Making new friends
Every one of the Louds were in their bedrooms, and while most of the Loud children slept soundly, Lynn stayed awake. When she was sure Lucy was asleep, she took out the key she swiped from Lisa's lab. She was still mulling over whether or not to travel to the Boiling Isles to look for clues on how to beat the Malefic Order. One part of her wanted to return the key to Lisa and drop the whole thing, but that would make her a quitter, and Lynn Loud refused to be seen as a quitter. Before she could contemplate further, her train of thought was interrupted by a voice.
"You gonna go or not?" Lucy asked. Lynn quickly hid the key behind her back.
"Go where?" Lynn responded evasively.
"You know where," Lucy replied bluntly.
"The bathroom? I did chug a load of juice tonight. You need to go first?" Lynn continued to evade Lucy's interrogation.
"I meant the Isles. I don't think you should. You wouldn't last two seconds in a place like that," Lucy goaded.
"I could too! I know a fair few spells. I've done the research," Lynn countered.
"I would hardly call binge-watching a Hogwarts Legacy playthrough on YouTube research," Lucy argued.
"Look, Lucy, it's my fault Lincoln was nearly killed. I was the one that made him keep that archive on us. I didn't notice him losing sleep night after night while Fear Monger put that curse in his head. I… was the one that kick-started the whole 'luck' fiasco in the first place. This is my responsibility," Lynn asserted.
"We've been over this, it was no-one's fault but the Orders," Lucy rebuffed. She used her wand to summon the key out of Lynn's hand and into hers. "But if you're dead set on going, I have one condition, I'm going with you," Lucy bargained.
"Absolutely not. There's no telling what we'll find there. Lisa's probe footage only gave us so much to go on," Lynn objected.
"Alright, then I'll just go put this back and tell Lisa you swiped this from her. Maybe she'll keep it in a secure safe from now on and you'll never get to go," Lucy posed.
"You wouldn't," Lynn tried to call Lucy's bluff, but if she knew Lucy, Lynn knew she never bluffed. After a brief stare-down, Lynn relented.
"Fine," Lynn agreed. Lucy tossed the key back to Lynn, who approached the door tentatively. She took a deep breath and inserted the key into the lock of her door. Lynn knew all she had to do was think about where she wanted to go, and the key would make a portal out of whatever door it was attached to once Lynn turned it. To focus her thoughts better, Lynn spoke to the key.
"I want to go to the Boiling Isles. I want to go somewhere I can learn how to beat the Malefic Order," Lynn said quietly, so as not to disturb anyone else. She turned the key and opened the door to find not the upstairs landing of the Loud House, but a vast library, only some of the books were flying onto their shelves. This, Lynn guessed, was a library of the Boiling Isles. She had done it. Rather nervously, Lynn and Lucy stepped through, and after removing the key from the lock, closed the door behind them, making the portal between dimensions a regular door again. Lynn hung the key closely around her neck, careful not to lose their only way back home. While Lynn would barely set foot in even a human realm library, Lucy, the family bookworm, would spend every moment she could in one, enjoying the quiet that come with them.
"Ugh, I told the key I wanted to go somewhere I could learn how to beat the Order, not do homework," Lynn groaned.
"Where better to learn than a library? They have the answers to almost everything within their pages. All you have to do is look," Lucy mused.
"Well, these books better have pictures, or this was a giant waste of time," Lynn replied.
"Whatever. This should be easy. From discreet observation, it looks like you can use these crystal balls to search for the books you want," Lucy observed. She had been looking around the library and saw various beings reading, checking out books, and even using crystal balls dotted all along the desks to watch videos, search for needed tomes, and even conduct what looked like web searches. Lucy found one such crystal ball and carefully navigated to the search function.
"Finally, we're getting somewhere," Lynn said impatiently and made to tap out a search term, but Lucy stopped her.
"These crystal balls are very delicate, and no offence, but you're not exactly the 'soft touch' type. Please, let me handle this," Lucy cautioned.
"This is my mission!" Lynn complained.
"And this is the environment where I thrive," Lucy argued.
"You only just got here," Lynn countered.
