Dawn of fear

As she made her way home to turn in for the night, Lucy could not help but examine her new find more closely. She was familiar with all sorts of spirits and supernatural beings, but this one mystified her. In all her time, she had never come across a being in the shape of a triangle with a single eye, yet here it was, immortalised in the form of a wand, and an actual magic wand at that, not one of those souvenir store playthings. She also thought she heard whispering coming from it but thought nothing of it. She decided to keep what she found a secret from her family, not that they'd understand anyway. Once she arrived home and made her way to her room, Lynn was there, reviewing her game plan for tomorrow.

"Great-grandma Harriet have any interesting stories for you?" Lynn inquired.

"Not this time, although she does wish you good luck" Lucy answered. At this point, Fangs, Lucy's pet bat, started freaking out and flying about the place. Lynn opened the window and Fangs immediately left the room.

"What's up with him? He's not usually like this" Lynn noticed.

"Beats me. Something must be scaring him" Lucy guessed. It was too late in the night to dwell on this, so Lucy got into bed, as did Lynn, and nodded off to sleep. Lucy was having the weirdest dream. She was in the castle from her favourite show, Vampires of Melancholia, but there was no sign of Edwin, Griselda or Tristan. She went over to the mirror, but there was no reflection. Instead, the same triangular being that was on the wand she found was looking back at her.

"Hi there, Spooky" came a voice from behind her. Lucy jumped with a fright as she turned around and saw the same being. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, giving people heart attacks is your specialty, not mine. Besides, I'm not going to hurt you" he added. Lucy could not make sense of what was happening. This was a dream, right? So, who was this being that appeared before her?

"Who are you?" Lucy inquired.

"What, you haven't heard of me?" he asked. Lucy shook her head. "Name's Bill Cipher and I made that wand you found. It only grants its power to those it deems worthy to use it. Guess it sees something in you" Bill explained. Lucy could not help but blush at the compliment.

"Why me? I'm just a kid" Lucy probed.

"I'm guessing because you have some innate magical ability locked away somewhere. Who knows, that wand has a mind of its own. It sort of does its own thing" Bill answered.

"And it wants me to be its wielder?" Lucy theorised.

"Bingo! Congratulations, you get to do actual magic, not parlor tricks or card readings, although foresight is a power the wand grants, should you agree to be taught" Bill clarified.

"Wait, what" Lucy said.

"Well, the wand can only grant power, it can't teach you to use it. That's where I come in. I can show you how to use your new-found power to its full potential and rise above your siblings. What do you say?" Bill offered. Lucy thought about this. The prospect of doing magic was too strong to ignore. But at the same time, could she trust this being she had only just met? Regardless, nothing worthwhile comes without risk.

"I'll do it. Please, teach me your mystical arts" Lucy accepted.

"A simple yes would've sufficed" Bill responded. He held out a fiery, blue hand. Lucy shook it and a gentle, blue fire streaked across her arm and all across her body. It didn't feel hot, more like invigorating, like she had just eaten a whole plate of her Dad's blood sausages. It felt good and she also felt like a new Lucy. "From this point onwards, your training will begin. Whenever I can impart wisdom and guidance, I will appear before you, but only you will be able to see and hear me and we will speak with thoughts, not words" Bill outlined.

"Understood" Lucy acknowledged and she woke up. It was still night and Lynn was still asleep. She took out the wand and gazed at it for a few seconds. "You and I will be great friends" Lucy thought to herself, put the wand safely away in her pocket and went back to sleep.

Things got even stranger at breakfast. Usually, when the family sat down to eat, the pets were in the room with them. But this time, they chose to take their meal in the living room.

"That happened last night, as well. Fangs just fled the room like there was a blood drive somewhere" Lynn observed.

"Maybe the animals are picking up some bad vibes. My reptiles were acting much the same way, very withdrawn and scared" Lana added.

