Fate-Loud Struggle

by Michael Ravencroft

How far would you go to bring back someone you loved? For Lincoln, he is willing to wage war against six Masters and Servants to bring back the one he most loved. With Lucy and Lancelot, he will correct Fate's mistake...

6. Can you hear the music?

A/N: Thought this story was dead didn't ya? Well think again!

Sorry for the long wait dudes and dudettes, but such is what happens when I now have 4 ongoing stories. I have no one to blame but myself, but I am trying to update as much as possible. With that said, enjoy the show!

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Lincoln and Lynn were home alone one Saturday evening, their family had something that they were doing and they were the only two left behind. It wasn't bad though, they had been steadily growing closer to each other, neither of them could really place how or why, but it just seemed right.

Tonight, Lincoln and Lynn were situated in the former's bedroom. Lincoln had his laptop on his desk, opened to an anime that he was probably not old enough to watch but watched it anyway. Lynn decided to sit in and watch as well, not having much else to do other than kick a ball around or bounce one off the walls. Well, that, and because her parents grounded her because she kicked one of her soccer balls in the house and broke a few things.

So with no balls to play with, she found herself looking for entertainment elsewhere. And, honestly, she could think of less fun ways to spend her Saturday night.

"So, what are we watching again?" Lynn asked.

She was lying in his bed, both of them had their backs against the wall. She was dressed in one of her oversized jerseys with red boxers on, Lincoln had opted to just where his underwear, because why not? It was his house, and it was only Lynn.

"Mirai Nikki, translated it means 'Future Diary'," Lincoln answered.

Lynn raised an eyebrow. "'Future Diary'? This better not be some girly ass thing about love or whatever."

"Oh trust me, it definitely isn't from what I've heard."

About ten minutes into the first episode, Lynn was already looking at the show with eyes filled with scrutiny. The "god of time" Deus, and his little assistant Murmur. Twenty minutes in, and Lynn's intrigued was peaked with the announcement of a survival game. About three episodes in, Lynn's full attention was on it.

"Damn this show's brutal, and that chick's straight up insane," said Lynn. "But I respect her skills."

"Yeah," Lincoln commented.

A few more episodes passed, some of which had some pretty risqué scenes that made Lincoln blush. Something of which Lynn couldn't help but tease him about. "Don't pop a boner on me Stinkoln. I get that the chick with big fun bags is hot and all, but at least use a pillow."

Lincoln turned his body away and stammered a, "S-Shut up!"

"Eh, whatever, so long as you don't start jerking off I'm cool with it."

Now it was Lincoln's turn. "Sorry to disappoint you, I know you were looking forward to it."

Lynn sputtered as her freckled face became red. "I-I didn't mean it like that!"

"I don't know, I mean, you immediately saw my bulge, one might think you were actively looking at it," Lincoln accused as he gave his sister a devilish grin.

Lynn crossed her arms defiantly over her chest as she focused her gaze on the show before them. "NO! It's a small room you dork, and you're lying right next to me, of course I'm going to see it!"

"Oh, right, like your nips poking through your shirt?"

Lynn looked down and raised her arms up higher to hide the fact that they were stiff. "S-Shut up!"

A couple of more episodes passed, the air in the room had become awkward to a point. The right thing to do was to probably call it a night, have Lynn leave the room, but it seemed fate had other plans since Lynn didn't leave, and Lincoln couldn't help but steal glances at his fourteen-year-old big sister.

His eyes started to trace the curvature of her body, she was toned, both her arms and legs had tan lines from all the time she spent playing in the sun. She often said it was unfair that guys could workout topless and get a more even tan, and that if she did that someone would call the police on her and or say she was an exhibitionist. Which wasn't totally wrong, that would indeed happen.

His eyes then followed up from her legs to her hips, then her back. Lynn had let her arms rest against her stomach, allowing Lincoln to see the outline of her chest. He gulped, he knew this was wrong, he knew he shouldn't be looking at her like this. It was the anime, yeah, the risqué nature and their current choice of night garb was just making him think weird thoughts.

Unfortunately he couldn't blame the anime, nor their current nightwear, for the growing anxiety he felt in his chest. Lincoln enjoyed the closeness he had with Lynn, compared to the rest of their sisters, the age gap between them wasn't as huge as with Lori, Leni, Luna, and Luan, just a measly two years.

For Lynn Loud, she was feeling the same way. She knew that Lincoln was checking her out, the rational part of her brain told her to slap Lincoln across the face and tell him to stop doing that, but a larger part of her relished the fact that he was.

Lynn never saw herself as "hot" or "attractive". She dedicated almost all her time to sports and the pursuit of excelling in whatever sport she wanted to take on next. But, sometimes, the self-conscious part of herself would force her to stand in front of a mirror and take stock of her body. Yeah, she was toned, her defined abs were something to be proud of, she had a slight curve to her hips, but nothing like what Luan and Luna had, her breasts were small, if she had to rank herself she was smallest right behind Luna, and that was being generous.

She always said, "So what?" It wasn't like there was a guy she was looking to impress. She did like one guy, but he never returned her affection. That probably had something to do with the fact that I shot my lucky jock in his face…heh. Maybe it was because no one really showed interest in her body that she was allowing Lincoln to look at hers.

That was a good theory, but Lynn knew it was much more than needing to feel beautiful. And that scared her, she was the older sibling here, she needed to put her foot down and tell Lincoln that this wasn't good and that they needed to nip it in the bud.

Well…we're alone…in his room. Probably the best place to get this out of the way.

Lynn sighed and said, "Linc, I know you're checking me out."

Lincoln froze as his eye darted back to the screen. "N-No I'm not!"

"Linc, it's okay, I'm not mad. Just be honest with me, sib to sib, were you?" Lynn asked as she turned her head in his direction.

Lincoln turned his head, he looked in her brown eyes and nodded. "Yes…I'm sorry…"

She hated hearing that tone of shame and hurt in his voice. She reached out and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "I said it's alright, I'm not mad. I, uh…I'm kind of glad that a boy would be interested in looking at me."

Lincoln gave his sister a confused look. "What? Why wouldn't a boy think you're attractive?"

Lynn pulled away and sat on her knees. "Look at me, Linc, I'm not stacked like Lori or Leni, hell, even Luan and Luna have more going on than I do!"

"Lynn, sorry, but that's bullshit, you're great!"

"Oh right, what boy's going to want to feel up this washboard?" Lynn asked as she gestured to her chest.

Lincoln hated hearing any of his sisters question their own self-worth. His strange feelings for Lynn aside, he thought all his sisters were beautiful – objectively speaking – both in body, mind, and spirit, and hearing anyone, much less them, put themselves down like that really pissed him off. Which probably led to him saying something that he probably shouldn't have.

"I would!" Lincoln blurted out.

Lynn's face went red at the same time as Lincoln's. For a long minute silence hung heavily in the room. Neither sibling willing to look up at each other as they suddenly found the space separating the two of them very interesting to look at right now.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, Lynn broke the silence. "Would you…Would you like to touch 'em?"

Lincoln shook his head, he must've misheard her. "W-What?"

Lynn was feeling really timid, she didn't like it, but at the same time, she didn't mind looking like that in front of her brother. "I'm asking you want to touch my boobs you dork?!"

Lincoln stared dumbly at Lynn.

"Look, I've been feeling weird around you, and I know you have too! I'm pretty sure I know what these feelings are, but we can't indulge in them," said Lynn.

Lincoln didn't want to admit it, for fear of giving what he was feeling for Lynn a name, but it seemed that Lynn was feeling the same thing, something that both excited him and terrified him. "W-What do you suggest?"

"We still have some time before everyone gets home…let's just see where things go…"

"H-How…?" Lincoln dared to ask.

Lynn's blush persisted, and she was starting to doubt her line of thinking. But Lynn Loud Jr. never backed away from what she put her mind to. Slowly, Lynn scooted closer to Lincoln, his back pressed against the wall like a cornered animal. Lynn then straddled Lincoln's waist, lowering until she was practically sitting in his lap.

Lincoln froze, his heart slamming in his chest as he looked upon Lynn. He tried to fight the growing erection in his underwear, trying to make this less awkward than it already was. But he couldn't, and it happened. Lynn definitely noticed, feeling something pushing against her center sending tiny crackles of electricity up her spine.

"T-That a roll of Mentos or are you just happy to have a girl in your lap?" Lynn asked with her cocky grin.

Lincoln turned away and said, "S-Shut up, Lynn!"

Deciding not to prolong this, Lynn reached for the him of her shirt and pulled it up and over her head, tossing it to the side. Lincoln gulped, hard. Lynn covered her chest out of reflex, her blush intensifying now that she was half naked before her little brother. She knew she had to move her hands away, but the self-conscious part of her feared that her brother would be disappointed by what he'd see.

Biting the bullet, Lynn let her hands rest at her side and awaited the judgement of her little brother. "So…they're not that great, right?"

Lincoln just stared at her chest for a long moment, her perky, budding breasts, her pink, erect nipples, and the freckles that dotted her shoulders.

"S-Say something, Stinkoln!" Lynn demanded.

Lincoln reached forward and gently took one boob in each of his hands, making Lynn release an involuntary moan. "I think they're amazing."

"D-Don't sugarcoat it, just be honest!"

Lincoln was saddened by his sister's lack of confidence in her own body. She always walked around loud and proud of her athletic build, strength, and speed, never afraid of getting into a fight or roughhousing with other boys. Now, Lincoln wondered if all that bravado was just to cover up how she really felt about herself.

Without really thinking, Lincoln leaned forward and latched his mouth around Lynn's right breast. Another moan escaped Lynn's lips as she felt Lincoln suck on her tit, another came when she felt his tongue swirl around her areola and then flick her nipple. His other hand massaged her left breast, sending waves of pleasure crashing through her body.

But that belayed the bigger issue, he liked her body, he liked her. Her arms reached up, her left hand resting gently on the middle of his back, while her right hand pressed against the back of his head, pushing him forward as if silently saying, "Keep going".

