hey guys, been a while since I actully updated a story, instead of just starting a new one. Anyways, I'm happy to say this fic is coming to an end. No, it's because of negative review or something like that (if it was, I would have quitted back in chapter two), but we are actually reaching the end, only one or two chapters left, depending on how big the text gets. Anyway, hope you enjoy, let me know what you think, and see you next chapter.
Lisa could be described as a girl of little to no emotions. Science is a field where you can't allow such things as emotions interfere in your thinking. That was for social studies. That being said, for a four year old, it's easier said than done. Her brother wasn't exactly close to him, but that didn't mean she wanted him away.
Another thing Lisa should have remember is that we can't trust superstitions or myths. There is no evidence they exist, and the mere coincidence of one act that could be consider bad luck obviously wasn't enough to take conclusions. Regret, she would search for a more complex word, but there was none better to describe what she was feeling
That being said, there was a reason for Lisa's almost permanent stay in her room. She had a project, she hadn't shared it with nobody. There was a table in her desk, and on it there was a dummy, wired with all of the machines in the room. His chest was open, and inside there were several things similar to what a normal human has inside their bodies.
That's right, she was building a human being. An artificial one. One that could take the place of their so beloved brother. She got most of the things working properly. The objective here wasn't to create life, but rather something that would take the spot as the missing member of the family. It doesn't need to eat, sleep or go to the bathroom. He just needed to talk, move around, and be himself.
And that's where the problem goes. Almost everything was ready with the dummy, being the only flaw the lack of skin, but that was after it was done. But how do you place personality on a machine? She could easily command a computer to speak or move, but how to make it learn how to do it when it wants? it would take years, and Lisa was cracking her head on books to find a way to accelerate the process.
Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. She pressed the button, and the dummy entered a secret compartment on the wall. She got up and went to the door. She opened it and saw her second oldest sister standing in front of you.
"What can I do for you, Leni?" Lisa said. She would have used some more advanced vocabulary, but Leni already finds hard to identify normal language.
"So I, like, have this request for a superhero costume for a boy, and he wants this," Leni hands her a paper. "And all working. Can you do it?"
Lisa looked at the list. Grappling hooks, tranquilizer, shoes that don't do any noise, smoke grenades, and glass cutter. She faced Leni. "Give me a minute," she closed the door, and from the outside you could hear the sounds of a construction site. Exactly 60 seconds later, she returned with a box in her hands. "Here you go," Lisa said
"Thanks," Leni said. She went back to the basement, where Lucy, Lana and Luna were waiting.
"I got everything from the list," Leni said
"Great. We meet down here tomorrow, same time, okay?" Luna asked, and the three girls nodded
They all went back to their rooms. One waiting a few minutes after the another, so they wouldn't raise suspicion. When Luna got to her room, she literally feel unconscious on the floor.
"You could have climbed up the bunk bed first," Dennis said
"Sorry, I forgot," Lincoln said
"Why did you left her anyways, we will need to do the same thing later," Dennis exclaimed
Lincoln looked at her sister, laying on the ground, and snoring. "I'll let her rest," Lincoln said
The next day wasn't a happy day. It would be the day Rita and Luna were going to visit Luan, and also deliver her stuff. More of their siblings would go, but according to the place, only two visitors at a time. Well, two human visitors at a time. They had no way to control spirits entering the place.
Lincoln and Dennis were inside the van. It was fun to sit in a spot and not feel the bad things all of that gum could do to your pants. It didn't took long for them to arrive at the place, and Lincoln quickly took over Luna on their way to Luan's room.
The room was much better than their older. It had a TV, a small fridge, and even it's own bathroom. But it was obvious to everyone that, Luan, just like most people there, really wanted to be free, back at home, with the rest of her family.
Her hair, even though it still was in a ponytail, was quite messy. Her eyes were red and had bags under it. Her once huge smile gave place to a emotionless expression, pretty similar to Lucy, except it had a small depressive feeling being spread towards the eyes of those who see her
Lincoln had a long time thinking about Luan. Just like some of her sisters and her parents, she didn't cared for him until it was too late. And after then, people seemed to simply forget his death. He didn't really blamed nobody, after all, when a person die, there's not much to do after you have buried him, besides stay sad for a while, but with all of the things that happened to them after, they certainly didn't even had time to remember him.
Lincoln actually had some guilt build inside him. Because of his desire for vengeance, now his sister was declared crazy, and she wouldn't be living with her family for a while. Focus on the word wouldn't, because Lincoln had a plan of, while helping Luna, he would also search for his sister's forgiveness. Kind of hard when she can't even notice you are there, but Luna's body would do the trick.
Lincoln, in control of Luna, handed over Luan's things and seated with her mother on the bed Luan was laying down. Luna asked to go to the bathroom. Lincoln had three objectives with this. He didn't want to feel sad with all the talking between Rita and Luan, two, he thought that not being there would raise the chances of her having some private moments with him, and lastly, he actually needed to use the bathroom.
