Disclaimer: Based on The Loud House created by Chris Savino and owned/published by Nickelodeon. I am not and do not claim to be the creator. Also inspired by Bleach created by Tite Kubo. An AU to the Loud House canon.


Chapter 3

You deserve an Explanation

There was a gust of wind that passed by them as they walked down the sidewalk. Some of the streetlights were already on and the sky was just slightly pink, and trees were already turning to different colors. Both teens were walking in the cool October afternoon with a silent conversation passing between them. They were in lockstep with only occasional glances passed from the girl.

Stella waited for him to start a conversation, but he refused to even look at her. He was staring straight ahead for the whole time that they had been walking. Should she ask him about the events? Or would that cause him to drop this whole event? She was not really sure how he would respond. She never really talked to him despite being in being in the same school since she was 11. Their group circles never really crossed over, so she never got a chance to talk to him. Except for that same day after Chandler took his bag.

She glanced over to see he was still carrying all his notebooks and binders under his arms. Some were beginning to slip, so he readjusted them to fit better underneath his arms. "Do you want to put your things in my bag?" she said causing the boy to look at her. He stopped suddenly before looking down at his stuff.

"Uh, no. No thanks. Where we are going is not too far from here." he said before continuing his pace.

Stella continued with him returning to their silence. He must be the type to only talk when spoken she reasoned. After all, it was the way he was in class. She remembers that when she first started at the Royal Woods Middle School how it seemed like he tried to hide himself in the crowd. He sat in the back of class and during the mornings, when he wasn't late, he would try to slip in avoiding the crowds. But he always stood out no matter what. It was due to that white hair he had. Stella looked at him and observed how white his hair was. Snow was the first thing Stella could think to compare it to. It rested atop his head like the way snow rested upon a house's roof. This was the first time she really got a long look at him and really began to point out the finer details of his features. The haircut wasn't perfect, some spots were longer than others and his sideburns were uneven. On top of his head was a cow lick that swayed with every step he took.

He was smaller than she thought. Last night he seemed so tall taking on that thing, but now when she saw him walking in front she realized that she had a good two to three inches above him. However, the clothes he was wearing almost looked to swallow him. A large orange sweatshirt was loose against his neck revealing a black tee-shirt he was wearing. His jeans were pulled up high above his waist. If she had to bet, he was wearing that sweatshirt to make them seem like they were his size. Then when she looked at his shoes they were the only thing that fit. They were navy and white tennis shoes that were moving across the pavement. She noticed that his socks were a wired color of orange with patches that were sown in to cover holes. Suddenly his legs stopped moving and she almost ran into him.

"Welp, we arrived," he said. Stella turned and saw what looked like a worn-down gas station. The dark green poles were peeling revealing a black under-paint. The pumps were rusting and dented. One of the hoses was detached from it and lying on the concrete. It was flattened and tire marks were near it. The actual building didn't look much better. It was a one-story eggwash-yellow square building with a slanted roof. One of the windows was boarded up and the glass was everywhere on the ground outside. Above the doorway in red spray paint was 'Flip's Station.'

"This place?" Stella said as her face scrunched up. Lincoln scratched the back of his head and nodded as he began walking towards the glass door. Stella quickly followed behind him wondering why they had to go there. When the door opened she heard an electronic dinging sound that was off-tune. She looked around and saw a seating section with seats that were neon multicolored and looked like something directly out of her grandmother's wardrobe. Some aisles were mostly empty and on one wall there was a cooler that stored drinks before running into a counter. The floors were gray with some tiles missing pieces revealing black flooring underneath. There was a constant buzzing from the lights above her.

"Is this place up to any health codes?" Stella said continuing to look around at the building.

"Nope," Lincoln said with a small smirk. He went up to the counter and rang a small bell next to the counter. He began to walk towards one of the seating booths before putting his stuff down on the table. Stella followed him but looked down at the seats filled with dust and dirt. He could not really expect her to sit there. Who knows how many diseases that single cushion had?

"I would sit down, Flip might be a while," he said with a smile.

"Flip. I guess he owns this place." She slowly moved into the booth, sitting up straight so she only had to worry about one part of her touching the cushion while feeling the hardwood that was hidden by the covering. A gust of dust sprang up as she did so causing it to get into his eyes. "When was the last time he cleaned this place?"

"About six days ago," a gruff raspy voice answered her. She looked to see a short heavy man walk out a wooden door. He was carrying a wooden crate of soda bottles. He was an older man with a gray bushy mustache and curly hair surrounding the bald dome of his head. His hairy arms were exposed from his rolled-up sleeves of a brown and white shirt that was covered by an apron. There was tufts of chest hair being exposed since the top buttons were undone. "If you don't like it, I suggest that you find a different store girly." His glare forced Stella further into the booth.

