364wii: Really? I thought I had given some nice hints here and there. At least I think the scene with the football team would make people believe that something like that would happen.
Tristen: Would be pretty funny if she tells him. 'Hey, Linky. Turns out that Isaac is a demon I had summoned two years ago. Do you wanna burn down the school with us?' XD
He23t: A lot of things had happened so far to them, and a lot is still to come. Who knows where this all is going.
Before we start. Can I say how disappointed I am that non of you pitied Lynn? I mean, yeah, Isaac's reveal had stolen the show. But man.
Well, anyway. Here is the finale for the third phase.
Disclaimer: The Loud House belongs to Nickelodeon.
Chapter 65
No more secrets Part 2
"My own demonic servant. What I can do with him," says Lucy excitedly about her discovery.
The young goth was alone with Isaac in the Black Coffee. Just minutes ago, she told him her theory that he is a demon she had summoned two years ago.
As Issac had heard that, he looked at her like he wants to attack her to keep it still a secret.
But as she ordered him to stop and kneel down, he obeyed without hesitation.
"With you at my side, nobody will make fun of my family nor me anymore. We will be feared in the whole country. This is the beginning of—"
Isaac couldn't hold back anymore and bursts out in laughter.
"What is so funny? Why are you laughing? Answer me now—Oh, sigh. You made fun of me again."
Lucy was noticeably disappointed as she realized it.
Isaac stands up, holding his stomach, and still laughing. He wipes out a tear. "I'm... I'm sorry, Lucy. But I just couldn't resist."
His laughter finally comes to an end.
"I should have known it. It was too good to be true."
"Hey, come on. I'm really sorry. I didn't want to hurt you. I played along with it because you're really cute when you get so excited."
Lucy blushes deeply but turns around so he wouldn't notice it.
"Maybe Lincoln was right. I should stay away from you."
"No, no, no. Please, I'm sorry. Look, if you really wanna know who I really am, then I'll tell you."
Lucy faces the older boy again. "No tricks and lies again?"
"I swear on my car that I will tell you the whole truth about me."
Lucy raises an eyebrow, which is unnoticed by Isaac since her bangs are in the way. "Why, all of a sudden, are you willing to tell me?"
Isaac sighs, "I have made enough mistakes with you guys. Your brother is really helping me, and I want that things are okay again between us. Plus, I absolutely trust you."
"You trust me? Why?"
"Because you fight for your brother. Remember that day as Lincoln had left my group? You have stood your ground against me. That day, I wouldn't have let Lincoln go that easily. So I wanted to scare you off. But you hadn't flinched, you hadn't stepped back, you stood there, facing me. Not because you had a problem with me or so. No, you wanted to protect your brother because you had seen something that I hadn't."
Lucy looked to the side. "Actually, I was intimidated by you."
"I thought so. That makes you even more impressive. Even with fright in your bones, you were ready to fight for Lincoln. That is why I trust you blindly... my mistress."
"S-stop calling me that," she says, embarrassed.
"So, do you really wanna know who I am?"
"Yes," she answers instantly.
"Good. Then let me first introduce myself properly." He puts one arm in front and the other behind him and bows. "My name... is Isaac Faust."
"Faust?" Lucy tilted her head slightly.
"It is a German name. That is because my dad is from Germany."
"That is why you can speak German."
"Let me tell you a little story. Twenty years ago, a young woman decided to leave the states to study in Germany. Her family wasn't happy with that, but the young woman didn't care. She wanted to live her own life. In this 'new world,' she met an interesting young man. It hadn't needed long for both to fall in love with each other."
"Those two were your parents," realized Lucy out loud.
"Am I telling the story or you?"
"Sorry."
"Those two had fallen in love, and one day, they got a child. They decided later to also get married. Life was great. But all good things will come to an end."
Lucy doesn't like where this is going, but she still was curious. "W-what happened?"
"I was five years old as they wanted to go out. At the same time, has someone thought, driving after drinking isn't that stupid of an idea."
"Oh, no."
"He got away with just a few scratches. But my parents died right there in that car accident."