"I've been using crystal balls way longer than you. I've got this," Lucy riposted. She keyed in the search term 'Malefic Order' and got a few hits. "Here we go. Looks like there's a book that directly mentions them. It's called 'The Early Conquests of Emperor Belos', in the 'recent history' section. Another book with them in it is called 'Darkest Sorcerers of the Recent Century', that's in the 'Restricted' section. There are also a few ancient news articles about their eradication dating back at least thirty years," Lucy outlined.
"Supposed eradication," Lynn corrected.
"Safe to say they never went back after Belos attacked," Lucy surmised.
"Looks like we got reading to do. I'll grab the books, you see where those articles are kept," Lynn instructed.
Lynn and Lucy were not the only ones interested in the Isles at this present time. The beings known as Sentinels, a higher race that resembled angels in Earth folklore, and answered to a quartet of Dragons known as the Court of Ancients, had been asked by said Court to investigate rumours they had been hearing about Emperor Belos' demise. The Court never trusted Belos ever since he took power fifty years ago, but never knocked him off his throne due to their policy of non-interference, a move some Sentinels thought was a mistake. Their views were vindicated once news of his plans for the 'Day of Unity', a unique celestial event Belos planned to exploit to commit genocide against an entire race, made its way to the Court's ears. One such Sentinel that objected to doing nothing was Sylvia, a brunette-haired Sentinel dressed in a black and orange suit, and sister of the Chief Sentinel, Annie. Sylvia woke up in the Sanctum, the Sentinels' base of operations, to find a note on her desk. Curious, she picked it up and saw that it was from Annie.
Sylvia
Delilah and I have left on an urgent matter. The Court wants us to investigate rumours of Belos' death. I am assigning Zella to this task, but if you feel she needs back-up, you may send one additional Sentinel to accompany her. You are in charge of the Sanctum until we get back. I have attached care instructions regarding my animals to this note. Make sure they eat their proper meals at the appropriate time, and….. don't come looking for us. This is something we have to do on our own. We have also switched our orbs to silent. Love you, sis.
Annie
Sylvia found this behaviour most unusual. Annie would never go on comm silence, not without a good reason. Annie had left the Sanctum before, on missions for the Court, but in those instances, Delilah, the second-in-command, and Annie's twin sister, would be in charge. If she was gone too, the matter was indeed urgent. While she was curious as to what Annie and Delilah were investigating, more pressing matters needed addressing. Sylvia summoned the remaining sisters, Morgan, another brunette dressed in a pink baker's outfit, Zella, a rather scary-looking Sentinel dressed all in black, especially her skirt that was the only item of clothing longer than her black hair, and Amy, the resident brainbox of the sisters, in her lab coat that covered her purple overalls, to the conference room to discuss the Court's orders.
"Now that we're all here, let's get started on today's briefing," Sylvia began.
"Hold on, where are Annie and Delilah?" Morgan asked. Sylvia sighed heavily, wondering when this would come up.
"I should probably have started with this, but Annie and Delilah have gone on their own mission, leaving me in charge, and before anyone asks, no, they did not give me details, nor did they tell me where they went," Sylvia answered.
"That is unusual, even for them," Zella commented.
"Yes. Yes it is. I won't lie to you. This makes me a little concerned. But we cannot focus on that right now. We have orders from the Court. They've been hearing rumours of Emperor Belos' death, and would like us to confirm it," Sylvia outlined.
"Bonehead's finally bitten it? Couldn't happen to a nicer guy," Morgan replied sarcastically.
"We don't know for certain. The Court wanted Annie to investigate, but as previously stated, she and Delilah went off somewhere, and she's assigned Zella to this task. Take Amy with you. As fact-finders go, she's the best amongst us," Sylvia briefed.
"It will be done," Zella acknowledged.
"You will keep us apprised if Annie and Delilah return?" Amy asked.
"I'll let you know if they come back, don't worry. Try to be discreet while you're over at the Isles. The residents have been through some tough times, so deal with them sensitively," Sylvia instructed.
"We will be like ghosts," Zella assured. She and Amy left to carry out their mission. Morgan made to leave as well, but Sylvia stopped her.
"Something else you wanted?" Morgan inquired.
"Have Annie and Delilah said anything to you about where they were going?" Sylvia probed.
"No, they did not. In fact, I've noticed that Annie has been quite withdrawn since the Amphibia mission," Morgan responded.
