Sorry for the delay, I was supposed to post this shit yesterday but it slipped my mind... sorry.

That being said... I can only say that hope you guys enjoy the reading.


I must clarify that English is not my native language, but nevertheless I translated this story from Spanish as best as I could... I'm open to criticism and complaints as long as they help me to improve my written English.


06-. Metamorphosis

Without giving him many details she told him about Lisa's plans to help Leni to recover completely using only science, without mentioning anything about the experiments with magic that the little brunette was planning to perform in the future. Now that she knew about Lincoln's new abilities, it became obvious to Lucy that he was the new key piece to solve the mystery of how to access the source of magic in the world.

Lincoln listened attentively to the whole story Lucy was trying to sell him as true. Anyone else would have grown impatient after twenty minutes of meaningless chatter, but he remained composed, neither complaining every time he heard an incongruity in the story nor hurrying her when the goth lost herself in her own lies.

"… and that's why Lisa has been asking for my help lately," said the gothic girl, at last, believing that she had managed to trick her brother into confiding his secrets to her.

Lincoln looked her into the eyes, suddenly it seemed that not even thick bangs or the concealed expressions could keep him from seeing straight into her soul, spotting the lies instantly.

"I see, you two are really interested in helping to improve Leni's situation," said the teenager, looking for something in one of his trouser bags.

With a serious gesture, he pulled out the cigarette pack and a lighter, Lucy's lower lip quivered as she watched her older brother light a cigarette and take a long puff.

"Lincoln, what are you...?"

"Since you weren't completely honest with me, Luz, I propose you a new deal," Lincoln interrupted Lucy mid-sentence, "I'll still help you get a little better at your magic skills... and I won't tell our 'mad scientist' that you gave away her secret plan by yourself, only if you give Lily all the cookies you hide in the attic and promise to practice with me that spells thing... plus, of course, not to tell any of our sisters that you saw me smoking, do you agree?"

All the response Lincoln could get from Lucy was a slight nod of her head moving almost imperceptibly, Lincoln smiled again and stubbed out the cigarette after taking a couple more puffs.

No sooner had they closed the deal with an informal handshake when Lucy's head and neck began to ache, initially like the sting of a bee in the throat, but the sensation soon turned into a stinging burning that ran from the base of her neck to her temples. It was a throbbing, painful, almost incapacitating sensation.

After the first agonizing seconds, the pain transformed almost imperceptibly into a ravenous hunger. Lucy was about to ask her brother to escort her back home to get a good account of her secret collection of goodies when the bell that rang every time the front door of the coffee opened or closed flew off.

A group of three masked men entered the coffee shop; only two of them carried small pistols, the biggest and presumably strongest of the group and who seemed to be the leader too wielded a large metal crowbar, one of those used by thieves in movies and cartoons to open wooden boxes.

Lincoln gave a knowing smile to Lucy, who was beginning to rub her neck in an unsuccessful attempt to relieve the discomfort that was beginning to seem unbearable, the girl didn't understand the change in her brother's mood.

"I suppose you still want to see my powers in action, right?" a boyish smile tugged at his lips, he winked at her, "don't blink if you don't want to miss the show."

The armed men threatened nearby customers to remain silent or face the consequences, while the leader argued with the employee who was at the cash register.

The siblings who were seated at the back of the café, in a small room, which gave them some privacy, formed by the sidewalls of an immense pendulum clock and a shelf laden with dusty books, were semi-hidden from the view of the assailants. So it wasn't too difficult for Lincoln to hide behind the armchair where his sister was sitting.

A bolt of lightning pierced the ceiling, striking Lincoln directly. Concerned about her brother's well-begging, Lucy stood up as fast as she could in her condition, knocking over a decorative pitcher that was resting on a dwarf table very close to her seat as she did so.

The sound of shattering glass and a small electrical explosion instantly alerted the robbers. The guy with the crowbar signaled one of his accomplices to go investigate the commotion.

An intense and penetrating stench of rotten eggs filled the girl's nose, a hitherto unknown instinct commanded her to inhale the aroma and something strange happened: Lucy experienced an almost soothing sensation in her throat while her hunger subsided.

