Lincoln woke up feeling comfortable and warm, but not fully rested. Sleeping had not been easy for him. Images of monsters trying to rip him to shreds kept appearing in his mind, and he knew he was not going to be fully awake today for a few more hours.

Stretching his limbs, he slowly got out of the bed he had been given last night in one of the Haunted House rooms. Unfortunately he had forgotten his suitcase yesterday so he had no clean clothes to change into. He had slept in his underwear, but knowing that the walls literally had eyes made that awkward for him, no matter how much the poltergeist insisted that he'd have privacy.

Dressed and still groggy, Lincoln headed towards the kitchen.

"Good morning." Ghoulia said, seated at the table eating some cereal.

"Morning. I'm starving, is there any food here?" Lincoln asked.

"In the fridge and cupboards. Help yourself."

Lincoln checked the cupboards, finding a box of Zombie Bran cereal. Looking back, he saw that Ghoulia was eating exactly that.

"Is this a made-for-Nevermore version or is this the same kind I've been buying at human stores?" He asked.

"Same kind as far as I know." She replied.

Lincoln shrugged and got a bowl to pour some cereal in. He gave it a taste-test since he no longer had a normal sense of taste, and to his relief it tasted like it always did. With that resolved, he made his way to the table and sat down.

"Is anyone else here?" He asked.

"Just me." Carol said, her face appearing on the wall.

Ghoulia shook her head. "They're all in school now. They'll be back when it's over though. We're hoping that there will be good news for you by then."

"School? What time is it?" Lincoln asked.

"After 8. No worries, you had a right to be tired after yesterday."

"Oh, and the time zone difference. I forgot about that." Lincoln mumbled. "I hope they don't get mad at me skipping today."

"I sure don't blame you." Carol claimed.

Ronnie Anne and Stella weren't exactly enjoying their first day at Grimswood either. Sleep had not come easily for them last night, not helped by the fact that they were in an entirely new location and forced to share it with someone who was not exactly what they'd call a friend. In all honesty, the only reason either girl got any sleep was due to passing out from sheer exhaustion.

Lucy hadn't been much better off. All night she saw the empty bed in her room, devoid of everything except her brother's suitcase which she had brought with her. She had to admit that now that her brother was missing, she was willing to deal with any problem that came from having him as a roommate if it meant he'd come back to her.

The girls had their first class of the day, with Ronnie Anne and Stella sharing while Lucy was in another grade, and after introducing themselves they discovered that it was no different than a normal school. Even their schedules were normal, though there were a few gaps in it. Were they incomplete? They'd have to ask a teacher about it.

That would have to wait for later thought, as in the second period a schoolwide assembly had been called and everyone gathered in the auditorium.

"What's with the little kids?" Ronnie Anne asked, seeing kids that clearly did not belong in a high school in another section of the auditorium.

"Grimswood must be one of those K-12 schools." Stella suggested as they two found seats. They both looked around and still saw no sign of Lincoln.

"Attention everyone, attention." Headmistress Bloodgood called from the podium, silencing everyone. "I've gathered you all here to correct a grievous error and attack that was committed just yesterday. For anyone not aware, yesterday we had a new student transfer over to our school, and immediately he was attacked, slandered, and even threatened with bodily harm by another student. Not only that, but another student posted false stories about the new transfer, whereas many of you proceeded to make things worse. And now that student is missing. Even our locator spells can't find him."

Ronnie Anne and Stella felt much worse after hearing that, even if it wasn't the first time. Lucy had tried once last night after the failed phone call, but she got no results. And according to her, locator spells could even find dead bodies if they had to. There were only two things that could block a locator spell, the first being a specific magic barrier designed specifically for such a purpose, and the second being that deep down Lincoln didn't want to be found. They weren't sure which one they preferred right now.

