Disclaimer: The Loud House and associated characters belong to Nickelodeon and Chris Savino.
vanhelsing9000: Yeah. Leni was an oversight. I've already updated the chapter.
Atom king: I describe both in more detail in this chapter!
nuuo: While there is a similarity, the Daemons are not quite what you'd expect.
Aztec 13: You'll have to wait and see!
tylerdunkley05: Haha! I figured as much!
Delquea: Thanks! I'll update the chapter later.
U. N. Owen: I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Don't worry about anyone forcing me. It's something I'm doing on my own.
Cypher
By LolaPresents
Season 1 - Episode 1
Birth - Part 3
[Lincoln's Perspective]
The first moments of Lincoln's immersion in the pitch-black interior of the spherical cockpit were relatively calm, though mildly disturbing. However, his anxiety skyrocketed once the foul-smelling amniotic solution began filling the space. While he'd seen documentaries on people breathing hyper-oxygenated fluids, Lincoln had never had so much as a practice run at it.
[Command's Perspective]
"Status report!" barked Lori from her command chair.
The command center comprised three two-seater consoles arranged in a semi-circle, the command chair behind them, and large monitors suspended above, showing miniature copies of everyone's screens and what the Deacon saw. Leni and Luna sat to the left, Luan and Lynn in the center, while Lucy and Lana took the right.
Behind them sat Lori, coordinating everything while Lisa and Lola walked the floor between them all. Though Lori was technically the team lead, she was unprepared to make emergency tweaks to the system. Lori knew the danger thresholds but not the practical solutions. That was something for someone much more intelligent than she was.
"Big red dot closing in on the middle school!" reported Leni nervously, large beads of sweat forming on her brow.
"All systems are in the green, ma'am!" informed Lucy as she continually monitored the mech's output.
"Wait!" cried Luan as she poured over her readouts. "Something's wrong. Lincoln's vitals are skyrocketing!"
[Lincoln's Perspective]
"Lincoln! Can you hear me?" Lisa shouted into Lincoln's panicking ear. "You need to calm down. Just breathe regularly. I know it'll take some getting used to, but trust me. Okay?"
Unseen by the others, Lincoln nodded as he focused on the music Luna pumped through the command center and cockpit. Today, she'd chosen a special remix of "What Everybody Wants." Only, she'd stripped the vocals and added additional synth parts and bass lines, speeding up the tempo to just over what a normal heart beats per minute. Using a professional production technique called "ducking," the music automatically dropped in volume whenever someone spoke over the network.
"Yeah..." thought Lincoln, the probes attached to his head automatically translating it into speech. "I can hear you. I'll try."
As the Deacon's mechanical and electronic systems powered up, Lincoln felt his body numb, a sensation not unlike falling asleep. However, he could still think lucidly. Then, just as quickly, his senses got redirected to those of the Deacon. Suddenly, he felt very heavy yet muscular and agile. His sight returned, now displaying copies of the command monitors along the bottom of his vision and the system icons along the left and right sides.
"Okay. You're doing great," appraised Lisa, trying to calm him down further. "Now, hang tight. We're preparing to launch."
"G-got it..." Lincoln mumbled, trying to gain his sense of balance.
[Command's Perspective]
"Luan?" prompted Lori, looking on intently.
"He's stable now," replied the former comedienne. "At least, for now."
"Lana!" Lori chirped, hoping her little sister truly knew what she was doing. "Release the charging cables and prepare the chute."
"Aye, aye!" responded the young mechanic, sounding as professional as one who'd done such her entire life. "Deacon is now unmoored, and the chute primed."
Nodding, Lori knew the moment of truth had come. Whatever happened beyond that point, nobody could foresee. A million different things could go wrong and jeopardize the mission, let alone get Lincoln killed. But, as far as she knew, they were the world's last hope. According to the increasingly infrequent reports on the radio, much of the earth lay in ruin.
Lisa gave Lori a knowing look before giving her a two-finger salute. She was more than aware of what ran through her sister's mind as she felt it, too. Everyone did. The days of going to school, meeting friends at the mall, or lying around the house were over. In their place was a concerted effort to remain positive and make it day by day.
