Hey Yo! NerdRyuu here for the 27th Chapter of Back From Death!!!
I'll get the elephant out the room straight away, that's been nearly a while year since the last chapter and this was really bad from my part, I admit. And I'll not even bother to explain myself, bevause it's been so much that happened that half of the chapter would be only me explaining everything.
But if you didn't got to know, I started a new story, named The Last Loud here in the site that took me by the neck and I started to write and publish weekly for months that story. And I still didn't finished publishing yet! I already finished writing, so, when I finished, I had a lot of gas to restart this one, and I pretend to adopt the same formt
at I did for The Last Loud. smaller chapters that are easy to write, that I'll be posting weekly, and also responding the questions I receive for that week!
But I'll not start right away with this format. I decided to publish this chapter here now to update you all that it's not following The Last Loud and don't know this new format I'm trying to stick with.
I also started a Twitter (or X...?) for updates on stories and other stuff, I'm thinking on post some of my drawings there, although they're not that good. If you're interested, my Twitter is @ryuu_baku
Before we begin, I'll be responding some questions I received for Back From Death since I began the sory but never got to answer, so, let's go, shaw we?
Pirohito-Baltazar: What would other enforcers of the afterlife do since the Reaper let Lincoln Stay in the Living world?
I don't plan to make Hell or Heaven factors in the story, Hell is a not exactly a "hellish" place, ruled by a tyrannical demon. I still don't stablished yet, but Hell in this universe is indeed a place where damned souls are taken to suffer for eternity, but the ruler is actually a agent of The Boss. And for heaven enforcers, I also don't think they'll have much to do. I have plans for The Boss, but not other divine beings.
Pirohito-Baltazar: Will Lincoln have Ectokinesis?
Well, I'm answering this question a lot after some of Lincoln's abilities were developed, so in a way, yes, this question was already answered by the story itself, but I wanted to highlight this question because of Lincoln's quirk as a ghost. As stated by Reaper, every Ghost has it's gimmicks, I didn't wanted to Lincoln be so OP from the beginning, and I came with the concept that every ghost has a basic set of powers, like flying, becoming invisible and intangible, but aside from those basic powers, every ghost has a different power to differentiate them. And giving Lincoln the ability to absorb the power of a ghost that he fights made me excuses to introduce new abilities for Lincoln without making it look like he pulled a new power out of his ass.
TheMasterBlacksmith: If Lincoln has the power of possession now, can't he resurrect himself by possessing his own corpse?
Not really. If Lincoln would possess a bead body, he'll be just piloting a meat shield that it's not alive. Think something like the character Bruno Bucciarati from JoJo Part 5, Golden Wind. After he died, he returned to life by possessing his own body, like you suggested, but his body is still dead, and it's starting to decompose. slowly Bucciarati started to decay, eventually becoming blind and deaf, and eventually he died again. All of this happened in just a few days after Bucciarati came back to life, imagine Lincoln doing the smar, but with a even more decomposed corpse. No one would Like to see a zombie Lincoln, rotting away while he walks around like if it's happening.
Timbuk1: Is the Royal Woods school district similar to the school district of my hometown? With elementary being k-6th grade, middle being 7th-8th, and high being 9th-12th?
Dude, I'm going to be very honest here: I don't know. I'm not from North America, I'm from Brazil, and here, our schools are a little different. we start at 1st grade, and go all the way to 9th grade, we combine elementary and middle and just call it elementary, and than we have 3 additional grades for high school, that here we call middle school! So we don't really have a high school per say, college here is called high education, but I don't think it counts. Anyway, I'm just say that, Royal woods' achool district would be similar to Michigan's schools, since Royal Woods is there.
I left out some questions that are already answered in the story itself, or some that I don't think that are really worth responding. Like that Russian dude. sorry, but I can't even read what you asked!
well after a long update, I proudly present, the 27th chapter of Back From Death!
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own The Loud House
"Wake up" Lincoln said snapping his fingers in Benny's face. The older boy twitched and opened his eyes, a little dazed.
"What..." Benny sat up. "Lincoln? Lincoln!" Benny snapped off his dizziness, jumping back on his feet.
"Hey Benny... Luan said she told you about me." Benny Shaked his head.
"Yeah, I... Though it was just one of her jokes. A very unfunny one..."
