The Loud House had seen some changes in the middle child of the family as of late. Almost six months had passed since Lynn Loud Jr.'s death, two weeks after that, Lincoln had been in a state of depression that worried his family most of the day. However, something had changed in the young thirteen-year-old. He was no longer depressed, but he moved about like he had a purpose. They also noticed that he and Lucy were spending a lot more time together lately, perhaps it was their way of relieving their grief. Lincoln and Lynn were close, and Lucy was close to both of them, so this was probably their way of healing.
Whatever the case may be, neither the Loud girls, nor their parents, were going to question it. Lincoln was getting back to his old self, and that's what mattered. However, the truth was far more complicated than that.
As Lucy had warned him, when she performed the ritual to awaken Lincoln's magical circuits, his body developed a high grade fever for about twenty-four hours. Lucy acted as his nurse to make sure that his family didn't do anything to disrupt the process, and to ensure that the ritual did work. Thankfully, it did, and Lincoln now had access to his magic.
Their six months of preparations were nearly complete, and Lincoln felt both excited and nervous about the prospect, even as he went about his Saturday at his house, he still felt anxious about this endeavor, but all he had to do was think about Lynn and those doubts were snuffed out like a candle in a wind storm.
"Lincoln!"
The white haired boy snapped out his thoughts and turned his attention to the twins. "Hey, guys, what's up?"
"I need to run through my routine one more time, and I need you to make sure I've got it down!" Lola stated.
"What, no, I need his help! I may or may not have messed with the water pipes to the house and I need Lincoln to hold a piece of the pipes in place!" Lana countered.
The twins got nose to nose as they stared each other down.
"My pageant is in less than two hours! That can wait!"
"You're pageant can wait, woman! Do you want to have water for your hour long showers or what?!"
Lincoln glanced between the twins and sighed, he then wedged his hands between their faces and pushed them apart, keeping them at arm's length from each other before they could come to blows. "Guys, I can help you both out. Lana, how long do you think it will take to you to fix the pipe?"
"It shouldn't take more than ten minutes, fifteen tops," said Lana.
"Lola, how long do you need for your whole routine?"
"About…an hour, maybe?" Lola answered.
"Okay, since Lana's repair job shouldn't take that long, we'll start there, and then I'll help you out Lola, sound fair?" Lincoln asked.
The twins nodded and Lincoln was off with Lana to fix whatever it was she broke.
The whole time this was going on, Luan and Luna couldn't help but watch this all and smile from their spot on the couch. They hated the fact that it wouldn't be long before Lincoln would have to take up their role as the eldest sibling in charge, a responsibility that Luan and Luna knew would come to them sooner or later once Lori and Leni were off to college, but now with Lynn gone, Lincoln would immediately be thrust into the position without any backup.
"Doesn't seem fair, does it?" Luna asked.
"What, that when we're gone, Lincoln's going to have to be the big brother of the house?" Luan answered.
"Yep. We always had help, Lori had Leni, I have you. But Linc…with Lynn gone, he'll be alone. And, yeah, Lynn would be gone sooner, but at least Lincoln would've had some backup."
"I hear ya. But, maybe not, I mean, Lucy seems like she's stepping up. Maybe she'll help out more?" Luan suggested.
"So long as she doesn't go too deep into her goth thing, I can see that." Luna stretched as she sat up. "I'm going to go and get ready for my date with Sam, you gonna be alright?"
Luan waved off her sister's concern. "Mom'll take Lola to her pageant, and I'm pretty sure Lincoln's going to be out later. So that just leaves Lucy, Lisa, Lana, and Lily."
"Wrong, that leaves just Lisa, Lana, and Lily."
"GAAAH!" Luna and Luan shrieked as Lucy appeared out of nowhere .
"Lincoln and I will be heading out later. We have some activities planned," said Lucy.
Luna waited for her heart rate to go down before she spoke. "Okay…well, just be careful out there, alright?"
Lucy nodded and headed upstairs.
"I swear, it's gotta be magic, how else does he do that," said Luna.
"Yeah, I don't want to think about Lucy having magic."
Speaking of the raven haired girl, Lucy made her way up the attic stairs and into her new room. It had taken many months, but the young sorceress believed she had found an effective medium for Lincoln to wield his magic. He wasn't much like her, whereas Lucy could cast spells with spoken word, written word, or concoctions, Lincoln needed a more tangible item to direct it. Fortunately, his magic also had the added benefit of reinforcing and enhancing his physical abilities without him needing to say a word, but for more powerful spells, he'd need a medium.
Lucy walked over to her little workshop corner, she made a note to make a more proper one, but for now, with so many people living under one roof, secrecy was an art form, and if you wanted to keep something hidden, it had to be done quietly and in small bits. Sitting upon her little work bench was a deck of playing cards.
The goth girl smiled and gave a little chuckle, she had kept her work a secret from her big brother, only telling him that his medium would be "suitable to his liking". Lucy blinked. "Oh no, Luan's rubbing off on me."
Lucy shuddered, but began placing the final touches. Lincoln was an avid Ace Savvy fan, so a deck of magically infused cards would be perfect for him. She'd leave the combinations up to Lincoln, but for now, getting it ready was top priority. Of course, Lucy hadn't been slacking in her training either.
