Disclaimer: The Loud House and associated characters belong to Nickelodeon and Chris Savino

RCJ02: While there are a few souls here and there, they haven't reached the fields properly yet. However, a brief respite is in order.

Megumi no Jotai

(State of Grace)

By Lola Presents

Episode 5 - Into the Darkness - Part 2

Despite everyone's best efforts, finding sleep proved difficult. Even the succubi, who'd earned their freedom and humanity, failed to slumber. However, With more people awake, they took the occasional light nap one by one. Currently, M'Tino lay sleeping, curled up to her bond-mate, Agnes, reverting to her natural, naked form during her unconsciousness.

"Lincoln..." Megumi's worried sigh resonated in Lincoln's mind, sensing his arousal. "Do you M'Tino attractive?"

"Well, I, uh," thought Lincoln. "Sure, but that's only natural."

"I suppose it is," replied Megumi. "I am sorry I asked."

"Megumi..." returned Lincoln. "You're my love. You know that. But don't even be afraid to ask me something. You'll likely experience many new emotions now that you have your humanity."

"Thanks," cooed Megumi silently in his mind as she blushed and curled up to him, dismissing her faux clothes under their blanket. "You're so sweet. And right now, I'm hungry."

Lincoln rolled over and reached for his backpack, but Megumi stopped him, pulling his exposed arm back under the blanket.

"That's not what I meant," the little succubus whispered, despite speaking mentally. "I already had food. What I need now is spiritual and infinitely more satisfying," Megumi informed him before climbing on top of him and fumbling with his belt.

"Megumi!" gasped Lincoln. "Not now! Everyone will see what we're doing! That's embarrassing!"

"That's what the blanket is for, silly," Megumi thought, licking his nose as she settled onto his arousal. "Besides, Flip is feeding M'Gan right now."

"Okay..." muttered the stunned lad. "That's a mental picture I'll never get rid of..."

Giggling quietly but aloud, Megumi kissed Lincoln passionately as she rocked forward and back along his stiffened length, gently raking her elongated nails down his chest. Wrapping her wings around them for extra privacy, Megumi and Lincoln soon began moaning in unison, using her tail to tickle his balls as they made intense love on the cave's rocky floor.

"Oh, God!" Lincoln muttered with as much restraint as possible. "I love you, Megumi."

"I love you too, Lincoln," she squealed with delight, feeling his sexual desire sate her demonic hunger. "But don't worry about getting heard," she cooed, nuzzling his neck, unaware she'd just used a verbal contraction. "My wings form a protective sound barrier. How else do you think we seduce people in crowded places?"

"In that case..." Lincoln sighed, rolling over on top of her, taking the lead. "I want to fuck you for a change," he stated as his love wrapped her hooved legs around his waist and pulled him in for another round. "So far, you've always been on top. It's my turn."

"Yes!" exclaimed Megumi, closing her eyes as Lincoln pounded into her. "Fill me with everything you have, love!"

While passionately fondling her breasts, Lincoln leaned in and peppered her neck with quick little kisses, repeatedly voicing the depth of his love for her. Finally, he exploded into his mate's slick, swollen slit, filling her with his seed and energy. Then, exhausted, he limply rolled off her.

"That was amazing..." breathed Lincoln. "So, that's what it feels like to be under your seductive aura, huh? Well, I like it."

"No, silly," Megumi giggled, stroking his chest. "I'm saving that for when we return home. I want our first married night alone to be special. Besides, If I exposed you to that now, it would distract you from our battles ahead."

"Wait..." muttered the satisfied youth. "You mean that was just us?"

"Yup!" chirped Megumi, snuggling in close and playfully biting Lincoln's shoulder. "Believe me. You'll know the difference," she said, again using another human contraction.

Lincoln rolled his head, gazed into Megumi's large, glistening eyes, and considered her recent changes. She was warmer, that was certain and much appreciated. Making love to a cold corpse-like girlfriend was one thing. But now that she'd gained her humanity, sex was much more enjoyable, and he hoped it had also been for her.

"You know," observed Lincoln before letting loose a deep yawn. "You're becoming more human all the time. Tonight alone, you've used two contractions, something I never heard you do before. But, I was wondering, did sex feel any different?"

