Shrunk with the Louds - Lost Chapter #2

(Goomba)

Life progressed normally through the Loud house the next couple of weeks as living with thirteen family members in one household could get, which to this family was anything but stable. Couple that with the kids having to watch someone smaller than their fingers and things could easily fall apart in an instant, but in an astonishing twist they managed to keep their cool as everyone did their everyday activities. From Luna rocking out with dozens of loudspeakers in her room to Lisa carefully testing various experiments and formulas, the house still stood tall almost like it was unaware of the chaos on a daily basis. That didn’t mean the schedule for the shrunken boy would be free by any means, if anything it was the complete opposite. Everyone wanted a piece of having someone so minuscule hang out with them, almost giving Brian no time to himself at points. There was Luan with her clowning business that he was a part of, Lincoln with his comics and video games, and even Lori with getting some very personal selfies to send to Bobby. There was no shortage of him as long as he was with them and they wanted their chance.

...and there wouldn’t be a time with Brian without the sibling that was always fascinated with how small he was while continuously staring at him blankly.

As was typical for her, she took him to her room as she liked to be alone at times to focus on her dark tendencies but for now it wasn’t about her. As the closest one in the house that showed interest in what she liked an opportunity came forth. She tried once before with Lily and while that didn’t work out with Brian having an established mind there was a chance she could fully convert him with the dedication necessary to pull it off. She would start easy before getting to the more substantial parts, and if she was lucky there would be another goth in the house to hang with.

She kept her emotionless gaze to Brian’s tiny figure on the dresser next to her bed as the kid let loose a deep tone, making her shake her head. She already gave him the goth makeover similar to the appearance he had when Haiku slept over, but even though he had the required getup there was still much shaping up before he was ready.

“No, that’s too deep. Let it up a bit more.” Lucy said. “You need to feel the grim corners of your mind and let it flow through.”

“That’s kind of an impossibility when you can’t remember anything prior.” Brian answered, referring to the amnesia he found himself with.

“Then try this other idea. It always helps me, so let me explain it.” Lucy said as she used one of her fingers to straighten his back for being slightly hunched. Just looking at her blank face was giving Brian the spooks even if it wasn’t her intention to do so. Even if she was the most common sibling that wanted to hang around with him, there were still many aspects to her he wasn’t too keen on. These openings were things Lucy was set on fixing in his personality if he were to become the second goth of the house, and with the right tenacity and subject matter she could successfully make him into the goth she wanted that she failed to do to Lily some time ago.

“Sigh, one of the most vital of traits to understand as a goth is to not let your emotions take over. While it’s possible to let some feelings crack through, keep most of your expressions locked deep. That way it’s possible to bring them out through different means than the front door. There could be a window, loose flooring, or even a hole in the wall, and while some may be less than usable they can function as a way out. Goths don’t usually go for the front door Brian, we take other options.”

It was difficult to determine what Lucy meant at first, and it took a couple of seconds for Brian to pin it down. She didn’t usually outright display her emotions, she expressed them through words in her poetry journal. In fact, he heard Haiku do similar things to convey her emotions, writing in a poetry journal just like Lucy, but he didn’t think that would work for him even when he was too small to write normally. He needed his own way of thinking, his own secondary exit out of the room.

He closed his eyes to better recollect himself and to void everything on the outside. He took a deep breath as the images formed around him, dark purple puffs that obstructed his vision. Whatever it was, it was the main factor holding his previous memories hostage and forcing him to the minuscule size that made everyone around him mythological colossi that could end him with a single flick. While he knew it was always there in him ever since Lisa came up with the results, he never actually took the time to ponder about it until now. There was nothing but the purple swirls in his sight with nothing else, casting emptiness throughout the area. Somewhere in the mist were the recognizable memories locked away screaming to come out, but as the mist kept them in stasis all they could do was sleep until the winds blew it away. It bore no face, but it kept hold of him as he begged for it to go away.

“Whoa, now that’s the face to aim for. Open your eyes Brian, you crafted an almost perfect goth expression.”

His eyes flipped open as Lucy put a mirror in front of him. He almost jolted seeing the person on the other end, for that couldn’t have been him. He couldn’t have been that empty just from thinking about the substance locking his memories away and compressing him to the size of a bug, although Lisa herself didn’t even conclude on what it was. How can something so hollow bring him to such a mood that made even Lucy comment on it? Whatever that shell on the other side was, it wasn’t him.

“What...is that me?” Brian asked as his new expression glued itself to his face.

“All in its expressionless glory.” Lucy replied. “I will admit though, it’s almost feels a bit...too dark. Even I need a break from the darkness every now and then, but with what you displayed...it almost appeared to be a lost cause.”

“So it’s bad then?” Brian asked. Lucy put the mirror away before shaking her head with a slight smile.

“No, far from it. You pulled off one of the best goth faces in one go, a very impressive feat. If anything it makes me feel envious to try and go for something better, but even then you still have a long way to go. Keeping that expression at all times in conjunction with a stagnant voice would be the next step, and I think I know the perfect place to test it out.”

“Oh really?” Brian said. “You got something in mind?”

“I always have ideas in the back of my poetic mind when it comes to the dark and scary.” Lucy replied before explaining further.

“I’ve been overhearing my brother read his gaming magazines, and while I lack interest in those subjects it wasn’t until a few weeks ago where one of the pages detailed an interest that caught my eye. It talked about a certain gaming convention coming up to Royal Woods of all places, and it said that it was to take place next to a get together with deep poets. That was already enough to convince myself that I needed to go, but then I heard from one of Leni’s fashion magazines, in one of the advertisement pages obviously, that there would also be a poetry competition during the get together and the best written poems...will be rewarded with a special souvenir. It’s to occur in a couple of days, and, well...it would be a good experience to get you accustomed to the style.”

Unlike his thoughts earlier, Brian got the gist of what Lucy wanted rather quickly. Even though he wasn’t sure how Lucy managed to eavesdrop on her siblings for the information, and he DIDN’T want to find out, this was a chance for her writing style to get shown to the others around her. This wasn’t her first time doing something like it, but with the dozens of others there sharing her same dark outlook it would be an ample opportunity to try and get him used to her way of thinking. As much as he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be a goth like Lucy, he didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth. If she wasn’t so desperate to finally get a chance to shape someone with many similar interests into a goth like her she probably wouldn’t be offering that sort of experience to him. Of course it could also still be the fascination of appearing massive to someone of such a small scale, as she came to that conclusion with Brian after days of testing some activities out…

He didn’t want to think too much about it.

“Well, if you say it’s okay then it must be a good experience.” Brian answered. “Sure, I’ll go there.”

“Great, it’s going to be much better to have someone I’m familiar with attend with me. I’m very excited.” Lucy said as her expression never changed. Her mouth went straight as Brian chuckled with a small grin.

“I can tell.” Brian stated.

“I’ll give you some more pointers until the day comes. It pays to have extra practice.” Lucy replied. “Now go for a different moan with a slightly higher pitch and keep your back straight.”

Since she still wanted to shape him up as much as possible, Lucy went back to giving Brian pointers on how to be a goth in the best way possible even if he wasn’t too keen on it. There was a once in a lifetime opportunity for her and she was going for it. If Lily couldn’t be shaped to her likeness, then Brian was her next best bet and she didn’t want to fail it for a second time.

As Lucy continued with her dedicated lessons of various details, the door to the bathroom burst open as Luan ran out with one of the stupidest open grins possible. She sped past the doors in the hallway before rushing down the stairs, laughing hysterically.

“What’s the matter Lori? I thought you were ITCHING for a clean shower! You can now SCRATCH that off of your schedule! Hahahahah!”

It was followed up by Lori storming out of bathroom in shower clothes as she endlessly rubbed her hands over the towel covering her hair with one of the angriest expressions she could muster.

“YOU BETTER GET BACK HERE AND WASH ALL OF THAT ITCHING POWDER OUT OF MY SHAMPOO! I’LL GET YOU FOR THIS!”

The oldest sibling ran after her down the stairs while still running her hands over her head. This would be a pretty normal occurrence in the Loud house, as crazy as it was, if it didn’t crank up from what happened next. Just as Lori made her way downstairs, Lana walked out of her room appearing a little worried.

“Hey Norm, where are you little buddy?! I got some of your favorite snacks, bags of ants!”

She frowned when she didn’t hear anything...until she heard Lori scream from downstairs.

“And I think he just made a new friend.” Lana thought to herself as she ran down the stairs.

Things continued on normally in the Loud house during the few days before the convention, as normal as life in one of the craziest houses was, with Brian being a part of it. As usual for someone less than half an inch tall temporarily among a family of eleven kids, nearly everyone wanted a piece of him whether he wanted the attention or not. It wasn’t a bad thing by any means, for he did appreciate the kids looking out for him, there were some moments where he wished he could be by himself for once. He couldn’t help it if everyone around him wanted some time with his shrunken stature, especially with some of the younger ones like Lincoln and Lana, for he was put under the spotlight twenty four seven due to the condition. There were comedy routines Luan wanted input on, since he was part of her clowning business and knew how certain jokes worked, visits to a personal pond Lana trusted him with, which the fish found to be a very curious sight, and even snuggles with Lily when she needed to calm down for naps. Family celebrity or not, Brian was everywhere and was nearly put on the brink of exhaustion from everything happening.

He was finally given a moment to relax when the day of the event arrived. After nearly getting bruised from all over thanks to Lana’s new animal friend, it took a bit for Lori to get settled enough to grant Lucy’s request to drive her to the convention. She did state that Brian was going to be painting her toenails again for doing it, despite his intense hatred to even think of doing that sort of activity again. If it wasn’t because he was going because Lucy wanted him to, he would have rejected anything to do with the siblings’ feet in a heartbeat. It would require some massive prying of his fingers off the ceiling to even ask for him to do something he considered that heinous, and he wouldn’t be doing it without a backlash of disdain coming their way.

Lori dropped the two off in front of the building with Lucy holding Brian in her hands.

“Okay, now call me if anything goes disorderly. I’ll be back here in an instant.”

“Thanks Lori.” Lucy replied before the oldest sibling drove off. The two looked up to see the building before them, and while it didn’t strike them at first it was what was on the inside that would interest them.

“Well...we’re here.” Brian stated in the monotonic voice Lucy taught him while also in the goth outfit Lucy had him wear.

“Yes, and I’m very excited.” Lucy said while having on her blank face as usual. “Even though I appreciate the new outlooks I’ve taught you, I still can’t risk anyone seeing you. I’m going to have to hide you in my hair until we reach a safe spot, okay?”

“I understand.” Brian answered. Once she lifted her hands up to her head, Brian trudged carefully to the edges of her hands before safely setting foot into the forests of Lucy’s black hair for a second time. As much as he had to be put into hiding to stay out of the public eye, he did find it kind of a shame that he won’t be able to show off his new appearance and mood to others, except to Lucy obviously. It wasn’t the completest conversion, for Lucy said it herself that he was still missing some crucial points, but even then she put him into overdrive the last couple of days. If Lynn was spicy hot in her activities, then Lucy preferred the glacial winter. There was one huge drawback to acting like Lucy wanted however, and he didn’t know how she could pull it off without going crazy. He had to put dozens of padlocks over his front door just to keep his feelings in the isolated room for they started bringing out the battering rams pretty quickly, but he wasn’t sure if Lucy could notice or not. He was already pulling muscles from his stagnant expression and it takes more facial muscles to frown than to smile after all.

He made a mental note to get away from Lisa when she started spouting random facts.

Once Brian was safely tucked away, Lucy made her way inside the building. Even though he couldn’t be seen, Brian couldn’t help but stick his head out a little to take in the visuals. He was surprised to see that the place appeared bigger on the inside, as it had a style of some sort of gigantic mall. They were on the ground floor as an escalator further back took others upwards to the floor above them, although there was also one next to it going downwards just in case. The ground floor they were on had a sleek white color with tiles that popped out slightly as a few specialized rooms surrounded the walls, although Brian and Lucy couldn’t determine what they were for. The ground floor extended beyond the escalator to the left as dozens of people could be seen coming in and out of the corner but thanks to Lucy looking into things they knew their destination wasn’t on this floor. The floor above them sported a walkway covering the outer rim as a giant skylight shone from the ceiling, impressive enough to be seen from where they were at. Anything beyond the escalator they couldn’t make out, but that was the floor where the convention was taking place. As amazing as the inside of the building was, they couldn’t help but picture Leni getting lost almost instantly if she were here.

“Dang, I didn’t think Royal Woods could have something as bustling that isn’t the mall.” Brian said.

“It’s probably due to the events taking place here.” Lucy answered. “Please stay hidden and keep you voice down, I don’t want any more risks.”

“Got it.” Brian said before sticking his head back down into her hair. Lucy made her way over to the escalator and took a moment to get on it without trouble even if there were some other people behind her. It was a quick ride and once she set her feet on the second floor she glanced at the surroundings for an area map. Thankfully there was one on the wall to her right detailing each individual area like an actual mall, and after studying it for a minute she got the gist of where she was and what area to go to. Brian held on tight as Lucy took her time finding out where things were for a place this large could be a hassle to tread through.