"I've called you all here to set the record straight and ensure that none of you makes any more stupid choices than you already have. The student in question is a boy named Lincoln Loud. He is a dhampir and new to our world. He was accidentally assigned a room in the Titania dorms here on campus, and had people been rational and patient this error would have been corrected and forgotten. However, some students interpreted this as a deliberate and malicious act of Lincoln Loud, as if he had chosen to be given such a room and would commit heinous acts once inside the dorm. And some students took it upon themselves to hold him accountable for their perceived crimes of his."

Toralei and Teez were grateful that the headmistress was merciful enough to not name names right now, but they were aware that most people knew it was them who were responsible. The posts in question originated from Teez's profile and anyone could see that, as well as Toralei being credited as the one who 'caught' Lincoln in the act. Both of them knew that by the end of the day someone would go up to them and demand to know what the hell they were thinking.

"I am going to make this perfectly clear to all of you. Lincoln Loud is not guilty of any accusations thrown his way. He did not infiltrate the girls dorm, he did not sexually harass anyone, and he has not been doing this for some time now. Any attempts to treat him as a criminal will be punished harshly. Unless you acquire proof, from this moment forward none of you have any excuse for holding this slander against him."

Bloodgood paused for a moment to allow this to sink in. She could see that a good chunk of the student body looked remorseful to various degrees. Shame at being so quick to believe the worst, anger at being misled by their fellow students, and regret for going along with it. If there was anyone who was holding out on their previous stance, she didn't see it right now.

"I will not be demanding anyone here apologize, but I strongly suggest those of you who wish to do so do it, once Lincoln Loud returns to school. Does anyone know of his whereabouts?"

Ronnie Anne, Stella, and Lucy looked around frantically, hoping that someone, anyone, would say they had an answer to that question.

"I do!"

Many people, including Bloodgood, were surprised by this. "Who said that?"

"I did, Headmistress." Tanis said, holding up her hand and standing up.

Phantasma nodded. The group had previously agreed to feign ignorance of Lincoln's location today, but decided that if necessary, Tanis could agree to knowing. The little mummy was the safest choice, as no one would pressure her for details she was unwilling to give. Not without admitting they were the kind of person to bully a child that is.

"Could you come up here and explain, dear?" Bloodgood asked.

Tanis made her way up to the stage and came by the podium. She looked a little nervous and glanced at her friends who carefully nodded in understanding before looking back at the headmistress.

"It's okay dear, how did you find Lincoln yesterday?"

"He… he was hurt and bleeding. He told me that werewolves tried to kill him."

There was a gasp in the audience and immediately every werewolf student in the auditorium was under scrutiny. Romulus, Howleen, and Bart did everything they could to appear as innocent as they could, thankful that they couldn't sweat right now.

"I got him to safety and healed his wounds with a potion, then he went to sleep. I think he's still there. But I really don't want to say where he is. I don't want those mean werewolves to try to find him again."

"It's alright child, he'll stay safe for now. But after school when you go home, I suggest having someone to go with you to make sure no one follows you." Bloodgood suggested and Tanis nodded.

'Werewolves tried to kill him?' Ronnie Anne, Stella, and Lucy thought, all scared of what could have happened and all eager to do something not nice to whatever lycans had been cruel enough to commit such an act.

"Will Lincoln be up to coming here tomorrow?" Bloodgood asked.

"I don't know, but I'll ask him." Tanis replied.

"Thank you, you may return to your seat." Bloodgood told her and Tanis complied. The dullahan then returned her focus to the student body. "Okay, with that now made clear, I wish to have every werewolf student and faculty member remain after hours today and come back inside the auditorium. Failure to do so will be viewed as a confession of attempted murder and treated as such until legally declared otherwise. No exceptions, am I clear?"

The werewolves all nodded, looking unhappy but knowing they couldn't complain. The other werefolk students were just glad that it wasn't them caught in the crossfires.