"Launch Deacon!" Lori commanded firmly, gripping her chair's armrests so tightly she could've left impressions.
[Lincoln's Perspective]
Suddenly, the floor under Lincoln shook and trembled as the hydraulics began pushing a circular section with the Deacon atop upward. It took a moment to stabilize, but Lincoln didn't have to worry about toppling with the mech still clamped to the umbilical trestle behind it. Looking up, he saw the large partition above begin to slide apart, some of the displaced dirt and grass falling into the silo.
"This is nuts..." Lincoln sighed as he stared down at the receding command center. "I feel like a giant, ready to take on the world!"
"Don't get cocky yet," Lori suggested warmly, though her voice wavered. "You still haven't done anything, and we need you to come back in one piece."
"One piece?" Lincoln returned anxiously. "What does that mean?"
"You've seen the video feeds," his sister reminded him. "If those things can tear into a power plant to feed, they could just as destroy you."
"Yeah, but it's not just me," the antsy boy replied as the lift stopped above ground. "I've got armor now."
"That may be," Lola interjected. "But, remember, you'll feel any damage the Deacon takes as if it were you! Please!" she begged. "Be careful!"
"Yeah!" Lynn joined in. "You aren't the toughest to begin with."
"Shit..." murmured Lincoln.
Their house and those around it looked like large dollhouses. Lincoln could see over the top of their own, and the feeling was surreal. Though all the cars were gone, much of the neighborhood remained intact. Trash and abandoned belongings littered the yards and streets.
The relative calm of the community was understandable since the Daemons tended to target highly populated areas and sources of electricity. But where everyone evacuated to, Lincoln couldn't guess, especially since the Daemons were everywhere.
"Alright, Lincoln," came Lori's voice, seemingly directly into Lincoln's ear. "We're releasing the clamps momentarily. When we do, you'll be on your own."
"Not exactly," Lisa's voice followed immediately. "You'll have us. What Lori means is the Deacon will be entirely under your control."
"Understood," replied Lincoln.
Loud hissing noises sounded behind him, and Lincoln began to feel the pull of gravity. For a moment, he struggled to maintain balance. While his perception had adjusted, his body seemed to weigh more than usual. Of course, that only made sense. Lincoln was covered in armor now. Regardless, once his equilibrium returned, he stood up.
"This isn't so bad," he thought.
"Try taking a single step," instructed Lisa over the headset.
Lincoln took a deep breath, then stepped forward as if walking for the first time. His right foot rose, moved forward, then fell to the ground. Feeling something crunch underfoot, he looked down and lifted his foot again. In a shallow impression lay something pink, white, and black, scattered about in small bits.
"Lincoln!" screamed Lola into his ear. "That was my Jeep!"
"I... I'm sorry!" barked Lincoln in return. "I'll get you a new one when this is all over! I promise!"
"You'd better!" scowled his little sister. "Otherwise, you'll have to carry me everywhere with the Deacon!"
"Can it!" ordered Lori. "We don't have time for this. Besides, the Deacon will not be used for trivial things when and if we get through this."
"Lincoln," interjected Lisa, wanting to get things back on track. "The Daemon is on the school grounds now. It would be best if you headed there immediately.
"On my way!" chirped Lincoln, walking through his backyard, smashing the short chain-link fence between their house and the garage, down the driveway, and into the street. As he headed down the road, he slowly got the feel of the Deacon's cadence. After a block, he began to pick up speed, eventually breaking into a run at the three-block mark.
Surprisingly, his speed increased far more than he ever imagined, taking him off guard. Crashing into a house at the end of a T intersection, Lincoln pulled himself from the rubble before taking off again. Though as far as Lincoln's senses were concerned, he felt himself, only heavier, stronger, and faster, not to mention much taller.
The sensation was almost disorienting, but Lincoln managed to keep his cool. Had he not played so many video games, the H.U.D. displayed before him might have given anyone else a sense of vertigo. Luckily, Lincoln had prepared for this event, and his mind adjusted, ignoring it until needed. However, he would've preferred being able to collapse it into a single innocuous icon.
"You're doing great, Lincoln!" Luan reflected. "All signs normal."
"Deacon operating within normal parameters," Lucy reported."
