It was late at night when Luna and Sam drove back to the Loud House. All throughout the day, Luna couldn't stop thinking about what she overhead Lincoln and Lucy talking about, they were planning something and that it would take place tonight. Many thoughts ran through the musician's head, ranging from something harmless to something bad. Luna began to wonder if Lucy had come up with some occult ritual, both of them had taken Lynn's death hard, Lincoln especially. What if they were going to do something at Lynn's grave? Or do some kind of ritual that contracted them with a demon or something? Or…what if they were going to do some kind of suicide pact?
Sam could tell that something was on Luna's mind, she had been with her girlfriend long enough to tell such things, and mostly because Luna often wore her emotions on her sleeves.
"Hey, babe, what's wrong?" Sam asked.
"What do you mean?" Luna replied.
"I mean, you look like you've had something on your mind all day, and I'm worried. You know you can tell me anything right? Whatever it is, I wanna help," said Sam.
Luna smiled from her spot in the passenger's seat of Sam's car, sometimes she loved being reminded of how thoughtful her girlfriend was. "It's Lincoln and Lucy, I overheard them talkin' about something they're going to do tonight. I wanna think it's something harmless, but…"
"You're afraid that it might be something serious?"
Luna rubbed the back of her head. "I don't want to assume, but you know how my little sis can be a witchy woman, I'm just afraid that they're going to do something…I don't know what, I'm just being paranoid I guess."
Sam placed a hand on Luna's shoulder. "Luna, I get it, you lost one sibling, and you don't want to lose another. You don't have to be ashamed of feeling worried about your family."
"Thanks," said Luna.
The stars were out tonight, as the full moon bathed everything in its soft glow. By now, the house should be asleep, Luna had texted her parents that they'd be home late. As the house came into view, Luna paused. She briefly made out that there were two figures coming out of her house.
"Sam, kill the lights!" Luna ordered.
"What?"
"Hurry!"
Sam turned off her headlights and parked against the curb. Both teen girls watched as two figures hopped on a bike and rode away from the house. Luna immediately recognized who it was, she'd know that head of white hair anywhere.
"It's them," said Luna.
"What are they doing?"
"…Follow 'em."
Sam looked at Luna with concern. "Lunes, maybe we should get your parents in on this, if it is something serious we'll need their help."
"And if it turns out to be something else, I don't want to bring down that kind of heat on them. Plus, Lori left me in charge of keeping the sibs in line. If there's anyone who's going to give them a beat down or anything, it's gonna be me!"
Sam sighed heavily. "Alright, but if this gets to be too much, I'm calling your folks. Deal?"
"Deal, now get goin' and no lights!" Luna stated.
Luna and Sam followed Lincoln and Lucy, keeping their lights off the entire time. One of the advantages of living in a relatively small town, was that most people were already asleep, so the streets were mostly empty. Thankfully, they managed to avoid getting caught by any cops and eventually ended up following Lincoln and Lucy to the park. On the one hand, Luna was glad they didn't head to the graveyard where Lynn was buried. On the other…
"What the hell are they doing in there?" Luna asked.
"Whatever it is, they've been in there for at least ten minutes now…maybe we should make the call?" Sam suggested.
Luna narrowed her gaze as she looked towards the woods. "Stay here, I'll go and scope it out."
Sam slapped her forehead. "Luna, how many horror movies have we seen this same strategy not work out?! Either you go in there and get killed, and then I'm next! Or the reverse happens! Let's please not end up in that cliché!"
"It's okay, Sam, it's my little bro and sis, they'd never hurt me," said Luna as she kissed Sam's cheek. "I'll be back."
Luna could hear Sam grumble something as she exited the car. The musician ran into the woods, heading down the same path she saw her brother and sister go. After a minute of wandering around, she still couldn't find them. She figured that, whatever it was they were planning on doing may be off the beaten path. The rocker headed deeper into the woods, for some reason, she felt something, a tingling feeling that was pushing against her skin. Luna didn't know what this feeling was, but she pressed on anyway.
Another minute passed and Luna felt as if she had pushed through the tingling feeling and was now on the other side of…something. She looked over her shoulder and saw that there was nothing strange, but in front of her was a different story. A bright light emitted from up ahead, Luna couldn't explain it, but it resonated with her, and somehow, she knew that her siblings were at the epicenter of that light.
Luna ran towards the light, and the closer she got, the stronger the wind pushed back, it was if a mini tornado was being generated, but even so, Luna pressed on, she wasn't about to let Lincoln and Lucy do something dangerous. Finally, Luna managed to get close to them. She was behind a tree about ten or so feet away, despite the howling wind, Luna could clearly hear her brother's voice loud and clear.
"I swear that I shall be, all the good in the world! That I shall defeat, all evil in the world!"
"W-What the?"
"Seventh heaven clad, and the great words of power! Appear from the circle of bindings! Guardian of Scales!"
A bright beam of light shot out, along with a strong gust of wind that knocked Luna on her rear as she gazed upon the happenings with shock. When the light faded, Luna beheld something even stranger than what she was already looking at. A man in purple knightly armor stood before her brother and sister, in his right hand was some sort of sword-like object, but it was hard to tell exactly what it was.
"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."
"Oh…wow…uh…w-what's your name?" Lucy asked.
"My name, is Lancelot."