"And one last thing. The detail about Lincoln Loud being given a room in the Titania dorm was a result of computer error on my part. However, due to the actions of this student body, I feel it is now precedent to make that no longer an error but a genuine fact. I do not trust the boys to accept Lincoln Loud as one of their own, and I suspect that the girls need to learn a little more about empathy and equality. So as of now, Lincoln Loud will be assigned a room in the Titania dorm for real with his preselected roommate."

Now this really surprised everyone. Bloodgood actually was giving a boy permission to take up residence in the girls' dorms?

"I know this comes as quite a shock to you all and some of you will have objections to this." Bloodgood continued, briefly glaring towards Toralei with that part. "However, my decision is final. Lincoln Loud has now been attacked by students here more than once, with potentially nearly fatal results. I do not trust that this will not happen again, but at least with this arrangement I have confidence that there will be someone available to protect him should someone be stupid enough to attempt another attack on him. And I have been assured that he does know how to cohabitate with women so he will be able to adjust to this. For those of you concerned with boundaries and privacy, please do the mature thing and talk to him about these rather than assume the worst again. Frankly if anything, he's the one who sounds most at risk for having privacy and safety violated now. Oh, and one more thing. Lincoln Loud may be a dhampir, but he has a witch mother and a witch sister. Both of whom fought against members of a vampire noble family. I just want you all to keep that in mind the next time any of you think spilling Lincoln Loud's blood sounds like a good idea. You're all dismissed, please return to class."

With nothing else to say or do, the students filed out and back into the hallway.

"After school, we need to talk." Lucy said when she managed to pass by Stella and Ronnie Anne, who both nodded.

"Hello, Rita Loud speaking." Rita said when she answered her phone on a break at work.

It was a good thing she was alone, because she dropped her coffee mug.

"What?!"

Lunchtime came and Lucy began to head towards the school cafeteria. She completely forgot about eating anything for dinner last night and had skipped breakfast, so now she was starving. On the plus side, the school didn't charge students for breakfast or lunch, though they were on their own for dinner. The quality of free food may be questionable. Perhaps she was a little spoiled having a professional chef for a father.

She tried her phone to call Lincoln for the umpteenth time, and once again got no results. She was relieved that he was still alive and well, but this meant he either lost his phone or had turned it off. Maybe even blocked her. She really hoped that the young mummy girl could bring him back tomorrow at the latest. Tonight would be better.

"Hey Lucy." One of her classmates greeted. It was a young girl with bright red hair and a black dress. She was a Living Doll, an oddity among the Nevermores but one of them nevertheless. She looked like she was about 10 years old, but she could be any age since Living Dolls don't get any older physically.

"Hello, Ruby was it?"

The Living Doll nodded. "Yep, Ruby Gloom. Wanna join me and my friends for lunch?"

"You sure?"

"Certainly. Unless you'd rather eat alone."

Before Lucy could respond, her phone went off. Immediately she got hopeful, praying that her brother was calling her back. To her horror, it wasn't Lincoln. It was Rita.

"Sorry, but I have to take this. Maybe a rain check on that offer."

"Okay. I'll see you around."

Lucy found her way to a private area and with a gulp she answered her phone. "Hello Mom."

"Lucy, I just got some disturbing news and I can't get ahold of your brother. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

The gothic girl tried to steady her nerves. "We… we all made mistakes yesterday Mom. I don't know where he is, but I am told he's at least still alive and well."

"What 'mistakes' did you make Lucy?"

"I…. I did nothing."

"Lucille Loud, you better-!"

"Mom, that is my mistake. I did nothing, I just stood there and let it happen."

There was silence on the other end, and that did not make Lucy feel any better.

"I don't know why. I mean, when I had that vision of the vampire attacking Lincoln I didn't hesitate at all to jump in, but right then and there I froze up. Maybe I was being controlled?"

"It's not impossible, but I think it's more likely you just panicked." Rita replied, sounding disappointed. "You're the new girl and a witch, and you didn't want to go to Grimswood in the first place. I think you were afraid to make a bad first impression, so you did what you often do when a fight breaks out. You removed yourself from it."