"Mmhm," cooed Megumi, licking his sweaty skin, still highly aroused. "It felt amazing! Though, why did you call out to G'Hod?"

"I'm sorry, what?" asked Lincoln, entirely puzzled. "I didn't..." he began refuting her when he made the connection. "Oh!" exclaimed Lincoln, a little embarrassed. "I said God, not G'Hod. Who's G'Hod, anyway?"

"G'Hod is one of the Eternals that built all you see and put everything in motion," she explained, beginning to calm down. "He is who your cultural concepts of God stem."

"I see," muttered Lincoln in reflection. "Then, why don't these Eternals intervene and fix things?"

"Nobody knows," sighed Megumi. "They left after they built everything, never to get seen again," she continued with a hint of melancholy in her voice. "Some think they went off to create other realms."

Lincoln was beginning to see a pattern to their nomenclature and made a supposition of his own.

"Let me guess," he requested. "Another of these Eternals was named S'Tan?"

Megumi pulled back a little and looked at him in surprise.

"Why, Lincoln," she cooed. "I do believe you are becoming more demonic all the time!" she said, smiling as she echoed his earlier sentiment. "But, yes. You are correct."

"Megumi?" Lincoln lovingly whispered as he continued to drink her eyes. "There's so much about you and your world that I don't know," he admitted. "But I want to know everything."

"That's precious," smiled Megumi, returning his loving gaze and gently placing her hand on one of his cheeks. "I, too, wish to know everything about you and your world. But, for now," she said, yawning deeply, finally giving in to her human need for sleep, "we should rest."

Acknowledging Megumi, Lincoln gave her a quick kiss before wrapping his arms around his love and closing his eyes.

At two o'clock in the morning, all but Lily and their parents sat huddled in Leni's room, discussing everything they'd learned the previous night. For some, like Lola and Lana, fear and concern reigned, while the older ones were either confused or in awe over their brother's bravery.

Not only had he befriended, fell in love with, and become spiritually married to a succubus from the depths of hell itself, but he'd battled several demons. On top of that, he'd traveled to that same incarnate realm, intending to take on the most fearsome monsters imaginable, all in her name.

"He's so lucky," quipped Lucy. "I wish I could've gone, too."

"He's lucky, alright," replied Leni, furrowing her brow. "But not because he went to heck. It's because he won the heart of a demon. Now that's love!"

"Or lust," moaned Luan. "Let's face it. He's going through puberty."

"That may be," Lisa pointed out. "However, according to the elder's account, she wasn't allowed to use her powers. Therefore, I am inclined to believe in Lincoln."

"I just hope he returns in one piece," Luna sighed, resting her head in her hands. "What'll we do without him?"

"Well," chirped Lola. "We might have to get used to that. He's married now and probably won't spend much time with us lowly humans anymore."

"You don't know that!" barked Lana. "He's still a minor as far as we're concerned. It's not like he can get a job or a house and move out."

"She has a point," agreed Leni, who knew how difficult that was, even at her age. "Besides, just because he found his true love doesn't mean he's going to ignore us."

"What do you think they're doing right now?" asked Luan, worried about both of them. "They've been gone since earlier today."

"Assuming it's nighttime there too, they're probably fu... I mean, mating," offered Lana.

"Maybe," chuckled Lucy. "Though I was thinking more about taking refuge somewhere and resting. But, what Lana suggested might also be the case, considering Megumi's nature."

"I must admit, Lincoln is pretty lucky," sighed Luna. "I mean, he went from a short string of plain-Jane girlfriends to her, who I must say is quite hot."

"Luna!" shot Leni in surprise.

"What?" gasped Luna, picking her head up and staring at everyone. "I can't help it if I noticed! You know I'm bi! What am I supposed to do, ignore it?"

"YES!" everyone demanded at once.

"Powers or no," offered Lucy emphatically. "It's probably a good idea that we don't spend too much time around her, especially you, Luna. We might trigger her instincts."

"That's preposterous," Lisa quipped. "She's a succubus, not an incubus," she reasoned, having missed certain subtleties.

"No, Lisa," moaned Lucy, palming her face. "A concubus can seduce anyone. It depends on that person's preferences. In Luna's case, her presence might trigger Megumi."

