Lyrics to Think by Drowning Pool
January 18th, 2039
Linka choked and gagged on the pavement, her hands trying to pick at the bullets lodged in her body, failing to realize that most had gone clean through. The blood that had escaped her body was too much by then, even as the wounds healed to close. Her lungs gave her less trouble now, she could breathe again, but had to spit the blood that had entered her lungs, the sight that had Lynn- whom Linka had somehow confused for Luan, due to the progression of the SCX chip's deterioration of her mind- struggling with Lincoln over the weapon in his hands. The shooting had caused a stir of panic by then, leaving the Loud members and Lincoln's allies to occupy the perimeter.
Lily whimpered and helped Linka once she had noticed the scars close up. "LINCOLN, WHY WOULD YOU...?"
"That damn girl's gone missing for too long, isn't it suspicious?" Lincoln reminded them, basically spitting at Lynn as he tried to regain the weapon. "Let go, Lynn. This clone might be throwing in with-" Then, Lincoln stopped his struggling and eyed Luna coldly. "I still don't understand... How can there be two of you?"
"I don't know what to say!" Luna yelled, still being left clueless as she had been the moment the operator piloting the mecha had been unmasked. "It- it was her, but it wasn't- I mean, I don't know!"
"Still not ruling out a shapeshifter," Lynn threw in, letting go and running laps around Lincoln until she built up the right momentum to rip it out of his hands. "There's no need to kill the clone, even if she did do something."
"Hey, here," Luna offered Linka a hand, bringing her back up to her feet with ease. "You- You're alive... B-but the chip-"
"Long story, I can show you the chapters you've missed! I need a phone from the real world, I think..."
"Save the crazy talk," Luna quieted. "If we can get inside this ugly hunka junk?"
Lincoln let out an exasperated sigh of defeat. "Fine, but this isn't over. Lynn-"
"Oh, you're so not getting this back, better let me hold onto this." Lynn removed the magazine from the rifle, cocking back the load slide to release the single bullet out of the chamber. "All of you, inside!"
Lincoln slapped his hand on the side of the van, giving the hired help the signal to start the engine. "We're leaving, extra load incoming!"
"You'd better have McBride increase my pay for the extra weight! I can't perform fast turns well with more weight, you know? Even with the mods on this vehicle, it isn't perfect for a getaway! And if you all could get closer to the middle, that'd be great!"
"I'll talk to him about a raise, but shut the hell up," Lincoln coldly moaned, riding shotgun. "Don't be too comfortable there, Lembone."
Lemy himself tried to save face by looking away from the girls- particularly Lily. "S-so... You guys, uh, do you all get together on holidays? Linc here isn't too verbal about it, I mean. Just moody and broody."
"Of course we do, the last of us carry it on, although not all of us want him there," Lynn answered, looking over the injured Linka lying on her lap. "If that little spectacle didn't convince you, I don't know what will."
"We should be conserving our ammo-" Lemy began to look at the dark pheno, then knew his mistake and looked down. "I mean, we can't waste them, you know?" Lemy bit his bottom lip to curse himself.
"I take it we're going back to base?"
"No, we're going for some two-dollar drinks at McDonald's!" Bobbie yelped with sarcasm.
"Are all his friends rude?" Luna tisked.
"Are they even his friends?" Lynn dug further.
With friends like these... Lincoln rolled his eyes away from the back-seaters, gazing out of his window with his fingers still moving in an unsettling fashion. With all that he had come to know thus far, problems proved to appear and stockpile in the meantime he was trying to solve his own body-double situation before it got too out of hand. "Lembone, change of plan."
"Wait, what?" Lemy stood up while the van moved, coming right in between driver and passenger. "But we've got the perfect plan-"
"What plan?" Lynn crossed her arms, shifting her head from Linka to the cab. "Hey, whatever you bozos are thinking, you'd do right to tell us! I left my goddamn truck back there, for fuck's sakes!"
"Let's be real, it was a shitty truck-"
"No one asked you!" Lynn turned her attention back to her brother. "Hey, what plan were you thinking? Let me guess, jumping directly into the fight carelessly, right? Don't be stupid, Linc, Luna and I had trouble ourselves, what makes you think you- The both of you, I mean- could stand a chance against the mecha? We don't need regular firearms, we need rockets or heavy ordinance that can break through that armor. That or an EMP blast-"
Linka coughed again, tended to by Lily, who patted the clone's back. "Thanks, it still hurts inside."
Lily shot her eyes at Lincoln, sending daggers his way- which he didn't see but felt. Why would you...?
"Don't speak," Luna advised the clone. "Stay still-"
"It's alright, I'm fine," Linka believed. "At least I think I am... It's not the welcome I was expecting."
"You mind filling us in while you're at it with the chatter?" Lincoln interrupted.
"Have some decency-" Luna let out.
"No, I owe you guys an explanation, now's a good time as any." Linka rotated her head clockwise, then countered. "I didn't ask for any of it, and I don't really know who or why, but these girls broke me out of the convoy I've been packaged in. They freed me and took me-" Linka eyed the bunch again. "You're all older... I really am in the future."
Lynn and Luna exchanged surprise glances at each other.
"You time traveled nine years ahead?" Lincoln assessed.
"Wha- Nine?!" Linka gasped. "N-nine years-"
"Tell us about these girls," Lynn fixated. "Two? Three? Phenos?"
"I'm not sure, uh-" Linka closed her eyes and brung herself back to the moment she had been broken out. "Wait, I see one of them. She's an Asian teenager, her outfit is a black gi, like she's a ninja. Wait, she had blades on her, I think that's what she was, a ninja."
"I don't buy that," Lynn shared, "that's never been our forte, ninjas."
"The other girl was a blonde redneck! Uhh, southern girl, whatever! Accent and everything. Oh, uh-" Linka snapped her fingers. "The two kissed, if that means anything. Lovers, I'm sure."
"Not relevant," Lincoln cut in. "These two tell you why they wanted you?"
Linka shook her head. "No, they were vague, gave me a ride to this place in this time and here I am. Y-you do believe me, do you?"
Luna shook her head at first but then shrugged. "You're talking time travel, there's no way that exists. Right, Lynn?"
Lynn, on the other hand, had her mind occupied, comparing notes to what she knew by now. Time travel did exist, she had been sucked up into the world of the future imperfect where the Prime Federation still existed and the surprises she had seen had yet to pass. All of that- "The blonde, what was she wearing?"
"Light blue jeans, torn at the kneecaps, and a plain white tee."
Lynn's face became drained of color after the answer. It's that same lizard girl! Here, in the present? No... She must have been roaming around here under our noses... But she's not alone...
