May 17th, 2016
Lucy won painful prizes; the fires that kissed her face, as she tried to get out of the attic. Lucy fell from the ladder, taking the spellbook with her. It opened up and fell on a random page. Before she closed it, she looked at the pages.
The Cult of 316, a supernatural clan of beings that grant a small extension of life in trade for your own soul.
Lucy looked around, and the fires began to close in.
The only way to summon these dark beings is to write out the number 316 in blood, anywhere on the skin of the summoner or summoners, and chant;
I wish to pray, I wish I may, On this day, My soul I'll pay
Lucy subjected herself to multiple papercuts, enough to write it out on the palm of her hand. She then chanted in a whisper, closing her eyes. She opened them, but saw nothing. The fires still raged on around her. But she noticed the shadows acting strangely- Actually moving. They twitched out and about. And they seemed to be actually pulling away from the walls.
The shadows grew closer, around her, to the point they appeared to be people.
"Shall we begin?"
Time halted around. The fire froze completely, like this was a movie that someone paused.
"You have summoned us. Do you wish to extend past your original death date?"
Lucy nodded. The shadows looked around. "Wise to summon us, yet, a foolish choice, little one."
"I know what I risked, but... I didn't want to die now! Not today!"
"Ten years."
"What?"
"Ten years is what you shall be granted. On this day, ten years from now, you will die. That is the price to pay, little one."
Time started again, but Lucy did not focus on the fire cackling.
Ten years from now, I'm going to die...
The shadows blocked the overwhelming fires, letting Lucy through. She picked up the spellbook, and looked back. Lucy made it outside, and jumped over the hedge of their backyard.
"LYNN?! LINCOLN?! DON'T-"
Lucy looked back at the flaming house one last time before disappearing to the other side. She found herself in the backyard on the other end, when-
A tall girl tackled the goth to the ground.
"Witch! We have a witch!"
Lucy's hands were held behind her back. "Witch? Me?" Lucy blushed at this, but she was no witch. "I mean, I like magic-"
The girl leaned right up to Lucy's face and sniffed her.
"What are you doing? And... Who are you?"
The creepy girl looked up to the fire just barely visible. "What have you brought upon the world today?!"
A second figure appeared. "That's enough, Anita. Let her go."
Lucy was released, immediately turning around. She was able to see both of the girls here. The first one, tall as Leni, with blue eyes and short blonde hair. Her attire was composed of a blue shirt, black skirt, and a red beanie and white shoes. Lucy noticed she had razor sharp teeth as the girl licked her lips. The second one, about Luan's height, seemed to be the leader of the two. Long brown hair, but a serious, stone faced look than the blonde girl. She wore a gray hoodie, with cargo pants and combat boots. Both of them had Australian accents, not something she'd see normally.
The brunette spotted the spellbook that was dropped in the tackling. "I recognize these markings around the book." She picked it up, and opened it to the first page.
This book belongs to Sister Harriet of the Circle.
"I smell it, the magical essence in her blood. She reeks of witchcraft in her blood, Rally!"
"Stow it, Anita. Hey, girl." The brunette pointed behind her. "You do that?"
"N-No, I just escaped it. I was going to die... I called-" Lucy swiped the book back.
"She's gonna summon the phantoms! Let's kill her!"
"Wait..."
Lucy flipped to the page that got her attention minutes ago. "I made a deal... A..."
The two girls examined the page the stopped at. "You made a deal with these spooks?"
Anita laughed. "Oh, boy. Sucks to be you..."
"Let's go. We're taking her with us."
"What, why? She's clearly a witch!"
"And what are we, sister?"
Later
"You hungry or something?"
Lucy shook her head, still staring at the spellbook.
The brunette pulled up a chair in front of Lucy. "I'm Rally King, and that would be Anita. Don't mind her, she can get violent at times."
"Lucy Loud. So, are you guys like witch hunters, or something?"
"Well, we're more than that. I guess you can say we're hunters of the supernatural. Sorry, she though you were a witch. Maybe you do have blood of a witch inside of you. By the looks of it, you really seem like one, as well."
"I'm not... Did you really come to... Try and-"
"A cold way to put that, but yes. Its what we do."