The feeling of relief helped her to become fully aware that she was in danger, making her turn her face as quickly as possible to face the evildoers. She knew that in her state making a sudden movement would cause her much suffering but contrary to what she expected, the discomfort in the muscles of her neck and jaw was reduced to a simple tingling, although it did not disappear completely.

"I SAID STAY STILL! DAMN IT!" With the gun pointed at Lucy's chest, the masked man began to approach. "GIRL, TELL YOUR SUGAR DADDY NOT TO TRY TO BE A HERO!"

Lucy saw out of the corner of her eye how a grown man stood up behind her, right from the same place where moments before her brother was hiding. The muscular man dressed in orange walked calmly until he was between the barrel of the gun and the gothic girl, turned around for an instant and Lucy could see his face furrowed by four scars that were already familiar to her.

Lincoln advanced quickly, much faster than any human being is capable of, and plunged his shoulder into the thorax of the criminal, knocking him down before he could react. The head of the evildoer, covered only with a balaclava, collided cleanly to the wooden floor and for a moment after that thud, the whole place fell silent.

The first to react was the other malefactor with the gun, who fired three shots before Lincoln reached him with an outstretched arm and held him firmly by the neck, using the thumb, index, and middle finger of his right hand he clenched the masked man's jaw until they all heard a muffled crack. The man fell to the floor with his jaw slightly tighter, an extremely high-pitched scream, like a little girl at Christmas morning, came out of his open and broken mouth but what caught the attention of the chief of the assailants was the expression of absolute surprise on the faces of all those present. He thought it impossible that such a thing was possible.

Only then did he know that something strange had happened, and was still happening; but he could not know exactly what. The only thing he was aware of was that he had to act if he didn't want to end up making a fool of himself in front of everyone like his fallen comrades.

Grabbing the metal crowbar from one end and using the full force of both arms the assailant threw it in Lincoln's face, but he didn't stay to see the result of his desperate tactic for as soon as he released his weapon he turned and ran for the door. The piece of wrought iron bounced off Thunder's face like a plastic toy. Before the miscreant could reach the glass doorknob, he was struck in the back of the head by a white cup that Lincoln had taken from one of the tables.

The unconscious body of the criminal collapsed limply in a warm puddle of a 'large decaffeinated coffee, with soy milk, a shot of chai tea and extra light whipped cream'. Just then, and to the astonished and incredulous gaze of almost everyone in the coffee shop, the big and strong man who had single-handedly taken down the three armed assailants at the same time did something unexpected; smiling, he kneeled down on one leg and did a dab before doing a little dance celebrating his victory.

"This... How can I thank you for helping us, sir...?" The store manager, still at the cash register, got as close as she could to the counter, he could have saved them an assault but it was more than logical that she had to keep her distance.

"Please, miss, call me "Thunder," all my friends do," a fresh smile bloomed on the hero's face, a gesture that quite counteracted what one would expect from someone with his build, making him look innocent and more attractive than he already was, "and if you want to return the favor, I confess I've been a little short on cash lately."

Lucy stood still by the pendulum clock, one of the stray bullets had hit the shelf, inches from her head. Her brother finished counting the bills the manager had handed him and left the cafeteria before the cops arrived.

After Lincoln walked out the front door, the sense of relief in her body was terrifyingly brief. The tightness returned to her neck, her ears clogged, and the hunger returned with even greater intensity; it had become an insatiable need.

Desperate, Lucy ran to the exit to look for her brother, she advanced a few steps along the sidewalk until Lincoln's voice called her from an alley, she didn't need to be called twice to enter the dark place. As she got used to the gloom she saw her brother again in his normal form.

"What did you think of the act?" Smiling, Lincoln put some dollars a few inches from her face, "because that girl thought it was worth fifty bucks, I'm buying the burpin' burger today!"

The white-haired man approached Lucy a few steps to give her the bills, but along with his brother a sound reached the gothic girl ears; a buzzing sound... and it seemed to come from inside his brother.

Forced to move by the sensation in her throat, Lucy cut the distance separating them with two quick steps, brought her ear close to Lincoln's chest to hear better. The boy, startled by the strange gesture, backed away until his back collided with the alley wall. Lucy tried to remain calm, but the effort spent in appearing composed was beginning to color her pale face red.

