Two Sides

"Neko Zombie said someone down here could help me...but can I really trust anyone I meet in this place?...can I even trust him?"

Once more, the one son was a lone wanderer in the dark of Gregory House's basement, with no idea where he was going. However, he was driven by pure determination to keep going (though most of that determination was to prove JB Gold wrong), so on he went. For nearly an hour he strode forth, turning corners, hitting dead ends and retracing his steps. Just when his steam was starting to fade, he found it: another door. Could this be it? He quickly approached the egress, holding the glowing heart up to it. It was labeled 01. A room number. He put the heart away before he knocked, hoping someone was in...and friendly. "Just a minute~" A sing song sort of voice responded. Sounded promising. A few seconds later, a small, angelic dog girl appeared in a soft burst of light. She was carrying a little star wand, had a little halo over her head and wore a pure white dress. "Oh my. A living soul."

"Hello ma'am." Lincoln responded politely. "My name is Lincoln. My friend, Neko Zombie, said you might be able to help me."

"Neko? Goodness, are you trying to escape?" She asked in a tone of great concern. The young man nodded. "Well, if that's what you want, you've come to the right gal." She said with a smile, raising her wand.

"Hold up." Lincoln stopped her, holding up his hands. She paused in the act, looking questioningly at him. "There's a few things I need to take care of before I go. Is there someplace we can meet later?"

"Things you need to take care of? Well, I can't imagine what they could be...but if it's that important, then I guess so. Meet me outside, in the cemetery outside the hotel in about three hours."

"Three hours?"

"I'm meeting with TV Fish in about an hour, so I can watch the soccer matches." She explained to him. "Wonderful game. But that should give you plenty of time to take care of any business you have to upstairs."

"Thank you, miss." Lincoln said with an appreciative smile. "Er...do you happen to know the way out of the basement?"

"Oh. A little lost as well, hmm?" She turned to his right and flicked her magic wand. A ladder leading up faded into existence. "Up you go, Lincoln."

"Thank you again." He said, scaling the ladder like a spider monkey. "See you in three hours."

"See you." She chirped in reply. The moment he was gone, a puff of smoke surrounded her as she made a very drastic change: she turned from an angelic dog into something more fiendish, with a purple flowing gown, bat like wings, and carrying a black pitchfork. "...if you survive. Hehehehe." After about a minute of climb, the one son found himself emerging within the very cemetery the two planned to meet later.

Back at the Loud House, most of the family were trying to relax and go about their day. Given the fact the only one who could do even the slightest thing to help their brother was Lucy, none of them thought there was much point to just standing around Lola and Lana's room like bumps on a log. However, no one really felt like doing anything. Lori was sitting on her bed, her phone on the bedside table beside her, her arms wrapped around her knees. Luan and Leni tried watching tv, but neither were really paying attention. Lynn Sr was working on dinner, but his heart wasn't into cooking. Luna had her guitar out, but she couldn't even bring herself to play a note. The only one who wasn't even trying was Lynn Jr, who was the only one sitting in the same room as the little goth, sitting by her comatose brother. She couldn't bring herself to do anything else, her mind plaguing her with her guilt; and seeing her brother laying almost lifelessly beside her wasn't helping. However, she couldn't pull herself away. A part of her thought she had no right trying to have any kind of fun while her brother's soul is who knows where. 'This is all your fault…' She thought to herself, closing her eyes as she hung her head. 'If you hadn't been so damn selfish, stubborn and stupid, your brother wouldn't be practically dead…' Tears started to leak out from her eyelids. 'Lincoln, if you ever come back, I swear I'll never force you to come to one of my games again...I'll never force you to play sports with me...to fight and wrestle with me...hell, I'd give up all sports if it'd bring you back…' She was about to start sobbing again, but her chance to cry was interrupted by the sound of soft static. It snapped Lynn out of her thoughts and Lucy out of her focus. Her crystal ball seemed to be getting a picture.

"...something's happening…" Lucy said weakly. She had been focusing on trying to get a visual on Lincoln for the last hour. To the casual observer, it looked like she was just sitting there and staring at the glass orb. However, she was putting a lot of her spirit into this task, and it was starting to take its toll on her by now. Yet it seemed like the effort was worth it. The static started to fade, before showing an image of the white haired boy emerging from a hole in the ground in a graveyard.

"Lucy! You did it!" The sporty sister exclaimed, smiling brightly. "Everyone! Lucy found Lincoln!" There was a brief stampede up the stairs as the entire Loud family stormed into Lola and Lana's room, crowding around the crystal ball.

"She's right! There he is!" Lori declared, pointing him out as he dusted himself off. He looked in pretty rough shape. His clothes were dirty and torn in places, he had a few visible bruises on him and his hair was a complete mess.

"Dude...he looks like he got into a nasty fight…" Luna said, her concern growing.

"Yeah...but it looks like he won." The little mechanic interjected.

"Sure, but he looks to be in a 'grave' situation now. Hahahaha!" Luan quipped, though she was the only one to laugh. Just then, Lucy started to fall to one side, unable to sit up any longer. Leni gasped and quickly caught her before she could flop on the floor.

"Lucy!?" Their mother gasped.

"...I'm fine…" The young goth said. "Just...just tired."

"Leni, take her to her room so she can rest…"

"But...doesn't she need to keep the crystal on Lincoln?" The little pageant princess asked in concern.

"No...now that I've got a lock on him, the crystal ball will follow him wherever he goes." Lucy explained. "...even if he goes back into Gregory House...in theory."

"That settles it then. Leni." The big hearted teen nodded in reply to her mother before taking Lucy back to her and Lynn's room. The rest of the family (minus Lynn Sr who had to rush back down to avoid burning dinner) stared intently at the sphere. It wasn't much, in essence, but seeing that Lincoln was alright (or at the very least alive), was a major relief to them. It was a step in the right direction.

"Alright…" Lincoln said to himself as he turned his head, the image shifting to show the hotel of lost souls itself. "...just need to get back in there, get Cactus Girl's gun, say my goodbyes, and then I can get out of here."

"D...Did you hear that!?" Lynn Jr asked.

"He's trying to escape from that place!" The oldest sister answered.

"That's a relief…" Rita said, a smile returning to her face for the first time in a while.

"Who's this Cactus Girl?" Lola inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Probably a friend he met." Lana suggested.

"A safe assumption. A nickname, I imagine." Lisa reasoned, stroking her chin.

"Considering what Haiku said about that place, it's nice to know Lincoln can find a friend there." The Loud mother said. Before Lincoln could make a move, they all heard some strange music coming from away from Gregory House. A haunting, classical tune...not an especially good one in Luna's opinion, but still a tune. Unable to curb his curiosity (in spite of how many times it got him in trouble), the one son decided to go check it out. What he didn't notice was that he wasn't the only one heading that way: a small, shadowy shape was following him.