"Yes, I've noticed that as well. What happened over there? Do you know?" Sylvia queried.
"No, I do not. I was in Avalar with Cyril taking stock of all the orbs that had been taken by the Malefic Order," Morgan recalled. Sylvia paused to consider her options. In Annie's note, she explicitly said not to come looking, but Sylvia was the curious sort. Whatever Annie and Delilah were off doing, Sylvia wanted, no, had to know more. Sylvia then had a light-bulb moment.
"Shawn and Crystal might know. Annie and Delilah tell them everything," Sylvia guessed. Shawn and Crystal were Annie and Delilah's boyfriend and girlfriend respectively. They were very close, and Annie and Delilah often shared things with Shawn and Crystal that they wouldn't tell even the other sisters.
"Come to think of it, Shawn did come back from Amphibia recently, even though he was assigned with Delilah to watch the Ape Clans," Morgan recalled.
"OK, we'll start with them. Not much of a lead, but it's better than nothing," Sylvia resolved.
"Hold on, what about the Court? Wouldn't they know?" Morgan suggested.
"If it's something mundane like the Fawns and Earthshapers fighting again, I'd rather not bother them, but if it is something serious, I'll consider asking them what's up," Sylvia answered.
As for Annie and Delilah, the two twins were at the first stop on their quest for answers. Annie had learned from her mission in Amphibia that the Dark Master, the dark sorcerer that the Malefic Order wants to bring back to the land of the living, was in fact, a dragon, from thousands of years ago. He led various armies into a campaign of conquest spanning multiple worlds. Worse than that, he had created Marauders to act as his generals using a spell the first Court would then later steal and have re-worked by the Aesir sorcerer Odin, to create the Sentinels. The current Court never deigned to tell Annie or anyone this, and it had caused a lot of resentment to build up inside Annie. She told Delilah and Shawn about this, and Delilah agreed to help her find the truth. They started with tracking down the Chronicler, an ancient hermit dragon said to be recording all of history since the Dark Master's fall. The Court had always claimed he never existed, but since they had been caught in one lie, Annie doubted those claims.
"Are you sure about this place, Annie?" Delilah asked upon arrival. Annie, a brunette-haired girl Sentinel dressed in blue, once prided herself as the Court's loyal servant. Now, she doesn't even know if she can trust them, after what the Dark Master revealed in Amphibia. Delilah, a blonde-haired (albeit dyed that colour) Sentinel dressed in red and black, wasn't sure what to think either. As her twin, Delilah resolved to help Annie through this faith crisis and get things back to normal. The sooner this was dealt with, the sooner they could go back to tracking the Malefic Order.
"It's the first place I thought of," Annie replied. The pair had arrived at an abandoned library once owned by a tyrannical Sorceress who ruled the realms known as the Forgotten Worlds with a magical fist. However, since the Purple Dragon came to these lands in search of stolen dragon eggs and both discovered and thwarted a plan by said Sorceress to use baby dragon wings to make herself immortal, the realms are now known as the Reclaimed Worlds. The Sorceress banished the dragon race from these worlds a thousand years ago, but she didn't know that dragons were the source of the realms' magic, magic she needed to stay alive. Stealing the eggs during the Year of the Dragon was an act of desperation. Since the Sorceress was deposed, dragons returned, and the magic came back with them. The Reclaimed Worlds flourished again, with some dragon and Sentinel assistance.
"Do you think the Court missed a few of her texts when they had us search this place?" Delilah queried.
"The Purple Dragon and his allies were reclaiming eggs and freeing worlds from her rule one by one. She had to know he was coming and secured her precious knowledge. She must have something on the Chronicler," Annie surmised.
"Alright then. I'll follow your lead," Delilah replied. She and Annie opened the door into the Sorceress' library and found a bipedal rabbit girl inside, about their height, with glowing yellow fur, looking over various tomes.
"Are we disturbing you, Bianca?" Annie asked. Bianca then turned to face the Sentinels.
"No, I was just going over my old mentor's collection. Is there anything specific the Court wanted?" Bianca inquired. When the Court came to reclaim the Forgotten Worlds, Bianca served as go-between, eager to atone for her actions as the Sorceress' apprentice, having turned on her evil mentor after she learned about the Sorceress' plan to kill baby dragons for their wings.
