Chapter 15: Beneath the Pale Moonlight Part 3

Like the wind itself the two children dashed through the gentle blow of the leaves that drifted past them. As with the previous Friday, the streets of Royal Wood's nightly hours echoed with nature's silence. Not a single resident lurked about within the illumination of the neighborhood's lampposts. All that could be seen were the cracks and chips in the pavement of the sidewalk and the dark grey tar of the road. It was almost magical the way that the trees moved alongside the enlarged pathway that the street formed. It may as well still have been daylight out with how brightly the moon above them shown. With each sway of the trees their shadows dance along the hard artificial ground that the kids ran across. It may have been the same street that they'd raced across just hours before, but with their rejuvenated spirits the lifeless streets they ran along felt timeless. It was a new endeavor, a new scenario, a new adventure. But in the back of her mind Lucy felt that she'd lived that scene before and part of her longed for it to stretch on forever, just an infinite dusk-laden path for her and her partner to journey across endlessly. That isolated moonlit street. Just the two of them.

It wasn't long after their house had disappeared that they'd rounded the bend that would lead to the bus stop. It had been just a scratch in their ears when they'd gotten to the end of their block, but by the time they'd hit the the third turn the approaching clunking noise and chug of an engine confirmed it. Looking to each other, Lincoln and Lucy bent their brows and lifted their legs up as high as they could. Their feet plunged more viciously than they had that entire day in their increased speed. But it wasn't enough. They didn't need to make it around the corner to know the status of their ride, but it did allow them the view that they knew would spell their doom. Lincoln was gasping for breath as they made it to the station of the bus while the vehicle shrank into the horizon. He contemplated continuing after it, but it was of no use. He knew that. He knew Lucy knew that. And with how drained his muscles had started to become in the pause that they were easing into after the sight of their fleeing hope, there would have been no way they could've maintained their previous speed, let alone gone above it. It wouldn't have done them any good anyway. Their progress had been admirable, but chasing and catching a bus after the distance it'd put between them? It was impossible. Lincoln let out a pained groan as he slumped into the seat at the station and bounced a bit as Lucy did the same.

"Pant...pant...pant..." she wheezed over and over. Requiring a more proper rest after such a jog, Lucy let her head fall to Lincoln's shoulder where he rubbed the back of it for her. It may not have been much, but it was the comfort he could offer. For minutes they sat there forcing breaths into their recovering lungs. For everything they'd done, everything they'd endured...that'd been it. That one slight delay from Lori or Lynn's bathing or whomever they wanted to attribute the blame to had been enough to yank that achievement away from them. As fresh oxygen reached their brains however, they knew who was really at fault. Themselves. If they had just let the others know or had been not as obvious in their sneaking...everything would have gone just fine. But because of their distrust in their other siblings they'd been cost their chance. And even after those that would have killed them only half an hour earlier had done what they could to make amends, that repentance been dashed with the pair's scheming.

"...I guess that's it then..." Lincoln huffed after finally having swamped down enough air. He felt Lucy's hair trickle across his throat as her head slid further downward. Their work truly had fallen through. In the end it hadn't mattered what amounts of preparation they had set up. One slip of the clock was it all it had taken. And Lucy, perhaps deservedly, had been dealt her fate. It mattered not how much her heart may have beat for the boy she'd been after, how much it ached. Should the fates have decided that her destiny lay elsewhere there was little that could be done. But it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. Yes, it was soul-crushingly devastating to meet with the realization that she would never get her try with that gothic dreamboat. It made her veins swell with unbridled despair. But she wasn't alone. Even with the inevitable walk of defeat back to the house that she'd have to take, she'd have one boy by her side at least. She knew he would keep her company in that trek. It may not have been his request to become a part of her operations, but it had been his journey too, and he did care for her. That was obvious. As his sense of support eked back into her, Lucy looked up to him and tilted her head.

"...you look ridiculous with that wig," she commented. Looking to his forehead, Lincoln rolled his eyes.

"Hey, it's done up like how my hair looked when I joined the Morticians Club," he replied, "Besides, didn't want your friends immediately picking up on the act."

"I didn't say you didn't look cute," Lucy smiled. A light blush ran across her lower face as she tugged the object up a bit from his natural hair color. "Just think you look better when it's real," she said a bit more quietly. Blushing himself, Lincoln gave her a shy smirk and rubbed the back of her neck causing her to lay her head against his shoulder again. "...thank you..." she sighed. Her blush intensified as she felt the boy kiss her head and lay his against it, but in an unusual show of content she didn't tingle with nervousness or feel whatever awkwardness that normally remained from the action. No, she...she was fine with it. She'd always gotten happiness from the touch of the intimacy he could give, but normally not without her skin itching in some area response. Now though? She smiled. Smiled and kissed him back on the neck. It may not have been the end they'd been after, but at the least they did have each other...and for what it was worth, that made the defeat easier.

They didn't know how long they sat there waiting. Perhaps it'd been seconds or minutes, but during that time, in the soft blow of the wind, Lucy and Lincoln began to rock back and forth to the hum of a tune in Lincoln's throat.

"Nothing's better..." Lucy said quietly.

"Than the best thing ever..." Lincoln murmured. The two grinned at each other. Lucy should have been mortified. She should have been sinking into an unfathomable depression. She had lost her chance at getting the guy that she'd sought for so long...but for some reason...she was happy. She was enjoying her time. Perhaps it was that she'd not even gotten to see him, but somehow she thought that even if she had...Lincoln might have found a way to quell the loss. "Come on," he prodded as he got to his feet, his hand grabbing her's. She didn't fight the pull at all. Lucy's just followed right into his step. With a bounce to his pace, he brought an arm up and then threw it back down as the other one came up. Catching onto the rhythm, Lucy began to do the same with her shoulders. She was happy no one was around to see the stupid smile on her face. "Just cause we didn't make it to your dance doesn't mean we can't have one ourselves right?" he asked. Lucy gave a cute nod.

As they got into more extravagant motions however, they came to a stop. What had felt like the wind picking up had turned into a whirring gust that blew past them as a mechanized chair sped by. Though at first confused, Lincoln and Lucy shook their heads and looked towards the scooter that had rushed through the street. They exchanged glances a couple of times before taking off after it after Lincoln picked up his downed wig and yanked it back on. For the first moment the same thought had crossed their minds, but they'd assumed it would be a stupid idea. Seeing how fast the thing was getting away from them however, their shared premonition of hitch-hiking didn't seem nearly as foolhardy as it had sounded in their heads. Its capabilities only showed itself further as it seemed to accelerate.

"SCOOTS!" Lincoln cried waving his hands in the air, "HEY SCOOTS! STOP! WE NEED TO TALK TO YOU!" Looking back over her shoulder, the older woman glared.

"Ah shit, it's the fuzz!" she growled recognizing the look of one of the heroes that had stopped her earlier in the week. Something was...different though. Neither child seemed to have any of weaponry with them, and it's not like they had a means to catch her or any had case against her outside of what had been done on Monday. Genuinely curious by the insistence of the meeting that the black-haired boy seemed to be wanting to arrange, Scoots took her foot off the pedal and wheeled over to the side of the road where the two children sluggishly limped over to her gasping for air.

"Whatchu want?" she grunted as she folded her arms, "Scoots ain't done nothin' wrong today...that you saw..."

"We're not saying you did," Lincoln huffed as he slumped onto the handlebars of the vehicle in exhaustion, "we just...look, we...we really need to get somewhere and we missed the bus. You're always driving around. So we were just uh...thinking that...maybe you could...give us a lift?..." The old woman looked at the boy in partial bemusement. The two really did seem to have gone through hell to catch up with her based on their airflow.

"And why, pray tell, should I give one of the brats that got me locked up a ride anywhere?" she questioned looking towards Lucy. Lincoln blinked and lifted his brow.

"One of the brats?" he repeated in an almost offended tone. Intrigued by the questioning, Scoots inched her head closer to the boy on her scooter's basket and looked him top to bottom. Something about him...seemed familiar, but everything he was decked out in was...it wasn't right. Realizing just what was causing the confusion, Lincoln's brow flattened as he lifted up the side of his wig. Almost immediately the old woman jerked her head back.

"Ace Savvy!" she growled, "Get off mah bike you hooligan! You ain't takin' me back to the slammer!"

"Woah woah, Scoots, it's alright we're uh...off the clock," Lincoln said trying to think of a proper analogy for their superheroing personas. Scoots lowered her foot towards her pedal, but her continued interest in the odd conversation held her at her parking space.

"How'd you even get out of jail anyhow?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, did you like get time off for good behavior or something?" Lincoln theorized once he realized the status of their former adversary.

"Scoots got time off for being Scoots," the older woman boasted proudly causing the two kids to give each other an unamused stare, "And on that note, this is Scoots BEING Scoots. Peace fools!"

"No wait! PLEASE!" Lincoln begged throwing himself out in front of the scooter. Not wanting to damage her ride, Scoots jerked to a stop and shook her fist at him in annoyance. "Look, I know this thing can get some speed-"

"You're damn right!"

"I mean you helped me get the others rounded up at the mall that one time with it. Just...you...you won't even know we're there. Just one ride! Come on!" Lincoln continued falling to the ground on his knees with his hands clasped together. Lucy kicked the ground. She didn't care to show relation to any of the siblings that went to such embarrassing lengths, but she reluctantly had to agree with the methods if it made any headway towards their lost cause. And he hadn't given her a reason to lose faith in him yet. Rubbing her chin, Scoots poked her head through the handles of her vehicle and peered down at the young man. She wasn't used to such beseeching.

"Where are you lot off to at this time of night anyhow?" she murmured as the time of day dawned on her. She knew that question could easily be flipped around by whomever would ask it in those hours, but Scoot's didn't have to answer to no one. As if to ask permission, Lincoln looked to Lucy who gave him a shrug after analyzing the old hag. It's not like her knowledge would have any detriment to them.

"Ugh, okay, there's this...dance going on," Lincoln sighed, "We'd FINALLY gotten the chance to get ready and got out of the house, but then the bus pulled away right as we got there. We thought it was all over but then you came by on this, if I might say, sweet ride." Lucy shook her head at how Lincoln tried to sugarcoat Scoots's involvement. The elder seemed more focused on their side of the situation however.

"Ya know...I never pegged you for one of those...what are they called-, "doff" kids," Scoots commented poking at her lip.

"Goth..." Lucy corrected in quiet annoyance.

"I mean how many of them are into comics and Rip Hardcore?" she laughed. Getting an idea, Lincoln smirked before dropping the expression into a dull glower.

"Sigh, yes. Thy heart it swells for Ace and his ventures. And Rip Hardcore, he survives without measure," the boy replied emotionlessly. Lucy grabbed her hands at her midsection from the surprising poetry. Their onlooker however had a bit of a different reaction to the sudden mood-change.

"...well now you definitely ain't going anywhere," Scoots muttered as she slumped back into her seat, "Now beat it kid before-"

"I'll give ya five bucks," Lincoln grumbled as he took out the dollar bill.

"Where'd you munchkins say we were headed?" Scoots grinned as she snatched up the currency. Grinning a bit less enthusiastically to each other, Lincoln and Lucy made their way towards the back of her mobile seat once the boy picked himself up off the ground.


The night air was as calm as ever on that long awaited eve but as the children that had anticipated it for so long pushed on towards their goal their travel became much less so. Realizing what the sound was that was fast approaching it, an oncoming squirrel jumped and darted out of the way of the humming scooter that the odd alliance rode upon. It chittered loudly at the would-be attackers before moving back to its position in the road to continue gnawing on the nut it had found. Lincoln felt the air hiss from his mouth as the scooter he clung to bobbed up and down from one of the cracks that the driver did not seem to mind tearing across. Delicately, Lucy's body bounced against his and the back of Scoot's seat due to the cage that his arms grabbing the headrest in front of her provided. He knew that he couldn't afford to let go. She may have held the seat herself but he knew he had to give as much protection as possible with how fast they were going.

