The old man stands before the young girl, his soft white hair breathes of his old age while his jet-black suit and purple shirt as well as top hat breath of a stoic professionalism. "So Mr. Loud, how have you been? I believe it has been, oh I don't know, about five chapters since we last met?"
The young girl remains silent, unsure of how to respond.
"Now come on young one, it's not healthy for you to remain silent, after all, my message applies to you more than you would expect." The man speaks with a soft, almost tempting tone.
"Wh-who are you?!" Linka stammers, "Where am I?!" The young girls eyes begin to frantically search the endless void for an escape, but to no avail. She is alone in the darkness with this man.
He smiles, "Now Lincoln, don't tell me that a little more than a week is more than enough to cause you to forget about me!" Before he steps closer to the young girl, "Come on, you remember me and my message don't you?"
Linka nods, before gritting her teeth, "What do you want?! Why am I here?" Her voice fills with nervousness and fear.
"Oh ho, ho, ho!" He responds, holding onto his chest as he does so, "You're the first mortal to not scream in terror when the world fades away!" He quickly regains his composure, "You're already showing promise!"
The man then snaps his fingers as he continues, "Now come, I have much explaining to do, before it is too late of course."
Immediately, a glass-like floor appears below the girl's feet, while the void lights up with countless star-like lights.
The two people land on the newly created land and he continues, "Welcome to the inter-dimension Mr. Loud, do you recognize it?"
The young girl just looks at the man, her confusion showing on her face.
"Now, of course, I don't expect you to recognize it… after all, you aren't in one of the more stable inter-dimensional hub areas." The man then steps forward, "but that doesn't matter much, since you probably know that, correct?"
"Uhh… no?" Linka goes nervously, "I don't know anything! What's going on?!"
"Oh?" The man turns to face the young girl, a judging atmosphere filling the air between them. "It seems you really are clueless after all!" The man's voice becomes more cheery, before he snaps his fingers. A small ball of fire appears in his opposite hand, and dissipates within seconds, leaving a small stack of papers in its wake.
"Hmm…" He goes, as he quickly reads through the papers, "Interesting, very interesting…" Within seconds, he finishes and looks up at the girl, "Eureka! It seems that you've met a member of the Dimensional Anomaly Elimination Squad!" He quietly flips to the next page, "As well as… kissed your worst enemy and best friend?"
His voice becomes slightly deeper, "My, my Lincoln, you really have been busy! No wonder you forgot who I was!"
"Haha! It seems I have to explain everything to you then!" He then snaps his fingers again, causing the papers to disappear with a puff of smoke. He then stands up straight and places his hand on his chin, as if thinking, "A ha! I know!" He snaps his fingers again, this time causing a set of chairs and a table to appear between them.
"So how about we have this little info dump over a game of duel monsters?" He asks, his voice calming down, as he takes a seat in one of the chairs.
Linka hesitates for a moment, before shaking her head, "No…" she remains still, "I'd rather not… I played that game on a motorcycle a few days ago and…"
"Oh haha!" The man goes, "Card Games on motorcycles? Sounds like a weird anime!" He then snaps his fingers again, this time causing the chair closer to Linka to move back, while he motions for her to sit, "Now come, we much to discuss."
"Ok…" Linka's voice nervously trails off, "But no duel monsters! The last guy I played that game against was trying to kill me!"
The man waves her off, "Pish-posh, he wasn't trying to kill you. He was just trying to defeat you so he could seal you away for all eternity!" then he mutters, "In a misguided attempt to prevent the destruction of your world."
"What the-" Linka starts, only for the man to cut her off with, "No then, how about a different game?" He snaps his fingers, conjuring a chessboard, "How about some chess? I've heard that you love to play chess, is that true Mr. Loud?"
The young girl hesitates, and nods, "Yeah, I used to play it in the park back home." She then quietly steps over and takes a seat. The white side of the board faces her, while the black side faces William.