"Lynn…you're beautiful, I've always thought that…" Lincoln removed his mouth from her right bosom and switched her left, repeating the same actions.

"L-Lincoln…s-shit, don't s-say stuff like that – oh fuck! – you're gonna make me think thoughts I shouldn't right now," said Lynn, her voice shaking.

Lincoln stopped his ministrations and rested his head against her chest, listening to the wild beating of Lynn's heart. "I'm thinking thoughts too…Lynn…"

In a surprising move, Lincoln wrapped his arms around Lynn's body and in one swift motion, threw both himself and Lynn onto the bed, with Lynn's head resting on his pillow. Lynn looked up at him with eyes filled with shock at the forwardness of his actions, and then smiled a little, proud that her little brother was being more aggressive.

"You know we can't…do it…right?" Lynn asked rhetorically.

"I know…but I..."

"I know…me too." Lynn wrapped her legs around Lincoln's waist, confusing him a little at her actions. "Still counts though even through the clothes."

Lincoln understood and started to grind his erection into Lynn's crotch. Two layers of cotton fabric separated their sexes from meeting, and yet allowed both of them to feel the heat and dampness that was growing with each thrust of their hips. The teen and pre-teen began to pant heavily, Lincoln made grunting, animalistic sounds that only further drove Lynn closer to the edge.

The crotches of their shorts and underwear were getting more soaked by the second, making each movement all the more satisfying. Lincoln could feel his orgasm coming, and he so badly wanted to cum, but the sibling competitiveness in him didn't want to finish before his big sister.

"L-Lynn…! A-Are you close?!" Lincoln asked.

"Y-Yes, oh god, yes I am! Blow your load, Linc!" Lynn stated.

Without a second thought, both Lynn and Lincoln came hard. Lincoln's hot seed pooled in his underwear, while Lynn's squirted into her shorts, a damp spot growing with each passing second as the boy and girl felt the warm liquid of each other's excretions soaking into the cotton fabric and then slowly leaking out onto the others undergarments.

Lincoln captured his big sister's lips, kissing her fervently in the heat of their passion. Lynn wrapped her hands around his shoulders, her legs around his waist, grinding more and more against his crotch. Both their tongues fought for supremacy in their mouths before Lynn finally gave in and let Lincoln shove his tongue down her throat.

After a few more seconds, the two siblings parted, with Lincoln rolling onto her left side, panting heavily from just having sex. They briefly glanced down their stomachs and looked down at their underwear, they were both wet and sticky, with a huge wet spot that looked like they had peed on themselves. Lincoln and Lynn chuckled as they let their heads hit the pillow.

"Wow, we made a mess," said Lynn.

"Oh yeah, good thing no one's here right now or we'd have a lot of explaining to do," said Lincoln.

Lynn laid on her side and looked at Lincoln, she snuggled up closer to him and rested her head on his chest. "I don't think seeing will be a problem, they just need to take a whiff of your room and they'll know."

"We probably should change out our underwear before they get back," said Lincoln lazily.

"Let 'em see, I want them to know I hooked up with a great guy."

Lincoln blushed and his heart swelled a little with pride and…love. "Lynn…does this mean we're…?"

Lynn looked up into Lincoln's blue eyes and asked, "It means whatever you want it to mean. If you say we're boyfriend and girlfriend now, I won't say no. To be honest, I don't think I could deny it…I love you, Lincoln Loud."

Lincoln wrapped his left arm around Lynn, holding her tight so as to never let her go. "And, I love you, too."

Lynn settled her head back against his chest, letting the beating Lincoln's heart soothe any worries or doubts she had about uttering those words, of being this way with him. Damn that they were related by blood, damn what their family might think, and damn the world. Lynn never felt so loved, and Lincoln, he was the perfect guy all around. She had been trying to define these feelings for years now, and this time it was given a name and form.

For Lincoln, it was much the same. A growing feeling between him and Lynn, one that seemed to be deeper than just sibling love. Neither one of them knew how to broach it, they could only express it in ways they hoped didn't seem too creepy or wrong. Lincoln didn't say it, but he was probably going to confess it to Lynn sometime later, that he did have thoughts about her at night, about doing exactly what they just did, but…ahem…with nothing really separating their privates from each other.

"I hate to say this, Linc, but this is the most we can do," said Lynn.

"I know…the last thing I want is to get us caught in a compromising situation," said Lincoln.

"Well, when we get older, we can work our way up to the more serious stuff. But, maybe we can work on another way to do it," Lynn suggested.

Lincoln gulped. "W-What other ways?"

Lynn smiled deviously. "Oh, you know, handjobs, blowjobs, cumming on my tits, and…" Lynn leaned up and whispered into his ear, "…anal."

Lincoln's face was so hot it felt like it was going to burn off and reveal his skull. "I think I turned you into a nympho."

"Nah, I just want my daily dose of Lincoln Juice."

"Oh god, I broke you."

"Not yet you haven't," said Lynn with a wink.

Both siblings began to laugh, all the nerves and worries they had forgotten as they laid next to each other.

"But, seriously, we need to change our underwear."

X***************************************X

Lincoln and Lancelot were in the backyard, the thirteen-year-old had his fists up, his orange polo having been tossed onto a lawn chair. Lancelot had also forgone his shirt, his well defined muscles on full display. Both the man and boy wore jeans and tennis shoes as they squared off against each other.

Lincoln dashed forward and threw a few punches at Lancelot, the Knight of the Lake blocked each one and threw a few punches back at Lincoln. The white-haired boy jumped back and ducked the first two, but used his right forearm to block the third as he came at Lancelot with a right roundhouse kick.

Lancelot allowed Lincoln to strike him in the side, but then wrapped his left arm around the leg and swiftly grabbed Lincoln's left arm. With a quick motion, he threw Lincoln. The young mage rolled on the grass until he came to a stop, quickly recovering and getting back to his feet.

"Excellent, Lincoln, your recovery is getting better. Remember, just as important as it is to defeat your opponent, getting back up quickly after falling is even more important. Never stay on the ground if you can help it," said Lancelot.

"Got it! Let's go!"

Across the yard, five of the Loud girls were watching Lincoln and Lancelot spar. All of them had a dreamy look on their faces. Lancelot was handsome, his muscles broad and slick with sweat, his chest rising and falling from their sparring session. Ironically enough, they were strangely captivated by their brother as well.

The younger Loud girls had a bit of a crush on their older brother, born of infatuation that only young girls of their age would have. None of them had seemed to have noticed before, but Lincoln wasn't the lanky looking thing he was two years ago. No, now he was sporting lean muscle, and developing six pack abs.

"Dang, I didn't know Lincoln could fight," said Lana.

"He beat up five guys at his school for talking bad about Lynn," said Luan.

Lola, Lana, and Lisa looked at her with shock. They knew that Lincoln was suspended for a week or so, but no one told them why.

Lola looked like she was going to swoon. "Lincy can be a butt sometimes, but a majority of the time, he can be a real knight in shining armor."

Lisa coughed, trying to hide her own growing infatuation. "I-Indeed, our elder brother is quite chivalrous…and becoming quite the specimen at that…"

Lucy let a ghost of a smile grace her lips, she thought much the same way as her younger sisters. Lincoln had showed a devotion to Lynn that, honestly, made her a little jealous. But she understood it, and she loved him for it. In her mind, any boy who sought her out had a lot to measure up to, because she would always measure them against her big brother, and Lucy knew, that none of them would come close to being the kind of boy he was, or the kind of man he would grow up to be.

Luan had to admit, she felt a lot of pride in seeing her little brother working so hard, getting stronger, and no longer stuck in a deep state of depression. She wondered if it was because of Lance? They seemed to share a bond that was like that of a younger and older brother. Luan did feel sorry that Lincoln was the only boy in their family, surrounded twenty-four-seven by ten girls was a little intimidating, she supposed that's why he gravitated towards Lynn, her tomboyish attitude made her like one of the guys.

That being said, she was kind of mad at him for not introducing someone like Lance to them. He's hot, and if I wasn't with Benny right now, whoa mama, I'd definitely like to get Lanced! Geddit?

Luna came out the backdoor and saw all of her sisters watching Lincoln and Lancelot sparing. Ronnie Anne and Quetz were watching as well, leaning against the house. It kind of made her uneasy, while she knew that they were all working together, Luna couldn't help but be afraid that Ronnie Anne may turn around and attack Lincoln. Part of her even wished that Quetz would take out Lancelot and end their participation in this Grail War.

Then again, another part of her didn't want that to happen. Because there was a chance, a real chance that Lynn could be brought back to life, that the gaping wound that was inflicted onto their family could finally be healed with her return. Of course, that also meant that Lincoln and Lynn would resume their incestuous relationship once again. Did that bother her? A little, but, seeing how hard Lincoln was working to bring back someone he loved so much, one couldn't help but route for him.

If – WHEN – they bring her back, I won't stand in their way. After everything they went through, Lincoln deserves to be happy with the person he loves. I'm still his big sister, and I'll support him however I can. On that note…

Luna eyed her siblings, seeing a tinge of pink marring their faces. She followed their eyes, believing that they were latched onto Lancelot, she couldn't lie, for a spirit, he was handsome. Unfortunately, out of the five, only Luan was staring at Lancelot, the others were focused on Lincoln.

"Dudes, are you seriously checking out our brother?" Luna asked.

All but Lucy and Luan looked abashed.

"I-I wasn't 'checking him out'! It's Lincy after all!" Lola countered.

"I kinda was," Lana confessed.

Lisa adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat. "I, ahem, may or may not have entertained a fantasy or two a few moments ago."

Luna's face palmed herself. Dammit Linc, you're seducing your little sisters without even trying! She turned her attention to Luan. "Please tell me you're not the same way?"

"Oh yeah, totally. In fact, I'm going to go over there, grab Lincoln and make out with him!" Luan declared.

Luna's heart nearly stopped.

"Wait, I thought you were with Benny?" Lola asked.

"Yeah, but you know what, the heck with Benny! Lincoln's going to be my new boyfriend! Hey Linky!" Luan called out.

Lincoln stopped and glanced in their direction.

