Lucy had received another attack, head bleeding profusely. Lori finally had the motivation to get herself out of her current state. Lily ran into her arms, pointing back, speaking gibberish through her tears of concern and fright.

"Lucy!" Linka, staying right by Lucy, took steps back. "What happened?"

"Th- She just- She was sitting... Right there-" Linka turned her head to the stairs. "Then, I blinked, and she moved here, and she was bleeding..."

"I'll take it from here," Lori eased, moving Lucy to the couch, applying pressure to her head. "Did you see anything? Anything at all?"

"No, nothing, except that..." Linka pointed upward. Lucy's blood smeared the ceiling dark red, horrifying Lori. Lupa lit another cigarette, after seeing what was clearly another Cult act.

"Luce... Dudes, we have to protect her!"

"What the hell-" Lynn eyed the ceiling. "Whoa there."

"Lupa, you have insight on this. Anything we don't know as of yet?"

Lupa set her smoke down in between her fingers, looking over Lucy. "These- they've been attacking her, which should be clear already. Lucy wouldn't say much about it, but it's enough for me to know-" Lupa took another puff, releasing the fumes behind the gang. "She's being toyed with. We can't save her, or even help her. I'm sorry."

"Bogus! There's gotta be something we can-" Luna had been yelling excessively recently, and the tiredness had just now caught up to her. "We can save her... Can't we?"

Lynn was still lost, not being up-to-date on this new predicament. "What is even-?"

"We'll explain later, Lynn. In the meantime..." Lori moved Linka and Lily away from the scene. "Lucy will be fine. Why don't you go play back outside?"

"I'd like a nap, Lynn drains our energy", Lily complained.

"Sure, go on. We'll wake you up for dinner, okay?"

Lily raced up for a happy nappy, and Linka still stood there like a statue. "Will she really be okay?"

"Linka, this is Lucy. She's a fighter, she'll pull through."

"Did she jump or something? How did she reach the ceiling? What sorcery is this?" Lynn examined Lucy's head wound. "Shit, man."

"Language, dude," Luna boomed. "Lupa, no smoking inside, put that out."

"Aren't you a killjoy?" She crushed it in her hand, and hid it under a fist. "Don't make the mistake where you think this is something Lucy can simply walk away from. She's going, and we can't prevent it, even if we try our hardest to."

"N-no, we can do it! We have to!" Only Luna had the motivation to fight something far from her comprehension. "We've beaten Lisa! We've-"

"Luna, you don't understand. She's..." Lupa sighed the same way Lucy would. "This, there is no solution. There's no stopping them."

Luna rebelled with a monstrous growl, making Linka flinch in surprise. "Don't knock until you try it, dudes."

"No, no, she was- Remember, Lincoln did say he prevented Lucy being killed. That was when she was meant to die... Luna, there is no-" Lupa was grazed by Luna's swinging claws, getting slashed after successfully blocking the latter's move with her arm. "What the hell?!"

Lori had enough of the fighting; she punched the back of Luna's head with her max strength, making her go sleepy-time headfirst on the floor. "You okay there, Lupa?"

"Tis but a flesh wound, but I can't say the same for Lucy there. That looks like it really hurts." Lupa circled her fingers on the bloodied spot of Lucy's head. "Sometimes, this is more than I can handle..."

"Too much darkness for you, is it? I get it..." Lori returned to her position, back against the wall. "Are we really going to wait until she's literally gone?"

"There's nothing to do, I know it's ugly to feel helpless now. Lucy did this for all of you. She made the greatest sacrifice so that she could see you all again. I'm... I know she's glad. All we can do is just say goodbye to her when time expires."

Linka rubbed her arm, in a sort of guilty way. "Lucy..." She whispered, looking down with a glum expression. "You can't leave."

Lynn, still clueless, was trying to understand whatever this was. "Uhhh... Is someone-"

"Just stick to what you've been told, Lynn. I'm not sticking around here, I'm having another smoke, and you will not stop me." Lupa took her time returning back out. Linka was amazed to see Lupa rise from the ground, which also made her jealous of not having that particular ability.

"Jeez, Luna's really out cold. You might've killed her." Lynn moved Luna's head with a foot. "Ouch..."

"Lynn, could you and Linka, geez, I don't know, go somewhere else?"

"Sure, sure. I have something to tell you, but that can wait, so... Let's go see the others, Linka. I bet they're probably... Doing something I don't know." Lynn grabbed Linka's arm, and took her upstairs.