"Oh, Isaac. I am so sorry for your loss."
"Thank you, Lucy. I had found out that this guy had killed himself afterward. He wasn't able to live with his guilt after someone told him that they had a five-year-old child. That is why I'm such a good driver. I had practiced a lot, to never make the same mistakes."
"I had heard from Luna that you do not drink so much when you know that you still need to drive. But why are you drinking anyway?"
"I hadn't known the guy was drunk until last year. But I don't want to let the past dictate my life. Anyway, my dad had no family except my mom and me. The only other relatives I had were my mother's sister and her husband. So I was sent to her."
"They had sent a five-year-old boy from Germany to America?"
"Yep. Pretty messed up already, don't you think? Bureaucrats." Isaac said the last word with a grudge.
"Now I understand my cards."
"Your cards?"
"I had asked my tarot cards about your past. That was what the death card means."
"Okay. Anyway, there is more shit to come."
"I... I know... I am afraid of the things that had happened to you. But I want to hear it anyway."
"As I said, was the family of my mom not happy with her decision. And after her mother died when my mom was still in Germany, her sister was really angry with her. She always said that my mom would still be alive if she had stayed home. I was a constant reminder of that and other things. Her husband is also a very religious guy, and my aunt is an old-school person."
"An old-school person? What do you mean with that?"
"She thought a woman has to obey her husband. So it was easy for him to form her also in a religious person. Well, a fanatic person would be more accurate."
"This does not sound good."
Isaac laughs. "Oh, you have no idea. I wasn't allowed to speak german, I got punished for every little mistake I had made, and my aunt showed me that I was a bad being."
"A bad being? How can she do something like this to a child?"
"I was made before my parents got married. I'm the child of an American woman and a German man. My aunt also said I had the eyes of my mother, which made her even angrier at me."
"This, this woman is a bad being," says Lucy, a bit angry.
Isaac laughs again, "My words." He sighs. "But things got worst the older I had become. Punishment was their way to get me on the 'right path.' If I said a prayer wrong. When I broke a plate when I had to wash the dishes. Or just came home late. First, it was stuff like getting send into bed without dinner, spanking my butt, or they hit my hands with a stick."
"They hit you with a stick!? What are those peoples!?"
"You haven't heard the worst part yet. I will warn you a last time. What is coming next might be a bit much for you. Are you absolutely sure about that?"
"I am one-hundred percent sure."
Isaac nods. He then takes off his hoodie and lays it on the counter. Lucy gulps hard as she sees the bandages around his forearms. She doesn't want to believe that they mean what they mean. Then he takes off his gloves too.
"Please do not tell me that you—Isaac! W-what are you doing?"
Lucy becomes all red as he lifts his shirt. She can see that he isn't training that much like Lynn, but he definitively is taking care of his body, that's for sure.
He looks at Lucy. "What you'll see now might disturb you. Don't say I didn't warn ya."
He loosens his bandages, and while they fall to the ground, he turns around.
Lucy's eyes widen extremely as she stares at his back in disbelief. If she weren't already pale, she would be it right now.
Slowly she raises her hand and stretches it in his direction like she wants to touch his back.
"W-what have they done to you?"
"Have you ever heard of a cat o' nine tail?"
She pulls her hand back, and after she gasps, she closes her mouth with both hands in shock.
Isaac's entire back was full of scars.
"How could they do something to a child? To their own family?"
"They wanted to prevent me from becoming 'evil.' They wanted to 'save my soul.'"
Another gasp escapes the young girl as she sees the scars on his forearms, signs of several attempts to end his own life.
She swallows heavily and walks towards Isaac. "C-can I t-touch you?"
Without a word, he crouches down.
Another few steps and Lucy lays her hand on his back. She feels all the scars under her palm. She tried to find a spot where, at least, her fingertip wouldn't feel a single scar underneath it, but they were everywhere.
"As I started to become a teenager, they used a whip instead of the stick. I said it, they are very old-fashioned."
"And... and you tried to get away from this all with suicide?"
