"Lincoln! Wait!" Lori shouted from the couch. The empty bowl lying upside down on the carpeted floor with steaming hot porridge spilling all over the rug when he bumped against the coffee table earlier before hurriedly making his way upstairs. He was desperately holding his mouth shut with his right hand, barely keeping his body up from constantly falling over with the fatigue sinking into his numb muscles no longer listening to his order. Instead moving only by instinct alone with the way he urgently carried himself through the empty hallway of the second floor. They were laughing at him, at the clumsy way he was struggling to walk while balancing himself before finally falling on his knees in the bathroom at the end of the hallway.
Lincoln dragged himself to the toilet and opened the lid, holding tightly onto the ceramic rim before violently squeezing out what left of his already empty stomach. His body dangerously jerking back and forth as a stream of vomit sprayed out into the bowl with the putrid smell stinging his nose. He gagged and twisted, his stomach as if driven by mad hunger started shriveling before eating into itself. He thrusted forward, one, twice, thrice, feeling more and more lightheaded from the reflex forcing his body to keep throwing up as if it was trying to get rid of his intestines through his mouth. It was suffocating, his throat felt like it was set on fire when nothing came out anymore.
And he was almost relieved for a second there...
Only to have his his eyes slightly bulging when he felt something solid rising through his chest, almost cracking his ribcages and tearing his throat until it was peeking out from his mouth.
It stayed there...
Blocking his windpipe as Lincoln struggled to breathe. He reached for his throat with both of his hands, clawing and trying to push whatever it was out from his mouth only to no avail with how tight it was stuck in there with no intention of coming out. Instead of trying to swallow it back down, he grabbed his neck and started pressing into it until he can feel something moving.
Strangling himself even harder, Lincoln inhaled sharply as a disgusting ball of hairs and teeth finally dropped into the bowl, covered in the sticky and slimy pus the color of sickly yellow with maggot wriggling around in his saliva.
His heart dropped at the sight, he can feel them, as small as they were, moving in his mouth, his throat, his stomach, under his skin. He can feel them crawling everywhere on his rotting body, feasting on his dirty and deteriorating flesh.
He can't scream, he can't breathe, he can't think of anything.
Clutching his chest in pain, Lincoln fell on his back and dragged himself until he was leaning against the wall, slamming the back of his head against it.
They are laughing at him.
He closed his ears with both of his hands to get rid of their mocking voices.
They are watching him..
He tightly shut his eyes close to get rid of their leering gazes enjoying his suffering.
They wanted him to join them...
"Inkcoln?"
His body stiffened, he can hear her voice. He can hear Lily saying his name.
"I-Inkcoln..." She cried out. It was so close, so much closer than he could ever imagine.
Slightly shaking on his feet, Lincoln wearily stood up and opened the cabinet over the sink, reaching inside until he found what he was looking for.
"Inkcoln!" Her voice was getting louder, more desperate. She was scared, she was alone by herself, she need him, she need her brother to protect her.
He looked at his stomach, at where the voice was coming from, where she was calling out for him to come and save her like he was supposed to.
And yet he failed, he wasn't there for her, he wasn't there to help her when she cried out for him. He had failed as her brother.
"I-I'm sorry Lily, d-don't worry now, I'm going to get you out." Lincoln slowly raised the scissor in his shaking right hand...
Stupid!
"I-It wasn't my fault, I didn't mean to, I didn't know, I would have done something."
Stupid!!
"I-I'm sorry, I really am, please forgive me."
STUPID!!!
"D-don't cry Lily, your big brother is here for you..." He quickly brought the scissor down to his stomach, expecting his nightmare to end there. Though his arm abruptly halted midair when a smaller paler hand suddenly grabbed him by the wrist, stopping the sharp edges from tearing through his orange pajama.
"L-Lincoln, wake up, please." Lucy desperately said while barely holding him back.
His body twitched...
"I-I know you are still in there, I know you can hear me, you need to wake up Lincoln, Please!" She begged.
At her voice, he quickly opened his eyes to see the scissor inches away from Lily crying in his other arm.