Since she was already versed in the mystic arts, it didn't take her long to learn a few offensive magical arts, curses, illusion arts, and healing. Lucy worked extra hard on the healing magical arts, the raven haired girl knew that she wasn't built for combat, as far as the physical aspect. Lincoln had been working out these last six months, training his body with Lynn's old regimen. It was painful to watch her big brother push himself so hard, Lynn was an athlete, and even with the enhancing magic, Lincoln would still end up a wheezing mess at the end of it.
But he endured it, and thanks to that, his body had begun to develop toned muscles. She remembered the day when Lincoln took off his shirt and showed of his upper body, his muscles, abs…
Lucy shook her head as she felt her face heat up. "Stop it! Don't go there!" Lucy released a wordless sigh. Anyway, yes, Lincoln would be engaging – if needed – in close combat with other mages, or assisting their Servant. Lucy decided to take up the supporting role, using her curses, or casting healing spells. She already lost one sibling, she was not going to lose another. Lucy placed the deck into the spell circle she etched into the wood.
With a wave of her hand, the circle came to life, glowing a low violet light as she began her work. "Reinforce, to protect from destruction." A layer of white light shined through each card before stopping at the bottom card. "Infuse, to take in magic." Another layer of light, this time blue, washed over the deck. "Invocation, to call forth a spell by the caster." A third light of yellow washed over the deck. "Combine together, and with this…" Lucy took out a strand of Lincoln's white hair. "You will be bound to his magic, his word."
Lucy placed the hair strand atop the deck, the hair broke down and bathed the deck in vermillion light. The deck glowed brighter until it released a powerful flash, and with that the deck was complete, her brother's tool for combat was ready. Lucy's lips curled into a small smile, despite her creation of a comic book for her brother when he took the fall for clogging the toilet with a Princess Pony book, she never really felt like she thanked him properly for that. Now, this would serve as the perfect apology gift, and a useful tool.
The young ten-year-old grabbed a leather deck carrying case and took the cards with her. She descended the stairs from the attic and prepared to find Lincoln, only for her to turn around and see him standing there. "GASP!"
Lucy lost her footing and began to fall, Lincoln acted quickly, holding out his arms to catch his little sister before she hit the floor. The goth girl suddenly found herself in her brother's strong arms, princess style.
"Whoa, you alright Luce?" Lincoln asked.
Lucy blushed. "S-Sorry, I was on my way to look for you, but I wasn't expecting you to be right behind me."
"Hmm, gee, don't ya just hate it when that happens?"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Lucy deadpanned. "Could you, please put me down now?"
Lincoln did as she asked. "So, what's up? What did you need me for?"
Lucy cleared her throat and presented him with the deck and carrying case. "I finished it. This is yours, Lincoln."
Lincoln immediately understood what she meant, carefully he took the deck from her hands. On the surface, it looked like a normal deck of playing cards, but with Lincoln's awakened magical senses, he could tell that these weren't ordinary cards, he felt a connection to them, as if they were an extension of himself.
"With those, you'll be able to cast different spells, depending on the combination of cards. With a simple thought, you'll draw the cards you need to enact your spell," Lucy explained.
"Lucy…this is, this is so cool! Admit it, you did this because I like Ace Savvy!"
Lucy blushed and nodded. She then let out a wordless gasp when she felt Lincoln wrap his arms around her in a hug.
"Thank you, I can tell you worked really hard on these. I promise to put them to good use!"
Lucy felt her heart race, but managed to push that aside and give her brother a hug. "You're welcome, Lincoln."
Lincoln released Lucy and asked, "So, we're on for tonight?"
"Yes, we'll meet at the spot I told you about. I set up a Bounded Field there, no one will be around to disturb us."
"Okay."
"By the way, why are you up here?"
"Oh crap!"
"LINCOLN! HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET A BATON!" Lola screamed.
"COMING!"
Lincoln dashed into Lola and Lana's room, finding the baton and rushed right down, passing by Luna as he did so. Luna walked to the top of the stairs and looked in Lucy's direction. The goth girl walked towards the stairs and said, "Have fun on your date," before walking away.
Luna watched her little brother and sister walk away, their words still echoing in her head. "Yeah…thanks."
In Great Lakes City, another young mage was finishing her preparations. Ronnie Anne had been studying diligently under her grandmother, learning different spells and training her body for the confrontation to come. Rosa had instructed Ronnie Anne to work on her gunplay, to which, Ronnie Anne would make frequent visits to the laser tag arenas, paintball fields, as well as playing as many different shooter games at the arcades.
Of course she kept this all a secret from her family, especially Sid. She felt bad about that, Sid was someone she loved, a best friend, and now a girlfriend, and Ronnie Anne didn't want to mess that up. But, she also knew if she told Sid, the half-Chinese girl might talk her out of it. After all, when you say it out loud, it was a crazy endeavor. Entering a death battle for a magical wish granting item, only to use said wish for someone else's sake. A selfless act, as Ronnie Anne had many different things she could ask of the Grail.
A better life for her whole family, wealth, world peace? What better life could she ask for? Ronnie Anne was with a great, quirky girl, her whole family may not be filthy stinking rich, but they were wealthy enough, plus, they were rich in the love and bonds they shared with each other. Plus, if world peace needed a wish granting item to make it happen, then it what would be the point? World peace should be achieved through understanding and accepting of differences, if mankind couldn't do that on their own, then why put that burden on the Holy Grail?
Today was Saturday, the day that Ronnie Anne would summon her Servant and then begin her journey back to Royal Woods to start her bloody struggle. So before then, Ronnie Anne decided to spend some time in the park with Sid, feeding some pigeons before they moved onto their next activity. As morbid as it sounded, Ronnie Anne wanted to at least have something fond to look back on in case the worst case scenario was brought about.