It took a bit of walking among the crowds until they saw a familiar presence. It should have been obvious to them that the sibling Lucy peeked off of initially would arrive at this sort of event, and he was even wearing his signature Ace Savvy outfit. Brian continued hiding in Lucy’s hair as the young goth walked up to her brother.

“I see you’re fit for the occasion.”

Lincoln bolted up from his sister suddenly scaring him as usual before noticing who it was with a smile.

“Oh, Lucy! I wasn’t expecting to see you here! I didn’t think you were in the comic book business!”

“I’m here for the secondary event, you know, the deep writer’s part.” Lucy replied. “I came up with something special which will hopefully get up in the ranks.”

“Oh right, I think I skimmed over that little detail, heheheh…” Lincoln stated with an embarrassing grin as he rubbed the back of his head.

“As much as I would like to talk further, I think we need to go somewhere more private. I also brought ‘him’ if you know what I mean.”

Lincoln wasn’t sure what Lucy was talking about until he saw Brian’s small head pop out from the front of Lucy’s bangs.

“Okay, I have to admit that’s a pretty good hiding spot.” Lincoln said before glancing over the corner behind Lucy. “Let’s take a quick detour into the janitor’s closet to talk.”

“As weird as that is...oh wait, we’ve seen much weirder.” Brian stated in the monotone voice Lucy taught him. The two siblings made their way over to the door before making sure nobody was inside. Surprisingly the door was unlocked with nobody else near them so they took their chance and took a pit stop inside while turning on the lights. As usual there were the normal cleaning supplies stuffed to the brim in the back but that didn’t mean there was next to no free space. In fact, there was just enough to support Lincoln and Lucy without them becoming claustrophobic.

With the time to themselves, Lucy held her hand out in front of her forehead as Brian made his way to it and let Lucy hold him once more. She held him out between her and Lincoln to better see him, giving Lincoln the perfect picture to see his goth makeover and attitude.

“Whoa, that is one side of you I didn’t think would come out.” Lincoln stated. “You look pretty cool!”

“Thanks, it was all Lucy’s framework.” Brian replied while having the standard goth voice. “She went a bit overboard with the details in my opinion.”

“You needed to appear as best as you could, I was just doing what was needed.” Lucy said. “He’s here for support.”

“I could probably determine that just by gazing at both of you.” Lincoln answered. “I’m currently waiting out on Clyde since he had to take a break when his dads called up to remind him to reapply some dry skin lotion. Hopefully it’s a minor setback for the costume contest coming up.”

“Is that why you look like your favorite comic book hero?” Brian asked.

“Yup!” Lincoln replied. “I took extra precaution to make sure my outfit was sparkling in the washing machine when it came out and to make sure nothing else was in there to mix the colors. The winner of the competition gets FIVE EXCLUSIVE ISSUES OF ACE SAVVY SIGNED BY THE CREATOR HIMSELF!”

Lincoln shivered and smiled as the thoughts went to his head.

“With Ace Savvy and One Eyed Jack taking the stage we can easily win it when we put our heads together. Ooh, it would almost be like a dream come true…”

“I can imagine that.” Lucy answered. She shuddered a little bit and since Brian was atop of her hand he felt it too.

“Hey Lucy, you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing much. I just need to use the ladies room since I forgot to go when we left. Hey Lincoln, if you could…”

“Sure Lucy, I’ll keep an eye on him.” Lincoln replied. Lucy lightly smiled and nodded before she held her hand out and dumped Brian into Lincoln’s grasp. As quick as a single blink of the eyes, she was gone. The door didn’t even swing open or anything, she just disappeared as if she was never there. No matter how many times they thought they knew her, Lucy always seemed to give chills to anyone around her.

With her temporarily gone, Lincoln and Brian now had the janitor’s closet to themselves. The two locked eyes almost on a whim with Lincoln being the more interested one. It wasn’t often he got hold of the shrunken kid, for his sisters appeared to be more interested in doing activities with him, so a moment like this was practically a rarity to him. Even with somewhat of a setback, Lincoln enjoyed having him around the house especially with the incidents that came up since his arrival. They did get moments to relax when things weren’t so crazy, but with his family it almost always occurred on a daily basis. Brian was too small to play video games with him so he had to think outside of the box with how to play with him, but they eventually settled on activities only boys like them could have come up with. Reading comic books was a given, but when a radio controlled helicopter came into the mix they immediately took the opportunity. Suffice to say, the next couple of days were packed with so much activity from the two, when Brian wasn’t constantly being dragged in by his sisters of course, and they really bonded that day. They were rarities, but when the two got together it was a great time all the way.

After a moment of silence from the two, Brian quickly exhaled and comically fell onto his back with big eyes. Lincoln panicked for a moment.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay Brian?!”

His answer was met as the tiny boy stuck up one of his arms and showed a thumbs up. He sat back up with the face Lincoln was used to seeing, not as depressing as he observed earlier.

“I...I don’t know how she does it, but I REALLY needed to let all of it go out the front. You have NO IDEA how much was building up and I was THIS CLOSE to snapping and shutting off from everything!”

As much as Brian was at being serious for the moment, the way he spoke forced Lincoln to laugh a bit. There was no way he expected Brian to fully become a goth like Lucy in such a short timespan since he last saw him, not without fully getting used to Lucy’s tendencies. If he wasn’t completely into her dark tendencies, there was not way Brian could and still be sane to tell about it. The Brian before him now was the one he knew and understood.

“Okay, I swear you could upstage Luan with that reaction for a second!” Lincoln stated as he slowly calmed himself down. “If you were trying to convince me, your opportunity went out the moment you cracked. How the heck did you manage that?”

“Not easily, that’s for sure.” Brian replied. “She’s been at it with me just for the writer’s convention today…even if I have to remain in hiding a majority of the time.”

“That kind of seems…I think the word is ‘counterproductive’ or something.” Lincoln answered. “At least you have the look of her style picked out. I would say that it’s a good getup you’re in…if you didn’t break the illusion right now.”

“Yeah, I did appear to lose a couple of brain cells with the outburst, huh?”

“Or like you just lost got robbed of a kidney.”

The two boys chuckled moderately enough so that the other heard. It was nice to admit faults to the ones that could enjoy poking fun at it as much as you did. Brian honestly didn’t think Lincoln would bring up an incident that appeared dire to him, one that occurred before the kids found him, only to find out that there was some humor in that incident. There may have been some details of it that Lincoln didn’t tell him yet, but that just made Brian want to hang out with him more. They could confide to each other and not feel guilty about it, and that was one of the many privileges to playing with each other on occasion.

“Heheheh, I didn’t know you had that kind of humor in you.” Brian replied. “If only your sisters would leave me alone for a second, then I could hang out with you more. Sometimes I need to be with other boys, you know?”

“I can easily see what you mean.” Lincoln said. “I almost went crazy thinking about it once, you know, being around too many girls would rub some of their interests on me. It…didn’t go well until much later.”

“You may need to fill me in on that at some point.” Brian responded. “Even so, I hope you do well in the costume contest. I say you have Ace Savvy’s figure down very nicely!”

“Thanks Brian, that means a lot to me.” Lincoln said. “Although I did hear some rumors that a mischievous prankster is running around the place dressing up like everyone else. Not sure what that is about, but with that sort of talent it might be tough to come out on top if it were to compete. Wish me luck, okay?”

“You got it.” Brian answered with a grin. He was met with Lincoln giving the shrunken kid a friendly push to the back with one of his fingers. The two laughed it up again with a certain vibe only boys could fully understand, making it a truly special moment.

“Socializing I see?”

Both boys were scared out of their wits for a moment as Lucy suddenly came into the picture back from the bathroom.

“Errr, ummm, yeah we were.” Lincoln said as he recomposed himself. “Just some bro subjects.”

“Uhhhhh, what he said!” Brian chimed in also recomposing himself.

“Sigh, that’s great to know.” Lucy said. “I think the events are about to begin, so we should probably get going.”

“Oh shoot, you’re probably right!” Lincoln responded while slapping his forehead. “I can’t leave Clyde waiting! Hey Brian, thanks for speaking with me but I can’t back down now. Ace Savvy has a jack-of-all-trades ready to play!”

“Yeah, can’t mess with that!” Brian said. Lincoln handed Brian back to Lucy before opening the door and dashing out like he was on sugar, making Brian chuckle a little. He may have his moments but Lincoln had his as well.

The instant he turned back to Lucy he got nervous almost immediately. She’s been trying to mold him like a goth, and to see him out of it…

“Okay Lucy, I can explain.”

“There’s no need to. Everyone needs breaks from the darkness every now and then, including me.” Lucy said. “Do you think you can still go off like we practiced for the rest of the time though? I really want you to act the part when we go in with the other writers.”

“I’ll try my best.” Brian answered. It took a few seconds for Brian to hoard his emotions into the back room and lock the front door, but once that happened his face went back to the blank stare Lucy taught him. It still wasn’t easy for him but he hoped it would last until the convention was over.

“I still can’t get over how picture perfect you make that expression.” Lucy said as she lifted her hand with Brian on it up to her hair. With Brian safely out of sight after another trip into her hair, Lucy made her way out of the janitor’s closet and silently looked for directions to the writer’s convention. After gazing at a local map on the wall, Lucy knew where she needed to go and set her destination to that spot. It wasn’t a long walk even if some people passing by glanced at her weirdly although Lucy didn’t mind since she was the sibling that didn’t get noticed much.

She noticed the set of doors ahead along with the signs on the walls indicating that she arrived. Brian held onto the strands of hair tightly as Lucy made her way over, not in too much danger but being more safe than sorry. The one handling the sign ins, who was sitting and behind a small white table, was already handling another person by the time Lucy came up, and luckily for her it was a very familiar face.

“I see you were interested in the activities ahead too.” Lucy said as the girl set her pen next to the sign up sheet.

“When the mists of the dark show the millennial figures, you can’t help but gaze at the lantern’s behind.” Haiku replied in a typical poem fashion. “It’s very nice to see you here too.”

“With you around this event just got way more interesting.” Lucy said. “Let me sign in after you.”

“I would be delighted if you did.” Haiku answered. She made her way to the side and let Lucy pick up the pen and sign her name in, almost making Brian slip off her head as she dipped her sight to the paper. It wasn’t long though, so after she signed in the person behind the table nodded before indicating the girls to the door next to him. The two goths smiled as they walked over and turned around the double doors before they shut behind them.

Their faces stayed stagnant while Brian’s was more surprised to see what this convention had around them. To say it was nothing more than a small room would be highly inaccurate, for it was packed. It seemed around the size of an actual stadium or auditorium which meant that there was a lot of people everywhere bustling about. Stalls littered the walls of the area as dozens of talented people showed off their artistic talents with some even available to purchase for a price while some were gutsy enough to set up near the center around multiple other stalls. With deep poetry and writing being the theme, most of the stalls consisted of literary works in books and pictures of famous book characters some that caught Lucy’s and Haiku’s interests. This also meant that some dark and spooky stalls were among the crowds for people into the grim and unfortunate, especially to goths, with some even sporting some creative decorations like stereotypical bed sheet ghosts made of fresh napkins. Any sort of open space in the giant gymnasium-like room were decorated in massive floats hanging down from the ceiling, also in shapes of recognizable book characters, and giant billboards of some famous authors on the walls. One of the billboards showed off a particular author that would easily catch Lola’s young eyes and have her enraptured by it for the rest of the day or, at most, run off with it with a swarm of security guards behind her. There was eye candy everywhere and the two goths plus Brian were going to enjoy themselves every moment of it.

“To think Royal Woods had a building this huge…” Lucy said.

“I know, breathtaking all around.” Haiku said. “How does Brian feel?”

Brian would have been more surprised, but he pretty much accepted that there was almost no logic when it came to Lucy and Haiku. He stuck his head out of Lucy’s hair to face her.

“And how exactly did you know I was here?” Brian asked. Haiku lightly laughed.

“Call it a personal trait, but we have our ways of knowing. Besides, I heard from Lucy that she likes to hang out with you more than others, so it was a definitive solution in my mind.”

“Ohhhhhh...kay?” Brian replied in confusion. Even so, knowing goths like Lucy and Haiku, he didn’t want to tread too deep into their way of thinking to save his sanity.

“I assume Lucy got you into our way of living judging from the outfit.” Haiku said. “That’s deep.”

“Not quite yet, I’m still working on it.” Lucy replied. “I need to patch up some rough spots, but I hope it will get him like us soon.”

“I await the day when that happens.” Haiku said. “He could easily fit into our mortician’s club with that getup.”

“I’ve been getting that a lot.” Brian answered. Even though he couldn’t see it in her face, there was no doubt that he knew Haiku was impressed with how much Lucy taught him. He wasn’t perfect, but with the monotone voice and blank face he gave off a great first impression. He had the potential to be a goth, but he was still very unsure if he wanted to follow Lucy into being one.

