Hello, everybody! Allanarcher777 here again.
Today is, to put it lightly, special. This series here has been collecting dust on the shelves of my archives for far too long. So I decided to add an episode after all this time I spent working on other projects. Not just any episode either, this one connects heavily to the Netflix movie. That's right, we're revisiting Loch Loud. So, if you haven't seen the movie, be cautious of spoilers.
Oh, and I want to thank Matthew Crispin/Wiifan2002 the suggestion of a character that he seemed pretty passionate about when he first pitched the idea. I know it took a long time for them to appear, but I hope it will be worth the wait.
Duck and dodge and push and shove
That's the way they show their love
Raining justice from above
Heroes of the Loud House
Sound Barrier!
Rising up against evil, taking villains on
Lori, Leni Luna, Luan, Lynn and Lincoln
Lucy, Lana and Lola, Lisa and Lily
With each other they discover their destiny
And rise!
SOUND IT OFF!
Duck and dodge and push and shove
That's the way they show their love
Raining justice from above
Heroes of the Loud House
Sound Barrier!
Growing up in Royal Woods, Michigan, a quiet town
They uncover all the power that's been hiding all around
The city needs heroes when there's trouble on the prowl
One brother and ten sisters rise to take the villains out!
Duck and dodge and push and shove
That's the way they show their love
Raining justice from above
Heroes of the Loud House
Sound Barrier!
With Mom and Dad to guide them, together they find their fate
With each adventure, yeah, they've gone from green to great
No matter what the problem, their choice will be the same
They'll stay a family and put the bad guys to shame
Royal Woods' Loud kids throwing down!
Duck and dodge and push and shove
That's the way they show their love
Raining justice from above
Heroes of the Loud House
Sound Barrier!
Episode 12: On Loch down!
[PART 1]
Lincoln whistled a tune to himself as he laced up his shoes while sitting alone on his bed in his room. Just as he finished, he heard some rather excited knocking on his bedroom door. The identity of the one knocking was quickly revealed as he heard Lily call out "Lincoln! Lincoln! You weady yet?" She asked rather impatiently. Lincoln chuckled as he put on his watch.
"Almost, Lily. Besides, Lisa still has to set up the teleporter." He answered. Lincoln then looked towards the audience and smiled. "I bet you're wondering what's going on. Well, it's kind of a long story. Like, 'time frame of a movie' long. So, I'll give you the short version." Lincoln lifted up his mattress and leaned it against the wall to reveal a white board on the underside. He grabbed a marker and started drawing pictures as he continued talking. "A while back, my family took a vacation to Scotland. Specifically, Loch Loud. It turns out we actually had ancestors there that were royalty!" Lincoln paused and looked at the audience with a smirk.
"I know. It was a surprise for us too. We met a bunch of new friends there, including the ghosts of our ancestors, and a dragon that we named Lela. Unfortunately, there was this one lady named Morag. She was kind of… Okay, she was totally evil and tried to kill us all. As heroes, we had to stop her and save the day. Though it was a little difficult since we had to keep our identities a secret and had to limit how much we used our powers. Trust me, it was crazy. Even by our standards!"
Lincoln then placed his mattress back and dusted his hands off. "So, what does this have to do with today? Well, Lisa was able to build a teleporter so we can go back to Loch Loud whenever we want. And guess who was among the lucky few when we drew straws to see who could go first?" On cue, Lincoln pulled out a small brown stick and pointed to himself with it. "Well, I don't want to keep my sisters waiting. Especially Lily, because she really wants to see Lela again." Lincoln opened the door and started to walk out of his room, but was halted as he walked into an invisible wall of sorts. "Hey, what the heck?"
Lincoln looked down and saw Lily focusing her powers to trap Lincoln in a force-field. She began to groan as she pulled the field while walking into the room the young infant shared with Lisa. Inside, Lincoln was released in front of a large hollow gray machine next to Luna, Lucy, and Lana. Next to all of them was Lisa, who was sitting at a control panel. Lily then climbed into the machine and got on all fours, pressing against the floor. "Go! Go! Go!" She squealed excitedly. Luna laughed as she bent down and pat Lily on the head.
"Hold your horses, Lil. Lisa's still getting this thing set up." She reassured. As Luna tapped on Lily's nose, a groan was heard coming from Lana.
"Come on, Lucy! I'll help you dig all the graves you need for your creepy club. Just trade places with me!" She begged. Lucy kept her stoic demeanor and shook her head.
"I apologize Lana, but I must insist on refusing your offer. I really want to catch up with Lucille and our other ancestors. Besides, you lost the straw drawing fair and square." Lucy responded. Lana crossed her arms and began to pout. "We all agreed that some of us would stay behind in case an emergency happened in town."