"So... You killed-"
"Werewolves, vampires, witches. Yeah, we're like Sam and Dean."
"...Who?"
Anita raised and plummeted her hands. "Unbelievable. That's an easy reference to get."
"Never seen Supernatural?"
"I've heard about it, never tried it."
"You should, one day. By the way, how old are you? I'm seventeen, she's sixteen."
"I'm eight."
"Wow, an eight year old goth. We should've killed you."
"Zip it, Anita!" Rally growled.
"Why is she like that?"
"We... Lost our younger brother to some monster. That's why we're here, trying to kill whatever we can. So that it won't happen again."
Lucy brushed away the hair in front of her, revealing her blue eyes.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Guess you've lost someone to. That fire, you said you escaped it. Your house?"
She nodded calmly.
"THAT'S RIGHT! YOU AND THE WITCH BRIGADE BURN!"
"ANITA!" Rally shouted, before the three heard the door opening.
A third person entered through the apartment. A woman in her early thirties, brunette, dressed like she was a lawyer, calmed the out-of-control Anita down.
"Alexis, you're back!"
Lucy noticed the expression on Rally's face grew into a cold, hatred one. "Who's that?"
"That's our half-sister Alexis. I hate her."
"Hey... Rally. How was-"
Lucy waved upon being seen by this lawyer lady. "Hi."
"And who would this be?"
Anita was behind Alexis, peeking over. She whispered to her ear. "That is a witch right the fuck there. She has a book of the Coven in her possession."
Rally handed the spellbook to her.
"The Coven, you say? Hmmmm. Sister Harriet... Good enough, I can bring her to the Avalon, and they'll take it from there."
"Wait, there's more. You know the Cult of 316?"
"Yeah. What about-" Alexis, still eyeing Lucy, bent down to her. "You didn't. Tell me you didn't sell your soul to them."
"What, I did...", Lucy uttered. "I saved myself from the fire."
"Oh, dear God..."
"I don't understand. Why is that a bad- I just wanted to save myself."
"Harriet-"
"Her name's Lucy. That book is one of her ancestor's", Rally cut in.
"Lucy, you're going to die, and you look so young... I-"
"Spare me the mush. I'm here, and that's all that matters. Ten more years, more than enough time for me."
Lucy moved from Alexis, who stayed still in her spot.
"Hey, did you find the portal to the Deadworlds?"
"No... Its playing hide and seek with me, still. Damn anomalies. Make the girl a bed, and lock that book up."
"What? I'm staying?"
"You're falling under our watch, and we'll decide what do to with you. Got it?"
"Yes...", Lucy was scared, but relieved at the same time, for she knew they had nothing to fear from her. Witches, Coven, magic. Did she step into a new novel series? It was more serious than her favorite shows. Far more deadly, too.
August 26th, 2016
"Are you sure about this?" Lucy held up the two katanas in the same fashion.
"Okay, no, wait. One leg forward, like you're walking. Bend it down, then yourself."
Lucy did so. "This feels like yoga. My mother did it."
"Its not. Okay, then, turn the katana on your left to the side, so that they cross tops."
"And...?"
"Pose complete."
"Pose?"
"We're not jumping into exercises just yet."
Lucy let them fall on the ground. "Why not?"
"You're gonna need to watch us do our thing. Learn to stomach it."
Anita appeared behind Lucy, jumping on her and introducing the ground to her face. "So that's what the other end feels like."
"Be alert, too. Or you're dead."
"Too much work."
"No, its how we live, darling. Get used to it, if you really wanna go through it."
"Remind me again why I'm doing this?" Lucy was helped up by Anita.
"We can always use help. And also, you're practically invincible, until the day comes when you-"
"Don't remind me."
September 12th, 2016
"This cabin, it looks smaller from the outside." Lucy explored around the remote cabin, only finding two rooms and a bathroom smaller than Lincoln's room.
"Better here than in the town. Prep up, we've got a werewolf to find." Rally loaded up her shotgun with silver bullets. Anita strapped up with the dual katanas, immediately heading out the door. Lucy tucked away a snub revolver, ready for hunting.
"Ready."
"Last sighting was around Riverside State Park. We'd best get there before sunset."
Later
The werewolf ran on all fours, along the river. Rally was letting the shells fly out, but the range of her weapon wasn't helping. "Anita!"
