's titanic screech, unleashing a purple beam as well.
But it didn't just pierce the heavens; The beam was so strong, a crater formed underneath Luna and the ground shook even more violently, all while both Sam and Lori watched in sheer horror.
By the end of it, Luna clutched her bitten hand and took several deep breaths.
"Note to self; Luna's a lot more badass than she looks," Sam remarked.
"Yeah, you better remember that," Lori stated. "Now get out of here."
Sam nodded and, without hesitation, ran away while Lori walked to her shivering sister.
"Did Sam leave?" Luna asked as Lori helped her get up.
"Yup," Lori answered.
Luna frowned. "How did she react?"
Lori looked at her sister and smiled sympathetically as she said, "Well, she was impressed, that much is true."
Luna took several deep breaths, prompting a sympathetic response from Lori as she said:
"Let's take a walk, and get your mind off of what just happened."
Meanwhile, back in Luna and Luan's bedroom...
The pun-loving Luan moved around her bed while groaning and clutching her chest, while sporting a look implying she was about to cry. She kept moving until she rolled off her bed, hitting the ground and waking her up in the process.
"I can't sleep," Luan sighed as she stood up and rubbed her head. "But why? My dreams weren't any different than usual..."
Then, the jokester got an idea and went to the room's phone. She marked a number, and waited for the other end to answer.
And as soon as it did, Luan smiled before they said:
"Hello, this is Magdalene Swagger's number. I'm currently unavailable, so please call later."
And then what the voice mail said next hit her right in the heart:
"Unless you're named Luan Loud, in which case, don't call me. Ever."
"Well, that's oddly specific," Luan remarked as the number hung up. "I mean, I know she's angry for what I did, but..."
The jokester fell silent, then looked at the ground as she thought about what to do next... Then narrowed her eyes with determination, and marked the number again.
"I need to talk with Maggie," she said to herself. "No matter how many times I have to hear her voice mail reject me."
Back with Luna and Lori...
The girls walked across the streets of Royal Woods, with Luna still gripping her bitten hand as it slowly recovered.
"Dang, man, Charles bites a lot harder than I thought," Luna remarked, taking a deep breath. "I mean, not to offend him, but I always thought his bark was worse than his bite."
"That'll teach you not to understimate him," Lori remarked.
And before the duo could say anything else, they crashed into someone: Haiku, to be exact.
"Oh hey, you're one of Lucy's friends, right?" Lori folded her hands. "What are you doing so late at night? Isn't it past your bedtime?"
Haiku blushed and narrowed her eyes. "I-I don't have a bedtime! And even if I had one, what I'm doing is none of your business!"
Luna promptly tried to stop the situation from getting heated. "Hey, calm down, little buddy-"
"Ugh, I don't have time for this!" Haiku snapped, stomping the ground. "I have to go to the poetry club right now!"
Haiku ran away afterwards, leaving the sisters alone.
"She didn't even give me a chance to talk to her," Luna blurted.
"They probably were busy with something," Lori shrugged. "You know how goths are: Literally obssessed with the occult and dark stuff, and shunning most social interaction."
Luna couldn't help but frown as the statement reminded her of Lucy, and Lori put a hand on the rocker's shoulder as she stated:
"You did everything you could."
"Did I?" Luna folded her arms. "Look, Lori, besides you and Leni, I'm the one our siblings look up to the most, and yet, by the end of our beach vacation; Leni strangles Sam, Lucy gets squished flatter than Mick Swagger's early songs, and we barely did anything against the hydra!"
Lori took a deep breath. "Luna, I'm literally only asking this to be sure: Why do you focus solely on the negative?"
Before Luna could answer, Lori grabbed her shoulders and pulled her forward as she proclaimed:
"You, and our siblings, literally survived against an attack from a beast from another dimension! And not just any beast, but one that was vastly different compared to the vanilla version! Any other person would've either died or wet themselves, but you lead everybody against it, and survived all the way 'till the end! Sure, you weren't alone on that fight, but you still took the initiative when that thing attacked!"