"Uh, Lynn?"
Lynn stared down Linka with deep interest. Why have they freed the clone? Is she meant to be alive right now? Then, did she originally die for them to make this move? I... I can't keep this quiet for long... Not when they need to know...
"Why is your heart beating faster, Lynn?"
"Uh- Oh!" Lynn didn't even realize it; too late to decrease her heart rate. "I'm... I'm just scared," she admitted, keeping her eyes at Luna to convince her that she was- and she really was, scared for over a great deal of things, most of which circled back to the main root that was the family itself. Them and the dangers that continued to exist as of yet. Nothing was over, Lynn understood her life had no break or vacation anytime soon. "I mean, you know that already, I know you do..."
Luna nodded after seeing the sincerity in younger sister's eyes. "I do, yeah..."
"We'll deal with this later, clone." Lincoln faced back at them.
"S-so, wait a minute, this time travel nonsense... You guys aren't questioning it?" Lemy scratched his head, trying to make sense of things. "I'd have to see it to believe it-"
Luna tapped at him to get his attention. "You believe in us, and the female clone here. What's the difference?"
"Uh, time travel and clones and mutated people aren't on the same level on the science spectrum!" Lemy argued.
"No, but they're in the same category!" Luna countered. "You might as well believe in aliens-"
"Uh-" Linka raised a finger to tell them about her space adventure.
"NOT NOW!" both of them yelled in unison.
Linka kept quiet for a long moment, long enough to sink into her mind and recall where she had left things off with the gang. "Hey, hey! Nine years is long enough to have found a solution to this, right?" She pointed at her head, referring to the chip inside of her. "Tell me you did... Tell me Leven found it, that genius."
Lincoln turned his head first, about to say something, but was beaten to the punch by Luna. The former rocker of the family shook her head and handed a grave look of disappointment to Linka in a heartbeat. "We... We didn't... You disappeared, there was no reason for anyone to do anything. Not even simulations were run here..."
"Wh-what? But-"
"It made no sense to find a solution to help someone who vanished off the face of the earth. You were gone-"
"Luna..." Lynn pleaded.
"For so long that we just thought you either went rogue or died somehow..." Luna, again, shook her head. "I'm sorry to have to tell you, but what were we supposed to think here? If your disappearance wasn't bad enough, that AI born out of you also vanished. It stopped contacting us, but I have a feeling it's still out there, doing fuck all."
"It did...?" Linka shot her eyes down, then they bounced back up. "Where's Leven? And Carly? They were my peeps, I'll bet they're gonna be happy to see me. No, I don't need to bet, I know it in my heart!" And Linka grinned the widest grin, followed by Luna and Lynn forming fake, awkward smiles too. How could they break the hardest news to her in this moment?
"I agree, it's good to see you again," Luna formed, now smiling for real. "You'll have to excuse Lincoln here, I don't know why he needed to put those rounds in you."
"Dickhead," Lynn tooted loudly to be heard by Lincoln.
"It's fine, all my organs have healed already." Linka tapped at her chest. "Although I could use a snack."
"No sweat, our safehouse has MRE packs to your liking!" Lemy offered.
"Wait..." Linka squinted her eyes. "Oh! You're that scruffy brat! Man, look at you and that beard! Man, you hairy-thick, with two Cs! You have what Patanu could never grow right there."
"Huh?"
"Oh, joy, still the crazy clone we all know and love!" Lynn cackled.
"Bitch, it's called fourth wall perks!" Linka stuck her tongue out and blew raspberry at Lynn. "Stinker."
"Silence, I have to make a call..." Luna took out her phone and opened her contacts. "With Linka back, we'll restart the sims again and get it right. That chip will finally be out of your skull."
"You can do whatever you want," Lincoln allowed, "just stick with us until we get back to our safehouse."
As Luna had her cell to her ear, Lynn cleared her throat. "Don't think you're leaving us out of the fight. We all have this mecha suit to worry about-"
"Can I join in this fight?" Linka foolishly requested. "You guys sound like you need all the hands you can get, right?"
"Stop that, you just got back and you wanna risk getting hurt, especially with that thing inside your head!" Lincoln shook his head discontently. "You're all being dropped off."
"Mmmh," Luna hung up and returned her attention to company. "Linka here takes priority, they said," she told Lynn. "Looks like we're gonna have to split up here."
"Wait-"
Luna admitted defeat with a heavy sigh. "Fine, you can drop us off at your place, Linc. We'll have the twins give us a ride once we're safe there. As for Lynn, I think she's better off going with you guys-"
"Wait a second-" Lynn objected.
"I suppose having a zoomer with us is advantageous."
"Luna!"
"No, Lynn! You can help them, and also supervise our brother should he try anything too extreme. You understand that, right?"
"Girl scouts..." Lincoln bitched. "Just stay out of my way when I take that thing down."
"Whatever, man," Lynn huffed. "You three need to watch out for each other now," she told Luna, Lily and Linka.
"Same goes for you guys!" Luna nodded. "We'll meet you guys at HQ."
Colorado
Lana, Lola and Leia remained on their knees, arms hanging about behind their heads, already having reached the state were their arms had become jelly, a simple slip could happen. They were silent but fearful, lips shivering and sweat forming above the temples. The mecha moved and clamped heavily upon the floor, ensuring the trio were complying. "And don't even try to run, you're in my suppression radius. Good luck trying to get out of this."
"What d-do you-?" Lola sputtered through broken courage.
"Mouth shut!" The mechanized being threw a back-hand slap that knocked Lola down, as well as break the skin on her. "I wouldn't hesitate about taking you out of the equation, but you're the bargaining chip to get what I need."
Lana made eyes following Lola, but the beast had observed too closely and stood in front of the other twin. "Don't risk it, unless you think I'm going to hold back my attacks, then by all means-"
It might've been due to the shock of it all, the intensity of fear or everything all at once scrambling the wiring in her brain- who could say? The younger, imaginary version of Leia, holding a kitchen knife and decorated with blood that ran from an oval opening at the center of her neck, appeared once again from behind the mecha, smiling devilishly, taunting Leia just by being there. "My special horse shall be raised and await the hay to be delivered."
Leia sucked in a firm breath of air, no longer minding the mecha that terrorized the trio. "C-can you guys see that?"
The mecha's head followed Leia's gaze. "What are you eyeing, child?"
"Leia...?" Lana then pulled her sights away when Lola pushed herself back up, and faced the metal behemoth from where she had now sat up. "L-Lola!"