"But things have been so calm lately, what's the worst that could happen?" Lana's retort was met with perfect timing as everyone's watches began to alert them of an attacking supervillain. Lana in particular became enraged when she saw who it was. "Wait, is that the creep that keeps enslaving animals with his mind?" She growled as she used her watch to turn into Elexa. Lincoln couldn't help but find their shift in priorities a little humorous.
"I take it your fine with staying here?"
"Lola! Luan! Let's go! He is not getting away this time!" Elexa shouted for their other siblings as she left the room. Now by themselves, Lincoln climbed into the teleporter as Lisa continued tapping away at the control panel.
"Alright, I have successfully set the coordinates for your journey. If my calculations are correct, you should be place approximately 10 yards from the castle gates." Lisa proclaimed as she hopped out of her chair and walked towards the four of them. "I would have tried placing you directly in the courtyard, but that might be a bit too alarming for anyone in the wrong spot at the wrong time." The young genius stopped talking and stroked her chin while looking at her family, who started to grow concerned in response. "Weren't we under the agreement that Lynn was to accompany you all on this trip?" She asked.
"Oh yeah. Where is Lynn?" Lincoln asked. He looked around and spotted the jock doing some stretches out in the hallway. "Lynn, aren't you coming to Loch Loud with us?"
"Obviously. But I'm not taking that teleporter. I figured I would just run there. Heck, I'd probably beat you slowpokes there no problem." Lynn gloated. Lisa sighed as she walked over to a drawer in her desk and pulled out a black remote with a big red button.
"Lynn, not only is teleportation more practical, it's far less strenuous." She lectured. Lynn blew a raspberry and crouched like a runner preparing for the starting pistol of a race.
"That's just fancy nerd speak for boring. I'm going to get there my way. See you in Scotland." Without giving her family a second to respond, Lynn took off so quickly she knocked over a table with a vase and sent a few pictures flying off the walls. Seeing the display, only made Luna shake her head in disapproval as Lisa gave her the remote they pulled out.
"Mom and Pop aren't going to be happy to hear she took a running start in the house again." She noted. Luna gazed at the remote in her hand and then glanced at Lisa again. "So whenever we want to go home, we just push this button?" Lisa merely nodded in response. Luna returned the silent answer by showing a horn symbol on her free hand. "Rock on! Next stop: Scotland!" Lisa grinned as she returned to her seat at the controls and hit a few more buttons. The teleporter began to hum and give off a soft blue light. After a few seconds passed, Lisa hit one more button and finalized the process. In one big flash, her brother and three of her sisters had disappeared. Prompting Lisa to chuckle to herself.
"Lisa Loud, you have outdone yourself once again."
…
Meanwhile, in the middle of The North Channel, a large boat sailed across the water. Its hull shined with a black paintjob in the sunlight, except for a white symbol that looked like a dead tree with a squirrel sitting in it. Shuffling across the deck of this ship were a large number of goons dressed in black doing various tasks. One of them whistled as he walked past some of his associates while carrying a box of excavation tools. He suddenly stopped as he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He stopped walking and set the box on the ground, then they reached into their pocket and pulled out their phone. The screen displayed the words 'UNKNOWN CALLER' and a gray silhouette. Shrugging, the man hit answer and put the phone to his ear, being greeted with an authoritative voice.
"Kentzel! What is your status?"
"We are only a few miles from the shore line, Ratatoskr."
"Where is your commanding officer? I haven't been able to contact him." Ratatoskr asked.
"He's busy."
"Busy doing what?" There was a brief silence before Kentzel answered again.
"You can probably guess what he's doing, ma'am."
"Oh for the love of- Get him on the phone!" Ratatoskr barked, causing Kentzel to reel his head back from the sudden shout of his superior. Kentzel proceeded to turn around towards the back of the ship and went over to a large hatch that went below deck. Opening the hatch, he climbed down and went into the cargo hold where he was met with the sight of a peculiar man.
The mysterious figure was dressed like a harlequin clown with blue and red checkerboard outfit on the torso. He wore a blue mask over his eyes, as well as gloves and shoes that where red and blue on alternating sides and a hat that was half red and half blue. The hat had two bells dangling from the top of it like a dangling set of ears behind his head. The peculiar looking clown as standing on one leg on top of a crate while juggling five grenades that were painted purple with yellow stars on them.
The clown looked at the man and let out a laugh. "Hey, hey, Kenny! What's up, buddy?"
