The Loud House, Royal Woods, Michigan, USA 2024 (The following Morning)
Lincoln sprung awake to the sound of his Holo-Droid going off. Looking around, he noticed he didn't have his headphones plugged in or a certain audio file playing.
"Shit, no wonder I had a hard time last night." Lincoln cursed to himself.
He reached out and picked up the Holo-Droid with his prosthetic hand. He got up and looked at the caller ID which happened to be Lori. Lincoln answered the call as an angry looking Lori appeared on the screen.
"Thank God you finally answered, I tried calling you all day yesterday. What happened?" Lori asked.
"Oh, that… let's just say I didn't get the best of welcoming's yesterday." Lincoln explained as he nervously scratched the back of his head.
"So, you did go over there…" Lori muttered in disappointment before turning back to the screen "It doesn't matter, you're an adult now, you can make your own decisions."
Lincoln took notice of Lori's disappointed demeanour.
"How're the younger siblings doing?" Lori asked.
Lincoln was surprised about that question. He wondered if she didn't know about her wayward sisters.
"Oh them, they're fine." Lincoln lied.
"Listen, I should have listened to you Lori, I should have stayed with you and Lily for a little longer before coming over here." Lincoln acknowledged Lori's plea the day before.
"Lincoln, you're always welcome back here, Lily was getting worried that you'd disappeared again." Lori tried to convince Lincoln.
"I'm sorry Lori but I can't come back… not until I've set things right." Lincoln declared to the blonde lawyer.
"Lincoln, do I have to keep reminding you that this isn't your fau-" Lori was swiftly cut off by Lincoln hanging up.
He put his Holo-Droid in his back pocket and made his way over to the door, hitting his head the whole way. As he opened the door, he saw an angry looking Lynn standing right in front of him. Lincoln awkwardly smiled.
"Oh, hey Lynn! What's up?" Lincoln said nervously.
"breakfast is ready." Lynn told him.
"I'm not really hungry." Lincoln explained just before Lynn grabbed him by the collar and pulled his eyes to meet hers.
"You already upset Leni yesterday when you missed dinner, I am not having that again. Now go down there and have breakfast or I'll shove it into your mouth." Lynn demanded before releasing her brother and taking off.
"Whoever said she'd get less scary as I got older was seriously lying." Lincoln commented to himself.
Lincoln made his way downstairs to the dining room. Lynn had just taken a seat while Luna and Luan were already at the table waiting. Luna and Luan barley shot a glance at Lincoln as he went to sit down. He couldn't help but regret how he handled last night.
"Listen, I'm sorry for yelling at you all last night. It's just-" Lincoln apologised before he was interrupted.
"Here we are… ah Lincoln, glad you could join us this morning." Leni happily said as she laid out plates of eggs and bacon.
Breakfast remained awkwardly silent as the Loud siblings ate. Lincoln noticed the regretful look on some of his sisters' faces. He was thankful that they hadn't completely lost their minds while he was gone. Just as he was about finished his breakfast, he heard his Holo-Droid go off again. He got the device out of his back pocket and noticed that the caller ID was Adam. He quickly got up from his chair and politely excused himself from the table. He went into the kitchen and answered the device.
"What have you got for me, Adam?" Lincoln asked.
"I managed to pinpoint the location of Lucy, the gothic sister from what I recall." Adam explained to Lincoln "She's located at a house over in Utica, rather close I might add. The strangest part though is that she managed to get involved with a cult."
"A cult?" Lincoln questioned in a confused manner.
"Satan worshippers or some shit like that, I didn't look too much into them, but I bet you'll figure something out. I'm sending the coordinates to you now." Adam commented.
"Great, what about the other three?" Lincoln asked his western friend.
"Not much yet but I should have something for you by tomorrow." Adam responded.
"Thanks, Adam, L out." Lincoln said as he hung up.
Lincoln walked back into the dining room where his sisters, minus Lynn, were there and still eating.
"Listen, I'm gonna head out today, look around the place and see what's changed. I'll be back later and we'll… hang out or something ok." Lincoln lied to his sisters before running up to his room to get his jacket.
He exited the house to find Lynn rummaging through the bags on the side of his motorcycle.
"Hey!" Lincoln yelled as he ran over to her "Get your hands out of there!"
"Yeesh, how many pills do you need nowadays Lincoln?" Lynn responded as she took out a white pill from the bag.
"It's mostly sleep medication, I use to take them when I was younger." Lincoln explained as he snatched the pill out of Lynn's hand "One of these could knock a person out so quick you'd swear they died right before your eyes."