"We're not here on the Court's order. We were wondering, did the Sorceress keep any knowledge on a dragon called the Chronicler?" Delilah probed. Bianca thought about this for a moment.
"The Chronicler? During the early days of my tuition, I remember the Sorceress mentioning him once, but she described him as an ancient relic of a bygone age. However, she also described him as one of the Court's best-kept secrets. She theorised that, since the Chronicler catalogued all of history, even as it was being written, he could also predict the future as well. After all, those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it," Bianca explained.
"I see. Did she ever track him down?" Annie asked.
"There were things she didn't tell me. If she did make an effort to track down the Chronicler, I certainly never knew of it," Bianca answered.
"We understand. Do you mind if we looked around?" Delilah requested.
"Sure, by all means," Bianca allowed. Annie and Delilah then proceeded to search the Sorceress' archive. She kept a lot of magical knowledge stored away here, mostly mind control spells, various hexes and curses, and a long list of image enhancement illusions to make her look beautiful.
"Ha! I'd be surprised if the old hag got even one of those to work," Delilah joked. In the middle of their search, Annie brushed up against a mounted candlestick by accident. The candlestick clicked and a bookcase opened to reveal a staircase leading downwards, likely to a secret lair of some sort.
"I didn't know about that," Bianca disclaimed.
"Where do you think it leads?" Delilah wondered. Annie summoned a small ball of light and held it with her hand.
"Only one way to find out," Annie resolved. She descended down the stone staircase. Delilah, with one hand clasping a fireball, and Bianca, wand in hand with a light at the tip, followed suit.
Meanwhile, back at the Isles, Amy and Zella had discreetly made their way to this world. They had the foresight to magically disguise their ears to match the population, so as not to stand out. Upon arrival, it did not take long for them to get the answer they were looking for. They saw a toppled statue of Emperor Belos in the middle of the market square, along with sprawled-on messages that read 'Liar' 'Fraud' and 'Maniac'.
"I think we have our answer. No way Belos would stand for this if he were alive," Zella assumed.
"I'd still like to see a body, but your point is valid," Amy responded.
"I'd like to know how he died," Zella mused.
"Yeah, me too. If he were toppled and executed by the citizenry, we need not worry about the political fallout. However, if an outsider did him in, it could lead to war," Amy theorised.
"The local news outlets should tell us more. We can find articles in the local library," Zella suggested.
"Great move, plus it's quiet, so no-one will notice or bother us," Amy agreed. Amy and Zella found their way to the library in Bonesborough, where Amy caught sight of two rather unusual sentients that definitely did not belong here.
"Amy, it's impolite to stare," Zella chastised.
"Seriously, you don't recognise them?" Amy questioned. Zella turned to look at the two people Amy was staring at. Immediately, the cogs fit together in Zella's mind.
"What are the two Septarian siblings doing here?" Zella wondered.
"Never mind that, let's just keep going. We have our mission," Amy urged. The two sisters continued onward, whereas the two Septarian siblings, Toffee and Caramel, oblivious to having been observed, carried out their own assignment on the Boiling Isles.
"So, this is the Boiling Isles? Looks like a friendlier version of Mewni to me. At least they know how to treat their tyrannical rulers," Toffee compared the Boiling Isles, which housed a diverse populace of various species, to Mewni, the formerly segregated society where monsters and mewmans were kept separate, the former living in poverty and destitution while living under the prejudice and, sometimes, active discrimination of the latter. Worst case scenario, one declared war on the other, leading to genocide on the part of the mewmans against the monsters, who were justified in their self-defence, especially against Solaria the Monster Carver. However, Toffee also realised the monsters weren't much better. He himself led a campaign against the mewmans and almost destroyed magic itself. Even death couldn't slow him down for long. The Nightmare King revitalised and recruited him to fight for his cause, but Toffee had a change of heart after meeting his long-lost, and thought to be dead, sister Caramel again after so many years. He fought against Bill Cipher and now works for the Fairy Council, to atone for his past crimes.