"Ringmaster, it's the boss." Kentzel informed. Ringmaster never dropped his smile as he stopped juggling and blew a raspberry. Most of the grenades they were juggling fell to the ground, save for one that he managed to catch. He then leapt off the crate and did a cartwheel towards the grunt, swiping the phone out of Kentzel's hand.
"Thanks pal." Ringmaster then walked away and climbed up to the deck of the ship. Kentzel rolled his eyes and looked into his hand to find that in place of the phone was one of Ringmaster's grenades. With one small detail being that the pin was gone. Kentzel screamed in horror as he threw the explosive out a window into the ocean, where it quickly exploded and sent water flying into the air and drenching the entire ship. Ringmaster laughed psychotically over the events. "AH HA HA HA! Oh, I was so close to killing Kenny." He cheered before putting the phone to his ear. "What's up, Rata tat tat?"
On the other end, Ratatoskr groaned in frustration. "Ringmaster, you've only been a part of Vulcan for a week and you already infuriate me." Ringmaster seemed to ignore his superior's complaint as he started digging in his ear with his pinky finger. "You constantly have been neglecting to keep in contact with me. Do you even remember what your mission is?"
"Pfft, of course I do." Ringmaster countered as he raised his free hand to his face and started counting off his fingers. "We're going to Scotland. And then, um, going to do something important. Probably involving arsony."
"No, you unfocused fool!"
"Ha, I get it. 'Fool'. Because my thing is that I'm a clown." Hearing Ringmaster laugh again caused Ratatoskr to bang her head against something so loudly, the sound was heard over the phone.
"Alright, I'm going to go over your job one more time. And you better make sure to remember it!" Ratatoskr snapped before clearing her throat. "Recently, there has been the confirmed existence of a dragon running rampant in a village in Scotland known as Loch Loud. From my research, both in world news and ancient literature, I have found that the dragons were susceptible to mind control through the use of gems known as Dragon Stones." She explained. Ringmaster snapped his fingers and spoke up.
"Oh, I got it! You want to get a pet dragon using that rock."
"Not exactly." Ratatoskr corrected. "I will admit having a fire breathing reptile in my ranks is tempting. But with my resources, I could easily have my own engineered in a lab. No, I just want the stones." There was a brief pause as the crime lord chuckled. "If the power they possess can enslave something as powerful as a dragon, imagine what else they can be used for? I could alter the polarity to affect other animals, including people. I could use it as the core for a super weapon to threaten the country. I could even siphon its energy like water from a well and sell it to the highest bidder on the black market." Ratatoskr mused.
"Oh, so that's what all the drills and dynamite in the crates are for."
"That's right, Ringmaster. You are to excavate the land for any Dragon Stones you can find. This is a very important mission with a lot on the line. I suggest going to the castle first by burrowing from underneath the ground. Have your men create a distraction by attacking the village while you dig."
"You got it boss man. I mean, boss 'lady'." Ringmaster joked. He was about to hang up, but Ratatoskr spoke up one more time.
"Oh, and Ringmaster?"
"Yeah?"
"If you don't come back with results, we're going to have some very serious problems." With a cold 'click', Ringmaster was left standing idle on the ship's deck with the threat fresh in his mind. He stood at the phone in silence, as if consumed by the endless dial tone.
"Meh." Ringmaster merely shrugged as he threw the device over his shoulder and off the boat. It hit the water with an audible splash and sank to the bottom. "It's always work with that lady. Would it kill her to take a day off and do something fun? I mean, come on, Dairy Land tickets are dirt cheap for someone like her." Ringmaster strut past his subordinates and went to the ship's bow. In the distance, he spotted a harbor along with what appeared to be a town. Ringmaster then began to smile. "Stuff like finding a rock is child's play. If I'm going to do some of her dirty work, I'm going to take my time and have some fun." Ringmaster started laughing, fantasizing about what he would do when he actually made it to Loch Loud.
Unfortunately, he was forcibly removed from his day dream when a sudden wave of water flew up and drenched him. Ringmaster was left stupefied over what transpired. Yet, he quickly shook it off as his smile returned to him. "Good thing I'm wearing my machine washable outfit. Otherwise I'd be in lots of pain and be super embarrassed."
…
Lynn came to a screeching halt in a lush green field. She sat down and took her shoes and socks off. "Ugh, no matter how fast I run across water without my Trackstar outfit, I always get my feet soaking wet." She groaned as she started wringing her socks dry. A set of shadows loomed over her, prompting her to look up and see her brother and sisters staring at her. Luna waved down at her from Luna's arms and giggled.
"Hee hee. Hi, Lynn!"
"What? How did you guys get here before me?" Lynn scrutinized. Lincoln rolled his eyes at the question.
