For the first time in 17 years, the Loud House was the quietest house on the street. The only signs of life in the darkened house was the heavy breathing and panting of the two boys who'd just been through hell.
They sat against the door, having collapsed shortly after arriving home. Their suits were wrinkled, torn, and dirty from manhandling the thick brush of the corn maze, not to mention drenched with sweat. Even the act of breathing hurt, as their throats had become dry and sore from all the screaming. Their hearts pounded like jackhammers against their chests and their calves burned and throbbed. Even with the looming threat of exhaustion, neither boy was in either mood to sleep, the images of Dormus' cackling skull head and the demonic Loud sisters still fresh in their minds and guaranteed to bring about nightmares. On top of that, they could hear the sounds of screams and monster roars going on behind them outside.
"L-Lincoln?" Clyde asked, taking in breath after breath. "W-what are we going to do?"
Lincoln looked back at his friend with a hopeless expression. He wanted to say that he had a plan, but truth be told, he had no clue what to do. Everything he'd seen in ARRGH felt like a childish joke now that they'd come across the real deal and Lincoln didn't have a clue on how to conduct séances or any type of supernatural ritual.
Lucy was the expert in that field, not him, and she was gone. They didn't even have Lisa and her crazy inventions. What good could two eleven-year-old boys do against a powerful demon, let alone one that had just nearly frightened them to death?
"I don't know, Clyde," Lincoln admitted, letting out a long sigh. "I just don't know." Lincoln hugged himself as a feeling of helplessness swept over his body. He wanted to be brave, but he was too scared. He wanted there to be a way out, but he couldn't think of one. He wanted his mother or his sisters to tell him things would be alright, but they were gone.
'Mom. Lori. Leni. Lucy,' Lincoln thought sadly to himself. The thought of losing them forever to Dormus was enough to bring tears to his eyes. They were out there, slowly losing their souls to Dormus while he was in here, hiding from the monsters like a scared little baby. How long would it be before they were gone forever? And how long until the monsters realized they were in here and broke the door down?
Lincoln felt a powerful urge to curl up into a ball and cry, but he knew he couldn't, not in front of Clyde. Regardless, he needed something. Something to sooth the pain.
"I need Bun-Bun," he whimpered. He pulled himself to his feet and limped towards the stairway.
Just as Lincoln was able to place his foot on the first step, something pounded against the basement door. The boys jumped back as a low growl came from the other side.
'Oh, what now?' Lincoln thought.
With another pound, the door flung open and out stepped a bear-sized, demonic dog.
"Charles?" Lincoln gasped.
Indeed, it was. The monstrous family dog growled as he stared at his owner through furious, bloodshot eyes. He wasn't alone. Coming up alongside him was the family cat Cliff and the family canary Walt, also both enlarged and enraged. Bearing their fangs, claws, and teeth, the trio of demonic pets pounced!
Clyde dove into Lincoln, knocking him out of the way of the attack.
"That's for the maze."
Jumping to their feet, the two boys miraculously found new strength in their legs and raced up the stairs, with the demonic pets on their tail.
"My room!" Lincoln cried as they reached the top of the stairs. Suddenly, the door to the twin's room burst open and a plethora of giant snakes, bugs, and frogs crawled out, blocking the way to Lincoln's room. "Lana's pets," Lincoln whimpered. The boys backed to the wall by the pets, all poised and ready to devour the duo.
"Is this really how we're going to die?" Lincoln thought. He and Clyde hugged each other and closed their eyes, hoping it would be quick. Just as they were about to pounce, a pair of hands grabbed the boys and pulled them up into the attic.
"AHH! PLEASE DON'T EAT US!" they cried.
"Lincoln? Clyde?"
Lincoln opened his eyes. "Dad?"
A light flickered on, revealing the face of Lynn Sr. He quickly slammed and locked the attic door behind them. His eyes were their normal brown.
"Oh, Dad!" Relieved, Lincoln ran up and hugged his father. "Oh thank goodness, you're okay!"
"Well, I wouldn't say that, Lincoln," Lynn said. "You would not believe what I've been through tonight! First the kids abandon me in the streets, then some plastic skeletons try to strangle me on my way home, and then the house pets try to eat my face off!"
The man sighed as he leaned back onto a box. "I locked them in the basement and came up here to hide. By the way," he pulled up a bowl of treats, "candy?"
The boys quickly took several handfuls, having suddenly realized just how hungry they'd become. They began stuffing chocolate in their mouths.