With everything else settled, the two girls, plus the shrunken boy in Lucy’s hair, proceeded to go around and enjoy the festivities. From book signings to souvenir hunting, there was so much to see and do to make the girls’ hands full. As for how they had spare money to spend on merchandise, Haiku had some allowance from doing good around the house while Lucy lead services on occasions, including a time where she had to flush an aquarium of fish for a kindergarten class after a horrid accident. They actually had quite the amount, for there were a few autographs and “spooky wear” the two caught interest in. They even got to see the stage in the back where the poem festival was to take place, with the rows of chairs and high stage just to make the sight more appealing. As long as their poems were good they would easily get enough for the prize, with no absolute winner so they didn’t need to compete.

It was still quite a while before the display of words would start so Lucy and Haiku still had some time to kill, and they came across a corner of the huge dome that made them feel at home. There must have been a massive fan of the dark and creepy, for the particular area was decorated to the brim to make it appear like an in-house cemetery with a few extras like it was Halloween. As such there were many other goths lingering around, either walking around or lamenting over life, as they waited for the festival to start. It was as if their favorite holiday came early this year, and Lucy and Haiku took the chance.

“Whoa, this almost looks too perfect.” Lucy said. “They even got down to the accurate cracks in the gravestones and the common flowers next to them. I’ve seen decorative places but this brings a kindle to my heart. Sigh, you can’t help but feel jealous and yearn to do better.”

“I couldn’t agree more to you than now.” Haiku said. “I can even see they used the right amount of dirt. So very few tend to get that detail just right, sigh, right down to the grains. To think that I just started my gravestone collection a few days ago…”

“If I could say anything right now, it would be that this area suites you two perfectly.” Brian said somewhat quietly to not draw attention to where he was. “I’m not so perfect into the types of facts you know about these places though.”

“Trust me, accuracy goes high with this representation.” Haiku replied. “Darkness smiles and gazes at ones who pursue and mimic the qualities of the black ravens. To weep under the crescent moon…and the black gives you a blanket.”

“Sheesh, have you been reading or something to get that type of vocabulary?” Brian thought.

The two proceeded into the area as the decorations gave them the grim eye candy they always wanted. They marveled over the immense detail as they yearned for more, but as much as they wanted to lament with the other goths on the gravestones there was another part that caught their eye. As realistic as it could get, there was even a small steeple appearing building near the middle just begging for them to go in and the two took it without hesitation. Once they opened the door and set themselves inside it was dimly lit as the door closed behind them. Not to Brian’s surprise there was nothing inside except for a metal bar near the back stuck overhead enough for Lucy and Haiku to reach, but that was all the two needed.

“To even have a working bat hangar...now I’m very jealous.” Lucy said.

“Uhhhh, what are you talking about?” Brian asked as he stuck his head out since nobody else was inside.

“It’s a place only heard of in specific areas. They house bats and let them hang from horizontal poles.” Haiku explained. “I’ve never seen one up close before.”

“The best I work with is a fence alongside our backyard where I ted to hang with Fangs and his friends.” Lucy said. “Now that there’s one of those poles here…I have to try it out.”

“I would be surprised if you didn’t.” Haiku replied. To make sure Brian wasn’t injured in the process, Lucy put a hand up near her forehead to let Brian get on, which the boy did so without trouble. Giving him one last emotionless gaze, Lucy dropped Brian into Haiku’s grip of her fingerless gloves before going over and setting a hand on the pole.

“Sigh, it appears to be sturdy enough. I can make this work.” Lucy said. Both Haiku and Brian watched as Lucy prepared herself. She started by hoisting her body up and atop the metal pole, clearly a technique she caught on to from sharing a room with Lynn, before taking a moment to relax. With the pole between her legs, she cautiously turned around while making sure to not fall off, dangling both legs on the front and showing her back to the ones watching, before going for the final step. Letting gravity take her, Lucy let her upper body flip backward as her legs kept hold of the pole. She prevented her body from turning into a clock’s pendulum as she held some strength to avoid hitting the back wall, all to make for an astonishing sight of Lucy holding herself from the legs as she lay upside down. Her hair dipped to the ground as usual, except for the bangs surrounding her unknown eyes for some reason, as she dangled perfectly still like the bats she was portraying, impressing Brian to think that she hand the muscles to pull a maneuver like that off. He thought it must have been due to more exposure to Lynn, for that girl was always trying to burn carbs on a daily basis. The only thing that worried him was the fact that all of the blood was going to her head now, but knowing Lucy and how weird she was it wasn’t too much to think about. She would easily become the next vampire queen at this rate if they actually existed.

“Wow…that’s pretty amazing.” Brian complemented.

“It’s nothing much. I’ve been doing this for years.” Lucy replied. “Haiku, you want to join in?”

“Of course.” Haiku replied. She was about to set Brian on the ground to join her friend when Lucy interjected.

“Wait, I have a better idea.”

“At that is?” Haiku asked. Lucy diverted her attention to Brian who was equally as interested.

“It’s yet another way to involve Brian into this type of activity. I’m going to need you to bring him over here.”

Not wanting to ignore her friend, Haiku did as she asked and walked over to the Topsy-turvy Lucy with Brian still in her grasp. Brian tilted his head to try and get a better look at her when Lucy spoke up again.

“So Brian, remember when I wanted you to make your way over my body so I know how bugs would crawl over my lifeless corpse? This time it’s something similar, but now I want you to climb up my body instead as I lay rest like the vampire I am.”

“As much as that would be a surprise to me, since the idea is coming from you I practically lost all logic pertaining to you and learned to accept it.” Brian stated. The fact that he was still speaking in a monotone voice like a goth while dressed like one made that statement stick out much more to the two girls. He was catching on pretty quickly.

“I’m intrigued by the idea. I’ll stay back and watch just in case.” Haiku said.

“Thanks Haiku. I’m going to need you to set him near my dangling hair please.” Lucy stated. The opposing goth nodded before getting on her knees as she held out the hand holding Brian under the rain of black. He wasn’t showing it, but Brian wasn’t too ideal on the whole concept of Lucy’s idea. Last time he just needed to tread over her front side as she lay on the ground motionless like a dead body, now he  had to physically climb up her flipped body like she was a suspending bat. He wasn’t even taking into account his case of acrophobia which would force him to not look down and panic. If he was as athletic as Lynn it wouldn’t be a problem, but since that wasn’t the case he didn’t know what to expect. Haiku would be there to catch him and while that could serve as a nice safety net there’s was always the other side of the coin. Brian was flipping heads and didn’t want to see the eagle’s wings.

He started by taking hold of a strand before lifting his legs and handing his weight to it. Haiku withdrew her hand as Brian slowly inched his way up, being extra careful to not look down. Lucy stayed motionless as usual, giving Brian impressions that she may have fallen asleep, but Brian didn’t want to focus too much on her. His mind had to be cleared so he wouldn’t be reminded of the possible drop below, which was easier said than done. This continued until he reached the top of her head where he noticed didn’t have much to grip to other than one spot, but the spot was pretty significant to Lucy’s mysteriousness. Almost sensing a loss in grip, Brian couldn’t dawdle any longer and slowly climbed up the front of Lucy’s forehead and across her bangs. He took a quick moment to gaze at where he was. Even through all of the times Lucy wanted to do stuff with him he never once got a glimpse of her eyes, not even a crack. He cringed at the thought of what they might actually look like, adding more of a dark perspective to Lucy’s character. She may be set on converting him to the style of a goth, but there were some mysteries to her he wanted to keep his intrigue out of.

He got a chance to take a moment and wipe sweat from his brow once he reached her nose. Since Lucy was flipped around it was bottom side up, providing some flat ground. Her breathing was warm even if Brian wasn’t paying too much attention. He coughed a little as he rested his legs and took some air in, almost not believing himself to make it to this spot. He sat exhausted before a burst of carbon dioxide, yet again another element he heard Lisa ramble to herself about, blasted him right in the face, sending him careening to the side. He lost his balance before his fear came up front, free falling to the ground. He heart raced as he expected to see the ground speed up to him, but he didn’t get that experience. He instead found himself in absolute darkness before multiples of something he couldn’t see stopped his falling. They kept him bounded as he could hear winds go around him and it didn’t take a genius to figure out where he was.

He heard Lucy try to snort him out but he was stuck firm. Even if Haiku could try and help out there was no way she would stick a finger in to get him out.

“Ummmm, Lucy?! Can you hear me?!” Brian exclaimed.

Her voice boomed around him.

“Yes, I can. I can also feel you wriggling around so I know where you are.”

“I’m here too.” Haiku’s voice spoke up even if it was a bit muffled from the location. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m still in one piece.” Brian said. “I think you may have accidentally blown me in here! Please get me out!”

“I’ll try as much as I could.” Lucy’s voice boomed again. “You appear to be stuck up there pretty deep from what I’m feeling, but I don’t think it’s anything major.”

“I sure hope you are right.” Brian replied. He felt the winds around him pick up in speed from the front then the back as Lucy breathed before the gust of wind behind him shot out. No matter how much went by Brian remained tangled in the hairs although his back did get coated in snot a few times. Of all places he wanted to stay to be safe, he would never consider inside of Lucy’s nose as one of them. It was almost as terrible as areas around the Loud kids’ titanic feet, and Brian already had a huge dislike for the subject. One of the many activities, especially to the older siblings, that the Loud girls always have on standby for him is painting their toenails, and Brian absolutely hated doing it. From stinky fumes to the possibility of getting stepped on, he would rather bash his head against the wall continuously in that time instead of anything feet related. Even so, with them being as massive as they were to him, he kind of had no choice but to always go through with it. It was a tragic reality to him but on the flip side he didn’t want to disappoint them and not help out. They were offering him everything under the roof after all, although he really wished they wouldn’t keep constantly bombarding him with those sorts of troubles. He was only one person after all, a very tiny shrunken person, and he had his limits when it came to certain subjects that he didn’t want to go back to.

He was still trying to forget the incident with Lynn when he rubbed her massive feet down after that bat cave. He wouldn’t hesitate to shoot that situation down and bring up something else.

Lucy’s blowing continued to get stronger and stronger to try and get Brian out but didn’t help in the slightest. He had to have been pretty stuck in there if her attempts weren’t doing anything, and all Brian could do was wait and hope for the best. He couldn’t see anything because everything around him was pitch black and all he could feel was the supposed hairs keeping him bound to one spot. Lucy needed a big exhale to cut him loose if the hairs kept him stuck this tightly and that would require much more power than what she was currently doing.

The sirens blaring behind him finally broke through his deaf head.

If his arms weren’t bound in the dark he would have slapped his forehead multiple times. He could give her the boost she needed although it had the possibility of hurting her. He felt bad in that case but when fortune could smile in a dire situation he would go for it without hesitation. With his right entangled arm he pulled at the hairs binding it, causing a rumble around him. He knew he was on the right track, so he pulled again. The area rumbled again as he heard the all familiar sound.

“...aaaaaahhhh…aaaaAAAAHHHHH…….AAAAAAHHHHHH…”

He prepared himself for a wicked shot out. He closed his eyes as the final part came forth.

“CHOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

The hairs around him had no chance to keep him from what came out next, sending him flying upward as the darkness parted into the light above. The air rushed around him as he came up on something solid quick, although he couldn’t open his eyes fully from the rushing wind. His body smacked the top right of the metal beam above, and thanks to his size his only major injury was a large red mark covering the front of him. He almost forgot the sort of feeling, as he went through something similar after accidentally taking a trip inside of Luan’s body, including the massive dizziness.

He held his head before his eyes readjusted and saw Lucy still upside down but with her head tilting toward him along with Haiku next to her. Even after his deadly experience they still showed no emotion, giving him doubt that they did actually care for his safety.

They spoke up first.

“Brian…you made it out…” Lucy said before sniffing once after her sneeze. “I know I may not sound like I’m extravagant to see you, but I am. No matter how much I tried I couldn’t get you out and-”

“Easy Lucy, all that matters is that he’s still among us.” Haiku interjected before getting to Brian. “Are you okay up there?”

“So…dizzy…” Brian mumbled as his head circled around before he comically fell to his back out of breath. He was still in one piece, although he was covered at certain parts in Lucy’s mucus. If he was to continue with them at the convention, he would need a sturdy wash.

But the girls didn’t want to do that just yet.

“Do you think you can keep yourself together for a bit longer? I didn’t even get the chance to hang with Lucy yet.” Haiku asked.

“I…I think I can…handle it…” Brian replied while almost completely out of it. Taking that as an approval, Haiku lightly smiled before taking note of where Brian was on the pole. Walking to the side a couple of steps, Haiku took the same measures Lucy did earlier with a few extra precautions due to her somewhat long dress. She hoisted her legs up and then her body before letting gravity take over, flipping her to the same crazy upside down state Lucy was in. Her dress surprisingly was kept almost straight and didn’t flip with her, which was somewhat of an irregularity. Considering she also knew how to hang like Lucy, she probably knew of the trouble beforehand and did something to her dress so she wouldn’t look like she was drying outside on a clothesline.