"Hey, Ronnie Anne, you alright?" Sid asked.
Ronnie Anne was snapped out of her inward thoughts as she turned her attention back to Sid. "Oh, yeah, sorry! I guess I zoned out a little."
"You sure you aren't too tired? You have been hitting the gym a lot lately." Sid ran her hand up Ronnie Anne's toned arm and gave her a half-lidded stare. "Not that I don't like the results."
Ronnie Anne smirked. "Geez, could not undress me with your eyes while we're in public?"
"Oh, you know you like it," Sid joked.
The girls finished dispensing their crumbs to the pigeons and began their walk. Ronnie Anne kept her hands in her jean short pockets, every once in a while glancing over at Sid's hands. She really wanted to hold her hand, or for them to walk arm in arm, but they still hadn't come out yet to their folks, or to their neighbors, so that was a negative for the time being.
"Sid…I need to tell you something," said Ronnie Anne.
Sid glanced to her girlfriend and asked, "What's up?"
"I'm going to be heading to Royal Woods for a little while."
Sid cocked her head to the side. "Okay, what's wrong with that? Are you going to go visit Lincoln?"
"Kinda…there's something I want to do for him, and I don't know how long it'll take to get everything together, but this is something I have to do, and I just…" Ronnie Anne stopped walking.
Sid did the same, and now she had a look of concern on her face. "Ronnie Anne, what's wrong? You sound like you're not coming back or something?"
"I totally intend to come back, to this city, to my family, to you," Ronnie Anne gently placed her hand on Sid's shoulder. "But…if something happens…just…promise me you'll find someone who likes you as much I as do."
"What?!"
Dammit! Why the hell did I say that?!
Sid brushed Ronnie Anne's hand away and looked her in the eyes. "Ronnie Anne, what's going on? You sound like you're going off to die or something! Are you…are we…?"
Ronnie Anne's eyes bulged, she quickly embraced Sid and held her tight. "No, I'm not breaking up with you! I would never do that! I want to be with you!"
"Then…tell me what you're doing, you can tell me anything, Ronnie Anne, you know that," said Sid.
The young Latina released Sid and sighed. "Maybe I should…but, not right now. I just want to think about us, and do things together…If you really want to know, come by the laundry room later tonight. I'll show you then, I promise."
Sid didn't like it, Ronnie Anne was planning something, and it was most likely dangerous, but why did it involve going to Royal Woods? And somehow, Sid thought, this had to involve Lincoln Loud, she knew Lincoln was Ronnie Anne's best friend, but they're conversations lately had been far and few between, she figured that they just hadn't talked anymore. However, Sid could see that Ronnie Anne wanted to have this day with her and not have to think about what she was going to do.
With a sigh, Sid smiled and said, "Alright, but I'm holding you to your promise."
"Believe me, I never go back on a promise," said Ronnie Anne.
Sid smiled and kissed Ronnie Anne on the forehead quickly. "I know, that's one of the reasons why I like you."
A young girl of sixteen was on her way to her family's estate. She came from a long line of mages, although not one of the Three Great Families, their standing was still not something to be sneezed at. Her name was Abagail Dioland, her family migrated to the United States ages ago, and ever since had established themselves in U. S. politics and military positions.
For years, their family had tried to make the Holy Grail appear in North America, but each time it would deny them, appearing somewhere in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, but never in the United States. At some point, one of their family members had thought to provoke one, by engaging in some rather dubious forms of magic. However, it seemed that fate had other plans.
Yes, because for the first time in centuries, the Holy Grail was appearing right here in the United States, and Abagail wanted first crack at it. Currently, she was in Washington D. C., heading off to see her father after she learned of the news. Her friends were texting and calling her to see if she wanted to hang out, she gave them plenty of different excuses, besides, this was going to be bigger than some boys or a mall trip, this was life or death, this would be the Dioland family's chance to rise above the Three Great Families and do what none of them could.
The limo Abagail rode in finally stopped before a large, two story town home. The driver got out and quickly opened the door, the sun was out that day, and its rays illuminated her form. She had long blonde hair, with forest green eyes, she wore a navy blue dress, with black stockings and matching white heeled shoes. The young lady walked briskly and quickly through her mansion of a home and made her way to her father's study.
She gave a few knocks to the door and awaited a response.
"Enter."
Abagail opened the doors, inside was a wooden, mahogany desk, polished so well that it reflected the lights from the ceiling and sun. Bookshelves lined both sides of the wall, below her was a Persian rug, and a fireplace on the opposite wall. The man sitting in the chair behind the desk was a tall, yet well built man. His hair was graying, but he also possessed the same forest green eyes as she did.
"Hmm, Abagail, what brings you home so early. I thought you'd be out later," he said.
"I honestly couldn't wait when I heard the news! There's going to be a Holy Grail War happening soon right here in our own backyard!"
Her father grinned. "Indeed, aside from dealing with all this chaos in this administration, this has come as a breath of fresh air."
"Do we know where it's going to show up?" Abagail asked.
Mr. Dioland took out some papers and placed them on his desk for his daughter to see. "From what our intel has been able to gather, we believe it's going to appear in Michigan, in the town of Royal Woods."
"Father, you have to allow me to enter! I've been training and my puppet magic is second to none! Let me summon the Servant and I'll go to Royal Woods to claim the Grail!"