"Lynn. It's a teleporter. You know, like as in 'instant travel'. Now come on, let's go in the castle. I bet Angus is going to be surprised to see us." The white haired Loud said as he bent down and offered Lynn a hand back up. Lynn quickly put her footwear back on and the group made their way to Loch Loud Castle. Eventually, after a minute of walking, they came to the foot of their ancestral home. The glorious white walls of the fortress shined brightly in the sun, the only things separating the Louds from the castles interior being a moat and closed draw bridge. Lucy hummed to herself and crossed her arms.
"The gates are shut. We probably should have called in advance." She mused.
"Well this stinks." Lincoln complained as he kicked a nearby rock. "How do we get inside now?" Lynn snapped her fingers as an idea came to her.
"You could fly over the walls. Or Luna can make a rock staircase for us to climb up." She suggested. Luna shook her head in disapproval.
"No way, brah. If we use our powers like that and someone sees us, we'll be in deep trouble."
"Well I'm open to better ideas." Lynn countered. Just then, the ground began to shake as the sound of thunderous stomps were heard from inside the castle walls. The Louds looked upward to see a long neck with a reptilian head rise up to the sky. It slowly turned to face them and the shadow covering it faded to reveal a large dragon with blueish-green scales and two purple horns. It craned its neck down to the family until it was face to face wit them all with a scowl. The Louds were silent as the dragon started to sniff them a dog investigating something unfamiliar. Its stern expression melted and it began to smile brightly. Their mouth opened and a large purple tongue drooped out to lick Lily across the face.
The toddler laughed happily and hugged the dragon's nose. "LELA! Lily missed you!" She laughed while snuggling the dragon's face. The air then echoed with the sound of rattling chains and turning gears. The Louds looked behind Lela to see the castle gates opening and the draw bridge being lowered to open a path into the courtyard. A man then walked into view from behind the wall. They had fair skin, light brown hair, and a mustache. Their attire consisted of a buttoned-up light brown vest over a cream colored shirt with red and blue stripes. Wrapped around their waist was a plaid kilt. Their legs were adorned with knee high socks that were covered by black shoes. Lastly, there was a golden crown sitting atop his head.
"Lela? What's going on out here, girl?" The man asked in a heavily Scottish accent while looking up at the dragon in question. His gaze then shifted towards the ground and he saw Lincoln and his sisters waving to him. The man took a second to rub his eyes and make sure what he was seeing was real. Once he did, he let out a hearty laugh. "Ha ha! Bless me bagpipes, it's you lot!" While Lily stayed behind and kept hugging Lela, Lincoln and his other sisters walked over to the man.
"Hey Angus! Long time no see." Lincoln greeted with a wave before Angus pulled him into a tight hug.
"Same to you, laddie! Great to see you doing well." Angus released Lincoln from his grip and looked around for a moment. He became slightly confused as he counted the people he saw and realized something was off. "Wait, where's the rest of your family? In fact, how did you even get here? The town would have certainly been calling me if they saw you arrive." Angus questioned.
"Lisa was working on a teleporter." Luna chimed in. "We used it to drop in for a visit. The rest of our folks had things to do, so it's just us." The rocker explained. Angus put a hand to his chin and nodded in understanding. "Can we come in?"
"Of course! I may be the duke, but this is still your castle." Angus replied as he started to lead the Loud siblings across the drawbridge and into the castle gardens. Lela, with Lily still on her face, craned her neck over and placed the toddler over by Lincoln. Once on the ground, Lily laughed and started walking with the group.
"About that…" Lincoln began. "How has life as duke been going for you since we left?" He asked. Angus let out another chuckle before answering.
"It's actually been going swimmingly. I will admit, I was a little nervous being in charge of Loch Loud at first. Though it really wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I did need the occasional pointer here and there, though." Angus said as he led the group towards a door leading in to the castle's main interior. Walking through it, they found themselves in the great hall. The red walls, marble white floor, and empty suits of knight armor surrounded a large staircase leading upstairs. On one of the walls was a family portrait of The Loud's ancestors. Which was a family of thirteen that all looked exactly like The Louds themselves, but in far more elegant clothing and fancier hairstyles.
Luna let out a whistle as she took in the sights. "Still as ritzy as the last time we were here. Even feels a little fancier somehow." The rocker commented. Lynn let out a snort in response.
"Yeah, probably because that fat cow, Morag isn't the caretaker anymore." She laughed as she elbowed Angus in the hip. "Speaking of which, who did you get to replace her after you kicked her to the curb?" Lynn's question wasn't met with a verbal answer. Instead, Angus merely pressed his index fingers together nervously while biting his lower lip.
