The next few days were hell for Chandler; his punishment was swift and just. For starters, under Michigan law, he would have to serve a minimum of 93 days in jail and a $500 fine for his cyberbullying. Considering it was still March, Chandler wouldn't be back until near the end of June or the beginning of July. However, his problems were far from over; Girl Jordan's family sued; however, Mr. McCann settled out of court by giving Girl Jordan Chandler's college tuition. Before Chandler was taken away, his father told him he'd immediately go to work and pay him back every cent when he got out. The only silver lining for Chandler was that the school agreed to send his classwork to him so that he wouldn't fall behind and get left back another year.
As for Lincoln and his friends, they all had little time to enjoy seeing Chandler getting what he deserves since they were busy trying to find whatever came through the gate. Lincoln had been balancing his time searching for whatever creature came through and helping with Leslie, regularly teleporting to Great Lake City to help out. However, teleporting back has had more than a few drawbacks. The ring relies on the love of others towards the user as a beacon, which caused Lincoln to teleport near locations he wasn't shooting for. For example, Lincoln accidentally teleported into Mr. Grouse's bathroom while using it; although disgusting, it confirms his neighbor loves him like a grandson. Today, Lincoln and his friends still searched Tall Timbers Park for the creature. Lincoln looked tired today, something that didn't go unnoticed by his friends.
"Buddy, are you okay? You look super exhausted?" Clyde asked, with concern in his voice.
"I'm fine. Leslie was just extra fussy, and when I teleported back home, I ended up in Benny and Luan's house. It turns out Luan installed a prank-based security system in her house; it was like 17 years' worth of April fools coming at me at once,"
"Wait, you're telling me that your sister actually lives in a real-life Home Alone house?"
Lincoln nodded. "It's Luan. Are you really that surprised?"
"That ring needs adjustments, dawg,"
"Tell me about it,"
"So, how are things with Ronnie Anne, and Leslie?" Stella asked.
"They're good; Rosa is looking after Leslie to give Ronnie Anne a break and get Sid up to speed,"
"I hope Sid knows what she's signing up for,"
The other day, Sid asked Ronnie Anne, and Lincoln if she could join the team as their archer. At first, they were reluctant, but she advised them that a long-distance fighter would come in handy and help keep Leslie safer. Two powered people immediately available were better than one. Accepting, Lincoln added Sid to the party, giving her the necessary skills to help her become an effective archer.
"Once we're done here, I'm heading back to Great Lake City to help,"
"Uh, guys, we found something!" Zach called.
"But it's dead! Liam finished.
They ran over to find what appeared to be a cross between a dog and a dinosaur with some feline features (e.g., longer hind legs). It has a blue-colored body with black stripes. It has a dinosaur-like skull with a jagged upper jaw, red eyes, and pointed ears. A chain of pointed plates protrudes from its spine, forming a short tail. It has three pointed toes on each leg, and its hind legs are more significant than its forelegs. The creature was decomposing, meaning it had died for a few days.
"This thing is definitely not from our world, but why is it dead? Stella asked.
"Oh, this is not good," Knight said, landing in Rusty's hair.
"Hey dude, my hair isn't your nest!"
"Hold on, Rust, what is this thing?" Lincoln asked.
"That thing is an Anubian Baskurr, one of the most dangerous creatures in my world,"
"I never fought any of these creatures when I was there," Lincoln said.
"But you definitely fought their offspring,"
"Care to elaborate," Clyde asked.
"Anubian Baskurrs are normally C and D-rank threats; they've got every kind of ability you would expect from a beast type: enhanced strength, tracking, senses, etc., but their real danger lies in their ability to crossbreed with other species,"
"This thing can crossbreed!?"
"You name it, and it could probably bang it: lions, tigers, and bears,"
"Oh my!" Rusty said, getting a hard "really" look from his friends. "Don't judge me; somebody else would have said it; I just beat you to it!"
"Back on topic, Anubian Baskurrs usually asexually reproduce; however, when they crossbreed, they die after impregnating the host.
"That explains the corpse," Liam said.
"The offspring will have the abilities of the Anubian Baskurr parent and the host parent,"
"Oh boy, I've seen enough alien movies to know how dangerous a hybrid can be!" Zach stated.