When Leia blinked, the hallucination had gone away. She glanced in a counter-clockwise position around the safe room, but had not found whatever it was around. But her ears had heard the next words, or maybe, just maybe, she heard the words in the back of her mind, "I'm waiting for you to bring the real Leia out..."
Years Ago
Leia finally pinned the doppelganger that wore her face- eyes, ears, and all the other features that were accurate as the original's. Leia gripped on the latter's left arm and neck, taking their hand and hitting it against the floor to drop the kitchen knife they held. "LET GO OF-"
And when the hand opened up to release the knife, and as the knife fell and plopped on the floor, Leia delivered a dazing headbutt and was quick to brandish the large knife and stabbed the copycat at the center of their neck. They choked on their own blood, spurting and coughing in out in drops, a messy scene that came from the mouth and around the slit. Three to four minutes of it, not counted by her, had gone by before the doppelganger had stopped moving in desperation to live. Leia had killed someone posing as her, leaving her in shock and awe, so much that she froze perfectly still and stared at the corpse. "I- I don't understand. Why-? Why did you-?"
Who were you? she had to ask mentally, expecting an answer.
"Enough games," the mecha went, "one of you zoomers are gonna summon the others to this location."
"What, you wanna use us as bait?!" Lana reiterated. "You want my sisters to come here so-"
"So I may kill them all in one go to take my rightful place..." The operator raised their hands and pressed the release function at the base of the neck, removing their helmet to unveil their identity to the trio. The woman underneath had bore Luna's own face, but a face with heavy tissue scarring all over her face. "...as this world's Luna Loud."
2030 - Timeline X
Alex had done away with Luna and Lynn, leaving Lincoln to his task. But Luna, even with her eyes melting away from the acid, the sensation of which burned even more than the skin that melted away, directed herself to use her ears and nose to follow Lincoln. She heard him running through the facility, valiantly going after him, recklessly bumping and tripping over things as she pursued him on all fours. Lynn had stopped breathing behind her, and the lack of her heartbeats had told Luna she had passed- and that young Mexican woman had disappeared somewhere in between the chaos. "LINCOLN!"
Lincoln had already activated the time machine and fled from this reality, but his scent still lingered on and about for Luna to detect. And, not knowing what was ahead of her, or how her life was about to embrace a new change, she had entered right through the portal...
Luna-X glared at her reflection through her helmet. "My Lynn was the only good thing in my life, right to the very end. And she was taken away from me in those final moments where..." Luna-X shook her head and looked to the trio. "Would you believe me if I told you the Lincoln you think you know is someone else completely?"
Lola held her phone as best as she could, for she could not stop shaking. "Why- Why would you want to kill us? Y-you could just have your own life-"
"I'm a literal nobody here!" Luna-X cried out. "And not to mention I can't move around as much without this suit, and when I do, I get noticed. Fly too high, I'm on the radar! Fly low, I get spotted by everyone! Being invisible means nothing if I'm wanted! I made no mistake thus far! The mecha is wanted, but not Luna Loud! I'll put yours in this suit to cover my tracks, that why she's gotta go! I'm taking over her life!"
"Yeah?" Suddenly, Lola stood up before she had a chance to dial back her sisters, a hidden amount of courage spiking up in her. "You're nothing behind some stupid armor. Can you even transform into that ugly lizard thing like she can?"
Luna-X put the helmet back on. "I don't rely on that anymore, I've realized it isn't the best I've got, not like this! I can beat the beast with the armor, you wait and see!"
"Hey, hello?" Linka spoke again in the comfort of her mind, trying to make contact with the AI version of herself. "I'm back! I know you're out there! Come on, say something!"
She grew impatient, going further. The frustration grew visible and noticeable to Luna and Lynn, both of which exchanged curious but worried looks. Lynn lightly reached out to the young clone. "Hey, something on your mind?"
"Hm?" Linka was caught off her guard. "Oh, sorry, I... Don't mind me, Lynn."
The next second was filled with Luna's ringtone playing; she wasted no time to answer it. "Hey, finally! Are you guys-?"
"I want all of you to come here or these blondes die right away! Makes no difference to me, whatever you choose!"
"H-hey," Luna pleaded, feeling her heart sink to the bottom, "you leave them alone!" She set the phone to speaker to alert the gang. "Guys, the mecha thing is holding the twins hostage!"
Most eyes befell upon Luna in an instant. "Gimme the phone," Lynn demanded.
"Hush!" Luna blew her off. "Hey, don't you touch them in any way! Tell us what you want!"
Lincoln grabbed the walkie-talkie and pressed the talk button. "Base, base, halt operations, how copy?"
"Copy your last, what for?"
"Forget our special friend for now, I need all Reta members back to the safehouse. Rearm with sniper rifles and wait for Greenie to arrive with the special package." To Bobbie, Lincoln instructed, "Nothing has changed, continue to my place."
"I want all of you here soon!" Luna-X declared. "No funny tricks, no outside interference. You and me, here at this house! This neighborhood is my insurance none of you will dare anything, right?"
"How do we know you haven't already-?" Lynn suggested.
"LYNN, HELP US!" Lana yelled into the phone.
"Don't worry, we're coming!" Luna assured before the other end had hung up on her.
Lily clamped both of her feeble hands over her mouth, terribly afraid for her twin sisters' lives.
"Hey, dorks," Linka cut in, "hold off on taking me back. This just got more serious-"
"No," Lincoln insisted. "You'll only get in the way. Need to leave this-"
"These are our sisters, I'm not going away from this!" Luna cracked her knuckles. "Don't count me out of this anymore... We're all going to Colorado now. Whatever you were thinking of doing, do it with us! Two teams joining, for a change. Us and your dumb vigilante gun nuts you call a team."
"She's right, man," Lemy agreed, "it sounds like you need every hand you can spare."
"Almost there," Bobbie notified the gang. "So, I take it you're gonna need a pilot to fly you guys across the country?"
"We'll be there in a matter of seconds, actually," Lynn corrected. "Patriot perks, you know?"
"Phew, I'm staying out of this," Bobbie said with relief.
"Lucky..." Lemy moaned.
"Okay, now's the time you tell us what you're planning." Luna eyed both Lemy and Lincoln, eager to get something out of either of them. "No more leaving us in the dark."
"Fine, only because they have the twins-"
"And maybe Leia too," Lynn worsened.
"They said they wanted all of us, right?" Lincoln fixated his eyes at the center mirror, eyeing his sisters and the collective look of dread and terror that gave way to a validating desperation that would make them susceptible to accept what he'd bring to this table. "That usually means our family, what's left of us. Bet they don't know about my unit, which gives us the advantage."
