AN:
Skully13: Ok two things one are you going to be using any monster from the various monster fighting games and later down the line are u gonna have Lincoln with his friends.
Well, I didn't really plan on this being a full blown story. But the story is already built on more borrowed material than my average fanfic, so I don't see any problem in adding more stuff as long as I can figure out how to thread it into a cohesive story. As I said, I already have a few select examples of kaiju media I'm planning on drawing from. I don't know what other fighting games currently exist that tackle the genre, but I'm open to anything that inspires me.
As for something with Lincoln and his friends...yeah, I can probably do something like that. I imagine I'd call it something like, "Chapter 8".
guest: I do write a lot of fluff. So...yeah, that's probably going to happen sooner or later.
Cookie Warlord: Glad you liked it. As I said, the last chunk of the story was basically written so I could get to the Sam/Lincoln thing, so I'm glad to see other people liked it. And by all means, suggest things. Even if I don't end up getting inspired enough to put something in the story, I'm still a fan of kaiju media in general. As is indicated by my substantial Monsterpocalypse 1.0 collection.
As for these particular things, they're both new to me. But I checked out MMM and even having just watched the intro video, I already like what I see, so I'll definitely be watching more of it. I have a good feeling about Eye Eye Eye.
Gigabash looks like a lot of fun. Too pricey for me to buy into blind, but I've put it on my wishlist, and I'll be putting some thought into buying it if it goes on sale anytime soon. So yeah, if you have any similar suggestions, keep em coming.
Guest99: Not sure if creating kaiju from scratch is in my skillset, but I'll keep that in mind, thanks.
Lincoln had been worried about returning to school. For someone like him, who at the best of times managed to maintain a tenuous co-existence with his more popular peers, reintegrating into the social hierarchy of high school after any amount of time away was always going to seem to be a daunting task. Compounding that with the unusual nature of his absence, and the rumors that were undoubtedly already making their rounds, and it seemed like there was a pretty good argument for eschewing reintegration entirely, and trying his luck somewhere significantly more...removed from his usual stomping ground. Somewhere where he'd have a better chance of flying under the radar. Maybe he could try his luck in Canada again. After all, how long could a syrup-based conviction possibly keep him out of the country?
Fortunately, it turned out that his abrupt disappearance was the last thing on most people's minds. Unfortunately…
"My girlfriend specifically said she didn't want any pickles on her burgers! So, please tell me what I'm looking at here!"
...that was only because something new had taken its place.
"I promised my girlfriend a proper meal, and...what? Now I only get to deliver 99% of one? Are you trying to make me look bad? Is that your game?"
Lincoln groaned aloud as another round of laughter punctuated the sound of his own voice coming out of someone else's phone. He'd, of course, accounted for the possibility that at least some part his date with Sam would make the rounds on social media, and had decided it was an acceptable risk when he'd agreed to go out with her in the first place. Unfortunately, that decision had been based on the presumption that the gorgeous blonde giantess would be the most eye-catching, and attention-grabbing part of their outing, when in fact he couldn't have been more wrong.
"Yeah, guys," Lincoln said through gritted teeth. "That was just as funny as it was the last fifty times. But, here's a wild idea. How about we put the phones down now?"
Across the lunch table, the guys who were ostensibly Lincoln's best friends in the whole world back at him, and for a moment, something almost resembling contemplation crossed their faces.
It didn't last long.
"Oh, oh!" Zach exclaimed, flailing his phone around. "Did you guys see the one where Lincoln blasts the dude with heat vision? His flesh just straight up melts off, it's awesome!"
"Ah really like the one where he's breathin' fire," Liam added. "Burns that feller up all crispy, like Mee-Maw's fried chicken."
"I'm trying to sync Lincoln's arm flailing to this great dance beat I found," Said Clyde as he enthusiastically tapped away on his own phone. "The footage is a little difficult to work with, but it's going to be awesome if I can pull it off." Then his brother from another father looked up, locked eyes with Lincoln.
"...Or," Clyde added, putting his phone away and looking properly chagrined, "We could just...talk about something else?"
"Yes!" Lincoln exclaimed, shooting a grateful glance at his buddy. "Literally anything else! Please!"
