30. Chapter 30

Hero here with the Author Notes!

I wanna thank everyone for the warm welcome. It's scary joining such a successful project in the middle of it, but everyone made me feel like I didn't mess everything up on my first try. Which is much better than I expected! Everyone seemed to really dig the way I wrote Sid and the friendly orb. Which is awesome, cause I had a lot of fun writing them both lol Can't wait to get back to writing them.

Taking on this Luan arc was weird at first, cause I had the barebones of a structure but no roadmap of where to go. However, I think I found a pretty interesting direction to take, and I can't wait to show you guys the next couple of chapters. Be aware, however, that we still have the little Lori/Lisa sidearc going on. We havent' figured out yet when we'll get back to it (maybe after we finish the Luan arc), but keep it in mind; it's still ongoing.

zarc94: The rating got lowered because Siege is a fool. Worry not my dear readers, I shall write at least one chapter just to get him to backtrack and truly earn the M rating we were all promised. But everything in due time.DYN: I blushed like crazy having such wonderful words coming from senpai. All I can say is thank you, but I also gotta give credit where credit's due: the idea that Lincoln was tasked to work on Sid's house came from Auto. He wrote that cliffhanger in chapter 27. I just saw that and figured out a way to continue it.ThanosGaming: He's always been portrayed as a biological member of the family.The PhantomHokage: While we have plans for Stella and Girl Jordan, the focus of this story is Lincoln and his sisters, with the odd blonde bombshell throw in there as well for good measure. And Ronnie Anne will play a major role in the events going forward.

"Everyone, let's give it up for Luan Loud!"

The sound of applause flooded the room as the audience erupted in vocal praise for her. Luan allowed herself a second or two to stand under the spotlight, hands behind her back, and relish in the ovation. Half the people in the room stood up, the smiles on their faces flashing like cameras, all eyes on her, and she loved it.

She glanced at the people in the first row. Every smile was genuine, she could tell thanks to the wrinkles around their eyes. Many of them had their cheeks dampened with their tears of joy that they wiped to the best of their ability. One guy was buying a drink to the Healer Archetype that saved him from choking with chicken wings after a particularly funny pun.

It had been far too long since she had last enjoyed a standing ovation. She missed the sense of accomplishment, the swelling pride in her chest, the powerful motivation to go back to her room and spend hours working on new material to get ready for the next presentation. She knew these feelings were fleeting, that tonight had been an exception. Which was why she allowed herself a few precious seconds to simply stand there and savor her victory.

With a flourish of her arms, she bowed, feeling her ponytail bob to the side of her face and smiling when the applause went up in volume. She then waved her hands at the audience and exited the stage, giving the host of the open mic a high-give on her way out. She had no plans for the rest of the night, but one thing was for sure: it would take her a long time to fall asleep tonight.

"Ms. Loud!" A woman in her early twenties called her, approaching with her phone in hand. "You were hilarious out there! I loved your puns and your silly attitude! Mind if we take a selfie?"

She felt like she'd been offered an interview on national television.

"Thank you! I try not to take myselfie so seriously!"

The woman laughed and they both posed for a picture.

"Tag me when you post it! I'm LuanOutLoud2!"

"Why the two?"

A somber shadow crossed Luan's face as she clenched her fist. "Someone in Illinois snatched the original one from me. They don't even use it! The last thing they posted was a funny cat video six months ago!"

"Oh. Well, good luck with everything!"

The women left, but soon other patrons approached her to ask for more selfies and autographs, and she spent the next fifteen minutes talking with them and giving them what they asked for. Luan loved every single minute of it.

She was an accomplished Exorcist that had saved Royal Woods from multiple demonic threats, but given that those tended not to be as flashy as fighting Soulless, she didn't enjoy the same public exposure and adoration her sisters did. And in a way, that made her jealous. She craved attention, the spotlight, the center stage, the awards, and interviews. But no matter how many houses and temples she cleansed, no matter how many specters she sent back to the underworld, she would never make it on the headline.

Luan loved seeing Lori, Leni, Luna, and Lynn getting the praise they deserved. She felt happy for them, and they had her full support. Still, sometimes she wished she could join them in the spotlight, be as successful as them. And above everything else, she wished her Archetype would allow her to make other people smile daily. If it would, then maybe it would be easier to accept that she wasn't meant to be on the headlines.