"I think I understand..." Lemy pieced together. "The Reta Corps set up an ambush point around the house."
"Hey, show us a satellite view of the house," Lincoln went. "We can figure something out with the layout."
Luna opened her map app and searched for the twins' home, which happened to be the middle house of a cul-de-sac, opposite the end of the street that formed into a T. "It's a two-floor house with a side entrance on the left, but it leads into the basement. Backyard is another point, but maybe she's gonna be checking either entry points out."
"You've seen this side entrance, right?" Lincoln assessed. "Tell me about it."
"Not much to tell, but it leads down to the basement like I said. Going that way, there's a short staircase and the door is right there."
Lincoln ruled it out. "Unfit for a point of entry, maybe a good scope point though. Here, show me the map again."
Luna held out the phone for Lincoln to see. It was then that he noticed the entire perimeter past the backyard was just a wide field of lush green. "Anything you see?"
"Over here," he pointed to the field, "is this a flat area or elevated?"
Luna eyed the field. "That's a hill that goes up."
"That's perfect. Two snipers can take up position there, having eyes on both floors. Using my Corps, I can have the house surrounded with scopes-"
"But wait, you'd have to be seen," Luna countered, "and that means unarmed."
"Of course, that means I need my unit covering us. At best they can slow down the machine and teleport away when things go south."
At last, Bobbie pulled into an alley, parking the van right in between the safehouse and another building on the same street. "Everyone out."
"We've loaded these, but the safeties are on," Simon showed, visibly shaking his Barrett. "So, me and Gordon are the hilltop pair, and Lemy-"
"Is sniping from a rooftop closer to the target area, yes," Lincoln confirmed. "Watch our six, and take only clear shots, make those vital shots, too. Headshots, blind the operator if you can."
"That just sounds like the rounds won't take it down," Gordon thought. "We're only here to slow it down, is that our role?"
Lincoln faced Lemy with a sour face having formed from the questioning. "Where the hell is Greenie with our package?"
"Still on her way, I'm guessing," Lemy shrugged off.
"Were there no hostages, this would be so much easier..." Lincoln lamented.
"Give it a rest, you were bound to be stuck with us anyway!" Lynn berated him. "We would have found out about the mecha from the Patriot base if we weren't on our day off. There is no reason for you to get involved, it wasn't one of your matters, it was ours-"
"I have just as much right as you to join the fight if you girls are at risk."
"You just want this to fill your bloodlust!" Luna dropped. "And maybe you also want to get ahold of the armor where you'd be likely unstoppable! We know you, Lincoln! This is how you think, but you're not getting anything, and I mean it!"
"Less talking, more-" Lincoln felt himself losing balance all of a sudden, nearly falling back from the force that Nyla Laude had created. The same had occured to some of the others; Nyla dropped the electricity-based pheno down after having carried him for however long she had taken. "I see you've done well, and not a moment too soon."
Only, Nyla disregarded the albino's praise, having noticed the Loud women, specifically her mother, and grew alarmed. "No one told me this was a full reunion."
"Things just got complicated," Lincoln shared, "keep your hands away from each other."
"Excuse me," Lynn zeroed in on Nyla, touching the fabric on her green suit. "Oh, what the hell?! It's the same as mine! No way you're a simple fanatic, who are you, really?"
"Hey, I said stay away from each other," Lincoln snapped, "whatever questions you have for her, Lynn, I suggest you save it."
"She's right here right freaking now!" Lynn slapped her hands on Nyla's neck, moving into the monitor setup where Linka had been sitting. Linka jumped away just as Nyla wrecked the setup with her body, forcibly placed upon the desk against her will. "Answer me! Who are you and why do you look like me? You've been running around here for years under the radar, and I've always hoped I ran into you again."
Nyla let the firm, strong yet feeble hands squeeze around her neck. Maybe it was here that death came knocking for her. Whatever energy she had to fend off dear mother had become unlocked in her, some part of her she could not tap into, and that was only because Luna was there in her midst. That woman, the late Lyra's mother, looked down on her with grand hostility, the sort that made sense but put Luna in a more vicious spotlight.
"Not right now, I need this girl-"
"If you want a zoomer, you have me!" Lynn protested. "We don't need this freaking... Whoever she is! She's bad news, and clearly more than I can say if she's on your team. You and your gang of psychos should be locked up in The Blackout!"
Luna heard Nyla's heart rate elevate. "That's it, you should be scared! We're-"
"Just kill me already!" Nyla pleaded.
Lemy finally had enough and acted by pushing Luna away from the desk. "Cut it out, we should be-"
"Fuck off!" Luna bounced back and shoved him harder, sending him to the floor. "This one should be locked up, don't you agree, Lynn?"
"Hell yeah, I do!"
"D-don't fight..." Lily whispered so lowly, going unheard by the others.
I wonder if I can drop spoilers right now... Linka tapped her chin and pondered, then decided not to by visibly shrugging her shoulders, letting out a deranged chuckle. Hey readers, this wasn't the original plan, a far better scene was thought of but that may never be written-
Shut up, Linka.
SPOILER ALERT! TWO WILL DIE BY THE END OF THIS CHAPTER.
Goddamnit.
Lincoln advanced, pulling Luna to the side and swung a hook upon Lynn, striking her in the face. "Get up! Get up and fight, Greenie!"
"Is that what we're gonna do?" Lynn raised her hands up, folding them. "Son of a bitch, you're gonna wish we put you behind bars!"
"You've gone too far, Lincoln!" Luna cracked her knuckles, ready to jump in.
Simon and Gordon clicked off the safeties of their sniper rifles, scoping in on the heads of both women.
"Holy shit!" Linka chirped.
"Stand down, you two!" Simon bellowed.
"Don't make us shoot!" Gordon threatened.
Lincoln dragged Nyla by her suit down onto the floor. "Get the fuck up, fight for yourself! You have a right to be here-"
And Nyla never saw Lincoln from the floor; the being who replaced him, an illusion of the mind, had instead been Lyra. Lyra again, with her long brown hair dangling right to her neck, the beautiful face of hers staring down, but face with a rather saddened, hurtful expression. "L-Lyra...?"
Live for yourself, sis... Keep the memory of me alive, I beg of you.
Nyla stood up, pushing through the mental barriers that were reinforced and fortified well within her mind. While she relived the heartbreaking trauma and the nauseating sensation, the mere anger of being lost and alone had flared up alongside, empowering her to fight another battle. "You... My sister, dead by your hands! Y-your own daughter-"
D-daughter?! Luna repeated mentally.
