It's been forever, I know, but hey, better late than never.
Back where we left off, Aggie cackled like a supervillain as Lincoln, Lucy, and Lucille stood agape.
"Aggie!" Lucille gasped. "How-How long have you been there?!"
"Long enough to know now's the perfect time to strike!" the spectral usurper stated. "Strike the duke down, while he's completely defenseless! And I know just what to use!"
Aggie snapped her fingers, and a familiar gemstone was summoned to her side, surrounded by a purple aura.
"A Dragonstone?!"
"The only reason you're still alive is because of your precious little dragon!" Aggie stated as she grabbed the gem. "Well then, wouldn't it be poetic to be killed by the fires of a fellow dragon!"
The phantom placed the gem, and just like Melody before her, a transformation ensued.
Her aura became fiery, with a draconic figure around it, her teeth became sharper, she gained claws, and her eyes gained a reptilian shape.
"Okay, that's enough!" Lincoln exclaimed before he and Lucy jumped off the bed. "Let's get out of here!"
The siblings and Lucille headed for the door, but along the way, Lucille spotted Angie approaching the crown with a devious expression.
Naturally, the ghost summoned the crown to her, holding it tightly before leaving an enraged Aggie behind.
"Lincoln!"
The boy stopped just in time for Lucille to place the crown on his head.
"The crown?"
"Aggie shared the same desire to wear the crown to rule Loch Loud as Morag did; she's gonna hunt it down until she can get her nasty ghost fingers on it."
Lincoln reached for the crown, ready to throw it away… until he got an idea.
"Wait, that's it! Lucille, Lucy, wake up the rest of the family, I'll distract Aggie!"
"Distract her?!" Lucy exclaimed in a more emotional tone than usual.
"It'll all make sense soon, I promise! Just go!"
The boy ran down the staircase and fled, just in time for Aggie to leave the room and spot him.
"Now where do you think you're going?!"
The Specter cackled as she chased the snow-haired boy, allowing Lucy and Lucille to separate.
Lucille flew up, phasing through several floors until she left the castle…
And on the skies, with the moon behind them, the other ancestors looked down at the scene.
"Should we take it that Aggie is doing her job?" The Duke asked.
"She…" Lucille paused and lowered her head. "She is…"
"Excellent: soon enough, our descendants will come to us for aid," The Duke stated before looking at the Lisa lookalike ancestor. "Are the bodies ready, Liselotte?"
Liselotte adjusted her spectral glasses. "They've been ready for a while. Follow me."
The ancestors followed Liselotte down to the same bushes where Laurel's old room was, then went deeper down.
Once they went down enough, they found themselves in the middle of a laboratory, filled with actual technology and several thingamajigs that looked way too recent to be from the 1600s.
"Ah, my old laboratory. It's been so long…"
"Uh Liselotte?" Lexi blurted. "What are we, like, looking for here?"
"Oh right, apologies, nostalgia got to me."
Liselotte snapped her fingers, and a set of white bedsheets levitated to reveal what was underneath:
Robotic replicas of the ancestors, with a spot in the middle shaped like a Dragonstone.
"Behold! Our ticket to our return to the world of the living! We just need to wait for our descendants to reach a desperate point, and then we'll guide them here!"
"And what's with these Dragonstone-shaped holes in the middle?" Lexi asked, floating closer to her replica body. "Are they important?"
"I'm afraid so: the bodies need a power source, and what better way to power them up than with the energy of a dragon?"
Lyra's eyes widened. "So that's why you had our descendants go look for all those Dragonstones…"
And as the ancestors continued to talk among themselves, Lucille was the only one to ask the important question:
"Are you… sure, this will be necessary? I mean, our descendants might be many things, but they've shown to be adaptable and resourceful-"
The Duke was quick to interject:
"Adaptability and resourcefulness, as well as the other virtues showcased by our descendants, don't mean much against the overwhelming force of a Dragonstone."