Lori pulled Luna closer until their noses touched.
"You literally lead the charge against a fucking hydra! And you know It's a big deal, because I used a swear word to emphasize it!"
Then, the sisters separated. "Do you understand, Luna?"
The rocker looked at the ground with slight worry, before nodding in confirmation, prompting Lori to state:
"Let's go, we've had enough distractions. There's something important I need to tell you."
Back at the Loud House...
Luan got the voice mail for, like, the fifth time, with her look showing a mixture of exhaustion and worry.
"Come on, Maggie, answer the phone!" Luan begged as she dialed the number. "I need to talk to you!"
Luan heard the first few beeps, then got a shocker when she heard a different answer:
"What the hell do you want?"
"Maggie?!" Luan chirped up. "Oh, thank goodness you finally answered-!"
"Listen up, Luan, because I'm only going to say this once: It's late at night, I'm in a terrible mood, and I've had to listen to your constant calling, for a half hour, and I asked you what the hell you wanted!" Maggie snapped in return. "So you better answer we right now, or I'm hanging up-"
"I couldn't sleep!" Luan exclaimed. "A-And I was hoping talking with you could help me... I dunno, relax or something!"
The other end was silent for a while, until Maggie asked:
"Luan, of all the people you could call, why would you call me?"
"Why? Because, even if we're no longer on good terms, I can still remember a time where we were friends... Best friends, even," Luan somberly answered. "And I knew if there was anybody who could help me... It was you."
Luan frowned. "But, I guess I forgot how things are between us right now... I'm sorry that I bothered you, I'll let you-"
"Wait."
Luan paused, and Maggie said:
"Right now's not a good time, but, if you can wait until tomorrow, I guess I could help you with your problem."
Luan smiled. "Sounds good to me."
"Come tomorrow to my house whenever you're ready, but be sure to let me know first," Maggie added. "Until then, please let me sleep."
"Alright, thank you, Maggie," Luan took a deep breath. "See you tomorrow."
Maggie hung up, and Luan promptly went back to her bed and tucked herself, the idea that Maggie was actually willing to help her once more giving her enough peace to fall back asleep.
Back at the Loud Backyard...
Lori and Luna rested on the grass, watching the star-filled sky
"So, back in the original reality, the other me controlled the moon?" Luna said, making sure she heard that right. "She raised it and lowered it and that?"
Lori nodded with a calm smile.
Luna, however, was still confused. "But, if my counterpart controlled the moon, who controlled the sun-?"
The sisters said "Lynn" in unison, then Luna pointed at her oldest sister as she exclaimed "Ding! You owe me a soda!"
The sisters laughed for a moment, with the laughter ceasing after a while. What came next was an awkward silence before Luna asked:
"Lori, why do you seem so stern and strict compared to Leni and Carol?"
Lori took a deep breath, stood up, and explained:
"There are two ways of learning, Luna: The easy way, and the hard way. I mostly learned through the latter, so, It's the only teaching method I know, really."
Tempted with curiosity, Luna hesitantly asked, "What's the difference?"
Lori stood up and walked a couple of feet away from Luna as she spoke:
"The hard way usually involves brute force, or testing somebody to their utmost limit."
Lori stopped and clenched her fist.
"And one way to do that, was through a physical battle."
Luna, realizing what the young adult was implying, stood up and powered up, surrounding herself in a purple aura that made small rocks nearby levitate around it.
Lori, for her part, chuckled and smiled before shaking her head, confusing the rocker.
"Classic Luna, jumping the gun," Lori chuckled and turned to her sister. "I said one way to learn the hard way was with a battle, I didn't say that was the only way."
Luna's eyes widened as she realized what that meant, but she shook her head and remained in her powered form.
"Even so, let me give this a shot!" Luna requested. "I need to know if I've improved!"
Lori shook her head, chuckled... Then gave Luna the "bring it on" gesture, with a confident smile to boot.