A moment of silence passes between the two, before he continues; "Now then, I believe I have some things to explain. So how about this…" he leans in and places his elbows on the table, covering his mouth and looking on with judging eyes as he continues, "Since you're white, how about you start this? And ask questions, anything that you desire as you do so."
The air around the girl heats up. Her mind races in excitement, "This can't be real! This seems so simple!" after close to two weeks the man before her promised the answers she so desperately desire. And so, with uncertainty filling her mind she begins, "What's your name?"
The man smiles, "Of course that's the first question you ask. Haha!" He sits back and gives a few more hearty laughs, before recomposing himself and tilting his tophat towards the girl, "My name is William Cryptos, M'lady, and I am the Guardian of Dimensions. It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Loud of Dimension C-137."
"Ok… Cryptos?"
"Please, call me William." He cuts in.
"Ok William…" Linka nervously grabs her first piece, "I move white pawn from F-2 to F-3." Her voice is filled with uncertainty, "So… can you fix all the anomalies and stuff I've been hearing about and send me home? You know, since you're the Guardian of Dimensions and stuff."
A worried look overtakes the proud man's face, "I move a black pawn, from E-7 to E-5." He then moves his hand from the piece and adjusts his tie, "As the Guardian of Dimensions, my job is to make sure that the balance between all dimensions remains stable. However…" His voice trails off and he breaks eye contact.
"Something has been tampering with the balance in a way I am having trouble setting right… cause strange occurrences everywhere."
Linka tilts her head, "Like?"
"Well for starters, you and your adolescent sisters seem to be flat chested, when in fact you should be at least starting puberty and your bodies should be developing as such."
Linka's face goes read in shock, "L-look! Our mom was a late bloomer!"
"Oh? Then why are your male counterparts fully developed at such a young age?"
"Our dad is an early bloomer!"
William sits back in his chair and laughs, "Oh ho, ho, ho!" He wipes a tear from his eye, "There is no issue with that." He recomposes himself once more, "But in all seriousness, it seems that a multitude of dimensions have been effected by whatever has been tampering with the balance.
"But what does any of this have to do with me?" The young girl hesitates on her next move, as any wrong play could lead to her swift defeat.
"You are connected to the prime anomaly in some way." The man looks her straight in the eyes, "This is why it seems the universe is bending around you. It's difficult to explain, especially to a mere mortal such as yourself."
"The prime anomaly?"
He nods, "Yes, before you came to the dimension you currently reside you came into contact with something strange and powerful. Now, of course most dimensions can handle an anomaly or two, or else every single dimension would be falling apart at the seams!"
William looks away once more, "But very few places can handle anomalies on a scale this large…"
Linka then grabs another pawn, "So why did I end up swapping places with Linka? That doesn't seem to make sense to me."
"It shouldn't, and that's where I come in." He watches Linka's movements closely as he answers, "Ever since some numbskulls from dimension 46 apostrophe backslash destroyed an entire dimension, I was tasked by the Guardian of Order himself to make sure that no dimensional counterparts can ever come into contact.
"So me taking Linka's place is your doing?"
"Yes," He nods, "And I would change your places in a heartbeat… but there is the looming issue of the prime anomaly."
"You mentioned that prime anomaly thing again, what is it? And what do it have to do with me?" She then declares, "White pawn from A-2 to A-4."
William sighs, "The prime anomaly is one of your dimensional counterparts. Specifically one that has managed to come into contact with and 'fuse' with another." Then he declares, "Black bishop, from F-8 to F-5."
"What?" Linka responds, more confusion filling her voice, "Uhh… White knight, from B-1 to A-3."
"In language a mortal of simple mind, such as yourself, would understand, "He did what you did, but somehow was able to travel between worlds without my noticing. This prevented me from removing that dimension's counterpart from the equation." He looks away and his voice gains a hint of remorse, "He was able to combine himself with another…"
Then, he grabs his next piece, "Black queen, from D-8 to H-4."