Mr. Dioland grimaced. "I will not."
Abagail looked like she had just been insulted upon hearing those words. "W-What?! But, Father, why not?!"
"Because, your cousin, Drake, has been preparing. We're still trying to track down a good catalyst object for the summoning, but as it stands we may just need to do the summoning without one." Mr. Dioland bit his lip. "I don't like doing that, you never know what kind of Servant you're going to summon without one."
"Drake! He's hardly suitable for such a task!" Abagail fumed. "My mastery of puppet magic is far better than his! Please, let me do it! I can be on a plane before–!"
Mr. Dioland slammed his fist on his desk. "I will not risk my own daughter's life!" Abagail flinched. "Grail Wars are riddled with death, and at best you walk away scarred, mentally and – more often than not – physically. At worst you die a horrible death depending on your opponent."
Mr. Dioland stood up from his desk, showing the tremendous height difference between himself and his daughter, he towered over her, a statuesque man with broad shoulders and large hands. "I will not risk my only child wade into such carnage. Your cousin is expendable, but also capable. He'll do well enough. Now, I don't want to hear anymore talk about going to Michigan or the Grail, understood."
Abagail gritted her teeth, but lowered her head and said, "I understand." That I'll just have to take matters into my own hands…
Disgraced, Excommunicated, the Devil's Workmen, these are the words one would associate with the Eltham family. Their creation, Etherlite, was a alchemic marvel, but many in the Mage's Association saw this creation as something that could easily tear apart the fabric of society, and was seen as an abomination onto to the natural order. Etherlite, the ability to hack another's nervous system, and essentially, their spirit as well. But it served another purpose, it could easily hack someone's mind and copy memories and experiences, and by essence, transfer them into another's body, or one could transfer their own mind and spirit into another's, practically overwriting another's life with their own.
It was due to this creation, that the family was disgraced and shunned from anything associated with magecraft. Any mage family dared not offer them aid or be seen in the same light as them.
"Not any longer…"
Rosso Eltham, she was sixteen years old, at least that's how she looked. She was olive skinned, with cherry red hair, and amber eyes. She lived in squalor for a long time, in the slums of a city she had long forgotten the name of. She didn't bother to remember where she'd been, she only cared about where she was going.
You see, Rosso was the last of the Eltham family. The Mage's Association, the cruel bastards that they were, saw their Etherlite creation as the Devil's work, and to make sure that the research was completely erased, instigated an erasure of the family altogether. Men, women, children, babies, all were to be killed, for if even one of them was alive to continue the work, then they'd surely bring it back.
And they almost succeeded, but they missed one. Rosso used the Etherlite to transfer her consciousness, her spirit, into another body. Since then, she'd been moving from one body to the next, she forgot most of what she once was, it didn't help to remember that. She hopped into the body of a girl, and then into a boy, and then another boy, back to another girl, another boy, and so on and so forth.
Gender didn't matter to her anymore, she had done things in the bodies of both genders, to the point that Rosso had forgotten what her original gender was. She felt comfortable in either one that she didn't really care anymore. She sometimes lacked the proper materials some days to make more Etherlite, and sometimes had to stay in one body for longer than she wanted to. She only resorted to drastic measures when she was sure that she had the materials needed to move into another body.
But, thankfully, her suffering, her humiliation, it was all about to come to an end. The last body she inhabited before this one was that of a prostitute. People tended to say a lot of things when screwing some unknown person, spilling secrets when they were drunk and high on sex, or drugs. Rosso had managed to get some information from a mage, telling them everything, one of the Dioland's little lackeys.
It was from this man that she learned that the Holy Grail would soon appear in a little town called Royal Woods in Michigan. It was a ways away, but Rosso managed to get close now. She was just on the outskirts of the town, in a place called Hazeltucky, lurking in the alley of a couple of businesses as she contemplated her next move. The body she inhabited was clean, she forgot this one's name, but it didn't matter, bodies were just husks.
Rosso had gathered the materials needed for her summoning, the catalyst in this case was a feather from cloak, to the untrained eye, it was rubbish, but to a mage, it was tainted with magical energy, and not the friendly kind. That was fine, she needed a servant who could kill, who could torture and make her enemies suffer as much as Rosso had.
But, first, she needed something crucial to her summons. Blood. As if by providence, Rosso spotted two candidates. One was a tan skinned, large boy, with black hair that covered his eyes. The second was another large boy, light skinned boy, with a spiked mullet, and wearing a shirt with the sleeves torn off. Both boys looked about fifteen, and looked like the unsavory type not to turn down something if it was being dangled in front of them. At this age, there were two things that motivated boys like these, money, and sex.
"Ah, dude, did you see how that kid cried when I took his candy, Hawk?" the tan skinned boy asked.
"Yeah, Hank, he was all like, 'Wah, give me my candy back!' Ha, ha, and then you gave him that wedgy!" Hawk answered.
Oh, yeah, no one will miss them, thought Rosso.
Rosso stepped out into the open, and gave the two rowdy boys her classic bedroom eyes. "Hey boys."
Hank and Hawk stopped walking and turned to the girl.
"You talking to us?" Hank asked.
No you dimwits, the other two boys walking along this street. Of course it's fucking you!
"Yes, I am," said Rosso in a sultry voice.
"What d'ya want?" Hawk asked.
"A little money, I'm passing through and I'm running short on cash," Rosso explained.
