"Ok Linka, let's do this." The young girl whispers, "You haven't spent quality time with your spooky sibling since that dream book session a few months ago. Even then, he's just as overprotective and helpful as my other brothers… right? Everything's going to be just fine."
Then, she takes a deep breath. Her heart races in anticipation for what is to come next.
She raises her hand and knocks on the center door. "Come on, I need to get the first fragment."
Then, the *click* and with that, the door opens, revealing a slightly older boy with brown hair. "Hey Linka, what brings you here so late?"
Linka chuckles, "Lynn, it's only five o'clock, it's not that late."
Lynn shrugs, "Yeah, but it's usually around this time we start doin' homework and get our stuff in order before… everything goes down the tubes. Plus, it's already dark outside" Then he smiles, "So, you need anything sis?"
"Well…" Linka looks away nervously, "I came here because I wanna talk to Lars for a bit. I need his help with something."
Immediately, the Gothic boy appears behind Lynn and greets, "Yes Linka?"
"G'ahh!" Lynn goes in shock, before jumping right into Linka's arms.
"Lynn! You're too heavy!" Linka groans, stumbles back, then forward, before she drops Lynn and pants in exhaustion.
"Haha." Lars quips, "So, do you need me for something?"
Linka takes a second to catch her breath, before nodding, "Yeah, would you mind talking with me in my room? It's about something really important and I really need your help with it."
"Ok." Lars responds, "Let me just get some papers set up. I'll see you in your room in… ten minutes good for you?"
"Yep!" Linka cheerfully responds, before turning and running back into her own room.
"Sigh." Lars goes, before turning and getting back in his coffin bed. He wastes no time pulling out his clipboard and pen and getting back to writing. For a moment, the boy holds his pen at the ready, before looking down and going, "Groan."
"What's wrong bro?" Lynn steps over and takes a quick glance at the blank pieces of loose-leaf paper Lars holds. "You usually manage to get at least a page done before this time of day."
Lars looks at Lynn with uncertain eyes. "I've just had a ton of writer's block lately. I have about seven projects active currently: three active, one on hiatus and three in progress. I don't know what to do."
"So why don't you go outside and do something other than write? I mean, for the past how many days, all you did was stay inside and write until you fell asleep at your clipboard." Lynn's voice fills with concern, "I know you prefer to stay online all the time, but doing nothing but writing isn't healthy."
"I can stop whenever I want!" Lars responds, his voice filling with annoyance, "I write because I like story telling, and the people I meet love my stories too!" While the Gothic boy thinks, "Plus, the people online care a lot about me! They're my friends!"
Lynn sighs, "Just… be careful ok Lars? You need to take a break. Maybe spending some quality time with Linka sooner rather than later is a good idea…"
"Sigh." Lars responds, before turning and getting out of his bed, "Fine. I'll try to make the most of what Linka is asking me to do. Will that make you happy?"
"Yeah bro, it will." The ballerina boy then grabs Lars' clipboard and paper.
"Hey!" Lars goes in annoyance and shock, only for Lynn to respond, "I'll hold onto these for good measure, now, go help your sister out with whatever she needs, ok?"
"Sigh. Ok." The Goth boy then jumps to his feet and steps out the door.
He slowly makes his way over to the linen closet end of the hallway and then whispers, "Sigh, here I go." Before knocking on Linka's bedroom door.
Immediately, the young girl opens up and motions for him to come inside with, "Hey Lars, come on in!"
"Sigh." Lars responds, before slowly stepping inside, "Why'd you call me over sis? You never want to spend too much time with me after all…"
"Man… Linka really hasn't done much to help her brothers huh?"Linka thinks, before rubbing the back of her head and looking away, "Well… I need your help getting something back."
Lars raises an eyebrow in response, "Oh? And what would that be? Wouldn't someone like Loki be more useful in the situation? After all, he's stronger and has some connections. I'm sure he could-"
The girl then grabs the boy's hand; "I need your help, because I only trust you with this." While she thinks, "If he's anything like Lucy… If I remember her right… he should be able to sneak in and out of the school with ease."