"To be fair though, from what I've read in the intelligence profiles, Belos did have it coming," Caramel stated. Caramel also had a dark past she would rather forget about. After she was exiled from the monster kingdom for trying to end the fighting peacefully by hooking Eclipsa, a mewman princess, up with Globgor, a monster prince, Caramel turned to thievery in order to survive. This continued even after Earth fused with Mewni. However, she too changed her ways after a heist gone wrong where she got caught up in a fiasco involving an Atlantean super-weapon buried for thousands of years at the bottom of one of Earth's oceans.
"Remember why we're here, dear sister. We're here to acquire the Dark Master's spirit. According to Jorgen, it is in one of his vaults," Toffee recalled.
"Only problem is we don't know which one or where it is. If this were one of my jobs, I'd case the place out for a couple days, get a feel for its security, then when I had a plan in place, I'd get in, take what I could carry and get out before anyone caught on. But without an exact location, this would prove difficult," Caramel explained.
"His palace might have records, provided it hasn't been ransacked already," Toffee guessed.
"It's a place to start. Where is the palace?" Caramel queried.
"It's probably the big building at the heart of town that's since been abandoned," Toffee answered.
"What are we waiting for, brother," Caramel pressed. Together, she and Toffee made for the capital building of the Boiling Isles.
Back at the library, Lynn was heading to the section Lucy indicated in her search for any tomes mentioning the Malefic Order. Lynn had hoped for some videos or even one of Lincoln's lame presentations on the subject. While she could read, she found that, unless it pertained to sports, she never had the desire to. Lynn wasn't one to slow things down for anyone, not even her family. True, it had come back to bite her on a number of occasions, most recently when she tried to understand love by following Luan and her beau Benny around and 'encourage' them to get more playful with each other. She put that thought aside and renewed her focus on her current objective; finding the book Lucy needed. She made it to the 'Recent History' section when she noticed a black-haired girl perusing books in that same section.
"Luce, I thought you were getting the news articles while I got the books," Lynn called out. The black-haired girl turned around and Lynn realised that this was not Lucy. For one thing, her hair was way longer, and she looked ten years older. "Sorry, I thought you were somebody else," Lynn retracted.
"No worries," the girl replied. Lynn searched the shelves until she found the book she was looking for and walked away from this awkward encounter. The black-haired girl turned out to be Zella, who was here with her sister Amy researching Belos' death and was very surprised to see Lynn Loud of all people here in the Boiling Isles. She rushed over to Amy as fast as she could. Amy was pouring over the most recent news articles that indeed confirmed Belos was no more.
"Well, this will make the Court very happy," Amy remarked. Just then, she saw Zella sit down opposite her.
"Amy, we have a new problem," Zella updated.
In the kids' section of the library, Amity Blight had just finished reading to her youngsters another one of the Otabin stories. She was supervising the little ones pick out books of their own to read when she noticed two people sitting by one of the desks reading. Not an unusual sight in a library, but she knew all the regular patrons, and she had never seen those two before in her life. Not to mention they were dressed rather oddly. One was wearing what looked like a human sports jersey, while the other had a dress as black as her hair, which seemed to cover her eyes. How could she read behind those bangs, Amity wondered. When the parents arrived to pick up the kids, Amity sat at a desk two desks down from the strangers and, using abomination magic, made a pair of binoculars to scope them out with. They didn't seem to be doing anything too out of the ordinary. Amity was about to give up when she could hear footsteps coming from behind her. The mystery person saw what Amity was doing and sat down beside her.
"So, who are we spying on?" Luz, Amity's loving girlfriend, asked.
"Those two over there. Notice anything weird about them?" Amity questioned. Luz then directed her gaze at the two girls Amity pointed out.
"Not particularly," Luz answered.
"Look closer, especially at the ears," Amity instructed. She handed the binoculars to Luz, who then saw what had piqued Amity's interest.
"They're human," Luz observed.
"How did they get here? What are they doing here?" Amity probed. Luz smiled and chuckled quietly.
"You know, humans have developed a simple technique for extracting those answers out of anybody. It has been practiced for hundreds of years with a 100% success rate. It's called 'talking to them'" Luz joked.
"This is no time for jokes, Luz. What if they could be another Phillip?" Amity inquired.
"What if they could be another me?" Luz countered.
"One Luz is enough for me," Amity flirted, to ease her tensions. Luz picked up on Amity's vibes instantly.
