Author's Notes: Merry Christmas to all of my readers! I hope y'all have a blessed celebration with your loved ones, and remember from Lincoln and Lola's story: family is important.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Loud House, the brand, as well as all of its characters and settings belong to Chris Savino and Nickelodeon, all rights reserved.
Chapter 75: Void.
The alarm sounded, Lincoln tried his hardest to open his eyes, but everything was extremely bright, he was afraid of setting his pupils on fire, instead, he decided to turn around to stuff his head face down on his pillow.
He had a massive headache.
But that damn alarm just kept beeping, a whole minute in and It was still ringing.
He made the decision to open his eyes from the side one moment to get a look at the clock.
He could have just done the normal human action of pushing the button on top of the device to silence it.
Instead, he got a hold of the poor clock and smashed in on a nearby wall, successfully stopping its alarm, forever.
- I'll get a new one, not like I have an issue with that - He thought to himself at that moment, before drifting to sleep again.
A few hours later and he was actually ready to fully open his eyes, his head was still hurting, his breath was actually reeking of alcohol, and he noticed the three discarded bottles of whiskey that were still laying on the bed at random places.
He figured he would call room service later on.
He retrieved a painkiller from his nightstand and went to his bathroom for a glass of water, for now, he had enough with sleeping, he looked at his wrist clock.
11:11AM, great, he missed breakfast, for the second time now, he was honestly not even surprised, right after earning all of that money, he figured he owed himself some deserved rest, his varied collection of drinks and sweet and violent sessions of Gloom Eternal on the Zbox were doing the job at calming his mind as he prepared for his next move.
He ordered pizza in advance as he lied on his bed again, checking the chat window on his phone, ready to answer to any of his many debtors and clients.
…well, that ain't a client.
*Hi Linky!*
7:30AM
*hope you doing ok :D*
7:31AM
*I gotta gift for you ;)*
7:31AM
*yourstory . png*
7:32AM
Lincoln froze for a moment, Lily almost never writes to him anymore, her message was short and concise, the little thumbnail of the picture was giving him a revolting feeling in his stomach.
It couldn't be…
He downloaded the picture, then zoomed in.
There was no doubt, it was her handwriting, he read attentively.
Into the Story:
"… Furthermore, a series of chains came out of the pillar, grabbing the cowboy and stripping him of all of his equipment, leaving only his underwear and tying him to the ground, unable to move.
The test had begun
.
The noxious effects of the gas, accompanied by her loneliness had effectively clouded the mind of the sorcerer, she could think of nothing else that the carnal desire that flowed through her body as a means to mask her despair, her path in life had been closed to only this brief moment on the cave where she could be with her beloved knight without any other concerns in the world.
In the end, the princess fell to the allure, approaching the almost nude form of the knight which remained pinned on the flow, unable, but also, unwilling to move.
She placed herself on top on him, and without a mind of her own, sealed the kiss of doom.
And the temple noticed, the goat statue noticed, as it began shaking and causing quakes in the ground, the strong trembling of the room managed to stabilize the princess, allowing her to recover consciousness for a moment, which she used to quickly stand up and get away from the immobilized cowboy.
It was too late, however, the temple's entrance was sealed tight with another wall of sturdy rock, and the goat statue moved from its place, standing up and easily towering even the pillars surrounding the temple.
The golem of Lust had been awakened.
And the princess was defenseless, unable to conjure even the simplest of spells, for her mind could think of nothing but the face and body of her attractive knight, they were going to die at the spot, and she knew that.
But, she didn't want her knight to suffer for her sins anymore, she didn't want him to perish in this deceitful cave for something that never actually concerned him, a selfish wish by a deluded failure of a princess.
She knew that she didn't stand a chance to the mighty titan.
But there was at least something that she could do to protect the space cowboy.
It was a moment split decision, but she knew that the accumulated weight of her sins had driven her to this corner, without escape.
She reached from the pocket-like entrances of her wide dress, until she could get a hold of a special weapon that she had brought.
Her last resort.
Before the golem could make its first move, the princess took a quick look at the vibrant gleam of red emanating from the vial, then at her dear knight, and without any more hesitation.