"So what happened next?"
"Like I mentioned earlier, the entire dimension fell apart at the seams." He adjusts his top hat as he continues, "Tell me, Mr. Loud, what do you remember happening before you woke up in dimension 63i apostrophe backslash?"
The young girl hesitates for a moment, before taking a deep breath and answering, "I remember the I had left the eleven boys dimension and I was making my way home…"
"Then?"
"Then…" Her voice becomes weaker, as if she herself doesn't believe what she's saying, "And then, just as I was about to enter the portal home, my watch started acting up and then *wham*!" Linka slaps her hands together, "Another version of me tackles me away from my home portal."
"Hmm…" The old man hums, "That could explain your connection to the prime anomaly. You have had direct contact with him."
Linka tilts her head.
William sits up straight and continues with a more professional voice, "You see, because of that several universes have become, for lack of better term, confused. In order to keep the balance between them stable, albeit temporarily, they have begun to 'share' resources between them."
"What do you mean by, 'sharing'?" She then grabs another piece and declares, "White knight, from A-3 to B-5."
Cryptos hesitates for a moment, before answering, "Tell me Mr. Loud, have you noticed things popping up where they typically wouldn't belong?"
His voice gains a soft authority as he continues, "For example, a familiar six-year-old appearing as your current brother's love interest?"
"So that's why she seemed so familiar!" Linka quickly thinks, "But I'm not the prime anomaly! I'm just a version of myself that wants to go home!"
"I know you're not, and I would make both yours and my life easy by just sending you home!" He grabs his face and rubs it in annoyance, "But something is messing with my powers! Worse, those idiots down at the AEU have decided to try and do my job for me and seal away the anomalies! And they will stop at nothing until their objective is met."
Linka sits back in defeat, "So I'm going to have to deal with more people like Trevor huh?"
"Now, now, you'll only have to deal with them every once in a while. After that Trevor character came along, I've been working non-stop to prevent those idiots from getting to you.
She breathes a sigh of relief; the idea of not having to worry about being sealed in a card any time soon was more than enough.
"Now that I have explained the situation, as it stands, I need you to listen carefully."
"Yeah?"
"I have a mission for you, and only you are capable of doing it currently." William then extends his hand, "If you accept, I will grant you one wish now. No tricks, no double crossing, you just have to accept a special mission."
"And if I refuse?"
"Haha!" Cryptos gives a hearty laugh, "Then you risk the destruction of your home, your sisters, your newfound brothers." He snaps his fingers, causing the world around them to change into a burning silhouette of Royal Woods, "Everything will be destroyed."
With a more pleading voice, he asks, "Mr. Loud, I would undertake this mission myself, but as a Guardian, I am not allowed to interfere directly in matters such as this. The affairs of mortals are off limits."
Then, he looks into the young girl's eyes, "Please, will you help me prevent the destruction of your world?"
"I have more-" Linka starts, yet William places a soft finger on her lips.
"Now, I know you have more questions, but all will be revealed in due time. For now, you must remember that your world, as it was, is still here. Though it's shifted slightly."
Linka nods, "Ok…"
Cryptos smiles, before outstretching his hand, "So do we have a deal?"
The young girl hesitates for a moment, and takes his hand. "I'll help you."
"Good." He whispers, before grabbing his final piece with his free hand, "Black queen, from H-4 to F-2. Checkmate."
And with that, he snaps his fingers once more, "Good game. Now, what is your wish?"
She hesitates, put off by the easy defeat she was just handed, "I want to see my sisters again."
"Heh, figures." He speaks with a joking tone, "Then I will let you watch a day in the life of Linka Loud in your body. You'll see and hear everthing she does, as well as be able to listen to her thoughts as well. Is this fine with you?"
Linka nods, "Yeah…"
"Splendid!" He happily responds, before snapping his fingers, transporting the duo to the room Lincoln had grown up in. Not much has changed since the day the real Lincoln had left. "If you need me, feel free to call!"