"A drifter, get a job ya bum," said Hank.
"Well, technically, I am at work now. I really don't need much, and for you two, I'd be willing to give you a discount for my… 'services'."
Hank and Hawk glanced to each other, this girl couldn't possibly mean what that, right? As if reading their minds, Rosso discreetly pulled up her shirt and flashed her tits at the two teenage boys.
"Full commando boys, you're not going to tell me that you're afraid of paying for a cheap price for some pussy, right?" Rosso goaded.
"We ain't afraid of shit! I'll pay!" Hawk stated.
"Dude if you're in, I'm in!" Hank replied.
Too easy…
The Iselam family had one credo, to pursue true beauty, this defined their magic, defined their way of living, to the point that their quest to bring forth the most beautiful person was passed down from one generation to the next. For this, they needed the Holy Grail, for only an object of such perfection could bring forth true beauty.
Torek Iselam, at the age of twenty he was already in line to become the head of the Iselam family, his hair was a shimmering platinum blonde color, his eyes were as blue as sapphires and sparkled as if they were cut from the very gemstones themselves. He had a chiseled jaw, and his body was sculpted with muscles, not so much as to make him into a bulky body builder, but just enough to make him simply irresistible to the opposite sex.
Currently, Torek was busy relaxing on the beach at a hotel that his family owned, he had surrounded himself with many women, all dressed in various revealing swimsuits who were either playing in the ocean or sunbathing next to him.
An elderly man in a butler's uniform walked onto the beach and stopped just behind the chair Torek was lounging on. "Forgive me, Master Iselam, but you have a call from your mother."
"I see, well, tell her I'm currently occupied," said Torek.
"She's very insistent, Sir, she told me to inform you it's regarding a certain cup," he relayed.
Torek sat up and grinned. "I see…" the young man got up and said, "Ladies, order anything you like, and enjoy your stay. I will unfortunately need to take my leave."
Many of the girls whined and voiced their objections, pleading for him to stay with them.
"Now, now, it's family business, and I can't say no to family," said Torek.
The young Iselam man followed his butler all the way back to the hotel. He was then led into a private room, there a hardline phone was left off the hook on a corner table. Torek, picked up the phone and said, "You know, Mother, there's this terrific invention called 'cellphones', much easier to get ahold of me."
{If I did, would it have torn you away from whatever little harem you had surrounding you?}
Torek thought about that for a moment. "Touché."
{In any case, the Holy Grail has been located, I'll send you coordinates. Did you happen to get the catalyst I sent you?}
Torek's butler brought over a box and opened it. Inside was half of a pale white mask, with something red, dried, and smeared on some parts of it. "Indeed."
{Just remember, this is our golden opportunity.}
"Yes, true eternal beauty is within our grasp!"
Team Loud
Night had fallen on the Loud House, and Lincoln was wide awake. He lied there in his bed, dressed in black clothing to better help in their stealthy exit, for tonight, they would summon their Servant. Lincoln glanced at his cellphone which now read, "10:30 pm". He hadn't heard a peep from any of his sisters, which hopefully meant that they were all fast asleep. Lincoln got up and reached below his bed, pulling out a backpack with various supplies for which to enact their summon.
Lucy had given Lincoln the supplies ahead of time, since her room was located in the attic now, she couldn't go down the stairs without making noise. However, she was still light and small enough to fit through the vents of their house. Lincoln was still able to move around in them when he was eleven, so it shouldn't prove too difficult for Lucy now that she was two years older.
Like clockwork, Lucy opened the grate to Lincoln's room. The white haired boy raised his arms and helped his sister climb down, both paused for a moment to make sure that their movements hadn't caused anyone to awaken.
When there was no reaction, both sighed heavily. Silent as church mice, the brother and sister made their way out of the house, Lincoln had set up his bike next to the house for easy access. He hadn't ridden the bike since Lynn died, Lana had given it back to him after her death, hoping that it would help her brother to have something that was once hers. At the time, it didn't help much, but now, he was grateful that Lana gave it back to him.
Lincoln mounted the bike and waited for Lucy to situate herself behind him. She locked her arms around his waist and nodded for him to go. Lincoln nodded and began peddling, heading towards their destination.
The night was warm, but not unpleasant, the full moon gave them enough light to see where they were going. Lincoln made sure to take the backroads, they didn't want to be stopped by a cop wondering what they were doing out so late. They passed by some buildings, but for the most part no one seemed to give them a second glance. Lincoln stopped a couple of times, feeling as if they were being followed, but when he turned to look, he only spotted a parked car.
Soon, the duo made it to their destination, the park. There was enough of a woodland area that it would hide them from view, and right next to that was the lake.
"C'mon, I'll guide you," said Lucy.
Lincoln followed Lucy as they walked into the woods. They continued for a about three minutes before Lincoln felt a tingle pass through his body, making him stop for a second.
"What was that?" he asked.
"That was the Bounded Field, we just passed through it. It's not my best work, but it'll keep out everyone else, and no one will be able to see what we're doing."
Lincoln and Lucy continued further in, stopping by the shore of the lake. Lincoln opened his backpack and took out the items that they needed, as well as a flashlight.
"Place the stone on the ground," Lucy instructed.
Lincoln nodded, taking out the piece of the Round Table and putting it on the grass. Lucy took out some chalk dust and began to draw the magic summoning circle, she was very meticulous, she didn't want to get anything wrong in making this circle, the detail needed to be perfect, if one sigil was wrong, if one stroke was not straight, it could warp the entire summoning.
