Order's Tomb
Everyone was frantically preparing whatever they thought they would need to make it through the Wildlands in one piece. Willow had studied the plant-life that made its home there and had brought ingredients and recipes for Lucy to use so she could concoct antidotes to their poisons and repellents to ward off the hostile bugs. Toffee and Caramel had brought climbing gear in case of any sheer rock faces and cutting blades for slicing through overgrown flora. Lilith had been studying the various books she had on the Wildlands and had assembled an archive of knowledge on the region, while Eda put on her best jungle explorer's outfit. In fact, the only one not preparing for the trip was Lynn, who was still sat by herself, not saying much.
"Is she going to be OK?" Luz wondered. Lucy did not know how to respond. She wanted to say that she was Lynn Loud, the toughest, most persistent person she knew, but having overheard her tell Amity that Lincoln resented her, the true answer was looking uncertain. Lucy could remember a time when Lynn and Lincoln were as thick as thieves. Now, that bond may very well be broken.
"I honestly don't know, Luz. You saw her memories in the Room. You know how badly the Order hurt us," Lucy replied.
"I do, and I get why you're here. It's just seeing her like this reminds me of how I was when my friends and I were stuck in the Human Realm. I remember feeling for months that it was all my fault, thinking that their lives would be better without me. I was in that funk for a long time," Luz recalled.
"How'd you get out?" Lucy asked.
"A little nudge in the right direction," Luz answered.
"More like a great big shove from all of us and your mum," Amity interjected. Luz chuckled meekly at Amity's correction.
"OK, you got me there, sweet potato," Luz admitted.
"We're all set. Just say the word and we'll be off," Amity informed.
"I'll go get Lynn. She'll ride with me, although I must admit I've never flown a palisman staff before," Lucy responded.
"Just think of it as a witch's broom. That's how I managed to fly Owlbert for the first time," Luz advised. As if to offer assurance, Edwin flew off from Lucy's head and transformed into a staff for her to hold. Lucy mounted it as if it were a broomstick, and Edwin seemed to follow her thoughts for direction, not her body and hand movements. Suddenly, flying became intuitive. Even Hunter was impressed.
"Woah, she is good. It took me weeks to learn how to fly Flapjack without crashing into stuff," Hunter complimented.
"To be fair, you were keeping him a secret from Belos for much of that time. Hard to practice when you're shielding your staff from getting consumed," Willow reasoned. When Lucy came down, Lynn clapped her hands in praise.
"Great, the one thing I had on the Isles and my sis is good at that, too. You gonna try out for Quidditch while you're at it?" Lynn praised.
"No, too brutal, though flyer derby sounds fun," Lucy shot down. Willow grinned from ear to ear when she heard that.
"I'll give you a crash course when we're done," Willow offered. Lucy then thought of something.
"Hey, Willow, if I win your team a flyer derby game, can I take King home with me?" Lucy requested. King heard this and gave his signature 'eh' sound.
"No," Lynn, Luz, and Eda all said at once in response.
"Dang it," Lucy cursed.
"Can we please get going?" Toffee urged impatiently.
"Yes, I agree. We must reach the Wildlands while it's still daylight. That region's most ferocious predators are nocturnal hunters," Lilith pressed.
"OK, everyone mount up," Eda called out. Toffee and Caramel would hitch rides with Eda and Lilith respectively. Lynn rode with Lucy on the back of her staff, King rode with Luz, and Hunter rode with Willow. The rest used their own palisman staff to fly to the Wildlands. Once they got there, they were met with a think canopy of treetops that could block out the sun above them.
"We'll have to descend and make the rest of the way on foot. No way we'll fly through this," Lilith observed. Everyone descended to ground level and nestled their palisman somewhere safe. The dark forest that was the Wildlands looked like something out of a scary movie, but despite their nerves, the group pressed on, ready to face whatever awaited them. It would not be long before their first real challenge presented itself. In a large clearing, Eda noted that the ground felt sticky under her feet. So did the others, and Eda motioned for the group to halt.
"Lilith, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Eda hinted. Lilith examined the ground and came to a conclusion.
"Trapdoor spiders. Yep, this is their territory," Lilith concurred.
"That's what you're scared of? They're tiny, mostly feed on insects," Luz dismissed.
"That may be true in the Human Realm, but this is the Boiling Isles we're talking about," Eda corrected.
"Yeah, Luz, the spiders here are a little… bigger," King added. Luz then began to worry.
"How much bigger?" Luz asked. The answer to her question soon made itself known when a deer-like animal was instantly grabbed and dragged down to one of the spiders' many burrows. The spider that grabbed the creature was massive. Lynn and Lucy noted that it was approximately the size of Vanzilla, maybe even bigger.
"Good thing Leni's not here. She'd burn the whole forest down to get rid of those things," Lynn commented.
"Arachnophobic, is she?" Amity guessed.
"Highly," Lucy replied.
"We still need to get past them, ideally without any surprises," Toffee urged. Lucy then began thinking. If these trapdoor spiders acted and behaved the same way the ones of Earth do, there might be a way through.
"We do have one advantage. Because trapdoor spiders spend so much time underground, they're nearly totally blind. They rely on thin web strands or vibrations to detect their prey," Lucy hinted. Lynn then drew her wand.
"Great. All we have to do is slice those strands on the ground and those eight-legged freaks can't detect us. This should be easy," Lynn bragged. She tried to cast a severing charm, but the wand only emitted weak sparks from the tip.
"Ha! You sure the guy who sold you that didn't rip you off?" King mocked.
"Quiet, you talking stuffed animal!" Lynn barked back.