He could only assume Lucy's grip increased as well as the scooter skidded around an upcoming turn and continued its chug in the direction Lucy had been giving. Lincoln hadn't known that the old lady's ride could go so fast. He'd been on it before and that had been surprisingly speedy for the device. But this? It put those instances to shame. He let out a grunt as they hit another crack in the road. His vision didn't need to bounce for the world around him to become a blur. Unless he focused on the buildings or cars that they blazed past that's all they were. Just streaks of color. How anyone, especially someone of Scoots's age, could stay focused while piloting the questionable vehicle was a mystery he did not have the answer for. Hearing another direction from his sister, Lincoln had some time prepare for the next skid they'd make. He could swear he saw sparks fly out from the grinding wheels as they turned. As he felt her arm mash up against his he could tell there was more than just the tension of survival in her constricting tendons.

"I said "right", not "left"," she said to their driver with as much aggravation as her voice would let her.

"Huh?" Scoots mumbled, "Darlin' you gotta speak up."

"Grumbling sigh. It's fine. The next turn up here will-"

"No no, I'm used to this situation. Hang on kids!" Scoots insisted. The number of times she had gone off course from Lucy's navigating had become a bit frustrating, but as the solution to their dilemma presented itself the young passengers almost wished she'd just gone about the normal rerouting method. Completely unprepared for the sudden U-tun, the Loud kids felt their bodies practically fly off the back side of the scooter's seat as they swung around. In their movement, Lincoln could have sworn he'd seen a car just barely glistening under the lamplighting of the road in a nearby hidden driveway. He would have probably worried a bit about the sight of the authoritive colors had he not been doing what he could to hold onto their own vehicle for dear life. The sparks of the skid could not go unnoticed by anyone present in the circle that they spun in. As it shrieked to align itself in the opposite direction, the scooter hummed back to life and dipped a bit towards the ground from the sudden increase in speed.

Scoots may have grinned at the championed technique, but the boy at the back had anything but that expression on his face. Wildly his left arm and leg dangled about in the air current that their path made while the right side of his body stayed clamped to the scooter. But it was slipping, and fast. Lincoln clenched his eyes and strained his jaws in their bite fearing the weightlessness that he was sure to be enveloped by. Just as he was about to blow from his perch though, a paler hand grabbed at his torso and pulled him back. It must have taken some effort to yank him back hard enough for his body to hit Lucy's as hard as it did. It had been enough though. Before his left limbs could bounce back off of their regained footing, he threw his arm forward and clamped it back onto the seat in front of them. It was unbelievable to assume there could be as much relief as he was feeling with the speed at which the strange group was moving, but he did prefer that to the impact he would have surely felt otherwise.

His senses only drowned in further relief as he felt the rough brush of Lucy's back against his front. It may not have been purposeful, but it helped provide some comfort with the potential danger he'd just been pulled out of. Realizing she hadn't made much progress in parting herself from him, Lincoln looked down to see why. The arm she'd used to grab him with was still trying to grab at Scoot's seat. His body may have given her some break from the rushing wind around them, but her limb dangled off to the side beneath his own. Knowing he didn't have the momentum to be flung from the vehicle again, he grabbed her arm and brought it back to the seat himself. For a moment Lucy pulled herself forward with the regained hold on the vehicle's seating, but as Lincoln's arm fell back into place next to her's she smiled. She didn't let go of her hold, but she did allow her body to fall back against his again, though more gently with the full grip she now had. Blushing happily from the thankful expression she gave him over her shoulder, he chanced taking one hand from its rest to put across her stomach. Knowing that she wouldn't be held back by an outstretched arm herself, she put her own hand over his.

"You know, I haven't seen the bus at all..." he commented into her ear. He would have been surprised at the idea that a scooter of all things could catch up with one, but with how fast they'd been going he found the doubts silly in retrospect.

"Snicker. Lincoln, all the goths know where the place is," she told him as she rubbed her head up under his chin, "a bus route is not going to compare to the shortcuts I know." The boy grinned down at her as he nuzzled back. Perhaps the night wasn't as much of a loss as he had thought it would have been. That then begged a different question.

"If you knew a shorter way to go then why didn't we get back home and take Vanzilla?" he asked.

"Ugh, and deal with the others again?" she murmured sliding a tiny bit forward along his still-clamped arm, "First off we'd have had to walk all the way back home, then explain everything, and then mom or dad would probably want to look up directions themselves...it...it just felt like a hassle."

"A hassle?" Lincoln repeated a bit unimpressed, "After all we've been through, one more of those was an issue?" Lincoln smirked from the small smile he saw at the corner of her face. It did sound kind of silly with the way he dismissed it like that.

"Well...ya know...just..." Lucy mumbled. Slowly she slid back up against his body and wrapped her fingers around the ones on his hand at her midsection, "it just seemed like a bit of effort to try and beat the clock with...this just rolled right up in front of us..." Lincoln's viewing became more analytical as Lucy tried to hide her reddened face. "I mean it's not like it would have been a total loss...we were having a dance of our own ya know..." she reminded quietly. Lincoln blushed from the squeeze her hand gave his. He wasn't unnerved by the gesture or the wording, but it was a bit skeptical to him that she hadn't fought harder to continue their mission even if the odds had become so slim. Those odds however shrank to an unprecedented level as glows of red and blue flashed from their rear. Looking back, Lincoln felt his heart sink alongside Lucy's as they spotted the cop car chasing after them that he had noticed during their U-turn. There was more than just their absenteeism at their sought-after event to fear for now.

"Scoots! Pull over! This is the police!" a policewoman yelled through a megaphone.

"Ah crap, it's the actual fuzz!" she growled.

"Gasp! Tremble! Panic!" Lucy rattled off nervously. Lincoln would have given his own phrases of alarm had he not been more focused on the destruction of his hand from how tightly Lucy's had begun to crush it.

"Don't worry kids," the old woman grinned, "When you ride with Scoots you ride for life! Now where'd you say this shin-dig was?"

"Just up ahead and straight after the next right, but-YAHHH!" Lucy directed as her voice became lost in the sudden jerk forward that the scooter somehow was able to make amplifying its already impossible speed. Behind them the sound of the sirens dampened for only a moment before they grew back to their previous frequency. And began to surpass it. Scoots knew it wouldn't be long before the more adept vehicle was able to catch up to her's but she had little worry. It wasn't her first time playing that game, and she knew it wouldn't be her last. With decades of experience on her side, the wild woman grinned ear-to-ear as she bent her body to the side as hard as possible. With the force that she put behind her thrust, her passengers didn't know whether to hang on tighter or let go as the scooter began to fall. Not being fans of the idea of rolling along the hard ground, Lincoln and Lucy opted for the latter but had their doubts over whether or not Scoot's sudden dropping towards the ground had been intentional. As the view of the upcoming turn Lucy had mentioned met with their eyes in the slow turn that their fall was allowing they realized just what the insane lady was attempting to do.

Lincoln and Lucy tightened their grip like boa constrictors as the wheels on the less occupied side of the scooter lifted up and flopped back down onto the ground. With the continued speed Scoots had been building up during the most intense skidding that either child had felt in their journey, they shot forward. The unhampered acceleration snapped through the motorized chair all at once and as the trees and houses along the sides of their visions became nothing more than smeared colors, the two Louds clinging to the back of it lifted off the ground once more. But this time they didn't come back down. Not entirely. Judging by the fading noise behind them, the police car had overshot the sudden turn they'd made. That didn't deter Scoot's speed though. She knew that once the popo was on her tail they didn't let up. It'd only be a matter of time before the vehicle made its reemergence, and sure enough as Lincoln and Lucy managed to drift down enough to make contact with the floor of the scooter again their ears began to pick up the reinvigorated whirl of the sirens. Neither dared to look back towards the approaching glow. They may not have been the most recognizable passengers in their current state, but they didn't want to give the authorities anything to work with should they be drug into whatever mishap Scoots seemed intent on incriminating herself with.

Perhaps more importantly though was the part of the street that was a few yards ahead. Just on the horizon was the bus that they'd missed! And it was stopped. Lincoln had a hard time aligning his eyes well enough with the rush of the objects around him to scrutinize just what the banner next to the parked vehicle displayed, but he was pretty sure what it marked given Lucy's instructions. One final problem remained though, and it was gaining speed on them. Fast. With their destination finally within reach both children threw their heads around in search of a safe way off. The driver however was the one that had that answer. With how often she'd been on the run before she knew just about every type of emergency maneuver there was, and as she spotted some upcoming vegetation she settled the best one she could think of. Even if it wasn't their stop the kids had to be close enough to whatever bizarre event they'd dressed up for to make it there on foot at that point.

"I'm guessin' this is your stop?" she grunted.

"Y-yeah," Lucy replied, "But we're not gonna be able to-"

"I ain't dense kid. You just let go of my seat and get ready," she ordered. Lincoln and Lucy looked at each other in worried disbelief at what they had only hoped they'd heard.

"What?" Lincoln asked, "Why would we do that?! We can't just-"

"I said LET GO!" Scoots barked. Both Louds shared a look of pain as she smashed her body backwards and crunched their fingertips against the back of her seat. Feeling their hands yank away from their support, Scoots grinned and stuck her leg out. In one clean motion she smashed it into the ground next to the scooter causing it to pivot and swing into the opposite direction. As the cop car again went sailing past the evading scooter, the scooter's momentum caught up with the passengers that had been huddled at the back of it and with a snap Lincoln and Lucy were thrown into the air. The bus driver watched as though they saw pigs flying as the boy and girl somersaulted across their view and landed in the bushes next to a tree that marked the bus's dropoff point. Once Scoots had noticed the flurry of leaves that rained down from the impact that her passengers' bodies had made she grinned to herself. She still had it.

The old lady didn't care about the state of the future. She'd seen it all before, and it wasn't like any penitentiary would be holding her for long. She'd gotten her five bucks and had delivered her end of the bargain. That was what mattered. Whatever authorities would try to reprimand her for that she was sure she'd be able to shake them. Cackling gleefully, Scoots tore off back down the street she'd come from. It wasn't until after the cop car had managed to come to a stop and slowly recorrect its course of direction that the bus stop saw any activity from its guests. For a minute or so the area that the kids had landed in remained motionless. Only the bus driver seemed to realize where the two bodies that'd remained unseen to the rest of the world had landed, and with how little movement came from their cover the driver had certainly contemplated checking on it. Just as they'd begun to reach for the door's controls though a vibration seemed to shake the vegetation. Figuring their eyes had simply been seeing things, they reached for the controls again, but stopped as a head popped out from the leaves.

Checking to make sure that there were no stragglers to spot them from where the bus had dropped its passengers off, Lucy looked around quickly followed soon after by her recovering brother. Finding nobody except a few sharp dressed goths at the stone entrance beneath the banner, Lincoln and Lucy nodded to each other and pulled their heads back into the bush. After some rustling the duo emerged from the shrubbery, arm in arm as if they had been walking to the event as normally as anyone that lived nearby would have. Lincoln kept his head straight, but his eyes trailed upwards as they neared the gates leading into the small trail through the woods they'd landed next to. It was hard to make out with how stiff he felt he should keep his head, but out of the top of his eyelids he could see the vertical line that the black and white welcome banner became from his position. He may not have been able to make out every letter in his limited view of it, but he could see enough to tell what he presumed it said.

"The Royal Woods Ball of the Undead," he murmured aloud. Gently, Lucy put her head to his shoulder.

"We've finally made it," she smiled. Smiling back, he put his against her's. The relief they felt was suffocating as they approached the gateway. The previous Friday had been much less refined. Just pale-skinned youths trudging towards some sparsely disclosed location. But this? It felt like a majestic gathering by comparison. Of the few like-dressed people of the night that they did see, they too had clad themselves in more extravagant materials. The upper torso of the more boyish of the participants were garbed in more traditional looking suits that bore some rather Victorian stylings to their linings the girls wore dresses. Catching sight of a rather revealing one, Lincoln hung on the legs of the female a bit longer than his "partner" seemed to care for with the nudge and groan in her throat that she gave him. Lincoln's apologetic grin faded as they finally made it to the entryway.

