Lincoln slowly woke up, working out the kinks in his body. "Man, my head is swimming,"
"Good to see you're up, kid," said a voice.
Lincoln looked around until he noticed a black bird perched at the foot of his bed.
"Knight! So you did make it back with me,"
"Guess that means you remember,"
Lincoln nodded. "Everything, even the stuff I'd prefer to forget. But where are we now?"
"We're in your sister's bunker; not too bad if I say so,"
"Lisa has a hospital room in her bunker?" he asked, confused.
As Lincoln's eyes adjusted to the light, he found himself in an unfamiliar room. Its sterile white walls and single bed gave it a clinical feel. The door swung open, and his sisters rushed in, their faces a mix of relief and worry. Ronnie Anne followed, her brows furrowed with concern. The parents appeared in the doorway, their expressions mirroring their children's.
"Lincoln, are you alright? We were so scared," Lori's voice quivered with concern, her eyes brimming with unspoken fear. Her words carried the weight of her love for her brother as she reached out and gently touched his arm, her touch a reassurance of her presence. The room was filled with a palpable sense of relief, yet the tension lingered like a storm waiting to break.
"Dude, that was nuts; everybody's been talking about what happened yesterday," informed Luna.
"Yesterday? How long was I out?" Lincoln replied, his voice tinged with surprise and confusion. His words echo his disorientation and curiosity about what transpired.
"You passed out right after you beat that monster. Knight told us you needed rest, so we brought you home despite the police wanting to take you to a hospital." Informed Lynn Jr.
"Parental units, I believe it time to explain things now that Lincoln is awake," informed Lisa
"Like, what's with the talking bird?" asked Lola.
"Watch it, kid. I'm a world-class familiar, and don't just get assigned to any hero!"
"Ease up, Knight," said Lincoln. "But Mom and Dad, please tell us,"
"Okay, remember when you mentioned in your dream about being summoned to the kingdom of Cierra?" asked Rita.
"Yeah," replied Lincoln, worrying about where this was going.
"It wasn't the first time you were summoned there; it was the second time,"
"Second!?" he replied in shock.
"I'll explain," said Lynn Sr. "The first time was on your first birthday; we were heading to spend the day with Pop-pop when this blinding, mysterious light engulfed Vanzilla. The next thing we knew, we were in this enigmatic chamber, surrounded by priests. They brought us to meet their enigmatic king, Gideon, and his newborn daughter, who revealed that you were chosen as the next hero to save his world from the elusive demon lord whose power was already terrorizing other kingdoms. He offered a home in his kingdom for us to live in while you were trained for this task, but we declined, wanting to return home and not wanting you to be entangled in that mess. I mean, what kind of parents would we have been if we had said yes? Gideon agreed but warned that the gate would summon you back when the time came, whether you were ready or not."
This was the secret they had kept from Lincoln all these years, a truth that would change everything.
"When we returned home, we were sitting in Vanzilla again," said Luan.
"We all thought it was just a dream until we found out we all literally had the same dream," Lori explained.
"Why didn't you tell us about this?" asked Lucy, speaking for her younger sisters too.
"We didn't want to worry you at first, but because nothing happened, eventually, we forgot about it until Mom and Dad called about Lincoln's dream," said Luna.
"Well, guys, I get why you never said anything about this, but now I have a story to tell you,"
"What is it, Lincoln?" asked Ronnie Anne.
"There was never any demon lord; the kingdom of Cierra was behind everything, or at least the royal family," Lincoln revealed, his voice trembling with the weight of the truth.
Everyone's breath caught in their throats, their eyes widening in shock as they processed Lincoln's revelation. But this was only the beginning of his tale as he took a deep breath, preparing to share more.
"When I woke up in Cierra, I met Gideon and Veran; they said every 50 generations, a new Demon Lord rises and declares war on the other nations, and a hero needs to be summoned to save them," he explained. "I was reluctant, but they assured me that they would help me train and get strong enough to stop the demon, which is how Knight became my familiar and trained me," Lincoln finished, his voice filled with a mix of determination and uncertainty.
"Thank you," knight bowed
"While training, I was sent to other kingdoms to beat back any demon uprisings. After months of training, the 'Demon Lord' and his army advanced on Cierra. I fought him and defeated him; it should've been the end of it, should have been,"
"But it wasn't," said Lisa.
Lincoln nodded. "When it was time to go home, Gideon offered for me to marry his daughter, which I shot down immediately, telling him I had someone at home waiting for me,"
Ronnie Anne was flattered and happy, knowing Lincoln was loyal to her and would never cheat.