"...Okay then." The hope that had been kindling inside Lincoln abruptly fizzled out, and he stifled a groan as Rusty fixed him with a smug smile. "I've got something we can talk about."
"He's about ta Rust it up, ain't he?" Liam whispered loudly to Zach.
"Guarantee it."
"Guys, what the hell?" Rusty asked as he glanced around the group. "I thought we agreed that you'd all stop using me as a verb!"
"Actually," Clyde interjected. "We agreed we'd stop using you as an adverb.
"Well, I don't know the difference!"
A moment of silence fell upon the group.
"...Quicker than ah thought he'd be."
"Anyway," Said Rusty, shooting Liam an annoyed glance before he turned his attention back to Lincoln. "As hilarious as your spiel was, I think the topic that really begs discussion is, how the heck did you snag the giant cutie in the first place?"
And with that, suddenly Lincoln was the center of attention.
"Uh…" He replied, coughing in embarrassment. "Anything but that?"
"Look, guys," Lincoln said, trying to project a calmness that belied the way his heart was hammering in his chest. "I don't know where you got the idea that Sam and I are—"
"My girlfriend specifically said she didn't want any pickles on her burgers!"
"My girlfriend specifically said she didn't want any pickles on her burgers!"
Lincoln twitched in annoyance as he leveled a baleful glare at Rusty.
"Your witness," The redhead chuckled, rewinding the video and letting the line play out a third time.
Clyde cleared his throat. "While historically, saying this has only ever lead to bad things happening, Rusty does kind of raise a valid point."
"Hey!"
"What is the deal with you and Sam, Linc." He continued, ignoring the irate redhead. "Last I checked, she was Luna's girlfriend."
"An' does this mean that Luna's...uh, single?"
Four pairs of eyes turned upon Liam, who immediately started sweating.
"Ahm just askin' for a friend," He added.
"...That's also not a bad question," Said Rusty, giving the farmboy an approving nod. "But first things first. Lincoln, start dishing."
"There's nothing to tell, guys, honest," The pale-haired young man protested, internally wincing as he spat the bald-faced lie, but pushed on, knowing it was for the greater good. "I was hanging out with Sam, that bozo bungled her lunch order, and I decided to play the bad guy so we could avoid a potential mob with torches and pitchforks situation."
A contemplative silence followed.
"I...guess that sounds reasonable." Said Clyde. "You two hit it off pretty well after she and Luna got together. But not that well, obviously."
Lincoln couldn't help feel a twinge of guilt at how readily his buddy tried to believe him.
"Stranger things have happened," Said Zach. "Like the giant humanoids, we have running around. Which we've become weirdly nonchalant about…"
"Lynn done kicked my cow over by accident not three days past when she jogged by the farm," Liam interjected. "But Bessie'd already fallen over, so that actually put 'er back on her feet."
"Say," The cowpoke added a moment later, "Is she seein' anyone by any chance?"
Lincoln had only a momentary window in which to give his friend an incredulous look before Rusty intervened.
"I don't buy it," He said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "You were stuck on an island with those two humongous hotties, and after that stunt, you're expecting us to believe that nothing...untoward happened in that time?"
"It's kind of remarkable how much your vocabulary improves when you're being sleazy," Clyde observed.
"Plus, uh, one of them's his sister Rust," Zach added. "I know we used to joke about that when we were kids, but Lincoln can't even pull girls he isn't related to. Pretty sure nothing happened there."
Lincoln squinted at Zach, unsure if he should be relieved or insulted.
"I've just got a feeling. And my instincts are never wrong!" Rusty shouted, dramatically slamming his palm on the table. "Now fess up, Linc! What's the skinny on you and blond—IE!"
To Lincoln's surprise, Rusty's voice leaped up multiple octaves mid-sentence. Then his mouth continued to move, but instead of words, only a high-pitched squeaking followed. It was all rather puzzling...until Lincoln caught sight of the slender, tanned hand clamped onto the redhead's shoulder.
"I think it's time to cool it, Rusty," Said Stella, as she loomed over their now twitching friend.
Little had changed with the dynamics of Lincoln's friend group when they'd transitioned from elementary school to middle school, and having long settled into their respective roles by that point, even less had changed as they'd moved on to high school. All except for where Stella was concerned, that is.