The hairy beast took to the woods, where the edge of one of the blades met its face. "Got it!"
Anita sprinted and jumped into the air. "BONZAI!" The recovering beast moved of the way and kicked her backwards.
Lucy finally revealed herself, firing at it. The werewolf gave her its attention, and charged at her like an incoming car. Rally gave off her last shells in the shotgun, and managed to hit its chest. The thing flopped on its side.
"Well, that was easy. Lucy, you alright? That was quite a close call."
"Rally, the thing's still alive", she replied as she closed in on the dying creature. "Is this a person or-?"
"No, once they've turned, they never change back. I mean, yeah, they turn back, but-" Rally reloaded the shotgun. "-The human side disappears. They just figure out to morph into human form. Lucy, care do to the honors?"
Lucy took the shotgun and linked the end of the gun to the werewolf's head. "I... I don't know if-"
Anita placed her hand over Lucy's, and guided her. "All you have to do is..." Anita helped Lucy pull the trigger. A geyser of blood erupted in front of them. A hole, visible with brain matter, was left right aboove the dead monster's left eye.
"Oh, my god..."
Lucy turned away.
"Goth, but weak. If that's not ironic-"
"Anita, you cried when you killed that possessed kid... Come on. This wasn't bound to be easy."
Lucy barfed, coughing loudly. "Ugh, that's gross! All gross! How can you not be disgusted?!"
"We've been doing this forever. I've lived this journey once. It'll get better, even though its too dark. I'm sorry, I didn't know what to expect from you."
Lucy wiped away the green chunks around her lips. "Its just sick. I've never seen death up close before..."
"I get it. Anita, quit poking the body! Let's go!"
Anita was laughing, tugging at the ears. "And I'll kill all your friends, you fuck." She wiped the stain of blood from her katana on its fur. "I'm coming, I'm coming."
"So, guys, where to next?"
"Alexis has yet to notify me of the cases the Avalon will deem not big enough for them to handle. I hate their system. In the meantime..."
November 9th, 2016
"... I think we'll further your skills."
Lucy avoided the swing of the deadly blade, and delivered a punch to Anita. Lucy did a sweep kick, sending her backwards. Anita still had a grip on the katana, but Lucy stepped on her hand. "Damn it!"
Rally clapped. "Impressive, I do say. You're getting there. Anita, demonstrate the butterfly kick."
"The wha?"
Anita did something that looked like something gymnasts do, which astounded the goth.
"Oooh, do it again!"
"Why do it again when she can teach you that and more?"
"More?' She smiled, a rare sight.
"Yes. How do you feel about it?"
"I feel great, and then some. You're right. This isn't butterflies nor rainbows, but I can manage... What next?"
Anita spend that afternoon showing Lucy her fair share of knowledge of martial arts, further insight and wielding on her katanas, and a briefing on history and biology on all supernatural creatures they confirmed to exist. Lucy was ecstatic to learn vampires were real- but disappointed when it turned out that not all of them were Robert Pattinson levels of sexy.
"Stake them, when possible. I've blended garlic with holy water, and made explosives with them. They've been getting smart. So have we. The buggers adapted, sunlight isn't effective anymore."
"So, uhhh, have you ever encountered zombies?"
Anita thought about it. "Well, there was this one time. This particular zombie had black eyes, but the skin on it, it reeked, but didn't seem like it was decomposing. Nor was in interested in human flesh. It was that zombie. We spared him, at the request of another witch and her crazy redhead best friend. And this vampire chick, who's been roaming around for a hundred years. She says she lost her parents in the Titanic sinking. Never looked into it, though."
"That's scary to think about. Everything, I've known was all fictional. Or so I thought."
"Well, the less who know, the better we're all off."
"So... Is there a way to..."
"You're talking about that deal, aren't you? There's no reversing what was bought. No refund, no way out. I'm sorry, your fate is sealed... Unless..."
"Unless? Unless what?"
"In the history of all these 316 cases, I've seen only one, who managed to only delay his death. I don't know how, but the design that led to his demise. Whatever happened after was not written, shared. But die, he most certainly did."
"So, I'm dead?"
There was silence in between, which spoke for itself.