"You think it may be possible to misdirect them?" Caramel queried.
"Maybe we could manipulate the web strands on the ground to give off false signals, send them after prey that isn't there," Lucy suggested.
"Sounds like a plan, and I know just how to do it," Gus volunteered. He conjured illusions of himself at various points on the forest floor. The giant trapdoor spiders lunged themselves at these phantoms, and this distracted them long enough for Willow to manipulate the vines and plant life into holding the spiders in place once they were out.
"I can only hold these things for so long, so you might wanna hurry up!" Willow pressed. The group hurried along to the other side of the clearing, distracting and restraining additional spiders as they went, until they got out of their territory unscathed. Once they were safe, the group stopped to catch their breath.
"Is it always like this?" Lucy probed.
"Oh yeah, every week," Luz responded.
"Best. World. Ever," Lucy gushed.
"Great, she's gonna be looking for apartments here in ten years," Lynn scoffed. The group could then hear screeching noises from above. They looked up to see other giant spiders descending on top of them.
"Oh boy, I guess they're hungry," Amity observed. Lynn pointed her wand at them and tried to conjure some fire, but again, only weak sparks came out.
"Oh, really? What's wrong with this thing?" Lynn complained. The spiders landed right by Lynn, surrounding her. Lucy then leapt into action, using her palisman staff to do what Lynn couldn't, summon a wall of fire between Lynn and the spiders, scaring them off and allowing Lynn to escape unscathed.
"Thanks for the save. Stupid thing's defective," Lynn said gratefully. However, Lucy wasn't convinced that the wand was faulty, but decided to save that particular conversation for another time.
"Let's just get going before anything else tries to eat us," Eda pressed, and the party journeyed onward.
At the White Isle, the door that had opened to engulf Annie and Delilah in bright light disappeared. Once Anne and Delilah regained their composure and were able to see, they found themselves in a realm that reminded them of the Sanctum. They could see Sentinels, but they looked different than usual, and it wasn't anyone they recognised. They also saw strange warriors training alongside them, not of any species Annie or Delilah were familiar with. Suddenly, off to the side, Annie and Delilah saw a winged being descend to the ground and address a rather elderly figure.
"All-Father, the Einherjar are at full battle readiness, and they number half a million. Tell us we can march on the Dark Master's forces soon," the winged being updated.
"How fare your Valkyries, Sigrun?" the being that Sigrun called 'All-Father' asked.
"The spell the Court stole from the Dark Master has worked wonders, All-Father. I sense no trace of any Marauder in them. The Valkyries are loyal to you and you alone," Sigrun replied.
"I do not seek to dominate them, Sigrun. That is why I made you their Queen. I only wish to expunge the darkness within them," the All-Father assured.
"If I might, All-Father. Some of the Valkyries, especially Eir, are uncomfortable with fighting their own kin. Even though the Dark Master created the Marauders the same way you created the Valkyries, we are still, in a sense, the same," Sigrun interjected.
"Is this Asgard?" Delilah wondered.
"Must be. It looks beautiful. I could spend all day here," Annie gushed.
"If this is Asgard, then that must be Odin talking to, Sigrun, was it?" Delilah deduced. Just then, a rather rotund, portly figure then landed at Odin's side. He was wielding a massive hammer that gave off lightning bolts. This, Annie surmised, must be Thor.
"He looks nothing like Chris Hemsworth," Annie commented.
"Father, our scouts have reported in. The Dark Master has laid siege to Warfang, the Dragon City. His troops are pillaging the libraries as we speak, looking for where the spell has been taken," Thor updated. Sigrun jumped to attention.
"Does he know where we are?" Sigrun probed. A wolf then ran to Odin's other side, then transformed into a man.
"If that's Thor, the other one must be Loki. Why does he look nothing like Tom Hiddleston? For that matter, Odin looks nothing like Anthony Hopkins, either," Delilah noticed.
"Do try to focus," the voice that greeted them when Annie and Delilah arrived on the White Isle scolded.
"Not as of yet, but it is only a matter of time," Loki answered.
"Then we must get the Einherjar ready for battle. What of the other spell? The one to separate his power and spirit from his body?" Odin asked.
"It needs four Marauders captured alive, but we can handle that on the front. Gondul, Eir, Hildr, and I are ready to use it when we have them," Sigrun notified.
"Excellent. Then there's nothing to do but wait for the coming storm," Odin concluded. Just then, another Valkyrie portalled into Asgard and ushered Sigrun over. She whispered something in Sigrun's ear, which seemed to alarm her.
"What! Are you sure?!" Sigrun asked desperately. The Valkyrie nodded, then Sigrun rushed over to Odin. "All-Father, latest from the Realms. The Dark Master has learned of what we have done here. He knows we used his spells, and he knows of the plan to imprison him in the Realms Between," Sigrun reported.
"I always knew this day would come. We prepared for this, Sigrun. Take your sisters and the spells and flee this place. My sons Thor, Loki, and I will buy you as much time as you need to get away. Hurry!" Odin ordered.
"No, All-Father, we fight with you!" Sigrun objected.
"If you are lost, so is any hope of stopping the Dark Master! Now go! Take Hildr, Gondul, and Eir and run! Get to the Court! They'll know what to do!" Odin insisted. A wolf and a lightning bolt both appeared on either side of Odin, and two men emerged, one from the lightning bolt, the other having transformed into a man from his previous wolf form. Knowing what she knew from Norse mythology, Marcy theorised that these two were Thor and Loki.
"Father, he has brought his most powerful golem to the assault. The wall will not hold," Thor reported.