After a few minutes of waiting, Lincoln decided it he was good to go. Getting out of the girls bathroom (he never thought he would do that in his life) and heading back to Luan's room, Rita was already outside
"She wants to speak with you, sweety," Rita said. "Alone,"
Luna nodded. She entered the room and closed the door. Luan was looking at her, with a mixture of sadness and anger. She sits by the side of her bed
Luna nodded. She entered the room and closed the door. Luan was looking at her, with a mixture of sadness and anger. She sits by the side of her bed
"You happy now?" Luan asked.
"Actually, I'm not." Luna answer. "But I'd be much worse than if I let you do… that." Luna said. Lincoln tried to roleplay as his sister, but he wasn't much of a good actor.
"What's the difference?" Luan asked. "I'm going to be stuck here! I'll barely see you guys, and I'll have to take loads of therapy sessions and pills to control myself!" Luan began crying. "You could have just let me end it right there. It'd be much better."
"Don't say that. You don't know how bad that would be." Luna says surprised. Inside, Lincoln kind of knew what was to be dead.
"And how do you know that? Are you a specialist in spirits and souls now?" asked Luan.
"I'm the soul of the hurt, Luan." Luna said. "I'm the boy that died around a month ago, and the spirit that wanders around his old life to find a chance at redemption."
"Is Lucy your new roommate? Or are you just getting into the whole Goth stuff?" Luan asked kind of confused by Luna's last words.
"You don't understand now, but later it'll make sense." Luna said. She went towards the bag she brought and pulled out Luan's dummy. "At midnight you'll hear our voices, and we'll guide you out of here." Luna said.
Luan looked at her dummy, kind of confused by the last words of Luna. But before she could say anything, Luna had already left the room.
Back in the van, the way home was as quiet as the trip to the place. Mostly because Luna was always with her headphones on her head. Lincoln was still inside, with Dennis alongside him.
"Why couldn't you just tell them it was me?" Lincoln asked. "Why did you made her say those things so mysteriously?"
"You were in a hospital for people with mental sickness. If you said you were her dead brother, either Luna would become an inmate just like her sister, or Luan would freak out, and then people would believe she's crazy," Dennis explained. "If she's confused, she will just think about it, until it makes sense,"
"How do you know all of this?" Lincoln asked
"I've been doing this for thousands of years, I have some experience," Dennis
"Now what do we do?" Lincoln asked
"Well, your younger sister already made a body for you, so all we have left it's to wait. When we finish saving your sister, I'll command the ritual, and you'll be back to your family. What you do next is your business," Dennis explained
"Then I'll let Luna rest a little before we go," Lincoln said
"Good idea," Dennis said
The rest of the day remained pretty much the same. That doesn't mean thing were normal. Most of focus were in Lori and in Luan. Luna was just sleeping in her room, with the door locked. Lucy, Leni, and Lana, though, were getting everything they needed for their plan.
Around eleven and a half of the night, the four girls left their rooms. They weren't wearing their sleeping clothes, just their regular ones.
"Everyone is ready?" Luna asked
Leni raised her hand
"What's your question Leni?" Luna asked
"What am I doing again?" Leni asked
"Just stay in my room and wait. We will give you the signal," Luna said, then she faced the other two sisters. "Are you ready?"
They both nodded, so Leni headed to Luna's bedroom, while the three grabbed the keys for the van and turned on the engine, and soon enough they were on the road.
The trip was silent, there wasn't much to talk about. Or that was what LIncoln, in control of Luna, thought.
"So, what are we going to do with Luan, after we retrieve her," Lana asked
"Well, she will probably stay hidden in my room until we can prove she's not crazy," Luna said. "Just don't let anyone else see you when you enter my room,"
"Why are we doing this?" Lucy asked
"Sorry?" Luna asked
"Sure, you told us Luan doesn't like the place, but is for the best, isn't it? Remember what our parents told us earlier?"
Lincoln remember that talk, even if Luna wasn't present in the moment. After they falling inside their parents room, they said, they would hire a professional to deal with their feelings. Lincoln wasn't angry because therapy was bad by any means, he was angry because most things that made their parents take that decision were his fault, and the last thing was a bad spirit's fault.
"No, it isn't," Luna said
"Why? I mean, I love my sister and all, but she tried to kill people," Lana said
"No, she didn't. She was under the influence of someone else," Luna said
"What do you mean?" Lucy said
Luna stopped the car. It was a dark alley, it would be dangerous in a big city, but Royal Woods was known for its super low criminal rate. But even so, the two girls, Lana mostly, felt a little bit scared over the place.
"I'm doing this, because Luna is the last one," Luna said
"Did you just called yourself in third person?" Lucy asked
"No, I just called my older sister by its name," Luna said
"Okay, now I'm confused," Lana said
Luna went to the backseat, and seated between the two girls. "Remember when you offer help to me before I passed away," Luna said
"Wait a minute… L-L-Lincoln?" Lucy said.