What did she just...? Wait... The pieces had fallen since when, but to Lynn, they sprang right in her face and formed together and finally made sense to her. The full picture, just another piece of another larger puzzle, packaged with yet another mystery, perhaps more than one for all she knew. The future I've seen... It wasn't enough for me to know everything- What didn't I see yet?
Nyla ran and slapped both her hands against Luna's head, causing a deep ringing in both ears that incapacitated her. She yelled in a panic and went down on her knees, closing her eyes and missing the incoming shin Nyla raised to attack. Luna's head bobbed backwards, taking the rest of her body with her; she was out before she fell.
"Mother-!" Lynn ran around Nyla, managing to put her in a headlock. Now, the two snipers had their weapons pointed down at Lynn, but Lincoln got in between them and pushed the barrels down to the floor. "You stay back or-"
Nyla let out a sincere chuckle. "When I was younger..."
Lynn stood completely still.
"You told me about how aunt Luna hurt you and my other aunts," Nyla continued, "and how she got kicked out. You cried that one night because you yourself set her future in becoming the monster in motion. You, putting your hands on her and dragging her out after her drunken fit."
"...What? B-but-"
"It's one of the many burdens you let me in on, because you feel guilt knowing it affected me as well. If there's something you should know-"
Linka clenched her hands together. "Here comes the big reveal!"
"You've had each other give blood transfusions, of which also passed on your own powers to each other, and to us as well."
"It- Wait-" Lynn lost her grip on Nyla, allowing the future traveler to elbow her in the gut.
"We'll settle this later..." Lincoln decided for the pair. "Lynn, get Luna up, we've got hostages to rescue. Everybody's got their transportation, right?"
"Wait, what do you want me doing, exactly?" Grant asked far too late.
"You'll know when the time comes," Lincoln vaguely replied. "Here, take this and conceal yourself in a good position. Coordinates are set in." Lincoln threw Grant one of the black pods. "Okay, I think the play is clear. Loud sisters, front of house! Snipers, you know where to set up shop."
"Luna, get up!" Lynn shook her sister's head from side to side.
"Doubt she needs to be awake so long as she's present-"
Luna opened her eyes, shooting them around. "Did we win?"
Grant and Nyla took their leave before Lemy, Simon and Gordon did. "You all have your roles, be in view at the front of the house, and no unnecessary movements. The shooting starts when the target is lured from the house."
"We're going to fight?" Lynn gave it thought. "I can get our sisters out, you leave that to me."
"Make sure to take Lily and the clone with you," he added.
"What's happening?"
"Get up, Lunes!" Lynn helped her sister up. "It's time to rescue our own."
Colorado
"It seems the cavalry is here," Luna-X informed her hostages while staring outside the window. "Lincoln, Lynn... My doppelganger, of course! And I see Lily and that girl clone, too. Hm, I figured the clone was dead..."
Lana and Lola managed to exchange surprised glances at one another. "What'd you say?"
"I certainly didn't expect Lincoln to be here, given that I know he doesn't get along with the sisters. His team... Those sharpshooters-" Luna-X redirected herself to the back of the house and peeked through the blinds; she noticed two scope glints far and high in the hills. "Two of them, the third one must be concealed where the shadow hides him. It was a nice try, brother, but I know all about your little gang. Surely they meant to lure me out!"
Lincoln led the women forward, walking in the middle of the street of the cul-de-sac. "Don't go beyond the front lawn," he advised them as lowly as he could. "No one say anything at all, I'll do all the talking."
Luna-X went back to her hostages, picking Lola and Lana up first. "You two, up! You'll both be the first two to leave, and you make sure to tell them I'm not stepping foot outside! Now go!" She tossed them at the base of the front door, hurrying further back.
Lola and Lana scrambled outside in a rush, running down the porch until they were past Lincoln. Lola threw her arms around Luna, and Lana stopped in front of Lynn. "Leia's still inside, and that evil woman says she isn't coming out!"
Lincoln made one step upon the small pathway leading to the house. She has us all rounded up, so she could just kill us where we stand... But she isn't doing that... What's her play here?
"Linc, what do we do?" Lynn quietly squealed.
"Do nothing, or that girl is as good as dead."
"All scopes are set upon the house," the walkie-talkie attached to him went. "Ready to fire on your command."
"I guess we're switching to the contingency..." Lincoln lifted his shirt and revealed an orange flare gun, firing it once he aimed at the sky above. This was the signal to start the alternate phase of the operation.
Nyla noticed the flare from a block away and turned to the street, looking at the power lines above. "Okay, buddy, prove your worth to him and knock out the block's grid!"
"What'll that do?" Grant lifted his arms halfway.
"Chance at causing an electrical fire, and since this mecha woman is inside, it'll flush her and the hostages out."
"I like that!" Grant fired electricity from his hands, striking at the power lines. They broke off, dancing wildly as they broke away and swung down to the ground. Nyla picked Grant in her arms and raced towards the house before any of the haywire lines could fry him. "OHMYGOD!"
"Don't vomit, damn you!" Nyla cursed at him. She ceased right on the left corner in the backyard of the target house, having cut through the grassy field behind the houses. "Give it a minute, if nothing happened-"
Lincoln guessed Nyla and Grant had relocated right at the base of the house after noticing the blackout affect the block. Mustering courage and the brutal urge to throw hands with the woman in the metal suit, he moved forward, not looking back at his sisters. "Greenie, if you're where I told you to be, I need you and Electric to back me."
Luna-X activated infrared mode on her suit, noticing only one heat signature approach the front of the house. "Come on in, brother! You want this over with this fast, right? I suppose you want the girl out of harm, right?"
"Give yourself up and let that girl go, while I have some patience left in me," he warned fairly. "You're far outnumbered here."
"That means nothing when I hold the advantage! I'm the strongest here, not you or them!" Luna-X turned away from him- and noticed Nyla and Grant via heat signature. "And who are these two you've got concealed over here? What a poor rescue attempt you've got planned, and don't think I haven't noticed your snipers, the glints are visible with the sunlight, but I guess you don't-"
Lincoln kicked away at the door once, knocking it off the hinges, letting it fall through. "You were meant to see that, idiot."
"There's no way-"
Without warning, two shots broke through either side of the walls and struck upon the helmet's sides, causing an irritable ringing that made Luna-X's ears bleed. "HOW DID YOU-?!"
"It was clear that you'd canvas the area and find at least two reflecting lights I had set up for you to notice. Gotta say I'm impressed, you've done your research to know I'm not solo these days."
Luna-X removed the entire helmet again, showing her face to Lincoln for the first time. "Well played... That really hurt, you son of a bitch!"