“Ah, the circulatory system rushing to one’s forehead…that would be a feast for the vampires.” Haiku stated. “Of course it would be unwise to do so on their own kin. That wouldn’t end well.”

“I can imagine what you are talking about.” Lucy replied. “It makes one wonder though…what if it’s against a traitor? Remember in Vampires of Melancholia the episode with the one claiming to be Edwin’s cousin?”

“You bring up a good point.” Haiku said. “The decision of the angel or the demon…deep stuff.”

“Of course.” Lucy answered before turning her attention to Brian. “Hey Brian, you should join us like this. Consider it the next step to learning how to be a goth.”

Brian was still a bit dizzy when Lucy said that so it took a few more seconds to somewhat clear up. He held his head for a moment before inching a little forward to see the two and look around. Both pairs of their legs were to the left and right of him and even then they towered over him. He could easily mistake them as the tallest mountains in the world if he didn’t know better, something most of the Loud siblings would appreciate especially to someone like Lola or Lana. As for looking down, it didn’t take too long for his acrophobia to kick in, making him pull back a bit. Even so, Lucy and Haiku already invited him to “hang out” with them even if the pole was too large to hang off for him. He didn’t want to disappoint though, so he turned around to face his back to the entrance door before letting gravity take effect as the pole caught him. From his position he actually looked like someone sunbathing on a curved rock, an abridged version of what Haiku and Lucy were doing. The two goths snickered at the position he was in, for even though his limitation kept him from doing what they were doing it was funny to see him try.

“I think I’m straining out my back for this.” Brian stated, quickly back into the monotone voice Lucy taught him.

“You get used to it over time.” Lucy said. “Feel the blood go to your head?”

“Not completely. I can’t get the correct angle since this pole is too big for me.” Brian said. “Sigh, life can get so miserable at times.”

While nobody else could see it, Lucy’s eyes opened a bit wider than usual. Even Haiku had a similar reaction as her one visible eye also opened wider. Not only was he acting more like the goth Lucy wanted him to be, but he actually went with the common word they tended to use and used it in the right context. He had to have been a pretty fast learner to pull that out so soon. Lucy kept her eager jitters behind her blank gaze, she was getting closer than ever to finally having someone in the house that liked the things she liked and acted the way she is. Once she ironed out the rough patches, like getting him into the creepy and dark tendencies he tended to avoid, there would be another goth in the house and Lucy wouldn’t be the odd one out of the family any longer.

Lucy and Haiku had to take Brian to the restrooms to get all of the excess snot washed off of him. To make it even more awkward he also had to go into the girl’s bathroom, and he didn’t want anyone to take things the wrong way especially to the other Loud kids. Lucy and Haiku insisted that it was perfectly okay but even so Brian didn’t like it. At least he didn’t have to take off his clothes as he was scrubbed down although it did wipe off some of the goth makeup Lucy put on him. That problem was fixed up rather quickly as four hands were better than two and they did work on him beforehand when Haiku slept over. It made him wonder how Lucy kept all of the goth makeup with her at all times…

He cut off those thoughts immediately as he didn’t want to be scarred for life since it was Lucy after all.

After the girl’s were done cleaning, outfitting, and drying up Brian, where the restrooms were thankfully empty other than them, the time for the poetic readings was about to commence. The stage they saw earlier had the seats in the audience filled with eager writing fans waiting to hear the most professional of literary works. Lucy had Brian hide out in her hair again as she and Haiku walked to the sides of the stage, since they were in the competition after, before a well dressed lad in a superhero outfit called out as he ran up to them. It was the Ace Savvy lookalike Lincoln for before and he brought company this time, his trusty sidekick One Eyed Jack lookalike Clyde.

“Phew, thank goodness we managed to catch you before you went on stage!” Lincoln stated before catching his breath.

“Umm, what are you doing here?” Lucy asked. “You do realize this isn’t the convention for comic heroes, right?”

“We know, but the costume contest isn’t until a while later. We thought we could burn some time and give our support to you, especially since you were really working up to this.” Clyde stated.

“That’s really appreciative of you two.” Haiku said. “It’s always great to have kin watch and support you in your finest hours. Sigh, so deep…”

“Hey, we’re not leaving you out of the equation either.” Lincoln said. “You are one of Lucy’s best friends, and we’re smart enough to know that friends of my sister are just as equal. We’ll be cheering you on as well Haiku.”

The young goth formed a small smile to the two boys in costume.

“You brought a small flame to this girl’s soul. It burns with the passion to go forth, and it adores the heat others provide.”

“Ummm…okay then.” Clyde replied in slight confusion. “By the way, does that mean you will leave the shrunken kid to the wayside until you finish reading?”

Lucy and Haiku may not have shown their emotions, but Brian had a different story. He stayed hidden in Lucy’s hair as the nervousness kicked in, breaking the facade he had earlier with acting like a goth.

He didn’t have to wait long until Lucy chimed in.

“Lincoln…what did you do?” Lucy asked in a deeper tone than usual.

“Hey, I couldn’t leave my best friend to the wayside especially after the craziness with the rifts!” Lincoln stated. “Besides, Clyde wouldn’t spill the beans to anyone! He would never betray his superhero brethren!”

“Yeah, I’m just as secretive as all of you!” Clyde said. “My dads taught me to never go against a strong word after all…and beehives, poison ivy, cacti, sludge, angry possums-”

“Okay Clyde, I think we get it.” Lincoln interrupted before getting back to the girls. “So yeah, I let him in on it. If you could, I would really appreciate it if you could show him to get it over with.”

The two goths looked at each other for a moment before letting loose a deep breath. The two walked toward a stray corner with nobody around before Lucy stuck out hand indicating for the two boys to come over. They did as she asked before all of them turned the corner and made sure nobody was around. Once they determined it was safe, Lucy spoke up.

“Brian, you can come out now.”

The tiny boy shuddered. Another person was let in on his existence despite the more logical siblings advising against it, and with each new one it gave more risks to someone spilling the beans. He didn’t like more joining in, for his top priority was safety first, but at least Clyde wasn’t one of the rougher ones he came across. He heard from Lincoln how much the two liked to hang out and from the other traits he heard Clyde seemed like a good kid. He kind of didn’t have a say in it now, he had to reveal himself.

With one final calming breath, Brian stuck his head out from Lucy’s hair before the girl held a hand out for him to get on. He set his feet on it as her hand lowered into the eyes of everyone watching. Clyde was already astonished out of his wits as his pupils locked with the shrunken kid and his mouth hanged somewhat agape. As much as unnerving Brian felt to everyone around him, Lucy was still teaching him the ways of being a goth and if there was any sort of lesson that stuck in his mind at the moment it was to keep your emotions locked up and express them in other ways.

“Oh, well…hi there…” Brian said to Clyde in the monotone voice he was taught. He was still in the dark and black look Lucy and Haiku put him in after all. Clyde could only muster a few words.

“No way…you weren’t kidding Lincoln…that really is a shrunken kid…”

“I was telling the truth the entire time buddy.” Lincoln said. Clyde extended a hand toward Brian before poking him in the stomach with a finger to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. It wasn’t any sort of dream, it was the real deal.

“Wow…that truly is amazing…how the heck is that even possible?! I’ve known some people were short, but this is ridiculous!”

“It’s a pretty long story.” Brian answered. “I’m sure Lincoln told you as much as he could?”

“You mean those stories about the kid Lana found in the mud pits and the dozens of holes spitting out alien objects? Of course he told me, for those were some really epic and detailed incidents-”

“They actually happened Clyde.” Lincoln interjected. The young sidekick froze up for a moment as his pupils shrunk. He slowly turned his head toward Lincoln like his life depended on it.

“Wait, so all of those stories you have been telling me…they were real?!”

“Yes, all of it.” Lincoln replied. Clyde’s head zipped back and forth between Lincoln and Brian, not knowing what to think of the revelation. It wasn’t long though, for Clyde suddenly snapped back to reality as he tried to take all of the information in without freaking out further.

“Wow…so all of those incidents actually happened…THAT’S SO COOL! Lincoln, why didn’t you invite me over when the insanity was occurring?! These sorts of things NEVER happen to people like us, and those are a once in a lifetime-”

“As much as I don’t want to interrupt you, we kind of have a poetry reading to attend to.” Lucy interjected. “I don’t want others to know about Brian, so if you could Lincoln…”

“Yes, I’ll keep him out of sight.” Lincoln answered. Lucy smiled and nodded before dumping Brian into Lincoln’s outstretched hands.

“You know Clyde, you can hold onto Brian if you want to.” Lincoln stated.

As more and more spectators took their seats, Lincoln and Clyde saved a few good seats just for them. It wasn’t too close but the view was nearly perfect, two traits that Lincoln and Clyde saved to themselves when they picked the seats. For Brian, Lincoln’s costume thankfully had side pockets that was enough for him to fit inside. Since he was away from Lucy, he got to break out of character for a moment and relax his face from the strains his neutral expression gave him, although he did have to hide more carefully due to the other spectators around him. Lucy and Haiku were already backstage prepping for their big moment, so Brian could afford being himself next to Lincoln and Clyde.

He kept himself huddled in Lincoln’s pocket as the white haired boy looked down at him.

“Are you okay down there?” Lincoln asked.

“It’s a bit stuffy but I’m fine.” Brian replied. “You really fitted this costume well if I have to say anything.”

“I always make time to put in some last minute changes if I feel it to be necessary.” Lincoln said. “I gave Clyde some pointers.”

“Yeah, and they were lifesavers at points.” Clyde said. “Remember the time where out pants got stuck and we-”

Lincoln rapidly put a hand over Clyde’s mouth.

“I don’t think Brian needs to know about THAT.”

Clyde gave a quick thumbs up and immediately clammed his mouth shut. Brian cocked an eyebrow at the display before the stage lit up, indicating that the show was about to start. A typical middle aged man walked to center stage with a microphone in hand.

“Hello all of you enthusiastic and eager writers out there! We’re about to get started with this year’s Writer’s Festival and we have some really good contenders for today’s show! As usual, we don’t come here to compete but to understand different writing styles and potentially learn them ourselves! That doesn’t mean there will be any prizes to the very good works, for we definitely have something special for the lucky few that impress our judges, which are kept secret to avoid any potential persuasion beforehand. With everything out of the way, let’s meet our first young writer!”

Everyone in the audience, including Lincoln, Clyde, and Brian, applauded as the young blonde took the stage. While she wasn’t Lucy or Haiku, that didn’t mean the three boys couldn’t enjoy other’s works. They weren’t professionals, but even they had their knacks and preferences when it came to words on a pages. She came out with a simple but easy to understand short story about two angels and their unruly attitudes, which while it didn’t tickle the boys’ fancy they could hear some other spectators drawing interest in what was said. The girl took a short bow before making her way off stage and letting the next person take the spotlight. The continued for a bit as more authors and writers had the attention on them, each giving their own takes on what they wrote. One even attempted to pass off a long joke as a literary work, something Luan would probably want to hear on later, before comically walking off stage. There sure was variety in the festival and it got the three boys interested.

It eventually came to one of the contestants they were looking forward to, and it was Lincoln’s sister Lucy. She walked up to the microphone with her poem in hand as she gazed to the audience in front.

“This poem is dedicated to the darkness that clouds us. Think what you wish.”

Her monotonous voice pierced everyone’s hearts as she read with a pinch of passion.

Crawling through doors

Shrouding our sights

Unknowns creeping

Everyone flails as their feet creak over the floors.

Who will be the next victim of the emptiness tonight?

Skins thrive off of the morning blight

Just one soul

Suffering and soundless of a husk

All for the demon of the underworld’s delight.

Consuming all, leaving no trace

When the hands strike

Inaudible wails

The formless bodies of the endless encase.

Hail the darkness.

Everyone in the audience applauded as Lucy silently bowed and made her way off stage. She kept her poem a secret from everyone, not even Brian knew what it contained, the only thing the family was aware of was the fact that she thought long and hard to make sure it was near perfection. It wasn’t the longest imaginable, but there was special way in her writing that made her poem that much more special. Even Lincoln and Clyde seemed to agree on that front as they applauded with everyone else, although Brian couldn’t be too loud so he wouldn’t spark attention to himself. She had a good chance of qualifying for the prize of a well written literary work if the judges behind the scenes deemed it to be deserving of the such.

A few more contestants spread their words after Lucy, and even if they didn’t seem all too special they also had decent shots at qualifying. It wasn’t long until Lucy’s friend Haiku had her turn on stage, as blank and bleak as the goth she was. She held her paper with her poem on it as she put her face up to the microphone.

“Hello. This poem expresses the elegance of beauty. I will proceed.”

She let it out as the words hit the audience.

Eye of the beholder.

Sweets for the eyes.

All is variable.

Destiny calls, and beauty is in order.