"Benny focus, where is Luan?" Lincoln said. Benny looked around, finally realizing that they were in a big parking lot, at least 2 dozens of other people were also there, unconscious.
"Wh-where's the circus? Ah!" Benny flinched, His cheeks where in fire, like if he had been smiling for a very long time.
"It's what I'm asking! I came here to see why you're taking so long to return and, well, I find this." Lincoln spoke. "What happened?"
"I... He... Hehe... That clown... He was so funny..." Benny said with a tired smile. "He... He hehehe... He said that laughs made him strong..."
"The clown? Said that? Mh..." Lincoln scratched his chin. "Maybe it's a ghost! But why'd he take Luan of all people?"
"Man, my cheeks hurt..." Benny rubbed his cheeks. "He said that... He wanted a snack for the road..?"
"Snack? For the road? Oh no! Luan's in peril! Benny did you hear where he's going?" Asked Lincoln floating up.
"I... I think... He's going to... Great Lakes? I think he's going to o Great Lakes City!" Benny said.
"Great Lakes City... It's a long voyage, even for me flying... Benny, I need your help!" Lincoln spoke.
"Of course Man! I'm here to help!" Benny said with a salute.
"Go to my house and tell mom I'm going to Great Lakes City to save Luan from a ghost clown in a disappearing circus that may or may not be full of circus themed dangers. You got that?"
"Got it!" Benny spoke and Lincoln shot up flying in direction of Great Lakes City, leaving Benny alone. " I'm... Getting a bus."
"I'm pretty sure it's here..." Lincoln spoke, at the entrance of a crudely put together, run down striped tent. Said entrance made a downward curve, making it look like a toothless smile. At top, two spotlights pointed down to Lincoln, like big yellow eyes glaring ominously at him, completing the crazy face, one single red balloon, floated, tied above the entrance, like a big red clown nose.
He had traveled as fast as he could to Great Lakes City, and took him some time to find the ominous circus, at the center of the city, on the city's public park.
Pursing his lips, Lincoln entered the dark void that was the entrance of the tent. He walked for several seconds in a black limbo. There was silence. But not just silence, absolute silence. A silence so deep you could it hear it.
And then, a faint sound, very low, but upon the silence from before, it sounded hammering on the boy's brain. It was the sound of a happy carnival. Songs being sang. People walking and talking. Pourly put together rides clanking with people cheering.
Lincoln couldn't see where the sound came from, but with each step he took, the sound became louder and louder. It came a moment, where the boy could barely distinguish a man talking. He started to walk faster, untill he could hear the man's voice clearly.
"All right ladies and gentlemen, and for our next wonder for tonight!" Lincoln winced as a bright spotlight shone on his direction, blinding him for a second. When he opened his eyes again, he noticed he was in the center of the circus ring.
"The ghost that hunts ghosts!" Lincoln turned his head left and right, without being able to find the source of the voice. "He's after tonight's prize!"
A spot light shone, roughly 30 feet away from Lincoln's left. Luan was laying unconscious on the ground there. She was pale. Lincoln had to bite his tongue to keep him from screaming.
She looked like a dried corpse, she was very thin, to the point that her clothers looked too big for her. The girl's face had the aspect of a skull, her cheek bones were very prominent and her eyes were sulked into their cavities.
Lincoln didn't just snapped at that moment because he could hear faintly the sound of laughter coming from her. She was alive, but barely. "Luan..." The boy whispered.
"Yes! Litte Miss Luan! So much youth! I would be a fat ghost if I tried to suck all her happiness at once!" The evil clown released a dry cackle.
"Show yourself coward!" Lincoln shouted. The evil cackle erupted again.
"You are one of those who likes to go straight to the point aren't you? Well, how about, THIS!" A trap door opened under Lincoln's feet.
But due his ability of floating, he just looked down to the void under his feet. "Oh." The Clown spoke. "How about this!" from the ground, beside Lincoln, a giant mallet sprung, hammering Lincoln down the trap door.
Lincoln grunted as he hit the floor below. "God... I'm starting to hate clowns." Lincoln grumbled as he got up on his feet and looked around. "Oh great." He was on a mirror maze, illuminated by a subtle yellow light that he couldn't identify the origin.
Lincoln walked up to one of the mirrors and put his hand on it. As he thought. He couldn't phase through it. He looked around, being looked back by dozens of other Lincoln's.