At either side of the stone pillars holding the gateway stood what seemed to be guards. Each one wearing a top-hat, they looked the couple over seeing if each stipulation for the dressings checked out. The Loud children wore the best stone faces they could, but in their mouths their teeth bit the inner parts of their lips. Their destination was so close that they could taste it. They could literally smell it. The scents of incense and sandalwood drifted from the passageway before them. Were they at home even Lincoln might have been inclined to pick up one of Lucy's book for a flip-through. But here, beneath the gaze of such intimidating gargoyles of bouncers their bones quivered with a nervous worry. Of course it was standard procedure to not show up like they were just going out to some poetry slam, but had they done enough? Were they elegant in their stance and dress? Would the guards hear the crinkle that Lincoln had been feeling in the pantleg of his outfit ever since the previous night?

As the scan of their presentation came to an end one of the goths wordlessly lifted a finger to Lincoln and their hearts sank. They hadn't done enough. All of their time searching for outfits and getting Leni to adjust it properly, it'd been denied. He'd been denied. And without him Lucy had no one to attract her target's affection with. "Sigh..." they said stalely as they slumped their shoulders. As they did though, Lucy noticed something towards the upper left of her vision that had dipped alongside Lincoln's head. A branch. Praying that she'd caught sight of the issue, Lucy looked to the guard again. Sure enough his pointing finger had lowered with the drop of their heads. Of course it hadn't been Leni's error. If there was one thing that she struck gold on it was the assurance of proper attire.

"Oh dear. My beloved, it appears as though you have obtained an unexpected passenger," she said as she plucked the wood from her brother's wig and held it into view, "It must have been from when we were hanging atop the trees with our bats."

"Ah yes, I do remember feeling a prick on the way down," Lincoln confirmed emotionlessly catching onto the excuse, "It was as though death itself had knicked me with his scythe. Sigh. If only I had been so fortunate."

"Do not worry darling, that day shall come," Lucy assured him nuzzling her head against his, "Until that time though I shall keep this to use in the crafting of your coffin. It shall be a grand memento for this night and that of your brief meeting with the hereafter." Giving blank smiles to each other, the siblings turned back to the guards. The one who had been singling the boy out had lowered his arm and with a nod to the couple's seamless interactions the guards put their arms out towards the path they stood before. Lucy and Lincoln held back their grins until they had passed and proceeded down the earthy path to the dance-grounds.

"Sigh, what lucky coffin mates," one of the guards murmured, "Such lifelessness and understanding..."

"Indeed. Their future shall be happy in the bleakness they will share," the other nodded as the distant sounds of police sirens began to fade.


Within the trees and brushes along the outskirts of Royal Woods the normally whispering air bustled with quiet life. Beneath the strung-up lanterns and shape-patterned banderoles, outfits of blacks, grays, and other dark hues walked about in their silent steps. What would have generally been a group sizeable enough to warrant the apprehension of those in the neighborhood across the street from the event instead remained quiet and complacent with their inaudible disturbance. Save for the occasional melody from the violins or pipe organ that'd been set up at the stage that'd been erected at the furthest-most end of the site, not a soul made themselves known with noise. For those that did speak they kept it at a short distance and amongst each other. For those of the community's more estranged and isolated sect, it was a gathering of an unparalleled magnitude. Dreary figures of all shapes and sizes had come from far and wide to partake in the aberrant pleasures. A few of the youngest members had taken to sliding along the streamer-like decorations strung between the trees with batwings they'd constructed while many of the older ones had stuck to the more reserved activity of reading and listening to poetry that they'd been working on.

In the mists of the gathering's fog-covered floor, a girl in a dark purple frilled dress and elaborate collar that extended around the back of her head paced through the crowds in unshown delight. For her the event held more pride than for many of the attendees. She may not have been the lead in its construction, but she had certainly given her fair share of aide to its establishment. And that was to say nothing of the promotion she'd spearheaded from her club the week before. Seeing the volume of participants that had decided to come filled her with swathes of pleasure. The typical lifestyle for their kind echoed waves of isolation and loneliness the likes of which normal inhabitants dared not conceive, but even they enjoyed the increase in numbers. After all, it was better to be lonely together than enduring it alone. The fifth grader may have had her club mates to socialize with, but the unusual amount of conjoined solitary lifestyles provided a bedding of security for the normally fragile souls that congregated within those woods.

And yet the girl felt distanced. It may have been her former lifestyle before she had decided to invest in the drearier side of the community, but her mind ached. Haiku had accompanied the rest of the Morticians Club from Royal Woods Elementary to the event and she did adore them. Their habits. Their complete and utter hopelessness. It was to be respected. But it still felt off. She didn't know whether she should have held out any hope for the younger member or not. After all, the event was far from over, but with how often Lucy had been absent from their own gatherings for the last two weeks it was a telling sign the further along the night got. Haiku didn't care to have come without a date. The fruits of her labor were satisfaction enough to see in action. But she had desired, in some dark crevice of her mind, to see the Morticians Club's other figurehead show up at the event. To see the young goth traipsing stoically through the misty floors that the fog machines around the site provided would have spurred hope of some form in her and would show that Lucy did still value her congenital nature.

"Sigh," Haiku said as she strode through a thick cloud of the smoke that'd been building up towards the center of the area. She admired Lucy. Perhaps that is what hurt the most with her worries. For as long as she'd been a part of the gothic community that younger girl had been there. Helping her. Guiding her. Even if Lucy hadn't noticed it, Haiku had looked up to her in some way. When she'd given up her normal visage she had had some inklings as to the cool dressings and unrequited love that tended to come with the territory, but getting to know the Third Grader had shown a side to that line of thinking that she hadn't even imagined. The dedication that the younger girl had had towards her studies into the paranormal, the passion she had for the finality of life. It was...stunning. And yet she had seemingly been drifting further and further away from her participation in what little openness their kind gave at their school. Haiku knew what it was like to live a more...normal lifestyle having come from one herself, but if she had to see that happen to one with such ardor for their customs it'd be...harrowing.

In the dim illumination that the fogged lights provided, Haiku barely had time to react as the vague shadow that had been approaching her passed by. In the fraction of seconds that she recovered from the near run-in with the boy that passed through the mist she found herself held on the brief stare they gave each other. The light hair, the round face. She knew those features. It wasn't long before the image had passed, but she found herself wearing her pride on her sleeve once more. At least that boy from the last week's Goth Mic Night had shown up. He was likely only there to watch until someone happened to chance upon a dance with him. But he had at least arrived, which was more than could be said for another young goth as far as Haiku had seen. Catching ear of her ilk she turned to head back towards her group. As expected they had all brought dates, either sharing the night between each other or between other ill seen accomplices. But as she approached her face refused to show the startled thankfulness that it so viciously fought to display. As the shapes of the glared setting became more vivid the presence of a couple of new figures could be seen, and ones that the rest of the group seemed to be caught in investing conversations with.

The smaller of the two portrayed the features of the girl she feared would miss out on yet another morbid get-together whereas the person Haiku could only assume was her date was caught up in some debate about the inner workings of one of the Vampires of Melonchalia titles with Borris. As they came within about five feet of the oncoming girl the group seemed to take notice and congregated over to her position where the talks of vampires and authors continued. It took a few seconds for Haiku to break from her smile to Lucy and strike up her own remarks about the surprise of her actually attending something with the group for once, but as the two delved into their own discussion about the oddities of the week and the constant distractions that Lucy had had to endure, she began to take notice of something else. Haiku hadn't had the chance to speak to the boy Lucy had brought with her, but as she looked her "date" over she felt a sense of...familiarity from him.

She knew that that feeling wasn't lost on the others. As Lucy recounted the events of what she could remember of what had happened during school on Monday and her trip into the hellish world that she and Lincoln had been warped to two days prior, Haiku took the time to scan through her other associates. They seemed more than delighted to listen to and give input on what the couple had to say, but of the ones that paid attention to her "date", Haiku knew that those that conversed more adamantly with him had begun to take notice. They couldn't figure out just why it was that he gave off that sense of deja vu, nor did they seem to mind with how knowledgeable and interested he seemed to be with the dreary habits of their kind. In fact Haiku dared to say he would have fit right in with their club at school. But while the other members seemed to brush aside the strange suspicions that tickled the backs of their minds, Haiku continued her focus as she gave responses to Lucy's talks that were just thought-out enough to not be seen as ignorant. And as the boy turned to look and smile at the glimpse he got of her reddening face, Haiku's heart sank. No wonder the boy Lucy had come with had looked like such a catch. Not many could pull off the sharpness that he did.

As the strings of a new piece from one of the violinists began to hum throughout the gathering, the members of Royal Woods Elementary's Moriticians Club bid their best to the newcomers and filed off to spend time conversing with others or enjoying the atmosphere with their own "partners". Having none herself however, Haiku remained at Lucy's side. As Lucy finished up whatever details she'd been reciting of one of the chaotic instances that had held her up earlier in the day, she noticed the line of Haiku's eyesight. It hadn't been shifting from her for a while, but with the absence of their friends it remained on the boy Lucy had brought with her. And it looked...almost...accusing.

"...really?" Haiku muttered putting her hands on her hips as her vision tilted down to the younger girl.

"...what?" Lucy asked genuinely curious.

"What?" Haiku repeated looking back up to her "date". She could tell that some degree of nervousness had begun to worm its way through the boy under her stare, but dear lord did he put on a good facade of disinterest. "If you're gonna do the whole "Forbidden Love" thing, you should at least be woman enough to own up to it," she sighed shaking her head. Giving a blank turn of her head to her "partner", Lucy looked back to Haiku and shrugged again.

"...what are you talking about?" Lucy asked. The boy may have not spent enough time living their mannerisms to fake it under the eyes of a veteran, but Lucy wore her face of confusion with no issue.

"That's your brother," Haiku stated. After giving the boy a good long look Lucy looked back to her and cocked her head.

"...I don't see it," she replied. Haiku gave a frustrated peer to the younger girl and grabbed at the wig covering Lincoln's head. Almost instantly hands from both genders of the pair were at her wrist. From what she had managed to lift up Haiku could make out a couple of strands of white peeking through the blackness that Luna had provided the boy with.

"How did you even get him ready for this?" Haiku grunted as she put her hands on her hips, "if you needed a guy I'm sure we could have found someone. But this? This isn't some poetry slam you just slap eyeliner on for. How's he even know how to talk to the others this well? The amount of time it would have had to have taken to get him ready for this would-..." Haiku's eyes went wide as the realization dawned on her. Clinging tightly to her brother's arm, Lucy huddled next to him under the perturbed glower that the older girl gave to her. "THIS is what you've been missing the club meetings for?" Haiku practically spat, "why would you waste your time training your BROTHER of all people to be a part of this? I thought you'd at least flaunt the immoral relationship. You know the types of points you can get from-"

"Exasperated ugh. Haiku, it's not like that," a stale voice interrupted. Blinking, the purple-cloaked girl looked to the taller Loud. She was used to Lucy's verbal narrations and tone, but from ANY of the rest of her family...the demonstration was...startling. He hadn't missed a beat. The way his voice uttered, the deadpan expression, the lifeless gaze as he spoke. It was all there. All in what Haiku assumed could have only been a matter of weeks, IF that, they had seemingly developed a guise so seamless for Lincoln that he blended into the crowd of Royal Wood's disowned normalcy like he'd been part of their clique for years. For someone that didn't know him they would have never guessed what he had been like at school. What she had SEEN him like at school. There he was excited, boisterous...jovial. But here, under the illuminating moonlight, he drolled out the utterance of the dreary stereotype like any of the rest of them. Whether it be just a mask or a full-fledged metamorphosis that Lincoln had been bestowed with, Haiku was almost jealous of how quickly he had been converted.