There had been a period of time towards the end of middle school, beautiful if for no other reason than for how brief it had been, that puberty finally kicked in and leveled the playing field, resulting in Lincoln and his guy friends evolving from the scrawny kids they'd been up to that point into less scrawny, average sized teenagers. Save for Rusty, who'd taken more than a few extra helpings of height. So much so, that in the span of a single day he was scouted by every single sports team, and subsequently booted from said teams as he systematically demonstrated that a growth spurt, no matter how dramatic, didn't necessarily translate into any sort of skill growth. But his misadventures aside, the important takeaway was that Lincoln and co. were no longer dwarfed by their sole female friend, which did wonders for their self-esteem. This lasted for the better part of a year, at which point out of the blue, it was the raven-haired girl who experienced one last growth spurt, which resulted in her once again towering over all of her guy friends, save for Rusty, who maintained the slightest edge on her.
Miffed feelings aside, it was normally to their benefit. Stella had generally served as a voice of reason for the group, and being returned to her previous stature made it that much easier for her to exude her calming influence upon the group, frequently allowing cooler heads to prevail where otherwise impulse and irrationality might have reigned. The fact that she'd filled out in other, very distracting ways did nothing to hinder her peace-keeping efforts.
...Except, rare though it may be, there were occasions where it was like some kind of switch had been flipped within Stella, and her mannerisms would become significantly less...serene. This was one of those times.
"Let's recap!" Stella said loudly as she turned her gaze on Lincoln. "Linc, you're not dating Sam, right?"
"R-right," He replied, nodding hurriedly.
"Gooooood!" She exclaimed as she began shaking Rusty by his shoulder. "That's good enough for me. So it's good enough for everyone else? RIGHT?"
Rusty's mouth opened wider, but sounds had long since stopped emitting from it. The only sound that could currently be heard above the general din of the lunch room, was one that sounded suspiciously like that of bone grinding against bone. Finally, the redhead closed his mouth and managed to muster the barest hint of a nod.
"Good!" Said Stella, releasing her hold on Rusty. "So that's that then. And now we never have to talk about this again!"
THUMP
The other four members of the group winced in unison as Rusty's body collapsed to the ground and remained relatively still, save for some mild twitching.
"I...uh, think I'm gonna make a quick stop at the Nurse's office," said Clyde, as his eyes briefly darted toward the floor. "Come on, Rusty, you should come with."
"Think ah'll join ya," Liam muttered, leaping to his feet.
"Me too," Zach said quickly as he followed suit.
Lincoln was already in motion, springing up out of his seat as the words to an excuse were already forming on his tongue...only to freeze as Stella grabbed him by the shirt collar, simultaneously arresting both his movement and his speech.
"Uh," He uttered, trying to adapt to this sudden, unexpected hurdle, but his friends were already scurrying away, Rusty in tow. Leaving just him...and Stella.
"Take a seat, Linc," Stella said, pleasantly, as she sent him plopping back into his seat with a flick of her wrist. A moment later she joined him, and his hormone-ridden body was very aware of the fact that she had done so in a way that had left almost zero space between them.
"Sorry for how sudden this is…" She began, her apologetic face and tone exuding the mild-mannered, slightly bashful demeanor he was used to seeing from the Filipina girl. It would have made for a rather jarring change, had it not been for the way her arm snaked around his waist.
"Um," He articulated, blinking rapidly as he tried to process these happenings.
"It's just…" Stella's head drooped slightly. "We haven't really had a chance to talk today. A-and...I was too embarrassed to say it in front of the guys, but...I'm really glad you're back, Linc."
"O-oh," He breathed a sigh of relief, his shoulders sagging as the tension he'd been feeling up till now leaked out of them. "Thanks, Stella. I'm really glad to—HURK!"
A mighty force yanked Lincoln out of his seat, and the next thing he knew, Stella's head was resting atop his own.
"I was just...so worried," She murmured, holding him against her pleasantly soft and well-cushioned chest. "Worried I'd never see you again. And…"
"A-and?" Lincoln asked, his voice now slightly muffled.
He could feel Stella's cheek sliding against his own as she lowered her head.
"You're...really not dating that girl. Right?" She asked softly, speaking directly into his ear.
"Uh...n-no?"
"Good!" She chirped, sighing happily as she once again rested her head atop his own. "That is very...good."