"Oh, right. I um, forgot to tell you… Oh, curse me kilt." The Scotsman muttered to himself. Lincoln raised an eyebrow, sensing something was wrong. Before he could ask what the problem was however, the sound of footsteps echoed from upstairs, accompanied by a familiar voice with a Scottish accent.
"Angus? Do you know where you put the blasted flashlight?" Everyone looked up the stair case and saw a woman walk into view. And when the Louds saw her, they went slack jawed in utter shock. The woman had skin that was a very light shade of brown, dark brown hair that was really wavy yet tied into a large and poufy bun. She wore a blue dress with a white collar under a green over shirt which did a poor job hiding how large her rear end was, and red boots on her feet. "I don't know where you put that bloody thing. I can't find it anywhere."
"MORAG!?" The woman responded to the sound of Lincoln furiously calling out her name. She looked down at the bottom of the stairs and saw Lincoln glaring at her with an absolutely livid expression. The expression was mutually shared with his sisters, who were far from pleased to see Morag. Lincoln then started stomping up the stairs, prompting Morag to snarl and do the same walking down.
"You have some nerve coming back here, Loud!"
"I have some nerve coming back here? You're the psychopath that tried to run everyone out of Loch Loud!"
"I just wanted some peace and quiet. Is that too much to ask for?"
"No. But that doesn't mean you should try to attempt murder!" As Lincoln and Morag quarreled, they met each other on the middle step and met face to face in a very literal sense. Angus tugged at the collar of his shirt with one hand and approached the pair cautiously.
"Now, now, settle down you two. We can sort this whole mess out." Angus attempt to play peace maker fell on deaf ears as Morag continued.
"Just seeing you here right now reminds me of how you Louds ruined my life in just a few days."
"Like you have the right to play that card you psycho? You should be in prison after your little power trip." Lincoln countered. Morag scoffed and shrugged.
"Perhaps. But if I should be thrown in the slammer, I should have the charges to back it up. Like getting rid of a nyaff or two." The cruel woman threatened as she poked Lincoln in the chest forcefully. "One good shove down this staircase ought' to be a good start." Unbeknownst to Morag, a slight breeze slowly started to pick up and swirl around the two of them as Lincoln curled his hands into fists.
"I'd like to see you try it."
"That is enough!" A voice sternly called out through the great hall. It sounded like Lincoln's own voice, but with a Scottish accent. Everyone looked around to see where the voice was coming from, but stopped as a pair of light blue spirits descended from the ceiling and came to a stop behind Morag. The ghosts were dead ringers for the Lucy and Lincoln look-alikes in the painting on the wall. Lucy ran over to the ghost that looked like her and clasped her hands together.
"Lucille, it's so wonderful to see you again." She cheered in her usual flat tone. Lucille nodded in agreement.
"Indeed it is, my distant cousin. But before we can converse, there is business that needs to be attended to." The ghost turned to Lincoln, with a slight frown on her face. "Lincoln, please temper your rage. I can assure you there is a reason why Morag is still in Loch Loud." Lincoln looked at Lucile, his anger still very clear on his face.
"Then what is it? Why is she here and not in some maximum security prison?" The boy scrutinized, causing his ancestors to float backward a little bit. After a brief moment of silence, Angus took a deep breath and spoke up.
"Lincoln, the castle is her prison." Angus said calmly. The Loud siblings all looked at Loch Loud's duke in confusion. Angus started to walk towards a nearby window and gazed upon the town in the distance. "It all started shortly after your family left. I took it upon myself to find Morag and bring her back from wherever she wound up after the conflict." Angus took a pause and chuckled. "Funny thing, I found her on a small island surrounded by a family of sea lions. Such friendly little lads."
"Stay on topic, Angus. The longer we're in the same room with Morag, the more I want to break her arms." Lynn groaned. Angus quickly cleared his throat and resumed his story.
"Right. Ahem, well, when I brought her back to shore things, got complicated. I was expecting the police to be waiting for us to arrest her. Instead, there was a whole angry mob waiting for us. The townspeople didn't just want Morag in jail. They wanted her executed!" Angus explained.
"Wait a second. I thought Scotland abolished the death penalty centuries ago." Lucy interrupted, causing her siblings to look at her quizzically. "The young morticians club and I research these kind of things to avoid summoning evil spirits on Conjuring Nights." She quickly explained.
"Well, anyways, they were all in unanimous agreement that an exception be made for Morag because of her treason to the crown and endangering Loch Loud's entire population." Angus elaborated. "But despite everything, I just couldn't let them kill her. So, I proposed a compromise to everyone that we all agreed on."