"I don't expect it to. Get to Freya and marshal whatever defence you can. Hurry, my sons," Odin commanded.
"What of the Master himself?" Loki asked.
"I will hold him back for as long as I can. Hurry, rally the Einherjar!" Odin pressed. Thor and Loki left to carry out their father's will. Just then, the ground quaked as if in fear, and a projection of the Dark Master's face, surrounded by purple smoke, emerged high in the sky.
"Citizens of Asgard! You dare take what isn't yours! The Dragon Empire will not be undermined by antiquated shamans that profess to be gods! Behold, the instrument of your destruction, Ragnarok!" the Dark Master announced. A huge fire golem, the size of four high-rise skyscrapers rose up from the ground, sending the populace running and screaming as the golem trampled on anything that stood in its way. The golem stood so tall it blocked out the sun, leaving fires and ash wherever it walked. Suddenly, the scene froze, and the voice rang out again.
"This is one of three trials that will allow me to determine your worthiness. This is the Trial of the Past. Long ago, your predecessor race was faced with a choice," the voice narrated. Annie and Delilah looked around and saw the despair of Asgard's citizens, powerless to escape Ragnarok's wrath. Delilah could see Einherjar fighting with the Dark Master's forces, the Valkyries leading them, and Thor and Loki trying in vain to hold back the golem.
"What is this test meant to prove?" Annie demanded.
"To see if you could make the same choices they did. Even though they were sworn to defend the innocent, there was not enough time to evacuate them, and the Valkyries needed for the spell that would spell the Dark Master's defeat all at once. This is the choice I put to you. Do you help the non-combatants flee Ragnarok, knowing that by doing so, you and the others will perish, leaving the Dark Master free to continue his campaign, or leave them to die so that he may be defeated, and all the Realms can know peace?" the voice posed.
"That is sick! In what circumstance is leaving innocent people to die a justifiable solution?!" Delilah objected.
"Is that your answer, Sentinel? If you stay and help them flee, Sigrun, Eir, Gondul, and Hildr will perish along with Asgard, and the spell would die with them, leaving the Dark Master free to conquer all Realms," the voice counselled.
"We Sentinels are taught that, whether it's one life or one billion, sacrificing innocent lives is never the answer. Others would find a way," Annie affirmed.
"So be it," the voice acknowledged. Another door appeared which engulfed them in a bright light like before. This, Annie and Delilah surmised, was the way to the second trial.
Meanwhile, back on the Isles, the group then encountered a cave carved into a mountainside. According to maps of the area, the probe crash-landed somewhere on the other side. The cave was not as straight-forward as they hoped, rather a labyrinth of tunnels, meaning the likelihood of getting lost was high.
"Can't we go up and over?" Lynn suggested.
"That mountain is over 3,000 feet high. No way could our palisman fly us over. Also, there's birds of prey up there. If we tried, we'd get picked off one by one," Eda shot the idea down.
"Not that the cave is much better. From what I've read, it's home to a Behir," Lilith added.
"Oh boy, not good," Gus squirmed.
"I thought they were just a legend, a monster under the bed to scare kids into eating their veggies," Toffee chimed in.
"Mind telling the rest of the class what a Behir is?" Luz inquired.
"It's like a cross between a snake and a lizard, only they're ten times bigger, can see in the dark and feast on blood, and it's not a picky eater," Amity explained.
"Oh, wonderful, so we have to choose between getting pecked to death by massive birds and having our bodily fluids sucked out by a giant snake monster," Lynn scoffed.
"Feel free to go back through the spiders' forest," Eda joked.
"OK, fine, whatever gets this done faster," Lynn retorted. The group then journeyed through the cave, summoning light spells so they can see. Lynn tried to conjure one of her own, but like before, she could only produce sparks that fizzled out as quickly as they appeared. Lucy conjured one big enough for the two of them, so Lynn kept close to her. The passages spread out for kilometres, almost without end. From the grooves along the walls, Caramel deduced that the Behir probably made this labyrinth itself, no doubt a way to confuse and exhaust whatever prey wandered in here.
"Stay quiet and keep an ear out. This thing might use hearing to hunt its targets," Caramel advised. No-one spoke a word as they listened for the monster and looked for a way out. Lynn was still trying to summon a light, but nothing came of it.
"What is it, am I thinking of the wrong incantations or….." Lynn hypothesised, but Lucy stopped her dead in her tracks.
"Alright, enough. The wand, the incantations, they're not the problem," Lucy interjected. Before Lynn could say anything else, Lucy spoke again. "The problem's this," Lucy then pointed directly at Lynn's heart. "It's broken," Lucy finished. Lynn had questions, but she knew that nothing got past Lucy, and she could no longer hide her pain for her room-mate.
"So you know," Lynn realised.
"Yes, I know what happened between you and Lincoln. I heard you talking to Amity about it, back at Royal Woods," Lucy confessed.
"Did he…..ever say anything to you?" Lynn asked.
"No," Lucy replied.
"Then it's probably just me he hates. Nice to know no-one else will feel like this," Lynn consoled herself.
"Feeling like what?" Lucy inquired. Lynn took a while to find the right words.
"Like a part of me has been ripped out, like everything's gone horribly wrong, and second-guessing every decision I ever made," Lynn then remembered back to when she and Lincoln were little. They would have so much fun playing in the back yard, at the park, even on the school playground during recess, despite the unspoken taboo against hanging with siblings at school. Lynn then flashed back to the session at the school counsellor's office, the day Lincoln told Lynn he resented her, and Lynn broke down, albeit silently, and in Lucy's arms.