"Exactly, they can be B, A, or even S rank threats depending on the hybrid,"
"Okay, no problem, we just have to find some demonic-looking creature," Rusty rationed.
"Yeah, about that,"
"More good news, buddy?" Rusty said sarcastically.
"Hybrids don't exactly look like they're demonic parents; in fact, they look no different from their host parents; however, their demonic features only surface when they're threatened or go into a feral rage,"
"So right now, there is a hybrid running around Tall Timbers Park, and we have no idea how to find it, or at least flush it out," Lincoln summarized.
"Well, there is some good news. Normally, the host parents died after giving birth, so there is a chance that the hybrid also died since there was no one to take care of it,"
"That doesn't sound good to me," Stella said.
"Are there any weaknesses we can use just in case?" Clyde asked.
"Anubian Baskurrs hate high frequencies; they can send them into a feral rage, so it's safe to say the hybrids also inherited those weaknesses; they also hate fire,"
"I've got a few fire spells we can try,"
Everyone left to practice. However, Lana was visiting Walt, Charles, Geo, Hops, and Cliff's graves on the other side of the park. When the pets died, Lana and Lucy buried them by the lake. Last year, Charles was the last to go.
"Hey guys, sorry it's been a while, but I've got good news: we have a new family member. Her name is Leslie, and I think you guys would like her. When she's older, I'll bring her here to meet you,"
Lana wept for a bit, voicing how much she missed every one of them. Suddenly, Lana heard whimpering coming from a nearby bush. Curious, Lana went to investigate. Upon peeling back the bush, she found something that made her face light up like a child on Christmas Day.
Later.
The A.N.T. practiced various fire spells to devise an effective strategy, but Lincoln left with Knight to help Ronnie Anne, and Sid catch up. The rest of the team decided to take some downtime. Lana came rushing home, using her hat to carry something, but she ran into her parents.
"Mom and Dad, look what I found at Tall Timbers Park Lake!" Lana excitedly said, showing a white fur wolf puppy that was a few days old.
"Lana, you know you're not supposed to go there until it's safe," Rita reminded.
"Especially since something is lurking there," Lynn Sr. reminded.
"I just wanted to visit Hops and the others, but then I found this puppy, she needs help,"
"Lana, the mother is probably looking for its baby,"
"No way a mama wolf would leave her baby at this stage unless she abandoned it or she died, and if I had left her, she would have been dead tomorrow, especially since we have a rainstorm coming tonight,"
"Lana, this is a wild animal; you can't just slap a collar on it and call it Rover,"
"Please, Mom and Dad, just for a little while until she's old enough to care for herself," Lana pleaded. "I promise I'll keep her out of trouble,"
The parents didn't want to say yes; they knew Lana's love for animals would make it hard for her to let go when it was time.
"Okay, but just until she's big enough to go back to the park,"
"Yay, c'mon Lupe, let's get you something comfortable to sleep on and then feed you some milk,"
Lana took the pup up to her room.
"Rita, she named it!" Lynn Sr. said, slightly panicked.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Rita said.
Great Lake City.
After practice was over, Lincoln arrived at the Casagrande home. Ronnie Anne was nursing Leslie while Sid was admiring her new bow. Lana outdid herself. The bow could extend into a staff form, giving Sid a melee weapon, but its true power was its ability to generate arrows made of light when the string was pulled back.
"This is so cool; I'm like Green Arrow and Green Lantern rolled into one,"
"Wouldn't that make you an Arrow Lantern?" Ronnie Anne jokes before burping Leslie and going to put her down for a nap.
"I appreciate you wanting to help," Lincoln thanked Sid.
"I'm more than happy to help out my bestie; by the way, Ronnie Anne, have your boobs gotten a little bigger?" Sid questions.
"They have felt heavier, and my bras are tight, but that could just be them being full. They basically feel like water balloons filled with milk," Ronnie Anne answered, a little embarrassed talking about her breasts so casually in front of Lincoln like this. But with all they've been through, fantasy and natural, this hardly seemed like a boundary anymore.
"Have you ever thought about getting a milk machine?"