"Compromise? What do you mean by that?" Lincoln scrutinized. Morag gave Lincoln another cold glare and grabbed the sleeve of her shirt.
"This is what he means, you insufferable little brat!" Morag rolled up her sleeve and revealed her arm to the group. Everyone gasped as they saw Morag's bare skin covered in what appeared to be tattoos. They gave an ethereal, green glow that seemed to carry on across the rest of her body. They even seemed to emanate a ghostly mist that flowed off of Morag and dissipate upon reaching the stairs beneath her. Lucy grinned and hummed to herself.
"Incredible."
"Sick tats, lady." Luna added. The remark prompted Morag to snarl and roll her sleeve back up.
"This isn't a tattoo, you uncouth hooligan! It's a curse." She corrected as she glared at the ghostly ancestors of The Loud family. "A curse that your ancestors placed on me. Because of it, I can't leave this infernal palace." Slightly angered by the explanation, Lincoln then turned to Angus and scowled at him.
"That's your compromise? Lock her up here and pretend nothing happened? Angus, she tried to kill all of us, you included!" Lincoln's sisters stepped forward in support of their brother's outrage.
"She humiliated Lincoln in front of everyone!"
"She lied to all of us!"
"Evil runs in her blood."
"She made Lela mean!" The complaints urged the ghost that resembled Lincoln to float down towards his descendants.
"I understand your skepticism. But I personally respect Angus' decision. Besides, we made sure the curse does more than simply confine Morag to the castle." They reassured. Lincoln glanced at his ghostly doppelganger with a raised eyebrow.
"And what would that be? Uh…" Lincoln hesitated as a thought occurred to him. "I don't think we actually learned your name." He admitted in embarrassment.
"Call me Leith." The ghost stated. "As for Morag's curse. As long as this castle stands, she can not leave or bring harm to anyone within its walls. In addition, she must obey the commands of The Duke and anyone in the Loud family bloodline." As Leith finished detailing the curse, Lynn's face lit up.
"Wait. So does that last part include us?" She asked. Leith and Lucille nodded. Lincoln couldn't help but become intrigued with the idea as well when Lynn brought it up. Ultimately, he decided to test it.
"Punch yourself in the face." Lincoln commanded with a neutral tone, unsure of what would happened. As he finished his sentence, a soft green glow briefly surrounded Morag's whole body as her arm moved on its own. Her fist landing dead center with her left eye and causing it to become dark and swollen.
Time seemed to slow down as the gears turned in everyone's heads. Lincoln and Lynn couldn't help but feel their lips curl into very mischievous smiles as Morag's face lost all of its former color, save for her newfound black-eye. Beads of sweat dripping down her cheeks as she realized she was at their complete mercy. Lynn cracked her knuckles as she started to walk past everyone while laughing. "I'm going to the bathroom. I need to take a dump too big to flush. Fortunatley, I know the perfect person to clean it… By HAND!" The clear implications of Lynn's statement made Morag flinch in terror. Angus felt a lump in his throat, but he powered through and swallowed it before grabbing Lynn's shoulder and speaking.
"Um, Morag, I just remembered. Lela's cave needs to be cleaned. Would you be so kind as to take care of that?" He asked politely. Morag's body glowed again as she rolled her eyes.
"Fine. Anything to get away from those bloody gremlins." With that, Morag stompped down the stairs and walked past everyone towards the exit. She opened the door and violently slammed it shut on her way out. With Morag gone, Angus turned to Lynn with a sad expression.
"Lass, I know what you want to do with Morag's curse." Angus then looked at the rest of The Louds as well. "I have a feeling you're all thinking the same thing. But please don't." He pleaded. Lynn pulled herself away from the duke and folded her arms.
"What? Come on, Angus. This is our golden opportunity for some sweet, sweet payback!"
"Yeah, if anything she deserves to be a slave!" Lincoln added. "I'm not normally a vengeful person. But for Morag, I'd be more than happy to make an exception. Hmm, maybe Lola can give me some pointers." Lincoln mused.
"Lad, listen to yourself right now." Angus cried out. "You shouldn't be stooping to Morag's level!" The Scotsman's declaration was met with unamused looks from everyone, both living and deceased. Even Lela leaned her head in from a window and looked at him like she couldn't believe what Angus said. Angus then face palmed as he realized his error. "Okay, never mind. She set the bar pretty low there. But still, tormenting her like this doesn't make you any better."
"Why are you defending her like this, Angus? If anything you should be taking advantage of Morag's curse more than anyone because of how she betrayed you and everyone in Loch Loud." Lucy countered. Angus let out a sad sigh.