"Oh it's not?" she murmured once she'd processed the unexpected informant, "Then what all is this about?" Lincoln looked to Lucy who tilted her head towards the ground. Haiku may have been...a bit justifiably irritated by the revelation of what Lucy had put her efforts towards in exchange for the interactions with her peers, but she was still a confidant. And it's not like their secrecy would be worth much of anything with how late into the game they were.

"Sigh, please forgive me Haiku, but Lincoln here is not my...my..."boyfriend"..." Lucy murmured. The boy gave a sympathetic smile to the fingers that dug into his forearm.

"Then why, pray tell, does he look dressed to steal Griselda's soulless heart?" Haiku inquired.

"Curious hum. Do you think I'd have a shot?" Lincoln asked. He hissed as he felt the imprints of Lucy's nails file into his skin through his coat.

"Sigh," Lucy muttered looking back up to the older girl. She may have had less confliction with telling Haiku of their agenda, but that didn't make her prodding any more tolerable. "We have crafted Lincoln into the creature of the night that he is now as part of our operation," Lucy told her.

"...operation?" Haiku asked. Lincoln nodded as she looked at him.

"There's a certain boy that she became enamored with a few weeks back," he told her, "Based on the footage she was able to collect of him, we were able to deduce that he only has eyes for that which he can not have since he only watches the girls he likes once they're with another guy."

"Which is why you..." Haiku murmured. Lincoln nodded again. After looking between the two a few times, her eyes settled on Lucy. Haiku's gaze held less temper for her than she'd been displaying, but annoyance still seemed to line her judgement. "That boy at last week's Goth Mic Night that you asked about," she guessed. The hesitant nod Lucy gave confirmed her suspicion. "Well lucky for you he did show up. But..you know...he could just be shy," she suggested, "You could just...talk to him." Feeling Lincoln's arm move against her body in teasing approval, Lucy blushed.

"N-no...it'd...it'd jeopardize..."

"Everything," Lincoln finished. In the glance Haiku spared him she noticed his eyes slide to the side Lucy wasn't on. But he knew the routine, and with how far they'd come he was there. For her. Lucy's face dampened a bit as she felt the comfort of the hand he slid along her back. Haiku may have held some resentment towards the uncovered excuse towards the girl's absences, but she did have some admiration towards their perceived struggle. Just what all the full story of their "training" was would be something that she would likely worm out of Lucy later, but for the time being there was little else to be said. And after the amount of preparation they must have endured to get to where they were who was she to stand in their way, especially with the results they provided for the eyes of the female portion of the gathering?

"We would like to thank you all for coming to the Royal Woods Ball of the Undead," a young male voice called over the loudspeakers that'd been strung up in trees around the event. Lucy and Haiku grinned towards the stage in surprise. Of all the people they could have expected to show up, they hadn't given a thought to the idea that the former leader of their club might make an appearance. "To all the hallowed inhabitants of the night, I would like to offer my sincerest condolences. Your presence is as enchanting as the evening air itself," Bertrand proclaimed. Every time he caught eye of one of his former colleagues his smile widened at them. "I am sure that each and every one of you has been looking forward to this night for a good long while. Well wait no further dear associates of the other world, for the celebrations are here. The blood punch is waiting by the entrance for those that will need refreshments, but for those still pent with energy we hope to ebb it from you as we begin our dance. And so, let us take our positions and start the ritual." With his speech concluded, the former Royal Woods student dropped his head signalling for the light above him to dim as the ones over the makeshift orchestra behind him brightened. The quiet tune strumming from the violin beckoned the couples of the gathering to fall into line at the floor in front of the stage. Catching onto the cues, the brother and sister's hands pressed firmer against their respective holds.

"Sigh, well...if it doesn't work out with your sister, I'll be waiting at the bleachers on the side," a less animus Haiku told Lincoln. He blushed from the wink she gave him, but as she trotted off Lucy turned to puff her cheeks out in her direction. Taking the tightening of his sister's hands around his arm as incentive to start, Lincoln grinned and jerked the arm towards his body pulling Lucy's clinging one to him.

"Alright Luce. You ready?" he smirked, "It's time."

"Y-y-...yeah..." she nodded nervously. Lincoln was surprised to see the anxiousness that she carried, but it was understandable. After all that they'd done to get to the Ball, even in just that day, it was a bit overwhelming to finally be at the doorstep of their objective. But it was their's to seize. And after the weeks they'd been after Lucy's prey they could not let some shot nerves hold them back. They may not have known just where the boy was within the thirty-to-forty attendees around them, but if Haiku said he was there then they had to make a show. Someone of his coveting would surely be watching. After the attention they'd grabbed of his the previous Friday there was no doubt as to his how his interests worked. The only thing left now was to goad his move. Present the unattainable. And then strike. Lucy and Lincoln were sure to take another look around using the eyes in their stilled faces as they moved into position, but found nothing. Nothing but the various other goths clasping their hands to those of their dates around them. There was no more time to search. They would surely continue their scan in the movements they'd make throughout the duration of their engagement, but the abrupt tune of the pipe organ in the background signaled their focused involvement.

Taking note of the other boys that fell to their knees around him as the next chord struck, Lincoln did the same. Having become well versed in the routine over the course of their week of practice, he lifted Lucy's hand towards his and, as if becoming a slave to the hive-like mentality that provoked the same actions from the other males, he pressed his lips to the back of his "date"'s palm. It may have taken seconds, but in those seconds of connection passed a lifetime. As his eyes slid back open Lucy fell into the welcomeness that the pupils that stared up from his downturned face gave to her and she gasped. She didn't say the word or maintain her disinterest. She gave a genuine quiet noise of intimate reverence in those impossible hours that their link passed. Lucy could see every detail. The softness of his face, the freckles on his skin, the deep lust-giving depths of his beckoning eyes. And almost as impossibly as they'd stayed, those hours of analysis slipped back into the reality of time and shrunk back into the second that it took Lincoln to lift back to his feet and place his hands into the appropriate holds against her's.

It was good that Lincoln was there. With how she dwelled on his image, Lucy had become all but incapacitated by whatever trickery her eyes had filtered through to her. She should have been thrilled to see Lincoln pulling off such a hypnotic pull given the role he was supposed to be playing but...in that moment it'd been overpowering...that...allure. Her throat vibrated with intoxication as he gripped her waist and pulled her body up next to his. She hardly even noticed the gentle melody that'd begun to play as their movements joined in the steps of the dreary participants around them. With her hand instinctively clung to his shoulder and the other in his outstretched one to their side she rocked back and forth, her body draping helplessly against his. Lucy knew precisely why Haiku might fancy him. In his normal attire he was not at all a bad looking kid. That'd been obvious from her the reports of that dance he'd ditched to hang out with Ronnie Anne that one time. But with him dreary and doured to the point of gothic-interfacing as he was now? If they hadn't been having to dance Lucy would have just rested her figure against his desirable form.

She smiled as they stepped. It was perfect. HE was perfect. In the ways he moved and talked and...was...he was perfect. And that perfection was the exact tool that they needed, for as the two spun with the rest of the crowd her eyes caught sight of another figure to lust for. Sitting on a set of bleachers to the side of the grounds was him. That light-haired round-faced boy that her mouth had watered for on the previous weeks' Goth Mic Nights. Her prize. Her prey. Her...objective. And he was staring. Right. At. Her. The eye contact broke as the latest twirl completed, but the look hadn't been lost on Lincoln.

"You saw him?" he asked. Drowned beneath the enamoring nature of the situation, Lucy's unhearing attention drifted up to him and stared with a somewhat opened jaw. "Luce?..." Lincoln prodded.

"Huh?" she mumbled to the dreary face before her.

"The boy. Did you see him?" Lincoln asked a bit more loudly in the sidestep their dance took.

"W-wha-y-YES!" she almost choked as she regained her senses. Viciously she shook her head. The brief bout of spaced-out staring had provided a bit of worry as did the speckles of sweat that Lincoln caught on the younger girl's forehead. She shook her head once more as the trembles of her hand died down. The breath she took following that seemed to steady whatever was left of the anxiousness she'd seemed to have paused from. "Yes..." she repeated a bit more slowly, "I...I saw him..."

"We're about to switch," Lincoln told her.

"Hm?" she hummed. Having just barely managed to rejoin the participation she'd been completely thrown off in what phase of the routine they were currently engrossed with.

"Partners. Switching partners," Lincoln whispered, "He's right there, and he is DYING to get to you. All you have to do is keep switching in that direction and tease him enough to get him to join in."

"R-...right..." Lucy gulped. That task on its own was imposing enough, but now...with the grasp of such a reliable partner on her...her body found it even more hard to part with the sharp-dressed catch that she danced with. One way or another though she would have to find the nerve to break from his hold. If nothing else the dance demanded it and, as the beat of the music that was playing directed, every girl split from their mate at the same time to spin into the grip of another boy.

"You got this," Lincoln winked as she twirled out of sight and fell into the hands of another guy. Almost instantly she was torn from her hypnotic spell. The face that she now stared into was nowhere near the caliber of handsomeness of either boy that she had laid eyes on throughout the dance thus far. She had to thank the less handsome visage however, for it helped to reset her thought-process. With the handiwork of she and her sisters' molding out of sight, Lucy now only watched for one of her eyes' pleasantries, and she had drawn nearer to him. It took around half a minute more, but before long she had partaken in another spin that brought her even closer to the bleachers, an act that seemed to perk up the male that she had worked towards so tremendously. In his surprise, the boy fell back a bit in his seating but kept his eyes fixed on the black-haired girl that seemed to be making her way towards him. Lucy couldn't believe it. He was watching. He was waiting. And she was approaching. It was too good to be true...and perhaps it was. After all, even if she did get to him...what then? They'd spend time together no doubt. He had interest in her. That was clear as a moonbeam. But...what did he like? How did he operate? What would be a good place to strike up a conversation? Perhaps it was those questions of uncertainty that prompted the turn in her twirls around the dancefloor. Realizing her retreat, the boy in the bleachers sunk back into his seating sadly as she began to approach the boy that she did understand. Legitimately surprised by her return, Lincoln looked his sister over once she'd fallen back into step with him, but seeing no dissatisfaction on her face he could only assume that she hadn't been rejected by her target.

"Everything go okay?" he asked quietly as they stepped side-to-side.

"Wha?" Lucy murmured, her eyes locked back on his. Furrowing his brows, he pushed his head closer to her's. He was surprised to see her do the same. They were so close that he could taste her breath on his tongue.

"Did you get to him?" Lincoln asked more clearly and directly hoping her neared face would pick up the more precise question.

"Oh!" she coughed as she pulled her red face back, "H-he...sigh, w-what should I say to him?" Lincoln's eyes lifted towards his head in unsurprised dismissal. With how the last Friday had gone it was an irritant to see the stalled opportunity, but not unexpected.

"Just say "Care to join?" or something like that," Lincoln sighed, "Or...don't even say anything. Just stick your hand out towards him. He's all alone there. Not like anyone else is gonna take the hint."

"Sigh, thanks Lincoln. You always know just what to say," Lucy said. His face burned lightly as she placed a kiss on his cheek before becoming caught in the next twirl leaving him with a much taller female.

"Hello," Persephone grinned at her new dance partner. Lincoln gave her a shaky smile as Lucy fell through the clutches of the various other boys blocking her path to the one she was after. Again his face lifted with disbelieving expectancy. And almost as fast though it fell back into its heartrbroken air as the girl that he had been watching redirected her circling. This time when she rejoined her "date", she was a bit surprised to find him somewhat more ruffled than she'd left him but his surprise was much more temporary once he noticed that her reunion with him only meant a further delay in their mission.

"Did someone throw you back around? What happened this time?" Lincoln asked. Lost in her view of the black-clad marvel before her, Lucy simply danced in his hold. If anything she seemed more interested in the state of his somewhat disheveled dressing than she did her pathway to the boy she was after. "Hey Lucy?" Lincoln said snapping his fingers in front of her face, "You home?"