The eternity of the silence was punishing Lori. She stared at the two unconscious Louds for what seemed like forever. Lucy, dark little Lucy, who did something selfless, something noble, but for the darkest price. For them, it was all for them.

No, this is... This is a dream, and I'm gonna wake up. Yes, that's right! I'm gonna wake up, and Lucy will have no marks, no scratches on her. Nothing's wrong... Nothing's wrong...

She wanted to believe it ever so much. Lori reached a verdict; she flew into a nap, lumping on her sides. Maybe, just maybe, it was going to be better now. She prayed for it mentally, joining the other two in the land of slumber.

Night

Lucy and Luna were missing from the scene when Lori woke up in a frightened jump. She gasped, sweating away in her fear. "Lu-Lucy!" Lori heard a clatter of voices overlapping from above. "Guys?"

Lupa found it was a true challenge to keep the room blocked off. "I can't hold them off much longer! What's the game plan here, Luce?" The three beds in the clones' room were piled on each other, blocking the doorway. Lynn would have gotten through easily, but Lupa supplied the extra effort, keeping the barriers still.

Lucy looked out the window, and observed the beautiful darkness she admired, which was now something else is this new life. "I'm sneaking through here! Just a little bit longer-"

"No, you can't go! Something could happen, it's best to stay here!"

"And then what? It's not their predicament! This is my choice alone! They can't help me, Lupa!" Lucy opened the window.

"No, Lucy! You can't-" Lupa's hands were busy holding the blockade together. "Don't make me-"

Lori reached upstairs. Lynn and Luna took turns slamming into the door. "What the hell's the meaning of this?!"

"Lucy and Lupa locked themselves in, and it's like almost midnight!"

"What?! I've been out for the rest of the day?!" Lori knocked calmly. "Lucy? Lupa? Could you open-" She turned the knob. Unlocked, but something was blocking the door. "Guys, what-" She shoved herself against it, trying to push whatever was set against the door. "Guys! Guys, let me in!"

"Talking won't help. Keep trying to kick it down!"

"Lucy, we sealed ourselves in so that no one could intervene. So that you'd beg the Cult to take you this next time. Why the fuck are you leaving?"

Lucy was already out the window, ready to leap down. "I know what I'm doing! I don't wanna say goodbye, it shouldn't have to be painful. You tell them... You tell them the truth. Tell them my other secret."

"Your other- Lucy, you can tell them yourself! You can still-" Lucy shut the window closed, waving goodbye to Lupa. "NO, LUCY!"

The three heard Lupa's shriek, and Lori broke through the barricade, falling into the beds. "Lupa! Where's Lucy?" Lupa looked to the open window, letting off a sigh in failure. Lynn and Luna rushed to the window.

"No, no, dudes! She could be anywhere!"

"Wake the twins!" Lori yelled.

"That's a no-no. Everyone's too broken up to help. Liby and Lacy are crashing with them, because comfort needs." Luna jumped to the lawn. "I have heightened senses, maybe I can actually track her. Lynn, Lori, you coming?"

"Lupa, you stay here, keep an eye out. We'll be back shortly", Lori coldly told her, leaping after Lynn. A couple of car alarms went off after Lynn's impact.

"Eat less", Luna remarked.

"Shut up and sniff, fly-eater."

Luna caught a whiff of Lucy. "This way!" She and Lynn followed the trail down the desolate street, lit up by orange streetlights. Lori saw Lupa looking back at her, and gave each other self-disappointed looks before Lori hurried to catch up with the search party.

June 12th, 2026 - Midnight

Luna was half a block ahead of them, still following Lucy's scent. "Hurry, dudes! She's getting closer, I can smell her odor getting strong!" She made a turn, disappearing to another street. Lori, still half-awake, yawned. She slowed down at Luna's statement.

"We'd better hurry. The faster, the better."

The trees blew with the wind. A cricket, somewhere in the distance, eased Lori's fear of the dark. Her running footsteps were replaced by Lynn's ongoing ones. Lynn did not wait for her to catch up, leaving Lori alone briefly.

Luna found Lucy's dark sweater on the sidewalk. "No. NO!" She ran past it, desperately sniffing out for the scent again. Lynn went silent, picking up the sweater. "I... I CAN'T GET ANOTHER SCENT!"

Lynn looked back, hearing Lori's foosteps pacing closer. "She's good, she's really good", Lynn said, waving the odorous sweater.

Luna was going around the street, persistently trying to relocate the trail.

"Luna! It's useless, come on."

"We- We can't just leave her..." Lynn motioned.

Lupa popped up from behind a nearby car. "You're not, actually."