Lincoln put the pill in his pocket and turned back to Lynn.
"What are you doing out here anyway?" Lincoln asked his athletic sibling.
"Waiting for you so we can go get Lucy." Lynn stated to a now dumbfounded Lincoln. "I heard your conversation with that Adam guy and decided I'd come along too."
"No, no, no, no, no, this is my responsibility. Besides, this bike is just a little too small for the two of us." Lincoln tried his best to stop Lynn from coming with.
"She's just as much my sister as she is yours and we don't need that bike, you can drive us down in Vanzilla." Lynn cockily replied.
Instead of arguing, Lincoln decided just to go along with it. He hopped into the big blue van which was surprisingly still running after all these years. Lincoln backed out of the driveway and made off to the house.
Cult House, Shelby, Utica, USA 2024 (27 minutes later)
Lynn and Lincoln arrived at the dark looking house which Lucy was currently situated in. Lynn looked at it and whistled.
"No wonder Lucy ran to this place, it looks like something you'd see out of those shitty horror movies." Lynn commented as the 2 siblings exited the van.
As Lynn walked towards the front door she noticed that Lincoln was leaning against the car with his arms folded. She turned to him and asked:
"Well, what are you waiting for? And invitation. Let's get in there and get her."
"I thought about something on the way here, I figured that you should go in and get Lucy while I wait here. After all, Lori did say that you each had a responsibility for our younger sister." Lincoln exclaimed to Lynn in an annoyed fashion.
"Did Lori also tell you that she's a cowardly bitch as well, cause otherwise, she wasn't being honest." Lynn replied angrily.
Lincoln simply shook his head and pointed Lynn to the door. Lynn flipped him off before walking over to the spooky looking door and knocking on it.
"Hello, I'm here to pick up my sister Lucy, do you have her in there?" Lynn shouted to the door garnering no response.
Lynn turned back to Lincoln who had no comment before pounding on the door.
"If no one answers this then I'm busting the door down!" Lynn angrily proclaimed, still getting no response.
Just as Lincoln was about to walk over, Lynn kicked down the door and walked inside. Lincoln simple threw up his hands and sat in Vanzilla.
Lynn looked around the dark house, it was lacking furniture and was littered with dust. Lynn proceeded to look around for any sign of Lucy when she noticed a shrine with a large demonic looking picture on the wall behind it. She walked over to the shrine and saw what looked to be a framed passage from something.
"We await his return, with hair clade white to feign purity, his hand red with the blood of mortals as he beckons us to return to his hellish planes." Lynn red the passage aloud.
Just then, she heard chanting coming from below. Lynn checked around the house to find it coming from a basement underneath the house.
"of course." Lynn said dryly.
She slowly and quietly made her way to the bottom of the basement where she saw a crowd of people in dark cloaks chanting some weird language in unison. Staying well hidden, she moved around to get a better look at the faces of the cloaked figures. She noticed that one of them had pale skin and black hair covering her eyes, a dead ringer for Lucy. She then stood up and shouted at her younger sister:
"Lucy!"
The cultists went dead silent and turned to the chestnut-haired woman.
"It's time to come home, you've been hanging out with devil worshipping weird-o's for far too long." Lynn exclaimed.
Lucy remained silent, yet her face showed a hint of annoyance. A voice from the crowd spoke up.
"You must be Lynn, the heretic sister Lucy ran from when her hour seemed up. We do not welcome your kind to our sanctum. Leave or be parted with this world." The cultist at the front of the crowd demanded.
"Lucy, I will beat the ever-loving shit out of every person in this building if I have to, come home." Lynn demanded her gothic sister.
In response, the cultists pulled out fancy looking knives and slowly walked towards her. She may have been reckless, but she wasn't an idiot. She quickly bolted out of the basement and to the door, as she exited the building she tripped and turned to face a cultist who had just made it outside the door. Just as it looked like Lynn wasn't going to make it, she heard the cocking of a gun. Lynn arched her head slightly to see Lincoln standing next to the door with a pistol pointed right at the cultist's head.
"Don't move, don't turn your head, don't even speak." Lincoln said in a threatening tone. "Here's what you're going to do, you're gonna walk back into that house slowly and facing the same direction as you are now. You're going to close the door and forget this ever happened."
In response, the cultist slowly backed into the house and closed the door. Lincoln put his weapon into his jacket and extended his hand out to his athletic sister who was more nervous than he had ever seen. As she got up, she noticed the rather angry look on Lincoln's face as he signalled her to follow him back to the car. Inside the car, Lincoln was the first to speak:
"What in God's name were you thinking, not only did you bust down the door, but you also threatened to beat everyone up if Lucy didn't come along. Before you asked, yes, I heard everything, you're not the only one who snoops around."
