And now we come to the first arc of this story: the Haunted House arc!
I don't think this arc will be too long, probably three or four chapters at max, but let's not think about that for now. Instead, let's answer some reviews!
1) Nobody245:
* Yeah, that's gonna come up soon.
* That sounds like a decent goal: I'll keep it in mind.
* That's entirely possible, but I think I'd rather show than tell, so give me some time to figure out how to show it.
2) Guest: Yeah, but is it for the better?
3) Mr. Haziq: Yeah...
And now, to the chapter!
"So, care to explain yourself, young man?"
Lincoln wasn't quite sure what to think. One second, he was using his newfound ability to dodge the balls left and right, hoping he'd manage to throw a ball of his own before the time ran out.
The next, he was sitting at the principal's office, the man himself looking at him with a look of disapproval.
"I panicked, alright?" Lincoln shrugged. "All I could think about was how I was gonna dodge the ball, and next thing I know, I dashed out of its way."
"And that would be okay if it stopped there," the principal added. "But you went on and dashed a couple more times before stopping."
Lincoln shrugged. "Dodgeball is one of the most dangerous sports a high school guy could play, I needed to pull out all stops to survive."
The principal took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead, saying:
"You know, you're very lucky, young man: the only people who are allowed to get away with creative use of their Cliches are Outsiders and the first person to get the Cliche. So, I'm willing to let this one slide."
Lincoln sighed. "Thanks, principal-"
"But keep this in mind, Lincoln Loud: until this power gets accepted as a natural ability of Edgelord, I don't wanna see you using it in public. Understood?"
"... Yes, sir."
And with that said, Lincoln got up, and walked out of the man's office, allowing him to catch his breath.
"Always one of the Loud family…"
Once that was dealt with, the rest of the day flew by in an instant: the students had normal classes, and nothing of interest really happened to Lincoln…
"Heya, boy!"
Until he began walking back home, that is. He stopped on his tracks and turned around, meeting the Ynovation girls while Polly waved her arm.
"Oh hey, it's you four," Lincoln remarked. "Do you need me for something?"
"Yeah, something came up," Tabby whispered, leaning closer to Lincoln as she added. "There's a potential new member for Ynovation, and we thought it would be a good idea to bring you along to test your Cliche, and hopefully get a new member."
"Hmm, that's interesting," Lincoln remarked. "Where's it gonna be?"
Haiku grabbed her dress neck and pulled it down, revealing a piece of paper right between… her bosom...
Lincoln was not amused.
"What's wrong?"
"Believe it or not, I'm not exactly thrilled to grab something that's currently inside a woman's cleavage."
"Why not? It's a man's dream to touch breasts," Haiku pushed her breasts together with a cheeky smile. "And if you end up touching them, I won't beat you up for it."
Polly promptly shoved her hand down Haiku's cleavage and took out the paper.
"Stop teasing him and give him the paper already."
Lincoln took the paper from Polly, and unfolded it to see it was a pamphlet talking about some haunted house.
"A haunted house?"
"Not just any haunted house, but one that appeared out of thin air on a hill next to the outskirts of Royal Woods!" Giggles said cheerfully. "Something so unexpected cannot be a mere coincidence!"
"So, you think the house might be the work of someone with a Cliche?" Lincoln asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Nowadays, that almost always turns out to be the case," Haiku shrugged. "But even if it isn't, wouldn't it be interesting to take a closer look at this mysterious house, and find out its secrets?"
"For you maybe, but I'm still rather skeptical," Lincoln pocketed his hands. "What happens if we encounter something we can't defeat?"
"Then I'll use my Cliche to travel back to this very moment!" Tabby chirped. "So if something does happen, we'll always have a safety net!"
Lincoln hummed and scratched his chin.
"You could also say no and we'd go there without you," Polly added. "No pressure, Lincoln."
With that said, the girls walked away, leaving Lincoln behind to look at the invitation and think about his options…
So naturally, he wasted no time bringing this up to his friends as they walked back home together.
"I'm gonna go hang out with Haiku and her friends. We're gonna go check out a haunted house they found sometime ago."
"A haunted house?" Clyde asked, growing slightly worried. "It's not the same one from the hill that just suddenly appeared a few days ago, is it?"
"First time I've heard of it, so I wouldn't be able to tell you."
