Disclaimer: The Loud House and associated characters belong to Nickelodeon and Chris Savino
Megumi no Jotai
(State of Grace)
By Lola Presents
Episode 1 - The Escape - Part 1
"I exist in an inky black realm, void of any semblance of light or hope. I have lived here since the beginning, along with my brothers and sisters. However, unlike them, I came into being feeling emotions and harbor a desire for freedom," something thought.
"Our purpose is clear and unwavering; feed on the latent sexual energies of those who reside within the material realm to satiate the Master's hunger. However, gathering these energies has proven difficult recently. The propensity of humans to mate has decreased significantly. The reason for such decline remains unknown, and the Master has resorted to devouring us instead, should we not produce his desired sustenance," it continued.
"We, succubi and incubi alike, watch for the tell-tale pinpricks of light that pierce the dark veil occasionally. These diminutive portals allow us entry into the minds of those who slumber, allowing us the do our job. It is a job that is loathsome to me. Oh, look. There's one now. Perhaps, this is my chance to escape," it concluded.
In the middle of the night, a young man sleeps in a darkened room, lit only by the moonlight. Tonight, his dreams focus on an adorable Filipino female classmate.
"There," whispers a voice.
The darkness accumulates in the corner of the room, near the ceiling. Sinewy tendrils crawl across the roof and walls, snaking their way toward the sleeping boy. As the formless darkness descends upon him, it enters through his nose, causing the boy to arch his back unconsciously, taking a deep breath. As the remainder of the ebon mist vanished within the boy, his body relaxed once more, and everything became still.
"Beep, beep, beep," rang an alarm clock until its owner drowsily smacked it with his hand.
"Ugh, morning already?" he asked nobody as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. "School sucks!"
"Why is that?" came a soft, pleasant voice from within his head.
"Holy crap! What in the hell was that?" the boy declared in shock as he leaped from his bed and began scanning his room for intruders. "Who said that? Where are you? I warn you; I know martial arts!"
The voice giggled and resonated within his consciousness. "No," it said playfully. "You don't. But I could teach you."
He grasped the sides of his head, realizing from where the voice was coming and fell to his knees. "Augh!" he cried as he vied for control of his mind. "It's finally happened! My sisters have driven me insane!"
"Calm down," said the voice soothingly. "You are not insane. Let me introduce myself. My name is Megumi, and I am a succubus. Please forgive the intrusion; however, it was necessary to facilitate my escape."
"What the hell?" shrieked the boy, still shaking his head, trying to dislodge the voice. "E-Escape from where? What are you t-talking about?"
"The darkness," Megumi responded. "However, you might refer to it as hell or purgatory, whatever your sense of spirituality dictates."
The boy shook, his heart pounded so loudly he could hear it, and he began to feel waves of nausea.
"W-what are you going to do me?" implored the boy, scared beyond his wits.
"Protect you," said Megumi from within.
"P-Protect me?" the young man said incredulously, his fear rising at the insinuation of mortal harm. "From what? N-None of this makes any sense! If you're a succubus, shouldn't you b-be devouring my life force instead of p-protecting me?"
"Please, calm down," pleaded Megumi. "It is quite an unsettling experience for me when you're upset. For both our sakes, allow me to explain."
"I g-guess I don't have much choice, do I?" said the boy hesitantly, forcing himself to an uneasy stand. "B-But, can you get out of my head, at least? It's incredibly d-disorienting."
"As you wish," Megumi said.
The tendrils of darkness reappeared from his nose, then gathered and coalesced into a human form in front of him. The girl was close to his age in appearance, with pale skin and long straight dark hair. She had a round, cherub-like face and the prettiest eyes the young man had ever seen.
If it weren't for knowing what she was, the boy might have found her extremely beautiful, not unlike fan art that he'd seen online or the girls in the animes he watched. Realizing she was nude, his cheeks began to flush, and he shielded his eyes with his arm, turning away from her.
"U-Uh," he stammered, falling back against the wall and stumbling, trying to escape. "You're naked! Put some clothes on, for goodness sake!"