"I'm going to be your girlfriend now!" Luan announced.

"What?!" Lincoln exclaimed.

Ronnie Anne nearly fell forward. "What?!"

Lancelot paused. "Pardon?"

Quetz snickered at their reactions.

Lola stomped her foot on the porch and glared at Luan. "That's no fair! You have a boyfriend already! If you're going to dump him that easily, then I'm not letting you have Lincoln! Lincy! Forget her, I'm your girlfriend now!"

"WHAT?!" Lincoln exclaimed louder.

Lana gaped at Lola. "Oh, heck no! You're not snatching him up like that! Lincoln, forget princess fussy pants, I'm your gal!"

"W-W-What the hell is going on here?!" Lincoln asked with a twitchy left eye.

"Humph, please, if there's anyone qualified to be our brother's paramour, then it's me!" Lisa objected.

Ronnie Anne looked from the porch and to the shocked Lincoln. "Okay, what in the hell am I missing here?"

Lucy walked down the steps and said, "You didn't know? Lincoln is starting a harem with all of us. Luna's still the outlier, but we're working on that."

"THAT'S BS DUDE!" Luna argued.

"You can join too…" Lucy crossed her arms. "On a trial basis."

Lancelot stood beside his Master and asked, "I'm sorry, Lincoln, but I'm afraid I don't quite understand what's happening. Are you starting a harem with your own kin?"

Lincoln's response was to fall onto his back and stare up at the blue sky.

"Guys, I'm kidding," Luan said finally. "I'm not breaking up with Benny. I still love you little bro!"

Lincoln gave her a thumbs up.

"S-So you were kidding about the harem thing, right?" Ronnie asked.

"Yes, just a bit of sisterly teasing."

"I wasn't kidding! Lincy's mine!" Lola jumped off the porch and ran towards him.

"Not if I get him first!" Lana stated.

"Ha! I shan't be bested by you two," said Lisa as she joined in.

"Uh-oh, Lincoln, I think you should run!" Lucy warned.

Lincoln looked up and immediately began to run, his little sisters chasing him around the yard while they declared they the first one to catch Lincoln got to kiss him.

Luna leaned against the house and sighed heavily. "Jeez, Luan, do not joke around about stuff like that!"

"What? I'm just messing around, you don't have to get so worked up about it," said Luan.

Luna opened her mouth to argue that she had the right to get worked up, but stopped. The only ones who knew of Lincoln and Lynn's relationship were her and Lucy, as far she knew, they hadn't told Lancelot, Quetz, or Ronnie Anne. She could understand why they wouldn't tell those two, if Ronnie Anne found out the whole truth about why Lincoln wanted to bring her back, she might turn on them.

"Anyway, my concert's tonight, so I'm heading out to practice," said Luna. She saw that he was pounced on by three of the younger Loud girls, he was on his stomach, his chin resting in his upturned wrist as he waited for the three of them toned their little argument. "Linc, come with me a sec, I need to talk to ya."

Thank God! "Alright guys, I need to go, c'mon," said Lincoln as he managed to get from underneath the dogpile.

He walked over to Luna, who he followed around to the front. "Thanks for the save, Lunes."

"No prob, lil' bro. But, seriously, don't go after 'em," said Luna.

Lincoln rolled his eyes. "I'm not, I'm fighting to get Lynn back. Besides, I tried to see I could feel the same with another one of you guys, but didn't work out."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "You tried to think about me and Luan that way?"

Lincoln rubbed his right arm. "After Lynn died…I tried to think of someone I liked and who was close to…the first one I thought of was you, Luna."

Luna's face heated up. "I…I uh…I really don't know what to say, Linc…"

"Don't worry, like I said, I tried. I thought if I could feel the same way for someone else like I did for Lynn, then the pain wouldn't be as bad. But, I was wrong, I don't think I'll feel like that for any one else other than Lynn."

Luna put her guitar down and hugged her little brother tightly. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that pain alone."

"I said it was okay, you guys didn't know and I didn't tell you," said Lincoln.

"I'm still sorry. Lori and Leni aren't here, so it's mine and Luan's jobs to be the big sisters and help you guys out, to be there for you. Especially you, Linc. You're our only brother, and we don't like seeing you in pain." Luna released him and kissed his forehead. "I don't like this whole war thing, but maybe we can just talk soon, I kind of want to hear about you and Lynn, and I'm sure you'd like someone to listen."

Lincoln smiled broadly. "I-I would, like that, I mean."

"'Kay, it's a date. How 'bout after the concert?"

Lincoln nodded.

"See ya later." Luna picked up her guitar, flicked his cowlick, and then walked down the sidewalk.

Luna could've taken Vanzilla, but she knew that her mom and dad would need it to drive them to the venue later. She was going to meet up at Sam's place, and from there, they would head to the theater…and perhaps snog a bit.

As she walked down the street, Luna felt like she was being watched. Since that one time when the Loud kids went heavy on the security, they found that their neighborhood was pretty safe. No sex offenders, cultists, gangbangers, or anything really, it was one of the few rare places that parents felt safe to let their kids ride their bikes everywhere, or walk home to school, to the park, mostly anywhere.

So when Luna got that strange feeling, she was on alert as she didn't get that feeling very often. Plus, with the knowledge that there were at least five different mages who were hell-bent on killing each other, if they found out that she was Lincoln's sister, then they'd no doubt come after him through them.

C'mon, Lunes, that's just fear talkin'! Lincoln's white hair will throw them off, so they'll probably be looking for people who have white hair too. We both have freckles, but so do half the kids in this town. It'd be a freak accident if they knew, especially since there's ten…nine of us.

Luna sometimes forgot that they weren't ten sisters anymore, there were only nine. Nine and one brother, that was the new ten, it used to be eleven. Luna shook her head, she couldn't mope like that, she knew her brother and sister would make it through this, and at the end, they'd have Lynn back. The rocker took one last glance over her shoulder and was about to step forward, that is until she saw him.

A man stood before her, about six-feet tall. He wore a gray, Victorian outfit, complete with a cape, and ruffles around his collar. The right half of the man's face was covered with a white mask, it didn't look normal. The texture looked smooth, but rough, like…it was made of bone. His long black hair concealed most of the mask, but allowed just enough to be seen, such as the sinister smile. The mask's right eye was a hollow pool of darkness, making Luna wonder if this was a trick of the mask itself or if the man had no eye. The man's one eye had a red tint to it, although the man had a gentle smile, his eye conveyed sadness.

Luna froze up, it was kind of hot outside, so wearing an outfit like this man was would make any person sweat, but there wasn't a bead of sweat on his face. She started to wonder if this was one of those Servants, like Lancelot and Quetzalcoatl? If he was, then she was in trouble.

No, there's no way they could've figured out I was his sister! C-Calm down, Lunes! Lancelot and Quetz can move around on their own, s-so maybe he's doing the same thing? Y-Yeah, like recon or some shit!

"C-Can I help you, sir?" Luna asked.

"Oh my, you remind me so much of my dear Christine~" the man said.

"Oh…I-I do?" Why is he singing?

The man nodded. "You have a lovely voice, I caught you're performance the other day~"

"Oh, y-you liked our practice? Thanks, dude, uh, sir."

The man placed his right hand against his chest and gave a slight bow, "Please call me Erik, and I must say, I think you can be better~"

Luna cocked an eyebrow. "'Better', how?"

Erik reached out with a gloved hand and gently placed his finger tips against her throat. Luna flinched under his touch, but she made no moves to run. Lancelot was fast, if that was anything to gauge a Servant by, then there was no way she was going to be able to outrun Erik. Luna's only chance of surviving this was to play along and live, then she could call Lincoln and Lucy and tell them what this guy looked like and his name. They could then research him later, but right now, she needed to focus on surviving.

"Sing my dear, sing~ Aaaaah~ Haaaaa~ Aaaaah~" Erik directed.

Luna opened her mouth and mimicked the notes. "Aaaah~ Haaaa~ Aaaaah~" Her eyes widened when she heard her own voice resonate with a clarity that she hadn't reached before.

Erik repeated the notes, and Luna did it again. Something felt nice about singing with Erik, the more she practiced with him, the more her fear and worry began to ebb away, like sand on the beach.

"My dear Christine, please come with me~ I promise, I will make you a star~" said Erik.

"But…I-I have a concert tonight," said Luna in a dazed state.

"A concert, in a paltry place, but soon, you will be playing in the grandest of music halls, fit for a diva~!" Erik proclaimed.

That does sound pretty rad…I guess that would be alright…

With that, the last thing anyone would've seen was Luna being led away by a strange man, and disappearing.

---

Lucy roamed the halls of her house, Ronnie Anne had gone upstairs after her own training session with Quetz, the goddess stayed behind as to wrestle with the youngest tomboy, Lana. She stopped when she saw the ladder to her attic room was down. Lucy climbed up and saw Ronnie Anne messing with her revolver.

The young Latina noticed Lucy and said, "Sorry, I just wanted to work someplace where this thing wouldn't hurt anyone."

"That's fine, I'd prefer it if you did, Lily knows not to come up into the attic without one of us helping her, and she has a habit of grabbing things that don't belong to her. The last thing I want is for her to grab that weapon," said Lucy.

"Don't worry, it has a charm on it so that anyone not magically inclined won't see anything," Ronnie Anne assured.

Lucy walked all the way into her room and sat on her bed. "Maybe, but kids Lily's age are more in tune with the supernatural, so there's a chance she might see it."

"Good point, I'll be careful, promise." Ronnie Anne returned her gaze to her weapon and cleaned it with the tools her Abuela packed for her. "You don't like me very much, do you?"

Lucy flinched. "That obvious?"

Ronnie Anne chuckled. "Oh yeah. Since we're alone, let's talk. No Servants, no Lincoln. Just us, girl-to-girl."

Lucy sat at the edge of her bed, kicking her feet back and forth as she contemplated that. "I guess."

"Cool, so, why exactly don't you like me? Did I break Linc's heart when me and my family moved? Because he didn't seem as upset about it, at least not that he showed me." Ronnie Anne asked.