Lucy paled. Was her mother right? Did she really keep her mouth shut just to avoid being caught in the crossfires?

The worst part was that made too much sense to her for her to dismiss as a reason.

"Mom, I want to make it up to Lincoln, but until I find him I don't know what I can do. Please, give me some advice. What can I do to say sorry?"

"Actually saying sorry is a good start. From there, remember this. Lincoln is new to all this, and he's counting on you to guide him. I know that as a witch, everyone is going to be looking for reasons to judge you and take you down. I know you're afraid to show weakness and draw bad attention to yourself, but right now Lincoln's life and his friend's lives literally depend on you. You need to step up and stand up for him when this sort of thing happens. Unless Lincoln's death really is something you're willing to let happen after all."

"No way! I will never allow Lincoln to be killed! I just…" Lucy almost shouted, then stopped herself. "It just caught me off guard so much. But I will try to be better from now on."

"If your father was here right now Lucy, he'd say 'Do or do not, there is no try'."

Lucy chuckled, the first time she had laughed or smiled all day. "Yeah, he would. Thanks Mom, I'll let you know what happens when I find him."

"Don't think this means you're off the hook young lady. I may not be in the same state as you, but I will head over to Massachusetts and ground your butt if I have to." Rita warned.

"Yes Mom." Lucy sighed.

"Hey!"

Stella had gotten some food at the cafeteria, they were serving burritos today, and now she was looking for a place to sit. She didn't see Lucy or Ronnie Anne anywhere, and certainly not Lincoln. But she did find who called to her, Cleo and Phantasma at a table with open seats.

Since the two girls were familiar to her, at least compared to anyone else in the cafeteria, she went over and sat down. Cleo and Phantasma didn't object, but they didn't look too happy either.

"Hi." Stella meekly greeted.

"This whole thing with Lincoln sure is a mess, isn't it?" Cleo noted, eating what looked like a hotdog, except it wasn't a normal sausage. Honestly, it looked more like a stuffed stomach between two buns covered in mustard and what Stella hoped was relish.

"That's putting it mildly." Stella agreed, taking a bite out of her burrito. She didn't know what was in it, but it tasted great. Maybe she didn't want to know.

"So what is Lincoln actually like?" Phantasma asked, eating what the others hoped was soup.

"Why do you want to know?" Stella asked, feeling just a bit defensive.

"Lincoln's the hot topic right now, but you and the other two are the only ones here who actually know him. So what's he like?" Cleo asked.

For a bit, the Filipino girl was silent. Either out of a need to figure out where to start, or fear of the response, it was hard to tell. Stella couldn't stay silent forever, so she cleared her throat.

"He's… he's my best friend. He's kind, giving, helpful, thinks ahead, and very forgiving. Sure, he's still a boy and has all the problems that come with that, but he's the kind of boy that makes it okay to be around him without needing to keep your guard up."

"So you're his girlfriend?" Cleo asked.

Stella narrowed her eyes at the mummy. "Why? Hoping he's single?"

"That's not a no."

Stella sighed. "No, I'm not. My family interfered and ruined my chance at that, and now thanks to yesterday, I might be screwed out of it forever."

"Ah, so you want to be his girlfriend." Phantasma noted.

"I… I wouldn't say no if he asked. But after yesterday, he never would." Stella responded, hanging her head.

"Why? What did you do that was so terrible?" Phantasma asked, but Cleo gave her a firm look. "What? I want to hear it from her."

Stella blinked and gasped. "Did you talk to Lincoln?"

"There are a lot of rumors going about. She meant that she wanted to hear what you actually saw." Cleo clarified.

Stella noted that Phantasma didn't look that certain. "You did talk to Lincoln. Please, is he okay?"

"He's fine, physically at least. But why did you tell that girl that he molested someone?"

"I never said that! I…" Stella started, only to lose steam swiftly and slump her shoulders. "I said he saw naked girls in the pool, leaving out the fact that they were fish girls."

