29. Chapter 29

AN: Chapter. Post.

Mr. Haziq: Caliburn is one of the names given to the sword, yes. I'm something of a King Arthur nerd :)

bennet001: I don't know why you'd assume the boy who's constantly writing and drawing stories about facsimiles of himself and his sisters going on romantic adventures together might have some ulterior, perhaps subconscious motive for doing so. It's for the fans. Probably.

JRC1700: Your suggestion is crazy. CRAZY I say! And I have not spent the last two chapters laying the foundation for that exact thing! Also, keep reading...

Always happy to see how enthusiastic you guys are about this story. Makes it that much easier to hunker down and try to roll out another chapter. And with that...

Lynn slammed her bedroom door with a growl of frustration and promptly threw herself upon her bed, still seething.

Things had started off well enough. Lincoln had mysteriously reappeared from wherever it was he had disappeared to, and Lynn had intended to take the opportunity to casually secure some private time with her little brother ("Hey Stinkoln, I've got a hankering for some pizza and a few of those dumb video games you like so much. My treat. What? N-no, I just want to spend some time with my favorite little brother. So what if you're my only brother? Look, do you want the dumb pizza or what? Why I oughtta...")

Around the point Lynn had given up rehearsing her totally casual speech, deciding to just wing it, a cry of alarm coming from Lincoln's room had awakened Lynn's sisterly instincts with a vengeance, and she suddenly found herself in the process of kicking down his door. She'd expected to find Lincoln being victimized by a certain, seemingly omnipresent blonde girl. Instead, she'd found Lincoln being victimized by an entirely different blonde girl.

Leni had been giving the Lincoln the hug to end all hugs, a look of manic glee upon her face, seemingly unaware that she was smothering the poor boy. Lynn had grabbed what remained of Lincoln, intending to pull him free and whisk him away to safety (possibly the very bed in which she currently laid). However, Leni merely tightened her grip upon the younger boy in response, snarling at Lynn like some kind of wild animal, and the situation quickly devolved into a tug of war over their little brother. Thankfully Lori had rushed in shortly after, extracted the now unconscious Lincoln from his fleshy prison, and whisked Leni away, yelling for Lynn to let Lincoln rest as she dragged a kicking and screaming Leni out the door. Say what you will about Lori, the girl could deescalate a situation like nobody's business.

"Stupid boob monster." Lynn grumbled, once again picturing Lincoln pressed again Leni's supple and abundant flesh.

"That's not very nice."

"No." Lynn replied in grudging agreement. "Leni doesn't deserve that. I just don't know what got into her."

"Probably the same thing that's gotten into you."

"H-hey!" Lynn protested, blushing in embarassment. "You can't just..."

She trailed off, only now realizing that she was conversing with what was supposed to be an empty room. Sighing, she prepared herself for the inevitable, and turned her head in the direction of the voice.

"Hello, Lynn." Greeted Lucy, only inches away from her face.

"Gaaah!" Lynn squaked, flailing her arms in surprise, and immediately falling off her bed. Dangit! She knew that was coming and it still got her!

"I didn't check the corners?" She grumbled from her position on the floor.

"Among other things." Replied the younger girl, her lips quirking upward ever so slightly.

Lucy reached down and helped her sister to her feet. Lynn once again sat herself down upon her bed, trying not to flinch as Lucy sat herself down next to her. After all, it was entirely possible that she'd been referring to something else...

"I was referring to the fact that you're in love with Lincoln." Lucy said, seemingly reading her mind.

...Double dangit.

"And so is Leni." Lucy continued, counting off on her fingers. "And Lori. And Luna. I'm not really certain about Luan, she isn't around very often."

Lynn groaned in frustration and went limp, flopping onto her back with all the grace of a dead fish. It wasn't a surprise, exactly, things had become...complicated as of late, whenever Lincoln was involved. But having confirmation that she was competing against her older, more...feminine sisters, was pretty demoralizing.

"And you?" She asked wearily, feeling like she already knew the answer.

A casual observer would not have seen any change in the young goth's demenor, by all appearances she seemingly remained as stoic as ever. Lynn, however, knew a thing or two about her little sister, and even from her current vantage she was able to pick up on the faint tinge of red that darkened the younger girl's pallid skin.

"Cough." Lucy replied, confirming her suspicions.

"Fantastic." Lynn grunted, rolling her eyes. "Should I worry about the twins too? How about Lisa?"

"Don't be silly, Lynn." Lucy scoffed. "I mean, it's possible. Someday, perhaps. But they're much too young to properly process those kinds of emotions right now."