"Amity, this is a family establishment," Luz playfully scolded.
"What can I say? Espionage makes me…" Amity then put down the binoculars and embraced Luz in a seductive manner. "… frisky," Amity finished her sentence. She then started peppering kisses on Luz's exposed neck, making Luz laugh slightly due to the tickling sensation.
"You know, I saw in a really tacky 90's sitcom set in New York that there's always one place in a library where people go to 'have fun'. Know where that is?" Luz queried.
"Officially, I can't tell you that because I work here and it would be in bad form if I disclosed such information," Amity teased. This made Luz pout, until Amity spoke again. "Unofficially, and I tell you this in confidence…." Amity continued. She then leaned into Luz's ear. "…. it's the archaeology section," Amity whispered. Amity and Luz then got up to go to the archaeology section, when Amity noticed one of the girls getting up and disappearing into the shelves.
"Amity, come on. I'm sure Indiana Jones won't mind too much as long as we're quick," Luz quipped.
"One of them is veering off. This is my chance to question her," Amity noticed. Forgetting about their love-fuelled sojourn to fulfil their deepest Lara Croft fantasies, Amity followed after the girl in the sports jersey.
"Well, then, that leaves me with the goth," Luz remarked, as she approached the black-haired girl in an attempt to prove the human method more fruitful that spying on someone. Amity then made it to the section that the sports girl had gone to, but she couldn't see her anywhere. She then felt something poke her back.
"You got ten seconds to tell me why you were spying on us, Candyfloss," Lynn derided. Amity then turned to face Lynn, who had her wand pointed at Amity.
"Candyfloss? What kind of insult is that? My name is Amity," Amity retorted.
"Yeah, yeah, don't care. I don't like being stared at, witch girl. Why were you gawping at me and my sister? You got a crush on me or something? Can't say I blame you. I do have an awesome body," Lynn bragged. Amity's curiosity then turned to disgust at the implication that Amity would have eyes for anyone except Luz, especially for someone as unrefined as this girl was.
"Ugh, in your dreams! I was curious, OK? I know every person that walks through this library's doors, and I've never seen you before in my life. Now that I think about it, can I see your library card, please?" Amity requested in a passive-aggressive tone.
"I'm not checking anything out, just doing some light reading," Lynn responded.
"That may fly in the human realm, but here, you need a library card to even get in, so again, can I see yours?" Amity implied. This, Lynn did not count on. Apparently, the rules were different in the Boiling Isles.
"Funny story, I think I lost mine, must've gone down the back of the sofa. Digging around there's always a minefield," Lynn crafted the best excuse she could.
"Then you'll have no problems seeing Reception for a replacement. They only cost twenty snails," Amity advised.
"Twenty what? You actually want me to go to the park and pick up twenty slugs with shells and hand them to you? What is this, one of Lincoln's dumb video games?" Lynn rebuffed.
"This is Bonesborough, not Skyrim, or whatever you humans call it. You don't have a library card, and I've never seen you before. That means you're an intruder, and so is your companion. I'm gonna have to ask you to leave," Amity asserted.
"What if I don't want to?" Lynn challenged. She then raised her wand to Amity's eye level. Amity, in turn, drew her staff with her cat palisman at the top to face Lynn.
"Then I'll have something to say about it," came a voice from behind Lynn, one Amity knew well.
While this exchange was going on, Lucy was delving into both the articles about the Malefic Order and the book Lynn had brought over from the 'Recent History' section. From these texts, Lucy learned a great deal. It appeared that Belos' swift but brutal extermination of the Malefic Order was justified as a consequence of practicing wild magic, that the Order would bring death and destruction upon the Isles had the Emperor's Coven not acted. While not entirely true, Lucy did somewhat wish that Belos got all of them, but she quickly pushed such thoughts out of her mind, considering what she and her family discovered about the Isles' former Emperor. Disappointingly, there was nothing pertaining to their Dark Master, nor were there any clues about who commanded the Order. All these sources told the same narrative; that the attack on the Order was regrettable, but necessary, and there seemed to be nothing at all indicating where the Order took refuge on the Isles. Overall, Lucy was left with nothing more than what they knew already, and that coming here looked to be a waste of time. Lucy was about to give up and try another lead when she spotted a book that looked out of place amongst the others. She picked it up, curious, as it looked like a book she would read in the human realm.