And with that, the old man disappeared, leaving the young girl behind to watch.
*Yawn* The young Lincoln Loud impersonator goes, as they open their young eyes and take in the scene around them, "This is the life. No need to get out of bed and help mom cook in the morning. Heh, finally getting a full night's sleep… I never thought I'd see the day."
The young boy sits up, "It's hard to believe that ten girls are so much easier to handle than ten boys!" he chuckles, "And me being the only boy is amazing! I don't have to be lady-like! I don't have to care much! And the best part-"
"Hey Lincoln! It's Clyde, come in."
"Clyde's not my only friend here." He then turns and hops out of the bed,, before taking the device in his hand and responding with a… rather suggestive tone, "Heeeyyy Clyde, it's 'Lincoln'!"
"Uhh…" Clyde responds, unsure of how to speak, "We still good for tomorrow man? You almost never want to hang out on Sundays cause… reasons I guess? You never do tell me what your family does."
"It'll be fine, I've already cleared things up with my parents, so I'll be able to head over!"
"Got it, see you then man!" Clyde cheerfully responds, and with that the line goes dead.
"Heh, that boy is cute… I wonder why he finds me so strange…" Lincoln then shakes his head, "I don't know why I ended up here, but I hope whatever caused this to happen doesn't try to fix the mistake. I'm lovin' it here!"
He then drops the device on his dresser and grabs a towel and loofa off his rack, "So I have to deal with a line to go to the bathroom? Oh well, that doesn't matter to me much! Having to wait to shower is still better than having to smell nine brothers who insist on only showering in the morning!"
Then, he opens his front door, only to reveal a smiling Leni waiting for him, "Hey Linky! The dress is ready for you to model!" Her voice is filled with excitement, "It took like all day to finish, but it'll probably fit you!"
"Got it!" The boy excitedly responds, "I'll try it on after I get washed up ok?"
Leni nods, "Ok Lincoln!"
"Where's my red fabric?!" Rita Loud shouts, only for Leni to place a finger over her own lips and bolting back to her own room.
"These girls are everything I've ever wanted from my brothers!" She happily smiles as she steps closer to the bathroom.
After a few minutes of waiting, it's finally his turn to use it, and Lori steps out.
"Hey twerp, you sure you want to join me when I go to the spa?"
The boy nods, "Yeah Lori! We literally never spend any time together, so what better way than the spa?!" While he thinks, "I always wanted to go to the spa, but mom and dad said it was too dangerous to go without one of my bros… and none of them wanted to go."
Lori pulls her phone out and begins texting, "Still, that is literally not like you. You mentioned how a trip to the spa was too girly for you… or something like that?"
Lincoln shrugs, "I've decided to give it a shot, it couldn't hurt much, could it?"
The eldest sister thinks for a moment and shrugs, "Ok then, bathroom's all yours. Enjoy."
The boy smiles and nods, before entering the small room, "So what if being the only boy out of ten girls, while being a girl before feels weird? I'd say it's still feels better than being the only girl out of ten brothers!"
With that in mind, he quickly gets in the shower, cleans himself off and hums, "And not having to worry about looking like a girly-girl has its perks!"
A few minutes later, he steps out of the bath, with his orange, Ace Savvy towel covering the entirety of his upper body.
"Hey Linc! I was…" Lynn runs up the stairs and turns to face her lone brother, before snickering, "Bro, why are you holding your towel like that?"
Lincoln tilts his head in confusion, "What do you mean Lynn?"
"Haha!" She motions at the towel, "You're holding the towel like a girl! It's not like you've got something to hide up there right?"
"N-no…" the boy nervously responds.
"Then, let me help you with that!" Lynn then grabs the towel and pulls it down… causing Lincoln to lose his grip and the towel to fall to the ground, exposing his nude body.