"What the fuck." His eyes wide open in shock as Lincoln threw the scissor away before gently hugging Lily still crying in his arms, his mind barely registering what just happened with how ridiculous it was. He just wanted to comfort her, he need to, lest he will only be reminded of what he almost did to his little baby sister.
"You... You don't need to believe me Lincoln, I just need you to tell me what happened." Lucy seriously said while rubbing her sore wrist since she was nowhere close to handle his strength. "A nightmare wouldn't have affected you like this Lincoln, this is much more than that, and you know I am right." She remarked.
"I know it is hard to believe, that you might think I'm just messing with you, but not like this Lincoln. This is serious, I don't know how much time we have left with how worse you are getting." Lucy lowered her head. "Please, I can explain it to you, but I need you to give me the chance to." She genuinely pleaded, barely hiding the emotion in her wavery and desperate voice. Far too foreign for someone who claimed to be as emotionless and monotone as her.
Lincoln looked at his black haired sister for a moment, contemplating his option before glancing at Lily sobbing quietly into his chest while he was softly patting her back. It was dangerous, way too dangerous for him to be anywhere close to them in his current state.
"It was him, it was the smiling man..." He muttered out with his tired gaze hardened.
"He did something to me."
...
Like Lucy said, he didn't have much time left...
And he believed her with how much his own body was seemingly conspiring against him. It wasn't obvious, but he can feel it slowly killing him from the inside.
Taking a deep breath, Lincoln dared to steal a glance at the content of the toilet bowl, wincing slightly at the red liquid staining the white ceramic instead of the nasty pus and hairy ball with teeth stuck in it like he was seeing earlier. It doesn't feel like a dream, much less a hallucination with how real the sensation was. It could be his mind showing him the images while he was unconscious, but that wouldn't explain how it was also tricking his body to react like he did. He don't know if he should be relieved.
A sigh escaped from his lips as Lincoln flushed the toilet, cleaning the red stain until it was completely gone from the bowl, leaving nothing behind but the ugly memory of what he almost did. Both to Lily and himself if Lucy wasn't there to stop him. It felt like he was living in two different worlds, and in both he was doing nothing but destroying himself in the worst way possible.
And after the fright he had caused earlier, he need to know what he was dealing with.
"Lincoln?" At the worried voice, he lifted his head to see Lori standing at the stairs when he got out from the bathroom with Lily sleeping in his arms and Lucy close by his side to watch him. "Are you alright? I heard screaming?" She asked.
"I'm fine Lori, I just need to throw up for a bit, that's probably what you're hearing." He replied before slowly handing Lily out to her, which she gladly take since he don't seem like he can carry her weight much longer in his arms. "I guess I just don't have the appetite." He joked to lighten the mood.
"I see..." Lori slightly shifted her body to make Lily more comfortable. "Look, I already clean up the mess in the living room, why don't you just rest in your room for now, the others are starting to ask questions about you, and I..." She paused when Lincoln suddenly hugged her.
"Thanks... Lori..." He whispered into her chest before slowly pulling away with a small yet fond smile plastered on his pale face. "I really... I really appreciate it." He almost fall over if Lucy didn't get to his side to help him balance himself on his feet.
"And tell them not to worry about me too much alright, Lucy is going to take care of me for now, I will tell her to get you if I need anything." Lincoln reassured her.
"S-sure Lincoln..." With a sigh, Lori averted her gaze to look at Lucy beside him. "Just look after him alright, and get me as quick as you can if anything happen." She advised, looking at them one last time before descending the stairs with the sleeping Lily in her arms.
"Thank you." Lucy spoke, getting his attention to look at her once Lori was gone. "For willing to listen to me." She helped him to walk, though slowly and carefully, to his room at the other end of the hallway.
"Well, I don't exactly have much of a choice, it's either this or Lisa, and if she didn't find anything wrong with me, they would probably put me in a mental institution..." He smirked. "No, they probably should to be honest." He morbidly added.
"Don't say that..." Lucy muttered under her breath, her obscured eyes refusing to look at the resigned expression her only brother was wearing.
"I'm serious Lucy, if something happen, you need to get me far away from here, I don't care where, just far away from them." Lincoln gritted his teeth when his stomach growled, almost making him keel over on his knees if Lucy didn't pull him back up.