"Where did I go wrong, Lucy? When did I lose my brother?" Lynn asked herself. Lucy had no answer for her. The others could only watch and feel sad for Lynn, until Luz looked up at the ceiling and realised where they were.
"Errrr, guys, I think we better move!" Luz advised. Lynn wiped away whatever tears remained and turned to face her.
"How come?" Lynn probed, but her answer came in the form of a painful sensation similar to an injection into her back. Lynn then began losing control of her body, going limp. Lucy then looked up and saw the Behir, a huge, grey-coloured snake-lizard hybrid, with a cobra's head, glowing red eyes, a huge tail with a stinger on the end (no doubt what had jabbed Lynn) like a rattlesnake and six lizard legs.
"Get Lynn outta here!" Eda instructed, as she and Lilith transformed into their harpy forms to engage the beast, holding it back while Toffee, Caramel, and the kids carried Lynn away from the creature. Eda and Lilith did their best to avoid both the Behir's fangs and stinger, while the Behir used its tail like a whip to try and jab them. Lilith then grabbed its tail and hurled it deeper into the cave.
"That won't slow it down for long. We have to find the exit," Lilith urged.
"Agreed. You get Lynn. I'll watch the others," Eda affirmed. Lilith then found the kids and took Lynn off their hands. Lynn was struggling to stay awake, reeling from the effects of the Behir's tranquilizer.
"I'm….slowing…..you down," Lynn whispered in between breaths.
"We don't leave anyone behind in this group," Lilith assured. Despite not being able to hear the Behir, the exit was no-where in sight.
"No light at the end of this tunnel," Eda remarked. Lucy then had an idea. If Edwin acted like an actual bat, maybe he could get them out. Lucy then let Edwin free from the palisman staff.
"Edwin, you think you can use echo-location to find the way out?" Lucy probed. Edwin nodded in confirmation and began making noises to map out a route.
"Nice thinking, Lucy. You fit in well here," Luz complimented.
"It's nothing special. I have a pet bat called Fangs back home. I know how they work," Lucy responded. Luz then looked up at Lilith, still carrying Lynn.
"She's kidding, right?" Luz asked. All Lynn could do was shake her head, as she was still weak. Lilith had to shake her awake when she showed signs of slipping into unconsciousness.
"No, no, stay with me," Lilith ordered.
"We better wrap this up fast," Caramel observed. Soon enough, Edwin came back. Lucy could tell Edwin had found the exit, so the group followed him. They could see the light at the end after a few twists and turns, but the noise Edwin made to find the exit also drew the attention of the Behir. It gave a terrifying screech and rushed at them. King then used his sonic voice to keep it back as long as he could, buying the group enough time to get out of the cave. The Behir, like other cave-dwellers, could not stand the sunlight, so it retreated back into its lair, its prey having gotten away. The focus then shifted to Lynn, who had lost consciousness.
"Will she be OK?" Lucy asked out of great concern.
"Behir stings only send their prey to sleep while they drain their lifeblood. She'll be fine in an hour," Lilith assured.
"We can't stop. Not here, surely," Toffee observed.
"I don't think anything's gonna attack us here. Look where we are," Eda responded. The group then found themselves in an abandoned village that bore the signs of battle, or to be more precise, a massacre.
"Is this…." Luz began.
"Yep, this was the Malefic Order's home," Eda confirmed. The group then wandered through the ruins, finding a homestead that was at least mostly intact and put Lynn down to rest on a bed on the top floor.
At the White Isle, after the light had died down, Annie and Delilah found themselves back in the Sanctum, or so they thought. Images of their sisters, Shawn, and Crystal had appeared before them, but any attempt to engage them in conversation was futile. It appeared as if they could not see or hear them. The other Sentinels were engaged in intense debate over what they had heard from the Court.
"Could you honestly tell me you'd continue working with them after they had lied to us all this time?!" Crystal interrogated.
"You have to admit, it would be difficult to trust them after such a revelation," Shawn reasoned.
"It should be the Chief's decision," Morgan asserted.
"Yeah, well she's not here, and neither is the second-in-command. We don't know when they'll be back, so we have to decide for ourselves," Zella asserted.
"I would rather have a consensus, but there are too many unknowns," Amy replied.
"Enough. The real question is; should we tell the rest of the Sentinels?" Sylvia posed.
"Yeah, that'll go down well, surely," Crystal scoffed sarcastically.
"I don't see you coming up with any better ideas!" Sylvia argued.
"You want ideas?! Here's one! How about 'screw the Court and handle the Malefic Order ourselves'!" Crystal suggested.
"There are rules, Crystal!" Amy reminded.
"Ones that the Court set! Like I'm going to listen to what those blowhards have to say now!" Zella countered. The arguments kept flying all across the room, the voices of reason being drowned out by rage. When Annie and Delilah tried to calm things down, the scene stopped.
"This is the Trial of the Present. In your absence, your sisters have been investigating your sudden disappearance, and in the process, the Court has had to reveal the truth. Now, a rift threatens to form between your kin. Some believe that the Court may have had good reason to withhold your origins from you. Others cannot bring themselves to trust the Court again and wish to deal with the Order their way, more openly than you have done so previously," the voice narrated.
"At least this will be over quick," Delilah stated.
"Delilah! That could expose us!" Annie scolded.
"Maybe we'd be better off. We stop the Order without the Court's constraints, prevent the Dark Master's release, and we'll deal with what comes after. Besides, I'm kinda with Crystal," Delilah argued.