"No yellow dots present," Leni informed him.
"She means civilians..." Lisa corrected her in a slightly annoyed voice.
Lincoln passed Flip's abandoned gas station and convenience store, noting that he'd taken the time to board everything up and disconnect the hoses before leaving. It seemed even in times of crisis, the man wasn't about to take chances with his assets.
Focusing on the path before him, he continued running, trying not to let the state of things bother him. Soon after, he came to a surprisingly accurate skidding halt, tearing up the pavement underfoot. But after scanning everything, he only saw the empty lot and old school building.
"Where is it?" Lincoln questioned his team, looking back and forth. "I don't see it."
"Lincoln," Lisa's voice rang through his head. "Focus your eyes on the Map icon. It'll highlight when sensed. Blink twice while highlighted to bring up a copy of Leni's telemetry."
Lincoln followed Lisa's instructions to the letter, and a translucent map appeared before him. A single, large red dot appeared within the school as a light green line moved about the map, similar to a radar display.
"I see it," he said. "It looks like it's in the school, but I see no entry point."
"It's probably on top, feeding from the backup power generators," Lana surmised. "From what we know, they go for populated centers and power sources."
"Lincoln..." Lori interjected. "You'll have to climb the school. And, be careful, we have no idea how much a Daemon weighs. Your combined weight could cause the building to collapse."
"Not only that," Lisa added. "We also don't know how feeding will affect the Daemon. It could grow or gain unforeseen abilities. You need to stop it immediately."
"Understood," thought Lincoln, unconsciously making the Deacon nod.
Lincoln stepped up to the school and began climbing. Smashing two of the higher windows, he grabbed the floor. Then, pushing his foot into another, Lincoln slowly hoisted himself up. He could hear the glass as it smashed and the groan of the cement of the floor buckling.
"Lincoln..." said Luna with a worried voice, completely losing her faux-pa accent. "Come home safe. P-please?"
"Yeah," agreed Lola, also speaking with hesitation. "You owe me a car. Remember?"
"You can do this, Lincoln," Lynn added, uncharacteristically not using her usual derogatory nickname. "Don't you dare die on your first mission!"
"Don't worry," he thought over the channel. "I don't plan on dying on any of them. I have so much left to do," he admitted. "Grow up. Finish school. Get a job. Hell. I haven't even gotten a girlfriend yet!"
"Focus, Lincoln," Lori demanded. "This isn't a pity party. It's war against the Daemons."
"You're sorry. Sorry," Lincoln replied as his head peered over the rooftop. "Are you seeing this?" he gulped in surprise as the monster came into view, its claws and teeth deeply embedded in the generator. "What is that thing? You never made anything like that, Lisa!"
"No..." replied the young scientist as she stared at the behemoth on the large overhead screens. "It appears to be an armadillo and porcupine hybrid. However, I'm willing to bet the military included something more. Be alert, brother."
"It's a shame nobody is around to see this," Lincoln thought offline as he stepped onto the roof and took a heroic pose near the edge. "Oh well."
The beast stopped feeding, pulled itself free, and turned to look at the new arrival. Then, opening its mouth, a powerful-sounding roar echoed throughout the dead town.
"Alright," Lincoln thought, clenching his fists as he dismissed the map and activated his sidearm. "Let's see how you like this!"
A cover on his right leg slid open, and a sizable firearm emerged. When Lincoln took the grip, the mechanism unlocked the weapon, and Lincoln held it up before him, his free hand stabilizing it. Fortunately, he didn't have to rely on sigh for aim. A red reticle appeared before him, indicating where he directed the weapon, complete with distance to the target and a curve showing the projected path.
"Sweet!" he declared, bringing the reticle to bear on the monster's hide and pulling the trigger.
The recoil was much more significant than expected, nearly pushing him off the roof. Quickly adjusting his stance, he dug in his heels to stop his retreat and continued firing. The space between them filled with tracer fire as a volley of plasma bolts arced toward the Daemon, only to bounce off its thick hide.
Roaring again, the monster primed a few of its forward-positioned quills and launched them at Lincoln. Gasping in surprise, Lincoln leaped to the side, dodging all but one, piercing his side. Immense pain shot through the young pilot as he landed on his back, his hand instinctively going to his side.