Lincoln and Lucy stared in awe upon Lancelot, but it was Lucy who seemed more awestruck. Not only had they truly summoned a knight of the Round Table, but he was summoned as a Saber, one the strongest of the three Knight Classes.
"Wow…y-you're really are the Sir Lancelot?!" Lincoln asked.
Lancelot rubbed the back of his head and gave an awkward smile. "Well…yes, but please, don't feel as if you have to honor me or anything. I am but a knight, and a knight's duty is to fight at their King's side." Lancelot got down one knee and bowed his head, making both Lincoln and Lucy gasp. "And as your knight, I swear to be your sword and cut down all who would stand in your path, my Master."
Lincoln looked flabbergasted, both of them were. If anything, it should be them who should be bowing to a revered, legendary knight. Lincoln looked at his right hand, and there they were, the Command Seals. It appeared as an artistically drawn sword done in three parts, one for each seal.
"It's okay, Lancelot, I'm not that big on bowing or whatever, you can just stand up." Lancelot did as Lincoln asked. "My name's Lincoln Loud, and this is my little sister, Lucy."
Lancelot gently reached out and took the young girl's hand, placing he a kiss upon it he said, "Lady Lucy, a pleasure to meet you."
Lucy couldn't help but blush, which for some reason annoyed Lincoln a little, but he knew Lancelot was a knight of chivalry, he was just being polite.
"Forgive me for asking, but the mana I'm receiving, I sense that it is coming from both of you, am I correct?"
"Yes, Sir – er – I mean – Lancelot, we have set up the summoning so that both Lincoln and myself will supply you with mana," Lucy explained.
"Very creative. On that, I must ask before I act, is the person behind that tree with you or are they an intruder?"
Luna tensed up upon hearing that, how did that guy in the knight armor know she was there? Lincoln and Lucy turned around to the tree that Lancelot had spoke of. Luna didn't exactly know how to handle this situation, so she did the only thing she could do, she bolted like a jackrabbit.
"W-What?! But, Luce, you said that no one could get in!"
"I also said it wasn't my best work, it can keep normal people out, but mages are a different story!"
Lincoln glanced to Lancelot and said, "Lancelot, sorry to ask you this right after your summoning, but I need you to capture that person!"
Lancelot's expression grew serious. "Understood, my Master!"
The Knight of the Lake got into a runner's stance and dashed away, as fast as the wind and kicked up a dust cloud upon doing so. Luna ran like a madwoman, she needed to get to Sam's car and they both needed to get back to her house. However, that plan was not about to happen, in less than a few seconds, Lancelot had caught up with her. Luna tried to run faster, but it was no use.
Lancelot jumped up into the air, spun once and dropped down right in Luna's path. The teen rocker skidded to a halt and fell onto her rear, at the same time, Lancelot summoned his phantom sword and pointed it straight at Luna's face.
"Young Miss, please come quietly, I really do not wish to stain my sword with the blood of a young maiden," said Lancelot.
"Screw you demon or whatever it is you are! I-I-I'm not afraid of you!" Luna declared.
Lancelot could tell that was a bluff, the poor girl was shaking like a leaf and looked like she was on the verge of wetting herself. The Knight of the Lake sighed as he dismissed his sword.
"I am not here to kill you, my Master has given me orders to capture you."
"You're not going to fool me! I know how this works! You're going to take me back so I can be a human sacrifice!" Luna accused.
"I-I am not some demonic creature!" Lancelot stated. "I am a Heroic Spirit."
Lancelot, in one swift motion, scooped up Luna and had her hanging over his right shoulder. After realizing her current position, Luna began struggling and shouting, "Ya damn bloody git! Let me go!"
"Oh, you are from my homeland, interesting. Do not worry, my Master seems like a reasonable and kind soul, I am sure he will not harm you."
Lancelot, using the same incredible speed, dashed back to where Lincoln and Lucy were.
"Oh this is bad, this is really bad!" Lincoln muttered as he paced about.
"Calm down, Lincoln, we don't know how bad it is yet," said Lucy.
"What if it's another mage?!"
"If it is…" Lucy grimaced. "If it is one of the seven…Lincoln, we may have to…"
Lincoln gulped, yes, he knew that the way to win was either to take out the Servant or kill the Master. He knew this, it was a death battle to the very end, only one person could obtain the Holy Grail, but still, at the very least, Lincoln had hoped to avoid killing other people and just take out the Servants.
"This is all my fault…I should've taken time to make sure the Bounded Field was stronger, maybe then…"
Lincoln looked to his little sister, he stopped his pacing and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, don't worry. We'll know more once Lancelot comes back."
As if on cue, the Knight of the Lake appeared before them, his captured prey was still struggling and releasing one expletive after the other, both ones the two young mages understood and others that they weren't sure about.
"She is quite the spirited – if not foul mouthed – young woman, but, I managed to capture her," said Lancelot.
"Wait a minute…I recognize that voice," said Lincoln.
"And that British accent," added Lucy.
"LUNA?!" they both exclaimed.
Luna ceased her thrashing. Lancelot took that a sign to let her down, sitting her on her feet and facing both his Master and his other sibling. Luna glanced between them and chuckled nervously. "H-Hey dudes…"
"L-Luna?! W-What the hell are you doing out here?!" Lincoln asked.