The audience applauded as usual while Haiku bowed slightly and made her way off stage. Her poem was short, but it was to the point. She was one of Lucy’s friends after all, so naturally she knew how to write about as good as her. It was the call for the judges if the length was an issue, but to the boys it was good enough as they applauded.

A few more contestants came out after Haiku each with their own spin on their own literary work. It didn’t take long after that when it was break time for the behind the scenes judges to calculate who would be winning, although they still couldn’t be seen anywhere and Lucy and Haiku had to stay backstage for one final curtain call when the announcements came. The boys spent the extra time talking about current events and what they were looking up to in the coming days, including anticipation for a new video game releasing in a couple of days, although it was derailed when Clyde asked about what he missed with Brian and the rifts. Because he still wasn’t completely filled in with the details yet, Lincoln and Brian got to telling their sides of the whole rift fiasco that has been happening ever since they found Brian in the backyard. Each one gave their two cents on certain scenarios when they came up but they did agree on some terms like how infrequent and annoying they were. Brian was especially riled up when he was reminded of all the times he was dragged into them and forced to adapt quickly, something Lincoln and Clyde could understand just by looking as his distraught expressions. The stories were almost all colors of the rainbow with some visuals effecting some more than others.

There was still more to cover with Clyde when it was time for the announcement of the winners. All of the contestants, including Lucy and Haiku, walked on stage as the announcer came up front with the microphone.

“The judges have finally wrapped things up and the results are in! Whoever they deemed to qualify for a well written literary work will receive something very special…a special prerelease book of the next Pierce in the Dark novel, nearly half a year before the rest of the world gets it!”

The boys could see Lucy and Haiku flinch for a second upon those words. It didn’t take the family genius to find out the two had a gigantic obsession with the book series since the first novel came out, even going as far as watching the TV series on it that just started. It wasn’t on par with Vampires of Melancholia, for that will always be their number one priority over everything, but Pierce in the Dark was a good secondary to that show’s dominance. Lucy even forced Brian to watch the series with her, thanks to her secret enthrallment over appearing as a giantess to someone, and while he wasn’t completely into it as she was he did like it in some aspects. The show was apparently behind the books in terms of plot lines, but hearing that the prize for the contest was the next iteration before everyone else must have been completely astonishing to them. They weren’t showing it for obvious reasons, but they could picture Lucy’s and Haiku’s hearts beating faster and faster. It would be a great privilege for them to win it and it was going to be close.

“I know all of you are dying to see who are those special someones, so without further ado I will announce the winners.”

The three boys bit their lips as the first names came out.

“Raini McNeil!”

The audience applauded as a pretty young blonde girl walked up to the announcer and accepted her special book. She put on an adorable smile before making her way back to the others.

“Haley Bondoc!”

Everyone applauded again as the respective girl took her book and smiled to the audience. More names slowly crawled out as one by one more winners were chosen. The pile of books got smaller and smaller, putting the tensions on high with more authors received them. Clyde was biting his fingernails down to the bone even if his parents advised him not to while Lincoln reached into his pocket and held Brian from inside to keep his nervousness down. It didn’t bode well for the shrunken kid inside as his body compressed from all sides thanks to Lincoln squeezing him. It wasn’t too lethal luckily enough, but it made Brian the odd one out and hope the announcement would go by quicker. He had to give it to Lincoln though, he had a firm grip as his fingers wrapped around him.

It soon came down to one book left with a decent amount of contestants still empty handed, including Lucy and Haiku of all people. They would have thought that one of the two would have been picked earlier but apparently the judges thought otherwise. It did bring some ire to the three boys as now only one of them had the chance of getting the novel even if one of them was certain that one of the two girl shot themselves in the foot. It was head to head and only one would come out on top.

“Only one of these special novels left, which one of these lovely authors could possibly contend for such a prize? Let me tell you, for our last winner of the writing contest is…”

Everyone was silent as the last name came forth.

…

…

…

…

…

…Lucy Loud!

The audience erupted the penultimate time, especially Lincoln, Clyde, and Brian, as the name of the respective sibling rang through their ears. They saw Lucy flinch again as her legs silently trembled, clearly feeling the positive vibes everywhere. Haiku even smiled and applauded for her friend as she made her way to the front and took a few seconds to gaze at the book before taking it.

“Th…th…thank you…” Lucy stuttered. She made her way back to the others as the audience applauded one final time for the winners and the announcer chimed in.

The group huddled around a corner in the halls where nobody was, so they could bring Brian out without anyone noticing, as the boys congratulated Lucy on such a passionate win. She couldn’t believe it herself, her effort payed off as she now had the exclusive next Pierce in the Dark novel much earlier than everyone else. She almost shed a tear from how happy she was, and she really felt like she accomplished something and was awarded for it. Her arms trembled and shook as she held the book and couldn’t stop staring at the cover, it was so beautiful to her.

“I...I…can’t believe I won…” Lucy stuttered. “This has been such…a surprise to me…I’m so happy…”

“You earned it Lucy.” Lincoln said. “It was such a magnificent choice of words, I would have never thought to use vocabulary like that and I struggle with school essays!”

He then turned to Haiku.

“You did well too Haiku. Sorry if you didn’t get anything.”

“It’s okay, I understand completely.” Haiku answered.

One of the boys wasn’t so sure about that. Before anything could progress further, Lincoln went and gave his beloved younger sister a well deserved sincere hug. While Lucy tended to not accept and sort of the loving gesture she made an exception for now as she was still trying to comprehend that she actually won the writing contest. She embraced her brother back as the two held each other close, bringing a tear to Clyde’s eyes while Haiku remained stagnant as always.

It almost felt like the moment could last forever if a voice didn’t quickly come up.

“Urrrrh…choking…not breathing here!”

I suddenly came to Lincoln that he still had Brian cooped up in his pocket, and with the hug he was more than likely suffocating him. The two separated before Lincoln reached into his pocket and pulled out the shrunken kid in his hand, who was a bit dazed but otherwise still okay.

“Oops, sorry there. Almost forgot about you.” Lincoln said.

“It’s okay, I can be easy to forget at points.” Brian replied. He gave Brian some time to breathe as Haiku walked over and took a glimpse at the book in Lucy’s hands.

“Your excellently written words have awarded you kindly. Once you’re done reading it I would like to personally read it myself.”

“Of course. You are my friend after all.” Lucy answered. That was when Clyde immediately spoke up.

“That reminds me, I’ve been meaning to ask you something Haiku ever since I heard your poem on stage.”

“Hmmmm? What about it?” Haiku asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Were you even trying to win with that?”

Everyone listening in were confused on what Clyde meant. Haiku was a writer at heart after all, but before they could think further Haiku answered.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the poem you wrote.” Clyde said. “I’m not an expert in writing, but I know some of your poems. Remember the Sadie Hawkins dance? You showed me some of your best poems after we danced together, and what you wrote for the contest…felt unpolished. You tend to write short poems at points but this one didn’t seem like any effort was put into it. It was as if you were reading a dictionary up there.”

“Now that you mention it…I did get some stale vibes around the edges as I listened in.” Lincoln said. Haiku stayed emotionless.

“Are you accusing me of not giving effort for what I wrote?” Haiku said as her tone slightly dipped. “A good writer always puts in the effort for every word written. My creativity was flourishing when I wrote it.”

“I’m not seeing it.” Clyde retaliated. “That isn’t your best work, for the poems in your poetry journal are leagues better from what I had heard and then this competition comes out and you don’t even put in your all? What’s really going on?”

“I was giving it my all, you must have different expectations if you aren’t accepting what I wrote.” Haiku replied. That was when Lucy gave her two cents.

“Sigh…he wasn’t the only one thinking that.”

The group set their sights on Lucy as Haiku started to get slightly cross, as much as her goth attitude would allow anyway.

“What did you just say Lucy?” Haiku asked as her tone dipped again. Lucy shuddered for a moment as she came clean.

“I really hate to admit it Haiku, but…what you wrote sounded like child’s play compared to previous works. You usually think deep, go for lesser known words, and write on more darker topics. Something just didn’t seem right with your poem, and I kept thinking it the entire time after you got done reading it on stage.”

Her face didn’t change, but it didn’t change the fact that Haiku couldn’t believe her hearing. Even one of her closest friends was going against her, almost like she was betrayed.

“Okay, fine. You want to know why that poem wasn’t up to snuff?” Haiku said as she kept her emotions behind her mask of a face. “The truth is…I rushed it.”

Her head tilted a little to the ground as she took the moment to calm herself.

“I accidentally set the wrong date on my calendar and when I realized my mistake it was too late. I had to come up with something so I hobbled some stray sentences and tried to make a poem out of it. I got what I deserved with losing, but it makes me appreciate how much you deserved to win Lucy. I’m sorry I couldn’t put up much, but it was the best I could do in such short notice.”

While that answer may have satisfied the boys, for that was a legitimate excuse, the other girl wasn’t so impressionable.

“Sorry, but I can’t believe that. I know that sort of option would never cross your mind when a deadline rears its head. You strive to always make sure a poem is up to your quality standards, not like you just came up with something at the last minute.”

“Well maybe this could be a start for me.” Haiku replied. “I rushed it, so that’s that.”

Lucy shook her head.

“No Haiku, that’s not what happened. What’s really going on?”

“I’m told you already. It doesn’t bear repeating.”

“You’re lying through your teeth.”

“I’m being completely truthful.”

“You’re not.”

“I am.”

“You’re not.”

“I am.”

“You’re not.”

“I AM, SHUT UP!”

Haiku’s eyes pulled open before she suddenly put her hands over her mouth. The others just stood with their eyes wide at the young goth, clearly dumbfounded by what they saw. Not only did she greatly emote, something goths don’t usually do, but the last few words she said were in a completely different tone of voice. There was no dark to speak of coming from her lips, it was the color pink in a high pitch. It almost sounded like Lola but had a distinct delivery to make it stand out from her.

This clearly indicated that something wasn’t right.

“Haiku…what’s really happening?” Brian asked. The look of surprise wiped from her face as her eyes got obstructed by her hair and her lips slowly formed into a frown. The upper part of her head covered in an eerie shadow as her head tilted down, slowly shaking it in some sort of disappointment.

She spoke again in the same girlish voice.

“Ugh, you really know how to grind a girl’s gears with your incessant statements! You even broke my perfect mimicry of that stupid goth girl you jerks! Fine, you want to see a girl get angry? Consider this!”

What happened next occurred so quickly that everyone else wasn’t fully aware of it until the end. Four very long black streaks shot from Haiku’s back and streaked through their clothes, forcing and pinning Lincoln, Clyde, and Lucy to the ground while the offender stood standing. It simultaneously made Lincoln lose his hold on Brian as the shrunken one hit the ground, thankfully with no major injuries. He was about to pack it and run but he suddenly found himself in the shadow of the dark Haiku, who now had four long black streaks sticking out of her back keeping the others in check. Lincoln, Clyde, and Lucy could have done something if they weren’t so powerless to the streaks immobilizing and forcing them to the floor. Not even loosely flailing their arms and legs did anything but make Haiku more irritated, they were her punching bags now.

Haiku had a wicked smile on her face seeing the other three struggle. It was as if their pain was her joy and she couldn’t get enough of it.

“What the heck?!” Lincoln exclaimed. “I...can’t get up!”

“That makes two of us!” Clyde replied. “These things are too strong…are goths supposed to be like this?!”

“No…not even close…” Lucy said as the air kept escaping her mouth. “Haiku…what’s the meaning of this?”

“Hate to break it to you Miss Gloom and Doom, but your ‘Haiku’ friend isn’t here right now.” Haiku replied. “I’ll make sure to leave her a message…if she can find her way out that is.”

“What are you…talking about?!” Lincoln squeaked as he struggled to get the words out. “Haiku” was getting visibly irritated.

“It’s simple. I locked her in an abandoned toilet stall, where she would probably suffer for the rest of her life, then took her place. Since she was so blank it was a cinch to imitate her and get the details down, but even then I had to write a poem down. Too bad you HECKLERS had to write something better and ruin my chances of winning!”

“So…you’re the copycat that was going around imitating people…just for a better shot at winning?!” Lincoln said. “Not only that, but you…locked everyone up you mimicked?! That’s dirty!”

“Ummmmm, DUUUUUUUUH, that’s what I was going for you idiot!” “Haiku” answered insultingly. “Granted I only locked up that Haiku girl to compete, but getting others in trouble was a fun bonus. Speaking of which…”

The person disguised as Haiku strutted over to the downed Lucy with the most sinister glare imaginable.

“I’ll be accepting my trophy thank you!”

She was utterly helpless as the impostor ripped the prerelease novel out of Lucy’s hand, making her growl under her breath, but she wasn’t quite finished yet. There was still one loose and she wasn’t intending on letting him get away.

Brian attempted to stay low from the immediate attack and sneak away but the impostor wasn’t an idiot as she stomped one of her shoes down in front of him, making a shock wave that caught him off of his feet and made him fall on his back.

“Did you really think I would forget my consolation prize?”