"Yeah..." He looks at his forearms and strokes with his hand over the scars. "I have tried it so often that I can't count it anymore. And I failed every single time."
"I... I am happy that you failed."
Surprised, Isaac turns around to face Lucy.
"You have done so much for my family. I am thankful for that. And... I... I have... I am glad that we two met each other."
Isaac smiles softly at her. "Me too."
"But... how were they able to hide all those things they did to you?"
"Bad luck. Pure bad luck. The chief doctor of the small hospital they took me to every time I tried to end my life is good friends with my uncle. And he also is extremely religious."
"He had covered those two?"
"He thought what they are doing is right, and my attempt to kill myself was wrong. My uncle and aunt were the good ones, and I'm the bad one."
"And how got you away from all this?"
"With the complete opposite. I got lucky. One day, as I tried it again, was the chief doctor a patient in his own hospital. He had broken his leg on a ski vacation. And a new doctor had looked at me. As soon as he saw all my scars, he wanted to know what was going on. You can understand that I was not trusting him after all that shit. But this guy was so strange."
"What do you mean?"
"He was clearly an adult. I mean, he was a doctor, after all. But he was acting like he was a child, trapped in the body of an adult. He was acting all goofy and so to get my trust. I wasn't sure if he was just crazy or an idiot. Or maybe both. But with his childlike manner, he managed that I opened myself and told him everything. He had reported them, and after that, my aunt and her husband were sent to jail. And the chief doctor had lost his license."
"So you got free from the devil," mumbles Lucy to herself.
"I wouldn't call them devils. They are worse than devils. They are humans. But yeah, I was free. After all the things they had done to me and no one was helping me, I had lost all trust in others. So they tried something new. I was allowed to live on my own when I can prove that I still keep good grades in online school, keep my home clean and in one piece, and stay out of trouble."
"That explains why none of my sisters had seen you in school. You learn over the internet," realizes Lucy. "But what about your car? And how can you afford a home?"
"My aunt, uncle, and the doc had to pay me a very big compensation for all that shit I was going through. With that, I have a nice life. I don't need to work, but here, I can look for others like me."
"You mean people with problems that no one else wants to help?"
"Yes. That's why I want to help Lincoln. To prevent him from becoming like me."
"And that is also why you always are wearing that hoodie, even in summer."
"Right. I don't want that everyone knows. I hate it when they look at me with those pity eyes. I don't need to get treated like a fragile egg."
"Now makes everything sense."
Lucy tells him about her tarot card readings.
"They had told you all that? Wow, pretty accurate for something that's usually vaguer. Anyway, I think your parents are worried enough. Come on, I bring you back to your boyfriend."
"Yes, it is pretty—Wait! My boyfriend? You... you know?"
"Yeah. Lincoln had told me. So I know why you want me to find out about your sister's crush."
"And you are okay with that?"
"Who am I to judge? Love whoever you want. It has nothing to do with me."
Isaac drives her back home. Her parents aren't that amused that Lucy had returned so late, but Isaac tries to prevent her from getting punished. He told them it was his fault and not Lucy's.
The next day, Lincoln shows that he also wasn't amused that his sister had met Isaac again. She tells him that she will explain everything after breakfast.
Lucy gathered all her sisters and Lincoln together in Lori and Leni's room.
"Lucy, I don't understand why you need a meeting to explain why you had met Isaac even after I said you should stay away from him," says Lincoln.
"Why should she stay away from him?" asks Luna, confused.
"Lincoln is angry at him for fighting with Lynn."
"Wait, what? Isaac had beaten up Lynn?"
"Hey, if so, I had beaten him up!" protests Lynn.
"It does not matter. I do not want to see you two split up because of that. You two need each other."
"Lucy, he had hit Lynn! What kind of friend would punch someone's sister!?"
"We talk about Lynn. Every one of us wanted to punch her, at least for once in the face."
"What? Is that true?" asks Lynn, surprised.
"Well, you have to make everything into a competition, and then you rub it into our face when you win," explains Luan.
"Yeah, and you always win," adds Lori, annoyed.