"Then I guess I can't waste time."
February 8th, 2017
"That our witch?" Lucy peered through the binoculars, watching the group of worshippers gathered around someone she and Rally could not see.
"Its gotta be her. She's blessing those halloweeners. Give Anita the signal." Lucy switched her sight tk the left, and waved five times.
A flare was launched, right above the little display of whatever was going on. Rally, who had a sniper rifle, quickly opened fire and dropped about half of the dark robed figures before the remaining ones scattered. A naked woman was revealed to be concealed within the group.
"Give me the special bullet!" Lucy handed her a green bullet, and kept watch on the naked woman.
"She's rising into the air!"
Rally quickly loaded the bullet.
"Hurry!"
She aimed.
"Fuck!"
She fired, going for a headshot.
"You got her!'
The body plummeted to earth. "I got her. Anita, get the others!"
Rather than her usual slicer dicers, Anita drew two .45s, and raced towards the last of the witch's followers, shooting all around her. All the others fell before she ran out of bullets. "Clear!"
"Alrighty. Rogue witch down. The Avalon will be happy about this. Let's go, guys."
June 6th, 2019
Lucy was asleep at Rally's watch. She let out a loud yawn. In her dreams, she pictured her already with her siblings. She was losing the time, focused with the girls on their quest to wipe out the evils in the world no one believed in. She planned to leave the two, but not yet. Not until they found what they needed. This talk would have to come soon.
Rally was on the roof, looking all over. The bags under her eyes never faded. This life was a tiring one, which required full attention. She had another coffee, but still struggled to stay up. She shut her eyes for a second, when something below broke one of the windows. Rally went to the source, already being too late.
Lucy was awoken by the alert Anita. She was silenced, and led quietly to the kitchen corner.
"Its a ghoul. They've followed us from the town." Anita grabbed a spoon, and tossed it around the darkness. "I'll distract it again, and I want you to run to my gun, and kill it." Anita pointed to the corner of the bathroom. "Its over there, all loaded up. Just grab and shoot at it. You ready?"
Lucy set herself up like she was about to race. Anita grabbed a fork, aiming for the window. Once the throw happened, she tapped Lucy's shoulder, giving her the go-ahead.
Lucy quickly slid into the bathroom and grabbed the shotgun from the doorway as she heard a clutter of noise from the living room. She impacted and made an obvious thud on the wall. Lucy readied the shotgun in front of her, waiting for the hideous spook to appear.
As another second added to the death wait, Lucy began to grow nervous. Then, she finally heard within the silence, followed by a monstrous shriek that signified danger. Lucy wasted no time in firing, while returning a scream of her own. The thing plopped, and Lucy felt the dead body with her feet.
Anita turned the lights on. "Holy sh-... You got it!"
The point of impacts landed mostly on its chest, and once on the ghoul's face, replaced by its vomit-green colored flesh visible.
"I don't see any horns on it. You got a youngling."
"A... Kid?" Lucy looked down on it.
"What? Don't tell me you feel guilty. Where the hell's my idiot sister?"
Rally entered, covered in green guts and slime.
"What the fuck?!"
She was out of breath, holding a survival knife only. "They kept coming, one after the other. I think I killed them all. I think-" Rally then fell forward, having exhausted herself.
"Lucy, get her to her bed. I'll take watch."
Dragging the unconscious Rally proved to be nothing of a challenge. Lucy climbed to the square rooftop, seeing Anita already scoping around.
"Thought I'd join you."
"All due respect, I work better alone. No distractions. Plus, you do need sleep. Its still 4 A.M."
"Its my choice."
"Yeah, because we acknowledge a witch's wishes."
"I'm not a... I mean, maybe my great-grandmother was. But, I don't practice witchcraft."
"Whatever you say, honey."
December 21st, 2022
"You have less than five years left. And we haven't found justice for our brother." Rally holed herself up in her bed, giving up. "Has this been just a waste of time?"
Anita took off her beanie, hitting Rally with it.
"Don't be mopey on me. We've come a long way, Irene."
"Irene?" Lucy asked.
"Its my real name", Rally said from underneath the pillow.
"We're gonna find our perp, and we're gonna make them suffer. We can't just stop. Its too late for that."