"Gideon seemingly understood and asked to celebrate sending me home, and I agreed; however, that princess slipped something into my drink that made me tired, so I went to bed early,"
"She then snuck into Lincoln's room and tried to take advantage of him; unfortunately for that skank, I was keeping watch and protected Lincoln long enough for him to shake off whatever she drugged him with," Knight explained.
Rita, Ronnie Anne, and The Loud sisters were furious, learning that someone had tried to rape Lincoln. A silent agreement was forged that they would break every bone in that princess's body when possible.
"She tried to use her magic to pin me down, but I broke free, and let's just say months of fighting demons and years sibling fights taught me not to pull my punches," joked Lincoln. "Anyway, she ran away, and I decided to head for the gate, but before I could activate it, I was captured by the guards; the only reason they got me was I was still weakened from the drug, but I was arrested because she claimed I assaulted her after she refused to sleep with me, overnight she turned the kingdom against me,"
"That Bitch!!" all the ladies thought.
"While locked up, Gideon visited me, and I learned the truth," Lincoln continued. "I learned he was never going to send me home; he needed me to continue the bloodline of heroes,"
"The Bloodline Of Heroes?"
"Part of the reason why Cierra is the most powerful kingdom is that the hero, after defeating the demon lord, marries into the royal family and produces powerful male heirs for 50 generations until a princess is born, which is a clear sign the bloodline is weakening,"
"50 generations of sons and then a daughter, which prompts them to summon a man from our world to fight for them?" asked Lisa.
"Yes," Lincoln said.
"Okay, assuming four to five generations a century, that means a princess is born roughly once between a thousand years and 1250 years. And it always just so happens to be at the same time a new demon lord rises?" asked Lisa.
"Yup."
"And no one else found that suspicious?" asked Lisa.
"I'm getting to that part. The king offered to overlook this situation if I agreed to marry Veran and conceive an heir. I told him no and a few other things I can't say in front of Lily, so he decided to execute me and take what he needed from my corpse,"
"Gross," said Lola.
"But Knight and I escaped. I couldn't use their gate, so I made my way to other nations to use theirs; at that moment, a bounty was placed on my head to bring me back alive," he said. "But I learned that the demons destroyed the other gates; the different kingdoms were forced into an unfair alliance with Cierra since they were the only ones with a gate and could summon a hero. I realized there might be a gate in the demon kingdom, so I made my way there while dodging bounty hunters. When I reached the kingdom, I learned the truth,"
"What was it?" asked Lucy.
"There was never any demon lord; there hasn't been one for hundreds of years; the first hero defeated the demon lord, but he and the Cierra royal family devised a plan to maintain power over the other kingdoms since their gates were destroyed. They secretly took over the demon kingdom, and the first hero stole the Demon Lord's power. Since then, every 50 generations, when a princess is born, the king, a descendant of the first hero, conjures demons to attack the other nations, causing them to plead to Cierra to summon a hero to save the world in exchange for donating half their resources to the kingdom."
This news shocked and horrified everyone, knowing the scam Cierra had set up to control the world. It looked like it was doing the world a favor by doing so.
"No other hero except for the first hero knew this, and from what I can tell, none of the civilians knew either. Scared people seek safety and assurance, not logic."
"How did you find out?" Asked Leni.
"The first hero kept a detailed record of the plan hidden in the Demon Lord's castle, along with a map to the location of the Demon nation's gate, which he told the royal family was destroyed.
"Wait? Why did he keep it?" Asked Rita.
"It was supposed to be a safety net,"
"If something went wrong and they were discovered, he'd literally have a way out and escape repercussions," Lori deduced.
"Some hero," said Lynn Jr.
"I located the gate and initiated its activation, but it was a slow process; Gideon and Veran were hot on my trail with a formidable force, intent on capturing me alive. In a daring move, I forced the gate open prematurely, and Knight and I leaped through. The next thing I recall was Lola rousing me for breakfast," Lincoln recounted. "My experiences in Cierra seemed like a vivid, fleeting dream that I struggled to recall,"
"Side effects of jumping through an unready gate, I lost my ability to speak," informed Knight. "When I found you, I reactivated all your powers and skills, curing us both,"
"That reminds me, I better check to make sure that everything is okay,"
Lincoln tapped his shoulder, causing a stats window to pop up, allowing everyone to see, shocking them. Lincoln's stats all looked normal, and his skills were all still leveled up.
"Woah, so cool,"
"Looks like everything is fine,"
"Okay, let Lincoln get some rest," said Rita.