Brian soon found himself gazing up at one of the angriest Haiku faces he had ever seen, all while having the size of a skyscraper. He tried to get up and run but right as he got on his feet the goth faker already had her hold on him. She had him bound tightly by her fingers as the tiny one pleaded.

“Let me go…whoever you are! There’s no reason to take me!”

“My name is Mimi midget, learn it.” the disguised girl replied. “And besides, I’m going to fill the mansion back where I’m from with tons of hot boys, and while you may not be normal sized to what I’m used to seeing I could always use the extra servants to bustle around me. Perhaps I could make use of you by…rubbing my feet!”

Just the mere mention of one of his most hated activities as small as he was already got Brian sweating bullets. Before the three downed by her black streaks could try to break free again a black square outline formed around Mimi and Brian before it spun around, making them disappear with it in a motion that appeared like they “flipped” out of existence. The instant they vanished the black streaks pinning the three down vanished along with them, finally giving them room to stand and try to comprehend what the heck just happened.

“I…can’t believe that just happened.” Clyde said in disbelief. “Does this happen often with the rift business?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Lincoln replied. “But that’s not the main issue, we just lost Brian and Lucy’s book to some sort of…shape-shifter!”

“We need to get them back at any costs.” Lucy chimed in, still emoting blankly despite the circumstances. “I’m open to any ideas.”

It didn’t take long before the One Eyed Jack hatched an idea.

Another rectangle came into existence before it spun and revealed the forms of the transformed Mimi and Brian before is disappeared. She made sure to form somewhere far away from the three now after her but still remain out of sight from everyone else. She looked around just in case, where she saw nobody around. Her hiding spot was behind a podium in the other side of the building, large enough to keep herself hidden, while being a great distance away from where she previously was. There was one goal in her mind now, and once she accomplished it she was home free.

This didn’t bode well for the shrunken one trapped in one of her hands.

“Okay, you got some distance from my friends, so can you let me go now?!”

Mimi glared at Brian with her Haiku changed eyes.

“Did you get corks wedged in your ears when I was speaking earlier? You’re going to be the first boy to serve me when I get back to the mansion! You better get used to pampering me when I need it!”

“There’s no way I can handle that especially since I’m a speck compared to you!” Brian answered. Mimi angrily shook the tiny boy which gave Brian a mild headache.

“I’ll work something out, so shut your pie hole!” Mimi replied. She took a glimpse around the corner for something specific and while she initially didn’t see it she gave it a few seconds before it entered her sight. There were dozens of people around but only a few could work to her liking. That was when a small crowd passed by and a small girl with light brown hair caught her interest. She fit a description Lincoln told Brian about when it came to painful dodge ball matches. There was always one particular girl that was so eager to get a game started that she tended to keep throwing balls before and after a game, giving him multiple red marks after school. He was told her name was Girl Jordan, although Brian didn’t believe it at first due to the name not sounding natural to him. If anything she was probably attending the activities for the fun of it even if she wasn’t in costume.

“Hmmmm…that form could easily work for me.” Mimi said. “Besides, I can’t stand speaking like a dreary nobody any longer!”

The Haiku lookalike immediately started to emit purple smoke around her entire body, consequently catching Brian as well. He didn’t know what was going on as the haze soon clouded his sight and lungs, forcing him to shut him eyes. He coughed multiple times even if he couldn’t move much due to Mimi having hold of him. He wasn’t sure how long this weird phenomenon would continue, but then he heard a low audible POOF as he felt the air pour in through his nose and mouth. Whatever just happened, it seemed to end.

“Well little guy, how do I look now?”

Brian slowly opened his eyes to see the results, and he couldn’t say he was anything BUT surprised. The shape-shifter not only transformed her body into Girl Jordan’s, it was a completely perfect change in every single detail. The hair, eyes, skin tone, height, and even clothes were absolutely flawless in every feature. In more of a creepy side, Mimi’s voice changed again and from what he heard it sounded like another young girl. He hadn’t heard Girl Jordan’s voice before but he assumed it was, and for her to get that effortlessly without hearing it first was an incredible achievement. Mimi had to be the best in the business when it came to imitating others unless it was common where she came from. Since he was still in her grasp he might get to see it first hand…and he didn’t want that to happen.

He didn’t want to ignore her either since she showed what happened when she got upset.

“Wow, ummm…that’s a pretty spot on transformation!” Brian nervously said.

“Of course it is, I’m the definition of perfect in every way!” Mimi answered, now in what sounded like Girl Jordan’s voice. “Now all I need is a place to keep you out of sight.”

It didn’t take long until she concluded on an idea which Brian wouldn’t like.

“Say, seeing as you are going to be massaging my feet when I get back…”

Brian hastily retorted to save his skin.

“I’ll suffocate if you put me in there! Please don’t go through with that!”

“Too bad you little bug, I’ve already decided. Get used to it, you’re mine now.”

Brian didn’t get the time to retort as the Girl Jordan transformed Mimi took off her black shoe before dropping Brian inside it. He could only back up to the front as the huge sock slithered through the opening aiming straight for him. There was no way he could do anything as the sock loomed over his body before setting down right on top of him. The smell was unbearable and put his nose to the breaking point as one of his greatest fears reared its syringe dripping toxic to his eyes. He expected Mimi to end him now and get it over with, but her large socked foot held back a certain pressure threshold that kept it from crushing him. She wasn’t trying to kill him, she was playing around with her new toy. It wouldn’t be fun to her if her toy “broke”, which was the most likely reason to him why she was keeping him alive, but that didn’t avoid the fact that she had him trapped in her shoe. Considering the fact that she now was under the guise of Girl Jordan, he could also be considered to be trapped in one of her shoes, and if she was copied perfectly she must have had one of the smelliest feet imaginable. She was an expert dodge ball player according to Lincoln after all but it just made things worse for him now. She might have been a nice girl if Brian met her normally, and at normal size, but he was under the rules of her doppelganger now and she had no remorse for her actions.

He could hear Mimi speak above him.

“So how it is going in there? Getting used to the fumes?”

Brian would have replied back it he wasn’t gasping for air and constantly coughing.

“Too bad, can’t hear you from up here! Enjoy your stay worshiping my feet…even if they aren’t technically mine!”

His body felt hollow and helpless as the gravity shifted around him, indicating Mimi was now walking. Every step applied a bit more pressure to his squishy figure as her foot came down, but even then he could still tell that she was holding back from crushing him. If the rift she was going to was far away he could be stuck in here for quite a while and he was holding consciousness by the skin of his teeth. The terrible smells, pressure, and tight space all combined into a nightmarish situation that Brian always wanted to steer clear of. Lynn had her stinky feet the one time and this was no different besides the fact that this was done so forcibly and on purpose. Lynn had her good points but Mimi was as furthest from her as possible. He was suffering under her transformed foot and it was all her doing.

While he couldn’t speak from the lack of air, he could definitely hear as he heard a voice from above.

“Oh, Girl Jordan! Nice to see you here!”

The gravity shifts around him stopped as the shoe came to a standstill, giving him a brief moment to relax as much as he could.

“Same to you too! How’s life been treating you?” Mimi’s disguised Girl Jordan voice replied.

“I’ve been doing well. My brother is a big comic book fan and he’s been up nearly all night working on the perfect outfit.”

“Ouch, he has to be pretty dedicated to work on it for that long.”

The two voices above him continued chatting away while Brian inadvertently listened out. Whatever girl, since its voice was a bit too high pitched to be a boy, Mimi was talking to had to have been a close friend to Girl Jordan for her to willingly come up to the impostor, and Mimi nailed the personality nearly perfectly. Even with topics Mimi wouldn’t know about unless she had insight beforehand her tone and choice of words made it pass by as if she knew them, right down to the little details. It made him pretty uneasy, not as much as being stuck under her giant transformed foot, to think about how she went along with knowing who he was when she was under the guise of Haiku. It was possible she could have known about him beforehand, but considering she was signing up as a disguised Haiku before Lucy arrived with him she couldn’t have known about him then…unless she learned about him from Haiku as she was stuffing the goth into the abandoned bathroom. That was a more plausible answer and seemed to fit her well.

He was interrupted by his train of thought when one of Mimi’s socked toes smacked hit right upside the head. He tried to shake it off until a second toe hit him in the same spot. He then suddenly found himself getting pummeled all over by most of Mimi’s toes, all while still being stuck under her foot. The fact that they kept coming gave Brian signs that these weren’t accidental, this was being done on purpose. Not only was Mimi chatting with her “friend” but also having the time to play with her tiny new toy at the same time. The constant beating across his face by the toes obstructed his hearing to what the giantesses above him were speaking about, and combined with the smelly and claustrophobic show he was in only amplified the seriousness. He got so worried at one point that he blanked out and immediately gave an incoming toe a right hook, making it recoil back. When he came to he heard Mimi’s voice stutter above him before he realized what he just did. He missed the fire as he got out of pan and fell into the depths of the underworld with that last action, making him almost drain of all color. His captor might just end him when she got done now.

The voices of the two giantesses seemed to wrap up as he heard the other girl give her goodbyes and the gravity shift around him again. It wasn’t a long trek this time as around five minutes passed before the shoe came to a standstill again. The giant socked foot let off his body before it reeled back and withdrew, letting in a ray of light from the opening. It was short lived though as a giant hand reached in after him, making him back up. It was a futile attempt as the fingers coiled around him and drew him into the light, bringing him out of Mimi’s sick game.

He was met with Mimi’s gaze through Girl Jordan’s eyes while she had a smug grin.

“Well my little pet bug, we finally reached the hole. I can tell you enjoyed playing with my feet just by looking at you.”

Brian struggled to speak as her grip on him was pretty tight as usual.

“But I…didn’t enjoy it…at all…I…could have…died in there!”

“Hey, I didn’t kill you in the process. Be glad that I held back from doing so.” Mimi answered. “I needed to have SOME enjoyment to having digits. You have no idea how game changing it is for me to have actual fingers and toes when I transform!”

“Ohhhhh…kay?” Brian replied in slight confusion. Mimi walked up to a large poster on the opposing wall, seeing as how she took him to a small hallway with nobody around, before pulling it off and revealing what was underneath. It was another mischievous rift, and it was that specific one that Mimi would drag him in.

“Here we go little servant, it’s the same way I got here and I’m taking you with me. I can’t wait to see you grovel at my body.”

“No, you can’t do this!” Brian answered.

“I can and I will, so shut up!” Mimi exclaimed. She suddenly went still as something else occurred to her.

“Actually, you deserve something special for attempting to fight back against me, especially since you beat up my foot!”

She pulled a fast one in one fell swoop. Not only did she know about Brian’s accidental attack against her foot, but she intended to hammer a consequence into his skull. Thinking about the possibilities only got Brian to sweat bullets as Mimi’s demeanor went south quick.

“Errr, uhhhh…what are you talking about?” Brian squeaked.

“Don’t play dumb with me, I felt it when you were in my shoe!” Mimi said. “You messed with the wrong girl little guy and you’re going to get it! Forget rubbing my feet, you’re getting something MUCH worse…BEING MY SNACK!”

Brian started to panic. He’s learned the hard way with Luan on getting eaten once and Mimi was going to make it a second.

“No...please don’t! I can’t survive that!”

“You’re not getting out of this! YOU…ARE…MINE!”

Mimi’s emotions reached the boiling point, making her tighten the grip around Brian, before giving one final menacing grin. Her lips parted as the devastating darkness bore in between them, giving Brian less time to work with. She wasn’t even in her own body, she was still shaped like Girl Jordan, but she wasn’t acting the part. Even though he never met her, there was no doubt in his mind that she would never even think of doing something as cruel as Mimi, but from the way the impostor had the image of her made it appear that she went to the dark side. He survived Luan’s body before by pure chance, but this would have no such option. Girl Jordan’s twin would be getting an extra lunch in the form of a shrunken dessert.

No time was wasted as Mimi tossed Brian into her mouth, putting the boy in pure darkness as he became sticky all over. He couldn’t see anything but he felt the tongue under him bob up and down as he hit the roof of her mouth. It then shifted him to the side in an attempt to crush him in the confines of her teeth, having no mercy to let him live now. To try and save face, Brian pushed himself further past the teeth as they came down, leaving hardly any room for error as he stayed in the pocket of her cheek. He could stay they for long as the huge tongue used its tip to push him out into the line of fire once more. The teeth came down again as Brian bolted with his left leg barely avoiding getting chewed by a gap between the upper and bottom ones. With him dodging death one after the other, the tongue then proceeded backward as Brian started to slip near the back. Since he was dodging her teeth again and again, Mimi had to have decided that enough is enough and go for the end. She now intended to swallow him whole, and this time Brian had nothing left to turn to. The tongue was too coated in saliva to hold on and it blocked the front of the mouth, leaving him no other option but to fall back into her throat. He could feel himself weep quietly as he lost his grip and fell into the chasm below. It was the end for him, and the Girl Jordan wannabe got her wish.

He never got to see her stomach.