"Bwuh-h-hi Lincoln," she stuttered. Lincoln pursed his lips. It was happening again. The nervousness. Whatever it was that had allowed the boy to get away from them that last Friday was reemerging. Lucy was losing her edge, and if she didn't act it would all be for naught. Again. For the second week in a row, for their FINAL attempt, he would vanish. And that'd be it. It'd be over. And Lincoln did not want that. He may have held a bit of personal anger towards his sister for the victory she'd cost them the last time, but with all that they'd gone through together in that week leading up to the dance another more offensive fear had made itself known. Her despair. For so long, so many years, Lucy had drenched herself in that devouring element and he knew that it wasn't always easy. It was her lifestyle, but he knew anybody wanted to be happy. Over the course of their adventures together he had seen her bestowed with such joy. Such...elation. To those around them the change may have seemed minuscule. Lincoln may have understood her better than most to begin with, but the endeavors they'd worked through together, the...bond they now shared...it allowed him to see every detail to her demeanor. He had seen her happier than she'd ever been throughout their time together. And he did not want her to blow her chance again, for her own sake.

"Lucy, focus," Lincoln ordered. The tightening of his fingers against her's forced her to listen, "This is it. This is what we have been waiting for. I know...I know it's...scary. But are you really going to let that hold you back? He is waiting. Him. The guy you have been after is waiting for you to make the move." Lucy hung her upper lip over her lower one as he dipped his face close to her's. "It's alright. You're not alone. I'm here for you. However it turns out you have me for support," he told her. Shakily she nodded her head, though only half of her was aware enough to hear his plea. He smiled at her and gave her forehead a light tap of assurance with his. "Also you uh...think I might have a shot with...Persephone?..." he murmured quietly. For a brief pause Lucy just stared at him. "Lu-"

"No," she told him flatly, "No you don't." The directness of the girl's reply left Lincoln with a dawdling surprise as she was handed off to the boy in front of him parting her from the comfort she delighted in. In the ring she twirled through this time, it was that lack of companionship that drove her back. Her mind fought its best to keep on track with what she was supposed to be doing, but the weight of Lincoln's absence turned her from her course even faster than before. By the time she was halfway back around she'd completely forgotten just why she'd parted from him in the first place leaving the boy that had been her target sulking from the denial yet again. And for one onlooker it was becoming more than just an annoyance.

Fed up with the continued tease that the boy was being forced to sit through, Haiku slid over next to him and hung her body forward. Seeing the younger girl rejoin her brother for a third time, a growing irritation crawled across the lines of Haiku's forehead. Whether or not the dancing child herself knew the reason she allowed herself to be pulled back, Haiku hardly cared. The knowledge of how her friend had bailed on their gatherings to set up such an elaborate operation as an excuse to indulge in the activities of her unadmitted desires had begun to set in. And deriding of the boy in the stands only furthered Haiku's distaste towards her tactics. She wasn't being fair to him. Or to herself. Fueled by disapproval, Haiku closed her eye.

"Sigh..." she said causing the boy next to her to jump. Haiku may have felt some guilt towards her own ideas, but she knew that it was better than just watching Lucy's ignorance stab at him. After all, even if the boy were to remain suffering the younger girl would still need to dwell on what she truly wanted herself. "You wanna go somewhere else?" she asked the boy. If Lucy wasn't going to make amends to the detriment she was putting him through the least Haiku could do was pick up the slack. Nervously the boy mumbled something as he looked back down to his object of covet and her date as they continued their dances, though with what appeared to be more confliction with each round-trip the girl made to him. He jumped again but less severely as he felt the touch of the girl next to him press against the hand he had clutching the railing in front of him. "I know a good coffee place that's open 24 hours," Haiku told him, "have heard some good poetry there." The boy looked to the girl he'd been waiting for again and sighed as he came to terms with where her interests must lie. Relenting on the distance of another unattainable girl, he squeezed the hand of the one that had allowed him a chance and smiled at her.

As the music began to slow, so too did the movements of the fluid choreographed steps of the couples that had been participating. A few remained mismatched in their pairings, but of the dates that had returned to each other were the Loud kids that had been rather untouched in their synchronization. Their faces however left much to be desired in the compatibility category. While Lucy bounced up and down even with the slowing beat, Lincoln's face contrasted her delighted grin with a sense of annoyance. Irritation. No matter how many times he'd set her up to make her way over to her objective she'd always seemed to find some way to wander back around to him. Half the time she hadn't even seemed to have had an excuse. She just delighted in her steps with him. Lincoln enjoyed a good jig as much as the next Loud, but it was unreasonable for her, of all the siblings, to have found so much fun in the dancing to have completely shoved aside the entire reason for why they had come to the event. To throw away the entire two weeks of trials they'd gone through to get there. Maybe it had been that she didn't want to risk a lesser dance partner with how well she knew his moves, but the reason for her ruining of their scheming hardly mattered. What did matter was what Lincoln knew, and what he did turned his irritation to sorrow.

"A thrilling performance from all of you," Bertrand congratulated from the stage, "This first dance has been tremendous. We shall resume the activities in a short while, but until then please, feel free to satiate your appetites and converse as only the undead would." The lights above the boy dimmed as he vacated his spot to engorge in some sustenance of his own. While most of the couples began to disperse towards other areas of the gathering, Lucy simply stuck herself up next to Lincoln with the grin she'd been wearing during their routine. She truly had been enjoying herself. And while Lincoln was uplifted beyond measure to see her spirits so high, he feared for what that meant for the inevitable repeat of their failure during the week before.

"Lucy...what the hell did you do?" he sighed. Lucy's bemused expression dropped and she looked up to her brother's shaking head. It took her a few moments to register just what had been wrong with the enticing dance they had shared but once the remembrance of the dance's intent dawned on her she tensed her shoulders and tilted her head towards the sky. She didn't know what had come over her. She had wanted to get to the boy they'd been after. She had wanted to dance right over to him and pull him into the fray. She had wanted to so badly...but for some reason that had gotten lost amidst the flurry of enjoyable sensations she'd gotten as she participated with the dance-partner that had arrived with her. Whatever it was about Lincoln, be it his moves, his suit, his...him, she had just retreated straight back to his side, each time. Lucy hadn't been able to keep track of when it had happened, but somewhere in the constant ring-arounds she made to him, she'd completely forgotten the entire reason why they'd come to the dance in the first place. She'd become too wrapped up in the festivities themselves. She had just wanted to enjoy the moment with her assuring "partner". She'd just wanted to enjoy him.

"Embarrassed ughhhh..." Lucy groaned, "Ugh ugh ugh. Lincoln I-...I am SOOOOO sorry. I promise, this next time I am GOING to get him."

"Luce, I'm not sure...you can..." he murmured drawing her face back down to his.

"Of course I can. Don't worry," she told him, "it's just the first dance of the night. I may have blown that one, but there's still more to go. And now that I got the "groove" going, as Luna would say, there's no way he's going to be able to resist my moves."

"He can if he's not here..." Lincoln almost mumbled, unsure of how he should go about refuting the claim. Lucy tilted her head at the words. Beneath her hair her eyes blinked a couple of times and as the intent of the sentence wormed its way through her head she felt her skin begin to crawl. Even with the uncertainty of his tone, the criticizing jest did not sit that well with her given what was at stake.

"Sigh, Lincoln, I know I'm not always the most...dependable when I get carried away on things. I...I can't help if you're um..f-fun to...ahem...bounce around with..." Lucy murmured as she twirled some strands of hair around her finger, "But...but I'm really gonna try this next time. If you see me getting uh...distracted again...just dance us both a little closer to the edge. That way there's less of a chance that I'll-"

"Lucy. He's gone," Lincoln stated. He hadn't wanted to incite any anxiety from the reveal, but with her not acknowledging his previous attempt he had little choice but to rip the band-aid off. Again Lucy blinked at him, but this time her figure jumped once the words had settled. Praying upon prayers that the statement had been nothing more than a cruel joke, she whipped around. And as her head darted too and fro she began to ease into the suspicion that it had been. But that idea shattered as her eyes finally fell upon the figures in the middle of her vision. The boy that she had been after. The one that she had striven so hard to acquire and whom she had helped modify Lincoln so drastically for was leaving. He was walking towards the exit of the event with the hand of another girl's in his. Haiku.

For a spell there was silence. Nothing was able to sift into Lucy's deafened ears. Not even the flicker of the burning candles placed around the setting were able to penetrate the audio shield that had encased the interior of her hearing. There was nothing. Nothing sounded. Nothing felt. It was numbness. The sheer and utter culmination of failure. Had Lucy had a heart it would have stopped beating, and for a moment the burn in her chest made her believe she might actually have had one. But as time passed that burn emanated. It swathed and boiled until it pumped itself through every vein of her being. Her limbs shuddered and her fingers trembled. Beneath the paleness of her skin, a redness bubbled across her face and a vicious deathly scowl dawned it. Haiku had taken the boy she'd been after. The boy that she KNEW she'd been after. And in those seconds...she hated her.

"That...BITCH!" Lucy yelled. The sudden curse caused Lincoln to stumble back a bit. He had begun to approach her to try and rub her shaking back, but the boiled-over fury pushed him away. Deep in Lucy's throat he could hear a hiss. The words and sounds Lucy wished to express became jumbled into a mix of noises that stayed caught in her neck, but the twitches of her mouth and cheeks showed clearly the rage she felt. To Lincoln's fortune, the rest of the crowd had mostly dispersed far enough away to not have taken much notice of the little girl's anger, and those that might have were probably used to the occasional outburst of their type. Even goths could only maintain their cool for so long. And Lucy was losing her's. Knowing she needed more comfort the further in her spite got, Lincoln started his approach again, though more cautiously.

"Sigh, Lucy...I'm sorry. I kept trying to get you to-"

"Shut it Lincoln!" she spat spinning around to glare at him. After all the time they'd spent, all the time SHE had spent readying herself for the fated meeting with that boy, she did not comply with reminders of the stumbles she had taken. Of all people, Lincoln should have known better. He should have understood the anger to be had for having her goal, the whole point of their two weeks of partnership, being ripped away from her. And yet he dared to flaunt it in her face? Initially Lincoln pulled his head back as his lips pressed together in fright at the redirected fuming, but like a disease the anger started to seep into him as well.

"Well if you're going to be a bitch about it yourself, don't do it at me!" he yelled bearing a glare of his own. Lucy was about to expel another bark of her own but as she opened her mouth Lincoln's hurt figure turned and walked off towards the edge of the event. With the way he'd spun and the complete lack of interest towards what her response might have been that he showed, Lucy felt her burn die away. All that was left was sorrow. Hurt. Pain. Regret. Her lips just moments before lined with rage now began to quiver. She'd lost. She'd lost perhaps everything.

"...Lincoln..." her voice croaked as he disappeared into the trees of the woods.


Haiku hummed to herself as she walked. She didn't realize the noise she was making, but her vocal chords strung out a tune in the easing of her actions. It quelled her mind from the ramifications of those decisions. It was best to live in the moment, at least for such occasions. She was the older of the two Morticians Club leaders. She had more sense to her judgement, at least that's what she believed to have been one of the reasons that Bertrand had initially chosen her as his successor. She didn't want to see anybody hurt, but given how the other leader had been acting that night, she knew that that was inevitable. Lucy may have known her way around a coffin like no other, but she was young and her actions could be...selfish...reckless. She still had quite a bit of maturing to do when it came to the inner workings of her motives. And by the looks of it, the boy she'd been teasing had suffered enough under his own obsession without the younger girl drawing even more of that from him. Lucy would make a fine mate of her own once she understood more of what she herself desired as she matured, but with the type of pain that Haiku knew that Lucy's thoughtless pursuits could cause she didn't care to see another person antagonized by the other girl's selfishness.

Haiku's eyelid lifted in surprise as she heard the tune that had been playing from her throat. Once she had realized what she'd been doing she'd stopped, but the hum that had drawn her attention to it had not. Having heard that song on the radio as well, the boy she held the hand of continued the track that'd been calming her mind until her vocals joined back in.