"Hehe," Lynn chuckled, "I did the same thing as a kid. Back when I actually enjoyed Halloween," He added with a shudder. "But enough about me, what the heck happened to you boys? And where are Rita and the girls?"
The boys nervously exchanged glances as they swallowed their candy.
By the time the boys had finished explaining everything to Lynn, his complexion had reached the same color as his son's hair.
"S-so let me get this straight," he stuttered, "Y-you're telling me that n-not only are g-ghosts and demons real, b but Lucy s-summoned one and it's t-turned everyone into m-monsters bent on ruling the world?!"
"Yeah, petty much" Lincoln said. Despite the ordeal, he and Clyde had managed to reach a semi-calm state thanks to the candy.
Lynn on the other hand, started tearing up. "Oh God," he moaned, sobbing into his hands. "I knew we shouldn't have encouraged Lucy's behavior."
Lincoln walked over and patted his father on the back. "It's okay Dad. I'm sure Lucy didn't mean for any of this to happen." I mean, yeah, she's into some creepy stuff, but she still loves us, more so than anything."
"Sides, she's been possessed too," Clyde added, "So I highly doubt this is what she wanted."
Lynn wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "Well, at least you boys are alright. I think our best bet is to just stay up here where it's safe." He pulled out a box of Zombie Bran and began scooping it into his mouth.
"But what about our family?!" Lincoln asked, bewildered. Maybe it was the sugar getting to his brain, but the boy was certainly starting to get his courage back. "We can't just leave them out there."
"Well, what can we do, Lincoln? You two barely made it back here with your lives and I'm no good out there." He made himself a place on a pile of dusty blankets and laid down. "I say we just stay here and think positive. Who knows? Maybe everything will eventually sort itself out."
"Louds!"
"Is that Mr. Glouse?" Lincoln asked.
Both boys looked out the attic window. The elderly neighbor, dressed in a pumpkin-checkered robe and slippers, was standing on his front porch, fending off advancing zombies with a shotgun.
"Louds!" he shouted up to them, "If this has anything to do with you, I'm filing a police complaint!" He turned his attention back to the undead. "You're not making me into lasagna, you undead parasites!" Bang! "And get your dirty entrails off my azaleas!"
The rest of the neighborhood didn't look any better. Swarms of giant bats covered the black-clouded sky and monsters roamed the streets, greedily looking out for stray trick-or-treaters. Screaming came from everywhere, even managing to be heard over the noises of the raging storm. Worst still, vines were starting to break through the sidewalk and street.
'He's getting stronger,' Lincoln thought.
The boys ducked back into the house. Clyde's phone began to ring.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Clyde!" voices screamed through the phone. "Baby, are you alright?! Are you safe?!"
"Yeah Dad, I'm fine," Clyde answered. "I'm at Lincoln's."
"Okay, thank goodness. Howie, he's okay!"
A second voice joined in on the call. "Clyde?"
"Hi Dad."
"Okay baby, don't panic. Just stay where you are and we'll come get you when we can." There were suddenly sounds of crashing glass and evil cackling.
"Right after we deal with this goblin infestation! Harold, get the repellant!" The line went dead.
"See guys!" Lincoln exclaimed. "The longer we wait up here, the stronger Dormus gets! He's already taken over Royal Woods! Once he gets enough power, this'll spread to the rest of the world!"
Lynn stubbornly shook his head. "Lincoln, you're just having a sugar rush. You need to relax." He sat down on his makeshift bed and began rummaging through one of the boxes. "Why don't we all read some books, fill our brain with something healthy?"
"Dad, this is serious!" Lincoln yelled.
"Let's see," Lynn said, ignoring his son. "Cookbook, cookbook, family album, whatever the heck this is." He pulled out a black, dusty book and glanced at the dusty cover. " Ancient Book of Spells ? No thank you!" He tossed it away.
"Spells? Wait a minute!" Lincoln grabbed the book and flipped it open. "I remember this. This is that old spell book Lucy tried to curse us with!" He flipped it open. "Property of Harriet Loud."
"Great Grandma Harriet?" Lynn asked. "Well, now we know where Lucy gets it from."
Lincoln ignored him as he rapidly flipped through the pages. "Let's see. Spells, jinxes, ah-ha, spirit summoning!" A moment later, he exclaimed, "I found Dormus!"
Clyde leaned on him and listened as he began to read.
'"Dormus, the ancient Sumerian god of fear. Believed to have crawled out of the darkest realm in the netherworld, this fearsome entity brought chaos and fear to all those who dare fall within his path."
He read on.