But no, the Index had had different plans for her. Her Archetype wasn't the kind that would put smiles on people's faces, and it didn't even offer her attention and fame in return. Overall, it took everything from Luan and offered very little in exchange. She knew it wasn't the end of the world, it wasn't that uncommon for people to feel disconnected or disenchanted by their Archetypes. She would figure it out, eventually.

In the meantime, however, she would have to settle with every little opportunity she found to unleash her talent and live her former, shattered dreams.

That, and the thousand pranks she still made her siblings go through. She had way too many material and physical gags that she wasn't able to use on strangers anymore, so her siblings were her only outlet.

Especially Lincoln, who was so easy to prank. He fell for every single trap and set-up she put on for him. And unlike their older sisters, who would use their powers to make her pay for her antics, he would still allow her to help clean him up, or bandage him if needed. He would give her the cold shoulder for a while, crossing his arms over his chest, frowning away from her, keeping his lips pursed in an adorable pout. But with just a few minutes of her wiping the cream away from his face, toweling his hair clean, and cuddling him like a teddy bear, he would always, every single time, forgive her and smile back at her.

And that smile was worth more than any spotlight she could think of.

When the patrons had enough selfies and autographs from her, and after earning several new followers and subscribers to her channel, Luan went back to her seat on the table where Giggles was still waiting for her.

"So, do I still have it or what?" She smugly said as she sat down and grabbed a glass of water.

"Luan, you were amazing!" Her younger friend said, looking delighted and amazed. "Completely on fire! That was such a great routine!"

"Thank you!"

Giggles then pulled out a notebook and a pen, opening it up and showing it to Luan.

"I took a bunch of notes for my future routines. I loved how down to Earth you made it this time, and how relatable while still keeping the exaggerated comedic elements. Where did you come up with the idea of a stoic, perpetually-angry girl that is so against showing any sense of happiness or enjoyment?"

"Oh, well, that's a funny story! You see, I—"

They were interrupted by two pieces of a clipboard being thrown violently on their table. Giggles jumped in surprise. Luan, used to scare jumps thanks to her job, barely flinched, the smug grin returning to her face when she noticed who was standing next to them.

"You owe me fifty bucks and a clipboard," said Maggie, pointing a finger at the broken piece of plywood.

"Aw, come on," Luan said, leaning forward and resting her chin on both of her hands. "You didn't laugh even once?"

"No."

"No to the fact that you didn't laugh? So you did?"

"I— Wait, what? Then yes."

"Yes, you did? Well, awesome! You can join us for dinner then," Luan said, scooting over to give her room to sit on a chair to her left.

Maggie opened her mouth and then proceeded to close it, rolling her eyes.

"Nice try. But you failed. Your routine was terrible and I didn't even smile. So pay up."

"Alright, alright, I'm not a sore loser," Luan conceded. "I will pay you… with a fifty-dollar dinner."

Maggie squinted her eyes.

"That was not the deal."

"Well, you work here, don't you? So the money I spend goes to you, in a way. And I'm saving you fifty bucks from having to buy your dinner, so I'm still doing my part of the deal."

The emo girl pressed both hands on the table and leaned forward, her face inches away from Luan's.

"Look, Loud. I don't know what you're trying to do here, but we made a bet. You can't weasel your way out of it. You're not gonna convince me to have dinner with you, you hear me? Not in a million years."

Luan smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"I can't believe you convinced me to have dinner with you," Maggie said, enjoying the first taste of her portion of fries.

"She can be very persuasive," Giggles mentioned, eating a slice of pizza. "Having to persuade entities to leave certain places is part of her job."

"I can tell. Those jokes were terrible, anyone with any amount of self-respect would leave the restaurant right away."

"Hey!" Luan complained, flicking a fry at Maggie's face, much to the freckled girl's annoyance. "She means my other job, not my work as a comedian."

"Oh. So you have two jobs?"

"Well, technically I only have one job. Being a comedian is something I do for fun."

"At least you are having fun, unlike— Ouch! If you throw another fry at me, I'm going to actually murder you."

"Enough talk about me," Luan said, grabbing a slice of pizza for herself. "What's such a gloomy girl doing in a restaurant that hosts Open Mic sessions?"

"My mom's the owner," Maggie groaned, stabbing five fries with her fork. "And she thinks fifteen's the right age for me to start earning my own money."