"And nothing's better than the best thing ever," she said quietly falling against him. The light-haired boy blushed hotly at the unfamiliar contact, but smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist. Haiku might not have turned her nose up to a dance with the male Loud, but his look-a-like that Lucy had been after was no slouch himself when it came to looks. Besides, Lucy needed her "date" more than she did.


The breeze that had been blowing across the town had died down as the night had gone on. What had once been a pleasant current weaving through the houses and outcroppings of the township had fallen silent beneath the rising moon. And while that did provide easier traveling conditions, it also brought with it an uncanny quietness. The ears of the body who's feet ventured through the woods along the outskirts of Royal Woods caught every crunch of leaves and every snap of the branches beneath the footfalls they trekked through. The silence of the trees around them seemed almost fitting, and on another night it may have actually provided some levity with the haunting atmosphere it could provide, but on that night it only drove home the hopelessness of their nature. It was soul crushing...empty. It haunted, but for a reason other than the vapid creepiness that the individual normally drenched themselves in. Not even a hoot of an owl sounded as they made their way through the silent woods. They were alone. Completely alone. And perhaps...they deserved it.

But she craved companionship. She'd tasted its delight. And after the feelings they'd been allowed to experience with their partnership, she did what she could to try and find a straw to grasp at. Guilt tearing at her heart, Lucy moved breathlessly through the vegetation. The Royal Woods Ball of the Undead had vanished from sight with how far she'd wandered into those woods but she had found little sign of the boy that she'd been looking for. All she could make out was the occasional snapped branch along the side of a tree or some brushed-aside leaves. It was enough to keep her on her path, but it hardly showed her signs of the boy she'd been after. Had she cared she may have been surprised to see some of the formations of the paths she came across to be somewhat familiar, but it wasn't until she got to the main one that she was forced to take notice. Once she had taken into account the structure of the main passage that she stumbled into it didn't take that much to pinpoint just where she was in relation to where the event she and Lincoln had arrived at was taking place. Nor was it much of a leap in logic to figure where the person she'd been following must have wandered off to.

With how brightly-lit the trails of Tall Timbers Park were under the celestial body drifting in the sky above it did not take Lucy long to find her way to the makeshift path that led to the ill-talked of hideout that her brother and his friend had claimed for themselves years prior. She may have been near-nonunderstanding at the point of its finding, but the structure was barely a secret to someone that overheard the others so often in her sneaking through the underbelly of their house. Having not been as familiar as he with the territory as her brother, it took a few more minutes than she had hoped for but eventually Lucy did manage to stumble her way into the presence of the large boulder that blocked the cave she'd been searching for. As expected from within shone a few flickers of illumination. With her smaller frame and the contorting her body was used to from the passageways she regularly crawled through it was a non-issue to worm her way through the crack of an entrance that the boulder allowed. When she'd gotten inside though her heart hung heavy. There was nearly no effort needed to look around the small chamber that Clyde and Lincoln had decorated the walls with, but aside from a lit candle on a box that'd been set up, there didn't seem to be any signs of life.

Knowing that the owner couldn't have gone far, Lucy made her way back out into the trails. If the candle was lit she was sure that Lincoln would likely be within range to return and put it out, and sure enough once she had investigated a bit further she found some activity. At first she wasn't sure if she'd heard it correctly, but another splash in the creek that ran nearby prompted her to slip through some of the taller grass along the side of the trail she'd been searching on. Following the steady noise of rocks, she continued past the trees until she made her way to a clearing along the bank that the stream ran beside. And as hoped, there sat a boy dressed in black with a similarly colored wig at his side. Carelessly he took a swig of one of the bottles of soda Lucy had seen on a shelf in the cave before tossing another rock into the water.

From what little she could make out of the side of his face when he'd taken the drink, Lincoln's brow had been heavy and the rhythmic pattern with which he threw his pebbles noted an air of pressure around him. Lucy could hardly move. Having finally found him and with him in such a state she had no idea of how to proceed. Did he hate her? He should have. His face hardly held what could be called sympathy. Would he even want to see her? Perhaps not...but...she'd messed up...again...and he did not deserve to be let off without some disclosure. Even if he didn't want to hear it...even if he spited her for her failure and her subsequent undeserved chastising of his reminded assistance...she needed to speak her piece. She didn't know how long she remained at the tree. It was impossible to tell how time ran as she watched the boy vent his frustrations at the water. All she did know was that it felt like hours that she remained stationed at the base of the trees she'd climbed through to reach him. In that tense aggravation her legs felt like they were made of lead. But eventually, whether it be in seconds or by sunrise, he would turn. And she preferred to be the one to make herself known.

Lucy was surprised that her emergence didn't elicit some form of fright from the boy with how most typically reacted to her appearance, but she did know he had felt her before she'd made it to his side. The shift in his form had been minuscule as his ears had picked up whatever impossible noise her approach had made, but she had noticed it. The tossing of his latest rock had paused for only the briefest of microseconds, but it'd been enough to be evident to her. Had they been in lighter spirits she would have had to commend him for maintaining his guise so well. The spirits however were anything but light. They wore like anchors around them, threatening to pull them to the ground and expunge their breaths. The strain in that moonlit clearing was heavy enough that Lucy let it pull her down next to him as she dropped to her knees. Getting no response from him, Lucy bit her inner lips as she tried to steady her throat to talk.

"L-Lincoln..." she choked out, "I-...you...si-...SIGH!" Biting down hard, she pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. The unusual loudness of her tone had at least shifted his eyes to her. "I c-can't...I'm stupid! I'm stupid and dumb and deserve to die! I know that! I know you hate me and I deserve whatever you have to say! I shouldn't have yelled at you and I shouldn't have gotten distracted and-and-and-"

"Lucy," Lincoln interrupted. Her lower jaw rocked back and forth against her upper one as her shaky face looked to him. To her shock his expression didn't bear features of contempt, but rather worry. Concern. For her. "I don't hate you," he told her. Lucy stared at him for a moment. And then the birds flew from their nighttime perches in the trees around them. The girl's wailing cry cut through the nighttime air like a knife as she fell against his shoulder sobbing. Any form of emotional expression was alien coming from the monotone goth next to him, but the display of sorrow called for the arm he put around her. Lincoln didn't care how ruined the shoulder of his ruffled coat would become under the tears of the younger girl as long as it helped calm her back to a state of decency. Her weeping faded into sniffs as he rubbed her other side with the hand he ran along her arm.

"W-why?..." Lucy sniffled. Lincoln lifted a brow to her. "Why d-don't you...hate me?...I was...I said-"

"Why should I?" he asked as her head lifted from the shrug his shoulders gave. Before she could return it to its resting spot, Lincoln pulled out a piece of paper from the other side of his body to show the girl. "It's not like you hate me," he said with a light-hearted smirk, "Do ya?" Lucy put her hands to her flushed face at the sight of the picture he held before her. Staring back at her was a drawing. Her drawing. The one that she'd done at school earlier in the week of herself and Lincoln.

"W-where d-did you g-get that?..." she choked, "I p-put that in...in...my...coff...in..." Realizing she'd forgotten to remove it before Lincoln had taken up residence in her sleeping quarters the day before, Lucy lowered her head in embarrassment.

"So that's where I picked it up!" Lincoln exclaimed, "I was about ready to tear the pant-leg of this suit off when I sat down and felt that crinkle in it again. Just had to dig a little deeper than I thought and then this came right out of the back pocket!" Even if Lincoln found some victory in the situation, Lucy proceeded to poke her fingers together nervously.

"Well...I mean...it COULD be a drawing I made," she mumbled, "I-I've done a few throughout my life so it could be...ya know... Lynn's or Luna's or something. I mean I did leave "a" drawing in there but now that I look at it a bit closer I-"

"You really think I can't tell the work of the girl that made me one of my favorite comics?" Lincoln asked pressing his nose up against her's. Blushing from the contact and compliment, Lucy turned her head to the water before them. She'd try to keep her face from the sight, but now instead of Lincoln looking back in her direction it was the face of a black-haired girl with streaks of water dampening the sides of her cheeks. Bringing her knees to her chest again, she lowered her vision into them and let herself fall against her brother as he pulled her huddled figure to him. Their bodies waited before the glint of the moon that reflected against them in the water until what was left of her trembling subsided. In those woods so void of noise and sparkling with night-time light it truly did feel magical once they'd allowed themselves to succumb to the serene scenery they dwelled in.

"I could never hate you..." Lincoln's voice murmured into the body that rested against his, "Get annoyed at you? Yeah. You botched our last chance. But...you're eight. You've still got a ways to go. This is not the end of the world. Yeah, you got mad, and I think I was right to be a bit mad too but...I love you. You love me. That isn't gonna change." Lucy merely blushed at the words as her eyes drifted towards the picture he'd set on the ground between them.

"Lincoln...I'm soooo...sorry..." she apologized as she pressed her face into his neck, "You have to understand, I...I'd never want to hurt you. I just-"

"Got mad," Lincoln reiterated, "Like I said, I get it. I just...I needed to get out of there ya know? That whole week of practice down the drain and then you yelling and...sigh..." The two looked away from each other. They weren't used to tackling a conflict between them so directly. The confiding almost felt...nice. "I didn't want to continue that with my...favorite sister..." he murmured. Lucy blushed as she felt his fingers slip into the spaces between her's. Even after all of that...he still referred to her with such reverence. That placement was not a position to be taken lightly, and with how she'd acted she felt ashamed to be given such an honor. But...she was happy. She wasn't necessarily proud of her standing, but moreso the forgiveness. She may not have deserved it in light of how she'd acted, but she didn't know what she would have done if she had lost him. For the entirety of the previous two weeks Lincoln had become her most reliable and interlocked associate she had ever had...and to her thankfulness he did not seem to want that to change.

"You're...right...I do love you..." Lucy told him, "And that's why I'm sorry. I...I was so worried. I didn't want to...hurt you. I just...just wanted everything to stay the same...that's why I kept coming back to you." Lincoln looked to her curiously. He may have not held as much against her as he had after her failure from the last week, but he wasn't exactly uninterested in hearing an explanation as to why she'd thrown their victory in the garbage that night. "You're just...you get me..." she said as she rocked her chest-locked knees back and forth, "You understand me...better than anybody...ever since I can remember you've always...been there for me...and in these last weeks it's...god it's been so...great. I never...thought I could have so much...fun with somebody...I wanted that boy...but I guess I...wanted the person that knew me...more...I loved every second of that dance. Just like I loved every moment we prepared for it...I guess I just didn't want that to change..."

"Then let's not change," Lincoln suggested. Lucy was surprised by the red smile he held. He hadn't exactly been a fan of how Lucy had sidelined the whole reason they'd gone to the dance, but her endearing explanation for the actions almost made up for it. "I...I've had a ton of fun too," he told her grabbing her hand, "I mean, you've always been fun but...yeah...these last two weeks...they've been something else. I mean everything's gonna drop back to more normal crap after tonight, but...I'll always be more ready to hang with you and stuff from now on ya creepy moppet." Grinning at the playful tease, Lucy lay her head against his shoulder once more. With a content breath, Lincoln picked up a rock and tossed it into the creek. "Yeah...we nearly died in that other world," he sighed happily.

"Not to mention that crocodile trap that The Old Maid had," Lucy reminded. Lincoln gave small cough.

"You uh...remember that?" he smiled sheepishly. Lucy smiled back.

"Not everything but...when you told me the "favorite sister" thing when we were up against Gip it...made some of those memories a bit more clear," she told him, "But yeah...I would have absolutely embraced death there if you hadn't gotten me out. And while that is...tempting...I'd prefer for someone I know to join me in it."

"Well...ya know, that you in the other world set a pretty good example of how to do that..." Lincoln joked. Lucy put a finger to her chin in thought and grinned at him. Rolling his eyes, Lincoln pushed her. Recoiling from the motion, she landed back on his shoulder. He didn't mind though. He was just happy to bask in the reminiscing of their adventures while their eased reflections flowed before them. "You know...the dance was probably far from over when we left..." Lincoln said quietly causing Lucy to look up at him. Noticing the small smile he held, Lucy gave her own and stood up.