"It is a commonly accepted fact that animals can pick up on details we humans cannot. When something is wrong, they can pick up on it. This can only mean something here is going to or about to go terribly wrong" Lisa explained.

"Wow, dude, that's deep, and here I was thinking Lucy was the 'doom and gloom' sis" Luna remarked.

"Whatever it is, it better not screw up my game. I really have to crush those Hazeltucky jerks today" Lynn said.

"Got your game plan sorted, kiddo?" Lynn Sr. asked.

"Locked and loaded, Dad. They won't know what hit them" Lynn answered.

At the Casagrandes, Rosa was trying to get a better sense of what she experienced last night. Every fiber of her being told her something terrible was about to happen. After she had served breakfast to her family, she got out her cards and tried to 'see' what was to come. She drew the first card.

"The Fool, but he is upside down, symbolising fear, not laughter, will be spread" Rosa predicted. She drew the next card. "The Devil, in the shadow of the fear-monger. What is his scheme? What consequences will there be?" Rosa inquired to herself. Finally, she drew the last card. "The Moon, who follows in the wake of the Devil. There is an unknown element involved" Rosa concluded.

"Fortune-telling again, Abuela?" Carlos asked, with a hint of scepticism. As a man of science, he had always disputed the accuracy of tarot card readings, believing them to be mere parlor tricks and con games.

"The cards do not lie, Carlos. There is something looming. But what it is, I cannot be certain" Rosa answered.

"Well, as long as this latest prediction of catastrophe happens far away from here, I'll let others deal with it" Carlos scoffed and left to teach his classes. Ronnie Anne, however, was a bit more fearful. She always had a suspicion that Abuela was gifted in certain magical arts and if she sensed impending doom, well, Ronnie Anne was not letting Lincoln out of her sight, if the doom she predicted was going to take place in the city.

At the retreat, Lincoln was logging on to his school's website and trying the first online lesson. It was a simple set of lesson materials, at the end of which was an interactive quiz to see whether or not he had taken the material in. After he was done with the day's tasks, he video called Clyde during lunch to see how he and his friends were doing.

"Hey guys, got any plans after school?" Lincoln probed.

"We're going to check out this new convenience store that just opened up. It's called No Stop and according to word of mouth, their prices are better than Flip's" Stella responded.

"That store came out of nowhere, almost like magic" Liam added.

"A new store just pops up and does all this great business? Seems a little suspicious to me" Zach stated.

"Or just great marketing. Flip could learn a thing or two about treating paying customers with a smile, not just seeing them as wallets with legs" Clyde reasoned.

"Plus, their machines actually work, not get broken even more when Flip tries to 'fix' them" Rusty chimed in.

"Wish I could be there. Hey, Clyde, do you think you could pop over to Lynn's soccer game and wish her good luck for me?" Lincoln requested.

"Sure, I'll even drop her off a little something from No Stop. You know how much Lynn likes her body fuel" Clyde acknowledged.

"Lincoln, Ronnie Anne and Sid are here" Lori called.

"Coming" Lincoln called back. "Got to go, guys, I'm heading to a city arcade with Ronnie Anne and her new friend, Sid. Let me know how the game goes, Clyde" Lincoln clarified and terminated the call.

"Lincoln has two girls on his arm now? Must be my influence" Rusty bragged, but no-one believed that he had anything to do with Lincoln's lady success.

After school, the Loud family, minus Lori and Lincoln, were at Lynn's soccer game with the Hazeltucky team. Clyde, the honorary sibling, stopped by to wish the team good luck and decided to stay after the Louds offered him a spot in the stands. As soon as Lynn's team took to the field, everyone in the stands cheered as loud as they were able. Lucy, on the other hand, was occupied with something, or rather, someone, else. Her new friend decided to make his first appearance.

"Do you feel that?" Bill asked. Now that he mentioned it, Lucy did get an odd sense when she took her place in the stands. "Here's a free lesson for you, hearing people's thoughts" Bill added.

"Like mind reading?" Lucy probed.