Luna's fear was briefly forgotten as she went into "Big Sister Mode". "Oh-ho-ho, 'What am I doing here?', you got a lot of nerve asking me that question little bro! If anything, I'm the one who should be asking that question! Why are you out here! Who or what is this guy! And Lucy, what kind of black magic woman crap have you gotten Lincoln and yourself mixed up in?!"
Lancelot looked briefly between Luna, his Master, and then Lucy. "Pardon me, Master, Lady Lucy, but do you know who this young woman is?"
Lincoln rubbed the back of his head. "Y-Yeah, Lancelot, this is my other sister, Luna."
Lancelot looked ashamed. "My apologies, Lady Luna!" the Knight of the Lake bowed on knee, surprising the rocker. "Forgive me for handling you is such a rough manner, had I'd known you were Master's family, I would've been more gentle."
Luna blushed a little at the reaction. "I-It's okay, dude, I guess." She then turned her attention back to her little brother. "Now, start. Talking."
Team Santiago
"I got you, chica!"
"Say's you!"
It was Sunday morning, and the Casagrande household had gotten a new member over night. Sid had gone back to her room, and then came back the following morning, now finding her girlfriend and the Heroic Spirit Ronnie Anne summoned last night, currently rolling around on the floor in a Lucha Libre wrestling match.
Ronnie Anne had broken out her La Tormenta mask and the two of them had engaged in a sparring match. Despite the blonde haired woman stating she was an Aztec god, she seemed to love the sport of Lucha, she may even rival Ronnie Anne's love of it.
Thankfully, Rosa was able to round up some normal looking clothes for the goddess. Never in million years did she think that her granddaughter could pull off summoning such a powerful Servant, this wasn't a Heroic Spirit, the woman was a Divine Spirit, the goddess Quetzalcoatl, or Quetz for short.
Quetz managed to get Ronnie Anne into a headlock, Ronnie Anne struggled against Quetz's superior strength. It was easy to see that the Divine Spirit was handicapping herself by not using her full strength, she seemed to be getting more joy out of the actual match then winning itself. Still, that didn't mean she had to make it an easy win.
After a few seconds Ronnie Anne tapped against Quetz's forearm. Quetz released Ronnie Anne and stood up triumphantly. "That makes ten wins and zero loses, you're persistent if nothing else, Ma – ahem – Ronnie Anne."
Ronnie Anne smirked as she spun on the floor and swept Quetz's legs from under her. The goddess suddenly found herself on the floor, and not soon after, Ronnie Anne locked herself around Quetz's right arm, bending it back as she finally got the upper hand on her Servant.
"Never said I was done just yet!" Ronnie Anne stated.
Quetz's smiled broadly at Ronnie Anne's tactics. "Very good! However!" The Aztec goddess quickly stood up, bringing Ronnie Anne with her. "Niña, would you kindly move off the couch?!"
Sid quickly bolted from her spot on the couch, just in time to watch as Quetz body slammed her girlfriend onto it with ease, she then slipped her arm out of the hold and let Ronnie Anne lie there in exhaustion.
"Points for spur of the moment thinking, but, you need to work on the locks a little more. With a little more practice, you'll get there," said Quetz.
"Thanks…heh…that was fun," said Ronnie Anne as she panted.
"Aye, Mija, that's enough horsing around, come and eat!" Rosa stated.
Quetz took a whiff of the air and smiled. "Hmm, smells delicioso, Señorita Rosa!"
"You are too kind, Quetzalcoatl, I'm sure you are more used to grander things than this," said Rosa.
Ronnie Anne and Quetz sat at the table and began to dig into the large meal that Rosa had made for them. Sid sat too, gathering what she could before the two dug in. They way they tore into their meals you think that they were a pair of starving wolves, Sid was worried she'd lose a finger to either one of them, especially Quetz, as every once in a while her teeth would shift from normal looking human teeth to razor sharp shark teeth.
"Hmm, nonsense, you're cooking is on par with my worshippers of old, if not better!" Quetz praised.
Sid looked at Quetz quizzically and asked, "So…if you use Ronnie Anne's 'mana' to stay in a physical form, do you even really need to eat?"
"Technically no, we spirits can obtain mana a number of ways. One is that Ronnie Anne supplies me with mana, the other is through the consumption of food, but it's only a small amount that gets replenished from this method. The last – and most vile method – is the consumption of a human heart."
Sid stopped mid bite when Quetz said that. "Y-You mean, you can do that?!"
Quetz finished off a chorizo and egg taco before answering. "Yes, but a majority of Servants refrain from doing so, seeing as it is a fast way of corrupting yourself. However, I can only say this for myself, and cannot speak for other Servants and whatever side of the moral spectrum they fall on."
Ronnie Anne raised an eyebrow at that. "Wait, you're an Aztec god, didn't they use to cut out people's hearts and offer them to you back in your time?"
Quetz sighed heavily as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yes, yes they did. I never asked them to, and yes, I never stopped them either, but don't misunderstand me, I actually do love humans, well, love may be a bit of an overstatement. What I love is what you all have the potential to become."
"And…do I have potential?" Ronnie Anne asked.
Quetz's emerald eyes fell on her young Master and smiled. "We shall see, won't we?"
"Ronnie Anne I…" The other's glanced towards the hallway and saw Maria, Ronnie Anne's mother, walking into the living room. "Um…hello, who are you?"