"Well, what did you want me to do, kidnap her?" Lynn responded in a heated tone.
"Anything that wasn't violence, anything that wasn't blind rage, what kind of mindset would bring you to challenge a bunch of cultists to a fight?" Lincoln angrily questioned.
"I'VE GOT ANGER MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS OK, THERE, IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED ME TO SAY, ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT IS VIOLENCE AND I'M UNFIT FOR ANYTHING ELSE!" Lynn angrily admitted.
Lynn's anger shifted down as tears began to seep through her eyes. Lincoln's scouring face softened into one of concern. He reached his arm out and placed it on Lynn's shoulder. She looked at Lincoln with her red, tear ridden eyes as she began to explain.
"After you left, I couldn't get my mind off how bad I had treated throughout our time together. I found it hard to play sports, but I pressed on. It wasn't until the grand final of one of my soccer matches, I was right across from this one bitch who was really pushing my buttons. Everyone at this point had heard about your disappearance so the bitch decided to tell me that winning this game won't bring you back. That I'd lose either way. At that point I snapped, she was sent to the hospital with multiple broken bones and severe bruises. That's when some fuckhead physiatrist declared that I had anger management problems and banned me from participating in any sports."
Lincoln felt sorry for the now former athlete.
"I had my whole childhood ripped from me… and I have no one to blame but myself." Lynn chocked out as she pulled herself into a hug with Lincoln.
Lincoln could feel his shoulder dampen as Lynn cried into it. Lincoln looked at his prosthetic hand nestled behind Lynn's back. Sounds of gunshots and shouting came to his mind as a single tear flowed down his cheek.
Lincoln pulled away from his sister and looked her in the eyes.
"Our childhoods may be gone, but Lucy still has hers." Lincoln declared "Let's get our sister back."
The 2 siblings gained hopeful expressions as Lincoln pulled out his Holo-Droid and switched to a tab called 'Operation Planning'.
"Let's plan out Operation: Black Cloak." Lincoln declared.
"You've gotten much better at that naming thing." Lynn commented.
"So, what did you manage to find out in there that might be useful?" Lincoln asked Lynn.
Lynn thought of some things.
"Well they hang out in the basement, they praise some sort of demonic figure…" Lynn thought even harder "There was this one thing about their God returning with white hair and a red… arm."
Lynn's mouth gaped as she looked at Lincoln.
"Looks like we already have our second coming of Satan right here." Lynn joked.
Lincoln couldn't help but chuckle at the idea of him being Satan.
"It also mentioned something about taking them to the other plane or something." Lynn told him.
"Of course, most cultists have this thing where they commit mass suicide to go to their God." Lincoln explained.
"so, we should kill them?" Lynn interjected
"No!" Lincoln quickly responded before putting his hand on his chin.
Feeling in his pockets he remembered something. He reached in and pulled out the sleeping pill.
"We'll use this to knock em' out." Lincoln explained as he held the pill out for Lynn to see.
"Ok but I doubt Lucy will want to kill herself." Lynn commented.
"You're kidding right, the most death centric person in the house who will also be surrounded by death centred loons won't take the bait." Lincoln responded.
"Trust me, I know my past roommate. She might go on about the sweet relief of death, but she won't go through with it." Lynn explained.
"Then perhaps we'll use that to our advantage." Lincoln said "Alright, I think we got all that we need. Let's do this."
An hour Later
Lincoln approached the door to the cultist house with a brown robe on. He used his prosthetic hand to punch the door off its hinges. Lincoln noticed that the cultists came running to the front door.
"Does more heretics dare intrude on our unholy grounds." One of the cultists' said as they approached the front door with knives in hand.
When they were all in full view. Lincoln removed his hood revealing his white hair to the demon worshippers.
"Fools, you dare leave a door in your master's path. I should take your souls now for even questioning my appearance!" Lincoln yelled in the deepest voice he could muster.
Lynn, who was standing beside the door, struggled to contain her laughter.
"Who do you think you are, you dare impersonate our dark lord and destroy our front door." An angry cultist said as he moved closer to Lincoln.
When he was close enough, Lincoln grabbed his throat with his red prosthetic hand and lifted him up by the throat.
"Perhaps I should strangle you now and leave you only to the darkest reaches of my plane." Lincoln said menacingly.