Lynn struggled to sit up, fixing her younger sister with a disbelieving stare.

"You're nine." She deadpanned.

Again, there was no overt change to the girl's outward demeanor, but Lynn could tell that the goth was hurt by her outburst.

"I-I'm sorry, Luce." She apologized, genuinely feeling for her little sister.

Lucy bowed her head and wrapped her arms around her chest, suddenly seeming her actual age, in a rare show of emotion. Relatively speaking, anyway.

"I can't help how I feel." Came her quiet reply.

For the second time that day, Lynn's sisterly instincts roared to life. She reached over and pulled the smaller girl close.

"I'm sorry, Luce." She apologized again, hugging the younger girl tightly. "I wasn't making fun of you or anything. I'm just...frustrated here."

No audible reply came from the small bundle of black in her arms, but her body seemed to lose the tension it had been holding. That was a good sign.

"So..." Lynn pushed on, trying to lighten the mood. "Is there anyone else I need to worry about?"

"...There is no one else who resides in this house." Came the muffled reply from within her arms.

"What a strangely specific answer." Lynn observed.

Suddenly, there was a loud banging coming from overhead. Lynn didn't pay it much mind, it was probably...just...Lucy...? Lynn blinked in surprise, and glanced downward to make sure that her little sister was still present.

"Luuuuuucyyyyy!" a plaintive voice drifted out of a nearby air vent. The younger girl jerked upwards, teeth clenched in uncharacteristic frustration.

"I told you!" She snarled at the vent. "You get stuck again and it's your problem! Figure it out yourself!"

A mournful wail resounded from the vent, then fell silent.

"Lucy...?" Lynn asked, not entirely certain what she'd just witnessed.

"Don't worry about it." Lucy grumbled, reinserting herself into Lynn's embrace.

"...Right." Lynn paused, trying to figure out how to capitalize on the progress she'd made. "So, is this supposed to be, like, you telling me to back off? Keep my hands off your man? That sort of thing?"

She'd been half joking, but it surprised her when Lucy suddenly shook herself free and darted back to her side of the room. She sighed, closing her eyes and laying back once more. So much for apologies...

"Actually...", then a loud thump, causing Lynn's eyes to shoot back open. To her surprise, a large pile of composition journals now sat only inches away from her.

"...I had a proposition for you."

Lynn had never been so embarrassed in her life. And yet, she couldn't stop herself from turning the final page, eyes frantically running over every inch of text put before her. Wow, it was even better than she'd hoped.

Lynn let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, and gingerly placed the journal into a small pile that had formed beside her.

"Look, Luce." She began, scratching the back of her neck nervously. "Its really good stuff, but...I'm not sure what you showing me your porn is supposed to accomplish.

"It's not porn, Lynn!" The younger girl screeched indignantly.

"Right." Lynn said, rolling her eyes as she grabbed one of the discarded journals. "This one's about you and Lincoln consummating your 'forbidden love' in the middle of a graveyard."

"This..." She grabbed another. "Is about you being seduced and defiled by a vampire Lincoln."

"And these..." She gestured at the remaining pile. "Are all different takes on you, as a vampire, binding Lincoln to your will and violating him. Repeatedly."

"I know what I like." The younger girl sniffed haughtily.

"My point..." Lynn continued, "Is that this stuff is actually pretty hot. And I may have a few ideas I'd like to discuss with you. But I'm not seeing how this applies to our current situation."

She grabbed another handful of journals and began absentmindedly thumbing through them.

"Geeze Luce" She grumbled, "You're a good writer, but all your titles sound like something out of your vampire show. Night this, fangs that, B-...Bound by Secrets?"

Curious in spiter of herself, Lynn cracked open the tome and immediately turned the same color as her jersey.

"Wait, why am I in this one?!"

"I wanted to try something a little different." Lucy said, scooching closer. "Besides, its not just you, I show up later on."

"Why?" Lynn asked, staring at her little sister in disbelief.

"Sigh." Lucy replied, shaking her head as she put one comforting hand on Lynn's shoulder. "Luna's already got Sam helping her."

"Luna really lucked out with that girl." Lynn opined as she turned the page.

"Indeed." Lucy nodded. "That puts us at a tremendous disadvantage. And I suspect Lori and Leni will be collaborating before long."

Lynn dropped the book in shock and began whimpering like a frightened puppy.

"Shhh" Lucy whispered, trying to comfort the older girl.

"But how am I supposed to compete with all, that?" Lynn exclaimed, inscribing vaguely feminine shapes into the air with her hands. Some considerably more rounded than others.