"Gosh, I wish I could earn my own money," Giggles mentioned. "But so far the only place I've been able to work with my Jester Archetype are my cousins' birthday parties. The work's a piece of cake, but so's the pay."

"Hey, you'll get there, Gigs. It took me until I was fourteen to start making some regular cash with my Funny Business Inc."

"So you're also a Jester Archetype?" Maggie asked. "I noticed you left the Archetype line blank on your registration."

"Oh, uh, no, I'm not," Luan replied, sitting straighter and having a quick drink to keep her mouth busy as she thought on how to say it. "I'm actually in a different… guild."

"The Clowns Guild? I heard the syndicate there is brutal. Only one car for every twenty-five Clowns."

"No, no that one. I'm…"

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"I'm an Exorcist."

Maggie stopped eating and threw a long look at Luan. She scrutinized her face for several seconds until she wiped her mouth with a napkin and pointed a finger at her. "Not gonna lie, that one almost got me. But seriously, what's your Archetype?"

Luan bristled, feeling slightly offended. "I'm serious. My Archetype is Exorcist. I studied the Classic Christian and the Miko sub-type. You know, a Japanese priestess? With red pants and white robes?"

"So you work with ghosts?"

"I work with supernatural entities. So yeah, ghosts, but also specters, demons, shadows, orbs, will-o-wisps. All that sorta stuff."

"And how do you go from that to making puns?"

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with people branching out," Giggles intervened, trying to defend Luan.

"No, she's right," Luan said with a sad smile. "I mean, it is kinda crazy. Both things don't really go along together. But… I don't know. I didn't choose my Archetype, so I'm still getting used to it. But ever since I was a kid, I knew I loved making people laugh and smile. My little brother used to watch lots of scary shows about ghosts and stuff. He loved them, but at night he would get so scared he couldn't even go to bed. So I would go there with him, and I would make him laugh so much he'd forget what he was afraid of. That's when I knew I wanted to do that: make people happy."

She looked at her drink, and her mind went to those happy memories with Lincoln. She'd spent her entire childhood trying to entertain and make her siblings laugh, but for some reason, Lincoln had been to one to make her feel that she wanted to make a career out of it. Luan smiled. She owed him so much…

And even more after tonight. He'd given her the chance to be there, chasing after her dream if only for one night. She'd suggested trying the Genre Shift thing almost like a last resource, a desperate reach. She didn't seriously expect him to say yes, but once again, her little brother had surprised her for the best.

She wondered how he would be holding up.

"I swear to God, it's not what you think!" Lincoln screamed, his arms and legs tied together by a magic, glowing rope, as he tried to crawl away from Sid's room like a worm.

The entire room looked like a warzone. Open pillows, feathers, sheets of paper, and plushies flew around on a mini-tornado, all of them trying to cover Lincoln from the raging, glowing eyes of a very angry bruja. A metal file was floating next to him, furiously rubbing against his bindings, trying to set him free.

"He's right, it's all a misunderstanding!" Sid added, her blushing face a mess as she kept trying to hold Ronnie Anne's hands above her head to stop her from shooting witch bolts and spells at Lincoln. "He was just trying to get rid of my troubles by showing me how his Archetype works!"

The whole room went quiet for a second. The K-Pop magazine that was floating in the air in front of Ronnie Anne rolled up and hit Sid in the back of her head once again. Lincoln, from his position on the floor, slowly turned his head to look at his former friend.

He didn't like what he saw. The file started to work faster.

"Abracadabra, patas de cabra…" Ronnie Anne began to enchant, her hands glowing with a bright green before a blanket flew from Sid's bed and covered her face, keeping her from finishing her spell.

Lincoln kept crawling like a scared burrito, desperate to get to the exit.

Yeah, he was probably having a good time, Luan concluded.

"So you're an Exorcist but you want to work as a comedian?" Maggie asked.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"I think you're going to be the best comedian in town when you do it," Giggles said, showing Luan her full support.

"Thank you, Gigs. I really hope so. I like being an Exorcist too, but if I could choose? I'd choose to work on comedy gigs all the way."

"Then why don't you do it?"

Luan looked at Maggie. "What do you mean?"

"If you enjoy that more than doing exorcisms, then do that instead."

"It's not that simple."

"Seems pretty simple to me."

"It's easier to get a job where your Archetype helps you," she explained, sounding defeated. "I haven't found a single business owner that's willing to let someone with my Archetype do comedy shows."