Lincoln wished he could help her with this part, but she was the more experienced one when it came to these kinds of things.
After about five minutes, Lucy was done with her work, she wiped the sweat from her brow and surveyed her work, after looking it over three times, Lucy was satisfied that the summoning circle was perfect.
"Is it ready?" Lincoln asked.
"Yes…do you remember the plan?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah, I'll start the summoning, and take on the Command Seals. We'll share mana with whatever Servant that we summon, that way it frees us up to cast spells without completely draining us," said Lincoln.
Lucy nodded, she then looked down at the ground. "Lincoln, there's still time. You don't have to do this."
"What? But you're the one who suggested we do this!"
"I know…I'm not saying that we shouldn't. What I'm saying is, maybe I should be the Master instead, and just fight alone. Losing Lynn was one thing…but losing you too…I don't think I could take that…I don't think anyone in the house could!"
Lincoln smiled and placed his hands on Lucy's shoulders. "And you think I can take it if I lost you? Or losing any one of our sisters, or parents? One way or another, Luce, I'm doing this. I won't just stand by and watch you do this alone, I…I'm pretty sure I'll go to someplace bad if that happened and I knew I could've prevented it."
Lucy frowned. "Lincoln, it wasn't your fault! It was an accident!"
"An accident that never needed to happen. It should've been me on that day, but it wasn't. I made my choice, Luce, I'm in this to the end. Lynn will come home, no matter what it takes," said Lincoln with complete resolution.
Lucy looked up into the eyes of her big brother. There was a fire burning in those eyes, a fire that was kindling for six months and now it was ready to be set ablaze and burn down anything that got in his way. Lucy gently pushed her brother's arms off of her, and gave him a hug.
"Okay, I'm with you all the way," said Lucy. "Lynn will come home."
Team Santiago
Ronnie Anne waited at the entrance to the laundry room. She had told Sid to meet her here at around ten-thirty. She still wasn't sure about this, part of Ronnie Anne berated her for bringing this up, but at the same time, she didn't want to keep a secret like this from Sid.
If Ronnie Anne died out there, Sid would never know, her grandmother still had apprehensions about the whole thing, but knew Ronnie Anne would not back down from this. If Ronnie Anne, somehow, died during this Grail War, then Sid deserved to know the truth. No relationship built on lies ever lasted long, Ronnie Anne never kept secrets from her, and she wouldn't start now.
Ronnie Anne was about to give up and head down to the subbasement, but then Sid came bounding down the stairs, stopping at the doorway as she caught her breath. Her hair and clothes were a mess, there were some claw marks on Sid, and there as a faint smell of garbage coming from the half-Chinese girl.
"Oh man…sorry! It was taking forever for my parents to go to sleep, so I had to go out the fire escape, shimmy down that, and then I landed in a pile of garbage, walked around to the front, almost got mauled by that gang of cats, and…and…whew, sorry I'm late."
Ronnie Anne chuckled and shook her head. Leave it to Sid to get into something crazy like that. The teen Latina walked up to Sid and was about to come in for a kiss, but Sid backed away.
"No, don't kiss me now! I smell like garbage!"
Ronnie Anne smirked at Sid, she then swiftly planted a kiss on the freckled girl's cheek. "Yeah, you do, and? How many times have we both fallen into garbage piles? Remember Halloween two years ago?"
Sid cringed. "Don't remind me. Soooo…what was it that you wanted to show me?"
"Follow me."
Ronnie Anne led Sid into the secret room of the laundry room, where many of the tenants would come in have some time to use it for whatever activity they wanted. Once inside, Ronnie Anne pulled back the rug and placed her hand on the same spot she had seen her grandma. She spoke some words in Spanish that Sid didn't know, but afterwards, the concrete began to glow, and etched lines into the floor as a set of stairs formed.
Sid stood there with her mouth hanging open, her eyes not believing what they were seeing. She barely registered when Ronnie Anne took her hand and brought her down into the tunnel, which led to a wooden door. Sid watched as Ronnie Anne opened the door and saw a large arcane circle drawn in the center the room, with a stone placed at its center.
"Abuela," Ronnie Anne called out.
"Aye, Mija, I've got everything – dios mio!" Rosa exclaimed as she saw Ronnie Anne and Sid. "Ronnie Anne, why did you–?!"
"Abuela…"
Rosa took a moment to look upon her grandchild and Sid. She saw a faint blush Ronnie Anne's face, she also spotted how tightly Ronnie Anne was holding Sid's hand. It didn't take long before Rosa understood why she brought Sid down here. "I see, I understand, Mija."
"Thanks, Abuela," said Ronnie Anne.
"Oooookay, uh, w-what is all this?! H-How did you make those stairs appear?! And how long has this been here?!" Sid asked.
Ronnie Anne took in a deep breath and began her explanation. She told Sid everything, about learning how part of her family is descendent from spell casters, and that her grandmother had been practicing magic since she was little, and that for the last six months her grandmother had been teaching her the ways of magic. Ronnie Anne then went into the harder part of this explanation, the reason behind the training.
"Sid…there's something called the Holy Grail, it can grant someone any one wish they want, whatever it is, and it only appears every so many years, and this time, it's appearing in Royal Woods."
"You're old hometown?!'
Ronnie Anne nodded.
Sid scratched her head in confusion. "Okay, so, you're going on a scavenger hunt for a wish granting cup?"