"She's with me Flip," Lincon said getting up from the booth and moving towards the counter.

"Lincoln, I should have known," the man moved toward the counter and looked up at Lincoln. "What do you want kid?" The man rested his elbow against the counter and scratched his chest.

"Get me a level three" Lincoln replied as he was getting his wallet out, "and two flippees. One kiwi and the other, uh. What flavor do you want Stella?" Lincoln turned back towards her causing the girl to lightly jump.

"Uh, what flavors do you have?" Stella asked the older man.

The man shook his head slightly before staring directly at her. "I'm sorry?"

"What flavors do you have?" Stella said confusion lacing her voice.

Flip mouth opened slightly before he quickly turned towards the boy who had a nervous expression. "The hell have you done now brat?"

"It's a long story," Lincoln replied. The man closed his eyes slightly while frowning at the man. Lincoln averted his gaze, "Just tell him your favorite fruit Stella."

"Oh, uh mango please." She replied looking away from them.

"Alright, one level three and the flippies coming up. The cost comes to nine hundred then."

"Nine hundred," Stella practically yelled as she turned back towards them.

"I'll explain," Lincoln said to her. "It does seem like an overcharge though," he mumbled. He opened his wallet and laid down a couple of red papers with white writing. Stella stared at it as the guy Flip took it from Lincoln. The short man waddled back behind the door he entered from. Lincoln moved from the counter back to the booth and stared back at her. He took a deep breath and gave her a small smile.

"Alright, where do you wanna begin."

"Last night, I want to know that what I saw last night was real," Stella said moving up closer to the table. Her eyes stared deeply into his.

"Well, that is actually easy to explain." His hand went to the back of his head, "What happened yesterday was real."

Stella took a sharp breath in before closing her eyes. "So what you are saying is that thing really tried to kill me?"

"Yeah, but it's not what you think," Lincoln said.

Stella's eyes shot open to see his face. Instead of a smile, she saw a frown on his face.

"Yes that creature was real, but it was only following its nature. Think of it like a lion."

"A lion is not a ten-foot, red-skinned crocodile!" she loudly said. Her breath picked up as she looked away from him.

A pregnant pause grew in the air before it was broken by Lincoln saying, "Alright, yeah you're right. The point I was trying to make is that you should not feel afraid of it coming after you. It's not a creature with thoughts of revenge or anger. It was a creature based on a drive of hunger." She looked back to see his eyes softening, "If I am going to be honest, your anger should be directed towards me."

"What do you mean?" her soft voice asked, "If the events from last night really happened then you saved me."

He sighed, "That is true, but I also caused you to be cursed with the knowledge of the events."

"You cursed me? How, why?" Her voice picked up at the end as her mind racked back to the night. "What did you do to me after I blacked out?!"

"I did nothing," Lincoln said with his hands up. His eyes grew at her accusation while trying to explain, "It's just that- you see it is- I, ugh." Lincoln slumped in his seat before sitting up straight. He took a deep breath and relaxed himself. "Alright, I think it's time to give you a larger explanation." He began to reach out for his notebooks

She watched as he pulled out a black and red notebook and flipped to the first page.

"What I am about to tell you will change everything you know." He smiled at her as the memory rushed back to him. "My grandfather explained the same thing to me back when I was in elementary school." Nostalgia filled his head of his grandfather sitting down with him in his room. "The world we know it is only half of the story. We live in a world of physicality. Our bodies are physical, this table is physical, and the book is physical. Even things we can't see affect our physicality. The heat from the sun or whether we have gravity. In our part of life everything is physical."

He paused and turned the notebook towards her. The page was a drawing of the forest with a flowing river with rocks poking up all around it. On top of one of the rocks was a squatted creature with a feathery body. Its stomach was round and spotted, and its feet were webbed and spotted. It had a beak that was curved downward with small jagged edges. Its eyes were large and round with small sparkles around them.

"The other world is one of spirits."

"Spirits? Like ghosts?" Stella said with doubt tracing her voice. She moved back into her booth and brought her hand to her face to rub her forehead.

"No," Lincoln replied as he watched her eyes. "They are not the spirits of the deceased. The other world is inhabited by creatures like this one," he said as he pointed towards the drawing. "And like this one," he flipped to the page she saw yesterday afternoon. The small lemur eyes stared at Stella looking more real than they did that day. "And," Lincoln paused before looking away, "like the creature last night. These creatures are similar to"

Stella looked at the image and ran her hand across the page. "How do you know all of this?" She whispered. Lincoln took her hand which caused Stella to look up right in to his eyes.