"Oh, right..." sighed the embarrassed little scientist.

"Oh, come on..." pleaded Luna in her defense. "It was only an observation! She's Lincolns!"

"Still," murmured the goth. "We don't know how she works yet. So until we do, keep things light. Understand?"

"Moving on. What about that Divinity chick?" interjected Lynn. "Wasn't she amazing! I could feel her strength from ten feet away! Can you imagine what that much power must feel like?"

"I suppose," smirked Lucy. "Though I thought that Michael guy was fascinating."

"Fascinating, my ass," spat Lana. "We all know you like dark men. And you can't get much darker than an actual demon. Face it. You'd have jumped him then and there if you had been alone."

Blushing furiously, Lucy fell silent, lowering her head and hiding even further under her bangs. It was true. She would have. But it wasn't very comfortable to hear her thoughts spoken by others, especially with such judgmental sisters.

"Please..." begged the reddened goth. "Can we not talk about that?"

"I know!" chirped Leni. "Let's talk about the rhinoceros in the room!"

"I believe you mean elephant," Lisa corrected her sister. "Though, I am not certain to what you are referring."

"Has anyone thought to tell Lori about this?" asked Leni quietly.

When nobody responded, Luan pulled out her phone and started swiping through her screens until Lola snatched it from her.

"Hey!" Luan shot. "What's the big idea? I was going to call Lori!"

"We know," Lola returned, sighing in relief. "It has to be anyone but you."

"What are you talking about?" argued Luan, resting her hand on her hips. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"If you call her, she'll only think it's a joke, doofus," chuckled Lynn, sticking her tongue out at Luan. "Let Leni do it. She trusts Leni."

"Oh, my, God," murmured Lola, placing the open and active phone between them. "I'll put it on speaker so everyone can talk to her. Geez. It's like, you see one demon and forget how to use your phones. Pathetic," she declared as she knelt as pushed the call button beside Lori's name.

Lori was up late, studying while Bobby kept her company over her phone, which sat propped up against her bookbag. It had been a long, difficult week for her, and she kept nodding off. That's when her boyfriend would step in and make an awful racket, one of which just awakened his love.

"I'm sorry, Boo-boo-bear," Lori apologized, beginning to stack her things. "I think I've had my limit for tonight."

However, before the young man could respond, an incoming call lit up her phone. Furrowing her brows, she studied the label with tired eyes, annoyed that Luan would call her this late.

"Bobby, I have to go," she told him. "One of my sisters is calling. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Alright," sighed Bobby, his face disappearing from Lori's screen as he grabbed his phone. "I hope it's nothing serious," he added. "It's kind of late to be calling."

"Right?" mumbled Lori. "Anyway, see you tomorrow. Love you, Boo-boo-bear."

"Love you too, Babe," he replied. "Later."

"What do you want, Luan?" barked Lori through a prolonged yawn. "Don't you know it's after two in the morning?"

"Yeah, about that," began Luan before everyone shouted, "Hey, Lori!"

"What?" gasped their elder sister. "Is everyone there? What's going on?"

"Okay. So, girl..." Leni chimed in. "You are NOT going to believe what we're about to tell you. But we swear to God, it's the truth..."

As the four humans and their otherworldly mates rested soundly within the cavern, M'Kael paced around the entrance, occasionally stopping and staring into the distance. Then, he would return to his patrol a moment or two later. He continued his vigilance throughout the night, but when morning came, relatively speaking, something caught his attention.

Taking off his sunglasses, M'Kael scanned the horizon more closely with his lifeless, black eyes. Something headed their way, en-mass. Remaining where he was, not wanting to alert everyone prematurely, he continued studying the horizon until he could make things out more clearly.

As the anomaly came closer, M'Kael finally made out the forms of a warden, accompanied by two enforcers. Returning his shades to their perch upon his nose, M'Kael rushed back into the main chamber where his comrades were slowly waking.

"Prepare yourselves," he told them briskly. "A patrol approaches."

"What?" gasped Norman. "Don't tell me they're already onto us?"

"I do not believe so," M'Kael reported. "However, it is best that we assume they have."