"Aye, I should but I didn't. Morag has always been a close friend of mine for years. Far before you arrived, she was a very close friend of mine. I couldn't just abandon her when she needed help at her bleakest moment." Angus reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet. Opening it, he found a photo of him and Morag having fun together in what seemed to be a party or festival of some sort at night. The two joined shoulder to shoulder wearing party hats and having fun as fireworks lit up the night sky. Angus put the photo back in his wallet and looked at the Louds again.
"Believe me when I say, she's suffering enough." The living Louds all looked at their ancestors, who seemed to nod in agreement with Angus' words. Lincoln shook his head and turned away from Angus and the spirits, not saying another word in response. Lucy eventually broke the tense silence between everyone.
"Sigh. Angus, I admit you make a fair point about all of this. But Morag…"
*BOOM*
Lucy was unable to finish as an explosion so powerful echoed through the air. "What in blazes was that?" Angus asked as he and The Louds walked over to a window. They gasped in shock and horror as they saw the town of Loch Loud was being destroyed. Smoke flew up into the air as fires burned down several buildings. The townspeople's collective screaming was heard all the way from the castle along with a few smaller explosions and the sounds of things being destroyed. Amidst the chaos, there was one other thing that stuck out to everyone. That being a large black boat sitting at the docks. "Are those pirates? Since when did pirates ever attack Scottland?" Angus asked in horror.
Lincoln and his sisters glanced amongst each other, almost as if they were communicating silently amongst each other. Without uttering a single word, they slipped out of the castle and changed into their Sound Barrier personas to go defend the town. Meanwhile, Angus kept pacing around in a panic. "Okay, just stay calm, Angus. The Duke can't be losing his cool in a time of crisis." He turned to Lela, who was still sticking her head through another window. "Lela, I need you to be a brave girl and go scare away those town terrorizers." Lela nodded and pulled her neck out of the castle before flapping her wings and taking off for the town. "Kids, I want you to come with me and find somewhere safe to hide. Understand?" Angus asked, only to find Lincoln and their sisters were already gone. "Hm, I guess they were already a step ahead of me." He reasoned as he ran off deeper into the castle and left Leith and Lucille by themselves.
"Should we tell him our descendants dressed up in colorful costumes and left to try and save the town?" Leith asked.
"No. I don't feel this is the best time for such a revelation."
…
In a dark cave, Morag was sweeping up left over meat and food scraps lying about a large nest with three large green eggs with purple spots. "Blasted curse. Blasted Louds." She grumbled to herself. "Forget peace and quiet. I just want to leave this infernal fortress and get revenge on them all." Morag's anger briefly simmered down into sorrow as she looked up at the roof of the cave. "Oh, if only some prince charming could arrive to save me from this wretched land." She mused to herself while hanging off her broom like a pole. Suddenly, she heard a noise come from the floor in front of her. She leaped back in alarm as the cave floor broke apart and a hole opened up with a multicolored drill sticking out of the top.
"Yee haw! Man, Ratatoskr wasn't kidding. This thing tunnels like a dream." A deranged voice cackled. Morag was left speechless as a man dressed like a clown climbed out of the hole. "Hellloooooo, Scottland. Ringmaster is here to steal the show!" The eccentric new arrival looked around the cave and spotted Morag, his smile growing even wider than before. "Oh, goodie. I've already got a hostage!" Ringmaster reached into his pocket and pulled out a black yo-yo that he proceeded to throw at Morag. His target tried to run away, but Morag wasn't quick enough as she got wrapped up in the string and felt an electric current surge through her body. She screamed in pain as Ringmaster pulled her in.
"Cool toy, right? I have tons of others. You want to see my super adhesive coated jacks? Those little guys really hurt!" Ringmaster asked as Morag recovered from her shock and glared at him.
"Grrr. Fan-bloody-tastic. Now I'm at the mercy of a deranged lunatic who looks like he just got out of bed." Morag huffed as she hung her head down. "That's it. I'm done. Just do with me what you will." She said in an utterly defeated tone. In less than a second, Morag felt herself spun around and was made to look at Ringmaster face to face. The villain scowled her with a frown for a few seconds before blowing a raspberry and dropping her to the ground, still tied in the yo-yo string.
"Boo. No defiant insults or cries for help? You're more of a downer than my boss." Ringmaster rolled his eyes until his gaze rested on the eggs sitting in Lela's nest. "Holy ravioli! Look at those bad boys!" Ringmaster ran over to the eggs and gave one of them a hug. "I could make so many omelets from just one of these." The clown turned towards his annoyed looking captive. "Or maybe I should go hard boiled. What are your thoughts?"