The cultists gasped as they saw the red arm.
"Master." They said in unison as they knelt.
Lincoln dropped the rouge cultist as he stumbled to his knees.
"Master, I did not know, please forgive me." The cultist begged Lincoln.
"There is no forgiveness, but you will not die by my hands." Lincoln smirked as he toyed with the cultist.
"You know why I have come, you know what my presence means, you know what must be done." Lincoln declared towards the cultists.
"Of course, master, our daggers are ready for your command." The cultist stammered.
"NO!" Lincoln yelled, "You would dare use the weapons of man to die in my presence. Prepare a bowl of drink and present it to me, I shall lace it with a powder that will dissolve your insides. It will be painful, but your pain will pay for your insolence." Lincoln instructed the cultists.
"Of course." The cultists said in unison.
Lincoln noticed that Lucy was lagging behind and called to her.
"Lucy Loud!" Lincoln demanded as the young goth turned to her supposed 'master'.
Lincoln signalled for her to come to him, so she did. She arrived in front of him and knelt down.
"Lucy Loud, tell me, do you fear death?" Lincoln asked his younger sister.
"N-no your unholiness." Lucy stammered.
"I do not like to be lied to child, I know you, I know that you ran away from your family, I know that you lost your parents, I know that you lost your brother. Now tell me again child… do you fear death?" Lincoln asked menacingly yet with a heavy heart.
"…Y-yes." Lucy responded fearfully.
Lincoln lent down and lifted Lucy's chin with his prosthetic hand.
"Gaze upon this form child… for it is your brother. I've taken this form as a test. When you enter that room, you will have a choice: Drink the poison and suffer for eternity or leave and see your brother once more." Lincoln told Lucy. "This is not a trick, I will not punish you for either choice… but one will be worse than the other."
Lincoln walked off into the room with Lucy in tow.
When he entered, the cultists bowed down to him and presented the punch bowl. Lincoln walked over to it and crushed the pill in his robotic hand and let the powder seep into the glass bowl.
"You will now drink." Lincoln instructed.
"Sister Lucy, as the youngest member of our cult, you must be the first to drink." The main cultist instructed.
Lucy slowly moved over to the punch bowl and dipped her plastic cup in. She pulled it out and stared at the red liquid.
"Well… what are you waiting for?" The main cultist questioned.
Lucy began to shake, her nerves tensed up as she looked towards Lincoln. She considered her choices before ultimately deciding.
"No, I-I'm not going to drink this." Lucy said as she put the plastic cup on the table. "I want to see my family again, I want to see my brother again."
Lincoln was relieved that Lucy came to that decision. Just as Lucy was about to exit, some cultists grabbed her and dragged her to the bowl. Lincoln tensed up as they handled his sister.
"I think you forget sister, you don't have a choice in this." The main cultist said as he instructed the other cultists to forcefully make her drink.
Just as the cup almost reached her lips. Lincoln ran up and punched the cultists with his robotic hand and grabbed Lucy.
"Master, what are you doin-" The main cultist questioned before Lincoln grabbed him by the neck and slammed his head into the glass bowl, shattering it.
Lincoln pulled out his gun and aimed at the cultists.
"Do you all fear death?" Lincoln asked as he pointed the pistol at the cultists.
He could see that they were all shaking and a few of them dropped their daggers. Lincoln swiftly moved out of the house and over to Vanzilla. Lynn came at them from behind worried.
"Jesus Christ, what happened in there?" Lynn asked right before Lucy hopped off Lincoln and hugged Lynn.
"I'm sorry Lynn, I should have listened to you, I should have never joined that cult." Lucy pleaded to Lynn as tears fell down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry as well Lucy, I'll try to be less angry and threatening, just please never leave me again." Lynn said as she returned the hug.
Lincoln smiled at the heart-warming hug between the 2 sisters.
Lucy broke away from the hug and turned to Lincoln.
"So… were you really possessed by the devil?" Lucy asked.
"Well, no, but you see we actually-" Lincoln was cut of explaining by Lucy running up and hugging him.
"It doesn't matter, I'm just glad your back." Lucy said as she embraced her brother.
Lincoln knelt and hugged his younger sibling. His smile increased ever wider as he looked at his older sibling.
One down… three to go.
Holy shit was that a long chapter. I'm certainly proud of this chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it as well. I enjoyed exploring the characters and relationships between the 3 middle children of the loud house which just so happen to be my favourite characters. Anyway, join me next time as we go after 1 of the other 3 children... or will it be 2?
Till next time,
Peace!