Lucy shook her head. "No, he missed you, yes, but not in a romantic way. I think he might've had a small crush on you, but I think that faded over time when you moved."

"Huh…did he ever date anyone? He never told me in his video chats, your sisters didn't tell me either, but…I don't know, I feel like…maybe he did?" Ronnie Anne guessed.

Worry crept into Lucy's chest, she didn't want to say, "Oh he did, it was Lynn!", yeah, that wasn't going to go over well. "N-No, not really. How about you? Any boys?"

"Heh, nope, girls however, yeah, one," said Ronnie Anne.

"Oh, I didn't…"

"Neither did I until I met the right girl. I'm bi though, but you really don't have to worry about me hooking up with Lincoln. I love Sid, and I'm going back to her when this is over."

Lucy could see the determination in her chestnut brown eyes, they blazed with conviction, she truly loved this Sid girl, and was ready to fight through hell if it meant getting back to her. It was the same kind of fire she saw in Lincoln.

"I'm just…worried…" Lucy confessed. "I want to win, losing Lynn shattered Lincoln inside, if we lose this chance…I honestly don't know if he could take that."

Ronnie Anne stopped her cleaning and sat next to Lucy.

"I was the one who suggested that we fight in the Grail War, compared to the other mages in this fight, we're fucking novices!"

"Won't lie, I'm right there with you," said Ronnie Anne.

"The only advantage we have is that Lancelot is a strong Saber Servant. Ronnie Anne…I'm scared…" Lucy hugged herself. "I'm scared that I brought Lincoln into a battle that he could lose his life in, I'm scared that I've given him hope only for it to be snuffed out like a candle in the wind…I've seen his despair, his sadness. Knowing that he could bring back Lynn has resurrected the boy I know and love."

Ronnie Anne carefully wrapped her right arm around Lucy's shoulders. "You did what you knew was right. Is this a long shot? Yeah, it is. But it's a long shot worth taking. I wasn't here to see how sad he was, but from what you're saying, it was really bad."

"Worse than you can imagine…"

"Then what you did might've saved his life. If you think he was that bad off, from what you're saying, it sounds like he was already dead inside," said Ronnie Anne.

That wasn't untrue, Lincoln looked like the living dead most days. While it was appealing on a level, Lucy didn't like it when it was her brother looking like that. She was so accustomed to his brightness, to his gentle nature, his optimism, he was the complete opposite to her and she liked that, because, as she has said before, even she needed a break from the darkness, and Lincoln was more often than not, the break from the darkness.

"We'll get Lynn back, your family will be complete again, and the hole in Lincoln's heart will be filled. I promise."

Lucy looked up at Ronnie Anne, her sincere smile was infectious, which caused her to smile as well. "I'm sorry that I was so hostile towards you."

Ronnie Anne waved it off. "No big, I know it's how you guys are with Linc. He's your only brother, and you guys would do anything for him, and sometimes can get a little 'mother hen' when it comes to him."

Meanwhile, Lincoln and Lancelot were back outside. Lana and Quetz were wrestling, and somehow were now in the middle of mud wrestling. Lancelot had gotten invited to a tea party with Lola, using real tea instead of the pretend tea she usually used. Earlier the Knight of the Lake had pulled out Lola's chair and seated her, and then did the honor of serving her the first cup.

"My, Mr. Lance, you're quite the gentleman," said Lola.

"Thank you, Milady. I take, very seriously, the lessons of chivalry. More tea?" Lancelot asked.

Lola giggled. "Yes, please!"

Lancelot carefully took the tea kettle and poured some into Lola's cup, careful as to not spill a drop. Once done, he refilled his own cup, took a bite of one of the pastries and drank some himself.

"So, Lance, do you have any siblings?" Lola asked.

"Not particularly, I did have…comrades that I saw as my brothers," said Lancelot.

"Hmm? Comrades? Are you, like, a soldier or something?"

Lancelot rubbed the back of his head. "Yes, in a manner of speaking, a soldier of England."

Lola's dreamy eyed look changed to one of fascination. "Wow, you must've been to a lot of exotic places."

Lancelot chuckled. "Not very many, I used to live in France, but it's been so long that I haven't returned there."

"Awww, France, I'd love to go there one day and see the City of Lights, Paris! Of course, hopefully when I'm a world famous model," said Lola. "But I wouldn't mind going early."

Lincoln chuckled watching Lancelot and Lola, usually he was the one roped into playing tea party with her, and while he didn't mind, it got old fast, such were the duties of a big brother. But he didn't mind that Lancelot was chosen instead. The younger Louds, aside from Lucy, Luan, and Luna, were giving Lancelot that same look they gave his tutor way back when. His only saving grace was that his dad was busy at his restaurant, and Lancelot was sturdy enough to handle the rowdiness of the Loud House.

Just then, Lincoln felt his phone vibrate. He fished it out of his pocket and saw that it was from Sam. All the Loud siblings had Sam's phone number, she and Luna had been dating so long that she was practically another family member, plus, it made it easier in case Sam couldn't reach Luna. Of course, that also had its downsides, like the time when Sam sent a nude selfie to Luna, but accidentally sent it to Lincoln's phone.

"Oh, Sam texted me?" Lincoln swiped his screen and hit the text, only for his face to turn as red as a fire truck. "HOLY SHIT!"

The selfie was of Sam Sharp, the shot was taken in front of a mirror, with her right index finger carefully placed as to block out nipples and just enough to tease a peek at her girlhood. Lincoln knew he shouldn't be staring at this, he knew that Sam must've sent this to him by mistake and that it must've been meant for Luna.

Still…he couldn't deny how hot she was…that being said, he and Lynn were boyfriend and girlfriend now, he couldn't – shouldn't be looking at another naked girl, especially his sister's girlfriend.

About a minute after that selfie reached him, Lincoln's door burst open. Lincoln yelped and dropped his phone onto his bed, Luna had a face as red as his own, her eyes frantically searching his room until they landed on his phone. She snatched it up quickly and sent the photo to herself, and then deleted the thread and the selfie from Lincoln's phone.

"Don't say anything to Mom and Dad…please?" Luna tried to put a serious tone to it, but it came out as more of a plea than anything else.

"I-I won't! I promise! I swear I didn't do anything with it!"

Luna looked like she wanted to say more, but she was too embarrassed to say anything right now. She put Lincoln's phone back on the bed and left the room. Lincoln sighed heavily, feeling as if he had just dodged a major bullet. Then his phone pinged again, he saw that it was from Sam again. Lincoln hesitated to look at it after what happened, but he dared to. He swiped the screen and brought up the message, thankfully, it wasn't a nude.

[I am so sorry Lincoln! I didn't mean to send that to you! Please don't be mad at me! I already told Luna not to be hard on you or anything!]

Lincoln felt bad for Sam, she was really sorry. [It's alright, honestly, I think she was more embarrassed than mad, really.]

[Thanks, Linc. Well…at least you can say you saw a naked girl ]

Technically Lincoln had already seen a naked girl, but he wasn't about to say that.

Afterwards, Luna apologized to Lincoln as well for her storming in like that. He wasn't mad, but Lynn on the other hand found out and smacked his arm hard, gave him a bruise too. "What the hell, Stinkoln, I'm not hot enough for you?!"

"No, you were, you definitely were." Lincoln swiped his screen and read the message.

[Hey, Linc, did Luna leave already?]

Lincoln raised an eyebrow. [Yeah, about ten minutes ago, she's not at your place yet?]

[No, she's not. Maybe she got held up? Ugh, I'm being paranoid, she would never skip on practice.]

An ice pick of worry stabbed at Lincoln's heart, Luna was never late when it came to Sam, or practice. Lincoln switched to calling Sam, when she picked up he asked, "Did Luna text you or anything?"

{No, she hasn't yet…Linc, are you alright, you sound worried?}

Lincoln was worried, worried that one of the four other mages in the town had kidnapped Luna. She knew Carol wouldn't do anything to hurt his family, she wasn't an ally, but also not an enemy. The last thing she would do was hurt Lincoln and his family like that after they lost Lynn. So that only left the Masters of Berserker, Archer, Caster, and Assassin as the culprits.

"No, it's fine, I'm paranoid too, you know…because of Lynn and all…"

{Sorry, I'm kind of the same too. We're probably worrying for nothing. Later, Linc.}

"Later."

Lincoln hung up the phone and hurriedly scrambled inside the house, Lancelot saw this and his gaze immediately narrowed, but then softened when he turned back to Lola.

"I'm sorry, Lola, but I believe I need to go," said Lancelot. "Perhaps we may reschedule?"

Lola sighed. "Okay, but only because you are such a delight."

---

Lincoln, Lucy, and Lancelot ran down the street that Luna was walking on her way to Sam's. Ronnie Anne had offered to come with them, but Lincoln told her to stay at his house, the last thing he wanted was to leave his sisters unguarded, and having Ronnie Anne and Quetzalcoatl around put his mind at ease.

The Heroic Spirit and two young mages made it about halfway down the road before Lucy stopped. She had long ago made a kind of tracking charm for each of their siblings, the one she was using was a stone that had carved rune into it. The rock would glow the closer that they got to Luna, but they first needed to pick up her magical "scent".

As it so happened, the stone did glow. "She was here," said Lucy.

"Is she alive?" Lincoln asked.

"The stone is warm, so yes she is, if not it would go ice cold."

Lancelot knelt and placed his hand to the ground, using his mana, he tried to get a sense of what had happened. "I sense magic in the air, not of a mage, but of a Servant. Lady Luna must've been kidnapped by one of our foes, as we might've feared."

"There's no way they could've linked us to Luna that quickly! We didn't give out or names or anything!" Lincoln stated.

"We cannot underestimate the resources of our enemies, Master. Mages have several methods of tracking down their opponents, not only that, there's also the matter of their wealth. Some mage families don't need to expend magic when they can just throw money around," said Lancelot.

"He's right, they might've used their wealth to do research on us based on our descriptions alone. Royal Woods is big, but not that big, it probably wouldn't take them long to track down a boy with white hair," said Lucy.