"NOW!" Lincoln moved back two feet. Nyla brought Grant right into the scene right as the suppression range did its effect on her speed. "LET HER HAVE IT!"
Grant raised his hands and fired off all the electricity he was able to expel, shorting out Luna-X's suit. "I'm- I'm losing my-"
Nyla threw a pair of punches upon Luna-X at her high speed. "It's working! Don't stop-"
"Get her out of that suit!" Lincoln yelled over Nyla.
Lynn raced into the house to rescue Leia, leaving the house just as fast as she came in.
"F-fine," Nyla agreed, tearing away at the chest and limb plating. "Come on out, you-" It wasn't until Nyla made the distinct connection between her and aunt Luna that she then froze, idly staring at the doppelganger with widened eyes of pure bewilderment.
"Damn it!" Lincoln pushed Nyla aside and punched the immobile Luna-X again to keep her out cold a bit longer. Where Nyla started, he finished tearing apart the front side of the entire suit, pulling Luna-X out of there and putting her down face up. "That's it, it's done!"
Luna herself entered through the broken doorway, seeing her doppelganger all taken care of. "Is it really done?"
"You have the honor of taking her off to wherever you jail these types... But I'd do her in if I were you. How's it gonna look, a Luna lookalike roaming around like no one's business?"
"What do you mean?" Luna questioned, but she had a sense of what he implied.
"There's gonna be questions asked, they'll want to know, won't they?" Lincoln formed a gun with his fingers and aimed down at Luna-X. "Don't make all that noise, just kill her here and now-"
"Which is exactly what he wants, I'm sorry to say," Luna-X cut in, opening her eyes and sitting upright. "Hey, come on, why is he the only one wanting to get rid of me that way? Gotta get smart real fast, me."
"No, stop with these games-"
"I bet you told him you saw yourself underneath the metal when I revealed myself. So tell me, was he shocked for a moment? Did it all go away just as fast?" Luna-X dared to chuckle dryly. "Hey, Lincoln, you can save the act now, you know full well who I am, isn't it time for the truth to out?"
"This is absurd, I'll put an end to it-"
"What's she talking about...?"
Lincoln rolled his eyes. "Don't let her get in your head, Luna."
"Ask him when he ended up to alter this new timeline!" Luna-X dropped on the girls. "What he did, he did because his was- Oh, I'm sorry, I mean ours was a terrible, war-torn reality that needed some changing! I get that, but what I don't get is-" She touched her face, running her fingers among the scarred tissue. "You were the cause of this, and yet you were made the big hero and spared the world of what Vial Corp and Kapacity Korp managed to do. I wasn't going to ever congratulate you, but I chased you right to the moment you entered the portal, and I was stuck in the same era you put yourself in, and from the shadows..."
And almost by some bad miracle, the inactive suit that stood frozen in place, had turned on by itself and moved to attack Luna. "I'VE BID MY TIME TO KILL ALL OF YOU!" Luna-X bellowed, straining her voice in the process.
Lynn went for a leg sweep to knock the mobile suit down, but had lost her speed being in range of its suppression feature. "OWWW!"
Lincoln tackled the suit, pushing it away from his sisters. "Take that woman away already! And hurry, I-" Lincoln was then thrown across the living room with minimal effort. Lynn dragged Luna-X by her neck, moving backwards outside with Luna getting in between them and the sentient suit.
Grant tried but failed to utilize his powers. "No one told me it could move on its own!"
"I don't think anyone knew it could do that," Nyla helplessly uttered. "We can't beat it like this..."
"Yes, we can!" Lincoln protested, picking himself up again.
The sentient suit activated its foot thrusters, speeding right into Luna and Lincoln, taking them both right through the wall. Nyla and Grant followed the trail of debris.
"Deactivate it!" Lynn placed Luna-X in a chokehold, trying hard to intimidate the doppelganger into stopping her unit. "You must control it somehow, right?"
"I'm not gonna talk, might as well-" Lynn tightened her grip, choking Luna-X.
"Shut that thing off or so help me, I'll drag you across asphalt from one state to another!" Lynn looked back; the twins had evacuated along with the others. Good, none of them should be seeing this...
"Engage! Engage!" Lincoln blared into the walkie-talkie. "Let the lead fly, damn it!"
The trio of snipers fired upon the suit, having little effect on it altogether. Luna, stumbled over, dragged herself behind the suit and jumped up on top of it. She threw her whole right arm inside the neck opening and started pulling at whatever she could grab. "There's gotta be something here-"
Nyla and Grant grabbed each of the suit's arm to help Luna. "Hey, stop standing there and give her a hand!" Nyla yelled at her father. "We can finish this here and now!"
The arm that Grant firmly held onto shot itself right down as if punching the air in front, flipping him right on his back, and with the feature of beam shots installed into both palms on the arms, it fired a single blast directly at Grant's face, leaving only a hole where his face was.
Lincoln raced and took over where Grant had failed, trying to bend the arm back to try and break it at the joint. The snipers had ceased firing once they had run out of ammo, to which Lincoln had understood, disappointed and frustrated by the failure to let alone slow the thing down. "Wait..."
He looked down at the bullets, noticing over ten of them, albeit crushed upon impact. "Luna-"
Nyla was next to be repelled by the other hand. Rather than being attacked, this arm moved to remove Luna off of itself. "I see you've got an idea!"
"Pick up all the bullets and toss them inside of it!" Lincoln swiped again at his walkie. "Which one of you is carrying those magnetic grenades!?"
"Y-yeah, I packed just one with me-"
Nyla put in half before being kicked away by the armor. "Damn it-"
"Fire a flare, I'll have Greenie come pick it up!" Lincoln let go of the arm, already having lost much of its grip, and made a go at Nyla, picking her up to move her from the suppression range. "Follow the flare and get me that grenade!"
"LINCOLN!" The armor fell back purposely and forced the wind out of Luna.
"LYNN, WE NEED YOUR HELP!" Lincoln bellowed, running back to the armor. "FORGET THAT WOMAN RIGHT NOW!"
"Don't bother, she's fucking useless..." Nyla insulted before running off, and then returning back, flying past Lynn. "Here!"
The armor threw back an elbow, breaking Luna's ribs in the process. Lincoln took the grenade and held it high above his head, pulling the pin in the process. Come on...
The suit was pulled away from Luna, springing right on its feet. The magnetic force within the grenade pulled it forward, feet dragging against the dirt. Lincoln then threw the grenade behind it, letting it fall onto Luna's chest. "Asshole!"
"Greenie, hold its arms!"