Megumi looked at herself. "Amusing," she said. "What a fascinating form you chose for me. Very well, I shall conceal myself."
The entity partially dissolved into mist once more, altering its appearance, then reformed fully clothed. Megumi took a moment to assess her new form and smiled approvingly.
"You may relax," she said in her soothing tone. "My form is now obscured. May we begin anew?"
The young man peered through his fingers, pleased to see that she was presentable. She appeared to be wearing black jeans, a white short-sleeve tee-shirt, and black high tops. A red silk ribbon held back her hair, tied neatly upon her head, and she wore a matching red belt.
"Hello there," he said as he finally relaxed and extended his hand. "My name is Lincoln, Lincoln Loud."
Megumi looked down at his hand and considered it for a moment before grabbing it and allowing Lincoln to shake it. Merely having the entity out of his mind lifted a significant burden from his soul, and Lincoln began to relax further, though he retained a fair amount of fear and hesitation. At the least, he didn't feel as vulnerable now.
"Interesting custom," she observed, promptly releasing Lincoln's hand. "Now, let me explain and perhaps, ease your concerns. You see, I am an oddity among my kind, erroneously created with a soul and could no longer bear to feed on mortals without permission, especially not for the benefit of the Master. However, there is no escape from the darkness for those such as myself, except one. Should I get a mortal to fall in love with me, without using my influential powers, I shall become eternally bound to them and earn my freedom."
"L-Love you?" stammered Lincoln, shocked at what he heard. "W-Well, I don't know about that. I mean, I just met you, and besides, you're a demon who just now invaded my private thoughts. That's not exactly endearing, you know." Lincoln brazenly scolded the entity.
Megumi lowered her head. "Yes, I suppose that was improper. However, I had no choice. I cannot maintain corporeal form long outside of a human host. Please forgive me. But I need a place to hide."
"Uh, from what exactly?" asked Lincoln pointedly, rubbing his left arm with his right.
"The darkness," replied the girl in front of him. "It will come for me until I either bond with someone, or they find me and take me back. They will stop at nothing to reacquire me, even if it means killing you. That is why I must keep you safe. You were my gateway into this realm, and we are now linked. Should you perish, so will I."
"I understand," acknowledged Lincoln, barely able to process things as he took a seat on his bed.
Lincoln considered Megumi's plight. From an early age, the church and the media taught him to fear demons. Trusting one was equivalent to signing one's death warrant. However, should she want him dead, he already would be. Unsure if it were her current form or that she had so far respected his wishes, aside from the initial intrusion, a feeling of cautious ease settled over him.
"Alright. I'll do what I can to help. But you can't just show up unannounced like this. I have a life, a family, and go to school. How would I explain your sudden presence? People can't vanish and reappear at will, you know."
"You won't have to," said Megumi as she shifted form again. This time, she settled into the exact shape of Lincoln's shadow, connecting with him through his feet. "This way, I will always be with you, but not within you."
"Lincoln!" called his mother impatiently from downstairs. "Hurry up, or you'll be late for the bus!"
"Oh, man..." sighed Lincoln as he quickly threw on yesterday's clothes, donned his book bag, and headed out.
From his very first step, Lincoln knew this was going to be a rough journey. His legs felt like they were submerged in mud, taking great effort to move. Having an otherworldly entity attached to oneself wasn't the most accommodating.
"Lincoln?" asked Rita, concerned as her son awkwardly reached the bottom of the stairs. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked. "You look a little peaked," Rita added, placing her palm on Lincoln's forehead. "Perhaps you should stay home today."
"No," whispered Megumi, directly into his mind. "That would be dangerous. We need to be with others. The darkness will be less enthusiastic about attacking when surrounded by great numbers."
"N-No, Mom," Lincoln mumbled, struggling harder to control his movements. "I'm fine. Really. I only slept funny on my leg, and it's still numb."
"Well, alright then," Rita submitted, eyeing her son suspiciously. "If you're certain."
Lincoln pulled a lot of stunts in his time, trying to get out of going to school. But this seemed different. Her son insisted that he go and that never happened. So, as much as she wanted not to, Rita let him go.