"Well, look no further!" A strong voice said behind them.

In the time it took Luan to turn around, she noticed three things. One, some real heavy steps were coming closer to them. Two, a formidable shadow fell on the table. And three, Maggie groaned and covered her face with her hands the moment she heard the voice.

When she finally turned around, she was surprised to find herself staring at a woman's midsection. She had to tilt her head up —way up—, her eyes scanning over every inch of a powerful body barely covered by a thin blouse, to finally meet the woman's eyes. The woman, with curly, red hair, and skin the color and toughness of bronze, looked down at the table from her eight feet point of view. She wore casual clothes, but her strong muscles made the blouse and the jeans look as skin-tight as Lori's spandex.

Luan didn't like assuming people's Archetypes, but the body type of the women and the metal tiara that she wore on her forehead reminded her of Carol Pingrey, and she knew what that meant.

Amazons were quite a rarity in Royal Woods. They usually kept to themselves on their island, with the rare exception of those that were born outside of it (like Carol herself) or the bravest and toughest of them all, that went around the world to help humanity with their unmatched warrior skills. It would be an understatement to say that Amazons were considered to be extremely beautiful women. Other girls and regular women used to think less of them due to the rumors of what they did with men on their islands. Men pretended to be mad and disgusted by those rumors as well, but you could never tell by looking at the way they stared at Amazons whenever they had the chance.

Right then, for example, all conversations seemed to have stopped, and all eyes were fixed on the obelisk of a woman.

"Hi, there!" The woman said, extending a hand to Luan. "I'm the owner of this place. I see you've met my daughter already."

Luan accepted the lady's hand, terrified for a moment, but finding out that her grip was quite gentle. She glanced at Maggie, noticing that the emo girl looked visibly embarrassed.

"I haven't seen my little Maggie-boo hanging out with friends since forever, you must have such a charming personality to get her to have dinner with you!"

"Oh, yes, I think we're getting along really well," Luan said, grinning at Maggie's obvious discomfort.

"I believe that. Word got to me that a certain young lady killed it at the open mic event. Would that be you, Ms. Loud?"

"Oh, well, I wouldn't like to adjectivize my own performance…"

"Yes, she totally killed it!" Giggles said for her. The Amazon grinned at Luan.

"I see. I couldn't see your act myself, but I've had many of my most trustworthy clients asking for you to return. I've even got one of my investors saying he almost died choking on a chicken wing because of one of your puns."

"Uh, sorry?"

"He loved it! And he told me that he'd be willing to sponsor a weekly Open Mic segment. And, well, it seems like a no-brainer to try to get you as a regular since you were the one to inspire him. So whaddya think? Wanna have a regular gig here at the restaurant?"

"A regular gig?!" Said Luan, Giggles, and Maggie at the same time, each of them with a certain emotion to it. Confusion, excitement, and vexation.

"Yeah!" The woman said with a confident grin.

"But… just like that? After one performance?" Luan questioned, having trouble processing the idea. Was it some kind of joke? Was Luna finally getting back to her for the one time she made her believe Sam was pregnant?

"There's a saying in my homeland: if you think too much before shooting the arrow, the dinosaurs will go away."

"That sounds nothing like a saying," Maggie mentioned, looking disinterested.

"You hunt dinosaurs in your homeland?!" Luan asked in disbelief.

"You are what you eat; you tiny people eat turkey, we eat the most vicious predators on the planet," the Amazon said, flexing her arms, causing her biceps to almost rip her blouse apart, to the delight of the clientele. "But yes, I'm serious. I've heard nothing but good things about your routine, and if an investor's willing to sponsor it, why not give it a shot? So whaddya say? Wanna get a regular thing going on here?"

It finally clicked to Luan that this was a serious job offer. An opportunity to perform every week, showing her new material to an audience outside of her family. A chance to get to experience the rush of joy and gratification she'd just felt not thirty minutes ago. It felt too good to be true, and yet even after discreetly pinching her arm, she didn't wake up.

She almost screamed yes, but something in the back of her mind kept her from agreeing right away. She couldn't just take on a job offer like that. It would most likely be a nightly gig, and most of her nights were busy doing Exorcist work. She would need to talk to her Guild and figure out a schedule that worked for everyone. Her preferences were clear, but she couldn't dismiss her obligations. She was one of the most capable Exorcists in Royal Woods, and people counted on her to deal with certain threats.