Quickly, everyone rose and adjusted their clothing, then gathered their things and returned them to their duffels. Then, suiting up together, the succubi wrapped themselves around their mates and hardened into their familiar armor.

Lincoln's was black, while Flip's was crimson. Agnes' armor was forest green, and Norman's was navy blue. With M'Kael standing before them in his new white attire, Lincoln couldn't help but think they could've passed for the Power Rangers.

"Everyone, stay behind me, and remain hidden," instructed M'Kael, shifting form.

The Circle did as M'Kael told them and backed off into the darker corners of the cave, staring at M'Kael, who now appeared much more prominent than he did as a human. Like the succubi, though much more pronounced, enormous black wings sprouted from his back, and a large, barbed tail appeared behind him. His skin turned blood-red, and two immense horns emerged from his forehead, belittling Megumi's two tiny points.

"Lincoln, kneel!" Megumi suddenly barked before transitioning to mist form. "I have an idea!"

And once her lover had kneeled, trusting his love without hesitation, she wrapped herself around him again, solidifying into a boulder. Following her lead, the others copied Megumi's tactic. If discovered, they could at least blend in with their environment. Only M'Kael had left for the cave entrance and hadn't witnessed their ploy.

The warden and his enforcers were not too different in appearance from M'Kael, though significantly more prominent, with the warden being the most towering among them. M'Kael continued his vigil until he could no longer deny their intent. Having passed all relevant landmarks, they continued to head toward the encampment, and soon, they were upon him.

"You there!" the warden asked of the demon. "What business have you here? Why are you not with your regiment? Do you not fear M'Ster's wrath should the intruders escape?"

"By all means," replied M'Kael with practiced reverence for authority figures. "I was sent to scout out this cave, only to find it empty."

"Perhaps," muttered the warden, moving to pass by. "But we shall make the final determination. Now, move aside and return to your commander."

"I am afraid I cannot allow that," stated M'Kael, stepping in their path.

"What?" barked the warden. "How dare you! What is your name, demon?"

"M'Kael," came the reply. "M'Ster's first lieutenant, and I order you to stand down."

The enforcers steadied themselves, preparing for battle as the warden grinned wickedly.

"I assume you have not heard, 'lieutenant,' but another has assumed your position," the warden informed the demon with glee. "Your life is forfeit, and I will now claim your head for the master!" he shouted, alerting those who remained in the cave.

"That's our cue!" cried Flip with unusual excitement and readiness to risk his life. "Let's go!" he ordered as they suited up again and headed out of the cave.

"Nooo!" cried M'Kael, noticing their exit as he landed on the ground ten yards in front of them, black blood dripping down his face and chest. "I told you to remain hidden!"

"No way," barked Agnes. "We need you. Besides, you're one of us now, and we don't walk away from anyone!"

Pulling their soul swords from behind them, the Circle presented themselves to their assailants, forming a line and stepping past M'Kael, protecting him from further harm. And swinging his sword loosely in his hand, Norman addressed them.

"Bring it," he demanded.

Each enforcer bore a large shield and a flail, whose attachment seemed to move on its own at the end of their long chains, and the warden held a massive claymore of his own. The enforcers whirled their flails around and swung them at the invaders, despite some distance separating them.

Then, as the spiked attachments flew forward, the chains grew in length, extending their reach to the surprised Circle. One hit Norman square in his chest, sending him reeling backward, while the other barely missed Agnes' more elegant frame as she deftly side-stepped the attack.

"Oh, hell, no!" shouted Flip as seeing Agnes fall to the ground, losing her balance. "What kind a' bastard beats on a woman!" he yelled as he ran, brandishing his sword.

Flip's speed took the combatants off guard, and they instinctively moved away while Flip's blade sliced quietly through the warden. Flip spun, stopping a few feet behind the immense being, expecting to see the demon evaporate. However, the warden only laughed maniacally.

"A soul sword?" he observed. "Is that all you have to defend yourselves with?" he continued. "And here I thought this would be an exciting fight." Then, turning, he glared at Flip with burning green eyes. "Where did you think your little stick would send me? Hm? We're already here!"

Flip's eyes widened, coming to terms with his impending fate as the burly warden hovered over him, readying his weapon.