Okay, so before we move on, there's something I gotta confess.

I got a new job not too long ago, working with cosmetics.

Now, granted, my posting and updating scheduling have been erratic and sporadic before, but now it's gonna take me a little longer to post than usual.

And given how long it takes me in general… yikes.

Still, I hope you can understand, and at least for now, let's head to the chapter!


Back where we left off, the Loud siblings began taking out as many of the pervert crabs as they could, mostly by stepping on them.

"Thanks a lot for volunteering for the cleanup," Carol told the Loud siblings as she impaled three pervert crabs with her trident. "This infestation is the worst I've ever seen."

"Volunteered, right," Lincoln sighed. "That's what we were."

The siblings turned to look at Lori, who looked away and whistled as she stomped on some more crabs.

"So, hey," Luna blurted, flying to Carol's side. "How did a living taxi like Lori meet a hot girl like you?"

Carol flashed an amused smile and gently pushed Luna away before explaining:

"We were classmates back when we both studied at Cliche High, though we drifted apart after graduation."

"Why's that?"

"She had to stay back home in order to, and I quote, "take care of the little rapscallions that came out of Mom's womb."

Everybody looked at Lori with amusement.

"Yes, even I had an edgy phase," Loro growled. "Everybody literally has one!"

Lincoln raised his hand.

"No, I'm not going to help you with your Cliche. I don't even think we're compatible."

He promptly lowered his hand, until a pervert crab jumped and pinched his butt, causing him to smack it into oblivion.

"So, what's the story behind these pervert crabs?" Lincoln asked bluntly. "Where did they come from, and why are they so eager to pinch our bodies?"

Carol took a deep breath and shook her head. "I figured you'd ask that eventually."

The boy raised an eyebrow just as the lifeguard explained:

"Horny Beach was originally a specific settlement created by the Index System to serve as a training ground for people whose Cliches were of the more… erotic."

"With a name like "Horny Beach" I can't imagine it being anything else," Rosie quipped.

"Okay, but what does that have to do with the Pervert Crabs?" Lincoln asked next. "Where did they come from?"

"I figured you'd ask about that too, and I do plan to tell you," Carol took a deep breath. "But before I do that, I'll warn you that the story is quite… heavy."

"It's a place called Horny Beach," Luan scoffed. "How bad could it be?"

The cheerleader giggled a bit, but this didn't change Carol's concerned expression, which eventually spread to the other siblings.

"It's pretty bad, isn't it?"

Carol, rather than answer the question outright, proceeded to tell the tale:

"Horny Beach was originally divided between two sections: a male one, and a female one. Both sides worked their erotic Cliches to the best of their ability: from guys engorging their dicks until they could serve as blunt weapons, to girls who expanded their breasts to act as pincushions-"

"We're supposed to take this seriously, right?" Lincoln asked.

"Oh, believe me," Carol lowered her eyelids. "You will."

The siblings gulped and Carol continued:

"After many years of peaceful coexistence, something happened between the sides: a man and a woman engaged in… pornographic affairs, to put it mildly. That would've been problematic enough, but when taking into account the woman's Cliche… it gets worse."

Rosie folded her arms. "How so?"

"The woman's Cliche was powered by her chastity; so when she engaged in those sexual acts, she was rendered powerless," Carol sighed. "She allegedly couldn't even walk once it was over, so the guy who fucked her took her back to the female side."

"Oh boy, that sentence has all sorts of setups for things to go wrong…" Luna groaned.

"And go wrong it did," Carol confessed.

"There are conflicting stories as to how badly the female side took the encounter, but it's generally agreed what they did next: they rounded up the male side, ripped off their genitals with their bare hands, and crushed them with their bare feet, all while they could do nothing but watch."

The Loud siblings collectively cringed and put their hands over their privates.

"Please, for the love of decency, tell us they, like, died or something!" Leni begged.

"They did, though it's unclear if they died from blood loss, or from drowning after being thrown into the ocean shortly after-"

"The girls did what next!?"

Carol shrugged. "They had to get rid of the bodies somehow."

"Please, for the love of god, tell us they didn't get away with it!"

"They were immediately declared Mavericks and hunted down," Carol flashed a smile. "Not only that, but after they perished, they were thrown into the same waters where they threw their first victims."