"Team up with me." Lucy stated, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Y-you and me?" Lynn eyed the discarded journal warily.

"That was just artistic license." Lucy replied, waiving her hand dismissively. "We can work out something more amenable...for the three of us."

"Woo!"

Before Lynn could respond, a cry of exhuberance resounded from the hallway. That sounded like Luna. And if Luna was up to something, that most likely meant...

"Wait, Lynn!" Lucy called, but to no avail as the athlete rushed out of the room.

"Alright, Luna..." Lincoln said, squinting at something behind his GM screen. "The good news is your jet pack more or less managed to get you where you wanted to be. The bad news is that it's malfunctioning. Not only are you unable to shut it off, it's probably going to explode in a few turns."

"You should probably bail out, Babe." Sam suggested.

Luna looked to Lincoln in askance, and after a moment of consideration, he nodded.

"I'll allow it. But you're going to be falling from a good ways up in the air. Make an athletics check to see how the landing goes."

"That's the big die, right?" Luna asked. With Lincoln and Sam both nodding in the affirmative, Luna grabbed the die in question and made her roll.

"Oooh, nice!" Lincoln exclaimed, seeing the result. "The out of control jet pack careens off into parts unknown, but Nightclub manages to to stick the landing with only minor damage. Though your shins are probably going to be sore in the morning."

Luna let out a sigh of relief, drawing laughter from her brother and girlfriend.

Sam took a moment to consider the battlefield before her, currently represented by a large sheet of graph paper, adorned small figurines representing their characters.

"The bad guys' attention should be on Luna at this point, so I'm gonna try to sneak around and flank them!" Sam announced, reaching for her own pile of dice.

"No need for that." Lincoln waved her off. "Nightclub's little stunt is making her the center of attention, you easily manage to avoid detection.

"Awesome!" Sam moved her figure towards the back of the group.

"Ok. All these guys can see is Nightclub making a spectacle of herself, so they're all running towards her." Lincoln moved their figures accordingly. "Top of the round. You're in their firing range now Luna, so if things continue as they are, you'll be coming down with a severe case of lead poisoning at the end of the turn."

"But..." Luna squinted at the board, "...That means they're in MY firing range too. Right?"

Lincoln blinked, unable to hide his surprise, but then nodded eagerly.

"Yup." He consulted his notes. "And, since they're all in your line of fire, you've got a full round action to spend on Nightclub's special ability."

"Guitar solo." He said with a smirk.

A grin erupted across Luna's face. "Heck yeah, bro! I'm gonna lay down some sick jams!"

He chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Alright. Seeing the villains rush heedlessly towards her, Nightclub has plenty of time to unshoulder her guitar and ready herself. Once they're within firing range, Nightclub starts shredding like crazy, bombarding the area with a fusillade of sonic blasts!"

"Woo!" Luna cheered, throwing up the horns. Lincoln dropped a small pile of dice in front of her and she immediately started tossing them around.

"Alright. You got three shots per person, and there's no intervening cover so...that manages to take out the entire group. All except one, who throws down his weapon and flees. And he's so intent on getting the heck out of there, he doesn't even notice that he's running right into..."

"Me." Sam cackled. "And my knuckle dusters." She deftly snatched up her dice and rolled.

"That's right." Lincoln agreed. "And with the sneak attack bonus, that's more than enough to put him down. Well done ladies, you've neutralized all the criminals!"

He frowned. "Although..." and rolled some dice behind his screen, wincing at the result. "You're going to be getting a hefty bill for damages. You should probably take better care of your jet pack, Luna..."

"Ahem."

Lincoln jumped in surprise at the sudden noise, having been so engrossed in the game that he'd apparently failed to notice Lynn entering the room. Or the extremely nervous Lucy standing behind her, but that wasn't nearly as surprising, Lucy went wherever she wanted.

"Um, hey guys." He greeted them. Lucy gave him a sheepish wave, while Lynn merely nodded in acknowledgement.

Lynn's eyes flickered around the room. First to Luna, then to the table, laden with gaming goodness, then to Sam. Finally, Lynn expression grew resolute, having apparently come to some sort of internal decision.

"We wanna play your nerd game." Lynn stated.

"W-we do?" Lucy asked softly, nearly inaudible.

"We do." Lynn affirmed, her voice booking no room for disagreement.

"Us too!" Leni shouted, barging into the room with an extremely disheveled looking Lori in tow.

"...I don't actually know what's going on." She admitted, looking around at the bewildered faces of Sam and her siblings. "But when we're all in the same room, it usually means something fun is going to happen."