"Take it from me; once I took a Dragonstone, Luna and her… girlfriend could do nothing but run away in fear," Melody answered proudly. "Against someone who won't hold back, like dear old Aggie, they'll look for our help in no time."
"And how, exactly, are they supposed to find out the laboratory if it's deep underground?"
"Leave that to me," Liselotte answered, adjusting her glasses as they gave off an unnerving glow. "I already got it covered."
"Luna!"
Lucy turned the lights on and saw Luna and Sam sharing the same bed, the latter drooling while the former drowsily woke up.
"What's wrong, Lucy?"
"Morag's ancestor has returned and is hunting down Lincoln!"
"She's what?!" Luna exclaimed as she jumped off her bed and began to change into her regular outfit. "We gotta alert the others!"
"Uh, Luna?" Sam yawned as she got up. "What's going on?"
"I can't explain, Sam," Luna replied. "Just stay here until things calm down!"
And so, Luna and Lucy ran out of the room, closing the door and leaving the groggy Sam behind.
The blonde rockstar got up shortly after and left the bed.
"Stay here until things calm down?"
Sam took out the bedsheets and smiled.
"Sorry, Luna, but you should know I don't do that."
…
Meanwhile, the Santiago-Casagrande mixed family ran out of their rooms, the commotion causing them to wake up.
And seeing Lincoln being chased by a spectral dragon woman definitely helped too.
"Goodness gracious, what's going on?!" Maria exclaimed.
"It's a little complicated," Angus remarked, walking into view. "But from what I can see, an old enemy of the Loud family has returned and-"
"Hey you, servant man!" Ronnie Anne exclaimed while pointing at Angus.
"My name's Angus."
"Oh, okay, sorry. Angus, there's a dragon here, right?" Ronnie Anne asked worriedly. "Where can we find them?"
"The dragon is a girl, Lela, and before I say anything else," Angus raised an eyebrow. "What exactly are you planning to do?"
"A crazy ghost is haunting the castle and attacking one of my closest friends, what else do you think I'm planning to do?!" Ronnie Anne pounded her fists. "I'm gonna take Lela and take the fight against the usurper!"
"I'm afraid not," Angus replied sadly. "I understand you want to help, but dragons are very finicky with who they let ride them. Only the royal family can ride Lela; unless authorized by the duke, she won't let anybody else ride her!"
"So we just stay here like sitting ducks until someone else fixes this problem for us?" Ronnie Anne folded her arms. "Sorry, but I refuse to do that. We're gonna go look for the dragon whether you like it or not."
Angus stared at the mixed family as they walked away, staying silent for a moment before stating:
"The waterfall."
The family stopped and turned around, Ronnie Anne listening intently as the man explained:
"There's a waterfall near the castle. Inside said waterfall lies a dragon cave, where Lela lives and her predecessor Lolo once lived in. She should be asleep right now, though, so be careful."
The family nodded, Ronnie Anne flashing a thumbs up to the man before they split: Angus going to see Morag while the family left the castle…
Just in time to see Sam going down a makeshift ladder using bed sheets.
"Oh hey, looks like I'm not the only one leaving this place," the blonde rocker remarked cheerfully. "Where are you going?"
"To a waterfall near here that houses a cave where a dragon's living in," Ronnie Anne explained before her mother could stop her.
"Nice, sounds exciting," Sam tilted her head. "Mind if I come along?"
"I mean, the more the merrier, right?" Bobby asked in return, prompting his mother to cover his mouth.
Sam just raised a confused eyebrow.
"Let's say we allow you to come along," Ronnie Anne said. "What can you provide?"
Sam smiled. "Well, you know what they say."
She reached for her back and took out a guitar.
"Music soothes the beast."
The family nodded, and with an unanimous agreement, everybody ran to the waterfall, wherein they entered and walked deeper inside until they reached a nest.
One where Lela was resting before opening her eyes and waking up, at which point she turned to look at the group.
"Hey there," Ronnie Anne greeted. "Listen, we need to ask you a favor…"