Ronnie Anne and Rosa's eyes darted between Maria and Quetz as both tried to figure out something to say.
"Um, this is one my teachers from the-the Community Center! Ms. Quetz! She's…uh…from Azteca Culture Club!"
Maria looked at her skeptically. "I didn't know you had signed up for that."
"You didn't!" Rosa interjected. "Because I did, I signed her up! I thought it would be enriching for Ronalda to learn of her ancestor's culture!"
"¡Sí!" Quetz added. "I also teach a little Lucha Libre on the side at the 'Center', I was just showing Ronnie Anne some techniques earlier, sorry for the noise if we woke you."
Maria still had some doubts, but for some reason, she was finding this Quetz woman more believable by the second. "Well, so long as you're careful. I maybe a nurse, but the last thing I want to do is have to put a cast on my own daughter."
"Well do," said Quetz.
Ronnie still felt giddy about the fact that her mother had made the decision to become a doctor, ever since they first moved to Great Lakes City, Maria Santiago had been working day and night, not just at her nursing job, but also studying, taking on mentorships under some the hospital's doctors to learn as much as she could. Turns out she was more suited for the work than she first thought, and in just two short years she was already well on her way to getting her doctorate.
Maria walked over to her daughter and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "I'll be heading out, have a good day with Sid, Ronnie Anne."
"We well," Sid answered.
When Maria left, the others sighed heavily in relief.
"I see not everyone is aware of your decision, Ronnie Anne," said Quetz.
"Not exactly…the only ones who do know are Sid and Abuela. I don't want to freak them out…"
Quetz was starting to get a clearer picture regarding the kind of Master she was summoned by, and she was liking the young girl more and more. "I see."
"By the way, how are you going to get to Royal Woods? Were you going to have Bobby drive you or were you going to that, Mrs. Casagrande? And on top of all that, where were you going to stay?" Sid asked.
Ronnie Anne downed few bites of food before she answered. "As far as where I'm staying, I'm hoping that I can convince Lincoln so that he can convince his folks to let me stay there for a little bit. I'll make up something on the fly. Once I explain why I'm there, I know he'll help out. Now for how I'm getting there…that's a tough one."
Quetz smiled and pounded her chest proudly. "Not to worry, Dominar, you can leave all transportation to yours truly."
"Really?"
"I am a Rider after all."
Team Loud
Luna was not happy this morning. She had spent most of the night having her little brother and sister explain their actions last night, and what she learned…she wasn't sure she liked. Talk of a Holy Grail War, that their family was descended from mages and that their great grandmother was a mage. Luna had thought that all that Harriet talk Lucy would say was just her being creepy, now she was wondering just how much of it was that.
Magic was real, wizards were real, and apparently a death battle was going to go down in their hometown, what she definitely didn't like about all this was the fact that her siblings were going to participate in this fight, with a spirit that called himself Lancelot, who said he was one of the actual Knights of the Round Table.
Luna hadn't said anything to Sam, just merely explaining it away as the two just getting up to some ghost hunting stuff. Strangely enough, Lancelot disappeared when they went to Sam's car. But when they got back to the house, and the three met up in Lucy's room, Lancelot suddenly reappeared like a ghost.
Today, Luna was going to talk at length with Lincoln, the white haired boy had promised to speak with her about something that he didn't want to discuss with Lancelot around. Luna woke up early today, throwing off her blankets as she practically jumped down from the top bunk.
Luan woke up and groaned as she saw her sister in the buff. "Ugh, Luna, you said you'd warn me when you were naked."
"Sorry, Sis, got somethin' important I need to talk to Linc about," said Luna.
That got Luan to sober up from her sleep idled mind. "What about Lincoln? Is he alright?"
Shit, thought Luna.
"No, no, he's alright, I was just going to see if he wanted to hangout or whatever. I was thinking of giving him the older sib talk that Lori gave me before she left," Luna clarified.
"You sure? I thought we were going to do that together?" Luan asked.
"Like said, I might, but most likely I'll do that with you. I just want to hangout with the little dude."
Luan wasn't sure if she bought that, but Luna and Lincoln were talking more lately, so she didn't have much of a reason to think that there was something else. "Okay, have fun I guess."
"Thanks."
Luna hurriedly dressed herself and walked out the door. She made her way to her brother's room and before she could knock on the door Lincoln opened it. From what she could see, he had slept in the clothes he was wearing last night, that was fine, she needed to talk with him right away anyway.
"Morning…" Lincoln greeted groggily.
"Morning, come on Linc, we need to talk," said Luna.
"Can you at least wait until I get some breakfast? Last night was pretty draining."
Luna was anxious to get some answers, but it did her no good if Lincoln was too sleepy and too hungry to concentrate. "Alright." The teen rocker glanced around and asked, "Where's Lancelot?"
"He's here, in spirit form. Which reminds me, Lancelot, keep watch over the house, I'm going to go and have a talk with Luna," said Lincoln.
Are you sure you don't want me at your side, Lincoln?
"I'm sure."
Luna could strangely feel his presence as Lancelot left to do as Lincoln asked. The two siblings headed to the kitchen where their father had already set up a spread for everyone. Lincoln and Luna finished off their food before the rest of their siblings could join in and started to take a walk. They were silent for a good ten minutes, just trying to feel out each other.
"So, is it true, about what you're going to wish for?" Luna asked.