"That's because I'm awesome," says Lynn confidently, for which she quickly got a few angry looks.
"I would never want to hit Lynn."
"Come on, dude. Even you can get angry at her."
"But I still wouldn't hit her."
"Hey, when Linky says he would never hit her then it is so. I believe you, Linky," says Lori while laying her hands on his shoulders.
"Eh, thank you, Lori."
"Could we please focus again? What I have to say is important."
"Sorry, Lucy. Okay, then let us hear what you have to say."
And so, Lucy tells her siblings everything that Isaac had told her last night.
Everyone was shocked by his story, even Lynn.
"Why had they hurt Isaac? Aren't they his family?" asks Lily sadly.
Even if Isaac isn't one of her siblings, was she concerned about him.
Lucy goes to her and lays a hand on her shoulder. "Unfortunately, are not all people nice."
"Some people aren't right in their heads," adds Luna, slightly angry.
"He must be lying again. This is just another of his tricks, right? That can't be true," says Lynn, who refuses to believe it.
"It is true. I had seen his scars."
"Make-up. They're probably fake."
"Lynn. I have felt his scars. They are real."
Lynn lets her head hang. "Geez, now I feel like shi—I mean, I feel like poop. I really screwed this up."
"What do you mean?"
"Isaac didn't want to fight me, so I said that his dad was probably drunk and was beating him, and his mom is going with other guys for money."
"You have done what!? I told him to leave and never come near one of you again, and now you tell me that you said those awful things about his dead parents!?"
"I hadn't known that they're dead!"
"It is no use to cry about spilled milk. Isaac knows that you did not really mean what you said. He is not angry at you. But it would still be good when you apologize to him."
"He told you about it?"
"Yes. He told me on our way back home. He said it himself, he holds no grudge against you for it. He was very impressed by how good you can fight, and he said he had fun."
"Had he said if he wants a rematch?"
"Lynn!"
"What? You don't want to fight me, Stinkin."
"Enough now," says Lori. "Lucy, you said they both need each other. What literally do you mean by that?"
"Isaac had helped Lincoln with his depression, and Lincoln also helps Isaac with his problems. From the first time I met him until now, he has changed. I believe his past is still troubling him. But Lincoln had managed to get him out of his hole. He said that he can not trust others, but he is trusting Lincoln and me."
"Had he really said that? Man, now I feel guilty for sending him away."
"If I may come up with a suggestion?" asks Lisa, who had listened all the time. "Our athletic sister is still in need to give him her apology, so how about we invite him to us. Thanks to my research about the human mind, I can make a profile about him. With that, we can help him too."
"Hm, that sounds like a plan."
"But please, remember why he keeps it a secret."
"So this is decided. Is there something else someone wants to talk about?"
Leni is raising her hand.
"Yes, Leni?"
"Why exactly wanted Lynn to fight Isaac?"
Everyone is looking to Lynn, except for Lincoln, who already knew why and becomes nervous.
"That is literally a good question, Leni. Why had you fight, Lynn?"
"Do I really need a reason for it?" answers Lynn with a shrug.
Lincoln was relieved that she didn't expose him and his sisters.
Lori squinted her eyes at her but decided to let it slip. "All right then. When that's all, I would like to ask you to leave my room. Now!"
"Geez, no need to get loud, Lori."
Everyone is leaving, even Leni. But Lori was holding Lincoln back. "Not you, young man. I need to talk with you."
"Eh, okay."
When everyone left Lori's room, Lucy wanted to take the chance.
"Lynn? Can... can I talk with you? Please."
Lynn stops and thinks about it. Then, she sighs, "All right. Let us go into our room for it."
Lucy was happy that her sister is giving her that chance.
In their room begins Lucy to talk with Lynn. "I want to ask—Eh, what are you doing?"
"Training, duh."
After the talk with Lincoln, had Lynn decide to make one-thousand sit-ups. She did this every day until her muscles burns. It was some sort of self-punishment. She can only forgive herself if she manages the one-thousand because she believed that her brother was a monster.