"I, uh… I'm happy about the offer! It's so cool and generous of you! I'm gonna need a day or two to think about it, though. Is that alright?"

"Sure, no problem. But you know, there's a saying in my homeland about—"

"You just talked about it," Maggie interrupted her.

Her mother blinked in surprise. "Oh, I guess I did. Anyway, I'll be expecting a response from you sooner rather than later, Ms. Loud."

And with that, the colossal woman stood up, ruffled Maggie's hair much to the girl's annoyance, and proceeded to walk back to her office, dragging the eyes of most of the patrons with her. Giggles squealed in excitement as soon as the Amazon was out of hearing range and began celebrating for Luan.

The young Exorcist, however, wasn't sure how to feel right then.

"So, uh, I guess this is the first official meeting of the Louds Club," Lincoln said with some hesitation.

"Hell yeah! Let's go, team!" Lynn yelled, grabbing a bottle of champagne she'd bought specifically for this moment, and flicked a finger with enough force to pop it open, sending the cork like a projectile that Lincoln barely managed to dodge.

Unfortunately, aside from Luan, there was no one else in the empty classroom, so her cheering and enthusiasm got no response. They were occupying the only three chairs in the room, which had one (1) handmade sign that read "LOUD CLUB" taped on a wall. Not even a table had been provided to them since Lynn had forgotten to tell Lincoln that she'd written him down as the President of the club, and it was his job to do all the paperwork to ask for stuff.

"Why am I the President?" He had asked her the previous night, sitting on her back as she did two-fingers push-ups. "Shouldn't you be the President, since you came up with the idea and all?"

"I'm already President of a bunch of other Clubs, and I already hate filling up those forms and whatnot to get us more balls and training dummies. So nope, hard pass from me. I'm gonna go a little faster now, hold on," she warned him.

Lincoln leaned forward and put his hands on her shoulders, feeling her muscles tensing right before she started to increase the speed of her push-ups. It felt like riding a mechanical bull. A cute, toned, familiar mechanical bull and he blushed and looked away from her exposed neck before weird thoughts could start forming in his mind.

"What about Luan?"

"She's got a lot going on. Besides, I thought you'd like to be President. It's a start for your reputation at the Academy: Lincoln Loud, President of the Loud Club. Gonna get a lot of girls impressed in no time. They're gonna beg to join us."

"The last thing I need right now is to impress girls," he mumbled, thinking about what Ron— about what people would say if the Harem King got girls into his club. "I think I'm happy to stick with you for now."

And that's when the mechanical bull pushed so hard he face-planted on the floor. She apologized, but for some reason, her face was as red as her clothes.

Back to the present, the three Louds sat on their respective chairs, the older and younger members looking at the middle one pouring champagne on three glasses.

"Lynn, we're minors, we can't drink," he said.

"Oh, come on! We're celebrating!"

"It's illegal!"

"It's fun!"

"We're in school!"

"Oh, come on, don't be such a prude. What's the worst that could happen? We get a little tipsy and decide to play 'spin the bottle'?" She laughed for a couple of seconds before something clicked in her head, and proceeded to quickly fill Lincoln's glass.

"I'm with Lincoln, we could get in trouble. Besides, you've never had alcohol before," Luan pointed out.

"Which is why this would be a special moment for all of us!" Lynn said although she seemed to realize she was outnumbered, and thus she put the bottle and glasses aside. "Fiiiiine. I just wanted to celebrate our club."

"We can celebrate by… uh… figuring out what we want to do now that we're here?" Lincoln suggested, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, seriously, what are we supposed to do in this club?" Luan asked, looking at Lynn.

"I mean, hang out?" She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Everyone's super busy all day long, we barely get to hang out and talk about our days. I thought it'd be cool to have a little bit of Loud-bonding time."

Lincoln smiled at the idea. Lynn was right, all his sisters (the older ones, at least) were constantly busy patrolling, kicking ass, and taking names, and by the time they were home, they didn't have as much time to spare as they used to when they were all younger. It hadn't reached a point where he felt terribly sad about it, since they all still did everything they could to make him feel loved, but he would be lying if he said he wouldn't take any chance to spend more time with them.

Especially the ones next to him right then. He'd managed to find some unexpected time with Lori, Leni, and Luna so far, but he felt like he could still use more time with Luan and Lynn.