"A rather crude, but accurate term. I can show you how to brush the surface thoughts of another person. Given practice, you can use this technique to learn anyone's deepest, darkest secrets" Bill explained.

"OK, how do we proceed?" Lucy inquired, eager to learn more of her new-found powers.

"Close your eyes. Feel this field around you. Take in the sounds you hear. The cheering of the crowd, the blowing of the whistle, the rustle of the grass as the players run along it" Bill instructed. Lucy did so. As she did this, she thought she could hear an echo. "Ah, there it is. Listen deeper, past your sister's motions and breathing" Bill added. Lucy did this as well and the echo she heard had more of a sound to it than it did previously.

"Zigzag past first two defenders, kick at a 45 degree angle from the goalie. Shoot, score. LJ brings it home once again. Possession change, steal from second striker, pass to Margo, she shoots, she scores. Team play". This went on for some time before Lucy realised she could hear Lynn's thoughts.

"Woah, that was awesome" Lucy thought to herself.

"Do not get distracted. Now turn your attention to Clyde" Bill guided. Now it was time to see what Clyde was thinking.

"Good thing Dr. Lopez taught me about adaptation, or I would've never coped with Lincoln being gone for two whole weeks. I hope he doesn't find a new best friend in the city. Careful, Clyde, or you'll spiral again" more hidden insecurities continued to manifest themselves in Clyde's psyche.

"Yeesh, that kid's got issues, but enough of that, now focus on the referee" Bill directed. Another dose of mind reading revealed some very salacious details.

"This bribe money from Hazeltucky is sure to get me a fancier car now. Goodbye shed inherited from family, hello Italian sports car. Who's the favourite now, Mum?"

"The levels of human depravity never cease to disgust and fascinate me" Bill remarked.

"He's on the take" Lucy observed.

"It would appear that way. This match was decided before your sis even set foot on the field. Question is, what do we do about it?" Bill inquired. The situation got even more obvious when a blatant foul from the Hazeltucky team went without so much as a chirp from the corrupt referee. The crowd was getting angry at the decision calling on display. The Royal Woods team called a time-out and everyone huddled in.

"Coach, what's going on? That other player totally sideswiped me and the ref didn't even bat an eye!" Paula asked impatiently.

"This is just a theory, but I think the referee's taken a bribe. Wouldn't expect anything less from Hazeltucky, so we just need to keep out of their way as much as possible without losing ground. We're banking on you, Lynn, to score as much as possible" the coach briefed. Back on the stands, Bill and Lucy were still discussing the situation.

"We can't expose him, we have no proof, no hard proof anyway" Lucy dismissed.

"What if he confessed? With enough coercion, I think he'll see the error of his ways" Bill suggested.

"Can't see that happening" Lucy rebutted. Bill sighed.

"What do you have in your possession right now?" Bill asked, referring to the wand. "Good, use that along with what I've taught you and think of something creative to loosen his tongue" Bill said and vanished. It was half-time and Lucy used the old bathroom excuse to separate herself from the rest of the family. Instead of using the facilities, Lucy instead tracked down the referee and confronted him.

"So, rough crowd out there today. Wonder what's gotten them so riled up" Lucy probed rhetorically.

"What's it to you, kid?" the referee spat back rather rudely.

"Oh, I already know the reason. How much?" Lucy asked.

"What?" the referee replied.

"How much did Hazeltucky offer you to swing the game in their favour?" Lucy probed again.

"That is a very serious accusation, and I'd think carefully before you repeat as such" the referee cautioned.

"I think I'm sure of it, thanks to my little friend here" Lucy affirmed and took out the wand.

"Unless that thing is hard evidence that I'm on the take, you got nothing" the referee goaded. He made to leave, but he saw someone blocking his way. It was his mum.

"This is why I always favoured your brother. He was honest, true to himself and brought glory to our family" she chided. Then his brother appeared.