"Fuck!" he screamed. "Shit! That hurt like hell!"
"You aren't hurt, Lincoln!" cried Lucy from her vitals station. "Even though you feel it, only the Deacon is damaged. But if you don't get your heart rate under control, you'll use more energy!"
[Command's Perspective]
"Get up!" ordered Lori from the command center, coming to a stand in worry. "It's coming!"
Everyone's eyes frantically darted from their monitors to the overhead displays as they watched from Lincoln's point of view. Slowly, he stood and braced himself for the onrushing creature's blow. Catching it around the head just as it reared up off its front legs, the force drove him backward into the rooftop access roof, crushing it.
"Screw you!" Lincoln shouted, putting his weapon's muzzle into the beast's open mouth and firing again, trying to ignore the gut-wrenching pain of the creature's teeth to his abdomen.
"Wait! Stop!" howled Lisa over the headset. "Stop firing!"
"Huh?" Lincoln murmured despite obeying her command. "What for? I was about-"
The next moment, Lincoln saw a bright blue light as his body got shaken to its core. Smoke and rubble filled the air as the beast exploded, sending him tumbling across the roof as the building collapsed. Then, everything went silent and dark.
"Guys!" Lincoln screamed. "What happened? Can you hear me?"
Suddenly, his vision fizzled back like a malfunctioning television, and his hearing returned.
"Lincoln? Are you alright?" Lori asked timidly and with fear in her voice. "We lost contact with you for a moment."
"Yeah..." Lincoln sighed, staring up at the clearing sky. "But I feel like shit. Wait!" he interrupted himself. "What are the Daemon..."
"It's neutralized," replied Lisa. "We sensed a massive charge building before it bit you. We think it was preparing an attack. The plasma reacted to the electricity within the Daemon, and it exploded. We..." she stammered. "We feared the worst."
"All systems back online," reported Luan. "You should be able to stand now. "How about coming home?"
"Sounds good to me," Lincoln laughed as he rolled over and pushed himself up.
"Looks like you took some damage," Lana informed him. "Not to alarm you, but your right arm got blown off in the recoil."
"Yeah..." sighed Lincoln. "I see it," he said, looking a short distance away.
"Be sure to bring it back with you," suggested Lisa. "I'll do what I can."
[Lincoln's Perspective]
Standing alone atop the refuse that used to be his school, Lincoln walked over to his dislocated arm and stopped to pick it up but hesitated upon getting a closer look. Black fluids leaked from the mechanical exterior, but the interior shocked him. If he didn't know better, he was looking at bone, muscle, and blood.
"Lisa..." the boy muttered over the line. "What the hell is this..."
For a moment, the line remained silent. Then, Lisa's solemn voice sounded in his ears.
"That..." she mumbled nervously. "That is, well, you. Albeit a brainless and larger version."
"What the fuck, Lisa!" Lincoln griped, not knowing how to feel about the revelation. "Is that why you needed my D.N.A.?"
"I'm sorry!" Lisa cried into her brother's ear. "But, I only have so much material to work with. I couldn't build an entire mech. Besides..." she added in her defense. "No machine can reproduce the movement and agility of a living thing."
"We can discuss this later," Lori spoke quietly. "First things first. Come home."
[Command's Perspective]
When the lift conveying the Deacon reached the command center and came to a stop, everyone left their consoles and rode the loading lift to the gangplank where their brother would emerge. During the few moments required to drain the cockpit and open the hatch, they waited nervously, expecting Lincoln to break down or refuse to go on more missions.
Learning one was sitting inside the empty head of a larger version of themselves would surely have an impact. Everyone wanted to be there to assure him, despite not having had proper time to consider their own reactions. Finally, the seal around the hatch hissed, letting off some compressed air, and Lincoln climbed from the dark cavity.
"Lincoln!" cried Lori as she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're still in one piece!"
Joining her, Lincoln's other siblings huddled around him, offering him praise and encouragement. Though he smiled, he didn't exactly feel like rejoicing. Something about killing a living creature and injuring another didn't sit well with him. His sibling's voices sounded a thousand miles away. But all he wanted to do was hide somewhere and cry.