Lynn's face goes red in embarrassment, as does Lincoln's, "Lynn!" He shouts in annoyance, before grabbing the towel and running over to his own room.
"Though… Lynn is so different here. She outright bullies me now…" Lincoln leans up against his door, "It's weird… back home he was so distant from me. Now I can't seem to get away!"
"Hey Lincoln." Lucy appears in front of the partially nude boy, holding a set of underwear, "You should put these on. You know it's not polite to show your… parts off to your sisters."
The boy's face goes even redder, before he grabs the underpants and slides into them.
The Gothic girl then pulls out a set of papers, "I took your advice and tried to put more story into my poems…" Her voice trails off .
"And?" The young boy asks, his curiosity peaked, "How is it going?"
Lucy gives a faint smile in response, "I think it's turning out really good, would you like to hear what I've made?"
Lincoln smiles, before turning and grabbing his clothes, "Sure Lucy, poem away!"
Though I feel the sands of time, as they pass through the hourglass.
Though I can hear your heart as it beats next to mine.
Though I feel your spirit as it passes on to the great beyond.
I know that one day our flames will die out.
I know that one day life will become too much.
I know that one day we may not meet again.
And yet, I look inside and my heart, we will never be far apart
"That was beautiful Lucy." Lincoln responds, wiping the soft tears that had formed during her poem, before he pulls his Gothic sister into soft embrace, "You took the idea of poem writing and made it great! I knew you could do it!"
While he thinks, "Lars never asked me for story advice!"
Lucy blushes in embarrassment, before she returns the hug, "Thanks Lincoln… How did you know that I needed to solve my problem by adding a story to it?"
"Uhh," The boy nervously responds, before responding with a heartfelt tone, "I guess it's just your older brothers instincts, no biggie!"
"Thanks. You're the best Lincoln." Lucy responds with a more upbeat version of her typical monotone before disappearing as abruptly as she arrived.
"Heh. I guess Lucy and Lars are two sides of the same coin." Lincoln rubs the back of his head, "Though, I didn't expect Lucy to write poems… I wonder why that is."
Then he turns and opens the door, "It feels great not having to worry about my parents and their rules! I'm going to enjoy this as much as I can!" Then the young boy runs over to his eldest sister's rooms with, "Hey Leni, I'm ready to try that dress on!"
"Like, that's awesome!" The ditzy girl happily responds, "It's all ready for you to try on!"
She then lifts up a small stack of clothes, "Here ya go Lincoln!"
Lincoln takes the pile with a wide smile, "Thanks Leni!"
"No problem Lincoln!" Leni's excitement turns to curiosity with that, "You sure ou wanna try this stuff on? It's really girly and stuff."
He nods, "Yeah Leni, I'd love to model! It looks great and who better than to show it off than your little bro?!"
"Ok then!" She goes, "Go change, I'll be outside." And with that, she steps out of the room.
"Leni's awesome, just like Loni. I can't believe she loves making dresses though, Loni was more focused on construction and stuff… he rarely dabbled in clothing design."
A few minutes later, Lincoln stands on the small modeling stage Leni has, and begins to show off. The dress is pink with a white under bottom, a red bow on the chest, frilly white shoulder covers and a set of fake wings attached to the back. "Wow, this feels great Leni!"
Leni thinks for a moment, "Yeah, I agree! But I feel like it's missing something." She thinks for a moment and snaps her fingers in realization, "I know!" And with that, she runs over to her dresser and pulls out a set of stockings, shoes and the accompanying pink bonnet, "Put these on!" then, she throws them over to the young boy.
And Lincoln doesn't hesitate to put on the remaining clothing.
"Wow!" Lincoln shouts, "I feel like I'm a real anime girl!"
"Really?!" Leni goes in excitement; "I got the design from a weird card girl name Sakura!"
The boy blushes, "Thanks Leni, this dress feels great! Anyone would be lucky enough to have this!"
"Aww, really?" Leni goes affectionately, "Then why don't you take it? Since you seem to really like it?"