"It is, I'm going to wish Lynn back to life," said Lincoln.
Luna's heart hurt, she knew he missed her, but not this much. "Lincoln, just let Lynn rest in peace. Do you really think this is what she wants for you to do?"
"Unfortunately, we don't know because she died instantly!" Lincoln shot back. "Besides, bringing her back for everyone isn't the only reason."
"What other reason is there?" Luna asked.
Lincoln stopped walking as he looked up at Luna, his expression grew serious. "You know how Lynn and I were close right, how we were together a lot?"
Luna felt a chill go up her spine, the conversation the five eldest sisters of the Loud House had about Lincoln and Lynn looking cute as a couple resurfacing yet. "Oh no…no little bro, you're not about to say what I think you're about to say, right?"
"I am…Luna, Lynn and I were in love with each other."
Luna felt her legs go numb as she stumbled about for a second until she grabbed hold of a tree. Lincoln held her hand to try and steady her, but the immediate contact of her brother's hand made Luna pull away as if he was made of acid. Speaking of which, Luna turned away and began retching onto the tree.
Lincoln was hurt by the action, unfortunately, it wasn't unexpected.
Luna retched for a couple of seconds more before finally stopping and panting from the effort. The teen rocker wiped her mouth, her back turned to her little brother as she asked, "How long?"
"How long, what?"
"How long was this going on for, Lincoln, and don't bullshit me!" Luna stated.
Lincoln sighed as he put his hands in his pockets. "Two years…"
Luna's eyes widened with realization. "Since you were eleven?!" Her mind swam as she recalled all of Lincoln and Lynn's activities together, every time they were left alone, every time they went out together. "W-Why…how?!"
Lincoln shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, Luna."
"Tell me something!" Luna turned around and looked her little brother in the eyes. "Tell me why you thought it was a good idea for you and Lynn…! Just tell me!"
"It wasn't like it was planned or something. I guess it was just slowly building up. I just started to gravitate towards Lynn more, and she was the same with me. We hung out more, and the more we hung out, the more I realized I really didn't know Lynn at all."
"What?"
Lincoln smiled. "She never said this to anyone, but she said that the other thing she wanted to be more than a sports star, was a mom. Even though she didn't show it a lot, she really looked up to Mom, handling all eleven of us isn't an easy thing, and to Lynn, she saw it as something to shoot for. Not only that, but she did have her girly moments."
Lincoln mused wistfully as he recalled some of those moments. "I remember buying her a new hair tie for her cause her lucky one snapped during a game. She blushed and gave me a kiss on the cheek."
Luna remembered that event, Lynn never went a day without that tie, oddly enough she never lost a game after that either.
"It was just little things that built up, when I was twelve and she was fourteen is when we decided to address what we had. And that's also when we both decided to make this into something and to see where it went. Once we treated it like we were boyfriend and girlfriend, the more it felt right. We had to keep it a secret from you all, because the last thing I wanted was to be separated from her, and Lynn felt the same way."
Lincoln grimaced as he recalled that day. "On the day she died, we were on a date, we were messing around, and then I got knocked into the street. Lynn was quick, she was always quick, but she was only quick enough to get me out of the way of that car…it's my fault…Luna, it's my fault that she's dead!"
Luna's feelings were in turmoil right now, she could plainly see the pain on her brother's face and all she wanted to do was to give him a hug and tell the exact opposite, but at the same time, her disgust was still fresh. Her suspicions were made true, she didn't want to think that it was true, but it turned out it was. Did that mean he had feelings for their other sisters? Did he have feelings for Luna too?
"Lincoln, there's two things I need to ask you. The first being…" Luna gulped hard. "Did you and Lynn have sex with each other?"
"No, we came close a few times. But it never went farther than some groping, grinding, and kissing."
Luna felt another round come up, but managed to suppress it. "And…do you have feelings for anyone else? Do you have feelings towards any of our sisters? Me included?"
Lincoln smiled sadly, his eyes watering as he said, "No…I love you guys, but…I don't think I'll ever love anyone like I did Lynn. Not one of our sisters or any other girl. I know that Lori uses the word soulmate whenever she talks about Bobby, I never really understood what the word meant until I lost Lynn…because ever since it's felt like my damn soul was ripped out, shattered, and left me hollow inside…"
Luna now understood, after all this time, she finally understood why her little brother looked like death walking, why he was so much more depressed than anyone else in the house. For Lincoln, he didn't just lose a sister, he lost his lover, a double impact of pain to the heart. Luna felt her own heart hurting when Lincoln spoke of soulmates, she couldn't imagine Sam dying, she couldn't imagine the kind of pain she'd be in if that happened, but she didn't have to imagine, as Luna got a glimpse of that from her little brother.
"That's why…That's why I'm going to fight and win, Luna…I'm going to bring back Lynn, my sister, my lover, our family. Everyone's still hurting from her death, even you! I'll erase fate's mistake! And put things back to the way they're supposed to be!" Lincoln declared as his eyes began cry.
Luna pushed down the feelings of disgust she had, could she really blame him for going this far? Could you really blame any person for going to such lengths to bring back someone they truly loved? Luna stepped forward and placed her hand on Lincoln's shoulder, the white haired boy visibly flinched from her touch. For a moment she didn't understand why, but then she remembered her reaction when Lincoln tried to help her. Wanting to erase that fear, Luna brought her little brother into a warm embrace, holding him close as he began to cry into her chest.