"It... It wasn't you Lincoln..." She said only to receive a low chuckle from him.
"Yeah, right, I almost kill her Lucy, I almost kill Lily." He sneered, baring his teeth with the saliva collecting in his mouth. "It won't change that, nothing can."
"But you didn't Lincoln, that's the important thing, you are stronger than you think." Lucy held the knob and twisted it, opening the door for both of them when Lincoln suddenly let go of her before sitting on the edge of his bed.
"I..." He was starting to breathe heavily with the alluring smell coming from Lucy begging for him to rip her apart. "I hope you're right Lucy." He bit into his right hand, leaving a mark and drawing blood until he finally got his sense back from the wild hunger slowly taking over him. He need to stay awake, and this pain as real as it was, should prevent him from losing his sense of reality for now.
He wasn't stupid, he can see the sliver of fear leaking from the monotone girl slightly shaking, and yet she still decided to sit beside him on the bed much to his surprise. She wanted him to trust her, no, she need to, he can at least figure that out already.
Steeling his mind, Lincoln told her about his nightmare, of the strange smiling man with a mask covering his face and what he did to him, or at least what he showed to him. He told her everything, from the very beginning to the end, not leaving behind any details no matter how small or unnecessary it was. His memory has never been that great but he can clearly picture the smiling man for her, from his weird way of transition with the sound his loose limbs were making, to his multiple voices and the cheering crowd still lingering in his ears. Even as his body started shaking from the horrible memory, he keep going, making sure that he didn't leave anything that could be helpful for her.
When he finished, utter silence filled the air between them.
"I... I think it was using your fear to infect you." Lucy calmly said. "From what you're saying, this man, no, this thing is using your fear of hurting us to mess with your head. That is probably how he was also slowly taking over you."
He went quiet.
"Are you sure?" Lincoln seriously asked, "Lucy, can you really say for certain that you know what I'm up against?" He repeated, not once looking away from her nervous eyes peeking out from the gap between her dark bangs.
"Lincoln, I..." Lucy hesitated, biting her lips in doubt before sighing in resignation. "I'm sorry but I can't promise you anything Lincoln, I can only share what little knowledge I have about this sort of matter."
"This... Whatever this is you're facing, I've only read it once in Great Grandma Harriet's journals. I thought it was just a coincidence at first with how similar it was, but I couldn't help but feel like something was wrong when I looked at you, especially when I realized you're also starting to show the symptoms."
"I-I didn't think you would even listen to me, I was desperate, I just know that I need to help you." She clenched her fists in frustration. "Even if you didn't trust me, that you might think of me as an idiot, I still wanted to help you, and I will do anything I can to make sure of that."
Though, she slightly winced when Lincoln flicked her forehead.
"I thought I was the one feeling like dying here." He joked. "It wasn't the matter of you being able to help me or not Lucy, it was you being honest, that's all I needed to know."
"And from how you're putting, I'm probably right with this thing slowly killing me." Lincoln wiped the lock of his white hair back from sticking to his sweaty forehead. "I already told you everything that happened to me, now it's your turn to tell me what you know." He said as Lucy nodded at him in return.
"The world of dream is something that we as human has always known so little about. Some said that it was a reality within a reality, the world in between, or a similar yet distant realm where our physical form was forbidden from entering." She surmised. "But it was also a channel separating our body from our soul, keeping us in a state of both life and death where we would be most vulnerable at."
"While our body remained here, there would be times where our soul got lost in the darkness, far into a place where it shouldn't be, a place where nightmare was born. And to avoid that, we were pulled back into our body as a defense mechanism since they can't hurt us in the physical realm."
"But there were also times where it didn't get back, or worse something else also got back along with it through that same channel." Lucy explained. "Though to do that, they would also risk getting erased since they can't inhibit a body that already has a soul in it without also trapping themselves there."
"You mean like possession?" Lincoln asked.
"Sort of, but that kind of disturbance usually take much longer before it would start affecting the victim, unlike your situation." She replied. "As much as I don't want to admit it, you're having it much more worse considering how strong the connection was for this thing to affect you this fast."