"Hmmmm, 'Good Witch Azura: Book 1'. This looks intriguing," Lucy remarked.
"You can borrow my copy, if you want," Luz spoke up, addressing Lucy, who had only just noticed Luz. Lucy then noticed that Luz didn't have the same pointed ears as the locals, or any of the Malefic Order. She was human.
"Never thought to see another human in this place," Lucy stated, lifting her hair to let Luz see her ears, which were as round as hers was.
"Magic door. You?" Luz asked.
"Magic key, appropriated by my sister. Where is she, anyway? She should've been back with 'Darkest Sorcerers of the Recent Century' ages back," Lucy asked herself. Luz then looked over Lucy's book.
"Ugh, why would you want to read about Belos? You know he's evil, right?" Luz questioned.
"Yeah, I know. I'm not researching him. Better question; why is my Loud sense going off?" Lucy replied.
"Loud sense? We're in a library. Nothing loud here," Luz joked.
"Loud is my family name. I'm Lucy, by the way. My 'Loud sense' is the feeling I get whenever a fight's about to break out," Lucy clarified.
"I'm Luz. Luz Noceda, and how can you tell when a fight's about to start?" Luz queried.
"It happens a lot in my house," Lucy responded. As if on cue, Amity approached the pair, accompanied by Lynn, who was being held up by her collar by a bird-like creature with longer arms than usual for an avian.
"Oh boy. Lucy Loud, meet Malphas, Head Librarian," Luz awkwardly introduced.
"I just caught this ruffian harassing my employee," Malphas updated.
"She started it! Candyfloss here was the one spying on us!" Lynn rebuffed.
"Her name is Amity, and she has told me you and your companion have no library cards, which are required for entry into these halls. Furthermore, my receptionist has no recollection of ever seeing you. So, I have to ask, how did you get in here?" Malphas interrogated.
"Forgive us, Head Librarian. We did not mean to intrude. We were here to research the Malefic Order, that is all," Lucy explained remorsefully, hoping to be diplomatic about this situation.
"Oh sure, spill your guts, why don't you? We're only in enemy territory here," Lynn chastised.
"That's why you're here? The Order are extinct. Belos wiped them out during his early days on the throne. Everyone knows that," Amity pointed out.
"Nuh uh! His Highness missed a few. We met them. We fought them, and now we're here to learn how to defeat them once and for all!" Lynn countered.
"Enough! You come here without authorisation, harass my employees, and bring up some nonsense about an extinct Order, and you expect us to believe you? I'm sorry, but you have to go," Malphas dismissed. He then promptly showed Lucy and Lynn the door and barred them from his library.
"Not the first place we've been kicked out of, buddy!" Lynn shouted after Malphas, who was done listening.
"Well, now what? We didn't know any more than we did already. Only thing we achieved here was adding another notch on the list of places we've been kicked out of," Lucy argued.
"Blame Candyfloss! If she hadn't played Peeping Tina, we'd still be in there!" Lynn rebutted.
"There is, surprisingly, another human here. Her name is Luz, and she seems friendly enough. Maybe she can help us," Lucy suggested.
"Never mind that, now where are we supposed to get the sitch on the Order?" Lynn inquired. Lucy thought about this for a spell until she stumbled upon a poster that turned the wheels in her head.
"This looks promising," Lucy observed. Lynn then saw the poster and recoiled in disgust.
"Oh come on, seriously?" Lynn asked in disbelief.
"It's the only lead we have right now. Come on, it shouldn't be too far," Lucy pressed.
"Fine, let's go," Lynn relented. Following the poster's lead, Lynn and Lucy set forth for Hexside School of Magic and Demonics. After all, a school library couldn't be that well-guarded, right?
Author's note: Here we go, the long-awaited Loud House/Owl House crossover has officially begun. I have the concepts in my head, now the hard part of putting it to paper has started. Titan help me. I know Grace wanted a Saluna/Lumity double date, but this is serving to further my Malefic Order plotline, not fulfil his dreams. Sorry buddy, maybe next time. The usual disclaimers, I own nothing. All properties belong to their respective owners. Enjoy.