"I'm cool with that," he said, finally, smiling at his sisters. "I like the idea of us just hanging out. Nothing to worry about, nothing to interrupt us or—"

"Attention please, this is an urgent report from the Royal Woods Defense Commission" the voice of Principal Huggins boomed from the speakers in the halls. "The infamous villain Kaargra Warfang has taken over the city's baseball stadium and has declared it her Colosseum. Tonight's game will be canceled until further notice. Lynn Loud Jr., you've been called by the Commission to answer to this threat. You are excused for the rest of the day's activities. Godspeed and good luck. End of the announcement."

Lynn groaned and stood up, looking pissed.

"If she touches that field and keeps me from playing tonight, I'll make sure she regrets coming back to town," she mentioned before grabbing a scrunchie from her wrist, undoing her ponytail, and tying her hair up in two buns. She gave her siblings an apologetic look before turning it to a confident smirk. "Sorry to bounce off, you guys, but I'm sure this'll make for a cool story to talk about in our next meeting!"

"No problem, Lynn. Go get her!" Lincoln said.

Lynn waved a hand before she sprinted off the room so fast she created a shockwave in the air.

"So, uh… Guess it's only you and me," Luan said a few seconds later.

"Yeah, I guess so! So tell me, how was the Open Mic thing? We didn't get to talk about it last night."

"Oh, it was amazing!" Luan said, closing her eyes and almost shaking with excitement. Lincoln couldn't remember the last time she saw her that happy. "The audience loved it! A guy in the front row almost choked to death, a Healer had to save him!"

"Wow, that sounds awesome! Terrifying, but awesome."

"Yeah! And… and I got a job offer out of it," she mentioned, suddenly sounding a lot shier than before.

"Wait, what?" Lincoln leaned forward, his fingers gripping the edge of his chair and his mouth adopting an 'o' shape. "A job offer?"

"Yeah. Apparently, people loved my act so much the owner of the place wants to hire me for a weekly gig at the restaurant. It could be my big-time opportunity to finally get a foot in the entertainment industry."

"Wow… That's… that's amazing! Congratulations!" Lincoln said, not really knowing how to react to it aside from feeling proud of his sister. "When do you start?"

"I don't know if I'll take it yet."

The grin got wiped off his face. "What do you mean?"

She sighed and stood up, walking in circles around her chair, hands behind her back. "I don't know what to do, Linc. This is something I've been waiting for my whole life, but I don't know if I can take it."

"Why not?"

"Cause I'm an Exorcist!" She said. "It's a strong Archetype, and there aren't many of them in Royal Woods. I'm not a Bystander, I can't just do what I want with my life. I'm supposed to use my Archetype to help others and take on the jobs that most people can't help with. And this gig would be a night job, but that's when most of my Exorcist work happens. So if I accept it, I'd be neglecting my responsibilities. But… but if I don't get it…"

She didn't finish the sentence, but Lincoln got what she meant. She looked tense and stressed out, so he stood up and quickly walked next to her. He grabbed her by her shoulders, forcing her to look at him and stop pacing around the room.

"Luan, look at me. Tell me, if it was entirely up to you, if the rest of the world didn't matter, what would you want to do?"

She stared at his eyes for a few seconds, a conflicted look in her own, but she sighed and decided to play along.

"I'd take the job. It's what makes me the happiest. It's my dream job."

"Then do that," he said, and gently dragged her back to her chair, standing behind her to massage her shoulders the way Lynn taught him to take the stress out of someone. "You deserve to be happy, too. You can't just do what people expect you to do."

"Come on, Linc, how can you, of all people, say that?" She responded, although she closed her eyes and melted like butter under his expert hands, feeling the stress leaving her body like a magic trick. "You love helping people. You've always wanted to be a superhero like Lori, and you played with us pretending you were our sidekick. Are you really trying to tell me I should do what makes me happy instead of what's best for everyone?"

"I do like the idea of saving people," he admitted, not even trying to pretend he didn't. "And yeah, I think saving others is super cool."

"Then how come you suddenly want me to follow my dreams instead of my responsibilities?"

"Well, in theory, yeah, I think people with strong Archetypes should try to use them for good. But honestly? Your happiness means a lot more to me. So if you tell me that's what you want for your life, I'll be there on the front row at your show cheering for you."

For some odd reason, Luan felt like crying. She felt numbness on her chest, but in a good way. Like her soul was being hugged. Without turning around, she grabbed him by his wrists and pulled his arms forward, pushing him against her back and making him give her a proper hug.