"Hey, Lana, can you hold back a second?" Lincoln asked, his voice tinged with anger.
Lana agreed while everyone else left except for Ronnie Anne.
"Okay, do you mind telling me why you were in the theater watching that movie?!?!" Lincoln's voice was stern, his eyes locked on Lana's.
Lana's face contorted with guilt and shame, her remorse palpable. Even Ronnie Anne, who was usually unflappable, was visibly upset with her.
"I didn't mean to at first,"
"At first?"
"I went to get snacks from the concession stand, and Chandler stole my gummy worms and called me a baby because I couldn't watch the movie, then he bragged about how he was going to bother you and Ronnie Anne, so I called one of my rat friends to chase him out of the theater, but he dropped his 3D glasses, and I just gave in and went inside,"
Lincoln and Ronnie Anne, always protective of Lana, felt pity for her; they knew all too well how Chandler could get under people's skins.
"Okay, I won't tell Mom and Dad about you disobeying them, and I'll get your money back tomorrow,"
"You will?"
"But, since you did disobey Mom and Dad, you're going to have to wait a whole year before you can see the movie," informed Lincoln.
"Fair enough," said Lana, leaving.
As Lana left the room, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were left in a silence that was heavy with concern. Ronnie Anne sat beside Lincoln on the bed, her gaze fixed on Lincoln, her worry palpable.
"So these people, are they still coming for you?" she asked.
Lincoln sadly nodded. "Today proved it. I don't know what kept them till now, but they must have the gate open. One good thing is that, for now, at least, they can only send one or two people through it at a time. And they can't leave it open, or else they risk destroying their world or merging it with our own. So it's not like we'll see any Lord of the Ring armies charging into Michigan anytime soon."
"That's good, but that also means they can sneak attack anytime they want. And you can't predict or react to them all in time, right?"
"Not necessarily. Knight and I can sense when the gate is open now that our powers are stabilized. But that's not the only thing bothering you, is it?"
"I just found out that some bitch tried to rape you, and here I was bugging you for sex in the back of your van," Ronnie Anne replied, feeling ashamed.
"Ronnie, we've been together since we were 13 and started sleeping together when we turned 16; I'm more than happy to be with you whenever you want to because I know I'm the only one, unlike that slut who is a walking cesspool for STDs,"
"Seriously?"
"While I was on the run, I found out she had a few lovers in each nation that she slept with since she was 12; she basically had a male harem. The only thing is none of them could get her pregnant; otherwise, they'd be castrated, and the baby would be killed," informed Lincoln. "She used her body to control a lot of people,"
"Gross,"
"I know,"
"You know, if you're in the mood, we could make up for yesterday," Ronnie Anne teased.
"Love to, but remember this room belongs to Lisa, and I'm pretty sure she has it bugged,"
"Shouldn't we be worried if she heard what we discussed?"
"No worries, I have a skill called Silence that keeps anyone outside the area I choose from listening in, and I chose this room after Lana left. But that won't stop people from seeing what's in the area."
"How many skills do you have?"
"A lot. I can even create more skills or share them with others in my party, but they'd have to be mastered, I might be at master level, but someone else would be a beginner level, the more you use them, the faster you can master it,"
"So, in theory, you could create a skill that would make you an incredible skateboarder and give it to me so I could be better than a pro, but only if I was the right 'level' for it to work?" Ronnie Anne asked.
Lincoln chuckled. "Yes, I could."
"Alright, so how do I level up?"
"You've played games before; you should know."
Ronnie Anne playfully slapped his chest. "This is real life, Lincoln. It's not like I can go on quests or slay monsters in this world."
"You got me there,"
"Did you have a party in Cierra?"
"No, I tried, but no one wanted to join, but it was for the best since how fast the whole place turned on me; plus, I didn't want to build any friendships there; I wanted to go home fast," Lincoln informed.
"Well, at least here, you don't have to worry about that." Ronnie Anne assured him.
Lincoln chuckled and rolled his eyes a little, "In my experience, that's not a promise anyone can make to me. Just look at my sisters."
"They made it up to you, Lame-O,"
"Yeah, I know,'' Lincoln joked. "Hey Ronnie Anne, since our date was ruined, how about we go somewhere private?"
"Think we'll be able to find a private place since videos of you kicking that demon's ass are all over the internet?"
"I'm going to enjoy my high school life regardless of who comes at me,"
Ronnie Anne smiled before kissing Lincoln, silently agreeing to their do-over date the following weekend. Deciding to leave to let Lincoln rest, Ronnie Anne headed for the door. However, before leaving, Ronnie Anne hopefully lifted her skirt, showing off her big booty. Grinning, she slapped herself on the ass, making it jiggle as a silent promise of what they were going to do during their do-over date.