"If those eggs are all you want, then take them. No skin off my back."
"Or your butt."
"What was that?" Ringmaster laughed at the irritated inquiry he got from Morag and hopped over to her. He bent down and cradled her cheek in one of his hands.
"Sorry, sweetie. Eggs aren't actually on my official shopping list. I'm here looking for Dragon Stones, and you look the kind of important person who knows where to find them." He explained while jabbing a finger from his other hand into Morag's face. "So, why don't you start talking and maybe I'll let you walk away. Sound good?" Morag seemed rather surprised by Ringmaster's demands. She looked away from him and let out a huff.
"I'm going to be brutally honest with you, clown. I wish I could find more Dragon Stones. They are incredibly rare and I've only ever had one. A family heirloom from my great aunt." She explained. "Alas, I had tried to use its powers for my own benefits, but it all went up in smoke. The stone was burnt to ashes by the very dragon I tried to control." Morag regaled. Ringmaster tilted his head to the side as he processed the information.
"Really? You only had one stone but it got destroyed?" He asked. Morag nodded as Ringmaster dropped her head to the stone floor. "Ah shoot. That's a bummer. Also a bit ironic when you think about it." Ringmaster kicked a rock across the cave before his original bouncy attitude returned in an instant. "Oh well, I still have other things I can fall back on. Like these eggs, stealing a bunch of money from the town, and an actual dragon." Ringmaster counted on his fingers as he listed off his options. He then stuck his tongue out and dug into his pocket as he pulled out a glowing purple gem. "I can even give this to the boss as a present."
Upon seeing the jewel in Ringmaster's hand, Morag let out a gasp and her gaze became fixated on it. If one looked closely, it could almost seem like her pupils changed into the gem itself. "Where did you find that?" She asked in exasperation.
"Hm? Oh, I found it stuck in the dirt while I was drilling in here." Ringmaster answered before taking a second look at his treasure. "Oh, wait, this is a Dragon Stone isn't it?" Morag simply nodded, her mouth hanging open. "Oh nice! I wasn't even trying to find one right away. Talk about lucky!" Ringmaster began to dance around in place while holding the Dragon Stone in both hands. "I hit the big time today! The spotlight is on me and no one is going to take it away." As Ringmaster celebrated, Morag could only stare at him while her mind was fixated on the Dragon Stone. Slowly, her lips curled into a malevolent smile as she got a wicked idea.
"Oh yes, congratulations. You found a Dragon Stone alright. Quite a shame it's useless to you right now." Morag quipped. Ringmaster stopped dancing and looked at his captive. "Sure the stone has power. But you need a conduit to channel that power. Otherwise it's nothing but a shiny paperweight."
"A conduit? What works as a conduit?" Ringmaster asked.
"Just something that can safely channel its magic. Like a scepter for example. I can get you one. However, you need to do something for me first." Morag responded, her smile not faltering as Ringmaster hoisted her up by the collar of her shirt.
"Lady, is this your first time being a supervillain's prisoner? Because usually it's the guy with all the weapons and can actually walk around that makes the orders."
"I am aware. Speaking of which, are any of those weapons explosives by chance?" Morag asked. Ringmaster's curiosity grew upon hearing such a specific question. A dark and playful smile formed on his face as he slowly untied Morag from his yo-yo.
"Okay, I'll bite. What is it that you want?" He asked. Morag turned around and lifted her sleeve again. The cursed markings on her body glowed even brighter with the cave's lack of light. She instantly remembered the curse's details of how exactly it bound her will. Then she started to laugh maniacally. As she did, Ringmaster's eyes widened. "Wait, you do evil laughs too? Great! AH HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The clown joined in as he and Morag started laughing amongst each other. Eventually, Morag's laughter started to slow down and she stared at Ringmaster.
"Okay, you can stop now." Ringmaster didn't listen to Morag as he was too consumed by the sound of his own voice. Losing patience, Morag grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him out of the cave. "Alright, come on Chuckles. We have a castle to destroy and a curse to break."
Yup, Morag is back to her old tricks. Fun fact, I thought of the whole "cursed into slavery" part of the episode's plot because of what happened to Morag at the end of the movie. Specifically in those little pictures that were part of the credits acting as a sort of epilogue.
Man, I wrote a lot for this chapter. Over 7,000 words in this one chapter. I wonder how long part two is going to be... Hopefully shorter so you don't have to wait so long. :)
But for now, this little recipe has plenty of meat, greens, plenty of spices... And a broth consisting of lighter fluid. Next time, we throw in a match!