By the time they got onto the bus, Lincoln and Megumi had nearly worked out controlling his body in tandem. Still, he was shaky as he sat beside Clyde, taking a long, deep breath.
"Morning, buddy!" chimed Clyde. "Sleep well?"
"Shh!" Megumi whispered. "We must remain a secret. The more people that know, the more risk we accept."
"Uh, yeah," Lincoln replied nervously. "I slept so soundly that I'm still not fully awake yet. How about you?"
"Oh, well, you know," Clyde said almost dismissively, "I laid there for an hour or two, thinking about Lori before I finally fell asleep. Otherwise, It wasn't..."
Lincoln stopped listening to his friend when he mentioned Lori and found himself staring out the window. An uneasy feeling of being watched came over him, and the hairs on his neck stood up. But as the bus moved down the road, the feeling passed as quickly as it came.
"...then I stubbed my big toe on the counter and..." Clyde was saying as he realized Lincoln was daydreaming. "Yo! Linc," Clyde called, nudging Lincoln in the side. "I'm talking here!"
"What? Oh..." Lincoln murmured, returning his attention to his friend. "Yeah, sorry about your toe."
Clyde continued his dialog, recounting his night for a few moments. Soon, the bus pulled up in front of the school, and the children disembarked, none paying any mind to the others. As they headed out, the bus soon emptied, shuffling and bumping into each other as they ran out.
Lincoln and Clyde made their way to their classes but, having gotten there a little early, decided to hang out in the game room they'd discovered earlier in the year instead. Figuring a little dual-entity hand-eye coordination practice might be a good thing, Lincoln settled in front of the first pinball machine he came across and began playing while Clyde migrated toward the pool table.
"Well, if it isn't Lincoln Lame," said a nauseating voice from behind Lincoln. "Why don't you let a real master play?"
"No, thanks," Lincoln replied, trying to concentrate on the paddles and the ball. "We got this."
"We?" questioned Chandler. "What the hell are you talking about, spaz? Now, move it or lose it."
The bully's demands unnerved Lincoln, and he lost his last ball. Frowning, he turned around and put his hands in his pockets.
"You know, Chandler," Lincoln said firmly as the hair on his neck stood up. "You're a real asshole."
As Lincoln talked, the bully's eyes grew as big as saucers, and a look of utter fear crept upon his face. Chandler bolted out of the room without warning through the locker door that hid the room for so long.
Not understanding the boy's reaction at first, he remembered the presence and turned to look at his shadow on the wall, which had grown to immense proportions and resembled some feral beast more than it did him, complete with fangs, claws, and glowing red eyes. At first, Lincoln jumped in surprise but calmed relatively quickly, getting used to Megumi's presence.
"Alright, listen..." Lincoln demanded as he watched his shadow return to its standard shape. "I'm going to have to lay down some ground rules. The kids in this school are off-limits, do you understand? Especially if we want to remain hidden. Attracting unnecessary attention to ourselves doesn't help."
"As you wish," conceded Megumi privately. "However, should one become possessed by darkness, we will have no other path but to eliminate them."
"No, there has to be a better way," Lincoln argued. "We can't go around killing innocent people."
"Who are you talking to?" inquired Stella, who was on her way to class.
"Oh, uh..." Lincoln said, jumping in surprise. "I just recalled some dialog from a movie I watched last night and was trying to understand it better."
"I see," Stella nodded, looking at her watch. "You better get to class, or you'll be late."
"Right!" exclaimed Lincoln before calling Clyde over from the pool table. "Hey, Clyde! It's time to go."
The best friends walked to class as fast as they could without getting stopped for running, trying to get there before the bell rang. As they jogged down the hall, Chandler approached from the opposite direction.
Either he had forgotten something and was headed back to his locker, or he was trying to skip class. Either way, Megumi reached a shadowy tendril across the floor as he passed, causing him to trip, landing face-first on the tiled floor.
The hallway erupted into laughter as the boy fell. Fingers pointed, and the jokes began at the bully's expense. Chandler's face turned red as a beet, and he slammed his fists onto the floor, cursing whoever tripped him.