Lincoln eyed the waters. "So the beach right next to us is littered with women and the castrated corpses of men?"

"Oh, don't worry: the women were also castrated before they were killed."

"THAT'S NOT THE PROBLEM AT ALL!" Lincoln groaned and rubbed his forehead. "God, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I need something stupid to forget what I just heard-"

"Lincoln!"

The boy looked up, and saw the Ynovation quartet in the distance, Tabby waving her arm to get his attention.

"Great, they've arrived!" Lincoln chirped. "Carol, do you mind if I go talk with some of my friends?"

"Not at all; in fact, I'd appreciate it if you could convince them to come help us," the lifeguard replied. "The more pretty girls serve as bait for the pervert crabs, the better."

Lincoln nodded, and with Rosie tagging along, the duo ran to meet with Ynovation, leaving the sisters to deal with the crabs.


At the Detention Center's cafeteria, the former Antagonists grabbed some trays, filled them with various selections of food, then walked to an empty table to sit down.

"So," Cookie paused and sighed. "Pretty different from what we expected, right?"

"I mean, we didn't really have any expectations," Mollie said, Girl Jordan nodding in agreement. "But still, this place… is kinda rough."

Stella didn't even have a comment, rather, she silently ate her food while looking around the cafeteria, until a peculiar sight caught her attention.

On the other side of the cafeteria were the inmates, all sitting at their tables…. But without any food.

"Why aren't the inmates grabbing something to bite?"

"Because cafeteria food is for workers."

The quartet flinched and turned around to see Flip approaching them, hands on his hips.

"The food here is carefully processed so the workers have enough energy to keep the inmates in place," Flip explained. "You know how Antagonists are; they'll take any chance to try to cause havoc."

The girls looked at Flip in disapproval while Stella asked:

"So, what do the inmates eat?"

"Leftovers."

The former Antagonists looked positively disturbed.

"Gotcha, didn't I?" Flip laughed. "Nah, we give the inmates porridge and other minor food items. But only after everybody else has eaten. Can't let them get too comfy after all: this place is a punishment."

That somehow didn't make the girls feel any better. So when Flip left the place, Stella split her sandwich in half and stood up.

"Stella, what are you planning to do?" Girl Jordan asked.

The Demon Lord ignored the question and walked to the inmate side of the cafeteria, poking Lynn's shoulder before offering one half of her food:

"Here, take it. I'm not that hungry."

Lynn casually grabbed the half sandwich, looked at it, then handed it back.

"Give it to Bobby Santiago, he's a few tables up from here."

"But what about y-"

"I'm not hungry either," Lynn sternly responded. "Just do what I say and go."

Stella lowered her eyelids and paused before walking up, just like Lynn instructed.

Once she met and handed the half sandwich to Bobby, she bid farewell and returned to her table, where she groaned and sat down.

"Well, that didn't go as I planned."

"So, all you wanted was to give an inmate some food?" Mollie asked. "Aren't you worried about getting in trouble?"

"I barely gave him half a sandwich, how bad could it be?"

"Plenty."

The quartet turned around, and saw Flip standing nearby, a disapproving glare on his face.

"What's your name, volunteer?"

Stella narrowed her eyes. "Stella."

"Well, Stella, you're coming with me."


Back with Lincoln and Rosie, the duo reached the Ynovation girls, who were wearing one piece swimsuits and building sand castles.

The only exception was Haiku, who wore a purple shirt over what was implied to be a black two-piece, given the lower half visible underneath it.

"Hey girls," Lincoln greeted. "Glad you could come."

"I'm glad I could come too."

Suddenly, the sand erupted near Lincoln and Rosie and the duo found themselves being hugged by Maggie, who pulled them close to her chest as she chirped:

"Surprise!"

"Damn it, Maggie, I told you not to do that!" Haiku chided her twin sister. "Let them go before you scare them!"

"D'aw, but I wanted to hug them!"

Haiku paused her sandcastle making to stand up, face her sister, and state:

"Maggie, let them go. Now."

Haiku's twin pouted and released the father-daughter duo, Rosie grasping for air while Lincoln briefly glanced at Maggie and her black two piece.

"I'm guessing Maggie came here as a tag along?"

"You bet your virginity that I did!" Maggie chuckled. "I was born in Horny Beach! If I can do something to help it, I'll do it!"

Lincoln's eyes widened. "You were born… in Horny Beach."