"Shit," Lincoln cursed, "Okay, which way do we go?"

Lucy was about to answer, until they saw Sam's car pull up, Lucy hurriedly hid the stone behind her back as Sam exited her car.

"I knew it, something's wrong," Sam exclaimed.

Lincoln brought up his hands in a calming gesture. "Sam, it's alright, we got this. Just head back home and–!"

"Bullshit!" Sam interrupted. "Lincoln, don't lie to me! Tell me the truth, something's going on, and whatever it is, Luna's in danger, isn't she?!" Sam knelt before the thirteen-year-old, gripped his shoulders, and looked him in the eyes. "Please?"

Lincoln's heart clinched, he could see the same fear and sadness in Sam's eyes that were once in his. But was it alright to bring Sam into this? Luna was already dragged into their war, unfortunately, their entire family had been thanks to the two of them. Lincoln and Lucy knew this, but they had thought that they could mitigate the attention of the other mages to them alone, how childish of them to think that their mage opponents wouldn't try to do something as underhanded as kidnap someone they loved, torture them, or kill them.

Lincoln balled up his fists and looked Sam in the eyes. "We think Luna was kidnapped, by someone who's trying to kill Lance, Lucy, and me."

Sam released Lincoln's shoulders and stared at him with a dumbfounded look. She knew the middle Loud child had a flare for the dramatic when it came to his plans and that he loved comics, she too was a connoisseur of comics, it was something that she and Lincoln bonded over. But this was too much.

"Linc, c'mon, dude, don't say stuff like that," said Sam.

"I'm not lying. Whoever did this is trying to kill the three of us, and kidnapping Luna was probably their way of trying to draw us out." Lincoln glanced at Lancelot. "Lance, show her."

Lancelot nodded. Sam watched as Lance held out his right hand, the air around it became distorted, and in flash of blue light, and ethereal sword-like weapon appeared in his hands. The appearance of the weapon made Sam fall onto her rear as she stared at the shimmering sword, but a couple of seconds later, the sword disappeared into particles of light.

"Lance isn't a normal human, he fights for me and Lucy, and the person who kidnapped Luna has someone like Lance who fights for them. Someone we care about is already in danger, so trust me when I say, it's better that you go back home for now, we'll rescue Luna," Lincoln assured.

Sam looked from Lincoln, to Lucy, to Lance, back to Lincoln, and then at the ground. After a moment, Sam knitted her brow and stood to her full height. "Do you have a way to find her?"

"Yes, we're tracking her right now with…uh…magic," said Lucy.

Sam took a deep breath and got back into the driver's seat of her car. "Get in! We can cover more ground in my car than you guys can on foot."

"Sam," Lucy began to protest.

"Lady Sam, perhaps–"

"Look, the person I love most in this world is in danger, I'm not going to stand by and wait at home! So either get in, or I'm going to tail you guys! One way or the other!" Sam declared.

Lucy and Lancelot were about to protest, until Lincoln raised his left arm in a stopping gesture. "Alright, let's go together."

"Lincoln!" Lucy exclaimed.

"I couldn't do anything for Lynn, I won't make Sam feel that way," said Lincoln with finality.

Lancelot nodded to his Master, Lucy didn't like it, but she got into the car. Lucy sat up front with the stone in hand, while Lincoln and Lancelot sat in the back. Sam's eyes lingered on the young teen boy through the rearview mirror, but then turned the car around and followed Lucy's directions.

Sam tried to hurry along, but the stone wasn't a GPS that gave directions, it was like playing a game of "hot and cold" and if Lucy needed her to make a turn, she didn't want to go too fast and miss it. At same time, the urgency of their situation urged her to floor it.

"Turn right, here!" Lucy stated.

Sam turned, in the rearview, she spotted Lincoln with a deck of playing cards. He flipped a few in his hands, his eyes closed as he worked, he reminded her of a casino dealer in Las Vegas, but there was something off about those cards for some reason. They followed his movements and didn't slip out of place even once, moving like smooth running water.

"Hang a left!"

Sam turned left, they traveled down the road for a few moments.

"Stop!"

Sam hit the brakes, making everyone release an "OOMPH!" from the sudden jostle. Lucy waved the stone around, when she moved it to her right the stone glowed even brighter than it had before. All four occupants looked out the windows, and Sam cocked in eyebrow.

"The Music Hall? This is where the concert's going to be held, are you guys pulling a prank or something?" Sam asked.

However, that notion died out quickly when Sam saw the deadly serious expressions on Lincoln's and Lancelot's faces, Lucy still had her stoic expression, but over time Sam had learned to read even the slightest of micro expressions on Lucy's face, and she too was as serious as her brother and Lancelot.

"How do you want to do this?" Lincoln asked.

"A Bounded Field would be work to keep everyone away, it won't be a pretty one, but it'll get the job done," said Lucy.

"Do it, Sam, watch Lucy's back while she's setting up. Lancelot and I will head in," said Lincoln as they began to exit the car.

"Whoa, hey, wait!" Sam hurriedly did the same and ran to cut them off. "If Luna's in there then I'm coming with you, Linc!"

Lincoln looked up at Sam and said, "No, you're not. You'll just get in the way."

Sam was about to say something back, but that was before she took a good look at him, and she paused. His eyes were narrowed into dangerous slits, his fists were clenched along with his jaw, he looked like he was about to kill someone. There was anger in his eyes, a fury born of worry and concern for someone he loved, and be damned anyone or anything that stood in his way.

Lancelot strode next to Lincoln and said, "Lady Sam, please step aside. This is a matter not for you at this time."

Sam could see a similar fury coming off of Lancelot, his aura was different from the big brother like feeling he radiated before, he was more like a man about to go to war. Reluctantly, Sam stepped aside and allowed them to go inside.

"Don't worry," said Lucy, "they'll be alright." I hope…

---

Once inside the building, Lancelot's body glowed bright, replacing his normal clothes with that of his royal knight armor. The claymore sword from the previous night's battle materialized in his right hand, he gave a practice swing before gripping it in both hands. Lincoln quickly took out one of his playing cards, concentrating as he infused it with some magic, ready to cast at a moment's notice.

The first thing that they realized upon entering was that it was empty. There was going to be a concert later, but there was no sign of the building's staff anywhere. Lights were on, but it seemed no one was home. However, they started to hear something, or rather someone. Music was playing, no, someone was singing.

Lincoln and Lancelot made their way to the double doors that led into the main staging area. Quietly, they pushed the doors open and Lincoln gasped at what he saw. At the center of the stage was Luna, dressed in a purple gown and singing an admittedly beautiful aria. Her paperclip earrings were gone, replaced with a couple of diamond earrings, a gold pendant hung around her neck, and a violet rose was carefully placed in her hair right above her left ear.

Her eyes were closed, deeply engulfed in the song she was singing, blocking out all other distractions as her song was the only thing that mattered. Lincoln had to admit, Luna was a pretty girl, but then again he thought that of all his sisters, but right now, she looked beautiful. However, his moment of observation was stymied when he looked upon the person close to Luna, circling her like a shark as if apprising her.

There was another person inside, sitting in the chair closest to the stage. Lincoln could only see the back of his head, but was sure that the person sitting there was the Master, and the one on stage was the Servant. Luna finished her aria and then gave a small bow towards the audience. The unknown Master stood and clapped, at the same time, so too did the Servant.

"Bravo, well done!" he said.

"Truly the voice of an angel, my dear Christine~"

Luna giggled a little and said, "Thank you, Erik. Lord Iselam."

"Now, now, please, call me Torek. Or just Tor." Torek rubbed his chiseled chin. "She is quite the specimen, and you did such good work with her in just a short amount of time."

Erik spun in place and bowed to his Master. "You are too kind~ But just wait and see, as my dear Christine, she will be the most pristine diva the world has ever seen~!"

"Worry not, Assassin, the world will know of her talent, and I will have this girl's voice, one more part to reach perfection," said Torek.

Lincoln's fist tightened as he said, "Saber, take out Assassin, I'll handle his Master."

"Be careful, Master, it stands to reason he's more experienced in magecraft than you are. I have faith in you, but try and survive at the most," said Lancelot.

Lincoln nodded his understanding. With that, Lancelot went into spirit form. He dashed across the auditorium and closed in on the stage, Assassin sensed him at the last second and jumped back just as Lancelot materialized and brought down his sword. The blade struck the wooden stage, causing the wood to splinter as the shockwave from the blow sent Luna to the floor.

"What the–?!" Torek exclaimed.

"Fulgur!" Lincoln pointed his card towards Torek and from it released a stream of lightning right at the man.

The lightning bolt struck him in the back and then exploded, covering Torek in black smoke. On stage, Lancelot put himself between Luna and Assassin, trying to keep her safe. He glanced over his shoulder and checked on Luna, she seemed to be in a daze, her eyes were glazed over as if drugged or hypnotized.

"How dare you…" Assassin shook with rage. "How dare you keep me from my diva, my Christine!"

Assassin's cape began to distort, turning into shadows, at the same time, Assassin pulled off the gloves on his hands and revealed their true state, his hands were bronze colored metal that formed razor sharp claws on each finger. The stage seemed to get distorted, as if the theater was somehow becoming a low grade, pseudo Reality Marble.

Lincoln ran down the aisle towards the stage, but stopped when he saw Torek appear before him. He cursed when he saw that Torek's shirt was burned off, and yet the man didn't seem to have a scratch on him.

"Oh, so it's the little mage and his Saber," Torek taunted. "I wasn't expecting you to find me so soon."

Lincoln summoned another card to his hand and got into an attack stance. "Why did you take her?!"

Torek glanced towards Luna and raised an eyebrow. "And what concern is that of yours?"

Wait…he doesn't know that Luna's my sister? Shit…think Lincoln! "I heard something about a girl getting kidnapped around here, thought it might be connected to a Master and Servant, and it looks like I was right," said Lincoln with a confident smirk.

"Hmm, you know kid, you really shouldn't meddle in the affairs of adults, you're likely to get hurt!"