"I know you're upset with the Court. I am too, but we mustn't rush this decision. Like it or not, we need to be a united front if we are to have any chance of stopping the Order," Annie cautioned.
"Thus we have the great dilemma, and the choice you must make. Do you bring yourselves to work with a Court that has kept a vital truth from you for the longest time, abiding by their rules and keeping yourselves hidden, but also prolonging the battles with the Order, or do you go your own way, seeking out the Order wherever they are, putting an end to their schemes once and for all before they can do any more harm, but exposing yourselves to other worlds in the process?" the voice posed this test.
"Should it matter? We know who the Valkyrie Keepers are now. We are more than capable of keeping them safe for as long as we need to," Annie answered.
"Yes, we do, sister, but how long will the Keepers themselves tolerate others getting caught in the crossfire of these battles. Amphibia, the Ghost Realm, the Loud Family. All of them have suffered to keep them safe. It's only a matter of time until they reach their breaking point. All four of them have compassion beyond measure, and we know at least one of them is willing to surrender themselves to keep others safe," Delilah responded.
"In short, breaking free from the Court's rules will ensure a swift victory, but leave yourselves known to the wider multiverse, whereas continuing as you have done previously will keep you safe and hidden, but others will continue to suffer with these repeated skirmishes," the voice summarised.
"I…. don't know, but whatever we do, we have to do it together, as a team. Otherwise, we'll never beat the Order," Annie affirmed. Delilah then put a hand on her twin sister's shoulder.
"Whatever you decide, I will support you. Sentinel, Marauder, or Valkyrie, it doesn't matter, you're still my sister," Delilah assured. Annie then returned the gesture.
"Thanks, sis. Same to you," Annie replied.
"I have all I need from this test. Time to move on," the voice announced. Another door appeared and opened to once again bathe Annie and Delilah in an intensely bright light.
"Whatever happens, I sure hope I never have to see this again," Delilah joked.
At the ruins of the Order's old village, Lucy had taken to watching over Lynn, and she could not help but think about what transpired in the cave. Lynn was a strong person. To see her break down like she did was rare under normal circumstances, bordering on impossible. She only got like this when family was involved, and the issue cut her deep. She wondered to herself; how deep did Lincoln's resentment of Lynn go, and would this wound heal in time? She was snapped out of her train of thought by King, who came up beside her.
"Hey, Lucy, thought you could use an extra pair of eyes," King offered.
"Thanks, King. There's been no improvement in her condition, but she hasn't gotten worse, either, so that's something," Lucy updated.
"She'll be up soon, count on that," King assured. A brief pause, then King spoke again. "I know she'll be fine physically, but will she be OK up here?" King pointed to his head, signalling that he was asking about Lynn's emotional state. "The others have been talking and we're all worried about her, and you," King added.
"I didn't even know about all that until recently. You'd think in a house as big as ours, that our brother resenting one of us would be a topic of discussion in a sibling meeting," Lucy lamented.
"You, know, Lucy, I kinda….sorta…..envy you," King admitted.
"You do? Why?" Lucy asked.
"Growing up, I never had any brothers and sisters. Until Luz came along, it was just me and Eda, two weirdos against the entire Boiling Isles. Don't get me wrong, Luz and the Collector are wonderful found siblings, but travelling with you and Lynn, Toffee and Caramel, and Eda and Lilith, reminds me that I have no blood relatives. I'm the last of my kind. Believe it or not, this is my father's corpse we're walking on right now," King answered. Lucy then felt a great swell of sympathy for King. She often took it for granted that others did not have the same experience she has, living in a large family. She knew Clyde often got lonely at his house, away from his friend/brother figure Lincoln. She then pulled King into a hug, and this time, King returned the gesture.
"You're never alone, King, and besides, it's probably a good thing you don't live in my house. Leni would dress you up in cute outfits, Lola would drag you to one of her tea parties, and Lisa would probably poke and prod you with her gadgets trying to determine just what you are," Lucy soothed.
"You think Lynn would play catch with me?" King supposed.
"She wouldn't stop there. She'd teach you all kinds of sports, even the rough ones," Lucy replied.
"That is, if she's not too busy having that nightmare," King observed. He and Lucy saw that Lynn was breathing heavily and murmuring in her sleep. In her nightmare, Lynn was being shown flashing images of the time she threatened Lincoln with a baseball bat to get him to come to her game, even though he wanted some time to himself, and the unfortunate events following that defeat, where she blamed Lincoln's supposed bad luck, made him wear that stupid mascot outfit to get rid of it, everywhere, even on the hot beach which caused Lincoln to pass out from heatstroke and end up in the ER.
"No! I don't wanna see this again!" Lynn pleaded, but those words fell on deaf ears. She was then shown the storage unit where all the evidence of the Loud Family's misdeeds, the really damaging ones, was kept, and the consequences of having the contents revealed to the world.
"That was just an insurance policy! I never meant for any of it to get out!" Lynn reasoned. She was then shown other images, like her trying to help Lincoln and Clyde transition to middle school, only for her advice to land the boys in trouble. She was then shown images of her trying to understand what love was by following Luan and Benny around, but also interjecting with hints to spice up their relationship, and the resulting tirade Luan got into with her about Lynn thinking their romance was boring.
"Do you know how upsetting and embarrassing that was for me?!" dream Luan scolded.
"Do you know how much trouble your advice got us into?!" dream Lincoln and Clyde added.
"I'm sorry, I was only trying to help," Lynn grovelled. All these images and more spun around her like she was in a washing machine, while in the background, Lincoln's words echoed all around her.