"No Leni… I couldn't… You worked so hard on this!" Lincoln responds with a concerned tone, but Leni places a motherly hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry about it. Take it. It's yours."
The boy blushes, and hugs his sister, "Thanks Leni."
"No problem Linky."
And with that, he breaks the embrace and bolts out of the room, before running into his own, passing Luna and Luan as he does so.
"Weird… Why did Lincoln run by in a dress?" Luan turns to Luna while the rock star strums her guitar.
"You think that's strange?" Luna casually responds, "That's the least weird thing he's done in the past two weeks!"
"What do you mean sis?" Luna raises an eyebrow in curiousity. "It's not like he's becoming a doctor strange! Am I right?"
Luna just face palms at the sheer bad that Luan's pun was, before she answers, "Clyde told me that he kissed his cheek after he helping him with something… I forgot what. And he didn't know why."
Luan thinks for a moment, "It's probably nothing, after all, boys will be boys. He probably meant nothing of it."
That's when Lisa walks into the hallway, "Older siblings, have you noticed odd behavior coming from our male sibling?"
The two sisters look at each other for a moment, before turning back to Lisa and answering, "Yeah."
Lisa adjusts her glasses, "Good, that mean's I am not the only one who noticed."
She then pulls out a strange, silver device, "A few days ago I made Lincoln a device that could let him travel to alternate realities." She starts messing with its dials and continues, "Ever since he came home from that adventure, time anomalies have begun to pop up."
"What do you mean?" Luna tilts her head in confusion.
The four-year-old scientist turns and motions for her sisters to follow her inside her room, before walking inside herself. "You see, ever since Lincoln returned home, the multiverse has been going on the fritz in a way. It's becoming confused and unstable. And things like logic are not making sense."
"And is that why Lincoln is acting so weird?" Luan asks.
Lisa hesitates for a moment, before typing away at her computer, "I would assume so, that's the only reason why things that he hated with a burning passion before now don't faze him at all."
Her voice trails off uncertainly.
"Or?" Luna asks.
"That, or our brother would rather be our sister." Lisa types away at the computer, "And if you haven't seen the Internet lately, I believe he will be in more danger than you would expect him to be."
"So why don't you just fix the anomalies and fix his behavior?" Luan goes worriedly, yet Lisa shakes her head.
"I wish it were that easy sisters, but I don't know how to fix dimensional anomalies." She then hands the two girls papers, "The only way I can think of possibly rectifying this issue is making another inter-dimensional watch, and use it to cancel out the original. Then there is a possibility that Lincoln can be returned to normal."
Luan and Luna look at each other, while Lisa continues, "I need you to get me those parts so I can build the watch."
Luan then turns back to her younger sister, "Why can't you do it?"
Lisa motions at the computer, "Because I have to stay behind and monitor the anomalies… as well as Lincoln's current condition. I considered doing this myself, but due to the very scope of this catastrophe, I need your help."
Then, with begging eyes she continues, "I need you to get all of those parts, and watch out for anything that seems out of the ordinary. Lincoln's well-being depends on it!"
"Wanna do it Luan?" Luna asks, and Luan nods in response. "Sure Luna… but after we hang out with Lincoln like we promised."
"Thank you." Lisa takes a sigh of relief, and the two older sisters walk out of the room without another word.
"Ok… now I just need to figure out the source of these anomalies." Lisa takes another deep breath, before looking at her computer with determined eyes, "Hopefully I can help Lincoln before it's too late." And with that, she returns to her desk and gets to work.
Hopefully, she'll be able to do something before it is too late.
A few minutes later…
Lola walks into Lincoln's room. "Hey Lincoln!" She starts, only for eyes to fall upon her overly dressed brother.
"Uhh… Lincoln?" Lola goes with confusion, "What's going on with you?"