His eyes were staring deep into hers. They were soft and sympathetic. "It's because I live in both parts of it."

Stella tilted her head and retracted her hands before pulling them up, "Wait, I thought you said that we lived in the physical world."

"We do, but some people are able to see the spirit world," he began quietly telling her. He moved back shifting his back to be more straight as he talked. "It's typically a genetic trait passed down to descendants. I don't know the full name for it, but most people call it soul observation. I've been able to see souls my whole life." He noticed confusion across her face before he realized what he said. "Oh. Those creatures," he pointed down to the notebook, "we call them souls."

"Wait," Stella started, "you just said that you've been able to see them your whole life."

"Yeah," he replied nodding. "Most people with soul observation have been able to see them their whole lives."

"But I haven't," Stella said. Her voice was laced with force as she practically jumped to her side of the table. Her brows were turned down and her eyes filled with fear. "The only time I've ever seen something like that is last night."

Lincoln took a deep breath in and tilted his head to the side. He scratched the side of his head before turning back towards her. "That might not be true." Stella looked at him as he readjusted himself. "Souls happen to be able to slip into the physical world at night. It just so happens that their visibility for most people is hidden by the moon." He pointed to the moon that was above the lemur. "When there is a new moon, people can't see them. They are able to hide themselves. During a full moon, however, the creatures are the most obvious. They are stronger than before, and everyone can see them." He paused and looked at her to see her looking down at her hands. She was shaking and he saw a few tears fall down her face. "I know it's a lot to take in." He spoke it softly.

"Why are they acting like nothing happened?" She wiped her eyes and looked at her. She was wide-eyed and her makeup was running down her eyes. "Why is everyone acting like everything is normal? We all almost died! So why! Please, just tell me why?"

"It's because they are not observers," Lincoln said quietly. "People who don't have the ability to see souls never remember. It keeps them sane, otherwise they would become fearful. Fear is what the stronger souls feast upon. The more people are fearful, the stronger the souls are which can lead to further destruction. For the world to be safe, souls are forgotten."

A pause filled the air as Lincoln finished his sentence. Stella continued to stare at him trying to take in his words. Could what he was saying possibly be true? Has this world always existed? "Then why do I remember?" She asked him. Lincoln looked down avoiding her eyes.

"Well, you see." He coughed into his hand. "That's the thing." He paused and looked back towards her, "You see the reason is, um."

"The kid messed up girlie." Stella and Lincoln turned to see Flip enter from his door carrying two styrofoam cups with a piece of paper underneath his arm. He came out from behind the counter and marched towards them. His shoes made a squeaking sound as he stepped. He set both of their drinks down on the counter spilling some of the contents on the table. Then he held out the paper towards Lincoln who gently took it from the older man. "Whatever your plan is with her, keep me out of it brat. I don't want any problems coming my way."

"Sure. Sure Flip." Lincoln looked away from the man as he began to walk away from him.

"What did he mean Lincoln?" Stella asked. "He said that you caused this to happen to me." She stared at him, her eyes staring straight at him while her fist balled.

Lincoln took a look at her before looking down at his hands. "Last night, you remember how I was dressed?"

"Yes. You were in some sort of black robe with some sort of sword." Stella said quickly.

"That is the uniform of the rangers." Lincoln paused before looking up at her. "I am a part of a group that works to return souls to their world."

"Wait, return?" Stella quickly asked.

"Souls can't exist in this world for long otherwise they fade away. It's painful for them. Rangers work to return souls to their world and ensure that they don't fade away."

"Return them by slicing them in half?" Stella interrupted.

"I know how it looks," Lincoln said while raising his hand. "The weapons we use are made out of a metal called inomium; it allows us to send them back to their realm. When we fight them, destroying them in our world helps to return them. It is my job to save these creatures from existing in the physical world for too long."

Stella stared at Lincoln as he finished explaining. The nervous expression he once wore hardened into a still face as he looked at her. His eyes were straight and a still expression from his lips. Stella continued to stare into his eyes wondering how much he had seen, "If what you say is true, what does any of it have to do with me?"

Lincoln looked away from her before turning the notebook to a new page. Unlike the other pages she had seen, it lacked the fantastical creatures. Instead, it was a human eye that gazed back into her piercing her mind. "Part of a Ranger's job is to not let innocents become infected. I failed at that part."