"Believed to be the creator of nightmares, Dormus derives his power from the human experience of fear. Sadistic and cruel, he takes delight in driving even the most innocent of man to the brick of insanity. He has a vast array of powers, including reality warping, transfiguration, possession, and lifeforce-draining, and is always accompanied by his ten loyal followers. It is HEAVILY advised against summoning or even communicating with this demon!"
"I'm guessing Lucy skipped this part," Lynn muttered.
"What about weaknesses?" Clyde asked.
Lincoln went on. "Long thought to be invincible, the Sumerians discovered several ways of repelling him and sending him back to the netherworld. These defenses include virgin sacrifices, holy relics, totems, and offerings of fruits."
"Uh-uh, there will be no sacrifices under this roof," Lynn declared, crossing his arms.
"Any relics would probably be in Lucy's room," Lincoln said. He walked over to the attic door and grabbed the handle, only to jump back as one of the pets violently pounded against it. "Well, that's not going to work." He sighed, taking a seat. "That probably rules out fruit too."
"If only we were at my house," Clyde grumbled. "My dads give out fruit every year for Halloween. They say it's nature's candy."
"Well, that explains why your house got egged last year," Lincoln remarked, only to suddenly freeze. "Wait… candy?" A huge smile appeared on his face. "Candy!"
"Uh Linc, are you okay?" Clyde asked.
Without responding, Lincoln snatched up some sweets from the bowl and walked over to the attic window. To their suprise, he actually opened the window and whistled.
"Lincoln, what are you doing?!" Lynn screamed as he dove behind some boxes. "You're letting the monsters in!"
Right on cue, a giant black bat slammed into the window seal. Clyde screamed and Lynn shrieked like a girl, but Lincoln didn't flinch. As the bat struggled to break into the room, Lincoln took aim and threw the candy, hitting it right in the chest. With a poof, the bat turned back into a bird and flew off.
Turning on his heels, Lincoln ran over to Clyde and seized his baffled friend in a crushing hug. "Clyde, you are a genius!" He cried. "This is it! This is how we're going to win!" Before Clyde could even get a word out, Lincoln began rummaging through Lynn's box fort. "Oh, look out Dormus."
"So, that your plan?" Clyde asked, still confused. "We're going to throw candy at them?"
"No Clyde," Lincoln stood up, a pair of paintball guns in his hands and a cocky grin on his lips. "We're going to shoot candy at them."
His friend grew the same expression. "Now that's something I can get behind." He caught one of the guns. "Where'd these come from anyway?"
"Ugh, I remember those," Lynn groaned. "They're Junior's; we locked them up after she and her friends shot up the house in a spring break paintball war."
"Lucky for us, Lynn takes her sports very seriously," Lincoln produced a pair of huge tanks with connecting hoses. "One more thing…"
He tore off his business suit, revealing his Ace Savvy costume. "A hero is always prepared for action," he stuck out his hand. "You with me Clyde?"
His friend responded by tearing off his own suit and slipping on an eye-patch. "Like I said, One-Eyed Jack's always got your back," He proudly grabbed Lincoln's hand and shook it before eyeing their dwindling candy supplies. "But… we're probably going to need more candy."
They both frowned as they realized what they had to do.
"Okay, I think that's all of it," The two finished loading their buried candy into their ammo tanks. A few tears dripped from their eyes as they watched their precious, full-sized bars fall into the mix, but they sealed the tanks and strapped them to their backs, hooking the hoses to their guns.
"I suppose there's always next year," Clyde said hopefully.
"Next year?!" Lynn's voice cracked over their walkie-talkie. "Oh, I don't think so! I've been saying it for years, but now I'm putting my foot down! After tonight, Halloween is officially banned in the Loud House!"
The boys sighed. "Well, if this is going to be our last Halloween," Lincoln declared, "then let's at least go out with a bang!" He fired a volley of candy into the air.
Puffing out their chests, they turned to face the neighborhood.
All around them was chaos. Huge bundles of glowing vines had smashed craters all over the streets and were now spreading to cover the surrounding houses. Roaming around these ruins were monsters of all sorts; vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghouls, witches, and countless other abominations. Giant, screeching bats flew overhead while flaming jack o lanterns and lightning rained down from the sea of inky black clouds that covered the night sky. The distinct sounds of screams could be hear all around, interrupted only by the deafening boom of thunder. Undeterred, Ace eyed his partner.
"Sugar Bomb grenades?"
"Check."
"Licorice Sword?"
"Check."
"Alright," The white-haired hero cocked his gun. "Time to commence Operation: Trick or Treat!"