"Like I said, they can't hurt us in the physical realm since they have no vessel to reside within, but that doesn't mean they can't mess with our head by using our emotions as a catalyst." Lucy pointed out. "And most time, they resorted to using fear since it was the easiest way to manipulate and control someone to do what they wanted." She went quiet for a bit.
"Like your fear of hurting and losing us..."
"It's not that they are strong or anything, they are just very tricky and deceitful since they can change how we look at things and amplifying our emotions to the extreme, to the point where we can no longer see the difference between what is real and not." She explained. "Sure they can't directly hurt us, but it still wouldn't stop them from feeding on our soul to weaken us for their objective."
"Which is?" Lincoln inquired with a brow raised.
"To drag us with them into the darkness where they come from..." She bluntly said. "At least that was what great grandma Harriet had written in her journals, she called them the outsider."
"And you got all of this from that old book of spells?" Lincoln mentioned with a small smile.
"No, that book was simply the key to get the journals hidden in a compartment under the chest she entrusted down to me." Lucy seriously responded.
"And you're telling all of this to me now?" He replied in amusement.
"I... I didn't think anyone would believe me..." She sighed. "That they will take it away from me if they find out about it." Her head slightly lowered when Lincoln gently patted the top of her black hair.
"Hey, I can't say I remember much about her, but if you really think this is related to what is happening to me, then I believe you Lucy." He reassured her. "Now, how do we deal with this?" He retracted his hand back to his side.
"About that..." She nervously rubbed her left arm before looking at him. "I need you to sleep Lincoln."
...
"Remember, if anything happen, if I start acting strange when I wake up, get Lori as fast as you can." Lincoln said while lying uncomfortably on his bed with Lucy sitting close beside him. "I'm serious, if that wasn't enough, get Lisa to sedate me, anything to stop me from hurting any of you." He morbidly added.
"It's going to be fine Lincoln, you can leave the rest to me." Lucy gently held his hand in hers. "All you need to do is listen to my voice..."
Taking a deep breath, Lincoln hesitantly closed his eyes until he was engulfed in the darkness taking over his senses. He can feel his rapid heartbeat slowly calming down with her soft smaller hands brushing against his. She is warm, and with nothing left around him, he focused only on her.
"Find me Lincoln..." Her voice barely reached him with the deafening static filling his ears.
Find... Me...
He was no longer in his room, instead he found himself standing alone on a stage with an x sign under his feet once he parted his eyes. Darkness surrounding him for as far as he can see with a single light shining on him. The air was horribly dry and stagnant, making his throat slightly itchy when he breathe.
"So, what kind of coward use illusion of other people to do what they should do themselves?" Lincoln mockingly spoke into the darkness with a smirk plastered on his weary and tired face.
He is audibly shaking with his heavy body refusing to move from the spot. The harrowing grasp of fear was still there but it was also mixing with something else, something more ugly and primal.
He felt like laughing, and this time he don't think he can stop himself.
"Now, now, there's no need to call name~" The voice returned. One leg stepped out from the darkness, then another with the clicking sound of bones snapping until the silhouette of a tall and slim man could be seen standing infront of him, smiling as wide as ever while baring his white teeth. He placed his hands on his back before slowly and awkwardly leaned down to look at him with his head slightly tilted in curiosity.
"Well, what do we have here, you aren't lost are you~" The strange man clicked his teeth, a gust of putrid and humid air spreaded out from his mouth.
"I was..." Gritting his teeth, Lincoln gasped when he finally get his legs to move from the spot. "But not anymore." The ropes, they had never been there. It was only a cheap trick to keep him still, a restriction.
"How lovely, I know you would put up quite a show for us~" The man unhinged his jaw while spreading his arms to the side.
"You, and your audience, can go fuck yourself." Lincoln snarled only for the strange man to burst out in laughter with the overwhelming cheers and applause coming from the darkness surrounding the stage.
"Very well then my dear~" Like ink, the darkness started spreading on the stage, climbing over the wooden floor where they stood. "Now, shall we let the game begin~"
"Oh no you don't..." Putting more pressure into his legs, Lincoln increased his pace almost into a sprint before jumping over the strange man with his right hand reaching for his smiling face. Only to stop inches away from his mask with the wailing inky figures suddenly stretching out for his body before dragging him down to the pool of darkness slowly consuming him whole. Their hands desperately pulling him down along with them into the depthless abyss.