"Lori mentioned those, but I feel like it'd be too weird,"
"Ronnie Anne, do you really think having a milk machine is any weirder than how Leslie was born?"
"Fair point, Lame-O,"
"Maybe Lisa can…"
"No, thank you. I love Lisa, but her inventions tend to…"
"Backfire and/or malfunction in ways she didn't expect?"
"Yeah,"
"Still, it would be beneficial for Leslie, like having milk stored for her just in case you can't be there to nurse her,"
"Okay, fair point again, I'll ask my mom when she gets back tonight," Ronnie Anne said.
"Say Lincoln, did you ever make skills that altered a person's body?" Sid asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Like, say you needed the skill to breathe underwater. Would they gain gills, or would they just breathe water-like air? Or if someone wanted an extra set of arms to use in a fistfight, would you actually be able to give them two more arms?"
"Why are you asking?" Lincoln asked.
"Just a little curious,"
"Well, I don't have skills that can alter a body that drastically; the best skill I have for underwater is being able to hold your breath for hours and water pressure resistance,"
"That's pretty cool; how long can a person hold their breath?"
"I'd say roughly about maybe 2 to 3 hours, depending on your natural lung capacity,"
"That's a cool skill,"
"Yeah,"
"Oh, I almost forgot to ask about this thing you guys are tracking. Is there any way we can help?" Sid asked.
"Right now, I'm just trying to find out what that thing in the park crossed with; there's no telling what we're up against right now, and therefore no solid way to track it,"
Back at the Loud House, Lana had finished making a spot for Lupe in her bed, formerly Luna and Luan's room. While she was still the same animal lover she'd always been, Lana was much cleaner. Lana was now feeding Lupe milk and was surprised at how she was guzzling it.
"Wow, you're starving,"
Lupe was finally satisfied as she yawned, making Lana smile.
"Don't worry, I'm gonna take good care of you, Lupe,"
Lana snuggles close to Lupe, careful not to hurt the puppy, before drifting off to sleep.
The Next Day
Lincoln came home later, landing in Lucy's room, much to his annoyance. It was better than landing outside in the rain, but she didn't mind and wished him a good night. Lincoln wondered where Lana was as everyone ate since their dad had made their favorite breakfast.
"Hey, where is Lana? It's not like her to miss breakfast burrito day," Lincoln stated.
"She's probably looking after that puppy she found in Tall Timbers Park yesterday," Lola informed.
"Oh, wait, did you say Tall Timbers Park?"
Suddenly, Lana came downstairs, holding Lupe, who looked slightly different. She was a little bigger and seemed more active, like a month-old puppy. Rita and Lynn Sr. were visibly shocked, confusing Lincoln.
"Guys, look how big Lupe got,"
Setting Lupe down, the puppy began happily running around the table, jumping onto Rita's lap and licking her face before doing the same to Lynn Sr. and the other girls. Lupe was playfully aggressive with Lincoln, nibbling on him with her puppy teeth before he returned her to Lana.
"Cute,"
"Isn't she?" Lana replied cheerfully, hugging Lupe. "I can't wait to teach you some tricks,"
"Maybe you should work on getting it housetrained first," Lola noted.
"Kids, we already discussed this with Lana; when Lupe is big enough to take care of herself, she has to return to the park," Lynn Sr. said sternly.
"I know, Dad, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy my time with her. C'mon, Lupe, let's get you some milk," Lana said, carrying Lupe into the kitchen.
Lynn Sr. took a deep breath; he hated sounding like the bad guy to his children.
"Do you think she'll hate me when the time comes?"
"No, sweetheart, I think she understands," Rita assured.
"I'd like to know how that puppy got so big so fast; she only looked a few days old yesterday," Lola commented.
"Lisa, did you experiment on her yesterday?" Rita asked.
"I can assure you, parental units, I had nothing to do with this speedy development,"
Lincoln sat quietly, listening to his family. A theory had popped into his head, something he hoped he was wrong about.
Later that day
After school, Lincoln was heading to his job at Lynn's Table. His friends were working with him, and he had Ronnie Anne, and Sid on the phone.
"Guys, I have some bad news and some worse news,"
"What's the bad news?" Clyde asked.
"I think I found the hybrid baby, and it's living in my house,"
"Okay, that is pretty bad, but what could be worse than that?"
