Chapter 6

Failure

The bright morning sun leaked in through the small window of Lincoln's room. The brief trail of light hit Luna's face, stirring her awake to find herself alone. The blankets beside her were ruffled and thrown about; her little bro must've left in a hurry. She rubbed her eyes and took a step onto the fluffy carpet, before immediately finding herself greeted by the sweet aroma of a perfect Loud breakfast. She couldn't hold back her excitement, bringing a smile back to that saddened face she held.

Placing her slippers on, she quickly frolicked her way through the hall towards the stairs, noting fast how every room was wide-open, made barren by their overzealous occupants. Was she the last one awake that morning? Strange how Lincoln didn't bother her this time. Maybe he just wanted her to get some extra sleep. Would've been a kind gesture, had it not placed her in a delayed start. Even still, whatever anger she felt was vaporized by the wonders of the food her father certainly baked to perfection, ready to bless the Loud children with another splendid day.

Down the final step, she noted the dining room beside them looking rather... off. Not that the room itself looked weird, but the fact that a double-door suddenly blocked her entrance. Was that always there and she just didn't realize it? Probably. A yawn brought her confusion to bed; she was probably too tired to remember anything, is all. "Just gotta get back into the jam, girl. Don't look so glum. Your folks are ready to rock, so why not you?"

With a gallant strut, she swung those doors open... and immediately froze staring deep within. The dining room greeted her kindly, staring back like an old friend on a cold, winter's day, meant to warm her heart for the work ahead. The sun gave it all a beautiful bask, but that image itself was tarnished deeply by the horrific stare she received from the occupants within. A stare so horrid, she had to bite her tongue hard to prevent a disturbed scream.

Her family was in there, all in their usual spots. Their plates were empty, and their faces were planted hard, either against the table itself, or upon their shoulders, rolled back along with their eyes. All looked in agony, many struggling to hold any emotion as their mouths began to sag. Eyes half-open, many barely holding any semblance of life. A foul stench of copper rose through the air, plaguing the young rocker's nostrils as she gripped hard to the doorframe, fighting to keep it together.

Upon each of them, be it the head or against the chest, a wound was present. Blood leaked out. Knife, bullet, blunt; didn't matter in the end. They were dead, wasting away in the dining room, living their final moments as a family without the third-eldest daughter.

"G-Guys...?"

She walked into the room, finding Lincoln amongst the carnage. Unlike the others, he looked peacefully asleep, and whatever wound he must've suffered through was no more. He looked quiet and calm compared to the final moments of his beloved family. Luna felt the tears roll down her cheeks as she rubbed a hand through her hair, before that kind gesture became frantic. "Linc, wake up! Please wake up!" She looked to them all, eyes growing wider and wider. "Anyone? Please!"

Lola's face, one eye opened in defeat, seem to trail her older sister as she began to fall in despair. From her slightly-open mouth, a sound emerged. It caught the rocker off guard, and for a moment, she got her hopes up. Was the princess of the family still alive? Someone survived this horrific massacre?

"Lols! Don't worry, I'm here!"

But that enthusiasm died away when the young blonde's face seem to sink lower into death. A voice, however, still came from that small mouth. "Why did you do this?" She asked, raspy as it was powerful.

Luna stop, frozen dead in her tracks. "W-What?"

"Why did you... kill us?"

Luna's hands began to tremble. Kill them? What in God's name is she even talking about? Her blood began to cool off, joining the snow laying upon the ground. "L-Lola? W-What do you mean? Who did this? Why?"

It was then her father spoke, brazen and powerful, unlike how he normally came across. "You lead them here. You let them come in!"

And Lori: "Shame on you! You didn't stop them! Useless! Literally useless!"

Over to Lynn: "They wouldn't stop... they kept hacking away, and we called for help, but who'd answer us? We have a murderer in the family!"

All of them spoke, still dead against the table. Luna found herself against the wall, slowing slumping down. All of them began to yell, and all she could do was put those hands against her head, failing to drown them out. "I... I didn't do this... I didn't!"

"You should've died on that Mountain!" Rita shouted. Everyone grew silent at first, before they joined in agreeing, shouting the same words over-and-over. Should've died, should've died. Rita continued, face still against her shoulder. "Ever since you came home, all you've done is endanger your family! You aren't the daughter I love. You're nothing!"