"Well...if we hurry we might be able to get one more in...if you want..." she told him holding her hand out. Grinning he grabbed it and let Lucy pull him to his feet.

"Then let's get going...partner..." Lincoln said. With happy smiles, the two headed back into the forest.


As the night had gone on the cars lining the side of the road next to The Royal Woods Ball of the Undead had thinned. Even the portion of the community that so lusciously worshiped the creatures of the night that they strove to be had to sleep and with the hour or so that had progressed, their mortal needs had either forced them to depart for their slumber or those of the older age group had taken to spending more secluded time away from the party in more private sects. The younger boy and girl that had run off into the woods could see clearly the depleting attendees as they made their way back from the normal streets that flowed from Tall Timbers Park. It may have been more riveting to take off into the forest itself for an adventure, but it was much easier to navigate their way back to their previous location by more normal means. As they came to the sight of the two guards that had analyzed them when they'd first arrived, Lucy and Lincoln nodded to them. The older goths may not have remembered them leaving, but recognizing them from before, they did the same as they passed and made their way through the tunnel of trees that led to the dance-grounds.

The scene at the "party" itself held little more promise. With how drained everyone had gotten from the activities in their absence, few participants of the event remained to keep the Loud kids company. Which was fine by them. That made it all the more easy for the two to enjoy the leniency they were allowed in the wasteland of party cups and overturned chairs that some of the staff had taken to cleaning up. One such janitor received quite a shock when Lucy seemingly materialized from the mound of the plastic casings that they were about to brush away leaving him to have another near heart-attack at the sight of her brother who had silently walked up behind him. As the recovering teen retreated from them panting, Lucy and Lincoln grinned to each other. Taking advantage of the spent blood-like punch towards the entrance, the two drizzled the coloring over their heads with some cups and used the dripping fluid to send a few of the remaining attendees into a panic with the emergence of "zombies" that they mimicked as they approached them. It may have driven even more, mostly drunk, participants from the emptying event, but the two kids' enthusiasm only climbed higher.

Most of the remaining time of the festivities continued on like that with the two returned Loud children wrecking whatever joyful havoc they could on the remaining dreary youth. By the time they'd stolen themselves away to a relaxed perch on the strung-up decorations in the trees above, most of those that had been left had filed out until only a handful of goths remained. Not a single one of the Morticians Club members had stayed, save for Lucy herself. Viewing their handiwork, she rested her somewhat tired face against her brother's arm. The faint scent of punch clung to strands of hair at the top of her head even with the thorough washing they'd given their craniums with some water bottles they'd found lying around. Lincoln didn't mind though. It was evidence of their prolonged activities of that night, signs of their enjoyment. And perhaps that is what mattered to them the most. Their time together. With all that they'd put themselves through to get to that point, maybe the boy she had been after hadn't been the motive. As she nuzzled her face into his neck, Lucy enriched herself in the scents she inhaled from the companion they'd crafted for her. Maybe that fellowship had been the motive. Maybe HE had been the motive.

And as they looked down upon the magical dimly lit scene of the Royal Woods Ball of the Undead's remains below she began to settle into the happiness of their triumph. It hadn't been about that boy from Goth Mic Night. It'd been about that bond that she'd so reluctantly desired with someone. A true unfailing dependent that would always be there for her, and she for them. It'd been about him. Lincoln blushed from the touch her lips gave his neck before feeling another nuzzle from her raven-colored hair. Happily he stroked her side. They would have probably remained sitting together in their contentedness for most of the night had a participant from the ground not elicited their involvement. With Bertrand having left with the last of the Morticians Club members to catch up with what he had missed since his time away from the community, a slightly older goth had taken his place in making the announcements.

"For those still remaining, we invite you to one last dance," he called over the loudspeakers, "Please give forth your hearts in this final orchestration." As he bowed, the lights of the stage dimmed to just the beams of those cast on the remaining band-members. As the beckoning starting tunes of the violin sounded out throughout the more vacant grounds of the event, Lincoln pulled Lucy's hand and smiled at her blushing face. Happy to take the offering, she nodded and accompanied Lincoln to the base of the tree where they took off towards the main dance-floor of the gathering. With how few participants had been left and the relaxed nature of the worn band, few dancers felt the need to adhere to the more formal structure of the earlier sessions. Even so, Lincoln insisted on beginning their movements proper with a kiss to the girl's hand, albeit quicker than before. More than eager, Lucy practically threw her body against his as they grabbed their hands together and stepped into the rhythmic sway of their routine.

The steps they took were more clumsy than previously. They no longer had a mission. All that was left was for them to enjoy themselves, and that was what they were doing. Together the boy and girl swung their way throughout the sparse crowd of strangers that littered the grounds, and in that swinging, Lucy pulled the black wig from Lincoln's head. The motion shocked her disguised "date" even as he viewed her smirk.

"Lincoln, none of these people know either of us," she assured him, "And besides...I said I prefer your actual hair..." After giving a shifty eye around the gathered goths in his own scan of the faces around them, he sighed and smiled back. Like jello, Lucy felt her body sink against his as she rested her cheek against his collar. The lingering scents of the "blood" punch mixed with her hair's own odor as it brushed along his nose in the slower swaying they'd taken to displaying. They couldn't have asked for a more content last dance. For the first time in her life Lucy had a partner. A true, actual...companion. She'd had had her brief bouts of affiliates over the years with Haiku's kinship being the most endearing, and she did care for her siblings, but the amity she felt for the boy before her...it had been alien to her less than a month ago. She may have always craved it, but it'd remained at a distance...until now.

Pulling back, Lucy looked up to the smile his half-lidded eyes gave to her. Thinking back on it it was hard to even picture the boy she'd been after. Every time she thought about him her mind tried to put the one she'd come to admire in his place. She had to forcibly make herself remember what the boy at those Goth Mic Night sessions had looked like. She had to give an effort to separate the minuscule distinctions between them until finally that effort became too great. Lincoln's own content simper could tell nothing of the thoughts behind the girl's blank stare. He just assumed that Lucy had put on her default expression of emotionlessness until she eventually broke from her patterned movements. As the pipe organ gave its latest louder expulsion, Lucy's body leaned back a tiny bit. Her body bounced from the bend her knees took and as the note hit its zenith so too did she. At first Lincoln couldn't tell what had happened. He didn't understand what the softness against his lips was.

It may have been the suddenness of the action or the unbelievability of them, but in the amount of seconds that the kiss lasted, his face bled with color as his mind caught up to the lips that pressed against his. His eyes darted around hesitantly. The moral confliction of the unexpected act demanded the panic that his look-around showed. As much as he might want to believe otherwise however, the pressure against his lower-face was not at all unpleasant. It's not like there hadn't been kisses between the family members before...but that one she gave...that wasn't meant for family. And for as perfectly as he might have played the role of her "boyfriend" on that night, no amount of weeks of preparation could have readied him for that. He didn't know if it was his dedication to the role or the insistence of the scene itself, but he found his body appreciating its touch. With the lack of attention given by the other intimate couples he fell into his own admiration in that moment. His mind fought effortlessly against itself as his eyelids closed over their ascending occupants while his head tilted to allow the girl a deeper lock against his mouth.

It may have been foolish. It may have been wrong. But in those moments...it was right.

However long the kiss lingered they didn't know. They didn't care. Delight was their master, and nothing satiated it more than the physicality of their union. But eventually it did come to an end, and when it did every last bit of those feelings flipped for the girl. For a brief fraction of a moment once she had parted her lip's from Lincoln's, Lucy's welling joyfulness clung to her. But the instant that she realized just who it was that she had kissed she recoiled with a gasp. It hadn't been the word. As with her other rare breaks from the verbal statements of her actions that night, she gave a true whole-hearted gasp of shame or shock...or a mixture of both. In her brother's arms she could hardly fall away from him, but her body didn't relent much against the embrace that it fought against her returning senses to remain within.

Lincoln too had shared a look of bewilderment. He had almost questioned if the entire night had been a dream with what had just happened. There'd certainly been enough fantastic moments throughout it to consider that. But it wasn't. That was plain to tell. Recovering from the impermissible act, he eyed the girl before him. She was scared. Confused. Conflicted over whether she should be feeling the happiness that she had. That they had. Looking downwards for a brief moment in thought, Lincoln sighed. Whatever they had done...they'd done it...and they'd meant it. There was no hiding the enjoyment they'd shared. And with the anxiousness on Lucy's face Lincoln knew the assurance she needed. She wasn't alone. Ever. Not with him around. Looking back up to her with a reluctant but warm smile, Lincoln tilted his head forward. Lucy felt her hair stand on end as her own lips were given a rematch by their opponent's. Her eyes locked onto his. She could almost have sworn her hair was invisible with how his pupils looked into her's. Gathering a sense of admittance from the comforting view, Lucy's eyes rolled back up into her closing eyelids as she leaned further into the reignited lip-lock.

Their joined figures rocked slowly to the waning beat beneath the pale moonlight.


Through the darkened streets of Royal Woods a wind had rekindled. It hadn't been of force or by nature, but moreso by vigor. The leaves once blown by the currents of the land now flowed with those of that which dwelled upon it. At such an ungodly hour even the most macabre of the town's residents didn't generally walk the streets. Not for fear of the night but more for lack of action. There was nothing to partake in with the rest of society tucked away in their slumber. Some may have fancied a trip to the community's graveyard, but even then most had reserved themselves for the day ahead. The long-awaited Royal Woods Ball of the Undead had seen a few more passerbys returning to their abodes along the streets, but by the time it had come to its close most were already returned to their destinations. And yet some paths from the concluded event still beat with life.

Like bats on the wind, the two children ran hand in hand across the nightly landscape. They hadn't known at what hour the dance had ended at, nor did they care. In the laughter they gave, time had no meaning. As they did before the dance they dashed through those empty streets of solitude with the moon beaming down on them, only now they had purpose. Understanding. Cutting through a small park Lincoln pulled Lucy up to his pace. Grinning at catching up to him, she grabbed his other hand and pulled him as she spun her body. The two giggled in the twirl they traveled through. They had rarely felt such bemusement, least of all with the dark-clad girl of the household involved. But on that night she danced. She loved. She was happy. Because of him. The blurs of the playsets and trees around them flowed back into their natural shapes as the spinning slowed. As their progress resumed Lucy's feet left the ground. Lincoln hadn't expected the jump she made, but his body worked in tune with her's as she hopped up onto his back.

Grinning mischievously he gave as much effort as he could to continue his speed while she clung to him. After a few dry laughs, Lucy nuzzled her face into his throat and started kissing him along his cheek. The rewarding pecks faltered his acceleration a few degrees, but he kept up the race towards the oncoming barber shop at the exit of the park. With the girl on his back still giving the occasional kiss, Lincoln smiled at an idea that formed in his head. He didn't necessarily want the affection to stop, but it would help him focus on his steps. Falling into the pattern at which Lucy was putting her lips to his cheek, Lincoln thought out the timing of his actions and turned the front of his face to the side as her lips approached again. She bounced back in surprise at the soft surface her lips touched but once she'd realized where they'd connected she gave a him a blushing smile. She slid down from her piggyback ride as Lincoln came to a stop from the exchanged lips. With the more stilled positioning of their feet, Lucy's approach became slower and more calculated. Her lips though yearned for the touch of his.