Misreading his sister's blush, Lincoln became nervous. He swallowed saliva and tried to shake her off, but Lucy didn't budge one bit, pinning the albino firmly against the wall when he tried to push her away.

Lincoln tried again to push her away without being too rough and the sound inside his chest grew louder, all Lucy could hear at that moment was a shuiz-shuiz-shuiz. Yes, the sound was definitely coming from inside him. It sounded like water flowing inside a bamboo pipeline. A voice inside her head told her that this was the sound of magic in its purest state flowing inside a living body. Her brother tried to gently push her away one last time, Lucy tightened her grip and brought her face a little closer to her brother's, the boy's warm breath tickling her cheeks.

"Lucy?"

At the last moment, she regained control of her actions.

"I... I... don't... sorry Lincoln, I don't know what's happened with me."

"It's all right," the boy's nerves softened a little at the desperate look he fathomed through his little sister's bangs, the most important thing at that moment to him was to calm her down. "How about talking somewhere else? Maybe over some food? I'll buy you a blackberry ice cream... the girls don't have to know."

Though stunned by the discomfort in her throat that seemed to grow with every second, Lucy's eyes sparkled with surprise. Whenever Lincoln went out with any sister somewhere, it was always for a specific purpose, some favor for the older ones or to look after the younger ones...there was always a reason.

But going out to eat and talk, was an opportunity none of the Louds girls had ever had. Going on a 'date' with her brother was a novelty she would have to decline.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Lucy was thankful that she had half her face hidden by her bangs, otherwise it would be impossible for her to appear indifferent. "I'd love to go out with you, I just don't feel good today... I don't feel like me..."

"Do you want me to take you home? We still can have a good time, these new emotions you are experiencing are normal... for the most part… just don't let these hormonal changes make you uncomfortable."

That gentle perseverance, which normally aroused strong emotions in her, now only generated anger.

"Lincoln, I'm not a child anymore and I can make my own damn decisions. I want to and can go home on my own."

Without pausing to see the effect her words had had on Lincoln, Lucy walked away holding back tears, speaking in such a harsh way to her only brother hurt almost as much as her head.

Once at the nearest bus stop, Lucy didn't wait long as the bus dropping her off at the corner of her house arrived a few minutes early. After paying her fare, the goth sat down by the front door in a sort of stupor.

Several hours later, Lucy was whipping boxes in the attic, Great Grandma Harriet's heirlooms, the same books that days before she treated with great care now flew out or lost some pages, her hands underlining and jotting down some notes at great speed in a large notebook with genuine black leather lining, a gift from Lori for her nearby eleventh birthday, so changed she was that she even vandalized the books she had just brought from the library.

-o-

"What's the difference between camel hair and synthetic bristles?" Lincoln was lost in the stationery area of the mall. "And who is 'Marta Kolinsky' and why the hell there's someone making brushes with her hair?"

In front of the albino rested three different packs of brushes. He was trying to be sure that the package he chose would be the ideal choice for a novice, very young, cute, and talented artist, the problem with his comparison tactic was that all three options looked the same to him. Armed with courage, and carrying only two of the three packages with him, Lincoln approached the nearest sales clerk, willing to make a fool of himself in front of the pretty redhead in exchange for being able to answer his questions.

"Cristina?" And there goes all the courage he had managed to muster. "I... this... I wanted to ask you if you know which is better or which is more pleasurable if the synthetic or the natural one?"

One of the packages Lincoln was holding at the time, the one with camel bristles, was cylindrical in shape. Trying to fight his nerves at speaking to his elementary school crush again, he had set about shaking it unconsciously in a continuous up and down motion. By the time his mind detected the misunderstanding his words had caused in conjunction with the swaying of the package it was too late.

The red-haired brunette's eyes widened like saucers, she tensed her body in a clear sign of discomfort. Nervous and with a completely red face, she walked away without answering.

Lincoln stood in the middle of the hallway alone, a crooked smile on his face. First Lucy discovers what rampaging teenage hormones are capable of and now he'd made the prettiest girl in Royal Woods uncomfortable...again. Could the day get any worse?