"Seriously Linka?" Lars responds, "Sigh, can you at least tell me what's going on? You know, so I don't get any surprises."
"Man, what is with Lars?" Linka then sighs, "A teacher took something really important to me and left in the teacher's lounge. I need to get it back before Ron Andy finds out!" She throws her arms up in emphasis.
"Hmm…" Lars responds, "I don't know… I haven't snuck in and out of the school in a while. Plus, I really need to get a start on the stories I'm working on. I've finished the first draft to a story I call "Dipper's Secret" and I'm-"
Linka grabs Lars by the shoulders and looks at him with pleading eyes. "Please Lars, this is really important to me!"
"Sigh…" Lars responds, "Fine, I'll help you out." Then he shrugs, "After all, I guess spending time helpin' my sister out could give me some good inspiration and stuff…"
Linka smiles, before throwing her arms around her younger brother, "Thank you Lars! You're the best!"
Lars then goes, "Sigh, ok…" Before he breaks the hug, "Is anyone else coming with us? I have some old equipment that we can use to get inside, but it'd help a lot if I knew how many people we could rely on."
"Hmm…" The girl thinks for a moment, "I think I can convince Luke to go with us. After all, he isn't too busy tonight probably!"
"Ok." Lars goes, "How about you ask him, convince him to go with us, and then ask dad if we can go out. After all, it's going to be dark when we head out."
"Thanks." Linka goes once more, before hugging her young sibling again, "You're the best Lars."
"Sigh." Lars responds, "You're welcome Linka." And with that, he steps out of the room.
The girl takes a deep breath, before following and walking over to her musical brother's room. Just like before, she knocks twice and waits.
This time, Lane answers the door and greets, "Hey Linka!" Before he puts a huge grin on, "Why'd you knock twice?"
Linka tilts her head in confusion, "Uhh, cause I wanted to call you over?"
Lane chuckles, "No! Because if you knocked once then it wouldn't be a period!"
"That was a horrible pun, Lane." Linka quips, "If you're were trying to make a period pun, that was a miss."
Immediately, the prankster throws his head back in laughter, "There ya go Linka! I knew you'd warm up to my puns eventually!"
"Umm no… that was just so bad that even I can't feel offended by it." Linka thinks in response.
"So," Lane goes, wiping a joyful tear from his eye, "what brings you here? Because I incest you stay!"
"Eww. I've seen too many alternate dimensions like that thanks to GLaDOS." Linka pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration, "I just wanted to ask Luke if he wanted to go out with Lars and I." Linka answers, causing Luke to perk up.
"Yo Luke!" Lane starts, only for Luke to walk over, push him aside and ask, "Yeah Linka?"
The girl nervously rubs the back of her head with that, "Would you mind going with Lars an I? We want to go outside for a 'walk' but I don't think dad will let us go without you or Loki."
For a moment, Luke hesitates, as if preparing to deny her request, yet even if the girl in front of him isn't really his sister, he can't simply say no to those eyes, "Ok Link… I'll go with you. Just ask dad and we'll go when you're ready."
Linka then throws her arms around the boy, "Thanks Luke! You're the best!"
"Yeah, yeah." Luke responds. And with that, Linka runs downstairs.
Luke sighs in defeat, "Well, I guess a walk could work… who knows, maybe something good will come out from spending time… with an imposter and my brother." Then, he steps out of the room and walks over to Levi and Leon's.
"Hey Levi, how are the goggles doin'?" He asks, his voice filled with a defeated tone.
Levi sits at his computer, his face filled with frustration, "I'm not sure brother, I've finished the basis and made the fuel for them, but I have been unable to find a part capable of handling the enormous strain of inter-dimensional messaging." Then he scrolls over to a small, microphone-like device, "It doesn't help that it'll also have to be resistant to the numerous anomalies."
"Oh…" Luke goes, "So those aren't going to be done for a while huh?"