"Last night, you saw me fight one of the souls," Lincoln began. Stella looked away from the page to see Lincoln avoiding her looking out towards the station. "While you were watching, the blood of the creature got into your eyes. When a soul's blood gets into a regular person's eye, it creates a person to become an observer." He looked up at her as she stared at him the realization hitting her but wanting to hear him say it. "Last night, you became an observer."

Stella continued to stare at him before getting up and making her way out of the station. She made her way past the aisles and through the door. A chill hit her and caused her to cross her arms over herself. The lights from the station guided her path until she came to the edge of the roof. There she saw the first shadows of the night. She stopped and stared at the moon which was big and bright.

It was then she heard Lincoln jogging towards her. His tennis shoes were slightly squeaking. She turned and saw him stop in his place. He turned his face away from her making a frown as his eyebrows knitted together before relaxing and turning to face her. He stepped forward saying, "Stella, I know that this is a-."

"Stop," Stella said in almost a whisper. "Just stop." She took a step forward at him, "What you said is crazy. A spirit world that belongs to weird monstrous creatures is talk from a person who belongs in some sort of institution. Nothing about what you said makes any sense," her breath picked up as she stared at him. "But it's real, isn't it? Those monsters are real. I was attacked last night by one of those creatures. You saved me." She said as she stepped closer to him. She jabbed her finger into his chest causing him to take a step back. "But you also cursed me." Her finger pulled from his chest as she shook. "I will always remember what happened. I am able to see these monsters. I can not be normal anymore." Stella felt the tears slide down her face as she looked at her classmate.

He just stood there while looking at her his eyes cast down as he bit his lip. His hand moved through the snow-white hair as he fidgeted before stopping to look at her right in the eyes. "That is why I want to help make this normal for you."

"I don't want that," Stella said quickly.

"I can understand that. If I had a choice, I would want a life without any knowledge of the other world. But we don't have that choice anymore, instead, our lives are connected to that world now. But you have another choice. You can walk in this new world and try to survive on your own, or I can help you." He stepped forward but paused as he saw Stella step away from him. "I've lived in this world my whole life. Every day I see the creatures, but they don't frighten me. I don't want them to frighten you either. I can teach you about them and explain how they react and how they live. You don't have to live in this world with fear."

The wind blew between them as a silence filled the gap between them. Stella looked away from him. "Why do you want to help me?" Lincoln blinked at her quesiton. "You don't know me. I moved to Royal Woods five years ago and barely had a five-minute conversation with you in any of those years. The only thing I knew about you was your name. I don't know your likes or your family, and I can't even tell you your eye color. But now you wanna help me understand whatever it is this world is." She let out a choked laugh as she rubbed her eyes. "It just doesn't make any sense. None of it. Not those creatures. Not last night. Not your offer. I need something to make sense right now, so tell me, why do you want to help me."

Lincoln looked down at the ground and took a small breath. "When I was younger, I was afraid of the world that I lived in. Neither of my parents were observers, so they couldn't see the other half of the world. However, I would see creatures coming out frightening me to the point of staying awake every night. My parents only knew that I had problems that they could not help me with, and they would cry themselves to sleep wishing that I would get better. For two years, I was alone in the world."

"Then when I was six, my grandfather moved near us. He was able to explain what I was seeing and show it was natural. Every day for the next three years he would come over and just talk to me about the spirit world. Then I met other observers my age who went through similar situations. We formed a group together and helped each other understand the world." A small smile crept onto Lincoln's face. "For the first time in my life, I was no longer alone there were others that I could depend on, and I was happy." He looked up at Stella who continued to stare at him. "I know what it felt like to be alone in this world, and that is a feeling that I never want for anyone. If you accept my help, you don't have to go through the world alone." As Lincoln finished he took a step forward and stuck out his hand. "So what do you say?"

A chill ran across them as Lincoln waited for an answer. Stella looked at him before turning her head. She closed her eyes as she thought about the offer before slowly looking back at his hand. Could she trust him? She barely knew anything bout Lincoln, yet here he was offering to help her understand this world she was stuck in now. If she turned down his offer, would anyone come with a better one? Stella took a step forward and lightly put her hand into his.

"Alright," she said quietly. "If you think you can help me, you've got a deal."

"That's," Lincoln began. "That's great." He smiled brightly and shook her hands with vigor. "Alright, we can begin tonight."


Thank you all for reading.

I am open to comments, questions, and critiques. Everything you say is greatly appreciated since it helps me grow as a first time writer.

If you have some suggestions for future chapters, please post some ideas that will be taken into consideration. There is a loose plan for this with future plot lines, but the plan can change if I feel like it. Some of the chapters could be filler or could be adapted into the main story. I will try to give credit to people who change some parts of the story.

Again thank you for reading.