"So you phrased it to make him sound like a pervert? I thought you said you were Lincoln's friend." Cleo interjected.

"I am!" The former human insisted.

"Are you sure? Because it sure doesn't sound like it to me." The mummy replied.

Stella felt a little subdued by that, more ashamed of herself now.

"Did you want the other girl to get angry at him?" Phantasma asked.

"Huh?" Stella asked, confused.

"I mean, I'm no expert on sexual stuff. Honestly the closest I've ever come to turning someone on was flipping Carol's switch." The ghost said, chuckling a little at her own joke. "But from my understanding, girls don't go around accusing boys of being perverts unless they want to vilify him."

"She's right." Cleo added. "When someone was getting angry at Lincoln, you chose to add fuel to the fire instead of save him from it. That's not the act of a friend, that's someone who wants him to burn. Why would you do that?"

Stella could not get her mouth to cooperate and form words right now. It was like she was trying to say too much all at once.

"Are you… angry at Lincoln? Did he do something to offend you? Is that why you wanted that girl mad at him?" Phantasma asked.

"What? No."

"Are you sure? I mean, I was there at the pool, remember? He just acted like a decent boy to me, and he did look away when Lagoona and Ruby got out of the pool." Cleo pointed out and Phantasma nodded.

Stella looked ashamed of herself again. "I know."

"Well then why?" Cleo asked. "Are you mad that he was friendly to us?"

Stella acted as if slapped.

Cleo narrowed her eyes. "Is that it? Are you afraid that if Lincoln makes new friends, he'll stop being yours?"

"Is that a Normal thing? Do Normals have only so many friends?" Phantasma asked.

"Or are you afraid that if he thinks Nevermores are sexy then he'll ask one of us to be his girlfriend instead of you?" Cleo asked as well.

Stella looked uncomfortable.

"That's it, isn't it? You don't want competition, so you wanted the girls here to think he was some kind of pervert." Cleo remarked, frowning.

"No! That's not true!"

"Well it's what you got. And frankly, I'm not the one you need to convince."

Stella sighed. "I know."

Ronnie Anne went back to her dorm room for a sense of privacy, and texted Sid asking for her to talk. Given the time zone differences, she knew it was a long shot, but if she was right then right now back in Great Lakes this was during one of the breaks between classes so Sid would be briefly available. She was quite relieved when her phone rang.

"Sid?"

"It's me, what's wrong? Why the urgency?" Sid asked.

"I royally messed up. Some girl got really angry at Lincoln yesterday and I… before I even knew it my mouth spewed out words that made her want to hurt him."

"What?" Sid asked.

"Lincoln was nearly killed, and it's partly my fault." Ronnie Anne clarified, starting to cry.

"What the hell Ronnie Anne? I thought you'd be over the moon having the chance to actually be with him all the time! But not only do you worry about seeing him too much, you also have to go and make him more enemies? Are you trying to sabotage your relationship?" Sid asked, sounding like she was getting angry.

"No! Of course not! I don't even know why I did it! But please, help me fix this Sid!"

Sid paused for a bit, and that made the Hispanic girl worry. Was her friend going to abandon her?

"Alright, here's what you do." Sid started, sounding still angry but trying to ignore it. "First you apologize your butt off to Lincoln and tell him you will never do it again. Then you ask him what you can do to convince him to not break up with you if he hasn't already. If Lincoln is as merciful as I think he is, he hasn't dumped your ass yet but don't even think of taking that for granted. Figure out how your relationship can survive this, and make sure he knows that you love him. You do love him, right?"

"Of course I do! You know that!"

"Then tell him. You have no excuse not to anymore. But frankly you better be sure to tell him why if you love him you threw him to the dogs like that."

"Cats technically, but whatever. Thanks Sid."

"We're still best friends Ronnie, even if you screwed up big time. But if this happens again, I'm coming down there and zapping you till you explode."

Ronnie Anne laughed a little, feeling better.