"I was always better than you. What was it the other kids called you at school? Second best? Runner-up? No wonder Father never loved you" he taunted. Then the man himself showed up.

"Well, what do we have here? I always knew you'd amount to nothing. Explain to me how your brother ends up a Harvard law professor while you're here taking kickbacks from middle school football teams!" the father yelled. Then, images of his childhood popped up in his head.

"How are you doing this?! HOW!" the referee asked desperately. The images didn't stop, however. The elementary school science fair. He had brought a baking soda volcano, but his brother brought a potato generator, which won first while his volcano got second. Next, mid-terms. He passed with a good 86%, but his brother got 90%. On and on, images of his brother out-performing him at everything in sports and academics raced in his head, until they all suddenly stopped, leaving him a crumpled mess on the floor, half crying, half screaming. Lucy then approached him.

"Confess, or I will make it so that is all you see and hear for the rest of your days, until you beg for release" Lucy threatened.

"H-h-how…w-w-who are you?" the referee probed.

"You can call me The Dread Mistress" Lucy responded and the referee turned tail and ran in the other direction. The illusions she conjured seemed to have the desired effect, as she could see the referee talking to a panel of officials in attendance, who then talked to the Royal Woods coach. As Lucy made her way back to the stands, Bill was impressed with what he saw.

"The Dread Mistress? Catchy name, how did you think of it?" Bill complimented.

"It just occurred to me. But that wasn't the best part. Scaring him, making him sweat, that was the best" Lucy recollected.

"There are a lot of people out there that could use such a scare. Stick with me, kid and we'll do extraordinary things" Bill said.

"I look forward to it" Lucy replied with eagerness. Everyone was wondering what had just happened. The referee comes running onto the field looking like he saw a ghost, talks with people in suits and suddenly the game is halted. Questions were on everyone's minds, until an announcement was made.

"We regret to inform the spectators that the referee has confessed to taking a bribe from Hazeltucky to swing the game into their favour. After verifying his story, we have no choice but to award Royal Woods the win by default, disqualify Hazeltucky from the season and ban all their teams from future competitions. We apologise for any inconvenience caused" a voice on the PA system announced. This got Lynn very mad. All that work, just to be handed the win by default. She hated winning that way. Also, she was playing against cheaters the whole time. She had half a mind to go over to them and give them what for. Thankfully, the family found her and whisked her away to prevent further incidents.

At the No Stop Gas Station, Vanessa was seeing to Lincoln's friends. She didn't mind this, although Vanessa could do without Rusty's pathetic attempts at flirtation. From their conversation, she learned a lot about Royal Woods and its residents, including the one they were stealing business from, Flip. Judging by what they said about his prices compared to theirs, she didn't feel bad about this, remarking to the kids that he probably had it coming.

"Tell your friends" Monogram called out to them as they left with their purchases. He was busy selling gas to a bunch of parents from Hazeltucky who were here to see some soccer game the middle school kids were playing. They didn't look particularly happy, though, so Monogram decided not to engage them in small talk. Once they paid for their fuel, they left without saying a word.

"What was up with them?" Vanessa inquired.

"Beats me, I didn't ask. Best not to poke the hornet's nest when paying customers are involved" Monogram responded. They were just about to close up shop when Albert approached them, fear evident in his eyes. Looking around to see if anyone was listening and finding no-one, Albert told them what he had sensed.

"It's the wand. It has been used" Albert stated.

Author's note: I based Lucy's new Dread Mistress persona on a mix of inspirations. Firstly, there's Kreia from KOTOR 2, a manipulative old lady who uses a person's past against them, or to get them to do what she desires them to do. The name comes from The Dread Masters, a group of six Sith Lords who had mastered the art of fear so well, that they could get entire fleets to surrender or flee rather than face them. Plus, scaring people is Lucy's entire shtick, so to speak, so having her do this seemed natural, even with goading from Bill. The usual disclaimers, I own nothing. The Loud House is owned by Nickelodeon. Enjoy!