"I... I guess I should expect this from a coward." Lincoln bared his teeth through the ink almost completely covering his face.
"Oh you poor child, you still don't understand do you~" The voice resonated in his ears with the sliver of light slowly disappearing from his eyes. "You didn't only carry your own fear~" His mask slightly cracked.
You also carried theirs...
...
"Lincoln~" His eyes slowly flickered open at the familiar voice of his oldest sister whispering into his ear with the brush of her warm breath caressing his skin.
He was in his bed, and it was dark outside with the dim moonlight barely outlining her silhouette lying beside him with her face so close to his that he can feel the heat radiating from her.
"L-Lori?" He rubbed his blurry eyes to see her better.
"Sorry for waking you up, I guess I'm just worried since you've been asleep this long after you woke up from your nightmare this morning." Lori said in a low voice.
"Where... Where is Lucy?" He asked, trying to get up when she suddenly pulled him back down beside her.
"It's fine Lincoln, I already told her to get back to her room so she can rest. She had been taking care of you for some time now, I'm sure she need it." She reassured him.
"But-" He wanted to argue, only to be silenced when she pressed her index finger against his lips.
"No but Lincoln, you need to rest." She insisted before bringing their bodies closer together for him to realize something was missing.
She wasn't wearing anything...
He can feel her soft and bare skin pressing snugly against him with nothing separating them.
"Lori..." Lincoln sadly muttered under his breath.
"What's wrong Lincoln, don't you like seeing me like this, am I not beautiful enough for you?" She whispered in desperation while showing all of herself to him.
"I know I don't have much, that I have not always been a good sister, and I won't blame you for hating me, I just wanted to at least give you this much." She forlornly smiled. "Will you still accept me Lincoln, will you accept this ugly and disgusting side of me?"
Instead of pushing her away in fear, Lincoln slowly leaned closer, wrapped his arms around her neck and gently embraced her head into his chest before pressing her close against his heartbeat.
"Sorry for making you worry about me." He whispered into her blonde hair. "You haven't had it easy, I should have been there more for you."
"I can never hate you Lori, I don't think I can hate anyone more than I hate myself." Lincoln fondly smiled. "That's why no matter who you are, in the past or the future, even if you wasn't real, you will always be my sister." He hugged her tighter when she started crying with the tears running down her cheeks.
"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry Lincoln..." She cried out into his chest.
It was her fear of being vulnerable.
It was his fear of hating his sisters.
A crack...
The reality shifted and shattered like it was made of mirror as Lincoln started falling through the shard of glasses reflecting the face of Lori and back into the darkness consuming him whole.
'Lincoln...'
He opened his eyes with a gasp, quickly looking around him to see that he was still not in his own room, instead he was standing in the middle of Lori and Leni's shared room.
"S-stay away!" The familiar voice of his second eldest sister shook the entire room with him being caught in it. "Please..." She begged.
"L-Leni, it's me." He took a step closer only to stop when the floor started melting before dragging him down. And yet he still refused to give up, not now, not at the sight of his kindest sister being in distress.
"Stay away Lincoln!" Leni screamed, her shaking figure was crouching at the corner side of her room. "Don't look at me! Please, just leave." She sobbed.
"I'm not going anywhere Leni..." Clenching his jaw, Lincoln buried his fingers into the floor and dragged himself out from the pit, struggling and panting until he was finally kneeling on the solid part of the floor. He lifted his head, glanced at Leni still not moving away from her spot, and got up on his feet before heading for her direction. "I'm... I'm here Leni." He panted.
"Leave me alone Lincoln! Don't come any closer, please, I'm begging you, just stay away, please." She desperately let out much to his dismay.
"Hey..." Lincoln carefully approached her before dropping down on one knee behind her shaking figure "What's wrong Leni, what happened?" He calmly asked.
"I'm..." Her voice hitched with the choked sob leaving her quivering lips. "I'm ugly Lincoln, I'm a monster. Please, I don't want you to see me like this." She whimpered.