Torek charged for Lincoln, cocking back his fist and thrusting it forward. Lincoln narrowly missed the blow as it struck against the floor, a small crater formed where his fist landed, making Lincoln's eyes widen with fear as what would've happened had that punch landed. However, Lincoln shoved that to the back of his mind, he had to focus on surviving this fight until Lancelot was done with Assassin.

Lincoln focused his magic and made his playing card glow bright. "Gladius Fulgur!" In an instant, the card changed shape, transforming into a sword made of lightning. Lincoln had no idea how he survived that last attack, but at least he could keep him at a distance.

Torek got into a fighting stance and came at Lincoln again, Lincoln swiped with his sword, the air crackling with electricity in the wake of the slash. Torek moved back to avoid the swing and pressed forward again. Lincoln came back down and Torek dodged again, backing up just a little.

Meanwhile, Assassin had taken to hiding in the shadows of the stage, thanks to his Presence Concealment, it was hard for Lancelot to pin down his location, but he knew that Assassin's prize was Luna, and so long as she was at his back, Assassin would have to go through him to get to her.

"You have a strong singing voice, and you taught this young miss to access more of her potential, it makes me wonder how someone so talented could be placed under the class of Assassin. Perhaps there is more to this story than you are showing?" Lancelot asked.

The shadows came alive as Assassin lunged form them, Lancelot brought up his sword and parried his attack, repelling the killer and forcing him back into the shadows, a few seconds passed and Assassin attacked again. Lancelot defended with his sword, bracing himself against his opponent's attack. The man before him, Assassin, had a different visage than he did earlier. Before he saw a kind teacher, but now, he saw a raving mad man, fueled by anger, and a possessiveness that would terrify any mortal man. A twisted face of bloodlust stared back a Lancelot, and the Knight of the Lake glared back at it.

Lancelot pushed back against Assassin, forcing him to retreat into the shadows. While this was going on, Luna shook her head, her mind felt heavy, clouded. She was supposed to be somewhere, with someone, but she couldn't remember who? She looked to her right and watched as a knight and Erik did battle on the stage, something was off about Erik.

Lincoln slashed again and again, but Torek kept dodging, he drew another card and infused magic into it. "Ligate pedes eius et vincula lucem!" Lincoln threw the card at Torek and he easily dodged it, letting fly across his right shoulder.

"Your aim needs work," said Torek.

"You think so?"

The card stopped in midair, and immediately, chains made of bright orange light shot towards Torek. The older mage didn't anticipate that move as the chains wrapped around his arms, legs, body, and neck. The orange light-chains reeled back, tightening their grip and holding him in place. Torek struggled against the chains, but it was proving difficult to get free.

Lincoln closed in and pointed his lightning sword right at Torek's throat. "It's over, call off Assassin!"

"Or?"

"Or else!" Lincoln threatened.

Torek raised an eyebrow as he looked at Lincoln, and a cocky smile formed on his lips. "You're not going to kill me."

Lincoln flinched for a brief second, but then gripped the sword harder as he narrowed his gaze. "Yes I am! I will kill you if you don't order Assassin to stop! NOW!"

"You've never killed a person before. I mean, I can see it plainly in your eyes. This is the first time you've held a deadly weapon to a person's throat. But something's driving you, something that's making you consider killing me." Torek suggested.

Lincoln gritted his teeth, Torek had figured him out.

Torek nodded. "I see, it must have something to do with that girl, Luna, that's her name isn't it? She's quite the beautiful specimen, tell me, is she your lover? Do you have a crush on her? No shame in liking older women, especially–"

"SHUT UP!" Lincoln warned as he brought the edge of the sword closer. "What were you going to do with her?!"

The sound of ringing metal drew Lincoln's attention away for a second, seeing how Lancelot and Assassin were doing battle. For some reason, Lancelot wasn't fairing as well as Lincoln had hoped. Assassins are generally weak, not many are strong enough to fight Servants with stats like Lancelot or even Quetzalcoatl, but there were some, but those were notoriously hard to summon, or so Lucy told him. Assassins were better suited for that, assassination, killing Masters instead of killing Servants. However, this Assassin was holding his own against Lancelot, a Saber among the higher echelons of his class, so why was it that he was having trouble?

"You having a hard time figuring out who he is?" Lincoln turned his attention back to Torek. "I'll let you know, his known as The Phantom of the Opera."

Lincoln glanced back at the Assassin. Thanks to Lucy, and her love of tragic and dark romances, Lincoln knew the story of The Phantom of the Opera, a man who hid his disfigured face with a mask, and stalked an actress known as Christine, even going so far as to give her tips, essentially tutoring her. After a series of events, it was said that the Phantom died of love, having received love back from Christine and setting her free to be with the one she truly loved.

"So long as he is on the stage, Phantom is at his strongest, you made a mistake fighting us here of all places, kid," said Torek.

"Think so?! You're captured, and I have my sword to your throat!"

"Yeah, the thing about that is…" Suddenly, Torek disappeared, the chains going slack.

Before Lincoln realized it, he received a hard punch to his stomach, sending the thirteen-year-old flying backwards until he landed on the floor of the aisle. His lightning sword vanished, returning to a normal playing card. Lincoln clutched at his stomach as he threw up onto the floor, pain radiating from his abdomen.

"…That was an illusion, I'm quite good at that. Also enhancement magic, which is why my punch hurt so bad," said Torek.

Lincoln wheezed, he tried to get up, but the pain was preventing him from doing so.

"MASTER!" Lancelot shouted.

"SHE'S MINE!" Phantom shouted as he slashed at Lancelot's back. His knife claws dug into the armor, piercing into Lancelot's flesh.

Lancelot whipped back and tried to attack, but was then kicked at the back of his neck and was sent falling forward further onto the stage. The shadows of the stage began to wrap around Lancelot, cutting off his view of both Luna and Lincoln.

Phantom looked down at his diva-to-be and smiled gently. "My dear, sweet Christine~ Please, won't you come with me~?"

Luna looked at the clawed hand extended before her. His voice was alluring, melting away the apprehension and the doubt. She slowly reached out towards him and was about to take his hand…

"LUNA!"

---

Lucy had hurriedly set up some rune stones in a circle before her, with some effort she was able to set up the Bounded Field. It was hastily made and any mage worth their salt would easily find it and know that there was something happening. But right now she couldn't concern herself with that, the field needed to be set up to make sure no innocent people interfered with the battle.

Sam watched the ten-year-old as she worked her magic, speaking in a language she didn't understand as the five stones that made up her circle glowed. In a matter of seconds, a dome was formed around the entire theater, and then disappeared as soon as it was finished. "I-I-I don't get it; did it not work?!"

"It worked, it's invisible. No one will come into this place, they'll be subconsciously avoiding this area," Lucy explained.

"So now what?" Sam asked.

"Now, I go in there and help Lincoln. His magic skills are good, he's a fast learner, but I've been practicing magic for longer than he has. Still…our odds are not that great," said Lucy with dread. "The mage inside that place is probably older and far more experienced than me, our best hope is to kill his Servant and have Lancelot kill the Master soon afterwards."

Sam couldn't believe how casually Lucy was speaking about killing someone, she knew the goth was into dark stuff and her poems could be on the depressing, and sometimes morbid side, but to say it so easily…

"Lucy, I don't know what's going on, and I really need a damn good explanation when this is over, but right now, we should focus on saving Luna!"

"Killing the Master and Servant is our best shot at doing that! You stay out here," said Lucy.

"I'm not staying out here! I'm going with you!" Sam stated.

"Sigh! Fine, but you stay behind me!"

Both girls ran inside, the sounds of battle were echoing within, with clashing metal and crackling lightning. Lucy and Sam went towards the doors and slowly peeked inside. On stage, Lancelot and Phantom were battling, with Luna behind Lancelot. Lincoln was in the aisle, holding the Master at sword point and bound by chains.

Lucy smiled at what she saw. Lincoln, I knew you could do it!

"What the hell is happening right now…?" Sam asked in disbelief.

Just then, they watched as the Master of Assassin disappeared and then reappeared, striking Lincoln in the gut and sending him flying into the air, whereupon he landed hard onto the floor of the aisle. Lucy gasped with fear as she watched her big brother vomit and clutch his stomach.

Sam's eyes widened with fear after seeing Lincoln take such a harsh blow, her attention was then drawn to Lancelot, having been distracted. She then witnessed as some creature gouged at Lancelot's back and threw him further into the stage, separating him from Luna. The man-creature offered its hand to Luna, and Sam watched with horror as Luna reached back. Sam couldn't watch this anymore.

"LUNA!" Sam shouted as loud as she could.

Her voice echoed in the auditorium, catching the attention of all inside. Torek looked up and saw them both, Phantom looked towards the doorway and spotted Sam, at the same time, so did Luna. Her eyes were transfixed on the blonde with the teal highlight. For some reason, she couldn't take her eyes off of her, she knew that girl's name.

"S…S-Sam…?"

Sam walked inside and called back, "Yes! It's me! Sam! Luna, I don't know what they did to you, but remember me! Remember your little brother, Lincoln!"

Lucy face palmed herself, that was not a smart move. Without another second to spare, Lucy took out three rune stones and held them between the fingers of her right hand. Once all three glowed violet, Lucy threw them straight for Torek. The stones whizzed through air, acting like homing missiles as they headed straight for Torek. The older mage didn't fear her attack as he used his magic to enhance his speed, allowing him to back up as the stones chased him.

Lucy took out three more stones and threw them like knives at Torek. Now the mage had six stones chasing after him, making him have to dodge constantly. It looked like a small swarm of fireflies were trying to attack him as each stone lashed out, missed, doubled back, and tried again. Lucy took out another stone, this time coating it stone in yellow light, she placed it between her thumb and index finger, and aimed right at Torek.

With a flick of her thumb, the seventh stone was shot toward Torek. The Iselam heir was growing annoyed and snatched the seventh stone out of the air, enhancing his right hand and increasing its durability. "A nice trick, but it was nothing."

"Don't think just because I'm young, that I don't know what I'm doing, or, what we're doing!" Lucy stated.