"So what did you say that nearly got Lincoln killed?" Sid asked.

Ronnie Anne gulped. "I… I said he groped a girl."

"Lincoln groped a girl?"

"No, not really, he caught a girl who slipped on a puddle."

"Seriously? Why did you call that groping?" Sid asked.

"I don't know. Maybe I was a little mad at him for doing it?"

"That mad?" Sid asked back.

Ronnie Anne cried a little.

"Would you have been that mad if it had been me who slipped?" Sid asked.

"No, of course not!"

"Then maybe it's not Lincoln you're mad at. But it doesn't matter if you take it out on him. Listen, I'm almost out of time, but the next time you see him, do what I told you and pray he's forgiving. And from now on, don't act so territorial anymore. You're not a werewolf after all."

"Speaking of which, how are you holding up? Is anyone suspicious?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"Can't really say anything about that right now, but I'll tell you when school's over. I gotta go, bye Ronnie Anne, and good luck."

The phone call ended, and Ronnie Anne laid on her bed staring at the ceiling, letting a few more tears fall.

The rest of the school day went normally for Grimswood, and afterwards everyone went home or to other after-school activities. The members of the Haunted House club all hurried towards their hangout, but at the same time made sure to avoid being followed.

"Okay, is everyone here?" Spectra asked when it appeared that everyone had gathered together.

"I think so." Scott noted, looking around.

"Any news?" Ghoulia asked.

"Yeah, the headmistress told the entire school that Lincoln's in the clear. And right now every werewolf is in big trouble until the ones who attacked him are caught." Cleo explained.

"I bet right at this moment every one of them is in the dog house." Phantasma joked, laughing a little.

"Lincoln, can you identify them?" Molly asked.

"I think so. I was told their names and would recognize them if I see them again." Lincoln admitted.

"Good, then tell her and maybe they'll be the ones expelled." Scott claimed.

"No." Lincoln objected.

The undead students blinked in surprise. "No?"

"I just had to deal with being labeled all sorts of scum, and even if everyone knows I'm innocent, the stigma is still going to remain for some time. If I act like a tattletale too, I'm only going to make things worse for myself."

"But you can't let them get away with this." Carol insisted.

"I don't plan on it, but I can't go around snitching either. From now on, everyone in the school is going to be watching me, waiting to see if I deserve to be trusted or not. Telling them all who tried to kill me is only going to make everything worse for me. Besides, if I do what you're asking me to do, can any of you truly trust me to not reveal Ghoulia later too?"

Everyone was silent, taking this in. Ghoulia looked rather bothered by this.

"Alright Lincoln, I don't agree but I can see why you think this." Phantasma said, floating over towards the white-haired boy. "You've got some real integrity there. I like that in a boy."

"Sheesh Phannie, now's not the time to flirt." Molly groaned.

Phantasma stared at the yellow wraith. "I'm a ghost Molly, any flirting I do is as hollow as I am."

"Am I missing something here?" Lincoln asked, blushing a little.

"Might as well clear the air here while we can. Lincoln, just so there's no misunderstandings later, most of us undead are asexual and aromantic." Spectra told him.

"Aro-ace, I think that's the term." Scott added.

"Most of you?" Lincoln repeated, finding that odd.

"There are two exceptions, but yeah, undead Nevermores like us don't get horny. We can act the part if we want, but it's just an act. We don't ever actually want to find boyfriends or do the kind of stuff Tanis and Erma are too young to hear about." Spectra clarified.

"But just so you know, mummies aren't actually undead. We're alive, not like those bodies you find in Egyptian tombs, and we do get horny and can do those adult things." Cleo asked, a devious glint in her eyes.

"So how do undead Nevermores reproduce?" Lincoln asked.

"Save that for later. I think the real question is do we have you join the club or not?" Cleo replied.

"I'm all for it. I think Lincoln's a good guy." Ghoulia stated.

"He kept the toilet seat down, that's a real plus." Carol added.