"The reason it's living in my house is because Lana found it, and now she's raising it!" Lincoln informed, causing everyone to cringe.
"What are we supposed to do?" Sid asked. "We can't just kill it; it's a puppy right now. Lana is a lot like my sister Adelaide; they both love animals, and they'd never forgive us for killing something they love,"
"Maybe Lana can keep it under control," Ronnie Anne reasons.
"Sure, she managed to get Jazzy and Snazzy under control," Stella added.
"It's not just that; what if Gideon put some kind of spell on the Anubian Baskurrs, and it passed down to the offspring?" Lincoln reasoned.
Everyone fell silent, knowing that Lincoln had a good point.
"Maybe we can keep an eye on it," Liam suggested.
Lincoln saw this as the best option for now. Lincoln and his friends closely watched Lupe for a week, watching it grow fast. Within a week of Lana finding her, she had grown into a full-blown wolf. However, during this time, Lupe showed no indication of hostile behavior, behaving more like a domesticated dog than a vicious beast, although Lupe went outside constantly sniffing the ground. Even Ronnie Anne questioned if Lupe was dangerous since she showed affection to Leslie. However, things were not 100% okay, as multiple reports of random attacks, break-ins, and stolen food were reported within the week. While no one was seriously hurt, they did report a wild animal running around at night. The last report came from Flip, whose store got trashed, and he got bit. Lincoln didn't want to believe it was Lupe, but it was too likely. It was Friday afternoon. Lana was brushing Lupe, something they both enjoyed. Lincoln decided to talk to Lana alone since everyone else was busy.
"Lana, we need to talk about Lupe. Look, I know you know by now that she's not a normal wolf and…"
"You think she's responsible for those attacks?"
"Lana, she's an Anubian Baskurr, and as of right now, all the evidence points to her,"
"Lincoln, she's never out of my sight unless I'm at school or when she uses the bathroom on the lawn of that jerk whose dog keeps going on ours and sniffs the ground," Lana defended. "Did you ever think it could be something else?"
"Lana, the gate hasn't opened in almost two weeks,"
"Please, Lincoln, I'm telling you, she's not hurting anyone,"
Lincoln wanted to say more, but he got a text from Ronnie Anne stating that she needed help with Leslie.
Lincoln sighed. "Look, I have to go get the others and help with Leslie; we can talk more about this when I return. However, I hope you're right about her because if she is the one attacking people, something has to be done,"
Lincoln teleported away, leaving Lana and Lupe looking at each other with concern.
Later That Night.
The A.N.T. was meeting on the roof of the Casagrande's building, discussing what to do about Lupe.
"Lincoln, do you think Lupe is behind what's been happening?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"All I know is that something is behind all these attacks and damages, and the only thing that came through the gate recently was her father,"
"Yeah, but dawg, she acts more like a regular dog than a monster,"
"What if it's not her fault? What if Gideon placed some spell on her that causes her to become vicious against her will," Clyde reasoned.
"Or maybe it was a spell to make her seem docile, so we drop our guards," Lincoln countered.
Everyone looked at Lincoln, but he wasn't having it.
"Look, we made a huge mistake letting those two bond when we should have taken care of it the moment when you figure it out; now I'm stuck in a position that could essentially make my sister hate me forever,"
"Knight, is there a way to tame a hybrid?" Sid asked.
"It's not impossible, depending on the hybrid; in fact, some heroes of the past had one as a loyal companion,"
"And what if something did come through with Lupe's dad?" Stella reasoned.
"If it did, then why haven't we seen it yet? It's been almost two weeks," Zach pointed out.
Suddenly, Lincoln got an S.O.S. alert on his phone from Lola.
"Guys, something's going on back home; we have to go now!"
"Wait, Sid and I are coming too," Ronnie Anne stated.
"Ronnie Anne, you and Sid should stay here with Leslie,"
"Leslie is fine with my abuela and abuelo watching her; we're going, end of discussion, Lame-O,"
"Fine!" Lincoln said, conceding.
"Whipped," Rusty coughed before getting slapped upside to the head by Stella.
The group formed a circle with Lincoln and Ronnie Anne in the center, activating their rings; they all disappeared in one huge flash from the roof.