God, was he always that scary? The pale white skin, almost the same tone as his free flowing hair that looked like he was under water, accompanied by deep eye bags that made his eye sockets hollow. The only thing "normal" on him was his attire, his usual orange polo and jeans, although they were a little more faded than he used the wear.
Lincoln shaked his head, it wasn't time to think about that, he needed to find a way back to the ring and save Luan. She could die at any moment.
The ghost boy walked around the mirror, looking around to be sure to not miss any passage hidden by the endless Lincolns looking at him.
As walked, he passed by a reflection that made him stop and back track, as he had passed straight through.
That wasn't his reflection, it was a bedroom. Not his, but Ronnie Anne's? What was that? He looked with more attention. The girl was sitting on her desk, she was at her laptop, watching something that was making her laugh like was no tomorrow.
Lincoln observed the girl watching and laughing, until the video got interrupted by a buzz. He knew that sound. It was the sign of a video call. The girl responded and spoke to whoever was calling her.
"Sup Lame-O!" Ronnie Anne saluted, making Lincoln almost fall back by the surprise. He listened closely to the call.
"-cough- Hi Ronnie -cough- Anne..." Although the raspy tone, it was undoubtedly his voice.
"Wow Lincoln, You don't look so good!" The girl said, pointing to the screen. The ghost Lincoln couldn't see the screen, but by just his voice he could tell it. But he didn't remembered that video call. When that happened? The only time it could be...
The timespan he had no memory! The roughly one month he had between the first signs of his disease and his death... He had no memory of this... Just some short dreams...
"Yeah Ronnie..." Lincoln heard his voice speaking again before coughing. "Look... I'll go straight to the point. I -Cough- I don't want to see you anymore." Those words fell like a bomb in Lincoln's stomach. Had he heard it right? No. It can't be.
"What? Why?" Ronnie Anne asked surprised and concerned.
"Look Ronnie Anne... -cough- it's the best for both of us." That wasn't right. That didn't happened. That was a trick by the clown! He would never do that to Ronnie Anne!
"Best for both of us? We don't have anything anymore, just friends, remember?" Ronnie Anne spoke, trying to reason with the boy.
"Yes -cough- I know Ronnie, but I don't want to hurt you... And if we keep seeing each other, even as friends... You'll suffer." Lincolm couldn't believe what he was listening. What was he thinking?
"Lincoln, if I can't see you, I'll get hurt anyway!" Ronnie spoke, angrily, holding tears back.
"Not as much if we keep seeing" That sentence was so cold. So detached. So... Not him. The ghost heard his other self coughing uncontrollably.
At least tell me why Lame-O!" The girl pleaded, but his other self just continued to cough for several seconds before it stopped.
"Ronnie Anne... I'm sorry... But it'll be best. Goodbye."
"Wait! don't end now! You will explain why! Stop! Don't go! Or I swear I'll beat you up when I see you again!" Her words hurt Lincoln. She was tearing, her arms were trembling in rage, that was a look that he would never wish to see on someone he cared about.
"YOU IDIOT!" She shouted as the image on the mirror became foggy.
"Wait!" Lincoln asked, putting his hands on the mirror. "Ronnie Anne!" The foggy image transformed back into Lincoln's reflection.
His eyes filled with tears and his heart of sorrow. He punched the mirror. As the shattered shards fell on the ground, the infernal laugh of the clown erupted into his eardrums.
Lincoln turned around, and saw his adversary. The devilish clown with his blue lips, purple suit, green hair and a nose of a snow globe with a twinkling nebula inside. He was inside one a mirror, laughing.
"That's what I wanted to see!" He spoke between laughs. Lincoln looked at another mirror. He had his eyes glowing red again.
Screw it.
He didn't care.
Lincoln punched the mirror where the clown was. The mirror shattered in a thousand pieces, some being sunk deep in his flesh, making the boy ooze his cold blood.
The laugh continued. Now the clown was in another mirror. Lincoln shouted and punched that mirror also. Just to the clown appear in yet another mirror.
Lincoln punched mirror after mirror, seeking his enemy. Punch after punch. Mirror after mirror. Lincoln's knuckles were covered in blood and mirror shards, but he continued.
Poor Lincoln Loud.
That laugh was madning, it didn't stopped. That mocking son of a gun. Lincoln was doing exactly what he wanted. And that voice. He had heard it before.
Why are you pretending?
