While it may seem like a short amount of time, four years can make a hell of a difference when it pertains to family. Especially a family as large as the Loud Family. One needed to look no further than Lincoln Loud so see how true that could be. Far from the quirky and resourceful eleven year old he'd once been, Lincoln had grown into an even craftier and more cunning fifteen year old. It was obvious at first glance that he'd benefited greatly from a growth spurt as he now stood taller than even his oldest sister Lori. He was lean with an athletic physique (built up by years of roughhousing and friendly sparring with his sisters Lynn) and his hair had grown longer to the point where it nearly reached his shoulders. Of course, as noted earlier, his mind had aged like fine wine, being more sharper and quick witted than he was as a kid.
Lincoln wasn't the only one who'd gone through changes during the last four years. His older sisters Lori, Leni, Luna, and Luan were either in their final years of college (Lori and Leni) or just starting college (Luna and Luan). All of them had grown into very beautiful young women, but due to their obligations to school, it was obvious that they couldn't spend as much time with the family as they could when they were all living in the Loud House. Full family get togethers had become much rarer occasions and as a result, every one of the Louds looked forward to and cherished the days where they could all spend time together again like the days of old.
That's what brings us to where we are today. With summer break rolling around and none of the older sisters having summer classes to attend, the time was perfect for a family vacation together. Harking back to his days of youth, Lincoln came up with the bright idea for the family to go on a week long camping trip, something that all of his sisters were onboard with. It seemed like it'd be a fun way for the family to catch up with each other through hiking, swimming, roasting marshmallows and making smores, telling scary stories around the campfire and perhaps even a good old rousing round of singing The Campfire Song song. Little did Lincoln or anyone in the family know that this one innocuous camping trip would be the catalyst for a chain of events that would change not only their lives, but the fate of the planet Earth itself, forever.
"So… Instead of heading to Dairy Land or going to the beach, you chose to go camping in the woods?" asked Lori who was driving her family to the campground instead of their mother, Rita, who was in the passenger seat taking a simple nap.
During these past few years, Lori had gone to college and left her family. While at first, she was happy that she could spend time with Bobby and build her future, she underestimated how fast she would be rushed into getting everything done quickly. One night, during a study session for their final exams, young adult hormones got the better of both Bobby and Lori and in the heat of the moment, they ended up sharing a passionate night of love together. At the time, the two thought nothing would come of it until a few weeks later, it came back that Lori was pregnant with a girl. Being the loyal and devoted boyfriend that he was, Bobby resolved to be a good father and take care of both Lori and their daughter, Elaine. From the minute she was born, Bobby worked as hard as he could to ensure that Elaine never went without. Lori and Elaine were both his princesses and he would treat them as such. When Elaine was around two, Bobby accepted a high paying job overseas so that he could better take care of his family. It was a difficult decision leaving his girlfriend and daughter behind, but Bobby was as loyal and good hearted as they come, something Lori was thankful for. The two of them figured that they had what it took to make it through this unexpected situation.
Of course, things didn't exactly play out that way. As it turned out, long distance relationships are easier to maintain when you live in the same country compared to when both of you lived halfway across the globe from each other. On top of that, Bobby started getting more caught up in his work over time rather than caring for Lori. He still provided for her, but work became his primary focus above all else. This took a strain on their relationship and eventually the two agreed to amicably split with Lori moving back to Royal Woods with Elaine.
Compared to her teenage looks, Lori was probably a completely different woman. Lori had now had longer yet frizzy hair with some blue dyed tips and some sunglasses resting on her head, over time she had gained a much more busty figure with a sizable gut due to some new eating habits picked up from spending time with Bobby's Abuela as well as the added baby weight from her daughter who was in a baby seat in the back of Vanzilla by Lily and the twins who were keeping a close eye on her. Lori currently had on a white tank top that did not fit her body that well along with some grey sweatpants, white socks and some comfy black sneakers. Nothing fancy but she didn't mind as long as it fit her.
"Not my fault the last vote tends to come to me. Besides, the campgrounds have gotten a lot more bearable as of late. That and we bought a camper so no need for tents!" Lincoln responded.
"Well I guess you make a point. Besides, I think Elaine would cry having to sleep on the ground of all places."
"Not as much as Lily used to do! Hehehe!" Luan chimed in with a giggle, getting a pout from the little Lily in the back. Luan giggled once again, only for the little girl to dig into the one of the coolers and throw one of Luan's pies right at her face, getting a laugh out of Lily. "Alright, fair enough."
Luan Loud, now eighteen years, had grown to be a very wel tall and endowed woman ever since her 16th birthday getting a busty hourglass figure along with her long brown hair now shorter but with a poofy ponytail and with her braces gone, now replaced with a happy smile. Currently, Luan had on a long blue sweater with some yellow short shorts that had a few flower pins on it with pink knee-high socks and brown shoes.