"Can this wait? This is important."
"Nope. I... already started... so deal with it."
"Sigh. Okay. I want to ask you to finally tell me what I had done to make you angry at me. Because I can not figure it out."
"What... sense would it... make? If you... can't figure out... what you made... wrong, then that means... you didn't see it... as something that is... wrong."
"Could it be that you know?"
"That I know... what?"
"You had a fight with Isaac, you avoid me wherever you can, and you call our brother Stinkin again. You are not only angry at me but of the three of us."
"Even if... I know about... whatever... you're talking about. Do you... think... that that's... the reason... I'm angry... at you?"
"That would be the only thing that you might think is wrong. So, you have to know about us."
Lynn stops. Slightly out of breath, she stands up and faces her sister. "Who is us? What is 'us' doing? Just say it out loud, Lucy!"
"You know about my relationship with Lincoln. Am I right?"
"Yes. I know about you and the others."
"When you are so disgusted by us, why had you not exposed us already?"
"I'm hurt!" shouts Lynn at Lucy. "I thought we're sisters! How could you keep this a secret from me?!"
"I can not just tell you that I am together with Lincoln."
"You could have said something! That you found someone or falling in love, or whatever! We were supposed to be best friends. I thought you wanted me to be part of your life. But you didn't even want to share your happiness with me. You just thought about yourself. You just wanted something truly forbidden to show off for your goth friends. Not caring what you—"
Lynn holds her left cheek. It doesn't hurt, but she was taken by surprise that her own little sister would actually slap her.
Two things made Lynn realize what she had done yet again. The first was that Lucy, even angry about Lynn's words, had hold back as she slapped her. And the second is the tears that emerged from under Lucy's bangs.
"Lu," she says softly. "I'm... I'm so sorry."
Now begins Lynn to cry as well. And without hesitation are the two sisters hugging each other.
"I'm so sorry for everything. I should have never been angry at you for all this. I'm sorry for my mean words and my bad thoughts."
"I'm sorry too, Lynn. I never wanted to hurt you in any way."
The two girls cried for some minutes. It becomes quiet again, but both are still hugging each other.
"Are... are you disgusted by me for being in a relationship with our brother?" asks Lucy carefully.
Lynn only shakes her head. A few days before, she would have said yes. Hesitantly, but still a yes. But not anymore. She doesn't want to look at her siblings in this kind of way anymore.
Both are separating again and sitting down on the edge of Lucy's bed. "Are you jealous of me?"
The young sports-fan was surprised by that question. "N-no... I... It would be wrong."
"You know that I share him with our other sisters. So I would not mind sharing him with you too."
"No. I..." She looks at her sister. "How... how long are you..."
"Somewhere in the middle of summer vacation had I told him how I feel. And since that night, are we a couple."
"I mean, since when are you in love with him?"
"I believe I am in love with Lincoln since I can think. He was always there for me. You know my luck with boys. Silas and Rocky. It never worked well. But Lincoln, I can always count on him."
So if she had found someone else, she would have never dated Lincoln?Does that also apply to the others?
After Lori and Lincoln are alone in her room, she was making sure that no one is eavesdropping.
"So, what do you want from me? Don't tell me you had heard me again doing it."
"Huh? Wha—No!" Lori got all flustered because of Lincoln's statement, but then, a question shoots right through her head. "H-how often are you doing it?"
Lincoln begins to blush too. "I try to keep it at a minimum. But it isn't that easy."
"Are you... are you thinking of me when you..."
"What? No, I would never—It would be totally weird."
"Relax, Linky. We already talked about it. It isn't that surprising when you do it. I mean, you live your entire life stacked close together with so many beautiful girls. I'm not mad at you or disgusted if you think of one of us."
He looked surprised at his oldest sister. "W-what are you talking about, Lori?"
"I say that I would not judge you if you fantasize about your own sisters when you are masturbating. You can tell me. I promise to keep it a secret."
"Do you hear what you say? That stuff is forbidden."