"I resent you, Lynn. I resent what you put this family through, and I do not know if I can ever call you sister again," dream Lincoln stated. At that moment, Lynn awoke with a start, in a cold sweat and gasping for breath.
"Easy, easy. Lilith tells me the Behir's sedative might not have fully worn off yet. Try to stay off your feet," Lucy advised. Forget standing, Lynn was having trouble keeping her head from spinning, and aching.
"Where are we, and how did we get here?" Lynn groaned.
"First answer; we're in the Order's old village, the place they called home, before Belos attacked," Lucy replied.
"Great, so we really are in enemy territory," Lynn remarked.
"Second answer; we had to book it out of that cave before that thing made you its next meal. You're welcome, by the way," King added.
"Never mind that. I think we could guess what your nightmare was about. You were muttering in your sleep apologising profusely to someone," Lucy informed. Lynn went red-faced in embarrassment.
"No-one recorded that, right?" Lynn asked.
"Only in our minds," King joked.
"Hey! It's not easy being resented, especially by your own family. Whether or not Lincoln can forgive me, I just don't think I can forgive myself," Lynn lamented. Just then, Eda came upstairs.
"Oh good, you're up. You'll never guess what we found here," Eda said excitedly.
"My sister's probe?" Lucy guessed.
"Steal my thunder, why don't you. But yes, it's here. What are the odds, huh? Problem is, we can't get into its brain, or database, as Luz calls it. It's password-protected," Eda informed.
"I can help with that. If it's Lisa's design, the password will probably be her birthday," Lucy resolved. Eda then burst out laughing.
"I thought you said your sister was a genius. That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Hahaha!" Eda mocked. Lynn then got to her feet, only to stumble.
"I have to see this through. This is my mission, after all," Lynn insisted. Lucy and Eda helped her to her feet. Lucy then handed her a potion.
"Here, take this. Willow tells me it can counter-act the Behir toxin still in your system," Lucy offered. Lynn took the potion and swallowed it in one gulp. She did gag a few times, but the liquid did its job, and she was able to walk unassisted.
"Tastes like Dad's cabbage casserole," Lynn compared.
"Well, Willow did provide the ingredients, and the recipe, and she is in the plant magic track," Lucy responded.
"Tell me I didn't just drink a load of plant juice," Lynn chided.
"Only most of it was plant extract," Lucy assured.
"The final ingredient to that potion? Ground-up bugs!" Eda revealed. This made Lynn retreat to a corner and violently throw up.
"Really, Eda?" Lucy chastised.
"I couldn't resist," Eda rebuffed. King, Lucy, Lynn, and Eda made their way to the crashed probe that had landed on what was once the village square, a centre of commerce reduced to an abandoned heap. Toffee and Caramel had been busy trying to crack the code and decipher the database, but to no avail. Lucy then entered Lisa's birthday as the passcode, hoping it would work. Unsurprisingly, it did work. Lucy sighed heavily.
"Lisa, you need to upgrade your security. Try alpha-numerics like everybody else," Lucy commented.
"Her birthday was the passcode? In my thieving days, I would call that amateur hour," Caramel scoffed.
"And that is insulting to amateurs," Toffee added. The group now had access to the probe's data. It had compiled an exhaustive map of the Boiling Isles before it had crash-landed and stopped transmitting. From it, they were able to determine the location of each of the former Emperor's vaults. Lilith helped to rule out those that had already been discovered and emptied by the Triad, which left only one. When the group saw where it was, they could not help but cringe.
"Seriously, he put it there?!" Luz remarked.
"I think I get why Belos never told me about this one," Hunter commented.
"Oh, come on! This is my dad we're talking about! Is nothing sacred!?" King yelled. Lynn, having just arrived from her vomiting session, saw for herself where their next destination was.
"I think I'm going to puke again," Lynn said.
"Yeah, I think I'll join you," Amity added.
"Like it or not, we have no choice," Toffee resolved. The data shows that the last undiscovered vault was at the Titan's pelvis. More specifically, the spot in between the Titan's legs. No-one relished going there, but it was as Toffee said, they had no choice. Before they departed, Lynn lifted up her foot because she thought she stepped on a loose pebble. When she picked it up, Gus took great interest in it. True, it was shinier than the average pebble, but Lynn could not understand why he was geeking out about such a small thing.
"Errrrrr, what is this?" Lynn probed.
"I thought these were just a concept. That's….that's a memory shard. The wisest Illusion masters have never even seen one," Gus clarified. Everyone rushed over immediately.
"A memory shard? I've only seen one in books," Lilith gushed.
"OK, what is a memory shard?" Lynn queried.
"Exactly what it says on the tin. It is a memory, contained within a shard of glass. They're exceptionally tricky to make and disastrous should you get it wrong. Squeeze it tightly and you can see past events concerning places, people, anything," Gus explained.
"OK, I guess I'll give it a shot," Lynn squeezed the shard, being careful not to cut herself, and the scene changed from smoked-out ruin to a bustling village, teeming with people. Then four witches, two male and two female, spoke to them. The two males had black and red hair respectively, while the two females wore green and purple. Lynn could guess who the green-haired witch was.
"If you are listening to this, you have found our memory shard. We have poured our collective memories into this object for others to see, so that they may understand why we have chosen the path we now walk, and hope that they may forgive us for our sins," the black-haired witch narrated.
"Wait, are they…." Lynn realised, but the witches spoke again.
"My name is Shara," the green-haired witch introduced herself.
"She has an actual name? I'm still calling her Plague Bringer though," Lynn countered. The black-haired witch introduced himself as Cody, though Lucy knew him as Fear Monger. The redhead said his name was Darius, while the purple-haired witch called herself Mira. Cody then spoke again.
