Chapter 4
Most of the unpacking was done by early evening, so the Louds treated the Pineses to dinner at the Burpin' Burger. There, they exchanged jokes and stories of each other's escapades over the years.
"Wait, wait, let me get this straight: you're the direct descendant of a Scottish duke?" Pacifica asked Lincoln.
"Yup. Angus is the duke now, but he still lets us use the castle as our home-away-from-home. As a matter of fact, our older sister Leni lives there with her boyfriend. She runs her own tailor shop in the village," Lincoln replied.
"I'm more interested in the ghosts and dragons. What was it like riding a real, live European Firedrake?" Dipper asked, flipping open a notebook and clicking a pen.
"Almost like riding a horse two hundred feet in the air. Only, Lela's a lot bigger than a horse."
"Good, good...and what were the ghosts like? The only ghosts I've ever encountered were pretty, um, feisty."
"The ghosts are actually really nice. If they were still alive, they'd pass for our doppelgangers. The only unfinished business they have is looking after the inhabitants of the castle, so they'll be around until Loch Loud becomes abandoned for any reason." Dipper eagerly wrote down everything Lincoln told him, no doubt as a reference for future research.
"Is Maddie okay?" Lily asked worriedly. Her new friend had fallen asleep on Mabel's lap, and her young mind couldn't comprehend why someone would be sleeping while the sun was still up.
She's fine, Lily. She just gets really drowsy once her anxiety meds kick in," Mabel explained.
"Like you whenever you get sick and have to take medicine," Lincoln added, causing his baby sister to nod in understanding.
"Speaking of which, we should probably go and put her to bed," Pacifica said, standing up with her husband and sister-in-law to leave.
"We should go, too. It's time for someone else to go to bed, too," Rita said, looking pointedly at Lily.
"But I'm not tired!" the youngest Loud girl protested, despite having let out a sizable yawn just a few moments prior.
"If you don't go to bed, you can't help me make knives tomorrow," Lincoln warned her.
"Fine..." Lily grumbled with a cute little pout on her face.
...
Madison briefly woke up just long enough to change into her pajamas and brush her teeth. Dipper set her down from carrying her so that she could do just that, only for her to scream and run back into his arms.
"There's a picture of a scary man in the hall!" she whimpered after he got her to calm down. With his curiosity piqued, Dipper ensured his daughter was safe in his firm embrace before going with her to investigate. The picture in question was one that was familiar to him: the sagging face, dense mustache, aviator sunglasses, and porkpie hat were all dead giveaways. Dipper let out a frustrated growl.
"Mabel! Didn't I tell you to leave Great Grandpa Filbrick behind?!" he hollered.
"Wasn't me, bro! That must have been Grunkle Stan's parting joke!" Mabel called back from the kitchen.
"I'm gonna kill that old man," Dipper muttered while pinching his nose. "Anyway, sweetie, there's nothing to be scared of. This is Filbrick Pines, your great-great-grandfather. He's Grandpa Shermie's dad."
"Really? He looks more like Great-Grunkle Stan and Great-Grunkle Ford," Madison pointed out.
"That's because he's their dad, too. Grandpa Shermie takes after their mom," Dipper explained. "Now that that's all cleared up, ready to get some shuteye?"
"Almost, Dad. Just gotta brush my teeth." Dipper let her do that while he took down the portrait of his great-grandfather and shoved it into the hall closet. He and Pacifica then kissed their daughter goodnight before she hunkered down in the room she would be sharing with Mabel from then on (Madison couldn't sleep unless an adult who she trusted was in the room with her, and she was too old to keep sleeping with her parents).
...
The next morning, Pacifica took Madison outside to play while Dipper and Mabel discussed potential future clients. Looking across the street, they could see Lincoln in his garage, hammering away at a glowing bar of metal that he held in a pair of tongs. His apparel had changed somewhat: he wore a loose orange T-shirt pockmarked with holes tucked into a brown leather kilt that came to his knees, steel-toed leather work boots, and stout leather gloves that came to his elbows. Lily was standing by in case he requested a tool that wasn't in his immediate vicinity, which was all he allowed her to do given her age and attention span.