Levi nods, "Yeah, unless you're able to find me such a part, these will never be done."
"Dangit." He thinks, "Well, I guess I should get to looking…"
"By the way." Levi continues, "How's our sister doing with her you-know-what issue?"
Luke shrugs, "I think she's growing out of it, but she's been enjoying spending more time with us, you know, not over doing it with the protectiveness."
"I see, ok then." Then, the young boy returns to his computer.
And with that, the young man turns and walks out of the room, his heart racing in anticipation for what was to come.
Meanwhile…
"Please daddy." Linka begs, "I really want to go out for a walk with them, we'll be safe, I promise!"
Lynn Sr. looks at his daughter with concerned eyes, before sighing, "Fine, I'll let you go out with them."
"Thanks dad!" Linka shouts, throwing her arms around her father as she does so.
"But stay safe! You know how I feel about you going out at night!" Lynn Sr. adds, "You never know what could happen in the dark!"
The girl nods, "Got it dad, I'll be safe, I promise!" And with that, she turns and runs up the stairs.
"Have fun sweetie." Lynn Sr. goes, "Linka's really feelin' better… Haha, I guess she's finally gotten passed the incident." before returning to his newspaper and giving a soft smile.
A few moments later, Linka rushes into her bedroom, grabs her pink backpack, throws a flashlight, the strange device and Trevor's card inside, before she goes and secures the dimensional watch to her wrist. Her heart races in anticipation, "Let's go get the first fragment!"
And with that, she rushes out of her room and over to her waiting brothers.
A few minutes later…
The trio arrives at the school under the cover of darkness. The moon now glows over them, with the only sources of light being their flashlights and the stars above. Despite it being the dead of winter in Michigan, none of the Louds need to wear anything more than some thin-jackets over their short-sleeved shirts.
"So, why are we here?" Luke asks, as he looks up at the small vent.
"I need to get something from the teacher's lounge and this is the best way to get it." Linka responds, "Plus, dad wouldn't let us go without one of you around so…" She rubs the back of her head and puts a sheepish smile on.
*Sigh* The elder boy goes, "Ok then, so what do you two need me to do anyways?"
Lars then swings a grappling hook and throws it at the open vent. It latches on, and with two more pulls, is secured, "Luke, I need you to act as look out. It's unlikely, but if someone comes by, we need you to hold them at bay."
Luke pinches his nose in annoyance, "So… you dragged me out here in the middle of the night to act as lookout? Why?"
"Yes." Linka responds.
Then Lars answers, "We'd have you come with us, but you won't fit in the vent."
The young man then sighs, "Fine, I'll just stay here then. Just try not to get into any trouble."
The two kids nod in response, before grabbing hold of the rope and climbing up. A few moments after that, they disappear into the vent, leaving Luke on his own.
"The things I do for my siblings." Luke thinks, before sighing and sitting down at the base of the rope.
With nothing else to do, he pulls out his acoustic guitar and begins to strum, "The clock stopped tickin' forever ago. How long have I been out, I don't know? I can't get a grip, but I can't let go, there wasn't anything to hold onto though…"
The young man begins to tear up, "Dangit Linka… what happened to you? Why don't you wanna come home? Why is this version of you so keen on leaving?" He strums again, "Where are you now? Was it all a fantasy… were you just imaginary?"
"Under the sea, where now?" A feminine voice continues, "I'm faded. I'm so lost, I'm faded."
"Huh?" Luke jumps up and flips his guitar up. He holds it by the neck as if prepared to swing, "Who goes there?!"
"Calm down." Nyla steps into view, her strange device oriented like a hardlight guitar.
Luke responds by lowering his guitar, "Oh, hi there… Nyla was it? How've you been?"
Nyla strums her hardlight guitar with, "I've been fine Luke."
"You're not going to turn me into a card are you? Cause I'm going to put up a fight if you try." Luke immediately continues, his voice regaining its defensive hold.