"Not exactly…It's a Holy Grail War."
Sid flinched when she heard the emphasis put on the "war".
"Seven mages fight for the right to make their wish. They summon Heroic Spirits, people from myths, legends, even history, and together, these seven mages along with their Heroic Spirits, fight in a battle royal to claim it, the last one standing wins," Ronnie Anne explained.
"Oh…so it's like a fighting game? You set these spirits to fight and you win if you beat them, right?" Sid asked.
Ronnie Anne stuffed her hands into her pockets. "It's not as easy as that…it's a death match, Sid. Defeating a spirit is only one way you can win, killing the master of that spirit is accepted too."
As expected, Sid's eyes widened with shock. A death match, and Ronnie Anne was going to compete in it. "N-no, NO! Ronnie Anne, you can't do that! You could seriously die! If what you're saying is true, this is way more dangerous than you doing some skateboarding stunt! These guys could actually kill you!"
"I know that, Sid, but I'm still going to fight anyway," said Ronnie Anne.
"Why?! What wish could you want that's so important that it's worth your life!" Sid pleaded.
"Lincoln." Ronnie Anne looked Sid in the eyes. "I'm going to fight to wish Lynn Loud Jr. back to life. Lori and Bobby are together, they'll get married at some point, and that makes Lincoln family, Sid, mi familia! He's been hurting since she died, I can't stand to see someone as good as him be in that kind of pain! Not just him, I can see it in Lori sometimes, she's hurting, her whole family is hurting!"
Ronnie Anne stood more confidently. "I know it's crazy, insane, but that's what I'm fighting for, Sid! I just…I just wanted you to know what I was doing in case…in case the worst case scenario happens. I don't want you to think that I up and left you or something."
Sid stood there silently as she looked directly at Ronnie Anne. The young Latina felt her heart beating at a million miles an hour, this was definitely something that could break them up. Maybe she'd understand if this wish she was fighting for was for something that would benefit Ronnie Anne or her family, but that wasn't the case, she was going to fight and risk possible death for the sake of her old friend and their family.
"Please…say something, Sid?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"Honestly…I should be furious with you. I mean, I can understand it if it was for something you wanted! But, you're going to fight for Lincoln, and his family, to bring someone back who was dear to them!" Sid approached Ronnie Anne, with the latter awaiting a slap or a punch. But, to Ronnie Anne's surprise, she got a hug. "And that's the absolute noblest thing I've ever heard. I don't like that you're going to risk your life, or that you might die. But…I'd feel like the biggest jerk in the world if I stopped you."
Ronnie Anne's eyes watered as she hugged her girlfriend back. "Thank you for understanding."
Rosa smiled at the scene before her, she always had a feeling about those two, and now, it seems, she was right.
Sid separated herself from Ronnie Anne and looked at the circle. "So, is that to summon the spirit?"
"Yes, and tonight is the night. You're going to be summoning a powerful Servant, Ronnie Anne, you must be strong and resolute in this," said Rosa.
Ronnie Anne wiped her eyes and put on a serious expression. "Believe me, Abuela, I am!"
Team Eltham
This was almost way too easy, thought Rosso.
The last descendent of the Eltham line had used her Etherlite to hack both of the two brutish boys, having them collect a few more things before tonight's summoning. She almost felt bad that she didn't at least let them have a little fun, seeing as the both of them were going to die tonight, it was the least she could do. Not like she cared about this body. When you had the ability to hop from one body to the next, you tended to worry little about things like HIV, STDs, or AIDs, so you could pretty much screw whoever you wanted. Oh well.
Hawk and Hank were currently standing still, she could tell that they were still struggling to regain control, but it wasn't happening. Rosso had brought them all to an abandoned steel mill, it was quiet, secluded, and no one would hear what was about to happen.
"Okay, Hank, tie up Hawk there by his ankles and then let's hoist him up."
"N-No way you crazy bitch!" Hank stated.
"Hmm, funny, but it's not like you have a choice." Rosso raised up her right arm, showing a silver bracelet that gave off a dim glow.
Hawk immediately lied down on the floor as Hank grabbed some rope.
"D-Dude, stop!" Hawk pleaded.
"I can't, dude! I-I can't!" Hank stated.
After tying him up, a weight was attached to the other end of the rope. Hank tossed the weighted end up into the rafters were it then descended back down and thudded against the floor. Afterwards, Hank and Rosso hoisted Hawk up the until he was high enough.
"Hold this," said Rosso as she handed Hank a bucket.
Hank looked at the bucket with confusion. Rosso instructed him to keep it steady under Hawk's head. The Eltham descendent then looked at Hawk and asked, "Before I do what I am about to do, would you like to see me naked? It'll probably be a better sight."
"FUCK YOU!" Hawk shouted.
"Well, I tried to be nice." Rosso took out a knife and gave it a quick slash across his throat. Hank began to gurgle and thrash about, but Rosso grabbed him by this belt and stopped his thrashing. "You're spilling it everywhere."
"Hawk! Hawk!" Hank screamed.
It took a couple of minutes, but Hawk was completely bled out. Rosso placed the feather on the concrete floor, she then took a paint brush and began drawing the circle. After about five minutes she was starting to run out of blood. So she ordered Hank to slit his wrists and hold them over the bucket. With a new supply, Rosso went to work again.
"W-Why…Why are you doing this…?" Hank asked despirately.