Earlier.
After dinner, Lana sat in her room, sad, on top of Lincoln, accusing Lupe of hurting people. Her parents told her she had to take Lupe back to the park on Sunday. Don't worry, girl, I won't let anyone hurt you, and if I have to take you back to the park, I'll make sure you're extra comfortable and visit you every day," Lana assured.
Suddenly, Lupe's ears perked up as if she sensed something.
"What's wrong, girl?"
Lupe started growling ferociously, scaring Lana a little. Jumping off the bed, she started changing, becoming more dinosaur-like, shocking Lana, who was watching.
"Lupe!?" Lana asked, seeing her friend, who was now twice her normal size.
Lupe ran out the door, and Lana chased her. The pair made their way downstairs, stopping at the entrance to the basement.
"What is it, girl? Is something down there?"
Suddenly, Lupe charged downstairs, leaving Lana confused. Then, she heard growling and snarling, and a full-on fight erupted within the basement's darkness. The fight was so loud that it woke up Lynn Sr and Rita.
"What the ding dang heck is going on!?"
"Lana?" Rita asked, waking up fully.
"Mom, Dad, I think something is in the basement, and right now, Lupe is fighting it,"
"Say what!?" Lynn Sr. asked before moving in front of the basement door as the rest of his younger daughters came downstairs.
Suddenly, something came flying from downstairs, crashing into Lynn Sr., sending him into the kitchen. Looking up to Lynn Sr. and the rest of the family's horror, he was pinned down by a green, rough-skinned humanoid creature with pointy ears, claws, fangs, and a long nose, bald-headed and the size of a child, wearing only a loincloth.
"What is that thing!?" Yelled Lola.
Before anyone could say anything, Lupe came running up the stairs with three more on her back, biting her.
"Lupe!" Yelled Lana
Despite the pain, Lupe rushed in, grabbing the creature, still pinning Lynn Sr. by its neck, before running into the living room, where the fight continued. Everyone watched in horror as the creatures jumped Lupe. Despite her best efforts, they had the upper hand; Lana almost instinctively jumped in with Hammerzilla, but Rita stopped her. Suddenly, they heard a crash in the attic, followed by footsteps with Lincoln running downstairs.
"Guys, what's wrong I, wait, are those fucking goblins?!" Lincoln yelled in shock.
Before the goblins could react, Lincoln lunged at them, taking them out while everyone watched.
"Little bastards! They must've come when Anubian Baskurrs came through!"
"What do we do now?" Clyde asked.
"These were most likely scouts casing the neighborhood for a bigger invasion; we need to find any more lurking in the area right now!"
"Lincoln, Lupe is hurt!" Called Lana.
Seeing Lupe's hurt after she reverted to her standard form, Lincoln took a deep breath before placing his hand on her wound.
"Consider this an apology, girl. Heal!"
Lincoln healed Lupe's wounds quickly, and she was back on her feet, much to Lana's joy.
"Guys, c'mon, we're going goblins slaying; Lupe, I need you to stay here and guard the house,"
Lupe shook her head in defiance before running to the basement with everyone following her; they discovered a hole that led to a tunnel in the basement.
"So this is how they've been getting around without us noticing,"
"Considering they've been hiding for weeks, that gave them enough time to build a maze down there," Zach theorized.
"Which means we can't just go down there; we need help navigating," Stella added.
"Not to mention potential traps," Clyde added.
"Sorry guys, but I don't do well underground," Knight apologized.
Much to Lincoln's annoyance, Lupe barked before jumping into the hole and barked for them to follow.
"Looks like you got another member on your team,"
"Fine, Lisa, seal this hole after we jump in,"
"On it, Todd!"
"Lana, if you have any other weapons, give one to everyone for protection,"
"Right, Lincoln,"
"Knight, follow us from above; see if any Goblins are lurking above ground,"
"You got it, kid,"
"Everyone, once we're inside the tunnel, we stick together; if things go south, Ronnie Anne and I can use our rings to teleport us to safety,"
"Right,"
"Okay, let's go slay some goblins," Lincoln said, jumping into the hole, followed by the rest of the group,"
End of Ch. 6