Both of them stared at Luna, like they were seeing another person. Luna nodded to Lucy, and the two girls hugged her older sister, before they allowed her to finish what she had to say.
"You helped me a lot when I was alive, and I'll need it once more," Luna said. "But first, I need to help you all, and Luna is the one that's missing. And Luan didn't did that. There is something bad in the spirits realm," Luna said
"What is it?" Lucy said. She was very curious as to what the other side looks like
"I'll tell you later. We have something to finish. After that, we can talk," Luna said, going back to the front of the van, and driving down the road.
After a few minutes of Luna saying how Lincoln was doing on the other side, they finally arrived to the place. They already had everything in place. Luna gave a small ball for Lana, and a few equipment for Lucy. She grabbed a walkie talkie while each one of the girls went to one side of the building
Luan was in her room, staring out the window. The moonlight, something she thought it was so beautiful, now was in her blacklist, simple because it related to her older sibling, whose name means 'moon'. Well she couldn't say she was angry at her sister. That was an excuse to the anger she had to herself
Being in that place was a consequence of her acts. She usually didn't bother with negative criticism, but something in her head made her change opinions. For some reason, not liking her was enough reason to kill someone. Maybe that place was the best for her after all. But the best isn't necessary what you want.
Luan should already be sleeping. However, that hole midnight thing her sister said earlier got her curious. She was telling jokes with her dummy.
"I just wished my family could be here," Luan said
"Well, we are," the dummy said. "Well, some of us,"
"M-Mr coconuts?" Luan asked
"No, no, inside him," the voice said
Luan placed her hand inside the dummy's mouth, and she pulled out a walkie talkie
"Hello, who's there," Luan asked
"I said I would guide you off this place, sis," Luna said
"Really? But how? there's security everywhere," Luan explained
"Just lock your door and wait at the window, and don't mind the alarm, there is no fire," Luna said
"What alarm?" Luan asked, as she began to hear the fire alarm. "Oh, that alarm,"
"Guess Lana already did her job. Now wait for Lucy," Luna said
Suddenly, Luan begins hearing a banging on the window. She notices there is a pale figure hanging by a rope outside. She's cutting a big circle in the window, pushing the glass inside the room.
"Lucy?" Luan asked
"We don't have much time, grab your things and let's go," Lucy said
Luan nodded. She quickly packed the few things she had spread across the room and, putting the bag in Lucy's hand, they both slide down, and Lucy retrieves the rope.
"Over here," Lucy said, as they headed towards the side of the building.
Turning around the corner, they found the van parked. the side door was open, so Luan and Lucy jumped inside, and Luna was already driving them away form the place.
She drove for a few minutes, before they parked so they could speak with their now secured sister.
"H-how did you do all of this?" Luan asked
"A good plan, people to help, and a little bit of Lisa's devices can do basically anything,"
"Well, thank you guys," Luan said. "I don't know if I would make it in that place,"
"Don't worry sis, we are here to help you," Lana said
"Ow, thank you so much," Luan said, hugging Lana and Lucy, while Luna was driving. "That you too, Luna," she hold her neck. "Wait a minute, the rest of the family knows I'm going back?" Luan asks
"Leni knows, but we haven't told the others," Lucy explains. "You'll have to stay only in your room for awhile, but it won't take much for us to prove you are okay,"
"Well, I appreciate that," Luan said. Then her stomach begins rumbling. "Uh, does anyone has something to eat?
"We are almost home, Luan," Luna said. "And I have one of your favourites back at home,"
"Merengue lemon pie?" Luan asked
"With cherry on top," Luna completes
Luan cheers in happiness and hugs Lana and Lucy again. Soon enough, they reach their house. They go around the house into the window of Luna and Luan's bedroom. Luna grabs a rock and throws it on the window, resulting in Leni opening it
"Lower the rope," Luna said, quietly so no one else would wake up.
Leni nodded and threw a rope made of blankets down, allowing all of the four climb up the window. Luan was the last to climb up, and when she saw her sister, she quickly went for a hug, before turning into the four of them.
"Guys, I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me tonight. Even if I have to spend some time locked here, it's still better than that place," Luan said
"Don't worry sis," Luna, still possessed by Lincoln, said. "We are in this together, you can always count on one of us," Luna turned to her three siblings. "Now we better go to sleep, and I'll get you your snack," she said
The four of them left the room, but to be surprised by the rest of their family, parents included, being waiting for them right in the middle of the hallway.
"Do you think it was over, Lincoln?" Lynn said
Leni seemed to be confused. Lucy and Lana looked at Luna, and Luna simply stood there, facing Lynn, with a confused expression on her face.
"What?" Lynn said. "Can't realise when another soul takes control of your family?"