"Oh nothing!" The young boy turns to her, putting on a nervous smile as he does so, "I'm just helping Leni out with her latest dress and all!" Then, he kneels down and pinches her cheek, "What brings you to my humble abode sis?"
"Uhh… I just wanted to see if you could help me out with my pageant stuff…" She motions to her dress, "I have a competition to do and I need some help getting ready."
"Heh, just like Lexx." The young boy thinks, "He always asked me for help getting ready for his acting gigs." He then responds, "Sure Lola, what's the first thing you need me to do?"
The young girl thinks for a moment, before turning around and motioning at her dress once again, "Would you mind fixing my dress Linc? It's really messed up." The dress is a complete disaster, with wrinkles and a random assortment of decorations strewn about. It seems as if Lola had forgotten to properly set it up before putting it on.
Lincoln smiles, "Sure Lola." Before taking hold of the soft dress and pulling, fixing it completely.
"There ya go, my little princess." Lincoln affectionately goes, before looking Lola in the eyes, "Go get em' tiger."
"Thanks Lincoln!" she nervously responds. Before turning and quietly stepping out of the room.
Almost immediately after that, Lana comes in running with, "Hey Lincoln! Would you mind telling me what you think of my mud pies?!"
For a moment the boy stands by, unsure of what to say, but after composing himself, he smiles and says, "Sure Lana." While he thinks, "That's disgusting! But not as disgusting as Leif! I think he rolled around in feces once!"
And with that, the young girl lifts up a pile of moist earth. "What do you think?" She excitedly asks.
"I think it looks great!" Lincoln responds.
Lana smiles, "Thanks Lincoln! And nice dress by the way!" before turning and running out of the room.
"Heh, that was interesting." he quips and blushes, before looking up at the clock, "Huh, it looks like it's time for me to go hang out with Luna and Luan."
And with that, he walks out of the room, and over to that of the comedian and the musician. "Hey girls!" he greets, "It's time for our music and joke time!"
"Hey bro!" Luna motions for him to come over, and he complies.
"Nice dress." Luan nervously adds, "I guess I can a dress you next!"
Lincoln chuckles, "That's still better than Lane's horrible, painful puns." The boy takes a quick look at Luna's instruments and declares, "Uhh… Luna, I'm not sure how to play these…"
"Don't worry bro, just pick one and have fun!" Luna assures, "After all, it's what Mick Swagger always says!"
"Huh, ok then." He nervously, goes, before grabbing a trumpet and playing random notes as hard as he can.
After a few painful moments, Luna pulls the instrument away from the boy and rubs the back of her head awkwardly, "Heh, I think we should try something else… how about the Bassoon instead?"
"Ahh Luna, but you know he doesn't like bass!"
"Still better than Lane!"
And so, the young boy attempts to play the new instrument… only for the instrument to spray him with water.
Luan and Luna both hit their beds and laugh, with Luan saying, "That was hilarious Luna!"
"Wow, you've got to tell me how to set that up later Luan!" Lincoln happily raises the water cannon instrument and fires, spraying his laughing sisters with water.
A few minutes later and the entire room is covered with both pies and liquids… as well as having Luna's instruments strewn about.
Lincoln smiles, "Well that was fun guys! I'm going to be in my room with you need me!" Before he walks out of the room.
"Heh…" Luna calmly goes, "I think I like Lincoln like this…"
A few hours later…
"Lincoln! Come on, it's time to go!" Lori shouts, her voice filling with impatience and annoyance, "What's taking so long?! If you don't hurry up I'll leave you behind!"
"Coming! The young boy shouts, before sliding down in the dress Leni had given him. He stretches for a moment, before declaring, "I'm ready for the spa, Lori!"
"Haha!" Lori laughs, "Lincoln, put on your normal clothes, you look like a girl!"
The boy's face goes flush in embarrassment, while he thinks, "Oops… I guess I miss wearing dresses a bit too much…"
And with that, he turns and rushes back up the stairs. A few minutes after that, he slides down the stairs once more, this time wearing his signature orange polo and blue jeans."