"Stop!" Lincoln shouted. That voice wasn't the clown's. He didn't knew who it was, but the voice came along with the laugh, piercing his brain like the needles that was the laugh.
You're desecrating him.
"Stop!" He pleaded, but neither the laugh, or the voice stopped.
You're just a cheap copy.
"STOP!" Lincoln screamed at the top of his lungs, making the mirror shards around him fly upwards and in random directions. He was having a poltergeist.
Not even that you are.
The voice just continued, fueling his rage, that in itself fueled his poltergeist.
You're a fake.
Lincoln used his hands to block his ears, he was tearing up on rage. The laugh was Inside his head, the voice was I side his head.
He was inside his head.
Lincoln fell on his knees. Why that laugh was making him react like that? What was happening? That laugh was more than making him angry. It was painful. His heart was so heavy it hurted.
You're not him.
Lincoln hugged himself. That rage was too painful. He felt sorrow. Dread. Emptiness.
You need to stop!
Let.
Me.
Rest.
Lincoln had given himself entirely to that voice. It had broke him. Lincoln hed himself fall on the ground, sobbing.
The mirrors around him faded away, leaving him in a void of infinite darkness. And the laugh slowly faded also, leaving Lincoln on the cold ground. Alone, in the dark.
"This is so much fun than sucking the happiness of that girl." Lincoln heard the voice of the clown after what appeared to be hours.
But Lincoln didn't responded. He didn't even thought anything. He was inert. His eyes were red no more. They were faded.
The diabolical clown was standing in front of the husk of a person. Smiling with his twisted grin. "It was easier than I thought!" He spoke a giggle, and stood in silence, waiting for his response. "Hello?" the clown asked lifting a eyebrow and leaning over to Lincoln. "Hello?" He said again. "He... I may have broken him bit too much..." He said. Before he exploded in laughter. "This is so funny! So ridiculous! I can't believe someone like you, was hunting other ghosts! It was way too easy... You kid sure had problems before me..." The Clown was about to let another hellish laugh when someone else spoke up.
"And I have a problem with you." The clown looked back just to be greeted by a sucker punch in the cheek by a paper white hand. The clown fell back, narrowly missing Lincoln's limp body. The smugness and confidence once in the lips of the clown were replaced by panic and horror.
The snow white skin that seemed to glow in endless darkness, looked at him. Reaper hair was messed as usual, and his usual friendly expression had given way to a dead stare that could chill the core of the hottest star in the universe.
"You... You are here!" The clown spoke panicking, crawling back. "Stay back!" He shouted pulling from his pocket a comically large gun with several barrels. And from each one of them, came a bang flag. Reaper didn't reacted. Just stared the clown, that before was like a horrendous demon, now was a pitiful imp.
"How do you found me?" The clown asked throwing the gun away, the intimidation tactic didn't worked.
"I've been searching for you for a long time, you escaped me in death, but you made the worst mistake someone can do." The Reaper spoke approaching the trembling clown and lowered himself to meet his eye level. "You messed with my only real friend." The clown swallow drily. "And for it, I'm sending you to where you was supposed to be. Burning in hell."
Several skeletal arms erupted from the ground around the clown and grabbed him. "NO!" the clown pleaded. As the arms started to drag him to hell, the clown's illusion stared to fade, revealing where they truly were, in just a empty parking lot in the middle of Great Lakes.
As the clown cried and pleaded, Reaper yanked his twinkling clown nose from him. "I believe that this isn't your." Reaper spoke before the clown vanished into the ground.
Leaving Reaper standing in the empty parking lot with Lincoln by him and a still dying Luan.
Reaper looked at the nebula inside the clown nose and crushed it in his hand. From it, a army of spectral yellow balls of light erupted and flew away in every direction, including one that flew up to Luan and entered the shriving body of the girl.
Quickly, her body returned to the normal and it didn't took long before she sprung up with a deep breath. "Wow! Someone noted the plate of the truck?" She spoke to no one as she shaked his head, until noticing where she was. "Where am I?"
"Are you alright?" Reaper asked kneeling by her side.
"Yeah I am, It's just my he-" Luan stopped mid sentence and slowly turned her head to see who she was talking with, than screamed. "You're death!" She shouted. "Wait, I am dead? I AM DEAD! I'M TOO YOUNG!"
"Calm, calm down!" Reaper spoke, tring to stop her from panicking. "You're not dead. It's not your time... Yet..."