She drank the potion of emptiness.
As the effects of the potion took place, the princess began using all of her focus on a barrier, which worked just in time to halt the devastating hits that the hooves of the statue were inflicting on the duo.
After a while, feeling the reason for her sin leaving her body, the princess was able to focus more, ignoring the effect of the red mist, she used that opportunity to release the knight from the chains of the temple.
But the golem was proving to be too strong, soon after that, a few cracks were heard on the magic barrier, the cowboy, now able to move, took his chance and tackled the princess before it broke completely.
The golem of lust was able to force a quick jab through the portal, hitting the knight in the face hard enough to send him flying through the wall, leaving him unconscious.
Seeing this terrifying scene, the princess, who had barely recovered from her exhaustion from keeping the portal for so long, began focusing one more time.
It was time to unleash her last weapon, the most powerful spell that a sorcerer can learn, the one that they can only use when they have nothing else to lose, a spell that works by using the darkness of a heart that aches to feel something it cannot anymore.
She unleashed void magic.
The golem was now approaching the limp body of the defeated cowboy, ready to give him a final blow, but its attention was quickly shifted at the sight of a negative black aura that covered the temple.
DeLola was now being enveloped by a dark void, surrounded by quick sparks of light and electricity.
Then she opened her black eyes to look at the golem, who was now moving towards her.
- Inanis nigrum! - She screamed, as the aura surrounding her body was then directed to collide with the giant moving statue.
The dense sphere of negative energy started to act like a black hole, attracting the golem towards its event horizon, which provoked a reaction on the statue to try to walk backwards, to no avail.
As soon as the sphere entered in contact with the golem, its many rocky body parts started being ripped apart, starting with its chest pieces, then its arms, and then continuing with its snout, eyes and horns.
That is, until a quick release of energy from the core of the statue collided with the sphere, causing the area to explode in a blinding, white light.
DeLola watched the scene unfolding through the end, as soon as the powder had settled (and the red mist disappeared), she managed to witness a peculiar sight.
The wall leading to the entrance of the temple was gone, as well as the stone wall with the ancient inscription, granting direct access to the shrine were the diamond rested.
But… it was a little late for her.
She approached the body of the knight as he regained consciousness, then knelt to his face to pronounce her last words:
- I'll leave the rest of the quest to you, Triton - She told her esteemed companion with teary eyes, as soon after, her body started to turn to rock, starting from the feet, then to her torso, and finally, to her head, preserving her kind, yet regretful expression.
A mage's power cannot be exhausted to that extent without heavy sacrifices, DeLola knew about the risks of abusing her magic, but she was ready to give away her life for it, if it meant paying at last for her sins and saving her favorite cowboy in the whole world.
Triton's path towards the diamond was cleared, but the test was never actually completed properly, it was up to him to figure out the implications.
Princess DeLola was out"
Back in the real world.
- Potion of emptiness… Potion of emptiness… - Lincoln thought while remaining paralyzed in his bed, he desperately wanted to avoid emerging thoughts, maybe it was just another plot-convenient fix.
The mere idea, the mere implications…
They were giving him… not very pleasant thoughts about Lisa.
But then, it couldn't just be her, "She was ready to give her life for it", "A selfish wish from a deluded failure of a princess", those lines were telling something more, he knew, what if… her family was hurting her?
That was it, this was probably a "communicate" by Lily, he needed to move quick.
*Bzzt*
Another message, he looked at the chat, he recognized the source immediately.
*Lincoln, I'll be on the station on the crossroad from Royal Woods to Sandy Flats at 5:30*
12:12PM
*I'll bring her*
12:13PM
*I'll be there*
12:13
*And she's coming with me, I will not take no for an answer*
12:14
How timely for Lucy to finally be reasonable, maybe he wouldn't need to unleash his plan, after all…
Soon after answering her message, Lincoln knew what to do, he got into the shower, put his classic orange shirt on and got ready to take his black Range Rover 2025 for a ride.
- Lola sweetie, ready for your next debut? - Rita entered her daughters room to find her getting her hair ready.