"I'm so sorry, Lincoln, you were hurting way more than any of us could've imagined…I'm sorry you had to go through all of that alone…" Luna held him tighter, every word she said was true, they really had no idea how much pain Lincoln was in.
"I-It's not like I told anyone…hell, not even Clyde knows this…well, except for Lucy, but apparently she's secretly known about me and Lynn for a while now."
Luna chuckled. "Why does that not surprise me." The musician stroked Lincoln's hair comfortingly as she said, "I'm sorry for the way I overreacted when you were trying to help me…I shouldn't have done that…"
Lincoln separated from Luna and smiled at her. "It's alright, really, it's probably the right reaction given the circumstances."
Luna's expression saddened a bit. "I don't like this. I don't like that you're about to fight people who are willing to kill. Lincoln, are you ready to do something like that?"
Lincoln chuckled nervously. "Honestly…I don't know…"
"Then–!"
"But I have to…if I don't take this chance, if I don't at least try and do everything I can to bring her back, then what kind of brother am I? What kind of boyfriend am I?"
Luna didn't know how to answer that, if it was her, if it was regarding Sam, then the answer was clear. She'd do anything to bring Sam back to life. Others might say that it was best to let the dead rest, but then again, people only said that because there was no real way to bring them back. However, here it was, the chance to bring back Lynn, to bring back their sister, Lincoln's lover. And all that was required was to be the last man standing. Part of Luna was worried about what this war would do to Lincoln, he was a sweet, dorky kid. Selfish at times, but when you're the middle child of ten sisters, a little selfishness was warranted. He was also the best little brother and best big brother to the younger Louds.
What would happen to him after he took someone's life? Luna had heard stories about soldiers, how they described a change inside them once you take another person's life for the first time. That's what probably scared Luna the most, more than losing Lincoln and Lucy, how much would this change them? Would they still be able to remain the same after taking someone's life?
"Look, little bro, I don't like this. Not one bit," said Luna.
"Luna –!"
"But," she interrupted, "I know if it was me trying to bring back Sam, or if it was Lori trying to bring back Bobby, the answer's simple. Yes, we would probably do what you're doing. Just…" Luna got down on one knee and looked into her brother's eyes. "Please promise me one thing Linc."
"Anything."
"Whatever happens, if – when you win, please don't change. Lynn fell in…in love – god that's so weird to say – with you because of who you are now. Just don't lose sight of yourselves, you or Lucy, so that way Lynn doesn't come back to a couple of strangers."
Lincoln didn't know if that's a promise he could keep, he'd already changed when Lynn died, and again in preparation for the Holy Grail War, but, Luna was right, Lynn fell in love with him for the boy he was, and that boy still resided in Lincoln. "I will."
Luna and Lincoln returned home and informed Lucy that they have come to an understanding. Before the battle came around, Team Loud decided to have a strategy meeting. With Luna in on their activity, both Lucy and Lincoln thought it best to bring her in on their plan. At midnight, the Holy Grail War would officially begin, all three Louds were glad it was still summer break, otherwise this would be harder. All four had gathered in Lucy's room, with Lancelot taking a seat between both Lucy and Lincoln. Despite knowing who and what he was, Luna was still skeptical about trusting the spirit.
"Ma – ahem – Lincoln, what is our battle plan?" Lancelot asked.
Lincoln glanced over to Lucy. "Well, six months ago, Lucy had set up a detection field around the town."
Luna looked at Lucy with confusion and asked, "When the hell did you do that?"
"Do you remember those requests for rides to those random spots at the edge of the city I asked you for?"
Luna did remember them, Lucy had said it was for some complicated occult stuff. The teen rocker never asked why Lucy was doing it, but now she understood, and Luna just now realized she was being used which earned the young sorceress a glare from Luna.
"Oh yeah, I do, not cool, sis," said Luna.
"Sorry for the deception, but thanks to that, I can know do this." Lucy brought out a paper map of Royal Woods. She then placed eight stones at different marked points on the map itself, and as soon as she did, they began to glow. "Each stone resonates with the spell circle I drew at one of those locations. It then casts a wide net, allowing me to detect high levels of magical energy. Unfortunately, as well versed as I am, I am still technically a…a novice. So, while my detection spell can't pinpoint locations it can, at least, tell us if there are people in the town with strong magical energy."
Lucy waved her hands over the map, and almost instantly three blips appeared, which made Lincoln and Luna's eyes widen.
"There are already guys here?!" Luna asked.
"Only three though, with us that makes four. The other Masters and Servants have yet to arrive," said Lancelot.
"This is good, right? If we take out a few now, we'll have less to worry about later," said Lincoln.
"Maybe, but I don't like that there are only that many. Also, we can't underestimate our opponents," Lucy warned. "It's very likely that they are all here and are aware of my detection spell, and are purposefully masking their presence."
"On that note, what exactly can you do, dude?" Luna asked as she crossed her arms and gave Lancelot a scrutinizing look. "I know you're fast, and that you have a crazy looking lightsaber, but what else?"
Lincoln and Lucy smacked their foreheads, they had almost forgot to ask what Lancelot's abilities were.
"I don't mind sharing that, if it is alright with you, Lincoln?" Lancelot asked.