His body was just millimeters away from falling into her esophagus when gravity shifted forward. Brian was stunned at what was going on, there was no way this was normal, but before he could come to a conclusion he fell downward as a light suddenly opened beneath him. He went through as a voice rang through his ears.

“AAAAAAHH!”

Light poured into his eyes as he soared in a downward spiral until he hit solid ground, front side first. I was a painful landing, but it wasn’t as bad as becoming someone’s lunch. He picked his head off of the ground as his eyes adjusted to the surrounding area, and he couldn’t have been happier once it came into view.

“Brian, are you okay?!”

He coughed a bit to get some loose saliva out of his mouth while being completely drenched in it. Tears came to his eyes as he gazed up and saw the faces of Lincoln, Clyde, and Haiku staring down at him, and they weren’t out of sorrow.

“I…I am now…” Brian stated. Clyde and Haiku didn’t want to pick him up out of not wanting to be grossed out, but Lincoln didn’t care as he set his hand on the ground for Brian to get on. Brian wasted no time doing so before he got with him face to face.

“I say our rescue mission went well. Good with the quick thinking Clyde, we almost lost him.”

“Hey, what’s a good sidekick for?” Clyde answered. “I have a knack for coming up with good ideas.

“Wait…so you knew where…we were going?” Brian stuttered trying to calm down from Mimi almost eating him.

That was when Haiku gave her side of things.

“Actually, that was all Clyde’s doing. He pinpointed a location that stood out to him earlier before he was made aware of the rifts, and luckily for us it just so happened to be where the impostor came from. All we needed to do was wait for her to come back here with you in tow…although the others could have arrived earlier if they weren’t reminded that I was still bound in…toilet water.”

Taking a good glance at Haiku easily gave Brian the impressions she was talking about. Her entire body was completely drenched and dripping all over with most of her goth makeup washed away or splattered all over her face. Even with the soaked outlook Haiku kept her straight emotionless face, although she was more than likely very upset behind the mask. He could relate to her in some ways, for he was also wet all over from saliva which messed up his goth outlook greatly. Much like Haiku, most of his makeup was either gone or washed over him, making the two appear as standing wrecks. Judging from what she said and the fact that Mimi was still under the guise of Girl Jordan, the goth standing before him was the real Haiku.

“It…took a bit to pull her out.” Lincoln said. “After a bit of a waiting game we saw you and Mimi. Lucy then took over and did her signature scare tactic, giving us the right time to snatch you up…although we didn’t expect her to try and swallow you.”

“I…already learned my lesson from the Luan situation.” Brian replied as he calmed down some more. “Thanks so much for rescuing me.”

“I’m also here Brian.”

The three boys zipped upward for a moment as Lucy instantaneously popped in next to Haiku. They could see why she got Mimi to fork Brian over.

“Errrr, uhhhh…yeah, I obviously couldn’t forget you.” Brian answered. One thing struck him as odd about her though, and it was what she was holding in her right hand. She held her reclaimed prerelease book in the other.

“Umm, what’s with the tennis racket?”

“I whacked Mimi with it to force you out.” Lucy answered. “Don’t ask where I got it.”

“I…was refraining on asking.” Brian said, yet again, so he wouldn’t lose his sanity. A series of soft moans were heard behind her, and once she parted next to the group it revealed the Girl Jordan transformed Mimi on the floor rubbing a large bump on her head. She slowly got to her feet with her teeth clenched as she glared immensely at the interlopers. No winning award, no tiny slave to serve her, she now had nothing.

“You…COMPLETE JERKS! Has anyone ever taught you to never touch a girl?! You could have just GIVEN UP and left me to my own agendas!”

She began to expel purple smoke from her body before she was completely covered in it. With one big poof the smoke disappeared as quick as it started revealing a new shape in place of the Girl Jordan appearance. Her head was now a large green square with two small black dots for eyes having eyelashes off the top and two pink oval cheeks surrounding a little circular mouth. She was about the same height as the kids, except for Brian obviously, as two green pigtails were situated on the left and right of the top of her head, but unlike the common hairstyle these were shaped, like her head, like they were made up of squares. For clothes she wore a white dotted dress colored pure yellow with a front pocket and a red triangular bow near her neck, making her as some sort of a fashionable type. To everyone’s surprise, her arms and legs were nothing more than two black lines each with no fingers to speak of. This gave insight to Brian on why she enjoyed having fingers and toes when she transformed, but even then it was still very unorthodox. Whatever this imitator was now it sported a unique look for a girl, although it could have been a common sight from where she was since she was brought here from a rift.

“Whoa, who are you imitating now?” Lincoln asked. Mimi was likewise very unhappy and spoke in the high pitched voice from earlier.

“You idiot! This is how I normally look! You’re going to WISH you were me!”

“Well…you got style I’ll give you that.” Lucy said.

“I agree.” Haiku replied. Clyde spoke up next.

“Look Miss…Mimi, did I hear that right?”

“That IS my name, get it drilled into that brain of yours.”

“Okay, okay!” Clyde retorted before switching the subject. “Look Mimi, you were brought somewhere that you aren’t supposed to be, and even though you tried to steal that book and Brian this can all end if you go through that rift back to your-”

“Shut up kid, you don’t tell me what to do.” Mimi replied. The group could tell that after they got back Brian and the book that Mimi’s blood was boiling. Clyde had his time in therapy to know how they calmed others down but it wasn’t working with her. Words couldn’t get through to her, she had a different schedule to follow.

“First I get dragged into some messed up place and when I find out about a competition to win something I obviously enter because I always win…but ever since you jerks showed up those odds were against me from the beginning! When I want something I GET IT, and when I compete in something I ALWAYS WIN! I’m so sick of seeing your ugly mugs ruin my perfect streak of getting everything and dragging my face through the mud! You know what? Forget me running back to my mansion with the winning trophy, I’ll be going for a much BIGGER prize…GLOATING OVER YOUR LIFELESS CORPSES! TRUE MIMI, COME FORTH!”

The process that the mimeographer underwent next was one of the most disturbing and grotesque sights that the boys have even got to see, although Lucy and Haiku were as blank as always. Mimi’s head began to crack as her eyes opened wide before her head twisted upward to the right before suddenly taking a turn the other way like a night watching owl. Her head emitted more cracks before it became clockwork as it turned around and twisted uncontrollably, eventually settling on being upside down. Her bow, now at the top of her head, formed sharp edges as it creepily unfolded into pairs of four long black streaks for legs. Her small lines for her arms beforehand stretched out into a final pair of front long black legs as a ringing of coins rang through everyone’s hearing. One of her green pigtails stuck to one of her front legs as her torso hanged lifelessly downward with her long legs pulling the weight. For some reason beyond their comprehension, two large holes stuck out from the sides of her head and protruded a set of gears that turned as if a machine was running. This wasn’t an innocent young girl anymore, it was a monstrosity in girl’s clothing.

The group stood speechless as the monster Mimi loomed over them. Her voice now had some sort of filter over it making it sound slightly mechanical.

“Well, you indiscriminate insects, I didn’t want to shed my cuteness this early, but you ticked me off to no end! I’ll make you WISH you didn’t come across me!”

“Uhhhh Lincoln…got any bright ideas?” Brian asked as he trembled in fear.

“Just one…” Lincoln shakily answered. “My idea is…RUN FOR THE HILLS!”

Everyone listening didn’t need to be told twice as they sped off in the opposite direction, although Lincoln put Brian in his pocket just in case. Mimi was likewise not amused.

“Get back here you pests! I can’t DESTROY you if you act like chickens!”

With her six long legs, Mimi crawled rapidly after them. With a giant spider-like monster now chasing after them, the three boys and two goth girls had no time to dawdle and rest unless risking potential destruction. They even dashed past many other people in costumes attending the convention, and many of them began to panic upon seeing Mimi in her new form. Dozens ran for the nearest exist so they wouldn’t get trampled even if they weren’t Mimi’s target, and soon enough everything was in chaos around them.

Although the blonde Raini girl from the poetry contest wasn’t one of those people.

“Sheesh, glad I didn’t go crazy when I was dragged here. It was fun while it lasted, but I can’t wear this hair dye forever and Usagi wouldn’t like it if I went missing. Let’s go Luna Ball!”

With that said, the blonde haired girl took a few steps to her right and revealed a rift right behind a decorative plant. She hastily went inside with the rift closing behind her. Whoever she was, she was now back to her own dimension now.

The chase continued into the main convention area with dozens of available booths. Like the other people beforehand, the ones wandering about went into a frenzy upon seeing the grievous Mimi and turned the area into a free for all. Lincoln and the others had some troubles running through the crowds of terrified people, but couldn’t stop to slow down with Mimi chasing them down. Their eyes darted for any sort of hiding place only to come across a typical photo booth. They took the chance and dived behind the curtains right as Mimi trailed up behind them. She stopped in front of the booth as her grotesque head swayed back and forth. Even if her spider-like transformation didn’t have eyes, she could see clearly through means unknown to the group.

“Come out you stupid bullies! The more you avoid the inescapable only makes me ANGRIER!”

Her long streaks for legs carried her past their hiding spot as she furiously searched for her targets. They were temporarily safe for now, even if the booth was a bit cramped with everyone inside. They struggled to move, but they needed to come up with some sort of plan.

“Of all places to huddle up and hide…” Lincoln said.

“Hey, we were in a haste!” Clyde answered. “Although if you could move your arm out of my face I would really appreciate it.”

“Please move your leg away from my back. It’s very annoying.” Lucy stated.

“That’s not his leg.” Haiku replied. “Even so, I find the state I am in to be very discomforting.”

“At least you aren’t…riled up against the wall!” Brian squeaked out from Lincoln’s pocket. “I’m a bit…cornered here!”

“Okay, okay, can we finally get to the elephant in the room before one of our bones break?” Lincoln said as he struggled to move.

“What is there…to say? We got…a monster after us!” Brian stuttered from the pressure between the wall and Lincoln. “The only way out…would be to lure her back…to the rift!”

“And how do you suppose we do that?” Haiku asked. She tried to shift one of her legs for better comfort, only to hit a button on the side that caused a camera flash, blinding everyone for a second. Everyone rubbed their eyes before Lucy spoke up.

“I unfortunately have nothing. I’m a poet, not a tactician.”

“Same…here.” Brian croaked.

“Maybe we could draw her attention then bail out at the last second? That sounds somewhat promising.” Lincoln said.

“You forgot the part where I end your pitiful lives! Mimimimimimi!”

Before they knew it, small particles around them slowly formed together until the monstrous Mimi hovered over them. She eyed the group with an intense sting that got them riled up, and considering she took up more space in the photo booth it wasn’t going to go by nicely.

“How many ways can that girl teleport?!” Clyde exclaimed. A scuffle ensued with Mimi angrily attempting to send the group to the skies above while everyone else scrambled for the door. Lots of banging and tugging noises could be heard inside as the booth protruded everyone’s faces from its walls and hopped up and down in a comical manner while dozens of bright flashes could be seen behind the closed door. After a few minutes of clambering for anything tangible, the door burst open as Lincoln made his way out followed by Clyde, Lucy, and Haiku, leaving behind a large dust cloud inside like a cartoon. Mimi angrily busted down the entire booth around her furiously with fire in her eyes.

“Don’t keep tempting me by running! Remember that I always get what I want, and I want you DEAD!”

She put her long legs to the test as she vigorously chased after them. Right as she left the remains of the photo booth, the last functional part, the photo developer, finished forming the pictures that the camera caught. They were…less than workable with the majority taken while the group was still stuck and tussling with Mimi, although one was somehow corrupted and displayed everyone as if it were drawn in crayon by a five year old. Whatever pictures were taken they were ignored by everyone as they sat in the shrapnel.

Mimi was now on their back again ready to taste blood as the group frantically searched for the way the rift was. They didn’t think long until they came across a door with the sign “Backstage” printed on the front. Lincoln acted without thinking and pried open the door with the others behind him, including Mimi.

The room they were now in was pitch black with nobody able to see anything in front of them. Their eyes lit up, revealing three pairs of eyes with one small pair and a singular one, while their bodies remained shrouded in darkness, leaving no clue to where anyone was.

Voices went all over the place.

“Hey guys, you still there?” Lincoln’s voice asked.

“I’m here buddy!” Clyde’s voice answered.

“Same!” Brian’s voice replied.

“Don’t forget me, I embrace the dark.” Haiku’s voice responded.

“I’m here as well.”

Two pairs of regular sized eyes and the pair of small ones zipped up for a moment.

“Seriously Lucy, at a time like this?!” Lincoln’s voice exclaimed.

“It’s not my fault you can’t see me next to you.” Lucy’s voice responded.

“She has a point.” Brian’s voice chimed in.

The small pair of eyes rolled in an obvious manner.

“Okay, okay, everyone is accounted for. Anyone care to find the light switch?” Clyde’s voice said.

“I think this might be it.” Lincoln’s voice answered. A small click hit everyone’s eardrums before a loud slam. The single eye winced and dipped for a moment before glaring at the pair further away.