Luna returned the smile moments before she leaped forward and punched Lori in the face, managing to make the oldest sister back away a little.
With that done, Luna backed away and turned back to normal as Lori caressed her punched cheek and said:
"That literally did something, actually."
Luna smiled, feeling relieved at her apparent progress. However, what Lori said next bummed her out:
"However, aiming for me is pointless."
Luna narrowed her eyes. "What are you saying?"
"I'm too strong for you, and the only way to breach the gap between us is by beating Carol," Lori stated. "And the way to breach that gap needs you to defeat Leni."
Luna raised an eyebrow. "Leni? What? But she wouldn't hurt a fly!"
"Forget that idea," Lori ordered.
Luna backed away at the order, then listened as Lori explained further:
"This world is literally much more than you thought at first, and if you and the rest of our siblings want to survive in this world, survive against the progenitors, you have to throw away all your beliefs about your old view of the world!"
After hearing that, Luna looked at the ground before she narrowed her eyes, glared at Lori and asked:
"Who's side are you on, Lori?"
Lori responded with a blunt answer:
"We're on nobody's side."
Luna nearly asked "who are we?" before Lori added:
"Leni and I."
The rockstar once again flinched, refusing to believe Leni and Lori had no side in the matter.
Well, Leni. Lori did seem like the kind of person to choose no side.
"Believe me or not, it doesn't change the fact you need to change your mind about the world, Luna," Lori put her hands on her pockets. "I'll let you play around a little bit longer, but don't forget to come home as soon as you feel tired."
"W-Wait, you're leaving me alone?!" Luna asked. "I thought you were going to stay with me the whole time!"
"I don't have the same luxury concerning sleep like you do, Luna," Lori smiled and threw a look at the rocker. "And besides, I can trust you not to get into trouble, right?"
Before Luna could answer, Lori summoned her eagle-like guardian-thing and flew back home, leaving Luna alone to think about the information that was just revealed to her.
As for Lori, as she flew across the skies with her arms spread, and an eagle-shaped being flew behind her, she narrowed her eyes and thought, with a clear tone of determination:
"The beach attack made it clear the progenitors can attack anywhere and everywhere. And most importantly, we didn't forsee it. But I know one person who could've seen it coming... And they'll most likely know what happens next."
Lori nodded to herself and continued flying in search for this entity.
Next Chapter Preview...
A chibi version of Lynn and Luna stood at the sides of a blackboard, with the words "Next time" written on it.
"Whoa, so, I could control the sun in the past?!" Lynn said with excitement. "Maybe I could try doing that sometime!"
"Sure, dude, but for now, let's just say what's going to happen next," Luna replied, waving her hand. "Mind starting it for us?"
Lynn nodded and erased the writing, before drawing a peculiar scene: The remains of Atlantis, floating in the ocean, and a group flying to it.
"Looks like a group of people are going to be checking out the half of Atlantis that's floating in the ocean. I don't know why, but it should be interesting," Lynn shrugged. "What will happen elsewhere, Luna?"
The rocker erased the drawing and drew a trio, consisting of Haiku, Silas, and Rocky.
"Lucy's friend Haiku, as well as this gothic kid and redhead boy, are going to go... somewhere, in order to help Lucy with some sort of... stuff," Luna scratched her head. "Don't ask me, though, the author didn't tell me the whole story."
"Yeah, got it," Lynn flinched. "Wait a minute, doesn't Luan get angry when people break the fourth wall?"
And then Luan yelled from afar, "Hey, is that a freaking fourth wall break!"
"And that's all for today, folks!" Lynn said as she erased the drawing. "Next time, on Chains of Reality: Divinity Reborn, "Revisiting The Ancient Utopia, Atlantis! The Journey Into An Eldritch Dimension!"
Luna flashed a thumbs up. "Don't miss it!"
With that said, the duo immediately ran away as Luan flew after them, surrounded by a yellow aura with red, surging electricity.