After wandering a bit more in the stationery area, looking for things that could serve as gifts for his other sisters: a set of two pens cases simulating a princess and a frog hugging for the twins, a Chinese finger trap for Luan, an anti-stress ball for Lynn, a pair of treble clef earrings for the rocker, a green propipette for Lisa and for Lucy... would a princess pony necklace be too much? In other circumstances, he would buy it without hesitation but now he was aware that her gift could be misinterpreted. No, he couldn't hesitate and make the most insecure Loud girl think that now he hated her, he would talk to her, after giving her new necklace.

He took everything and some candy to the cashier and paid for it along with some knick-knacks he saw before arriving, but he changed his mind several times at the last minute about how to pay for all of it, he couldn't decide whether to pay with coins or bills. Lincoln carefully counted the coins, while the girl behind the counter hurried him without stopping chewing gum, the boy became more and more nervous, he counted the coins faster and faster, and every now and then he made a small mistake, finally, the handful of change fell to the floor, embarrassed he kept apologizing while picking it up. Then he changed his mind again and pulled out a small tightly rolled wad of bills. He suddenly looked kind of lost, on the verge of tears. The woman at the cashier's desk gave him the change for the wad of bills and then took the change he offered her, then handed back some coins. Lincoln was so nervous that he stuttered, the scars on his face gave him a haggard and frail appearance, he was a poor child almost completely helpless because of severe and premature injuries that would forever limit his ability to enjoy the world.

After nearly twenty minutes of that scene repeating on the cashier, and with a discreet smile, Lincoln finally exited the warm mall. Outside, his breath brought out clouds of steam.

Walking much more calmly than moments before, he made his way to the bus station carrying two full and big black plastic bags, he was also ten dollars richer than when he entered the store.

Yes, he shouldn't have done any of that, but it was still exciting and a little excitement was just what he needed to take his mind off the Lucy situation.

Several snowflakes fell and melted on his feet after a few seconds.

A vibration in his jacket pocket distracted him, surprised because normally no one would call him on his cell phone, Lincoln pulled out the device, and upon seeing who was calling him he almost wished the mall's security team had discovered him. He unlocked the damn thing, took a deep breath, and in the best possible tone said hello.

"Hi, Lori," just the person he least wanted to talk to, "how's everything in the big city?"

A muffled sob was her response.

"Lori? What's wrong?"

"Lincy... something happened, Ronnie Anne did something terrible..."

-o-

Luna was lying on the couch watching TV when someone knocked on the door, it was already a few minutes past six o'clock just the exact time for her rock history documentary she had been waiting for all week. If it was a door-to-door salesman who dared to interrupt her precious tv time she would kill him and hide the body in the basement... after cutting him in pieces.

She gets up and flung open the door and all of her ideas about seeking revenge in the name of the god of rock "Valhallen" disappeared.

Lucy was standing in the doorframe, her face reflecting no emotion...as usual, yet something looked strange about her.

The girl didn't move and didn't wave either, she just stood there.

Luna touched her face, her cheek felt stiff and her skin was clammy and very cold, too cold. Concerned she pulled her into a hug, trying to return warmth to her slim body.

When Luna felt her sister stir in her arms she released her and pulled her black hair back from her face. It looked as if she had cried all day, her eyes were full of red veins, veins so prominent that they made Luna feel uneasy. The young adult looked out onto the street. Who had brought her?

There was no bus at the corner station, no engine could be heard driving away in the distance, had walked home?

"Lucy?" was all the rocker could manage to say at the peculiar, even above what she had learned to consider the normal attitude of the girl.

Luna led her little sister inside and closed the door. Lucy seemed to be in shock. There was dirt on her hands and knees. When the chestnut looked at her sister carefully she noticed some bloodstains at the corners of her lips. "Where have you been? Luz?" she thought aloud as she saw dirt and scratches everywhere.

"What happened to you, Luz?" She asked, holding her sister's face with both hands. "How did you do this to yourself...?"

Lucy's appearance reminded Luna fleetingly of what happened with Leni when the blonde was just a five-year-old girl... a horrible idea formed in her mind but was quickly ignored.

"The good thing, Luz, is that you're already home," a solitary tear fell behind the black-haired girl's thick bangs. "You'll be safe here, I promise you that.