"Haunted houses are never a good sign," Cristina remarked while Ronnie Anne nodded in agreement. "If they're not housing evil spirits, they're being possessed by spirits, and it gets even worse when Cliches get involved!"
"Do your friends have any backup plan in case something bad happens?" Ronnie Anne inquired.
"One of them's a time traveler, so she could take us back to before we go in."
Clyde hummed and folded his arms. "It still sounds really risky, Lincoln. Especially considering… you know."
"If the house is where I think it is, then nobody will see me use my new ability," Lincoln argued. "Besides, again: time traveler."
"And what if she's the first one to get taken out?" Ronnie Anne blurted. "Can the other girls make up for that?"
"I… think so…"
The more and more this talk continued, the more and more uneasy and uncertain Lincoln felt.
It really did sound like a very dangerous thing to do, but at the same time, he was part of Ynovation, and it might give him some good experience.
Hopefully once he got home, his mind would be cleared up…
Well, the night came, and one thing was certain to Lincoln: he'd be in a lot of trouble if he was found.
But regardless, he had made up his mind: the chance to try out his new ability was too good to pass up.
So he opened the door to his bedroom, and got ready to jump off… before he was stopped by a certain someone flying in.
"Hey."
The boy jumped back and hit the floor as Lynn flew through the window.
"Lynn? What are you doing up so late?"
"I've been tasked with dealing with the haunted house at the outskirts of Royal Woods," the chimeratic girl answered. "The higher ups think it might be the work of either an Antagonist, or an Outsider, and they want me to verify it."
"Huh, what a coincidence," Lincoln smiled. "Me and my friends are going there too. Think you could chaperone us?"
Lynn rolled her eyes. "I'm going there for work, Lincoln, not to babysit a bunch of teenagers."
Lincoln narrowed his eyes. "You're not that much older than me."
"Hehehe, touche," Lynn flashed a toothy grin. "But I'm serious, Lincoln: this isn't a game. We could very well find something dangerous there."
"I know, but the girls I met are pretty strong," Lincoln smiled. "I'm sure they can cover for us if things go wrong."
Lynn took a deep breath and went back to the window, spreading her wings before wordlessly she gestured to the boy to hop onto her back.
Once that was done, Lynn soared through the skies, both she and Lynn on the lookout for anybody who might be awake as they went to the outskirts of Royal Woods…
And eventually saw the Ynovation girls standing next to the decrepit house.
Lynn dived down, and landed safely next to them, Lincoln jumping off soon after.
"Hi there, girls!" Lincoln chirped as Lynn dusted herself. "This is my sister, Lynn. She's going to investigate the haunted house too."
"Oh hey, I know who she is!" Polly chirped. "She's one of the best Antagonists when it comes to stopping riots!"
"So, these are the girls you met, Lincoln?" Lynn scratched her head. "Alright, they don't look like much, but you know what they say: it's not how a user looks, it's how they use their Cliche."
"Damn right! And now that we're all here," Giggles turned around and faced the house. "I say we charge right in!"
"That might not be-"
"CHARGE!"
Giggles, Tabby, and Polly all dashed towards the house, breaking the door as the rest grimaced.
"-a good idea."
Everyone else wasted no time following inside… and what they saw was quite surprising.
Not only was the interior much bigger than the house made it look like, but it was perfectly stable and ordinary, rather than worn down like the exterior suggested.
It was also painted purple. Lots and lots of shades of purple.
"Okay, something's definitely up with this place," Lynn stated. "Everybody stay together-"
And then the broken door fixed itself, and slammed itself shut, startling everybody.
"Yay! New playmates!"
From the ground emerged the source of the chirp: a brunette girl with dark skin, wearing a gothic, long-sleeved dress with matching shoes, and white gloves and stockings.
A spectral surrounded her as she floated in place, clapping her hands with excitement.
"I can't believe somebody actually came! I was ready to throw in the towel and move somewhere else, but someone came! Yay!"
"Move elsewhere?" Lincoln repeated before he shook his head. "Who are you?"
"My name's Darcy!" the girl chirped. "Darcy Homandoller!"
Then, with a snap of her fingers, the group levitated and Darcy's eyes glowed as she flashed a cheeky smile.
"And we're gonna have some fun!"