Torek's eyes widened with realization, something glowed below his feet. He looked down and saw a card resting on the floor between his legs. Torek's eyes shot towards Lincoln, the white haired boy had a cocky smirk. The stone in Torek's hand and the card on the floor began to resonate, all six stones converged, creating a hexagram circle that bound him in place. The stone and card ignited with power as both exploded at the same time, the sound reverberating loudly within the halls of the theater. Torek was thrown from the spot where he was standing and thrown straight into the wall like a ragdoll.

"Fuck…you," Lincoln croaked.

"Lincoln!" Lucy and Sam shouted as they rushed to his side.

Lucy hurriedly slapped her palms together and then placed them over Lincoln's injured area. A green light began to shine from Lucy's hands, making the pain slowly fade away.

"Master!" Phantom cried sorrowfully.

Lancelot took this chance; he coated his sword blade in blue mana and slashed through the shadows. Taking a runner's stance, he dashed towards Phantom, causing the wood beneath his feet to splinter from the sheer force of his take off. Lancelot slashed upwards, cutting the Phantom across his chest and prepared to deliver another blow. Phantom broke away and retreated back to the stage, his chest stinging from the pain of his wound.

Luna finally seemed to snap out of her stupor as she took in her surroundings. "What…W-What the hell…When did I get here?!" Luna looked down at herself and blushed at the dress she was wearing. "Where and how did I get this dress?!" Her eyes continued to take in the scene before her, spotting Lancelot, and looking out towards the seats spotting Lucy, Sam, and a downed Lincoln. "LINCOLN!"

Luna angrily tore the skirt of her dress until it rested at the top of her knees. She jumped off the stage and ran toward her girlfriend and siblings, falling to her knees as she looked at her little brother with worry.

"Oh god, Linc, are you okay?!" Luna asked.

"He'll live, thankfully I got to him in time. That guy hit you pretty hard," said Lucy.

Lincoln coughed. "That's the understatement of the year, Luce." He looked up at his big sister and smiled happily. "I'm just glad you're safe."

Luna's eyes became blurry with tears as she sniffled. "Dammit, bro, why do ya gotta act like a damn hero! You tryin' to impress me or something?!"

Lincoln chuckled weakly. "Maybe…did it work?"

"Fuck you, no!" Luna replied as she kept crying.

Sam brought Luna into her arms, rubbing her back soothingly to calm her down.

"Fucking…little…brats!"

The three teens and one ten-year-old froze when they heard Torek's voice. When they looked in his direction, they saw him peeling himself off the wall and land on his feet with a thud. Torek had scratches and bruises from the explosion, and his face was twisted into a grimace of displeasure. "The Iselam family strives for ultimate perfection, to that end, we will do whatever it takes to get us there."

"What are you talkin' about dude?!" Luna demanded.

"I thought your voice would be a perfect addition to our project, I was hoping to take your vocal cords so that we can have that lovely singing voice integrated into our perfect human!" Torek explained.

Luna's right hand flew to her throat, the others just stared at Torek with wide eyes.

"You mean…you've been collecting parts of people, to create a 'perfect human'?!" Lucy asked.

Torek ran his hand through his hair, trying to fix it. "Yes, and it is not easy, finding those with perfect hair, perfect skin, nerves, bones, muscles, eyes, nails, teeth, all of it a painstakingly long process met with trial and error! But with the Grail, we will achieve our goal! We will create the perfect humans! An Adam and Eve to do away with the current version of humanity!"

"You're sick!" Sam shouted.

"No, we're artists! And you're standing in the way of that wish! PHANTOM, UNLEASH YOUR NOBLE PHANTASM!" Torek commanded as his right hand glowed bright.

Phantom went lax, the stage seemed to groan as if the structure was straining for some reason. Assassin hugged his body and then looked menacingly, psychotically, at Lancelot and those before him.

"Sing…Sing, my angel!"

At that moment, Phantom threw out his arms dramatically. The stage began to rumble, no, the entire theater rumbled. An unnatural light shined behind Phantom, filling the shadows with violet, ethereal luminesce.

From that light, a giant pipe organ began to rise up. It was a grotesque, macabre looking creation, made of skeletons, bones those that the Phantom had slain in his anger and insanity once upon time. That sorrow and anger, that insanity and bloodlust, it was given form in this pipe organ, and bared the name of the one he held dear to his heart.

"Christine, Christine!"

At that moment, Phantom began to sing. The organ resonated with his voice, and as soon as it did, Sam, Lincoln, Luna, and Lucy were wracked with extreme pain, every nerve ending in their body screamed all at once. Lancelot could feel it, this attack was using magic, it was sending out waves of magic, and the only reason he could tell was due to his own Magic Resistance skill working overtime to keep him from getting damaged by the waves himself.

Torek began walking towards the group of four, slowly, but steadily getting closer. "His Noble Phantasm is a bit annoying when you're in close proximity, he doesn't get damaged, but everyone around him can. Which is why I fortified my body to resist the damage. Ugh! At least to a degree…"

Lincoln gritted his teeth; this man was about to come and kill them while his Servant wracked them with so much pain that they were rendered incapacitated. He looked to his little sister, squirming on the ground with tears in her eyes begging for someone to make it stop, he turned to his big sister Luna, she and Sam were gripping each other's hands, holding onto the person they loved to try and weather the pain together. He wasn't going to let them die here.

I…will not…let them die…! I will…bring…Lynn back! Lincoln's body began to glow with orange magical light, making Torek stop in his tracks. The pain slowly began to lessen as he focused on resisting it. Lincoln looked at Lancelot, and he looked back. "SABER, UNLEASH YOUR NOBLE PHANTASM!"

Lancelot nodded vigorously at Lincoln.

"Oath to my King!"

His armor shifted, becoming white and gold, a blue cape unfurled behind him, along with four, long blue tassels. Lancelot dismissed the claymore and summoned forth his phantom sword. The distortion around the sword began to clear up, revealing the true form of Lancelot's glorious holy sword. Blue light began to shine below Lancelot, rippling like the surface of a lake.

"W-What…What is he?!" Torek asked as he watched this unfold.

"He's a noble warrior of a kingdom! A master of the sword and combat! Protector of the innocent, he is a Knight of the Round Table, protector of Camelot!" Lincoln exclaimed.

Lancelot got into a ready stance, the blade of his holy sword shined bright with the same blue light, shining even brighter than the light beneath Lancelot's feet. Phantom saw this and sang louder, and the organ responded by sending out more waves of magical energy. But like a dam, the power that Lancelot was emitting blocked those waves from reaching him.

"Reaching the very end, beyond the boundaries. King on the other side, look at this light!"

The energy grew bigger, halting the spread of the waves and ceasing the pain inducing power of Phantom's Noble Phantasm. Lucy, Sam, and Luna panted heavily from the pain their bodies were subjected to, but then looked upon the vermillion aura of Lincoln, and the radiant blue light of Lancelot.

"He is the Knight of the Lake! Sir Lancelot!"

"Arondight – Overload!"

Lancelot dashed towards Phantom, the rippling light below his feet splashed like water in his wake. With one horizontal slash, Lancelot carved a bright blue gash in the air right across Phantom's chest. That same gash began to shine brighter, and brighter, and brighter, until the light and power within it spilled out and washed over Phantom like a tidal wave. The pipe organ shattered to pieces behind him, and Phantom's mask broke off, revealing the partial disfigurement beneath.

In his final moments, in that brilliant light, he caught a glimpse of his beloved, the only person to have ever shown him any form of love, love that not even his own mother or father ever did in life.

"C…Chris…tine…"

An explosion of power erupted on the stage, shaking the entire building to the point that it surely registered on some seismograph somewhere nearby. The stage and everything behind and in front of it was completely wrecked, charred from the power, or falling apart in the aftermath. Drapes were torn or burnt, scaffolding had fallen and littered the stage, twisted or shattered, and splintered wood was prevalent. All in all, there would be no performances on this stage any time soon.

Torek couldn't believe what he just saw, his Servant, Assassin, Phantom of the Opera, was destroyed. The heir to the Iselam family looked at his right hand, watching as the symbols that marked him as a Master began to fade away until the top of his hand was left bare.

Lincoln collapsed to one knee, his body aching and exhausted from the expenditure of his magic, not to mention the pain that was inflicted on them earlier due to Phantom's Noble Phantasm.

Torek glared at Lincoln with seething rage. "You damn little brat! How dare you get in the way of the Iselam family! I don't care that I lost my Servant! I'll still kill you!"

Lancelot jumped off the stage and landed right between Lincoln and Torek, his holy sword still gleaming with mystical power. Torek wasn't stupid, even he knew he wouldn't stand a chance. With a flourish of his right hand, Torek created five copies of himself that darted straight for Lincoln, Luna, Sam, and Lucy.

Lancelot entered his attack stance and slashed at the first Torek, cleaving him in half and making it disappear. Another one got close to Lincoln, but Lancelot spun around and stabbed it in the back, and it too disappeared. Two more circled and Lancelot glanced to Lincoln, a kind of unspoken strategy flowing between them. Lincoln rushed towards the girls and threw himself on them, forcing them down to the floor. The moment he did that, Lancelot energized his Arondight and slashed a circle in the air.

A small ring of light formed and then exploded outwards in a miniature version of his Noble Phantasm. The wave of energy struck the last three Toreks, and, surprisingly, not one of them was the real one.

Lincoln raised his head and asked, "Lancelot, is he still here?"

"I don't believe so…I think we are safe for the time being," said Lancelot.

Lincoln sighed heavily and relaxed a little.

"Uh…not to say that I'm not happy right now, bruh, but…could ya get off? You're kinda…groping me a little," said Luna.

"Same here…" Sam added.

"And you're lying on top of me," said Lucy.

Lincoln tensed up and took a moment to see what they were talking about. His right hand was resting on Sam's right boob, while his left hand was on Luna's left boob, and Lucy was indeed underneath him. Lincoln's face burned with embarrassment as he quickly stumbled off of the girls and turned his back to them.

"S-S-S-SORRY! I-I swear I didn't mean to do that! I just acted without thinking about that," said Lincoln.