The Next Day.
Lincoln left the bunker to prepare for school, resting for the day. His healing factor made him as good as new, and he was ready to return to high school. Lincoln was happy to head to school despite his family and Knight's encouragement to lay low. Lincoln, however, didn't want to hide; he did agree to have his father drive him to school in Vanzilla.
"Son, are you sure you want to attend school today?"
"It's fine, Dad. I brought Knight with me just in case,"
"I just don't want anyone looking at you like a weirdo,"
"We're Louds, Dad; we don't do normal. Remember when Flip accidentally unleashed that swarm of giant wasps he smuggled because he thought they made honey, and Lisa created robotic bees to get rid of them?"
"Right?"
"I'll see you home, Dad,"
Lincoln stepped out of the car, and his schoolmates immediately questioned him. The constant questioning came from everywhere until Knight snapped.
"Back off, ya jerks; give the kid some space!!"
Everyone backed off, completely freaked out by the talking bird that wasn't a parrot, allowing Lincoln to walk as he searched for his friends. Lincoln headed to the spare room he and his friends use for the Action News Team. Clyde and the others weren't in Royal Woods over the weekend; while Lincoln was going to watch the movie and review it, the rest of the gang had their own projects outside of Royal Woods that they would combine into an Action News Team segment. They will probably be waiting for him there. Heading to the A.N.T. room, he saw his friends already there, getting ready for their show while waiting for Lincoln.
The years were just as kind to the friend group as it was to Lincoln. Clyde developed an athletic build and now swapped between contacts and his glasses. Rusty was a little taller than Lincoln and Clyde and straightened out his messy orange hair. Zach had the second biggest change in the friend group; despite being the shortest in both elementary and middle school, he had a significant growth spurt in high school, making him as tall as Lincoln and Clyde, and like Clyde, he also started wearing contact lenses. Liam had the biggest change in the group; he was now the tallest, and years of working the farm with his grandmother gave him the body of a bodybuilder and the strength to match. Stella grew into a beauty in her own right, well she wasn't as big as Ronnie Anne in certain areas, but her assets were still big and proportionate to her figure, making her very attractive to the guys in school, especially Chandler, who relentlessly hit on her, only for him to be beaten up multiple times.
"Hey guys,"
Everyone turned and instantly rushed Lincoln with relief, concern, and a flurry of questions.
"Buddy, are you okay?" Asked Clyde.
"We saw you fight that alien," Zach continued.
"Actually, it was a demon, Zach," Lincoln corrected.
"A demon!?" Stella replied, shocked.
"Dawg, that's even worse!!" Rusty said.
"Tarnation, that thing was bigger than Virginia," Liam admitted.
"Guys, I'll tell you everything during lunch, but right now, we need to get our segments ready for the action news and get to class; I'll get chewed up by everyone else in the building by then."
"He's right." Said Stella.
"Are you going to use the news to tell everyone?" Zach asked Lincoln.
"Maybe, but there are some details I want to keep out that I only want you guys and my family to know," Lincoln stated. "But let's get to work before we have to deal with Mr. Bolhofner,"
In a cruel twist of fate, when the gang graduated from Junior high School, Mr. Bolhofner left. However, they all learned he was now a teacher on the first day of high school. In an even crueler twist of fate, he became their homeroom teacher and has been their teacher throughout high school.
"Okay, we've only got an hour; let's get to work," Lincoln said.
Within 30 minutes, the gang had their segments ready and broadcasted them to the school. Lincoln explained things about what happened on Saturday but left out crucial details. By the end of their segment, it was time for the first period, so they headed to their first-period class. Rushing, they ran into the last person they wanted to see, Chandler.
"Hey Lame!! He mocked.
"What do you want?"
"You expect us to believe that bull crap about you being summoned to another world and fighting demons?"
"Believe what you want," Lincoln said, walking past Chandler.
"If that thing was a demon, I bet your creepy younger goth sister summoned it, or your egghead sister made it in her lab, and it got loose," Chandler mocked. "Along with that talking chicken,"
"Watch it, buddy, I'll peck out something you're going to miss," threatened Knight, balling his wing into a fist.
Lincoln instantly felt his blood boil. He didn't care when Chandler insulted him, but he hated it when he started insulting his sisters, especially when some people watching seemingly agreed. Chandler started laughing, but it quickly died when Lincoln suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind him, surprising everyone.
