Judgement Factory

"I thought one Judgement Boy was enough. Imagine my surprise when I found there were more of him...as well as a much bigger one…"

It didn't take Lincoln long to regret coming to the basement by himself. It was quite dark down there, even more than the rest of the hotel, as there were hardly any candles there. He didn't really notice before when he came down with James, but he had noticed it now. 'I wish I could have gotten to Cactus Girl's pistol before I got down here…' Lincoln wondered in his own head. '...but with Gregory and Mama looking for me up there, I need to lay low while I find a way out.' The one son wasn't sure how long he spent wandering the basement; but he also didn't really care. He still didn't even know of time even passed in this world. What did bother him was that he didn't know where he was going. Not only was it dark down here, it was a varitible maze. Mostly just the same grimy, stone walls. He was starting to wonder if he had made a mistake as he wandered through the darkened catacombs. Then, after several minutes of almost blind meandering, the one son came across a door against the left wall. A simple wooden door with an iron handle on it, with metal letters set upon it. He couldn't read what it said, but it was the only door he had found so far, so he decided to try it. He wasn't fool enough to barge in though, so he cautiously opened it a little and peeked inside. What he saw was FAR from what he expected. Inside were a series of conveyor belts, with glowing gold dollar signs and pink hearts rolling along them. A group of small, robed creatures were working the belts, checking each of the crystalline objects and moving them along to large bins.

Lincoln's mouth hung open as he stepped into the chamber, awestruck at what he saw. Not long after he entered, the door slammed shut behind him, making the human boy jump. Then, from high above, Judgement Boy descended down quickly, coming to a sudden stop a couple feet from the stony ground. Sudden enough to shake the cages on the end of his chains. "Do you know…" He started, when a second one suddenly appeared beside and slightly behind him. The two looked EXACTLY alike, except the second one had the number 2 on his shirt.

"...who we are?" The second living scale asked. A third and fourth Judgement Boy suddenly dropped down, each one asking the same question as the first two. The white haired boy felt a little worried, which only escalated when a big, booming voice sounded within the room.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?" He asked loudly as the biggest Judgement Boy slowly lowered himself into view. He was massive, and made entirely out of gold by the look of it. Otherwise, he looked just like the others of his kind.

"Judgement boy gold!" The four anthropomorphic scales all chanted it at once.

"Are you prepared, Lincoln Loud!?" The golden being inquired, staring down at the young man.

"P...prepared? For what?"

"For the ultimate judgement!" His voice boomed, which was followed by his four fellows reciting "ultimate" and "judgement".

"The...ultimate judgement?" Lincoln asked, staring up at the Judgement Boy Gold. What did he mean by that? 'Well, if it's like what the original Judgement Boy did earlier...it shouldn't be bad, right?' He thought to himself, before he said. "...I guess."

"Very well…" He said, before just staring at him for a moment. Then, he started: "Your sister has done something terribly wrong to you. Something that has had a deep impact not just on the two of you, but the entire family."

'...I know what he's getting at here.' Lincoln thought to himself.

"After being confronted with her terrible deed, she falls to her knees, begging you for forgiveness. Do you forgive her, Lincoln Loud? Do you forgive her, or do you tell her that her crime is completely unforgivable?" Absolute silence filled the room, as even the belts stopped and the little robed workers ceased their tasks to watch and listen. The one son wasn't sure he heard the living creature of gold correctly. Was he seriously asking that!? Was that even a question!? "Take your time. This is not a choice to be made lightly." Judgement Boy Gold added, showing he was quite serious. "As it could seriously affect your life, hers and your family's lives for years to come." Then, silence again.

'Ok...first of all, Lynn begging? This block head doesn't know Lynn…' He thought to himself, a slight throbbing in his head after thinking of her. 'And second...how could he think I would forgive her!? I know I was stupid to encourage the lie that I was bad luck, but she started the whole thing.' He pondered angrily. 'Not only that, but she escalated things to the point where no one in the family wanted anything to do with me! Then no one even wanted me in the damn house! I ended up sleeping outside because of her! I ended up HERE because of HER!' He mentally raged inside his head, with the group of scale like folk waiting patiently for his answer. 'How could I ever forgive her for it? Why would I ever forgive her for it!?' His face was red as his anger built up the more he thought about it, but then...it started to fade. '...because she's my sister...I mean, I'm no saint myself. I've screwed up my fair share of times, sometimes majorly, but my sisters forgave me every time.' He slowly looked up at the golden judger of decisions. "I would forgive my sister...eventually." He answered. "For what she did, it would take me time to fully forgive her...but I would still do it."

"So you say. Let us consult the balance of truth. Judgement..." The giant judge declared before he started to spin. His sheer size, weight and power was enough to shake the entire room, causing some of the workers to fall from their workplaces and a few of the sign and heart objects fell to the ground and shattered. The four other Judgement Boys soon joined in as they swung and shook in the turmoil "...NOW!". Just then, Judgement Boy Gold suddenly came to a stop, the giant heart falling from its cage, putting a hole in the floor. Once he had finished, JB one had stopped, and also dropped the glowing pink heart, causing it to shatter on the hard floor. The same happened with two and three. The one son had a feeling he knew what that meant, watching as the fourth of the Judgement Boys came to a stop. Just as the cage holding the crystalline heart opened, Lincoln sprang forward and, with a dive and a slide, caught the glowing pink heart before it could break against the ground.

"You refuse to forgive your sister." The jumbo sized golden judge stated, his grin never faltering. "No one blames you for it. They don't forgive her either. As a result, your sister falls into a deep depression. One she will never recover. It was your choice. YOU have to live with it." He told the human boy with a hint of finality in his tone.

"No." Lincoln replied, which caused the four lookalike JB's to gasp in shock. "No. You're wrong. I would forgive her. Just not immediately."

"The balance of truth is never wrong." The gilded living scale creature explained.

"It's one thing if you're judging a decision of the past. However, this is a decision of the future, and the future isn't set in stone." Lincoln responded with a frown, holding the glowing heart in his hands. The giant being's golden grin grew slightly.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes…" The young man said firmly, tucking the saved object under his arm and storming out of the room, under the ten eyes of the Judgement Boys.

"...He is strong willed." Judgement Boy Gold commented. "Planning to walk his own path. I could see it within him. The question is, however...is his will strong enough to back it up?"

"Hmph. Who does that gold plated goon think he is!?" The one son asked in outrage. He was storming through the corridors of the basement, his temper fueling him like a steam engine. The heart in his hand illuminated his path with a soft pink light, giving him a slightly better idea of where he was going. "Saying I wouldn't forgive Lynn…"

'Well, will you?' A little voice in his head asked him.

"Of course I will." He responded "...not right away, of course, but in time."

'Are you sure about that?' The inner voice inquired, sounding a lot like the Golden Judgement Boy. 'Even when she'll force you to live outside again? When she'll treat you like a leper? Just like the rest of the family…' Lincoln was silent for a moment as he paused in his tracks, looking down at the crystal object in his hand. The light within pulsed somewhat, almost like it were a real beating heart.

"...I'll worry about that when I get there." Lincoln decided, shaking his head. "I can't get too distracted. I have to get out of here." He held the heart out to light the path so he could continue on his way. "I'm glad I managed to save this." He told himself.

"Four hearts broken. One heart saved." The voice of the Frog Fortuneteller rang in his head as the memory of her reading returned to him.

"...wait. Was this what she meant?" He wondered out loud. "A chance encounter...and I ran into Haiku. One heart saved...I saved this...does that mean I'll really join with the forces of evil...?"