Recently, Luan had gotten herself in a relationship of sorts between her big boobed emo bestie Maggie and her hilarious boyfriend Benny. Things got weird when Maggie had confessed her feelings to Luan, making things complicated for a short time until they all had made a compromise with Luan. Benny and Maggie simply share Luan and love her like any other relationship. Not wanting to disappoint Maggie and being slightly interested in the idea, Luan agreed and found herself enjoying this relationship ever since even if she still dealt with being fight over.
"Hey! No food fights in the car! I literally do not want to crash the van!" Lori shouted back in annoyance. Luan shrugged and wiped the pie off her face and licked it off her hands. At least it tasted great, if only her hair now wasn't all sticky.
Lincoln chuckled and looked to his left to his younger sister Lucy looking out of the window with her headphones on. Lucy herself had experienced some changes. Now aged 12, she too had experienced some changes over the past four years. Ever since Lucy had entered middle school, she had begun packing on lots of pounds due the cravings and odd body changes that came with puberty. While she was able to keep her face clean with help from Leni, she couldn't help Lucy's quick weight gain to an incredibly fat figure, now growing her hair to longer lengths to try and hide her face out of embarrassment. Currently, Lucy had on a dark blue sweatshirt that was unzipped to show a black shirt underneath with black stretchy sweatpants and normal shoes.
"You doing alright, Luce?" Lincoln asked. Lucy looked at Lincoln and simply laid her head against him. He smiled and gave his large sister a hug. Something he could tell that Lucy needed. Lincoln simply stayed quiet and embraced Lucy, causing her to smile as well.
"You're probably wondering where Leni, Luna, or Lynn might be. Well don't worry. They're arriving separately with Luna and Lynn bring their lovers as well! I just hope Leni doesn't get lost in traffic," Lincoln thought to the audience. "Again."
Lincoln was excited to meet his family again for the three day long camping experience because there were apparently rumors that something spooky was perhaps hiding in the woods which got the teenager's attention. Having grown out of his cowardly phase, he had grown an appreciation for horror and things that were simply uncanny, and even used this to make an online webcomic about these things named Gloomy Lights. Life was good for him and his family and he hoped this little reunion would make things even better.
Thirty minutes went by and they all quickly arrived at the campground where their camper was already hooked up. Everyone got out and began to unpack everything out and even got a fire going. However, Leni and the others were still running late oddly enough.
"Has anyone seen Mom?" Luan asked as she cooked a marshmallow.
"Oh! She's still in the car. I'll go get her! Be right back!" Lincoln said, pointing to the still sleeping Rita in Vanzilla. Lincoln walked back to Vanzilla and opened the door. "Mom! Mom, wake up! We're here!"
"H-Huh? Oh uh… Did I fall asleep?" Rita asked with an embarrassed blush on her face. Lincoln chuckled and nodded, motioning to the sisters and one niece sitting by the campfire. "Sorry sweetie. You get to be very… sleepy at my age."
Lincoln chuckled at his Mom's remark and helped her out of her seat. Looking at her, he could see where his Mom was coming from. While his mom still looked good for her early forties, when she looked more in her late twenties, her age was showing in her agility due to her body being more frail and slightly weaker, with her hair slightly greying and now needing glasses. Seeing his mom like this made him feel a little down when reminded that his loved ones were probably not going to be around forever, a reminder that he should spend as much time with his loved ones as much as possible.
"Well I'm just glad you were able to make it here, Mom," Lincoln told Rita, giving the soft woman a happy hug. Rita smiled and hugged her son back.
They came to the campfire and sat down, still waiting for Leni to arrive with the others. Taking time to roast some meat and play a few games, it soon was almost night time with the sun starting to set. Everyone was doing their own thing with Lori in a call, trying to find where on Earth Leni even was.
"Well this is what I get for having Leni drive. She got lost and is now at Great Lakes City!" Lori said in frustration. She sighed and sat on one of the logs and rubbed her temples to try and calm herself down. "At least Ronnie Anne and her family are letting them stay. Heh. Knowing Rosa, they'll come back bigger than the car itself!"
"That's what good cooking will do to you, Lori," Rita quipped, chuckling to herself as Lori simply rolled her eyes. Lori got up with Elaine in her arms, waved herself goodnight and headed into the camper to sleep. Everyone said goodnight to the elder sibling and decided to head in for the night with Leni hopefully finding her way back tomorrow.
However, Lincoln said he needed to use the bathroom really quick and headed out to the woods with a flashlight and map in hand so he wouldn't get lost. A few minutes passed and Lincoln had done his business, he began to walk back the the campgrounds until something caught his eye…
An odd neon purple light flew by Lincoln's head, catching Lincoln's attention easily. He looked at what seemed to be a glowing butterfly of sorts. He tried to look at it a bit closer when it landed on a branch but it simply flew farther into the forest. While normally, he would simply cut his losses and head back, there was something that compelled him to follow the butterfly, which he did. His legs went into an automatic run at the purple light, not paying attention to the area around him. He wanted to catch this butterfly at any cost! Soon enough, the bug finally found a stopping point and flew in one place. Lincoln smirked and sneaked his way until he had found the right spot and leaped at the butterfly a right at the bug, failing to see the bug had been above a cliff face the whole time.