"If I were you, I'd watch what you say about my sisters; you might piss me off,"
"Oh, I'm so scared," Chandler remarked, trying to sound tough.
"No, Chandler. You're not scared; you're just pathetic," Lincoln responded, surprising Chandler.
"You call me pathetic?"
"Yes, we're in high school now, and you're still the same as you were back in elementary. You strut around like you own the place and genuinely believe everyone around you wishes they were you. And because of that, you treat everyone in your sight like they're just there for you to use. Well, newsflash, Chandler, we're not all ten years old anymore, and we've gotten sick of your 'I'm the center of the universe' attitude. No one wishes they were you. We all grew up; you, however, grew down. So yes, I do call you pathetic. And much more."
"You got nerve talking to me like that, all cause of your sisters are freaks,"
"Last warning, watch your mouth. Speaking of my sisters, I believe you owe my sister Lana money for those gummy ones you stole from her. So should I take it from you, or will you just hand it over?"
Chandler instantly started sweating. He did not want to be humiliated in front of everyone watching, so he nonchalantly handed over the money.
"Here, those gummy worms were stale anyway, and you're lucky I'm late for class, Lame," he said, walking off with an invisible yellow streak down his back.
"Not bad, Lincoln." Stella praised.
"It's no big deal; when you deal with the kind of threats I had to, people like Chandler barely count as annoyances anymore."
"Uh guys, we're going to be late for class," informed Clyde.
"Oh no, we're not. I'll use my flash step to get us there faster, guys. Human chain!" Said Lincoln.
Everyone followed his instructions, with Lincoln as the leader; they all disappeared in a flash and reappeared in front of their homeroom.
"Made it with time to spare," Lincoln said before turning around and noticing all his friends look green in the face. "Sorry, I forgot to mention using the flash step causes first-time users to feel nauseous,"
"Yeah, next time you do something like that, please give us a heads-up," Stella said, shaking off her nausea.
The group headed inside just in time; Mr. Bolhofner walked and started his lessons, taking a moment to congratulate Lincoln on beating that monster and claiming he had fought something similar. Usually, Lincoln didn't buy his teachers' stories, but what he'd been through made him think. As the day went on, his classmates would stare at him in every class he was in. Eventually, it was lunchtime, and despite the constant staring, Lincoln and his friends found a private table where he told them the whole story. To say they were shocked would be an understatement.
"Wow, I wonder what our American Government class would say about this country's politics," Liam commented.
"I'm more concerned about how many more of these creatures will come here. People will be in great danger, and Lincoln can't do it all alone," Stella said.
"I don't plan to. I can give other people skills like mine, so while I never formed a party in Cierra, I think I will be here. But the problem is leveling up. That doesn't exactly work here. I don't know how you do that in this world." Lincoln told them.
As the group continued talking, they were unaware that Chandler was watching them from across the lunchroom. He had been stewing and raging since being humiliated that morning, plotting to get revenge, but nothing good came to mind. Chandler saw the apple on his lunch tray and decided it could be a start.
"Let's see how great your reflexes are when this apple hits you in the back of the head, Lame,"
Despite being a jerk, Chandler was actually the star pitcher on the baseball team. He led Royal Woods to many victories, which boosted his ego.
"Eat my star force pitch, Lame!!"
Chandler threw the apple as hard as he could right at Lincoln's head.
"Bullseye," he thought.
Unfortunately for him, Lincoln immediately turned around, catching the apple in one fell swoop. Chandler was shocked. This was the first time anyone had ever seen his pitch coming, let alone caught it. Lincoln wasn't done as he crushed the apple in his hand, shocking Chandler further.
"Have you ever heard the phrase, "If you're going to shoot the queen, don't miss"? Well, keep that in mind next time you want to do something stupid, Chandler."
Chandler didn't get the chance to respond. Mr. Bolhofner showed up, having caught Chandler red-handed, and he was given a detention.
"Why was he ever popular?" Stella asked, seeing Chandler sulk silently in the lunchroom, pretending that no one was enjoying his karma.
"He had money and bragging rights; he just couldn't accept that the standards for staying popular had changed since he was eleven."
"Peaked in high school before he even got into it," Clyde muttered, shaking his head.
Later.
After school, Lincoln and the gang headed to Gus's, which was still one of their favorite hangouts, the other being Lynn's Table. Sharing a pizza at a private table, Gus seated them. Stella thought about what Lincoln had said about a party.
"Hey Lincoln, remember earlier when you said you were looking for party members,"
"Yeah,"
"Why not us?"