Nyla sucked in breath and went to hold the armor in place from moving alongside her father. Then, Lynn, being the extra strength the pair needed, placed her arms under its own and folded them upwards, struggling with the others to keep it from moving. "I CAN'T HOLD IT FOREVER!"
"JUST UNTIL THE GRENADE EXPLODES!" Lincoln strained.
"WHY, YOU MOTHERFUCKER-" Luna panicked just as the bullet fragments inside the suit broke right through the back, further damaging the mecha. The fragments stuck onto the grenade, making Luna jump in fear. "OH MY GOD, IF THAT KILLS ME-!"
"THROW IT INSIDE, NOW!"
"I CAN'T FUCKING MOVE," Luna roared back at her brother.
"SHIT-" Lincoln broke his hold and went for the grenade, swiping if off Luna and throwing it inside the opening. "YOU TWO, GET AWAY-"
Luna-X swung upon Lynn, severing her grip on the mecha. "YOU'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"
Nyla moved for a sucker punch, but Luna-X blocked it with her monstrous tail and broke Nyla's arm by twisting it. As she yelled, Lynn performed a roundhouse kick and magnificently struck Luna-X in the face. Her tail let go of Nyla, slithering back behind her. Luna, meanwhile, forcibly flipped herself away from the group. The mecha grabbed and held Lynn into a body hold, squeezing the life out of her.
"M-" Nyla peeped, swinging her good arm at Luna-X, only hitting air. "Hold still so I can pummel you!"
Instead, Lincoln pulled Nyla into another throw, hurdling her inside the house. Then, moving on the doppelganger, he took hold of her wrists as she tried to block what she registered as an offensive from him. He broke her defense, splitting her arms apart for him to deliver a hard headbutt- and another right after her head had bobbed backwards and returned forwards. The suit, proving to have more awareness, let go of Lynn and focused on the attacker severely beating on its operator. Then, Lincoln threw Luna-X right into the mecha's arms. "Catch!"
"N-no..." Luna-X tried to squirm once she fell into her unit's arms. "LINCOLN, YOU MOTHERF-"
The grenade went off inside the mecha, sending the bullet fragments through itself and Luna-X's body; a single fragment went through the back of her skull and killed her instantly. As for the mecha, its own battery core had sustained enough damage to get put out slowly. The weapon had then become immobile, standing in place while holding onto the fresh corpse of its former user.
"Lynn- Lynn, are you okay?!" Luna yelled from the corner.
"I can't feel my back-"
Lincoln helped his zoomer sister up. "You'll heal, I'm sure."
"Oh yeah, says you who didn't get hurt-" But Lynn noticed a bullet shard lodged into his left cheek. "W-well-"
Lincoln turned back to Nyla. "Greenie, you well?"
"My arm's broken, man," she winced, "you tell me."
"It's- It's over, right? For real this time? No second suit?" Lynn let out a yelp as she tried to walk on her own.
"Hopefully not, but shut up, I'd rather not jinx it," Lincoln beckoned, making Lynn laugh away. "That's not funny."
In turn, she laughed again, harder.
"What about the mess?"
Lynn held up a hand to Lincoln and Nyla. "This is Patriot matter, the body and suit-"
"How are you gonna explain the body to them? I know you didn't come up with a-"
"Your need to have this body really paints the suspicion upon you..." Lynn crossed her arms. "What do you intend to do with it?"
"I'm going to properly dispose of it, stupid," Lincoln answered calmly, then turning to Nyla. "I mean, both of us are."
"You say that but I don't trust you-"
"That's your problem, not my own."
"The body stays."
"The body leaves..." Lincoln stepped closer. "Move."
"You'll have to move me yourself..."
"With pleasure!" Lincoln shoved his injured sister with all his might. "Sorry, sis, but this is how it's gonna be."
"D-don't-" Lynn wiggled on the ground, withering painfully. "Lincoln!"
"Don't you dare!" Luna cried out, peeking her head from the corner. "Why, I ought to-" She attempted to stand, but the pain in her body prevented her from even twitching. "Ergh... Lynn, c-call-"
Lincoln picked the corpse up with both arms, turning his back upon both sisters. "Let them be, Greenie."
Nyla took a long glance upon mother and aunt, having thoughts rattle in mind she wished to translate into words that only came from her pink pair of lips, but chose to say nothing in the end; they had already suffered enough today, now a rest was much needed. With sorrow, she turned away, rubbing her broken arm, trodding slowly after her father.
"If any of them are smart, that suit will be repaired for me to take from them," he shared with Nyla. "You'll help me take it, won't you?"
"Gladly!" Nyla agreed joyfully, but faked it; she was bothered by the solo fact that the mechabeast armor would be the same suit of armor worn by Commander Laika Letenko of the Prime Federation. The damn thing needs to be destroyed... Maybe if I can acquire it while I'm here... God, let me make it back to my own time...
"All guns, on me," he ordered his snipers. No reply from anyone. "How copy?" He inspected the walkie for damage. "Repeat, all guns, move out. How copy?"
"Oh, I copy your last, my friend," a sinister but familiar voice crackled through the static, "I applaud you for taking down that iron woman, that was quite a spectacle."
"How did you...?"
Nyla raised an eyebrow. "Hey... That voice sounds like... You."
"What have you done with my crew?"
"Meet me where we've started our years-long dance, alone and unarmed."
"If you so much as hurt those kids-"
"Time is ticking, you son of a bitch!" The enslaved Lincoln laughed maliciously before switching off of the walkie.
"Don't even say it, I'm in..." Nyla used her tail to yank her broken arm into place, shrieking in the process. "Fuck! So I take it you have a plan, right? This guy has the advantage."
"So we'll have to outsmart him," Lincoln believed, forming an arrogant grin. "Looks like I'll have two birds with one stone down today. Today's gonna be a good day, don't you think so?"
And just before you fade out too
I will hold a place for you
Do you remember when we used to?
Do you remember when you used to?
Do you remember life?
Well, as you're led out to the slaughter you ought to
Think about your life, you wouldn't give it up
Think about your life, you wouldn't give it up
Think about your life
Before you're led off to the slaughter you ought to
Act VIII: Nine Years Later, Chapter X: The Two Dawnbreakers
"What's going to happen to this hunk of junk?" Lynn watched the Patriot agents from the lower ranks zip the mecha and remove it from the property.
"At most," the stunning director Alexander Elmont addressed, "we'll have to place it in our vault."
"But aren't-" Lynn formed a puzzled expression. "You guys are supposed to-"
He cut her off by shushing his lips. "I understand your concern, you want us to run forensics after getting your asses handed to you, and under any normal incident would we launch an investigation, but we can't."
Luna heard from behind while tending to the twins. This made her angry.