Sam sat up and smiled a little, finding it cute how Lincoln was so contrite over his actions. Luna was a little embarrassed that her little brother got accidental boob off of her, although, after risking his life to save her, she could let it slide. Lucy…Lucy blushed and her heart thumped excitedly in her chest.

"Forget about it, lil' bro." Luna took Lucy by the hand and then brought them and Lincoln into a group hug as she cried. "I'm just happy you're alright…"

Lucy and Lincoln let a few tears come out as they hugged their big sister back. Luna looked to Sam and waved to her to join, she was practically a Loud already, there was no need to keep her out of family group hugs. Sam walked over and hugged Luna, trying to wrap her arms around the younger Louds as well. Lancelot smiled happily as he rested the tip of Arondight against the floor, watching over them.

---

Torek managed to make his exit from the theater, panting with barely contained anger and fury that he was not only beaten by a child, but also lost his Servant, and with it, his shot at the Holy Grail.

"Goddamn BRAT! Oh just you wait, I'll find you, those girls, and then I'll–!"

Suddenly, Torek found his body seizing up, finding it hard to move even his neck. Malicious laughter rang out in the alley and it made Torek's heart race with fear. Walking up behind him and into his field of vision, was Rosso, the tanned skinned, redhead smiled smugly at the heir of Iselam.

"Torek Iselam, heir to the Iselam family, you were one of those among others who killed off my family," said Rosso.

"W-Who the hell are you?!" Torek demanded.

Rosso chuckled. "I'm the last of the Eltham family. Rosso Eltham."

Torek's anger evaporated as fear gripped him. He knew that name, he knew why they were killed off. Which now explained why he couldn't move, it was the Etherlite, she had command over his body and there was nothing he could do about it. Just then, a man in clown-like makeup came bouncing into the alley, the laughter that was filling the alleyway, he was the source.

"Meet my sadistic, and deranged Servant, Caster, Mephistopheles. He's very good at inflicting pain, as am I, a little something we have in common." Rosso used the silver threads of her Etherlite to make Torek bow to her so that they were at eye level. "I'm going to enjoy torturing you, and to add insult to injury, since your family's all about perfection, I'll send you back in pieces, all scarred up so that even if they wanted to put you back together, you'll look grotesque."

Mephistopheles chuckled demonically as he clapped his hands together. "What fun we shall half! I'm in possession of the perfect tools to sheer some flesh!" With a flourish of his hand, Caster produced a pair of ornate scissors.

"W-W-WAIT! You don't have to do that! You want to win the-the Holy Grail, right?! I have information you can use to take out Saber's master! I know who you can target! Better yet, why don't we work together to kill him?!" Torek begged.

"That does sound like a good offer…" Rosso's eyes narrowed with cold hatred. "But I hate you and the other mage families much more than I do some no-nothing, novice of a mage."

"Listen he – HUMMMPPH!"

Rosso used her Etherlite to snap his mouth shut, at the same time, Mephistopheles dug his incredibly sharp scissors into the side of his stomach, opening and closing them as he snipped Torek's flesh, making the man scream from behind his shut mouth.

"Let's go, we have a fun time ahead of us."

---

Thanks to a "freak gas leak explosion" in the theater, Luna's concert that night was cancelled, at least at that venue. After talking to Sam and Mazzy, the three of them decided to hold an unofficial jam session at the park. The police didn't much mind, seeing as how the theater was totaled.

Sam didn't think having the show go on so soon after what they went through was a good idea, but Luna argued because of what happened they needed to. They needed the music, to lose themselves in it, and just play straight from their hearts tonight.

And play they did, a large group of teens gathered around their impromptu concert. Lucy, Lincoln, and Lancelot were there as well, with Lincoln head banging to Luna's music, Lucy throwing up "the goats", and Lancelot, while not understanding this genre of music, was at least able to appreciate the enthusiasm and spirit Luna was putting into it.

When it was over, Sam made Lucy and Lincoln promise to tell her about what the hell was going on, tomorrow though, as she was beat from everything that had happened.

That night Lincoln lied on his bed, having ditched his shirt, exhausted from the day's events, on top of a small concert, all the adrenaline had finally run out. Ronnie Anne sat up against the wall as she looked up from her cellphone and smiled.

"You look beat, Linc," said Ronnie Anne.

"That doesn't even begin to describe it…! I'm sore all over, and I ate like I haven't eaten in days, and now all I want to do is sleep until next week!" Lincoln stated.

"Told you I should've gone with you, with me and Quetz that fight would've ended a lot sooner."

Lincoln was going to argue that point, it was true, had Ronnie Anne and Quetz been there, the fight would've ended quickly and without so much effort. But, he stood by his decision, having Ronnie Anne at his home while they went in search of Luna put his mind at ease.

"Yeah, but I was able to fight better thanks to you. At least I didn't have to worry about everyone here so long as you and Quetz were on guard," said Lincoln.

Ronnie Anne smiled. "No problem, but next time, I'm coming with you. Quetz said she'd take up watch over the house to give Lancelot time to rest."

"Thanks…"

Ronnie Anne glanced forward and said, "You have a visitor."

Lincoln titled his head forward and saw that Luna was there. She was dressed in her normal, baggy, purple shirt with a white skull on it, and most likely only had a pair of matching underwear on.

Ronnie Anne stood up and walked towards the hallway, "I'll go and hang out with Lucy tonight, let you get some good sleep."

When Ronnie Anne left, Luna closed the door and sat on the edge of his bed as she smiled down at him. "Hey."

"Hey," he replied.

Luna looked nervous for some reason, Lincoln propped himself up on his elbows but he collapsed back onto the bed. "Dang it."

"Don't strain yourself dude, you look beat," said Luna.

"Worth it to save you," said Lincoln earnestly. "I'm sorry, I never meant for any of you other than Lucy and myself to get involved with this…"

"Well, it didn't look like he knew about us being related, that creepy guy was more interested in me. You said he was the Phantom of the Opera? Like the Phantom?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, he was probably sincere in wanting to make you a better singer, in his story, he did that for Christine. But his Master didn't want that, what he wanted was something sick…" Lincoln's face twisted into a scowl upon remembering what he was going to do Luna.

The rocker ran her right hand through his white hair soothingly, making Lincoln relax. "Don't think about it, I'm safe and sound thanks to you, Lancelot, and Lucy. You're my hero, Linc."

Luna moved up and then laid next to her little brother. Lincoln was feeling a little weird in this situation, something felt…off.

"Luna…what's going on?"

Luna placed her hand on his bare chest. "Linc…I wanna ask you something, something serious and I want you to answer me truthfully."

Lincoln gulped. "O-Okay, what is it?"

Luna bit her lower lip as she tried to muster the courage to speak. "I know you're fighting in this thing to bring Lynn back to life, and I honestly think that that's a noble thing to do."

"I feel a 'but' coming…"

Luna sighed. "It started to come back to me, when I was in that haze, I couldn't focus, but now I can remember everything that happened. How Lancelot fought, and how you fought against that pretty boy. I was so damn scared when he hit you and sent you flying, but couldn't scream or shout or anything. I made me really realize what you're up against and…it scares me, Linc."

"I'm sorry…" Lincoln wrapped his right arm around Luna the best he could. "…but we need to do this."

"What if you don't?" Luna asked.

Lincoln looked at her with confusion. "What?"

Luna turned her head to look up at her little brother, staring deep into his eyes. In a surprising move, Luna rolled on top of him, straddling his hips and propping herself up on the palms of her hands.

"Lincoln…I…I'm willing to be what Lynn was to you…I love you, you're the best little bro I could ask for. I never knew how much pain you were in, and yes, I know you kept it hidden, but that's no excuse."

Lincoln's heart was pounding, he could feel Luna's crotch rubbing against his, and much to his chagrin, a bulge was forming. Luna noticed as her cheeks flushed red.

"B-B-But what about Sam?! She's…and you!"

Luna flinched at the name of her girlfriend. "I…It'll be rough, but…I think this is what's best, Linc." She lowered herself and stroked his white hair again, kissing him on this forehead. "I love you, Lincoln."

She moved closer to plant a kiss on his lips, but Lincoln grabbed her by the shoulders and made her stop. "Luna…please don't do this to yourself."

"L-Linc?"

"I don't want you messing up what you and Sam have, you're in love with her, and she's in love with you! Telling her it's over, just to be with me, so I wouldn't fight anymore, none of us would be happy!" Lincoln stated.

Luna began to weep, she knew he was right, breaking up with Sam would shatter her heart and Sam's, and Lincoln would know that, and even if she tried to form a relationship with him, it would always be soured by that act. But what was she supposed to do? She almost lost her two kid siblings today, and she was helpless to stop it or help.

"I just…I just don't want you guys to die…" Luna spoke through her sobs.

Lincoln opened his arms and Luna fell on top of him, he hugged her close as she wept openly. The arousal he was feeling earlier died immediately, as his brotherly love for his big sister overruled whatever urges were forming at that moment. Luna felt helpless, he understood that, he almost wished she didn't know what was going on so that she wouldn't have to go through this burden.

"Luna, if you want, Lucy can make a potion that can erase your memories of the Grail War, she can probably make one for Sam too. At least that way you–!"

"Fuck that!" Luna held Lincoln tighter. "I don't want to forget! Because if something does happen to you, I don't wanna to hear some bullshit lie about a 'gas leak' or 'freak accident'! I want to know the truth, that way, I'll tell my damn kids and their kids that their uncle Lincoln and aunt Lucy were fucking heroes!"

Lincoln rubbed Luna's back in soothing motions as she made shushing noises. Her hitching sobs and shaking body eventually calmed down as she asked, "Linc…I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"Can…Can I stay with you tonight, I promise not to do anything I just…"

Lincoln nodded. "If you want to sleep naked, I won't complain.

Luna smirked and then flicked him in the forehead. "Nice try you lil' perv."

"Can't blame a guy for trying."

That night, Lincoln knocked out, but his sleep was sound, because he rested in the arms of his big sister Luna, who held him close to her, as if to act as a shield against all the evils of the world.