"You are not a monster Leni, you will never be, not to me." He gently turned her around until he can get a proper look of her. And his eyes softened at the sight.
Her light blue eyes glimmering with wet tears running down her cheeks covered with purple bruises, bleeding scars, infected scrapes, sticky blisters, and brownish pus popping and leaking out from the bulging wounds. The smell was horridly nauseating with the foul odor stinging his nose.
And yet, he couldn't help but smile softly at her, nor can he stop himself from carefully wiping the trail of tears staining her cheeks.
"What are you talking about Leni, you are just as beautiful as ever." Lincoln sincerely said as she lifted her head to look at him, to look at the sister he sees in his eyes. "I have never seen a more beautiful and kind girl than you."
"D-don't lie to me Lincoln, I know I'm not that smart, t-that people looked down on me, but I'm not an idiot. I-I can see it myself, how ugly I really am." She stammered. "Please Lincoln, please don't lie to me."
"I'm not lying Leni..." He planted a tender kiss on her forehead, shocking her with the affectionate gesture.
"L-Lincoln! Stop!" She tried pushing him away, only for Lincoln to start peppering her face with light kisses, not at all bothered by the pus sticking to his own skin. "What are you doing Lincoln, you're only going to get yourself infected!" All the while, she can only cry even more with how much love he was showering her with that she can no longer control herself.
"Please, I don't want this, I don't want you to get ugly because of me." She gently hugged him just to stop the kissing with how much it was hurting her heart to deny how much her brother was telling the truth.
"If you are a monster, then we can be monster together." Lincoln patted her head as she sniffled into his shoulder, a gentle smile slowly creeping up on her face. "You are my sister Leni, and I will always be your Linky."
"Yeah, you're right Lincoln." She beamed, wearing the same glowing smile she was well known of. "You are my Lincy..."
It was her fear of being a burden.
It was his fear of being loveless.
A crack...
The reality swirled and shattered as Lincoln dropped yet again into the darkness swallowing him whole. In his hand a shard of mirror was reflecting the face of Leni without all the injuries before slipping away from his grasp.
'Lincoln...'
Opening his eyes yet again, Lincoln gasped and tightly held his chest before darting his gaze around to see that he was standing in Luna and Luan's shared room. He is still dreaming.
He can feel something warm dripping down his chin. His nose, it was bleeding with the mental strain he was putting himself through. The longer he stayed here, the more it was taking a toll on him.
"N-no, this... This isn't part of our deal." Luna shouted as a man was roughly shoving and restraining her against the wall. "Get away from me!" Tears started escaping from the corner of her eyes when the man started assaulting her neck with aggressive kisses.
"You wanted to be a big star right?" The man chuckled. "I'm making you one Lulu, you should be grateful I would even look at a backwater whore like you." He teared through his purple shirt.
No...
"Please, you can't do this, you said you're going to help me!" Luan yelled out in desperation as a woman was handing out a few sheets of papers to her with a bored look. "You told me I have the talent for it, I give up everything for this, my family, my friend, my life! How can you just say that it was over!" She asked when the woman annoyedly threw the papers at her face.
"Shut up, not everything is going to be happy go lucky in this world. You lose some you win some. You are just not a good performer kid, get over it already." The woman smirked. "Business is business, after all there are many more people younger and better than you out there. You are just not that talented." She cackled.
No...
It felt like three realities were combining into one with him trapped in the middle. Two separate situations, two sisters, two choices to choose from.
And it was forcing him to choose between Luna and Luan.
He can't... He can't choose...
It was her fear of selling herself.
It was her fear of losing herself.
It was his fear of being forced to choose.
Lincoln fell to his knees, struggling to get back up while he was panting heavily for air. He need to move, he need to help them, he just can't.
'Lincoln... Find... Me...'
Lifting his head, he searched for where the monotone voice was coming from. Though, it didn't take long as a shard of broken mirror sparkled from within the darkness beyond the open door.
"L-Lucy..." He muttered while reaching out for the shard.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a moment, focusing as hard as he can on the sharp shape until he can feel something stabbing into his palm, wincing slightly before opening his eyes to find the shard in his bleeding hand.