In the lamp-lit main pathway of the park the two youths connected. More slowly and methodically their mouths pressed at each other. They wanted to feel each other. Know each other. It was about half a minute that their mouths grappled before they began to separate. With the shadows of moths flickering the illumination around them in and out, they stared at each other. The girl hardly gave a reaction as Lincoln slid his hand up to her face and along the side of it. There was a soft utterance of breath from the surprised touch, but hardly anything to indicate denial. Lucy had never...felt someone so close to her before. And with how the "date" had gone, it seemed only deserving to allow such invasion. Giving her one last look of permission, Lincoln lowered his smile and cupped the hand beneath her hair around half of the strands that blocked her upper face from view. He felt a stranglehold on his heart as he moved his fingers, but once he had withdrawn that portion of the veil it welled. Neither he nor Lucy knew what to say. Their words were lost in the undone privacy. For seconds, maybe minutes, he stared into that unknowable sight. But he'd been allowed, and with that admittance she'd given herself to him. Their link...it was something that couldn't be taken back. Quietly their lips touched again. They did so a few more times before retiring their energy.

Returning their focus to the barber shop beyond, they exited the park and made a right once they'd gotten to the building. After their display of affection they'd fallen into a less frantic stride, but once their house had come into sight it became even more relaxed. Even if their jog had slowed their hands still remained locked. Smiling to each other as they got to the steps of their dwelling, Lincoln and Lucy shared one last, somewhat lengthy, kiss. Their hands were still intertwined they approached the door. Based on the darkness of the windows, it'd been safe to assume that the rest of their family had long since vacated to their beds. The opening of the door itself took a bit longer than expected. With all that they had been through that night their bodies needed some time to readjust and prepare for its end. Giddy with contentedness, Lucy and Lincoln smiled at each other and sighed. They may not have achieved what they'd set out to do, but the goal they had reached...it was better. Their affection for each other may not have been able to be shown as prominently afterwards as it was on that night, but they knew they would always be there for each other. No matter what. With that comfort Lincoln grabbed the doorknob and turned it.

As predicted all that greeted the returning children was empty blackness. Neither had expected an immediate visual of just what the living room looked like given what they could see of the house's rooms from the outside. Due to their time in the nightly environment however, their adapted sight focused in on the blinded shapes before them and began sorting through the darkened hues and distance between them quicker than they'd anticipated. Before long Lincoln had come to realize just where the couch and tables and such were stationed as Lucy's veteran nocturnal eyes had seconds prior. One thing that may have helped speed their observations along however might have been the brief glint of light that had filtered its shine across their pupils and splayed shadows ever so lightly across the room from its point. They had no time to deduce just who the figure holding the phone belonged to before it reached for the lamp next to them and pulled the switch on it.

Lincoln and Lucy put their hands up in front of their faces to try and block the blinding light that burned at their vision as the room lit up. In annoyance they rubbed at their dilating optics. The light burned like it would towards the creature of the night that the young goth girl so wished to be. Unlike the effects it might have held for such a creature though, the two children's eyesights did return to them after a number of seconds, though Lucy still scratched at her's. Once she had spared enough annoyance to direct her line of sight, she joined her brother in his more worrisome gaze. Sitting before them on the couch was the eldest sister of the household, and the only one that hadn't helped them prepare for their fated night. She may have put on a smile to welcome them, but her body held just as much of an air of resistance towards them as it had when they'd parted with her. Joined at the side, Lucy and Lincoln squeezed their hands together behind their backs as the older girl got up and walked towards them.

"Well well well..." Lori murmured through her forced expression, "And just where have you two been? I know it's some freak-goth get-together, but you literally stayed out until EVERYONE was in bed. You even outlasted me and dad's midnight movies." Lincoln gulped and took a small step back with the younger sister from the sight of Lori's approaching figure. Lucy may not have shown it, but her own anxiousness had been rising tremendously with each advance of the older girl's legs. Their worry heightened as Lori came to a stop only inches from them and bent over. They would have likely backed up all the way to the front door if that hadn't drawn more unnecessary attention under her accusing watch. To their surprise however, her face dropped into more excited features as her gossiping nature took hold. "So was it fun? Did ya see anybody from school? Was the guy there? Oh, did he see you? You two got him right? I mean you literally had to with how dressed up you were. I was looking through the pictures dad got and you two are just adorable. There's no way that he could have not wanted you looking like that. You should have totally asked Lola for some help in teasing, I know she knows a thing or two-"

Lincoln and Lucy turned to each other and let out a sigh of relief. They couldn't believe the inquiry they were being given with how threateningly the oldest sister's body language had greeted them. As their bodies eased into more comfortable slouches they shot each other brief glimpses and smirks beneath the babbling of Lori's distracted mouth. What she wasn't distracted from though were the markings along the boy's face as they returned the position of their heads to her. Her concentration may have been distanced in the fantasies of the exciting premise of their night that'd she'd reluctantly not stood in the way of, but it was just sharpened enough to take notice of the stains of affection. With which sibling bore the passionate scarring though, her eyes narrowed as her words slowed. Eyeing the slight smudges across Lucy's own lips, Lori bent over and ran her finger along Lincoln's. The kiss marks along his revealed cheek may have been hard to ignore, but the smears of black at his mouth made for a more effective point.

"What...," she muttered as she stood up rubbing the lip-makeup between her fingers and snapping her view over to Lucy, "is...this?..." The only sign of the failing confidence that the two children before her gave was the shrinking of the pupils in their eyes. In their bodies however their organs whirled around each other while the more judgmental demeanor of the older sister began to return. As they had before departing, Lucy and Lincoln's senses picked up on that odd feeling they'd gotten from Lori's "reminder", only now it was accompanied by the steadily climbing glower of persecution that she towered over the perceived culprits with. In their throats, Lincoln and Lucy tested their vocals to try and force words out but kept their mouths shut knowing that a falter in their response would only offer Lori the allowance her authoritative gaze sought.

"...what?" Lucy eventually managed to shrug, "It's a "goth" gathering. Most of the girls have black lipstick. You can't blame me if he got lucky." Lori lifted her brow. The reasoning was impressively coherent under the pressure she gave the two.

"Then what's with yours?" she murmured drawing attention to the mismanaged state of Lucy's own mouth. Blushing, the younger girl tilted her smiling head downwards.

"I didn't say I didn't...get lucky too..." Lucy mumbled. Lincoln blushed a fair amount as she twirled one of the bangs that faced his side with her fingers. Fortunately for him, Lori's focus was fixed on the girl that had made the claim. It lowed back into its former trappings though as she thought over its ramifications.

"So when's your guys' next date then?" she asked. Lincoln was thankful Lucy had her head down. From the angle that it was pointed only he could see the slight squiggle that her mouth became with the further thinking she had to muster.

"...sigh..." she said settling on an answer more in-line with her dreariness, "it twas not to be. He was...incredible...amazing..." Lincoln did his best to keep his airflow consistent so as to stave off any oncoming reaction to the compliments she was giving her "crush". "...more than I could have ever hoped for..." she said squeezing his hand behind their backs, "...but...he...he..." While Lori may have had her suspicions, she couldn't help but let her eyes to grow in the building suspense. "He liked Princess Pony..." she sighed, "It...it just wouldn't have worked out..." Lori blinked a couple of times as she tried to cope with the harrowing revelation.

"Oh...damn, tough break," she sighed, "...sorry Luce...but ya know, you could have always handed him off to Lincoln." Lucy was not spared from the glare he gave but with her excuse presented all she could do was give him an apologetic grin from her downed face.

"Well...perhaps I'll keep that in mind for next time..." Lucy murmured, "Though...he may have his hands full already given how things went...tonight..." Lincoln's glare faded as his face became overtaken by a more questionable fluster. But whatever the meaning behind his "partner"'s words were he didn't have time to sort through them before her eager hands began pulling his towards the stairs. "We really must be getting to bed though. It is rather late, even for me," Lucy excused herself as she proceeded to drag her brother up the steps believing the business with their "welcoming committee" to have been concluded. Lori though did not seem to agree. As she thought through their rushed exit, she turned to see the possible implications that she'd cornered them over once her eyes spotted the link their hands provided between each other. They looked to be as tightly woven as their interactions had ever been throughout the last two weeks even though their "mission" had apparently finished.

"Next time?" Lori repeated dubiously causing the two to slow as they came to the top of the stairs, "This was it. You guys got ready, you went, you scored. Now it's over. No more of..."this"...right?" Lucy and Lincoln looked at the joined appendages that Lori peered at. For the briefest of moments they could feel their grasp slipping away from each other. With tempting grins however, the fingers of the hands coiled back around each other and they smiled back down at the teenager.

"Gasp, but why not?" Lucy asked feigning worry over the persistent divide Lori seemed intent on imparting, "After such a rousing performance how could I not enlist such help elsewhere? Who knows, he might be just good enough to fill that spot himself someday. Isn't that right my wilted rose?"

"Oh no doubt my queen of the night," Lincoln joined in rubbing his nose against that of his "girlfriend", "sigh, if only they who has such years of experience could see the compatibility. I doubt any girl could ever match your romanticizing of the macabre dear sister..." If Lori had been wary of their partnership in the days leading up to the dance she flat out jumped out of her skin at the unexpected affection that the younger Louds at the top of the steps dared to display towards each other. Their nuzzling lasted a good couple of seconds until they were sure that Lori had gotten her fill of the flirtations she found so unnerving. Not wanting to give her time to question the sincerity of their "act", Lucy and Lincoln smirked at each other and fell back into more normal standing positions to face Lori.

"Ha ha. Ha ha. Ha ha," they both said as emotionlessly as possible holding each other with arms that they slid behind their backs.

"Yugh!" Lori's taunt-ridden face blurted at the creepy conjoined finale they gave to their skit. "Don't EVER do that again!" they heard her cry as her shaking form disappeared into the kitchen. Hearing the turn of the knobs at the sink and the splashes of water that Lori tried to calm her face with afterwards Lincoln gave a small chuckle. Decently amused herself, Lucy gave her own statement of the word used to describe the act. Egged on by the unusual habit of his partner he gave a few more and she did the same in the form of her words. And then a few more. And more. And then Lucy stopped using words. Miracles were performed that night with how often she'd broken from her verbal patterns to join in with the actual physical acts of the things she'd normally describe, only this time it wouldn't stop. Unlike with a simple intake of air, Lucy's authentic participation in the joyful act ensured a natural duration of the delighted vocals.

Had it been a week before, Lincoln would have probably stopped in disturbed surprise with how the giggles and eventually full-blown laughter from the normally monotone girl echoed through the upstairs hallway but with all that they'd been through that night it merely served as an exuberant cap to their escapades. He couldn't have been more happy in their shared jeering against their older sibling. Those that didn't find the unbelievable act as delightful however were the heads of the rest of their sisters who began poking out of their rooms to view the strange noises. While most had been safely tucked in their beds, the uninvited rings of joy had warranted proper study. And it...was eerie. Lana and Luan at least had preparation for the shocking occurrence from the Friday before, but even the jokester of the household had to gawk at the stale girl's laughter. As Lincoln and Lucy's cackling died back into chuckling and eventually subsided, they realized the attention they'd drawn as they started to catch their breaths. Silence overtaking the observed pair, Lincoln gave a small cough while Lucy's former mask of dour cloaked its break of excitement.

"Beat it," she growled jabbing a thumb behind her. Immediately the heads of their siblings fled back into their rooms in fright. Once they'd looked the hall over for any other trespassers, Lucy turned back to Lincoln. Her head low, she murmured something under her breath while he kicked the ground nervously. He barely even noticed her hand slip back into his from how aligned their actions had become. In the moments they continued to dawdle in the hallway the thoughts of a discussion crossed their minds a couple of times, but each time one would gather up the effort to speak nothing came out. Their voices just pooled in the backs of their throats as they had initially when they'd been under Lori's condemnatory figure. Now however their lack of pronunciation came from contentness rather than fear. Words weren't needed. They knew each other and what they were thinking. With thankful smiles they clacked their foreheads together and parted. Their jubilant expressions remained fixed on each other as they slipped into their rooms and shut their doors.

-end of chapter-

Dear lord that was a ton of writing. You have no idea how many weeks I spent on this chapter. Hope it was worth it. After all the troubles and mishaps throughout the last two weeks in the story we finally got there. It may have been an excessive buildup, but I'd always planned for this to be essentially how it played out in the end. There may be one more chapter after this, but it's nice to finally have the dance done.