"Mostly, for revenge. It's nothing personnel towards you or your friend, but, honestly, you two don't look like the kind of boys who would grow up to be upstanding citizens anyway."
"You're killing us…because we're bullies…?"
"I've lived a lot of different lives, seen boys just like you. You're a dime a dozen, either you grow up to be a menace to those around you, or you eventually figure out that there are much bigger bullies than them. Of course, there are the rare occasions when some of you actually do turn over a new leaf and become productive people," Rosso glanced back at Hank who was slumped against a support beam and was no longer breathing. "And I'm talking to a corpse now."
Rosso finished up the circle. "Whatever then, it's time."
Team Dioland
Abagail wasn't someone you told that she couldn't do something. If she wanted to do something, she was going to do it. Case in point, her father said her cousin was going to fight in the Holy Grail War on behalf of the Dioland family.
But she wasn't about to let that happen. If she managed to summon a Servant, then they would have no choice but to have her go and fight. The only person who was with her was the family butler, and he wasn't liking this this situation.
"Mistress, I don't think that this is wise," said the butler. "I am versed in the summoning rituals, and…to perform one without a catalyst…"
"It'll be fine," said Abagail with a strong conviction.
Her father was out of the house, which meant that the workshop in the basement would be free. After an hour of preparing everything, the magic circle was complete. She didn't need a catalyst, she was a strong mage, surely the Grail would grant her a suitable, powerful Servant.
"I'll show them that I am the true Master, the one to win the Grail, and rise above all the other mage families!"
Abagail thrust out her right hand, as she did, she summoned her magic and made the circle ignite with magical power. A whirlwind kicked up in the basement, making the butler brace against its force.
"Heed my words, my will creates your body!"
Lincoln stood before the circle, the wind began to blow slightly, as if the world itself was setting the stage for what was to come. There was no turning back, the time was now, the hour was here. It was time. Lincoln called the magic inside of him, his body began to glow with magical energy, lines formed on his body, glowing orange as he focused his magic onto the circle.
The magic circle began to glow as well, turning into a bright blue that burned itself into the grass and dirt upon which it was made. Wind spiraled around them, rustling the leaves and caused waves to form on the lake's surface. Lucy walked over to Lincoln, she placed her left hand on his right shoulder, and wrapped her right hand around his wrist.
"And your sword creates my destiny!"
Rosso's magic circle glowed crimson red as the wind swirled around her. Her right was thrust forth before the circle as the ritual was underway.
"If you heed the grail's call! And obey my will and reason!"
Torek was in his private room as the summoning circle shined brightly before him. His mouth formed a smirk as he felt the magic flow.
"Then answer my summoning!"
Lincoln could feel the energy coming off the circle, like there was something coming, a power was resonating with him, and it was massive, but he had to keep going.
"I swear that I will be all the good in the world!"
Sid raised her arm against the buffeting wind, Rosa did the same as Ronnie had began the summoning ritual. A great power slumbered in the stone, something ancient and powerful, and it was pushing back, like it was testing Ronnie Anne.
But she wasn't about to back down from a challenge
"That I shall defeat, all evil in the world!"
"Then let thine eyes be clouded, with the fog of turmoil and chaos! Thou, who art trapped in a cage of madness, And I, the summoner, who holds thy chains!"
"Seventh heaven clad!"
"And the great words of power!"
"Come forth from the circle of binding!"
"GUARDIAN OF SCALES!"
A bright beam of light shot out from the circle before Lincoln and Lucy, both shut their eyes but stood their ground as the power was released from the circle bathed the area. The waters of the lake seemed to sparkle with a greater radiance from this power, as if resonating with the summon.
When the light faded, Lincoln and Lucy opened their eyes and beheld their summoned Servant. He wore heavy looking purple armor, with short hair that was slightly wavy and spikey, with a similar color to his armor, and similarly colored eyes.
The man who stood before them held something in his right hand, it was shaped like a sword, but its true form was distorted by a layer of energy. The lake still had a bright radiance, along with the moonlight shimmering down upon them.
"I am the Knight of the Lake, the Saber for whom was summoned by the Holy Grail to be your Servant. I bid you humble greetings, my Master."
Sid had fallen on her rear as she looked upon the person summoned from the circle. Ronnie Anne stared in confusion, while Rosa was on her knees in reverence.
The person who stood in the circle was a tall woman. She had long blonde hair, and piercing green eyes. She wore Aztec garb which had orange, gold, and green colors, with a blue sash. The woman looked around the room, but her eyes fell right upon Ronnie Anne.
"¡Soy la diosa del viento y la lluvia! Del sol y la estrella de la mañana! Mi clase es Jinete! Dime, pequeña, ¿eres digna de ser mi Maestra?"
The Servant cocked her head in confusion when she still saw Ronnie Anne's confused expression. "Oh, sorry, I just spoke in my native tongue. You reminded me of my Aztec worshippers so I assumed we spoke the same language. Let me repeat myself." The Servant cleared her throat. "I am
the goddess of the wind and rain! Of the sun and the Morning Star! My class is Rider! So tell me, little girl, are you worthy of being my Master?"
A/N: Hope you guys like the cast of characters so far, i really had to do a lot of research before coming up with this, from the mage families to the Servants, it was hard, but fun. Just in case you're wondering, the last two Masters were a part of that summoning chant, leaving them a mystery, for now.
And because no good anime is complete without an opening and ending theme, the Fate/Zero Op "Oath Sign" and for the ending, "Memoria". I really like those.