"Yes, please do, we need to know anyway before the fighting starts," said Lincoln.
"Very well, I'll start with two of my abilities that could prove more useful than my main Noble Phantasm. Eternal Arms Mastership and A Knight Does Not Die With Empty Hands, in it's simplest terms, it means I am proficient with any type of weapon, even unarmed combat. Along with that, the moment I take hold of a weapon I can grant it the same status as a Noble Phantasm, if necessary, I can even wield the Noble Phantasms of other Servants."
"Whoa, wait seriously?!" Lincoln asked.
"So long as they are weapon based, then it is possible," said Lancelot.
"I had no idea you had such abilities," said Lucy.
Luna looked between her siblings and threw up her hands. "Okay, time out, what the hell does 'noble phantasm' mean?"
Lincoln and Lucy looked embarrassed, they did a lot of studying when it came to Servants, but Luna had no idea what that meant.
"A Noble Phantasm represents the cumulative power of that Heroic Spirit's legend given physical form. It can be almost anything, from a suit of armor, a simple cloth, or something as grand as a spell or a weapon. In Lancelot's case, his Noble Phantasm is his sword, but with his abilities, Lancelot can wield any other weapon based Noble Phantasm of another Servant and use it as his own," Lucy explained.
"Basically, it's like hacking another person's weapon and taking it for your own," Lincoln clarified.
Luna slowly nodded. "Okay…so, if you can do that, what's your actual Noble Phantasm?"
"As a Saber, mine would be my sword."
"That wispy thing? It didn't even look like a weapon," said Luna.
"That is because I was concealing its true form by keeping it in a phantasmal state. More than anything, in a Grail War, information on your opponent can severely change the tide of a battle, that's true of anything," said Lancelot.
"In essence, revealing the name of a Noble Phantasm could reveal the true name of the Servant. And if they know Lancelot's name, then they can look up if he has any weaknesses. Although, the same is true of our opponents, if we know the name of their Servant, we can look up how to defeat them, if there are any ways," said Lucy.
Luna's head was starting to hurt, it seemed that there was more to this Holy Grail War than she first thought. It wasn't just about how strong the Servant and Master was, it also boiled down how much information on your opponent you were able to dig up.
"I also possess the Riding skill, Magic Resistance, as well as my other two personal abilities Knight of the Lake and Protection of Fairies. The latter is primarily for used for battles, but the first can be used in any situation to increase my power," Lancelot explained further.
Lincoln began to think as he went over all of Lancelot's skills. "So…just to make sure, say you used a different sword, if you used it, it could turn into a Noble Phantasm and become stronger than a normal sword?"
Lancelot nodded. "Essentially, yes."
The white haired boy smiled and snapped his fingers. "Okay, then I think I know a way to throw off our opponents when we fight them, but I'm going to need two things!"
"Like what?" Lucy asked.
"First, I need to borrow some money from Lola! Second, Luna, I need you to give us a ride to the mall!"
Luna, Lucy, and Lancelot all glanced between each other, wondering what exactly Lincoln was thinking about?
Team Santiago
Night had fallen, it was ten minutes to midnight, and once the hour was here, the Holy Grail War would begin. Ronnie Anne made sure to spend some time with her family members, as much as she could here and there. Surprisingly, they were very accepting of having Quetz around, almost like she was already a part of their family. And honestly, it wasn't as if Ronnie Anne could see the Aztec goddess being a Casagrande.
But that was for another time. Now, she and Quetz were standing on a roof top, the moon was full and the city was illuminated with dozens of lights. Quetz stood on the edge of the roof as she took in the sight of the city, basking in the glow of the modern world.
"Such a vibrant and bright city, it much reminds me of temples and villages of my worshippers," said Quetz.
"Yeah, it took me a while, but I started to like the city, it's got it's flaws, but it's still a great place to live," said Ronnie Anne.
"Hmm, I'll make certain that you can return to this home, Dominar," said Quetz.
Ronnie Anne smiled, her attention was then taken by the opening of the roof door. From it emerged Rosa, carrying a holster with a strange looking revolver gun and a backpack, and with her was Sid. Rosa walked to Ronnie Anne and gave the weapon to the young Latina.
"I enchanted the holster and weapon, so no one will be able to see it or notice that it's there, but be careful when using it in public, if you use it in front of people for too long the enchantment will wear off," Rosa explained.
Ronnie Anne took the weapon and secured it to her pants belt.
Rosa had Sid give her the backpack and opened the zipper to show a number of materials. "I packed a few things in case you run low on materials for your magic. Hopefully you'll be able to get more if need be. If you need to, you can always come back to get more."
"Thanks, Abuela." Ronnie Anne slung the backpack over her shoulders. She then looked at Sid and asked, "Nervous?"
"Are you?" Sid replied.
Ronnie Anne gave a little shrug. "Y-Yeah, a little."
The half-Chinese girl fidgeted in place. As much as she didn't want to think about it, this night, this moment, was possibly the last time she'd see Ronnie Anne alive until the War was over. She could easily die out there, but Sid didn't want to think like that. Ronnie Anne was strong, fierce, fearless, and tenacious, if there was anyone who could make it out of this it was her. Still…
"Ronnie Anne?"
"Yeah, Sid – Mmph!"