Lori felt a possible heart attack coming. Too many jump scares from Lucy, and now it had copied over. "You're supposed to be at home!"

Lupa pointed to the hopeless Luna still circling around. "And miss that? I don't think so. Like I was saying, don't follow her."

"This is your fault! You told her-"

"To not runaway. I locked us in here so that none of you would see another attack to her. I didn't tell her to leave. This was all her, and she doesn't wanna say goodbye. We all know it's too dark and ugly for that." Lupa checked around her pockets. "Fuck me, I forgot my lighter."

Luna shouted from the other end of the street. "FUCKING BOLLOCKS! YOU LIE, YOU BOTH THINK AND ARE ALIKE. YOU'D SAVE YOUR ASS AND NOT BE THE BAD GUY LIKE HIM. OR, IN THIS CASE, GIRL!"

"I was the one who convinced her to tell you all. She planned to not say anything at all, but, with it was gonna end up another Lincoln situation. I did nothing wrong... No one did. I'm not going to fight you, I did what I thought was best. We won't find Lucy, so we'd best go back home."

Luna gave up trying to find the trail. "Fucking hell, man."

"Luna, she's right. Why else would Lucy throw us off?" Lori had a feeling of dread and high worries for the defenseless goth with a deadline. Wherever she was, she was going to be hurt, and there was no aiding her this time. Lori let the though sink slowly and painfully, and was rendered immobile. Lynn and Lupa moved forward without her, unable to read her mind.

Little Lucy all alone, out there and vulnerable. Lori understood Luna's concern, but there was no other course of action here. Not one at all.

Her breath, shivering, while trying to keep calm, but seeing Lucy being found more damaged, suffering, was not something Lori wanted to let happen.

Lori grew tranquil now, closing her eyes slowly. Can't do anything, can't do anything... She took a deep breath, and exhaled calmly. Luna returned to her, silent.

"Just us. We can let those two go home, it'll be us looking for Lucy."

"You need some sleep ks what you need to look for. Come on; it's too dark out. We'll try again first thing when we wake up, alright?"

Luna threw her arms up in reluctant agreement. "Fine, then. I'm getting snoozy, dude." She put her arms on Lori's shoulders, nearly pulling her off balance. "Go on, take us home.".

Lupa and Lynn waited for the two. Lynn tied the sweater to her waist, cracking her knuckles in annoyance. "Do you know where the place is?"

"Yeah, this is the way I take when heading out. I know a shortcut." They walked back home this time, footsteps clampering in near sync throughout. By then, the same thing was in everyone's mind. Despite not showing or sharing, they all drowned with worry for the doomed goth.

They crashed on the empty room. Only Lynn, on Lacy's bed, took up a few covers. Luna, already adjusted to coldness, slept on the floor with no warmth. Lori was on Liby's bed, but did not go under the sheets. She didn't want to be there, getting rest, when there was Lucy to seek out. To save.

Wharton State Forest

Lucy was moving stealthily into the heart of this wide maze of a forest. She kept looking around with the hand-me-down binoculars, stopping after every ten trees she passed by, taking cover on the eleventh. Shivering in the light, cold winds. It felt a bit like Grand Venture State Park to her. Only, there seemed to be no rivers. Or at least, she hasn't come across the sounds of running water yet.

She fell over a large root on the ground. She took out Lynn's phone, using the flashlight feature to watch her steps. The time was well past 12 A.M. Lucy gave in, throwing herself against a tree. Her back was poked by tiny branches and splinters, but she didn't mind it. She dropped on her posterior, taking tinier cuts this time.

No reception there, so no way to distract herself until the hour came. Until it was 3:16 A.M. again. How long was this going to happen? How long would she be tortured for? When was this going to end for her?

Lucy tightened her grip on the binoculars, and threw it far into the dark with all her might. "GODDAMNIT!" Lucy let the phone slip out of her hands, falling below the stump of the tree. She looked up into the concealed night skies, ready for her next punishment.

Morning

Luna followed the familar scent out back, once she and Lori were ready to continue the search. Lucy was there, in the middle of the backyard. With full red eyes, she stood like a statue, holding a long branch with one hand. Her upper body was stained with dried blood, head tilted down like her mind was long gone.

Lori's bottom lip trembled at the sight. Luna wasted no time tackling the bloodied Lucy into a hug. She also slapped her, but not too fiercely. "Don't you ever- Don't you ever fucking do that!" Luna picked her up and carried her back. Lucy mindlessly dropped the branch, reeking of a bad odor.