He wiped the bloodstain with his thumb and stared into the mirror, smiling when he saw the reflection in it. The space around the bloody shard suddenly started cracking as a blinding flash of light teared open the fabric through all three realities like a polaroid catching the pause in time into a still.
Luna looked at Luan...
Luan looked at Luna...
"Hey! Let go of my sister!" They both shouted at the same time before stepping out from the darkness taking hold of them. The man and woman instantly disappeared from the room, frowning when they saw him smiling back at them.
"Lincoln?" Luna looked confusedly at him with Luan close by her side. They are together, they are safe, and he is fine with that. Before any of them could say anything, he was suddenly pulled down into the darkness.
A crack.
Another crack.
And it kept growing until everything around him was finally falling apart from the core. He can see the reflection of Luna and Luan in the broken shards of mirrors he was leaving behind.
'Lincoln...'
Finally, he was back on the dim lighted stage. And the man was already there waiting for him, he wasn't smiling.
"Pfft, ha.. Ha, ha, ha..." Lincoln bursted out in laughter while holding his stomach. "I guess even a coward know when he was losing." He smirked.
"YOU'RE CHEATING." The man angrily said.
"Says the coward who kept running away and hiding behind all this dreams." Lincoln retorted. "You wanted a show right, then come at me already." He provoked as the crowd cheered for him much to the man dismay.
"Shut up!" The darkness instantly went quiet with the heavy tension lingering in the stagnant air. "The game is over... You had already lost kid."
"You can't do anything, not right now, not with how exhausted you are..." The man unhinged his jaw. "Do you really you can do anything against me, you are fated to lose from the start kiddo, you are only a piece in this game. Nothing more, nothing less." He snapped his finger as inky tendrils started sprouting out from his mouth.
Taking a deep breath, Lincoln slowly exhaled from his mouth, his half lidded eyes staring at the man finally showing his true form, an ugly inky glob of eyes and teeth marionetting the corpse like a puppet from the inside.
"Good, now you look just as ugly as you sound." Lincoln remarked.
"It's fine, I can just use your voice and body when I get rid of this one." The creature hissed in delight.
"You know, it's one thing to come after me, but to also come after my family, to almost make me hurt my sister by tricking me with your illusion." Lincoln pulled out the shard of mirror from his pocket. "If I would kill myself just to protect them, then what do you think I will do to you?"
"This might be your nightmare..." Lincoln held out the mirror to show the reflection of the inky glob controlling the corpse in it, shocking it with the item.
"N-no, where did you get that, give it to me, now!" The creature wailed, desperately dragging itself towards him for the mirror.
"But this is my dream." Lincoln crunched the fragile shard in his palm until there was nothing left but dust.
"What... What have you done." The creature froze at the sight.
"I'm just cutting off the connection..." Lincoln smirked. "And I have no plan of trapping you here."
"How, how did you know, who told you!?" The creature lashed out in anger. "This was supposed to be easy, he told me it was going to be easy-" It paused at the realization.
"He lied to me... He tricked me..." The creature averted its many wide eyes on the white haired boy watching it breaking down in amusement. "I'm going to kill you..."
"Then I will use your body to come after your sisters, I will torture and kill them one by one while I watch them suffer through your eyes."
"Are you really trying to threaten me?" Lincoln asked.
"I still have one trick left kid." The creature stretched out into the darkness and pulled a familiar figure onto the stage. "I was keeping this for a secret encounter but since you're pushing me this far, then have at it!" It cackled while controlling Lynn with the inky strings attached to her limbs.
"L-Lincoln?" Lynn raised a brow.
"Hey Lynn." He responded with a smile before looking at the inky creature spilling out from the corpse.
"You don't know me, and you sure as hell don't know my sisters." Lincoln sighed in relief while thinking about them.
"The thing I realized was that the more illusions you created to turn this dreams into reality, the less real they become with the flaw easily breaking it apart from the seam for me to find your connection."
"But you did do a good job at replicating my sisters." Lincoln raised his bleeding hand as four shards of broken mirror started crystalizing from his blood. "In fact, you did it so good that I accepted them as my own. Illusion or not, they will always be my sisters. And us Loud always stick together." He grinned.