"There ya go." Lori lovingly goes, before taking Lincoln's hand and saying, "Now come on bro, the spa awaits!"
Lincoln smiles, "Awesome!" And with that, the two walk out the front door.
A few minutes later, the duo is resting at the Royal Woods spa.
"You know Lincoln, you've been really open lately." Lori calmly states as she rests back against the spa resting pool.
"What can I say." Lincoln nervously responds, "I've just felt like talking to you guys more. Like I can relate and stuff."
Lori smiles, "You know Lincoln, if you have anything you want to talk about, you can tell me, right?"
"Right." he answers, still nervous and unsure.
"I'm still your favorite sister?" she calmly asks, before placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah…" His voice sadly trails off, "I just… I feel more comfortable like well…" He looks away, "Like a girl."
Lori hesitates for a moment, "I see." She then pulls her only brother into a hug, "Don't worry Lincoln, I won't tell anyone else, ok?"
"Thanks Lori." He responds, "I was worried that that you would panic and call me a freak."
"Heh, don't mention it twerp." Lori playfully responds, "You're my brother, and nothing will change that."
"Sister."
Lori is held aback, unsure of how to respond. Yet she holds her bearing and responds, "Sister. You're my sister and nothing will change that."
A few hours later, they return home, where they have a quiet dinner, with Lincoln doing his best to be laid back. After all, his parents didn't expect as much from him as they did Linka.
After dinner, they head off to bed and begin to sleep the night away.
"William!" Linka shouts, before taking a relieved, though pained, sigh, "I think I've seen enough." then she whispers, "My family's safe… for now. And they don't even know that I'm gone..." A sharp pain burrows into the young girl's chest as she stares at her counterpart.
"Splendid!" William steps into view, "That means we can begin your mission."
"What's the mission?"
William pulls a black sphere with a golden casing from his coat, "This is the Matter Key, you will use this to obtain parts of the Macguffin."
"The Mac-"
"It's a device I will be able to use to repair the dimensional anomalies." He hands the sphere over to her, "Equip it to your dimensional watch and it will do the rest."
Linka nervously nods, "Ok then... anything else I need to know?"
The man chuckles, "Of course, there are four parts that must be collected, then the gateway to the reality core will be allowed to open. Only then can we prevent the destruction of your world... and send you home my dear child."
She takes the orb in her hands and begins to inspect it, unsure of what else to do. "How will I find these parts? And why aren't you doing this work?"
"That orb will begin to react when you near one of the parts. I will guide you along your path… only when it is necessary." Then he breaks eye contact, "As I have mentioned before, I would do this myself, but us entities are not allowed to meddle in the affairs of mere mortals."
"Ok…" Her voice trails off uncertainly.
"For now, go and live your life. You've still got more revelations to see of course." Then he kneels down to her height, "To find these pieces you must explore the… unexplored. The first fragment exists in a room of secrets."
The young girl quietly examines the device, "Care to tell me what you mean by that?"
The old man nods, "Oh, ho, ho! Of course not! If I told you exactly where to find the items then what fun would there be? Do you take this mission on or should I search for someone else?"
She hesitates for a moment, weighing her possible options, before steeling her nerves, "This may be the only chance I have to get home. I have to take it!" Then, she inspects the orb closer, "And hopefully, stop the world from falling apart." And so, with an uncertain demeanor, the young girl nods, "Yes, I'll do it."
"Splendid! Then our deal is set!" His voice resonates with a mysterious excitement, before he places a hand on Linka's abdomen, "Now then, I believe your next adventure will involve a body part centered around here."
Linka tilts her head in confusion as the shadows begin to absorb the man. "Farewell Mr. Loud! I will speak with you again, soon!"
"Strange…" Linka calmly thinks, "I wonder what he meant by that…" Suddenly, a wet feeling engulfs her lower body.
"Crap..."