"Huh?" The guys replied.
"Hear me out, guys; we're Lincoln's best friends; we've had each other's back since I moved here. I say the action news team protects Royal Woods tighter,"
"Stella, I appreciate your offering, but there are so many factors, and I don't want you guys putting your lives on the line for me," Lincoln replied.
"Hey, you'd do the same for us, give us a few cool skills to help us keep up with you, and nobody would mess with the dawg squad," Rusty said.
"We're not calling ourselves that," replied Stella.
"Okay, even if I did agree to this, the whole town knows I was the one who fought that demon. Do you guys want that kind of attention for yourself?" Lincoln asked.
"I think we can handle it, buddy," said Clyde. "The only other people I can see helping you besides us would be your sisters,"
"No way I'm getting them involved, no telling what that slut princess would do to them or Ronnie Anne,"
"Which is why you need backup," Stella insisted.
"Still, having the skills means nothing if you can't get strong enough to use them. I don't know how to train you guys besides just getting into a fight and relying on luck that you won't die the first time." Lincoln pointed out.
"Can't hurt to give us a try," Zach said.
Lincoln sighed. "Okay, I'm not even sure how to add members, but let's give it a try,"
"I can help with that," Knight stated. "Bring up your screen and follow the prompts,"
Accessing his screen, Lincoln discovered he could now create a party, something he hadn't seen before.
"This is new, but let's run with it," he thought. He tapped the screen, and it pulled up six boxes in a grid pattern. The top left one had his face in it, but the other five were blank.
"Can everyone see this?" asked Knight.
"Yeah, and this is bizarre. It's like what you'd expect to see in a future movie or something." Zach noted.
"There are five available slots. Each of you has to tap an empty one to register as a member."
"That's it?" Clyde asked.
Knight explained, "Only those Lincoln trusts enough to get this close to him can join a party."
The five instantly touched a box, and their names appeared in the box, indicating they were now party members, as the same tattoo on Lincoln's left arm appeared on theirs. Suddenly, their screen appeared before them, indicating their stats and skills.
"Cool, but what do we do now?"
"Well, I think you guys can now customize yourselves and access my inventory for your weapons,"
"Actually, first, you must name the party to make it official. Then they can share in your inventory and start their own." Knight corrected.
"Seriously?" Lincoln asked, annoyed.
"You can't be a real party without a team name. It shows unity and partnership, not just convenient teamwork." Knight replied.
"Well, I think we all know the team name," Stella stated.
Lincoln nodded and tapped an empty slot above the party grid screen, which asked for a name.
"Action News Team."
The name is officially registered as the group name on everyone's screen, making it an official party name.
"Okay, now that it's official, we should get down to business with your skill," said Lincoln, summoning his skill window.
There were dozens of skills Lincoln learned and created, and the gang was amazed.
"Tarnations so many,"
"I'd start with something small you want to build on, but remember your version won't be as strong as mine; it needs to be leveled up,"
Suddenly, Lincoln and Knight sensed something. To their horror, the gate had opened and closed, meaning something had just come through. Plus, it was closer than last time, somewhere underground. However, they weren't the only ones to sense it, as the rest of the party felt it.
"Woah, what was that?" asked Clyde.
"Trouble, something came through, and I think it's in the sewers," Lincoln replied, getting up.
"Wait, Lincoln, we," Stella said.
"Knight and I will check it out while you guys finish up, and then come join us," Lincoln ordered as he changed into his outfit.
"Yes, Sir," they replied as he rushed outside.
However, before Lincoln could get outside, he was stopped by Gus, who asked him what was wrong. Lincoln explained he needed to get to the sewers; Gus told Lincoln to follow him and led him down to the sub-basement. To Lincoln's surprise, there was an access point down there.
"Do I want to know why you have this built-in here?" asked Lincoln.
"You can stand here asking questions or to get to your fight; which is it?" Gus asked back.
With a nod, Lincoln went down and got into the sewer. Knight didn't like being underground, so he tried focusing on the threat they were looking for. However, Lincoln sensed this and told Knight to return and bring the others when ready. Going alone, Lincoln thought about how terrible the smell was.
"It smells like being buried in all of Lily's old dirty diapers at once,"
Heading through the sewers, Lincoln tried his best to listen for anything that shouldn't be down there, but the running water made it difficult. Going deeper, Lincoln realized he had reached a four-way intersection as water flowed from three other directions and converged into one direction.