"Come on Lynn, are you really going to let that coward control you!?" Lincoln yelled as the brunette raised a brow before turning around to look at the confused creature with a deep glare.
It was her fear of being helpless.
It was his fear of being a coward.
"No one control me." She violently pulled the creature down with the strings attaching to her wrists, not at all struggling to move her body even under the restraints. "No one control Lynn Loud!" She shouted, snapping the strings with her strength alone before changing into a shard of mirror with her reflection in it and going to his side.
"N-no... It wasn't possible..." The creature shrunk in fear, looking down only to see the x sign under the limping corpse. "You cheated, there's no way I'm going to lose, not like this, not at my own game!"
"That's what you don't understand, I have never been scared of the dark, I need to, it was the only way I can protect them." Lincoln pointed his index finger at the creature as the inky darkness around them started spiraling onto the stage.
"N-no, please, help me!" It begged, faceless victims of the lost past hungrily tearing and dragging the creature apart until nothing was left on the stage. No more voices, no more eyes, no more hunger.
For once, it was quiet, a comfortable silence he found himself gladly drowning within.
He was... Tired...
Barely keeping himself standing, Lincoln watched as the floating shards started piecing themselves together like a puzzle until a complete silver mirror was created.
There was no reflection in it...
He reached for the mirror, slightly surprised when his hand went through it without appearing on the other side.
'Lincoln... Can you hear me...'
He smiled, he can, he can hear her...
It was her voice, she has always been there hasn't she...
The mirror grew bigger to his size as Lincoln fell through it...
...
Only to wake up on the other side. And this time, he knew it was real with his sisters worriedly gathering beside his bed and Lucy still gently holding onto his hand. A faint smile barely gracing her small lips to see him. It was all he need to see.
"This is a small room you know, why are all of you putting up a party in here." He joked as Luan let out a low snort before being elbowed by Luna glaring at her.
"Really Lincoln, you've been asleep for six hours and that was all you have to say." Lynn rolled her eyes
"Six hours huh, it was just a short nap then?" Lincoln sat up, straightened his back, and stretched his arms over his head with a yawn escaping from his mouth.
"A short nap!? Do you even know a nap is?" Lynn incredulously said in disbelief. "You know what, why don't you just get back to your nap then." She left.
"And here I am worrying my butt off if I need to call the ambulance." Lola annoyedly walked out from the room.
"I'm glad you're fine Lincoln, really, you sure moved a lot in your sleep" Lana pointed out. "Did you win? Lucy said we shouldn't wake you up since you're fighting a monster."
"Sure Lana, I guess you can say so." He glanced at Lucy from the corner of his eyes.
"That's so cool, I can't wait to tell the pets about this." Lana hurriedly got out from the room.
"Like are you sure you alright Lincy, do you need anything?" Leni asked.
"A cup of water would be nice, I'm kind of thirsty." He replied which she nodded before heading downstairs for the kitchen.
"Just rest lil bro, mom and pop will be back soon with the medicine for your headache." Luna wrapped her arm behind Luan's shoulder. "In the meantime, Luan and I are going to cook something up for you."
"Wait, what?" Luan confusedly raised a brow before being dragged away by Luna. "I don't remember agreeing to this!" She whined.
"If you need anything, feel free to find me in my room." Lisa fixed the glasses between her nose. "You might want to get a proper check up after being unconscious for that long." She waved them off while stepping out from the room.
"So, how did you sleep, having anymore nightmare?" Lori asked.
"No, not anymore." Lincoln smiled. "And thanks Lori, for worrying about me. I don't think I have said it enough."
"Ugh, whatever you say twerp." She leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead before quickly averting her eyes away in embarrassment. "Just get well soon alright." She finally left the room for the two of them.
"I... I'm glad you're back Lincoln." Lucy sighed. "I was afraid that I lost you for a second there."
"I have ten sisters, it would take more than that to take me down." He smirked when something came to his mind. "And Lucy, is it alright if I see those journals you're talking about?"
"Why?" She curiously asked.
"I'm not sure, it was just a feeling but I think..." He recalled his memory. "I don't think it was me."
"What are you talking about?" Lucy seriously inquired.
"I don't think I'm the one it was targeting." Lincoln frowned.
A coin was flipped...