"You evil monster! I wish you died!"

"My comedy's gone. You got rid of my happiness. I hate you, Luna. I hate everything about you!"

Luna crumpled against the ground. Above her, she swore she felt the presence of Abraham, holding that disgusting scowl, watching with confident eyes over his enemy that he finally bested. There was little protest left in the young lady, who couldn't even tell if her emotions were true. After all, what was true? Their words were. She was a murderer, wasn't she? Maybe she did cause this, or even lead to their massacre. A true monster. That's the truth.

And yet, she still somehow found something to protest. "But... it's not my fault! I... I had to fight back! I had to! I had no other choice!"

Lincoln's voice suddenly broke through the rest of his sisters. Luna felt her heart skip, feeling at last an ally had arrived, but all she received was an attitude most vicious, it nearly drove her mad. "So it's my fault, right? Go ahead, just say it!"

She wanted to break apart right there, throwing all her pieces into a burning pyre. "L-Linc! No, it's not-"

"Then who, Luna? I didn't deserve this! I hate living. I hate it! I can't stop being afraid!"

"Linc, I'm here for you! You know that..."

"All you did was make it worse! I wish... I wish you just killed me too. Just get rid of me..."

She broke down into a sob, and smashed her fists against the floor. "Linc... dammit, why? What's happening?"

"Murderer... Murderer..."

She was. A dirty, disgusting murderer. All those people on that Mountain, all those who served Abraham, and she fought them all to the death. She couldn't save them. Couldn't save them all. How useless was she? She was a pathetic footnote in the scheme of humanity, and deserved to rot away like Abraham; burn into a pile of ash, never to be fully recovered. She never felt more disgusted with herself.

Not one person saved.

Except...

Before her, a silhouette emerged before the table, face obscured, but her body giving away her identity. Luna knew her immediately; the one person beside Linc who escaped that wretched place.

"R-Rorrim?"

The figure nodded, but looked ready to run. Her red eyes shined bright against her cloak. "Sister, please! You must wake up now! Hurry!"

What was she on about? "What? Rorrim, what's...?"

"Please, you must wake up! Once you do, get up and run! Please!"

"Rorrim, what're you-"

But she had no time to ask any further, for the moment Luna reached for her, she found herself face-first in snow. She quickly coughed and tried to sit up, only to feel intense pain in all of her muscles. She let out a groan of agony, feeling her stomach rubbing hard against her gut; it was as if she was kicked thousands of times over, with each one burning a mark across all of her appendages. She took a deep breath, and fought through it all, until at last she was brought to a crawl.

Face still flushed, the image of her dead family stung deep, but that was combated by a new dilemma she suddenly faced. Feeling alone and frozen, she shivered as her eyes stared at the snowy hills before her, cut off by the giant bare trees that clung high towards the night sky above. A deep forest, trapping her within its grasp, watching as she felt the numerous wounds and bruises running down her ragged outfit.

She blinked, before it all became clear. This wasn't a dream anymore. She wasn't feeling the warm embrace of her brother, nor the heat of the bed she grew to love so much. No room, no halls, no Doug or Michelle, and no family to greet her. All was lost to this giant tundra of snow-and-tree, giving no remorse to her sudden injuries.

All she could do was stare up confused. "Where... Where am I?" She asked.

Deep down, another feeling came creeping on in: it wasn't over? It's never over, is it?

FROM: The Royale Gazette, a local paper found in the kingdom once ruled over by the Louds

"There were so many scandals involving that family before their unexpected leave. Quite a number, really, that one could right endless novels about them, and still only cover half of the things they were known for. The two eldest daughters running a ring for their fashion, the comedian secretly getting into boxing tournaments, and apparently the genius may have invented the modern cure for Polio long before it was discovered in the 20th century!

"But perhaps the biggest surprise, and perhaps most scandalous, was the strange relationship between two of the siblings. No one knows for sure, but the musician and the Duke were apparently close, with rumors of them constantly fleeing the castle to be alone in the wood out back. It was never known what they did during this time, and whenever they were amongst the public, no word was spoken between the two of them. Some think they were murderers, others believed they practiced witchcraft.

And others... well, believed it may have been a lot more intimate, but that's all conjecture. Whatever it was they did, it certainly lead to a puzzle for all the ages ahead!"