"You're the best brother ever, did you know that?" She mumbled, trying really hard not to tear up right then.

"So I've been told," he joked, giving in and wrapping his arms around her.

"But even if I wanted to take this job, I'd have to talk to my guild to see what to do with all the jobs they keep giving me."

At that point, her eyes flew open and she gasped.

"Oh, wait! That's true, I forgot to ask you about your exorcism!" She ended the hug to turn around and look at him with an excited smile. "How did that go?"

A lightning bolt hit the street three feet ahead of Lincoln, making him stumble and almost trip over himself. He managed to catch his balance and keep running, only throwing a cautionary glance behind him to assess the situation.

Ronnie Anne was still chasing him from the skies above, standing on her bruja's broom like it was the sickest skateboard ever. Her hands were busy conjuring up more witch bolts to throw his way. Fortunately, her aim was a little off thanks to a distraction that kept her from being stable. Unfortunately, that distraction came in the form of Sid, holding on to the broom by a rope dart, being carried away like a kite in the air.

"Please, let me explain!" She was screaming at her friend. "You don't understand! You missed the part where he shaved and got rid of all his clothes!"

"HOCUS POCUS, ALAKAZAM!"

A thunderous roar gave him chills, but Lincoln didn't dare look at what was happening behind him, doing his best to run as fast as he could. As the side of his ribcage ached in pain and he tried to catch his breath, he wished Sid would stop trying to help him for ten minutes.

"I'd call it a reasonable success," he poker-faced, holding his breath.

"Seriously?! That's awesome!" She said, jumping in her place with excitement. "I knew I could count on you! I was afraid you wouldn't be ready, but after seeing how well you did with Leni and the stories Sam told us, I should've known you'd hit it out of the park!"

"Yeah… That's your brother, always the reliable one," he said, his forehead covered in sweat and his left eye twitching.

"This is amazing! You could take on my jobs while I get everything sorted out with the Guild and I can take the gig! I'll even let you keep the money for those! Oh, Lincoln, this is great news!" She said, pulling him in for a bear hug, cracking the bones on his lower back.

"Yup! Sounds like a plan!" He agreed, not knowing how to break the news that he was a complete failure that, apparently, couldn't even connect with her the way he did with their sisters.

"Oh, man, you're such a lifesaver, Linc. I don't know what I would do without you," Luan mentioned with a genuine smile, her mind already thinking about the possibilities for her routines. She shook her head and released her grip on Lincoln, trying to focus on him for the time being "So how was it? Were you scared?"

"It was… different, for sure. I'd never seen a ghost before."

"The memo said it was a seemingly harmless poltergeist. What type of ghost was it?"

"Um… It was like a little floating ball?"

"Oh! So just an orb. I figured as much, those are the easiest. You probably didn't have to do much of anything."

"...you could say that."

"I mean, I wouldn't have sent you there if it was anything dangerous. You know that, right?" She added, and Lincoln could tell she was suddenly worried about what he thought.

"Of course! I trust you not to send me to my death."

She smiled, seemingly relieved. "Yeah, if it was anything dangerous I would've sent you with Mr. Coconuts."

At that, Lincoln tilted his head. "Your puppet? Why would I go with that? I didn't even know you still had him, I haven't seen him in ages."

"That's cause I don't use him as a puppet anymore," she explained. "I use him as my Soul Cage."

"Your what?!"

"My Soul Cage. You know, sometimes there are demons and specters too strong for me to banish them to their realm. So I just trap their essence inside Mr. Coconuts to keep them contained."

"You keep the soul of demons inside your puppet? In OUR HOUSE?!" He screamed, realizing he wouldn't be able to sleep that night.

"Come on, it's not a big deal, I take good care of it. Plus, it has a bunch of seals and charms to keep it safe. It's the easiest way to get rid of any ghost or evil entity; just trap its soul right away and cash in that check."

"Huh…"

"But anyway, this is perfect! I need to call Maggie's mom and let her know I want the job. And I need to start getting my next routine ready! Hey, wanna hear my new material?"

He agreed, but as he sat down and she began a string of jokes, he didn't pay as much attention as he should. He still laughed, mostly out of politeness, but he couldn't stop thinking about what she just said about Mr. Coconuts.

And how he might just be able to use it to finally help Sid get rid of her ghost problems.