- Almost there mom - Lola replied impatiently as she continued trying to untangle a knot on her otherwise perfect hair.
- Don't worry honey, remember to pack everything you need, we're going to stay for about two weeks in the hotel - Rita told her daughter emphatically before exiting the room.
Lola sighed, she appreciated her mother's immense efforts for finding her all sorts of opportunities in the pageant circle, despite her latest defeat, she still held hope in getting better, although this "Miss Teen Chick of Nature" sounded a little too by the numbers, she was at least a better caliber than those stupid local "charity" pageants, plus, she hadn't heard too many positive things of the area itself, "Sandy Flats" sounded worse than "Royal Woods" and apparently the only other thing they had of notice was a "Museum of Chicken parts", like, what even was that?
Regardless, she quickly tried out Leni's dress and decided to arrange her swimsuit to one using leaves in place of normal holders for her breasts, then, she changed back to a classic pink dress.
As for the rest of her baggage, she had quite a few bags filled with all sorts of casual clothing for going around, as well as pretty dresses for other activities, she also made sure to at least bring in lots of tampons, towels, make up, some light novels, and… of course, her medication, which she held close in her black purse.
With that out of the way, she prepared to leave, going out of the house to notice her mom already in the pilot spot of Vanzilla and… Lucy and Lily?
- Uh, are you coming with us? - Lola raised an eyebrow at seeing the other passengers in the family van.
- I'll only be there for a day, Haiku asked me for some special mementos that can only be found on a store in Sandy Flats - Lucy responded ominously, without so much as turning her head to watch her sister.
- I wanted to see the museum, I'll come back with Lucy - Lily replied energetically.
Lola furrowed her eyes for a moment, looking for a moment of retaliation on their faces, she was… not entirely convinced of their reasons, but after a while, she just shrugged it off, then got into the copilot spot with her mother.
The four remained in silence thorough the entire ride as they escaped the border of Royal Woods, later on, they approached the bifurcation leading to Sandy Flats.
- Mom, look at your meter, we may need a refill - Lucy said with a neutral voice, making the woman in question look at the at the gas level of Vanzilla.
Noticing that the level was indeed low, Rita saw a gas station, then looked back at her model daughter.
- Ok sweetie, I'm going to refill the tank, do you want a milkshake or something at the station? - Rita said casually to her bored daughter, who was watching the exterior through her window.
Lola looked at her mother one moment, then at the gas level.
- No thanks, I have to keep my figure and would rather be there as soon as possible - The pageant queen looked at her mom with a mildly annoyed look.
- Well honey if that's what you want… - Rita looked down dissatisfied, making Lola raise an eyebrow.
- What do you say girls, do you want something from the store? - The mother then directed her attention at her other daughters.
- Yay, I want Ice cream! - Lily replied excitedly.
- I would be fine with an expresso… without sugar - Lucy said seriously, triggering Lola's gag reflex a little.
2 vs. 1, how fair…
- … Then I guess I'll take the milkshake - At last, Lola answered dissatisfied, which her mom took as an admission.
Soon after, they were parking in the gas station, Rita then took a moment to check for her clock, as they went through the entrance of the 24/7 cafeteria.
The family was now sitting on a square table on the front of the main window, getting a view from the outside for Rita to check on Vanzilla, Lucy and Lily were keeping Lola entertained with normal chatter as she finished her milkshake.
After just a few minutes, a visitor was heard turning on the entrance door to the Local.
The family became wary, the stranger in question was also looking directly at the scene in front of him with wide-eyes.
Everyone was alert, except for Lola, who kept sucking on the straw without care for the world, not even noticing when said stranger approached her side and touched her shoulder, putting her in immediate berserk mode and making her pull the taser out of her purse.
- Ew, get your dirty hand away from me you creep! - Lola exclaimed furiously while shaking his hand of and turning the electric device on, then looking up directly at said pervert.
- Well that wasn't the "sparkly" reunion that I was expecting, but I wouldn't have it any other way, my princess - Lincoln squeezed with mild hilarity.
And her world was once again turned upside down.