"You know, he could be the extra member we've been looking for." Molly told them.

"That thought did cross my mind too." Spectra said.

"Extra member?" Lincoln asked.

"Are you familiar with a game called casketball?" The purple ghost asked.

"I know one called basketball. Is this a Nevermore version?"

"Probably. We should show you how it's played. We were hoping to set up our own team, but we're missing two things. At least one reserve member, and a team name. Right now we only have five of us who can play. Carol and Ghoulia can't set foot on campus, and Erma and Tanis are too young to play competitively. That leaves us with just five, and while that's enough for a starting lineup, we need extra players to switch out if needed."

"You want me to be on your team?" Lincoln asked, surprised and flattered. He had never gotten a chance to actually be on a real team outside of gym class before. He wondered if Lynn's reputation had anything to do with that. Maybe the others in Royal Woods thought, or knew, he couldn't live up to her hype. Or maybe they were scared he'd get carried away like she did.

"We think you're an alright guy, and like you said, everyone's going to be wary of you. You could use some support, and Ghoulia's a good judge of character." Phantasma told him.

"Besides, Erma isn't afraid of you. That's a very good sign." Tanis added, making her friend feel awkward.

Lincoln smiled. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate this. Unless you all are just setting me up for a sacrifice or something."

Phantasma rolled her eyes. "Oh please, most of the harvest has already happened. What good would sacrificing you do for the crops now?" She then laughed.

"I guess it's official. Lincoln Loud, welcome to the Haunted House." Cleo stated.

"Garbage day is Friday, all meals are potluck, and keep the noise down. For the neighbor's sake and Erma's." Carol warned him.

"Oh, we should mention this. The headmistress cleared up the issue about you being in the girls dorm. By which I mean she gave you genuine permission to reside there." Spectra added.

"Wait, what?" Lincoln asked.

Cleo nodded. "Yeah, I think she's doing this more as a test to the rest of us. She's probably convinced that someone's going to try and do something to you again, and she figures doing this is the best way to draw that someone out."

Lincoln groaned. "Great, so now I'm bully bait."

"The real problem is you're going to have to stay here most of the time." Scott pointed out. "Look Lincoln, we're not going to complain about you crashing here from time to time as long as Carol and Ghoulia allow it, but if you frequently spend your nights off campus, the faculty is going to want to know where you go. And if they track you here, that risks exposing Ghoulia. As far as everyone knows, this is just a basic clubhouse, but if anyone learns that a lich is hiding here, we're all in deep trouble."

"How deep? Expulsion bad? Prison bad?" Lincoln asked.

"Expulsion for us, but for Ghoulia, she'll get… the unicorn." Tanis told him, shivering a little.

Lincoln blinked. "Context please."

"There's only one thing the undead fear, and that's the unicorn." Spectra stated.

"What about exorcists who know what they're doing?" Scott asked.

"Okay there are two things the undead fear." Spectra corrected.

"And real ghostbusters." Molly chipped in.

"Those don't exist, it's just a movie." Spectra countered.

"Don't forget Santa Claus." Tanis added with Erma nodded.

"Look, the point is the unicorn is very dangerous if you're an undead. Sure, they're sweet and all that jazz if you're alive, but if you're undead and anywhere near a unicorn, you'll wish you were dead dead. And if anyone discovers Ghoulia, she will be dead dead." Spectra declared, sounding frustrated.

Lincoln looked to the lich, seeing her look like how Lucy would feel being put into one of Lola's pageants right now.

"So for her sake if nothing else, you're going to have to spend most of your nights at the girls' dorm." Scott reminded him.

"We'll be sure to make everyone know not to mess with you though." Phantasma reassured him.

"Thanks guys. But does this mean I have to go back right now?"

"I think they can wait until tomorrow. For now, let's give our newest member a proper welcome party." Molly suggested, to which she was met with cheers.

Lincoln just smiled, glad to feel accepted again.