“If I wasn’t soaking in toilet water right now, you would be suffering a thousand hexes.”

“Sorry Haiku, I’m feeling something like a control switch!” Lincoln’s voice replied. “Maybe this one?”

Another click was head, immediately making a loud whack soon after. The pair of eyes furthest away had its pupils shrink as the small pair zipped away from it before disappearing. Lucy’s voice could be heard lightly laughing as the furthest eyes shook themselves off.

“Okay…that wasn’t…the light switch…” Lincoln’s voice squeaked. Lucy’s laughter got more audible before some sort of smack echoed over what seemed to be the floor. It soon became a monotonic laughing fit before rolling sounds came up.

“Hahahahah…someone’s tickling me.” Lucy’s blank voice managed to muster before getting back to laughing. Brian’s muffled voice came from her estimated direction.

“Where the heck am I?! What’s going on?! I think someone launched me…and I’m feeling a lot of pressure against my body at points!”

The other pair of eyes and the single one suddenly dropped down, making another impact noise, before another impact was heard while the rolling noises continued.

“Hey, watch where you’re rolling!” Clyde’s voice said.

“He’s, hahahahah, stuck near my, hahahahah, chest.” Lucy’s voice said.

“Get me out of…wherever this is!” Brian’s voice exclaimed.

“Not when I have you on my hit list! Mimimimimi!”

Loud stomps sprang up as the five remaining eyes appeared worried.

“Lincoln, find the light switch now!” Clyde’s voice rang.

“I’m getting to it, I’m getting to it!” Lincoln responded. What followed after was a series of clicks, stomps, slams, and rolls all over as Lincoln flipped more switches to varying effects, Lucy rolling everywhere trying to get Brian unstuck so her unintentional tickling would stop, and Haiku and Clyde dodging blindly to anything Mimi threw at them. Because it was pitch black, only the eyes in the dark zipped around as the chaos unfolded with the small pair of eyes popping up every once in a while only to get covered again. One eye pair and a singular one plopped to the ground with a thud as the rolling noises continued only for some loud slams to echo around them. Nobody could see anything, but whatever happened under the shroud of black had to have been pure pandemonium for the ones involved.

It wouldn’t be until a few minutes of chaos later that an immediate voice stuck out.

“GUYS, I THINK I FOUND THE LIGHT SWITCH!”

With one final click the switch was activated. A light did show up, but not in the way he expected. From behind the pairs of eyes two sheets parted ways, bringing visibility to the group but also showing another aspect. The switch didn’t just make them able to see, but it also pulled away the curtains for the stage, revealing dozens of dressed up convention goers in their seats looking straight at them. The group was stunned, including Mimi, like they just saw some headlights, not expecting the spotlight to be put on them. Clearly something else was going on, but they didn’t know what.

“Well…this is awkward.” Clyde said.

“Heheheh, guess I got my wires crossed.” Lincoln said in embarrassment as he blushed slightly.

“Not cool Lincoln, not cool.” Haiku answered. Mimi had a different set of mind while Lucy quickly got up and kept the trapped Brian in her shirt from the back, just to keep him hidden.

“HAH! Now that I have a captive audience, I can end all of you swiftly for a big show stopper! Say your prayers, for this is the end for you!”

“Wow, what an entrance and great costume! I think we have the perfect winner!”

The voice came over some sort of loudspeaker, causing the crowd to erupt with cheers. Nearly everyone on stage was dumbfounded at what was going on before an eager middle aged man ran on stage with five comic books in hand, only stopping once he got in front of Mimi.

“I have never seen such a unique inspiration for such a grotesque outfit in all my years of hosting this competition! The giant long legs, the hanging abdomen, and even the eyeless head all culminate to an appearance straight out of a horror movie! With you also acting the part out perfectly, I think everyone agrees that you have the best costume for this year’s convention!”

Lincoln and Clyde’s jaws hit the floor while Lucy and Haiku stayed stagnant. All of the running around plus the aftermath of the poetry competition made the two boys forget about the costume contest that was occurring after, which was the main reason why they created new Ace Savvy and One Eyed Jack costumes in the first place. Considering the first prize was five exclusive comics signed by Ace Savvy’s creator himself they really put in the sweat and tears to make sure every detail was picture perfect, and to hear that someone not even from their dimension, that also wanted to kill them no less, get the win made them feel cheated on. However, Mimi was an expert shape-shifter so if she knew about the competition earlier there was no doubt that she would have been a top contender, good costume or not. Still, it was heart breaking to hear that they lost.

As for Mimi, they didn’t know how she would react. She probably wasn’t remotely interested in comics at all, so it may have been out of left field for her to suddenly hear about winning something she didn’t initially know about.

“Are you kidding?! Of all the craziness I went through today, you expect me to settle down as if it never happened?! You want to know how I feel?!”

Her blank slate for a face glared at the audience as her long spider legs shifted a bit.

“I think……that THIS IS A REWARD WELL DESERVED! I’M SOOOOOO HAPPY!”

The crowd before her cheered as she took the five comics with her hanging abdomen as the frown on her monstrous face turned upside down. They were in awe at how well her “costume” appeared to the others, unlike the panicked ones from earlier. The various details that stood out to them were enough for her to win the grand prize. For the ones she chased earlier, Lincoln and Clyde had their jaws to the floor as the shock of HER winning made their hearts stop and their legs immobile. Lucy and Haiku stayed silent to not upset Mimi and make her rampage again, although Lucy also had the extra task of keeping Brian hidden in her shirt behind her back. She instructed Brian to remain quiet for safety, which the tiny boy complied. The results were in, and somehow Mimi came out on top.

The activities continued for a little bit longer before things started to wind down. The booths around everyone shut down as people left, including Lincoln and the others. Mimi couldn’t stop gloating about how she was the winner of the costume contest, grinding the gears of the others, as the last minute festivities wrapped up. There was a panel of certain voice actors the group attended, with Lincoln and Clyde getting a few autographs from them, along with a brief lunch break using money Lincoln was saving for the occasion. Lincoln and Clyde ordered hot dogs from the concession stand while Lucy and Haiku ordered blood sausage, which in an unexpected twist the server actually had available. Because the group needed to keep Mimi in check to make sure she went into the rift later, she had to stick around with them, not that she mattered much after calming down from winning the competition earlier. She changed back to her normal girl appearance, after a cloud of purple smoke, so she wouldn’t scare off the people that were miffed by her spider transformation, and ordered a pristine salad for her lunch. Lincoln was a generous kid and had enough money to cover the cost of everyone although Brian couldn’t get anything at first for safety. Lucy and Haiku ended up sharing some of their blood sausage around the corner for him once everyone was almost done, and while he was reluctant at first he took his share. It was very tasty despite the grim sounding name, and he thanked the two goths for keeping him in the back of their minds. As things winded down, so did the group.

Soon enough, with all of the convention goers either gone or leaving, Lincoln and the others walked over to the spot in the building where the rift was for Mimi to head back to her dimension. Haiku held Brian as the others stood back to give Mimi some room to enter the rift without trouble.

“Do you really need those comic books when you get back? I thought you weren’t interested in reading those!” Clyde asked.

“I may not be too into these types of books, but I’ll enjoy having them as trophies from winning earlier. As you know, I ALWAYS WIN.”

“Man, she really is like a brattier version of Lola…” Lincoln thought before speaking up. “We heard you say that a million times already. It’s starting to give me a headache.”

“That’s because it’s TRUE!” Mimi answered. “You lost and I won, the perfect outcome to someone as perfect as me! I’m always going to remind myself every time I gaze at these mess of pages that I BEAT YOU! Look and weep losers!”

“Scratch that, she’s a million times worse than Lola.” Lincoln thought.

“You should probably take your leave now before the rift vanishes.” Lucy stated. “You’re probably sick of seeing us by now…and I can tell from looking at your face.”

“Ugh, as if I wanted to stick around with all of you in the first place!” Mimi replied. “I may be no stranger when it comes to traveling to different worlds, but I would be lying if I said I wanted to come back to this uninteresting cesspool! All I’m happy for is winning something today, not from hanging with you idiots! You can rot in this sack for all I care, good riddance!”

With one final scoff, Mimi sternly turned her back to everyone as she arrogantly strutted to the entrance of the waning rift. She gave one final menacing glare to the group before taking her leap inside, sealing the rift the moment she disappeared.

“This is one of those moments where I’m SO GLAD that we sealed that rift.” Brian said.

“I couldn’t have agreed more.” Haiku said. “There are many occurrences around one’s self when the torrents of cleanliness and grime whirl through the cracks of the mind. As the eyes bound to the waters, obliviousness surfaces…all goes to blank.”

“Errrrr, nice to see you still have it Haiku.” Brian stuttered.

“So Lincoln…does this happen every time a rift shows up?” Clyde asked.

Everyone went their separate ways shortly after the rift was closed. Haiku went home to wash herself and apply a new coat of goth makeup while Clyde stayed back until his dads could pick him up. Lincoln and Lucy, with Brian in their clutches, phoned up Lori since she was available, and she was there in a flash to get them. It was a short drive back home, but the instant they set foot inside they were bombarded by the insanity of the activities the other sisters were into. It was just another day in the confines of the Loud house, nothing was normal and being calm and collected had meanings nobody understood. Lincoln went to his room to take off his costume while Lucy took Brian to the bathroom so he could wash himself down. He did take a trip inside Mimi’s mouth after all, even if she made herself look like Girl Jordan.

Once he was all cleaned up he called Lucy in after putting on a small indigo t-shirt and navy pants Leni made for him at one point. She took hold of him and gripped his body with her fingers as her infamous blank gaze glared at him.

“You have a nice sense of style I see.” Lucy said.

“Thanks, although it was mostly Leni.” Brian said. “Also, about being launched into your shirt behind that stage…”

“I won’t talk about it if you won’t.” Lucy replied. Brian smiled and nodded before Lucy nodded back. That was really embarrassing for the two of them even if it was accidental. At least it wasn’t bad enough for him to get launched “lower” as he would NEVER forgive himself and more than likely hide in a corner for the rest of his life.

Lucy exited the bathroom and headed straight for her bedroom with Brian in tow. When she opened the door she wasn’t surprised to see Lynn working out on her legs in her typical basketball wear. She took a moment to comment on the two before continuing to work it.

“You just get back from the writer’s seminar or whatever?”

“Yeah, it…diverted my expectations.” Brian said. “I’ll make sure to tell you more when everyone else is with you.”

“More rift shenanigans?” Lynn asked while stretching her legs.

“Regrettably, yes.” Lucy responded. “It wasn’t too bad though, I ended up winning first prize for my excellent poem.”

“Niiiiice!” Lynn said in an elongated way. “I would like to know more except that I have basketball practice in a few minutes. We’re going up against a team hosted by some technology repair shop called Randy’s Assembly Management, and I DON’T want to show mercy. Got to always have the heated moments with this great player.”

“Well you do always having that burning passion.” Brian replied. Lynn paused for a moment before setting her sights on the small boy.

“Wow, that’s a nice title for someone like me. You’re catching on with my quips little guy, I like it.”

“Thanks, I am learning from the master after all.” Brian said. Lynn chuckled and formed a happy grin before she walked up and ruffled Brian’s tiny head kindheartedly with one of her fingers. Brian chuckled back before Lynn realized what time it was.

“Shoot, it’s just about time! Wish me luck you two!”

“You know we always will.” Lucy replied as Lynn zipped out of the room. With Lynn gone Lucy now had Brian to herself, but before she could do something with him she took the time to put her special book in her special coffin. She set Brian on her bed as she got out the coffin from under it.

“Lucy, can I say something about earlier?” Brian asked.

Lucy tilted her head up as she turned the coffin’s lid.

“Yes? What’s on your mind?”

“I kind of want to apologize for not completely acting like the goth you envisioned at the convention. If we didn’t have to deal with another rift fiasco I probably would have-”

Lucy lightly giggled in her typical flat voice.

“Don’t fret Brian, there are many things beyond prediction that nobody sees coming. Tones shift, vibes come forth, we can never know what’s coming. I probably would have done the same thing if I were in your shoes…and if I had different expectations.”

“Yeah, you’re all gloomy and dark on a daily basis…besides those breaks with your sugary books.” Brian replied. “Clearly I’m not completely fit for that type of mindset.”

“One step at a time Brian. You’re just starting off, there’s still much more I have to explain.” Lucy said. “Speaking of which…here’s your next lesson.”

Right as she put her coffin back under her bed, Lucy pulled out a large object and set it next to Brian. It appeared to be just a clear glass bottle, but it was what was inside that made Brian almost lose his lunch.

“What the…are those a pair of decapitated eyes?!”

“Yes they are, straight from a deceased sheep. As a goth, I want you to understand and feel its spirit coarse through you. Let the darkness into your soul…and find the answers to how the unfortunate sheep met its end. Let your hand set on the decomposition and welcome the spirit into your mind.”

She still wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip away anytime soon.

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