Madison looked up at Pacifica and asked, "Mom, can we go say hi?"
"Of course we can, sweetie," Pacifica said with a smile and held her daughter's hand as they crossed the street. Lincoln looked up from his work to wipe his brow, the saw them approaching and grinned.
"Good morning, you two! How are you settling in over there?" he asked, setting his project down on the anvil and removing his gloves.
"Oh, just fine, thanks," Pacifica answered while Madison looked at him quizzically.
"Why are you wearing a skirt if you're a boy?" she asked. If she had been older, he might have taken offense at the question, but as it was, he understood why she might be confused.
"It's not a skirt; it's a kilt. See that furnace?" Lincoln gestured to the blazing propane forge behind him. "The inside of that furnace can reach temperatures upwards of two thousand degrees Fahrenheit, which is hot enough to make most metals melt. It also makes it really hot in here, so I need all the circulation I can get so that I don't overheat. Understand?"
"I think so..." Madison said, still looking confused. Lincoln smiled.
"Tell you what, instead of trying to wrap your head around it, why don't you and Lily have some fun in the sandbox out back?" he suggested. "That is, if your mom is okay with it?" Madison looked at Pacifica, who nodded in confirmation. As the two girls gleefully ran off in the general direction of the Louds' backyard, Lincoln pulled his gloves back on and stuck his metal bar back in the forge.
"So this is what you do in your spare time?" Pacifica asked him in curiosity, looking around the makeshift smithy. Hanging from pegs on the walls were Lincoln's projects, both finished and unfinished, as well as his tools. There were swords, axes, and spears of all sizes and shapes, as well as innumerable knives and daggers.
"Yup. Most of what you see are what other people paid me to make, but I've made a few things for myself, too." Lincoln pulled the metal, which was now glowing yellow, out of the forge and started hammering. While he worked, he occasionally paused to continue conversation so that Pacifica wouldn't be left standing in awkward silence.
He explained the process of making a blade, from selecting the type of steel to hammering the shape into the steel to selecting the handle material. By the time he was done explaining and answering Pacifica's questions, the future knife was in the shape that he wanted, so he heated it one more time until it was bright orange, then plunged it into a steaming vat of oil. Pulling the blade out of the quench, he used a file to see if it was sufficiently hard. Satisfied, Lincoln removed his gloves once more and turned off the gas to his forge.
"Come on, let's go make sure the girls don't hurt themselves," he said, wiping his face with a handkerchief. No sooner had he spoken, though, than Lily and Madison both screamed, making him and Pacifica freeze.
"Lincoln, help! They're back!" Lily cried, and the white-haired teen ran out of the garage. Pacifica followed as fast as she dared. The girls had migrated to Lily's playhouse in the front yard, and had locked themselves inside as two blond-haired men were trying to tear it apart. Fortunately, Lincoln and Lana had worked together to build it from materials that Lisa had reinforced, so only a bulldozer could've broken in.
"Pacifica, go get Dipper. I'll handle these clowns," Lincoln told her before running over and socking one of the men in the jaw, knocking him over. Without a second thought, Pacifica ran across the street and burst through her front door.
"DIPPER! COME QUICK!" she screamed, and Dipper came running.
"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked.
"I think Lincoln has it under control, but two men are trying to kidnap Maddie!" she replied frantically. The couple ran back across the street to find the men in question limping into the distance and Lincoln breathing heavily from exertion.
"THE NEXT TIME I CATCH YOU ON MY PROPERTY, I'LL SLICE YOU TO RIBBONS!" the white-haired bladesmith bellowed after them. He took several deep breaths to calm himself, then told the girls that the coast was clear. Lily ran into his arms, while Madison made a beeline for Dipper.
"Shh, shh. It's okay, Maddie. They're gone now," Dipper consoled his trembling daughter. He and his wife looked at Lincoln, expecting answers.
"Meet me at Lynn's Table for lunch. I'll explain everything," the teen promised.