"Oh, then... What happened?" Luan asked confused.
"A clown ghost captured you. He planned to suck all your happiness from you, leaving just a dead husk" Luan trembled with a chill on her spine. "But Lincoln came to save you... But..."
"Lincoln?" Luan spoke concerned. "Where's Lincoln?" She questioned panicking, and as response, she followed Reaper's eyes and felt her heart drop. "LINCOLN!"
The fourteen years old girl ran up to her brother fearing the worst. But the worst she expected wasn't the worst.
Lincoln was alive... Well, still alive as a ghost, abdhe had his eyes open. But they were faded. His expression empty. Just a unstopping flow of tears that ran down from his eyes.
"Lincoln?" Luan called. "Lin-Lincoln, are you alright?" She sasked, her eyes were also starting to tear up and her voice was breaking. "Please..."
"He wasn't able to defeat this one." The reaper spoke sadly. "But because of him... I was able to send that murderer to hell, where he belongs."
"Is he..." Luan tried to ask, something, but couldn't. Reaper placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.
"I don't know if this is permanent." Reaper spoke finally. "I fear that the ghost might have destroyed his mind."
"Is he... A vegetable?" Luan asked. "Forever?" She spoke starting to panic even more.
"No! No, I... I'm almost sure he can heal... But... What he needs now is some rest. You go find someplace for you two to stay for the rest of the night. I need to report this."
"What? Where am I supposed to go?" Luan asked, fearing being left alone.
"We're in Great Lakes. I record that you have friends here." Reaper reminded her
"Oh... Ok... Thanks... Mr Death." Reaper giggled. She looked down and remembered something. "Are you that friend that Lincoln told us? The tone that took him to a night of pranks?" Reaper laughed and nodded.
"You can call me how Lincoln call's me, Reaper." He spoke starting to walk away, before he stopped and looked back. "Oh, and Luan." The girl looked at him. "Would you kindly let my existence and my relation with Link here just between us?" Luan smiled and nodded. Reaper also nodded with a smile and walked up to a lamp post and walked behind it, disappearing on the other side.
Luan sighed and grabbed Lincoln in her arms. He was very light. And cold. No, that's not time to think about that, now she needs to get help.
From the Casagrandes.
N/A: The whole fight against the Clown was TOTALLY different from how I had planned. It was at first, much more similar to it's inspiration, the fight against Zombozo from Ben 10 season 1, with Lincoln getting trapped in various illusion themed after ciscus, and even the plot point of someone important for the hero being captured was part of the inspiration. The first portuon of the chapter was written a long time ago, and I had little bit of difficulty in continuing it, so I decided to change it on the fly, just kept writing what I thought it would be interesting and would tie to the themes and Lincoln's arc. In the end, I changed even the outcome of the battle. originally, Lincoln would KILL the Clown in cold blood. (remember that ghosts in this universe are moved by a type of ghost energy, if this energy fully depletes, he's gone.) But as I wrote this, I diceded that it would be more fun to subvert the expectations just a bit and make him lose! The outcome of the fight, with one Loud being left alone in Great Lakes needing to seek help from the Casagrandes is still the same from my original plan, but the roles were swapped around.
In the previous chapter, the Clown had spoke his name: Bonbon. But I decided to just make it simpler and refer to him as Clown, to not humanize the bad ghost. I try to not tell the real names of the bad ghosts to make sure you would not sympathize with them. But for ghosts that I want you to sympathize with, I give names, like Dr. Haily and Mrs. Doughnut. And they won't be the last!
Next chapter we'll see the Casagrandes again, and the next big step in Ronnie Anne's character arc will be made! But unfortunately, I won't be publishing this chapter next week, because I still want to finish The Last Loud before really continuing Back From Death in this new format and schedule. I still need to get some chapter ready in advance to not get the schedule messed up on the first week! I just posted THIS chapter to update you all and, well, to break this long hiatus. but don't worry! The Last Loud is near it's end, and I really think I'm going to start publishing 2 chapter weekly for The Last Loud end faster!
I think that's everything I wanted to say, so, if you want the ask anything, has something to say or have a question, feel free to do so, I'll try to respond everyone in the next chapter whenever I'll be publised. If you want updates, follow me on Twitter, @ryuu_baku!
That's everything for now, be good!
Bye.