Anita forced the pillow from her face. "United we stand, Irene." Anita pulled her up.
Rally looked less alive now than most of the time. She sighed with a mixture of sadness and disappointment. "How long will we keep doing this?"
"I can do this forever. Lucy..." Anita played around with her beanie. "You don't have long. I'm sorry you wasted more than half your remaining lifespan with us. You've done enough for and with us. Rally, she should return to her own family.
"You're letting me go?"
"Yes. We've already known you're not bad, not evil. Take care of yourself, Lucy."
"Guys, thank you for everything."
"Wait, one last thing." Anita surprised the goth with the gift of her own pair of katanas.
"You're giving these to me?"
"Of course. World's a big place, filled with various type of monsters among us. And not just the supernatural kind. Protect yourself, Luce."
"Take one of my binoculars, too." Rally said.
Lucy gave them a hug. "I'm going to try and reach your height, Anita"
"You're halfway there. Good luck, darko."
October 4th, 2023
"Valuable skills. You're hired. You'll be patrolling the three Black Network facilities time to time, being switched often. Its great to see you again, Lucy. We all believed you perished in the fire, evem though there have been two confirmed deaths. You were untraceable. I guss I shouldn't be surprised. Don't you worry, we can locate all the others in due time."
"How long would that take?"
"Shouldn't be too long. Another thing, I require a DNA sample from you. I'd like to examine your health condition", Lisa lied. "I want a clean atmosphere from you. Tip top shape."
"Oh, alright. Sure, I'll give my blood."
"Alright. My second-in-command, Vince Ventura, will give you the tour. Think you can manage?"
"I think I got it. Thanks for a more dark outfit."
"There's also a mask along with it, too. Mandatory.'
March 18th, 2024
"I hear rumors from the other guys around. She says she's stlll looking for my sisters and brother. Is that a fucking lie, Ventura?" Lucy was ready to draw one of her katanas, not thinking straight.
"No, she's not lying. She's still searching. Besides, we all do have higher things to focus on. We're not detectives or investigators. Look yourself if you want to find them so bad."
Lucy's hand slipped back down. It seemed true, Lisa wouldn't lie or hide such a thing from Lucy. They all were Lisa's siblings, too. But there were the whispers around the bases that said some of them had been found.
Later
Lucy subdued one of the guards. "Tell me about it! You seem to know about her sisters!"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Lucy sank her blade into his hip. "I'll fucking kill you! You're nothing but expendable anyways!"
He screamed. "Okay! Okay! The Director, she has a few of her own sibings locked away in her front facilities."
"What? The Vial Corp ones? Bull-fucking-shit. Those are her science foundations. Why would they-"
"Rumors are, she's experimenting on a whole lotta people. That includes your poor siblings! But not all. She's still looking for the rest..."
"Are there any names? There had to be names."
"Uhhh, I think... Leah, and... Lara, or was it, Lana? Sorry, the names are just too similar."
"Lana, huh? Okay, Grisholm. Thanks for that."
This isn't how its supposed to be... I have to do something... But what can I do? This'll have all been for nothing. Maybe I should have died.
March 25th, 2024
"So, its true?" Lisa and Lucy walked through the halls of the Black Network facility in Maine.
"Yeah, look, we have the same idea. I want them back, too. I want to reunite us all. The only one I have currently is Luna. I had the twins, but they escaped recently."
They stopped in a room. "After you."
"How could you lose them? And what are you doing to them?"
"Nothing cruel."
Four golden chambers filled the room. "Lisa, what are these?"
Link-A, Link-B, Link-C, Link-D.
"I'm working on something here. Still in development. But this one here, he'll be ready to come out." Lisa placed her hand on the Link-A chamber.
"...Did you say 'he'? Are you creating people?"
"No, I'm cloning. I need super warriors."
"Don't you already have enough men on the Network? What's the purpose of these- Wait, who are they clones of?"
Lisa smiled in the creepy way. "Thanks for your blood, by the way."
"My blo- Oh, my god, you didn't! Why would you?"
"Because you're great!"
"And the others?"
"Let's not spoil the surprise just yet. Anyways... Please trust me on this. I can repair everything. Let me do this."
"Fine, Lisa."
"Thank you. If you don't mind, I must get back to my HQ. Talk with you soon."