"Why not? Give me something here..."
Director Elmont sighed, gave in and led Lynn into the backyard. "I'm not supposed to disclose this but you've been good in your work for this nation for all these years."
Lynn gave him all her attention. "Go on..."
"This suit... It- It belonged to us, Lynn. It's Patriot property-"
"Who...?" Lynn's mouth went stupidly agape.
"We designed it against... Luna... And we also created contingency plans for each of you if ever your interests-"
"Bro..." Stunned, she shook her head in disbelief. Had she all her energy at the moment, she'd lash out at him. "You created failsafes against us..."
"With all due respect, you'd have to see it from-"
"No, I don't wanna hear it!" Lynn faced into the direction of the hills. "We put our lives on the line for the division, and you've all carried the idea we could potentially destroy you... We wouldn't, ever..."
"And if my own counter offense was this mecha, I'd hate to meet the next person who targets Lynn or the twins!" Luna voiced her concern. "And just how didn't we know about this? It happened under the Patriots' watch, that's basically all of our noses. Explain!"
"We don't know much ourselves, other than the fact that it went missing the same day the clone did," he revealed, thinking that Linka was connected to it. "You ask me, she's involved somehow. It can't be a coincidence both she and the ABU- its real name- went missing."
"You'll hold her for questioning," Lynn assumed.
"More than that, we have right to suspect her as of right now so we'll have to keep her in a cell."
"There is no way she's behind the disappearance," Lynn defended, "Linka disappeared too, there's something else going on that we don't know."
"Do enlighten me," the new addition to the Patriot force requested. She was the youngest member yet, being a teenager of thirteen years old, five feet and a half, and rocking a blonde hairstyle akin to something from the late fifties. And just like the other times Lynn, Luna or the twins had seen her around, the teenager had come to the crime scene in a green shirt and vest, along with a black skirt, long green leggings almost covering the visible legs on her, and simple white sneakers. On the right side of her best was a black 'E' sewn on- and if you missed it, she had a black tie underneath the vest, barely noticeable if you didn't look at the neck.
"Ugh," Lynn moaned. "Big brain is here."
"Lynn, miss Chiedett's expertise was much needed here."
"We've given you pretty much everything-"
"And I appreciate that," Alexander grinned lightly to. "We all do."
"Your counts and what I'm finding aren't exactly in parallel synchronization," Chiedett pressed on Lynn. "Tell us again about this pheno without a face."
"I- I don't know," Lynn began, delving into her cover story. "Told you he was helping the mecha, but the mecha killed him by accident. That shot was meant for Luna, if I didn't intervene..."
"So you say..." Chiedett shot her eyes on the ground, turning clockwise and then promptly went away from the group.
"She doesn't seriously think I'm lying, does she?" Lynn showed grave discontent. "If you ask me, she's rather a bitch."
"And cold," Luna added. "I swear, it's like she has little emotion."
"Derived from trauma," Alexander reminded them again. "Be easy with her, she's still the same pheno whose parents died to protect. I'm not saying you have to like her, just don't antagonize her."
"Not unless she gets on my nerves," Lynn promised.
"I'm not looking forward to have to write up what I've already shared," Luna groaned miserably. "Did you get anywhere with Lyle yet?"
"He still claims a giant white hand destroyed the Whirlwind outpost," Alexander informed unamused. "No such reports like that for some pheno criminal yet, but there are too many cracks unregistered ones have been slipping through."
"Either way, he never struck me like the type to go on a massacre. He's a gentle boy trying to do the right thing."
"And that's why he's under lock and key with us instead of being locked up in the Purgatory."
"I still say he doesn't need to be in a cell..." Luna huffed irritably.
"I'm sure you've got this in the bag, right?" Lynn cracked her knuckles, zooming off towards the east. Her only thought was about that girl in green and the bombshell she dropped. She felt rather stupid that it wasn't clear to her, as obvious as it had been in her face all the times she'd come across it. The uncanny facial resemblance, the altered color scheme of the old suit she wore, down to the same damn superspeed. Her daughter, and Luna's daughter, the long-haired brunette who died at Luna's own hands- those two from the future, but what were they here for? Lynn had already deduced that Greenie waa likely trapped in this present, seeing how she looked a little older than from nine years ago, and was still lurking around. Lynn bet that Luna had, or would go on to make these deductions herself if she hadn't already. I... I'm going to have-
Lynn sped up a mountain, disappearing into the forest, jumping over branches and shrubbery. I'm going to condemn my own child... She isn't even born yet-
Nyla, on the other hand, banged her head repeatedly against the wall in Lincoln's safe house. Neither him or the other younglings batted an eye to notice her making quite the racket. She confined herself to her thoughts, a mental prison of endless torture and misery she wished would not ever have housed her. She didn't stop banging away, letting the pain from the back of her head pile up. Why couldn't it have been me? L-Lyra... You would have better control, I know that. You were always more patient and calmer than me.
Lincoln had loaded a magazine into his carbine, finally taking notice of Nyla. He studied her wordlessly and only collected his thoughts. "It really is true, isn't it?"
"I didn't mean to tell them that..." Nyla confirmed. "Does that put me at risk of being born? I... I don't know if I care anymore, man. If I cease to exist, I just hope-"
"I'm fairly certain you'd have been erased the moment you opened your mouth," Lincoln figured. "You're gonna be born, you and that other girl-"
"What's the point of her being born?" Nyla raised her voice. "She's gonna die at the hands of her own mother! You tell me how fucked up that is! You tell me how aunt Luna knew all along and let it happened! I still remember the day we came back! I... I saw her break, I saw my mother console her, and I thought it was because we'd be going away for a bit..." Nyla teared up, her voice already breaking away. "She- They damned us to our own hell... They sent her to an early grave... And what about me? What...?"
Lincoln watched her fall into pieces at his feet; she plunged her head to her knees, arms over her face. She wept greatly, freakishly loudly but her cries were horrid pain, the screaming from a broken heart she had sewn up and again when the strings came loose. It happened when she won fights, it happened when she lost fights. In her dreams, in the waking world. The fading memory of Lyra's personality, essence and voice.
"I- I don't remember what she looks like anymore!" Nyla wailed. "I try- I try to... I try my hardest-"
Lincoln bent down on one knee. And, sounding sincere for once, with a warmer tone, put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm really sorry, niece," he told her before wrapping his hands around her. "It's gonna be okay."
And while this moment between the two went on, Linka, on the verge of knocking on the front door, lowered her hand and grew hopeless; she was hurt to know that Lincoln had never told her such words, and perhaps would never repeat those words to her. I really am on my own now...