"Time to use a trick from the Amazing Spider-Man,"
Lincoln unlocked his old Web Spell skill by pulling up one of the many skills he had created back when he was taking inspiration from comics and movies. With it, he could cast spell projectiles that turned into sticky tethers or webs that would stick to whatever they hit, except for himself. He fired the spell multiple times down each pipe, creating what looked like guitar strings without the guitar, tying them all together in the middle.
"And now we wait."
Sitting in the center of the web, Lincoln patiently waited; however, he didn't have to wait long before one of the lines began vibrating. The vibrating string began strumming as if it were being played. Suddenly, another string started strumming, followed by another and another until they were all strumming, playing a twisted melody.
"What the hell?" thought Lincoln, summoning his swords
Lincoln kept switching from different directions, trying to pinpoint where the creature was coming from. Suddenly, dozens of cockroaches came scurrying down the lines, revealing themselves to be the ones responsible. Although disgusted, Lincoln was relieved, but it didn't last long as something had snuck up behind him. Lincoln felt something landing in his hair; upon checking it, it looked and felt like a slimy substance he had never seen before, followed by heavy breathing.
"Aw shit!!" he said, looking over his shoulders.
Above ground, the rest of the action news team had finished choosing their outfits and weapons. Clyde chose a shield, Rusty chose a Bo-staff, Zach chose Sais, Liam chose a War Hammer, and Stella chose retractable claws in her gauntlets. They all chose armor similar to Lincoln's but matched their unique color schemes. Stella's was the most different due to her womanly figure, but she was just glad it wasn't a battle bikini like in some fantasy series. Knight was leading the party to Lincoln's location above ground.
"He should be right," he said before Lincoln came crashing through the street, landing on the ground covered in something. Despite the painful landing, he cared more about what he was covered in.
"Fuck!! Gross, My mouth was open!!" he yelled while spitting.
"Here," Knight finished
"Lincoln, are you? Ew gross dawg, what happened to you!?" Rusty asked.
"It slimed me!"
"It?" Stella asked.
Suddenly, a 12-foot-tall insect came smashing through the ground, causing everyone to panic and run. It came complete with two antennae hanging over its head, six limbs, and a fearsome set of razor-sharp fangs. While it primarily resembles a cockroach, its features also mimic those found on several other insects; its body frame and eyes are comparable to those of a Praying Mantis, while its mandibles resemble a mantis' forelegs; its hind legs resemble those of a cricket with functionality akin to those of a Grasshopper, and its Scorpion-like tail features a stinger similar to that of a Hornet.
"It looks like an insect phobia personified," Clyde remarked.
"If it's a bug, it can be squashed," Liam said, taking his hammer in his hands.
"Just remember, guys, this isn't a game. Pain still hurts, there are no respawns, and this isn't a tutorial." Lincoln pointed out.
Right then, the giant insect slashed at them. However, Clyde deflected the attack with his shield before flinging it like a frisbee. Striking the creature in the face, the shield bounces off it before returning to Clyde like a boomerang.
"Lincoln Loud, so good to see you again, my boy!!" the bug said in a cheerful voice. "And I see you formed a party, very good my boy, more people to serve my kingdom,"
"It can talk!?" Rusty said.
"Say, didn't I see you in a movie once?" Zach asked.
Lincoln instantly recognized the voice coming from the monster as none other than King Gideon, causing him to grip his swords harder, realizing the King was speaking through the demon.
"Gideon! Apparently, the last guy I sent packing didn't deliver my message,"
"Oh, he did right before I killed him," the creature replied.
"Lunatic,"
"Now, I'm here with a reply. To put it simply, you belong to me; the moment you were chosen, you stopped being a person and became my tool to maintain power; you live because I want you alive,"
"That's pretty big talk coming from a fat bastard talking through a giant cockroach," laughed Lincoln.
"You realize all I have to do is paralyze you with my stinger,"
"And you realize that you have actually to hit me first, and I took down all the other threats before you."
The insect lashed out its stinger, hoping to be too fast to be dodged or blocked. Lincoln jumped to the side in a way that looked similar to parkour. With the Web Spell skill still active, he conjured a web that ensnared the end of the tail and fastened it to the ground. The big bug struggled to pull free, but the web was fighting better.
"This won't hold this creature for long,"
"Long enough to do this fella!" Replied Liam.
Liam jumped up, cracking the demon across the face with his hammer. Gideon howled in pain, causing everyone to realize that Gideon could be hurt along with a demon when he was connected to it.
"You felt that, did ya, jerk!!" mocked Knight.
"Creature, deliver my son-in-law, and you can have his comrades and that treacherous bird as a meal. Fail, and you'll suffer like the one before you!!"