Before Ronnie Anne could register it, Sid had pulled the Latina teen into a kiss, a deep passionate kiss that honestly surprised Ronnie Anne, but it wasn't unwelcome as she returned it with the same kind of passion as Sid showed. The two girls broke the kiss and touched their foreheads as they looked into each other's eyes.
"Promise me you'll come back," said Sid.
"I swear I will," said Ronnie Anne.
Quetz watched their display and smiled broadly, seemingly more inspired by her young Master. Rosa had to bite her lower lip to keep from crying, both because her daughter was going off to do battle, and because of how beautiful this moment was.
Ronnie Anne separated herself from Sid and looked towards Quetz. "So, Quetz, you said you had a way to get us to Royal Woods."
"Indeed I do!" Quetzalcoatl slammed her right fist into her left hand, instantly, flames erupted around her body as her clothes shifted back to her ancient garb. "I will summon that creature which also carry's my namesake!"
The Aztec goddess motioned for everyone to step back. The three humans gave Quetz a large berth, just in case. Quetzalcoatl went down on one knee and slammed her right palm onto the roof. A gale-force wind erupted around them, howling and blistering with great ferocity. Rosa, Sid, and Ronnie Anne squinted as the wind buffeted them, all three wondering what Quetz was doing.
They soon got their answer when something began to form above them, its shadow overcast them all as it was silhouetted in the light of the full moon.
Team Loud
Tonight was the night, Luna had wished her two siblings good luck and to come back home no matter what. Lucy and Lincoln promised that they would, and Lancelot swore on his honor as a knight to bring them back safely. Their mission was simple, they would simply roam about the town, while Lucy's detection field wasn't able to accurately pinpoint the locations of the mages, she could however pinpoint them if she was in a somewhat close proximity, at least within a ten meter radius.
Lincoln had Lancelot come along with them, thankfully they were able to go to Reininger's where Miguel still worked, and with this help, were able to pick out some normal clothes for Lancelot to wear. Now, at least, they wouldn't have to worry about being unaccompanied minors walking the streets when they had a grown adult with them.
Lincoln kept a close watch on his cellphone, constantly checking the time. It now read "11:59 pm". "One minute to midnight."
"Master, I think it should be obvious, but just in case. When we're not at your home, it's best to call me by my class. I will address you as Master," Lancelot looked to Lucy, "and you young miss, as Milady."
"Understood," said Lucy.
"Secrecy is our best weapon." Lincoln looked at his phone again and grimaced. "It's officially midnight."
As the three continued to walk, all them could tell that something wasn't right.
"Does it feel more…empty around here than usual?" Lincoln asked.
"I wasn't sure at first, but yes, I haven't seen a soul so far since we've entered the city proper," said Lancelot.
"I think we may've wandered into a Bounded Field, a good one at that," said Lucy.
Suddenly, Lancelot got on edge, his gaze narrowed as he stopped both Lincoln and Lucy from going further. "They're here."
Both the teen and preteen looked straight ahead, the sounds of footsteps echoed unnaturally loud in the air. They watched as a man came into view, he was dark skinned, with piercing yellow eyes, and silvery white hair. His outfit was of black leather and cloth, with yellow stripes and edges.
"Is that…?" Lucy asked.
Lancelot nodded, his body was then shrouded in cerulean light, after a second the light faded and revealed Lancelot in his full armor. In his right hand he wielded a long claymore sword, the hilt was wrapped in brown leather, with a gray colored pummel and guard. The sword had strange, runic markings that were carved into the flat of the sword on both sides.
"Well, at least you're not completely inept, you were able to sense my presence," said the Servant.
"I am Saber, and you are?" Lancelot asked.
"Hmm, let me answer that in the following way."
Yellow light flashed into the unknown Servant's hands, and from it appeared two guns. One was black and white with a metal blade melded to the bottom of the barrel, the second was white and black and also sported a blade. Without missing a beat, the Servant fired off multiple shots towards them.
Time seemed to slow down as Lancelot watched the bullets fly towards them, but with this great speed and reflexes, these weren't a problem. What happened next transpired in a blur for the two youths. They saw streaks of blue light slice through the air at rapid speeds while the other Servant kept firing. Finally, after about thirty seconds, the unknown Servant stopped. Lancelot remained in his guarded stance, but all around them the ground was littered with bullets that were cut in half.
"I'll assume you're an Archer."
"Bingo, and you seem to be pretty strong too. Good, there'd be no point in putting in the effort otherwise," said Archer.
Lincoln and Lucy were still stunned by what they just witnessed. They were very nearly killed by Archer, if it wasn't for Lancelot they'd have already died. Every cell in Lincoln's body was screaming at him to run away, and he could see the same fear in his little sister.
"Master."
Lincoln froze.
"I know you are afraid. Fear is natural, it keeps us alive." Lancelot glanced over his shoulder and shot Lincoln an encouraging smile. "But we must not let fear rule us, it is in those times where courage flourishes. Now, please, what are your orders?"
Lincoln shook his head and slapped his cheeks, this wasn't the time for fear, like Lancelot had told him, this was the time to show courage. Lucy was already afraid, if he didn't show that he had the courage to fight, then she'd lose her courage too. Lincoln stood confidently as he stared directly at Archer.
"Go Saber, strike down Archer with your sword!" Lincoln ordered.
Lancelot smiled as blue mana began to swirl about him. "By your command, my Master!"