"Anything is allowed in your own fantasy. As long as you keep it in there. And even if you would date one of us, I think it would be okay. I mean, I trust you more than anyone else. With you, I know that Le—I mean, one of our sisters is in good hands."
Does she know? "Why are you telling me that?"
"I have thought a lot. Let's hypothetically say one of us is in love with you. What would you do if they confess to you?"
Man, I'm so confused. Does she know or not. Or is she? No, that can't be. She has Bobby. "I... I don't know. This is a really weird question. I can't imagine that one of you guys would feel that way about me."
"Why not? You're a wonderful boy, respectful, funny, sweet, and so adorable."
"Do you wanna confess to me?"
"I? Oh, no. I'm just curious. I mean, I haven't seen you with another girl since Ronnie."
Lincoln looks sadly on the ground.
"Sorry, Linky. I didn't want to open up old wounds."
"It's... it's okay. I... I already have my hands full with you guys to look for someone new."
"What do you mean?"
"What helps me to keep my mind off of my depression is do be there for you. Helping my sisters wherever I can."
"See? That's what I'm talking about. How can that not be loved about you? But you should think about yourself too. You get to that age where a girlfriend would be very interesting," Lori says and pocks his side with her elbow.
Lincoln laughs, "Stop that, Lori. It's embarrassing."
"You are embarrassed? What should I say about my little brother literally seeing my little boobies?"
Lincoln blushes slightly and scratches the back of his head. "I wouldn't call them little. I think they are good as they are."
"I thought that you think so. I bet you would love to 'accidentally' see them again."
"It really was an accident. Have you hold me here just to embarrass me, or do you want something else?" asks Lincoln and sticks out his tongue playfully.
"Actually, I just wanted to spend some time with my little brother alone. In this house, you haven't that many opportunities for that. And I thought you could need it. Can't let make Isaac all the work to help you."
"That's true. Thank you, Lori. Can I do something for you in return?"
"Hm, well, when you already ask. I would like to get one of your awesome massages."
"No problemo, senorita. Just lay down on your bed, and I'll start."
"Sweet. In my dresser is some massage oil."
"Oil? Do, do you mean you'll take off your, your top?"
"Why suddenly so shy? It isn't anything you hadn't seen yet."
Lincoln gulps and looks in Lori's dresser for the massage oil. He is digging around in there to find it. "I can't find it, Lori."
"Look in Leni's one. Maybe she had switched it up again with one of her hand lotions."
Lincoln looks in the other drawer, "Ah, there it is. I have it, Lo—"
Lincoln was stunned as he sees Lori laying on her stomach on her bed, without her top and bra.
"Come on, Linky. I can't wait."
The white-haired boy swallows a huge log down his throat and tried his best to not getting a boner.
He sits softly on Lori's lower part, puts the oil on his hands, and starts massaging her. Lori let him hear how good it feels.
"You have some magic fingers. Every girl will be literally wax in your hands."
He laughs nervously, "Th-thank you, Lori." Like a mantra he repeats in his head, don't get a boner, don't get a boner, don't get a boner.
Geez, he is so flustered and excited I can already tell from his shaking hands alone. It is so strange to flirt with him, but... it feels so good. More... more than with Bobby. Am I already that much in love with Linky?
Well, looks like I had pranked you all. I have to say, I'm surprised. Would have guessed that someone is already smelling the rat. I think I had given you all enough evidence that Isaac's story could go either way. Since I had come up with the idea, I was so curious if I might trick you guys or not. It was fun and I'm also curious about how you all take it. And also what you all think about Isaac's true backstory. We will go over that a bit more in detail in next week's chapter. As I said last time, it will be a recap and also is there to answer some open questions in case something was not clear enough in my writings for you. So if you have some questions that should be answered by now, just ask them in your review or send me a pm.
As you also can see are we coming to the point where it will be clear if Lori, Leni, Lynn, and Lisa will also join Lincoln's harem or not. But I think you can already guess how this is going.
Before I forget. The doctor that had helped Isaac is inspired by J.D. From Srubs. Just if you might got the feeling he sounds familiar.
Stay tuned and have a great day.