Lupa was surprised to see them return. "What? Did you morons forget-" Luna placed the seemingly traumatized sister on Lupa's bed. "Holy fucking shit, how?!"

"Lucy? Lucy, speak!" Luna shook her, but got no response. Lucy only stared upwards, like no one was here, trying to reach to her. "Luce?" Luna covered her up.

"She must've been so cold..." Lori murmured.

"What- What the hell did they do to her?! LUCY!" Luna screamed in her ear, still trying to get a reaction.

"Luna, let her be. She's probably been-" Lori wiped her eyes. "It doesn't look like she's here, I mean."

Luna ignored her, now going on to shake the petrified Lucy. "Lucy, please..." Her hands tensed up, no longer in her control. It felt like invisible cement was coated into a block exclusively for her. Lupa was the puppet master once more, making Luna let Lucy go and forced her to walk back.

"That's enough."

Luna held in her lust to lash out, and gave Lori a teary look. "Are we going to lose her?"

Lori kept her eyes on Lucy, not saying a word. The answer had always been clear since Lucy had revealed everything. An ugly answer that needed no speaking of. Luna finally let a fist fly into the wall, effectively making a hole right through it.

Lori gave this freebie to her just this once, knowing it was disheartening to keep inside and forever bear. "Luna, Lupa, let's go. Leave her be. Maybe she might return to us..."

Lupa closed Lucy's eyelids, and planted a kiss on her forehead before leaving.

Later

Lupa had another smoke outside, away from the brooding Louds. On her third, she was halfway done when Lucy came out without any sound being emitted. "Hey, you," she welcomed, blowing the smoke away from Lucy.

"I'm alive again..."

"What was that all about?"

"They... I can't even-" She sniffed. "You don't wanna know... Words can't even describe what they-"

"Here, have a smoke with me." Lupa revealed her pack of Marlboro brand cigarettes. "Here, take one."

Lucy scoffed, before laughing and giving in. She placed one in between her lips. "Light it up, Lupa."

A black lighter zoomed from Lupa's sweater pocket, and the invisible ghost there lit Lucy's cigarette. "Come on up with me?"

"Up where?"

Lupa pointed upwards, slowly floating up to the roof. "Since there's no shafts here..."

"I've always wanted to fly."

At first, she was afraid of it. She slowly rose, like it was a rollercoaster ride, going up a slope before racing around uncontrollably. She then smiled, after seeing much of the neighborhood on both sides. "Wow, this- This is fun!"

Lupa landed her safely in the middle. "Watch your step, it's not that safe here." The two sat at the high end of the roof, feeling the sting of the lined edge hurt their bottoms. "Do they know you're awake?"

"No, I snuck out of there. I knew they'd have a fit about me doing that. I assume Luna blamed you, right?"

Lupa nodded, taking a lungful of tobacco. "It's always someone she's trying to fight. Aren't you curious why that is?"

"Frankly, I never looked at it other than her just looking out for us- Them. But, it feels like she's losing it with each new argument, so maybe it's-" Lupa dropped the cigarette without warning, looking right over Lucy's head. "Whoa, what's wrong?"

"Yuh- You didn't bother to check the time?!"

A shadow, one of them, hovered over Lucy. The second one blocked Lupa off, making her jump back. The cigarette turned to ash, making Lupa cough and wipe her mouth clean.

"Lucy Loud, here we are again..."

"No, no, you can't keep torturing her! You-!" Lupa stumbled into Lucy, attempting to tackle the shadow, but failing. "Oomph!" Lupa grabbed her, and evaded the beings from the roof. They separated upon impacting on the grass.

"Move, move!" Lupa moved to the balcony. She grabbed the handle, but saw no reflection besides her own in front of her. She looked back, seeing Lucy standing in place. "Lucy, what are you doing?! Come on, before-"

The pair of dark entities bloomed out of the ground, surrounding the goth. "I'm done running, Lupa."

"What- No! Lucy!"

"I know now. I'll go with you. I'll go with you tonight, just, please spare me! You've been hurting me to get me to practically beg for my own death, weren't you? I get the message, now please-"

"LUCY!"

"Tonight at midnight, we shall return for you." The shadows returned to the ground. Lori, Lynn and Luna barged out, surprised to see Lucy now up and about.

"Why did you scream? What happened?" Lori checked up on Lupa, while Luna and Lynn went over to Lucy.

Lupa coughed, attempting to lie. "She was just right there when I came to smoke. Scared me, even."

"When did she even-?"