"Those were our names, long ago, when we still had a home. But then, the time that our seers foresaw came to pass. The tyrant known as Belos came to our land, demanding our compliance, but we said no," Cody explained. The scene then changed to the Emperor's Coven attacking the village without mercy, laying waste to any that resisted, and sending the captives off to either be forcibly branded or to be petrified, with no hope of recovery.
"This must be what Lincoln saw in his dreams," Lucy observed.
"Yeah, if someone did this to me or anyone I cared for, I'd seek revenge too," Lynn sympathised. This also reminded Toffee of his own past, living under the thumb of the Mewman royalty, with its anti-monster bias and discrimination taking its toll.
"When we escaped as teens, we forged ourselves new names; Fear Monger, Plague Bringer, War Leader, and Vainglorious, and together, we vowed to one day bring Belos down, with the aid of one called the Supreme Warlock and his Dark Master," Shara exposited.
"It was our hope that they would lead us to victory against our enemies, that we might one day return home as liberators. But we cared not for fame, riches, or glory. We simply wanted our home back, and to reclaim our futures. Shara wanted to be a healer, to soothe aches and pains of all that needed it. Cody wanted to study the mind, to help those plagued by nightmares and inner demons. Mira wanted to help others find their way, and be pleased for their success, and I wanted to help protect and defend our people from those that wished us harm. Now, we have all become something we are not, to save our home," Darius justified.
"If our people find this, we hope they can look past our mistakes and embrace us as kin. If our enemies find this, we hope you can forgive us, as we learn to forgive ourselves," Mira concluded. The scene ended, and the view returned to the ruin they had taken shelter in. Suddenly, Lynn could see why Lincoln wanted to save the Order. True, they did need to be stopped, but justice did not always mean death. Once the Dark Master issue was resolved, they could come back to their home and atone their own way.
"This should be brought back to the Triad. They need to see this," Luz resolved.
"Agreed, but first, we have a vault to crack," Lilith replied. Everyone took flight for the Titan's pelvis and Belos' vault.
At the White Isle, Annie and Delilah's last test was about to begin. They found themselves in a dark place, lit only by the stars. This Realm had a purplish hue about it. There were gas giants of various sizes, and the only signs of life in this place were floating jellyfish and whale-like creatures floating and sailing through the void. Annie and Delilah dared to look down from the platforms they were standing on, but the realm had no bottom, almost as if they were in space. Ahead of them was an altar containing a large portal.
"Is that the Dark Master's prison?" Annie asked.
"Yes. This is the Trial of the Future. There will come a time where this battle will come to a head, and the Valkyrie and Marauder Keepers will be gathered here. It is inevitable," the voice answered. To their left were the Valkyrie Keepers, four teens, one boy and three girls. One by one, they appeared out of thin air. The boy was sporting a sweater-vest and a large backpack.
"Milo Murphy," Annie recognised. The second apparition was that of Leni Loud. The third was of a Thai-American girl with brown hair and a ghost companion.
"Molly McGee," Delilah noted. The last apparition was of a Taiwanese-American girl. All four of them were hovering above the ground and restrained by magic unknown.
"Marcy Wu," Annie rounded off the Valkyrie Keepers. To their right were the Malefic Order, all four members. Strangely enough, they were restrained as well, by the same magic that bound the Valkyrie Keepers.
"I take it they're the Marauder Keepers," Delilah surmised.
"Very astute. With all the Keepers in one place, along with the Dark Master's spirit and power, the Supreme Warlock will have all he needs to free his master from this prison and make him whole again. However, it should be noted that the spirits needed to form the Key to Convexity require the Keepers to be *alive*," the voice hinted.
"Oh, come on, this test is too easy. All we have to do is kill one of the Marauder Keepers and the whole thing's kaput, problem solved," Delilah assumed.
"If only it were that easy. At this point in time, the Supreme Warlock will have discovered a way to tap into the Malefic Order's Marauder Spirits and taught these witches how to transform into the Dark Master's creations. You saw in Marcy what can happen when such power is unleashed," the voice rebutted.
"Yeah, they become nigh unstoppable," Annie recalled. She still had memories of Marcy's Valkyrie form laying waste to King Gaul's ape army, driving them out of Newtopia with sheer rage. If the Malefic Order could do the same, this war would become a lot harder to win.
"Enough of this. If you can see the future, tell us how we win!" Delilah demanded.
"I said that all the Keepers needed to be alive for the Dark Master's release, not just the Marauders. Therefore, an alternative solution is available to you," the voice corrected. Annie was putting the puzzle pieces together in her mind, and this voice's 'solution' proved most grave. As if on cue, the Valkyrie Keepers took centre stage.
"No! Don't ask us to do that!" Annie begged.
"It is the only way. To stop the Dark Master's rise, you must sacrifice one of them," the voice insisted.
"I meant tell us how we win without sacrificing innocent souls," Delilah clarified.
"This is your only choice. Either sacrifice one of the Valkyrie Keepers or the Dark Master escapes. You are Sentinels. You are sworn to defend the innocent, but you also have a duty to prevent this catastrophe. Which oath will you choose to break? Even you and your sisters' combined strength cannot stop the Supreme Warlock or his Marauders," the voice posed.
"I don't care! We can't cut any of them down to save the Realms!" Annie argued.
"That's our answer! None of them!" Delilah responded.
"Very well, then. The Trials are over," the voice concluded. Another door opened and this time, Annie and Delilah found themselves in a library of sorts, with floating candles as a light source. Before them stood a large, circular door that seemed to be sealed shut.