May 13th, 2026 - Hours before the Clone War
Lucy looked around the facility. Everything was deserted, abandoned. She wielded both katanas, and entered the chamber room. Out of all four, only one was empty. Lucy short-circuited the panels. The three opened up, and Lucy saw only young sleeping girls.
Its clones of me, Luan and Lynn. Ew, more bad jokes. Stupid...
She scanned the empty chamber.
Who's clone would this chamber belong to?
Link-D was the first to move. Lucy faced her clone. "I've freed you three. Go on home."
The clone looked to the other two. "Its about damn time."
Lucy, still curious, decided to leave. Lisa never talked about her projects to Lucy, leaving the goth with a shitload of questions. The main one here was...
White hair? What is this?
Later - Grand Venture State Park
Lucy watched Lincoln and Lori arrive on the scene. The twins were happy to see Lincoln. He replied with a bullet. After that, there was chit-chat, and the clones were captured. A ship landed in the grass field. Out came Luna, Luan, Lynn and a younger girl whom Lucy quickly deduced was the clone.
In the last few days, Lucy had a close view of the others, for they have been active. Lori and this little girl, who also had white hair, have not been accounted for. She was relieved it wasn't a Luna clone.
Lucy then watched a fight break out before she could re-introduce herself.
Later - Lincoln's Safehouse
"You can say that again."
"Who goes there?" Lincoln turned to Lucy.
"I know where Lisa is."
White flashes came in and out, bringing the others to this place.
"What the hell, Lana?!" Lynn stumbled about, mildly dizzy. "Where am I?"
"Like I said..." Lucy continued. Lynn turned around, spotting her. "...I know where Lisa is."
Lucy waved at Lynn. "Hi sis."
"LUCY?!"
She slipped off her mask, as the others turned their attention after Lynn's scream. The burns were still there, able to tell a story.
May 17th, 2026 - Ten Year Anniversary of the Fire/ Lucy's Death Date
Linka was out of view, not moving at all. Lucy sighed.
No... I need more time. I can't die today...
Lucy was stripped of her weapons upon arriving back to the Black Network facility. Lucy was held down on her stomach, over a table. "Lucy, Lucy, Lucy. You were my favorite person here. How..." Vince was doing his best not to snicker. "How could you stab us in the back? Working with the enemy, and giving them what they need? No, that is unacceptable."
Vince raised the katana over her head. "This isn't personal, not really."
Lucy closed her eyes.
I'm sorry, you guys...
Vince swung away, quickly beheading her.
May 19th, 2026
"You've reached past the contract's date. You're going to have to tell them. You know that."
Its been two days, and I'm not dead yet. Why am I-?
She looked at her watch. 3:16 P.M.
"Looks like they're closer than I thought."
Lucy slipped it off and threw it.
"Run, Lucy, run." Lupa seemed to be enjoying this. Lucy walked away as Lupa said something else.
Even if she managed to delay the inevitable, death was coming for her. She didn't know how or when, but her time was up. But she found the others, and it was barely worth it. This wasn't what she mainly wanted. All there was, was to spend more than enough time with them, through the darkness and pain. But she couldn't tell them.
They've suffered enough, and I don't want to hurt them. I won't.
The house was completely destroyed this time. A huge part of their lives, now gone forever. But the truth was, the house died ten years ago. The Louds were only burying it now. Just like Leni. Poor, sweet, innocent Leni. And Lucy finally shed her first tear since the fire.
AN: That's it. That's the thing, the deal Lucy made. Now you all know that Lucy's fate is sealed, you now have something to freak about. I went there, for I had to. All this sets up... Drum roll, please... The 316 arc that's coming further down the line.
I'd like to thank a Mr. Damajics, named Damajica here on this site, who allowed me to use his OCs for this chapter. Said person is also writing his own fic here on FF, titled Falling, another dark fic, starring Lynn Loud as the lead. Checkie weckie.
Alright, so, yes, a venture into the supernatural part of the fic. I like to think anything can happen here, and everything will happen. This never stops growing, until I say otherwise. All this is beautiful to me, and I genuinely love it. With that said, only two chapters left, while also wrapping up Loud and the Dead, and my other secret works. Until next time!