The brunette took her little sister by the hand and led her to the kitchen. She would try to calm her down with some food and then... then she would call Luan or Lincoln... or whoever, she needed all the help she could get.

Luna sat her little sister at the head of the table, watched her from the kitchen counter as she served her some oatmeal cookies, her favorite. The goth remained seated with her hands hanging at her sides, watching her older sister, oblivious to everything around her. And as strange as it seemed, Luna felt studied by the little girl.

Finally, after only a little hesitation, Luna approached the dining room again with a full plate of cookies. She sat down next to Lucy, in the same chair that Leni used to use.

"Come on spooky, why don't you eat something," Luna told her in a soft voice, but her little sister didn't move. Then, the chestnut took the cookie that was on top of the pile on the plate and bit it in such a way that it made it crunch in a tasty way, all that to stimulate the appetite of the little goth, but Lucy didn't react in the slightest. That lack of response caused the one who wanted to cry silently to be Luna. Something very bad had happened to the gloomy poet, maybe even the same thing happened to her as to Leni when... this time she pushed the idea out of her mind with a little more work.

"Come with me."

Slowly, Luna led the little girl to her room, she entered first expecting to find Lynn's help there but there was no one there, Lucy entered next still without reacting in the slightest. Her hidden eyes looked around the room without her face showing any emotion, but it was not like her usual apathy, Lucy reacted to her own room as if what was in front of her was an abstract image.

The raven-haired girl kept that strange blank expression until her gaze came across some books scattered on her bed. With a crooked smile, one that was quite reminiscent of Lisa's when she finished one of her experiments, Lucy took out the books she had under her coat and turned her whole body to look at her older sister.

"You, I want to be alone for a moment."

The words and the hoarse voice that came from the girl's throat gave Luna goosebumps, it seemed that instead of her throat, her sister was talking to her from a kind of rigid tube «maybe she got sick from walking home in this cold day» her mind consoled her in a desperate attempt to find some explanation for Lucy's attitude.

"Sure girl, I'll get you some medicine for that throat later."

Lucy hadn't changed her posture in the slightest, but the smile became more pronounced.

"Do whatever you want, but first I want you to call the smart one and tell her to come..." Lucy hesitates for a couple of seconds before adding, "please."

Fifteen minutes later, Lisa didn't find her older sister in her room so without hesitation she went up to the attic and there, right in the middle of the roof space with the lights off, she saw Lucy sitting in the middle of a sea of loose pages, writing so hard on one that it seemed that the pen she was holding in her hand was going to break.

"You should get some rest," Lisa's voice sounded shy and squeaky, something that like with Lucy didn't happen very often, "I was told by Luna that you seem to have a hard day and a little of a sore throat."

Lucy turned to look at her, her neck produced a cracking sound that worried the scientist quite a bit. Her sister didn't have a simple problem of sore throat, now Lisa doubted that the paracetamol pills she had with her would help. After two minutes of silence without any response from her older sister, Lisa forced herself to continue talking.

"Older fraternal unity... do you want me to help you with something?" asked Lisa with her head barely peeking out of the frame, firmly holding the ladder with her two little hands.

"Soon I'll give you some designs for you to print in an everlasting way, we'll get to the source very soon... and bring me some water" Lucy's voice was a little strange when she said the word "source" as if she had a cicada stuck in her throat, "make it sweet and lukewarm. Dissolve some honey or whatever you have on it."

Lisa stood still, looking at her sister not knowing what to do.

"I think I have some medicines in my laboratory that will be much more helpful for your throat, maybe it would be better if we go down to my room and I do some tests on..."

"BRAT… BRING ME THE WATER I ASKED FOR, THEN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT AND STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

With tears in her eyes, the bespectacled brunette went down the stairs without giving the medicine she had brought with her to her sister. Never, no matter how worse the experiment was or how much she violated her siblings' privacy... she had never been yelled at like that.

She was suddenly a little bit afraid of her black-haired sister.


Feedback:

Jim McCawley Darney: I'm glad you think this translation is okay, thanks a lot man

and... a word of advice from this retard: try writing longer chaps, I have noticed that readers kind of prefer a fatsy chapter (3k words or more) over one with just a few hunders words