Lincoln instantly began to fall down the large cliffside, cutting and bumping his body rapidly with no stop at all. He grunted and screamed in pain until he finally landed on the ground, covered in cuts and bruises while now coughing up some slight blood. He groaned and got up to look around to see he was… somewhere. Thankfully his flashlight wasn't broken and took it out and turned it on to look at the surrounding area of the forest. He instantly got nervous when he saw how… odd the forest looked now. Instead of the nice summer green of the grass and leaves was replaced with the color purple and black. The trees seemed to have faces of pain or carvings in the shape of eyes, watching Lincoln's every move. In the distance he heard heavy breathing and stomping which signalled a sign of life but now Lincoln wasn't aware if it was a friendly person or a hungry animal.
"Oh dear god… What have you gotten yourself into, Lincoln Loud? You should have… walked back to camp! Now I'm probably in one of those quarantine zones where they tested weapons. I am… very screwed…"
He slowly began to walk through the foggy forest, hoping to find someone that could possibly give him directions of any kind to get out of this freakish nightmare. Every time Lincoln heard something in the fog, he fastened his pace to make sure he wasn't being followed. However his attempt at finding anything to help proved futile as he only found odd and dangerous looking plants and other odd creatures. One looked like a rabid squirrel and the other seemingly being a spiked looking turtle with red eyes. He hoped he hadn't entered some toxic waste dump or something that scientists disposed of because just being here was probably giving him all types of diseases.
Bump… bump…
Lincoln gulped and quickened his speed, seeing some sort of large creature in the dark trees, looking at him with its large glowing eight eyes.
Lincoln came to an odd set of trees. Looking in both directions, it seemed that a ton of trees were conjoined together and formed a long and tall barrier with a large opening on the ground. More trees with eye carvings staring down upon him, almost begging for him to walk deeper into were ever he was like a lure of some sorts.
"N-No. I need to find the others. No going back-"
But he knocked into a tree by a sudden future from behind, roaring in rage. Lincoln got up and looked at the creature in terror. He was looking at some… abomination! It has a humanoid appearance with brown clothes on it except with large white bulbs and tumors growing out of its face and chest with only a large gaping hole in its head area. It began to stumble towards him, swinging its spiked forearms aggressively to try and strike Lincoln who rolled through its legs and began to run away, picking up any rocks and throwing it at the thing as a weapon. It didn't do much harm except annoy the creature even more. Not wanting to become this things dinner, he ran towards the large wooden tree barrier and ran through the opening.
The thing charged at the opening only to start howling in pain as it held its head. Lincoln watched in confusion as it ran away, screaming in fear from… something. Not wanting to wait around any longer, he simply walked deeper into the wooden barrier, seeing a lot more oddities. The grass seemed to start forming a swirl pattern from the purple grass along with pitch black grass as well. He followed the swirling pattern, coming closer to its middle until..
"Lincoln…" Spoke a hushed, monotone female voice from somewhere. "Come closer, Lincoln…"
"W-Who said that?! How do you know my name?!" he yelled out in full blown paranoia. Little by little, he felt his mind was starting to break.
"Walk closer to… come to the center… and join me…"
Lincoln didn't question it for some reason. He wanted to see where this voice was coming from no matter what. Nothing mattered anymore. He needed to know who this was. As the teen walked closer and closer, a large mass began to glow the closer Lincoln was. When he was close enough, he finally saw the horrifying behemoth that lived in the center.
"You have… found me…"
It was a giant creature of sorts living in the ground around a large rocky object that was covered in purple goo, eyes that darted around, and small mouths that were gaping and tendrils growing out of the cracks wiggling around for something to grab. Lincoln could not believe what he was seeing! It was something out of a Lovecraftian short story yet… he was looking at a creature, or some alien! His mind was telling him to run away from this living nightmare and never return. However, his body was slowly walking towards the creature in a trance like a spell had been put over him. He wanted to know more…
"Who… What are you…" Lincoln asked the being, still walking towards it.
"Now would be too soon to tell… Join me, Lincoln Loud. And you shall become the champion to my species and help me with my quest…" spoke the voice once again. When Lincoln got close enough, the thing opened up a large hole in the middle, outlining with teeth and tentacles coming out to reach for the Loud. Before he could even think the tentacles had grabbed onto him and pulled Lincoln into the gaping maw of the creature, being sunken into and endless void as fleshy walls closed upon him and more tendrils going into his body and seemingly converting him into something… otherworldly…
"You are the first human to make it through alive… I thank you for helping me… You shall be the best thing that has happened to me in centuries, my champion…"