"Now what?" Annie asked.
"These trials allowed me to determine your character. They also showed you the hard choices faced by your predecessor race, the current conflicts faced by your kin, and events yet to come. Your answers formed the basis for my evaluation, to judge your worthiness," the voice explained.
"Does that mean you'll show yourself now?" Delilah inquired.
"I deem you worthy Sentinels. You never gave up on your solemn duty to defend the innocent above all else, even at the cost of victory, and you stuck together. That is how this war will eventually be won. Now, I believe you came here for answers. We should hold the rest of this conversation face-to-face. Stand back," the voice instructed. Suddenly, the giant, circular door started opening, and on the other side was a giant, grey dragon with a crystal hanging from his neck, and he was carrying a bag full of scrolls on his hindquarters.
"I am the Chronicler, and this is my library," the Chronicler introduced himself at last, the voice finally having a body.
The Boiling Isles group had finally arrived at the Titan's pelvis, and the journey to Belos' vault proved a lot less perilous than the Wildlands. Truth be told, nothing much lived here, and whatever did kept away from them. Lynn was certainly relieved not to be at risk of being preyed upon by giant beasts this time, although she wasn't relishing the idea of setting foot on the Titan's private area. Too bad she couldn't meet Belos, or she'd punch him for that one.
"Here we are at the vault, now let's get what we came for and get out of here," King announced. Everyone nodded in agreement. The sooner this was done, the better. Luckily, Toffee and Caramel only needed one thing; the vessel containing the Spirit of the Dark Master. Once they found that, they were gone. Luz took in the surroundings.
"I see why Belos hid a vault here. Very remote, not much around, and if this place was considered sacred, it would guarantee secrecy," Luz noted.
"As if his disrespect for our kind could be any more obvious," Amity scoffed.
"Yes, well, he's dead now. He can't harm this world anymore," Luz reminded. Amity then had an idea pop into her head.
"You know, Eda told me about your Titan form. I wish I could see it, just once. Maybe I could 'have some fun' with it," Amity flirted. Luz chuckled.
"I still remember what it looked like. I could make a cosplay costume and we could have all the 'fun' we want," Luz returned the advances.
"Why make a costume if you're just going to take it off anyway?" Lynn muttered to herself.
"If you two are quite finished, we found the door. Problem, we can't get in," Eda notified, breaking up the impromptu lovefest. It did not take long for the huge steel door to come into view. Opening it proved a challenge, even for the master thief Caramel.
"I've broken into a lot of vaults, but nothing as sophisticated as this. Belos knew what he was doing when he built this," Caramel stated.
"Eda, you've surely done a lot of breaking and entering in your time. Seen anything like this?" Luz probed.
"Let me take a look," Eda stepped up to the door. She gave it a thorough inspection and came to a conclusion. "From a cursory analysis, it seems that Belos used a combination of magic and technology to seal this vault. Even if you knew the correct incantations to disenchant the lock, without the key, you'd be better off muttering nursery rhymes," Eda evaluated.
"So, we came to the Titan's most sacred spot for nothing? This has been a waste of time," Gus scoffed. Lynn was pacing up and down when she stepped on another pebble.
"Seriously, twice in one day? Doesn't this world hate me enough?" Lynn chided. She then removed the pebble from her shoe, only to stumble onto another memory shard. "And here I thought Gus said these things were rare," Lynn joked. She squeezed it, hoping it would provide an answer, but all that appeared was a strange man who looked like he came from a history textbook about the founding of America.
"I wouldn't enter that vault, if I were you. What's sealed inside is there for a reason," the man cautioned.
"We're not treasure hunters. We only want whatever's necessary to stop the Malefic Order," Lynn replied. To her surprise, the man turned to face her. The previous shard had been projections and messages only, but this one seemed to be able of conversation.
"I thought them extinct," the man responded.
"Yeah, well, they're not. I came here with my sister to find a way to beat them," Lynn confided.
"Is that so? Well, the vault's contents should suit your needs most comfortably. Through painstaking research, I uncovered the incantations to disable the magical lock. As for the technological side, take a closer look at the shard you stepped on," the man instructed. Lynn inspected the shard and found that it resembled a key of sorts, or at least something you put into a hole to make the door open like in all those corny adventure movies.
"You said you knew the incantations?" Lynn recollected.
"Listen carefully," the man then whispered into Lynn's ear, and Lynn knew what she needed to do. "Be careful in there," the man added. Lynn then approached the door, muttered the same incantations the stranger whispered to her, and inserted the shard into the keyhole. With several loud clicks, the door began to open. Everyone didn't know whether to sing Lynn's praises or question how she knew what to do. However, any talk of this would wait until they got what they came for. While everyone was searching the vault, Lynn hung back to speak to her new friend.
"Maybe this wasn't a wasted trip after all. I never got your name. Mine's Lynn. Thanks for showing us the way," Lynn said gratefully.
"No problem, and my name is Phillip. Phillip Wittebane," Phillip responded.
Author's note: I will be honest, motivation to write this has been low, primarily because FFN has been having so many issues as of late. Grace has been keeping me updated on what's going on, but it's getting harder and harder to keep faith in this site's staff. I have spoken with him about moving to AO3, but their site design is, to put it mildly, ugly a.f. and I still have friends on here that I will not abandon. Next chapter will be the final one, whenever I get around to it. Curse you, Spider-Man 2 on PS5, triggering my procrastination! The usual disclaimers, I own nothing. All properties belong to their respective owners. Enjoy.