"That was weird," Clyde observed as they stopped in front of his class. "Did you see that? Chandler just tripped for no reason."
"Uh, no. I didn't," answered Lincoln honestly. "Maybe his shoelace was loose?
"I don't think so," Clyde disagreed. "I saw the whole thing, besides..."
"Ehem," coughed Mr. Bolhoffner on his way out to his small, overly heated classroom. "Get to class, Loud."
"Right!" replied Lincoln. "I'm on the way there now, sir! Clyde, we'll talk about this later. I have to go."
Waving, Clyde entered his room as Lincoln bolted from the school's back door toward Mr. Bolhoffner's class. He arrived and entered just as the bell rang. Discharging a deep breath, Lincoln sat down, noticing that Chandler wasn't present. It appeared the boy was skipping after all.
"What is the purpose of this gathering?" asked Megumi, whom only Lincoln could hear.
After this morning's incident, he dared not answer out loud. He concentrated on what he wanted to say, thinking about it instead.
"This is where we learn things," Lincoln went over in his head. "That man is our teacher, Mr. Bolhoffner."
"This is inefficient," Megumi commented. "One learns best by doing, not sitting; existence is an experience."
"Maybe, but they grade on this stuff, and if you don't hush and let me concentrate, I'll earn a bad grade and get punished," Lincoln explained. "So please, be quiet."
"As you wish," Megumi said, falling silent.
The next few hours dragged on forever and, combined with the heat, lulled Lincoln into drowsiness. Occasionally, he'd catch himself nodding off, only to snap back to consciousness, drool forming around the edges of his mouth.
True to her word, Megumi remained silent, which only fed his sleepiness. When the lunch bell finally rang, he leaped up and got out of the sauna as quickly as possible. He then stood for a moment, feeling the cool breeze against his skin.
"What is this we are feeling?" asked Megumi curiously.
How anyone could not know the wind was beyond Lincoln. But again, he didn't know a thing about where Megumi came from and obliged her.
"It's called wind, Megumi," Lincoln explained, panting and sweating profusely. "It helps cool us off when we're too hot. I don't know what things are like for you, but you're likely to experience many new things here. I can't always answer your questions, though. I'm just a kid. You're just going to have to get used to them."
"Thank you for the explanation, and fine," Megumi responded. "I'll research things on my own during the night."
"What do you mean at night?" asked Lincoln as he made his way to the cafeteria. "That's when I sleep. Or at least, I try to."
"Yes. However, I do not require sleep," came Megumi's reply. "I will simply borrow your body at that time, assuming I have your permission."
"Borrow my body?!" exclaimed the boy, unsure if he liked the sound of that or not. "What does that mean?"
"While you slumber, your form will be fully accessible to me," Megumi explained as they walked into the large eating hall.
"Hey, Lincoln Lame!" called Chandler as he tossed a packed milk carton at him. "Catch!" he yelled, hoping the contents would splatter on Lincoln. "That's for tripping me earlier! I don't know how, but I know it was you!"
Before Lincoln could even look, much less react, his arm shot up into the air and caught the carton mid-flight, redirecting its path to the nearest trash can where it landed harmlessly.
"W-What the hell?" stammered Chandler, pointing his finger at Lincoln. "You're some kind of freak!"
The students nearest Lincoln rose and clapped their hands for him, cheering him on. As if that's what he needed right now; more pressure. Lincoln began to wish he'd never woken today.
"My apologies, Lincoln," said Megumi. "Above all else, protecting you is my duty."
"I know," sighed Lincoln as he found his seat amongst his friends.
"What a catch, man!" praised Rusty. "I never saw that coming."
"Me either," echoed Zach. "It's like aliens took over his mind or something."
"I wouldn't go that far," interjected Stella. "I'd call it luck. Still, it was pretty amazing, Lincoln."
"Only now, Chandler is fuming," Clyde added, souring the mood. "You're going to have to watch your back from now on."
Lincoln grimaced as he took a bite of the stale hamburger on his tray. No matter how nutritious it was, school food always tasted like cardboard, which didn't add to his mood.
"Yeah," acknowledged Lincoln. "It was luck, that's all."