"It's Lucy. Are we really surprised?" Lupa shrugged her shoulders. Once they were gone, she sobbed silently, now knowing that today was Lucy's final day, unbeknownst to everyone else.

11:50 P.M.

She and Lupa were still awake, munching on peanut butter sandwiches. They sat facing each other, giving each other the serious looks about the elephant in the room. "You're a fucking idiot..." Growled the white haired goth, after swallowing her bite of the sandwich. "You can call them all down here, it's still early. They'll be hurt so much in the morning."

"They knew I had to go-"

"We could have had more time!" Lupa's outburst broke the glass of milk, unintentionally making a white mess in front of her.

"I had to do this, Lupa."

"Fine. If you won't call them all..." Lupa picked up and hurled the table right into the ceiling in the living room.

Lucy pushed Lupa to the floor. "No! They've suffered enough!"

"EVERYONE, GET DOWN HERE!" Lupa returned the favor to Lucy, sliding her through the floor. "This is for your own good, Lucy. Let them see you one last time."

Lucy shut her eyes, shaking her head with a broken expression. "I have to go secretly!"

"Lucy... Why did you do this deal?"

Lucy sighed, giving it the needed thought. "I remember now, I remember why."

"Why?"

"It was to see them all again... So that the day of the fire wouldn't be the last time I saw them."

"And...?"

"You're right... Shit, you're right."

"That's right. Get out of your own darkness."

The clattering of footsteps rumbled from above, moving like a serpent. The twins reached Lupa first, speeding around them.

"What's with the scream? There's no one here!" Lola groaned.

"Lupa? Lucy? What are you still doing up?" Lori, Luna and Lynn entered the scene. "And who threw the table here?"

"Lucy, it's now or never."

"What's going on, dudes? Lucy, what happened?" Luna scratched herself.

"Lucille; you have to tell them now..."

"What? Tell us wha-?" Lori's face went diagonal, starting to get the picture. "Oh, no..."

"What, what does that mean?"

"Lucy, you- Did- Lupa, did she-"

"She sped it up... Lynn, what's the time?"

"It's..." Lynn checked her SG Ultimate. "Eleven fifty-six. Why?"

Lucy picked herself up, slowly advancing toward them. "I'm so sorry, you guys."

"I'm still lost, you know," Lynn pointed out.

"So, you... What did you do? Beg them to take you faster?"

Lucy only looked down, confirming it was so.

"No, it can't be. Not you... Not now..."

The rest of the Louds then came down. Linka rubbed her eyes, trying to tiptoe over the crowd. "What's going on? Why are we awake?"

"Luan, take these four back," Luna ordered. Liby and Lacy raised both Linka and Lily above. "Tell us what you see!"

"Lucy, why... Why can't you-" Lupa held Luna back, trying to avoid a fight.

"It's too late, you guys. Just shut up and say goodbye to her, she's going real soon..."

"Soon? When is soon?"

"Less than four minutes."

This led to them letting out light gasps. The lights flickered on and off above Lucy. "Very soon..."

"Move back, guys. It's them." Lupa swept the group away enough from Lucy. The figures emerged from the walls all at once, centering around Lucy.

"Don't any of you intervene! It's time to say goodbye..." Lupa only waved a hand at Lucy. "This wasn't pointless in the end, Luce. They, or we, I guess, we're all happy to have seen you again."

A black tiny circle behind Lucy appeared, slowly growing into a large oval. "It's time to go," one of the shadows left.

"I love you all, and protect each other. Luna, don't ever fight with any of them. No one ever knows if..." Lucy trailed off, not wanting to go too dark that what was already developing. "I'll miss you all."

"Aw, Luce..."

She faced the dark portal, moving towards it like a zombie. "Wait... I think you all should know something. Remember when Lincoln got in trouble after clogging the toilet with his Princess Pony book?"

"Yeah, I barely remember that. What about it?"

"It... It was mines the whole time, and I clogged the toilet. He took the blame for me, because I was embarrassed so much. He's not that bad. He's never been that bad. Please look for him, and don't ever stop until you find him. Again, I'm sorry..."

Lucy's ears were bombarded with their hopeless pleas and cries. Lupa was shushing them. "Go on, Luce..."

June 13th, 2026 - Midnight

Lucy waved goodbye to her sisters, and then disappeared into the portal. It was a brief pit of darkness at first, and then replaced by a park. Only, it was a dark version of it. Gray skies formed above, the park itself looked dead and abandoned, save for a person in front of her.

One she immediately recognized. "L-Lincoln?! You've been dead all this time?!"

AN: One more to go.