"Eh, it's not the weirdest birthplace I've heard about," Rosie commented dryly. "I, for example, was born in space!"

"How did that even happen?" Haiku asked, sounding legitimately interested.

"Doesn't matter, there's a far more important question to ask right now!" Maggie exclaimed before turning to and pointing at Lincoln. "Lincoln, are you gay or something?"

The boy winced. "Excuse me?"

"You've got five pretty girls in swimsuits, one practically half naked, and you don't even have the decency to get an erection!?" Maggie snapped, folding her arms before swaying her hair. "As a Succubus, I feel greatly offended!"

Lincoln turned to Haiku. "Please tell me she's not usually like this."

Haiku sighed and lowered her head. "She is, unfortunately."

"We can talk about giving Dad a boner later," Rosie groaned, getting everyone's attention. "Right now, we need to focus on traveling to the past!"

"Rosie's got a point," Lincoln stated before facing Tabby. "According to the lifeguard of Horny Beach, the pervert crabs became more numerous last week. Could you use your Cliche Evolution to go back last week and see what happened?"

"I mean, I can try, but I can't guarantee I'll succeed," Tabby sighed. "I mean, last time I tried, I got sent all the way back to the beginning of Royal Woods' Cliche beginnings. Who knows if I'll be sent back to that time or even further behind…"

"Well, how about this spot?" Lincoln suggested. "Think you could be sent back here?"

"I mean, last time wound up sending me to Ynovation's-"

Lincoln faced Maggie, who giggled and struck a seductive pose with her tongue out.

"Maggie's in on the true job of Ynovation, Lincoln, don't worry," Haiku explained. "In fact, she's one of our helpers too."

"Anything to help my dear twin make up for her lack of sex appeal!"

Haiku clenched her fists. "Maggie, we've already been through this: I don't lack sex appeal. I basically have the body of an adult!"

"Sex appeal isn't just about the body, dear sister: it's about the mind, the soul, the bond between people who share a close connection, and, of course, the body," Maggie replied. "So far, you only got the last one down."

Haiku narrowed her eyes. "I keep my priorities straight: working on being as hot a woman as possible isn't at the top of the list."

"Tell that to the pervert crabs," Maggie snickered. "Seriously, I'm amazed they didn't barrage you with pinches when we arrived-"

"THEY DID!" Haiku yelled. "AND I HAVE THE MARKS TO PROVE IT!"

The atmosphere grew quiet as everybody turned to look at Haiku, who slowly realized what she said as all eyes fell on her.

"They did what?" Lincoln asked, audibly disturbed.

Haiku took a deep breath, then slowly pulled her shirt up… revealing several pinch marks across her stomach, and even some on her breasts.

"Ouch!" Rosie exclaimed, crossing her arms. "I've heard about a woman's butt being pinched, but never their breasts!"

"Does it hurt?" Lincoln asked.

"A little," Haiku confessed. "But as long as I keep them hidden and nobody touches me, I can manage."

Lincoln hummed in sympathy… then realized:

"Haiku, pardon the question, but why are part of your breasts bare?"

Haiku reached for her back and took out a bikini top that had been snapped in half.

"My bikini top was one of the first things the pervert crabs snapped."

Maggie promptly turned to Lincoln. "Where are the pervert crabs right now?"

"Carol says they appear everywhere, but most of them seem to be arriving at the other side of the beach, where my sisters are gathered."

Maggie flashed a devious smile. "Excellent."

Rosie frowned. "What are you planning?"

"Nothing much. Just a little…"

A pink aura surrounded Maggie, and a flash of light enveloped her, turning her into an eight foot tall, pink-skinned demon girl.

"Payback!"

Maggie spread her wings and flew off, laughing maniacally all the way.

"Since when can she do that?" Lincoln asked matter-of-factly to Haiku.

"She's always been able to do that," Haiku answered and shrugged. "Luckily, though, once her transformation's over, she'll be indifferent and calm for a while, so it'll be a breath of fresh air."

"Which we can discuss later," Rosie stated before turning to Tabby. "For now, Mom, we need your help."

"Can you mentally travel back to a week to see what caused the Pervert Crabs to become more numerous?" Lincoln added.

Tabby hummed about it for a bit… then folded her arms and stated with a smile:

"Let's give it a shot."