Gideon's link was severed, and the creature roared in rage. Freeing itself, it began shooting out its stinger with lightning-fast speed, making it seem like it had more than one. The action news team managed to parry each action.
"We can't keep this up forever; any ideas, Lincoln?" Stella asked.
"We have to find its anchor!" Lincoln replied.
"It's what!?" Zach asked.
"It's something I theorized from the last demon I fought; when they crossed into our world, their bodies become ethereal,"
"Ethereal?" Asked Clyde as he swatted the stinger away.
"Their bodies become basically holograms with Mass; I will attacks can hurt it but not kill it because it'll heal instantly; the only way to beat it is to find its anchor, the piece of it that keeps a tether to this world, we find it and destroy it can't exist here, and it'll be sent back through the gate,"
"Dawg, what if you're wrong?" Rusty asked, dodging the stinger.
"Then we tear it limb from limb and send the head back to Gideon as a message,"
"Works for me!" Stella replied, slashing the stinger.
"Leave that to me; I'll find its anchor," Knight said, flying into the sky.
The cockroach shot its stinger again, but this time, Rusty used his staff to redirect it into the ground, trapping it again. Taking advantage of this, Clyde and Liam tried a team attack. Clyde threw his shield at Liam, who hit it with a hammer like a bad hitting a baseball. The shield flew to the cockroach's leg, striking some of them in a zigzag before bouncing back and hitting the other legs in a reverse zigzag. This caused the bug to collapse as Clyde caught his shield. Taking advantage of the downed bug, everyone jumped on its back and started attacking it. Lincoln, Rusty, and Zach stabbed it, Stella slashed it, and Clyde and Liam smashed it. Suddenly, the bug recovered and got to its feet, freeing its stinger and breaking free of the webs.
"Uh oh!!" They all said.
The cockroach roared before it started changing through town. People began jumping out of the way as it smashed against buildings to get them off. The gang used Rusty's staff, which he had jammed into its back, to hold on, except for Lincoln, who was at the head, tightly gripping the antennas, trying to wrangle it in.
"This thing's more rowdy than a wild bronco!!"
"Guys, we're heading towards the Food N' Fuel!!" yelled Lincoln.
"Oh no, Flip could get hurt!!" Clyde yelled.
"Are we sure? Because if the health inspector couldn't hurt Flip, what makes you think this thing can?" Rusty jokes.
"RUSTY!!" Everyone yelled.
"Kids, the stinger, take out its stinger!!" Knight yelled.
Without a second thought, Stella leaped for the end of the tail. With one slash, she severed the stinger from the tail, causing the cockroach to collapse right in front of Flip; unfortunately, it began spewing slime from where its stinger used to be, covering the Food N' Fuel and the nearby area.
"Yeah, we did it, Dawgs!!" cheered Rusty.
"Not yet; we have to destroy the anchor before it gets it back," Lincoln yelled.
The bug took advantage of everyone being distracted and knocked the action news team off. It quickly got back to its feet and ran to retrieve its stinger. Everyone got back to their feet and chased after it, going for its legs. Rusty and Zach took out the hind legs, Clyde and Liam took out the middle legs, and Stella took out the last two, dropping the Cockroach to the ground. Despite being crippled and having no time to regenerate, the cockroach continued crawling for its stinger, reaching for it with his antennae; however, before he could touch it, Lincoln came flying in, jamming his swords into the stinger, destroying it. The creature looked down in horror before bursting into the flames and disappearing. Everyone stood there, shocked at what they just did, until they all started cheering at their accomplishment.
"That was awesome," cheered Zach.
"We put that thing out to pasture," Liam continued.
"We kicked hardcore!" said Rusty.
"Nice job cutting off that stinger, Stella," Clyde congratulated.
"Aw, thanks, Clyde. I bet everyone is going to be really grateful for what we did," Stella said, blushing.
"All in a day's work for The Action News Team," Lincoln said confidently.
The group then struck a new pose that showed off their weapons. Suddenly, the police surrounded them, much to their confusion. The police pulled their guns and announced that they were under arrest, adding to their confusion.
"Yo, dawg, we're the good guys; why are you arresting us!!" Rusty protested.
"You're under arrest for vandalism and destruction of property," said one of the police officers, pointing outward.
The team looked around and took full notice of the damage caused by their fight with the cockroach; buildings were damaged, and a good chunk of an area was covered in the cockroach's slime.
"So once again, you're all under arrest!!"
"Dang it!!" They all said, facepalming.
End Of Ch. 2