"Don't worry Luke." Nyla chuckles and strums, "I just came here cause I saw you round and well…" The young woman blushes, "I wanted to see you again…"
"Oh really?" The young man raises an eyebrow in shock.
"Yeah…" Her voice trails off, "Since I've got nothing better to do, I've just been in this dimension sealing off less dangerous anomalies. I'd go for larger prey but… the only class 1.5 and higher anomalies I could seal well… remind me of my siblings."
"Oh…" Luke strums his guitar, "Well ok then." Then he takes a seat by the rope once more, "Then how about we just talk then, since you don't wanna turn me into a card right now."
Nyla rubs the back of her head awkwardly, "Sure Luke, I'd like that…" before she takes a seat next to him and strums her guitar.
"So what songs do you know?" Luke asks and Nyla hesitates for a moment, "Probably the same ones you know."
"Oh, and why's that Nyla?" Luke strums once more, yet before Nyla can explain he goes, "You know what, how about you tell me while we play, ok?"
Nyla shrugs, "All right then." And with that, the two musicians get to work on their duet.
Meanwhile…
In a dark room, a vent cover comes off and falls to the floor. A few moments after that, Linka and Lars crawl through and land in the faculty lounge.
"Okay Lars, we're here." Linka goes, as she dusts herself off.
Lars looks around for a moment, "Ok, well, I guess we should get looking. After all, even though this place is locked up for the most part, it's a good idea to take as little time as possible to find... Whatever we're looking for."
Linka nods in agreement, "Understood." Then, she aims her Matter Key watch in random directions, "Come on, where are you?"
"Do you even know what you're looking for? It would help immensely if you gave me a hint at what to find." Lars goes, before turning on his flashlight, dimly illuminating the small room.
"Yeah, it's umm…" Linka thinks, "What did the matter key look like… when William gave it to me?" Then she speaks, "I'm looking for something gold and metal with black highlights. Kind of like a rebellious punk rocker, but less pretentious, and an object."
Lars tilts his head in confusion, "You sure Linka? I mean, that sounds like you're trying to steal something valuable. Like a reader's time."
"Don't worry, Lars." Linka assures, "I've got nothing to hide, I just want to get my stuff back and then we can be out of here, ok?" then she turns to him with pleading eyes, "I can't let Ron Andy know that I lost his gift!"
Lars tilts his head in confusion for a moment, before he shrugs, "All right then sis… I'll help you out…" And with that, he shines his flashlight in a random corner of the room, hoping for something to start glowing.
The girl on the other hand looks around using her matter key watch. Her heart races in anticipation, hoping to find the fragment that she had waited so to find, the first part of the device that would bring her home. "This is hopeless, but this has to be the room of secrets!"
The watch continues to flash: "Space Waves Detected!" as she moves and yet, nothing comes of the warning. It is as if the watch itself is unsure from which direction the waves are coming from. "Come on… work you stupid thing!"
Then, suddenly, the watch starts to beep, and the text on the device begins to flash wildly. Linka steps forward and shines her light in the direction… of a coffee maker.
"Is that what you're looking for?" Lars asks, appearing by her side suddenly.
Yet, Linka doesn't allow the sudden movement to startle her, "Yeah, I think so" Then she steps closer, "But this is just a coffee maker, isn't it?"
Then, she touches it.
Nothing.
Then, she touches it again.
Still nothing.
Then she tries moving it.
And nothing happens!
"Linka, what the heck are you trying to do?" Lars asks, his voice filling with annoyance.
"This thing must be on the fritz…" Linka goes, her heart sinking in disappointment.
"Sigh, I knew this would be a waste of valuable writing time." Lars complains, before shining his flashlight in a random direction once more.
"Sorry…" Linka meekly goes, "I'm sorry I wasted your time…"
"It's…" Lars starts, "What the heck?" he then motions at a nearby power outlet, "What the heck is that?"
And with that, the duo shines their flashlights on the power outlet, illuminating a small, silver disk with a golden plate protecting it, as well as a small, black, emitter-like device in its center… with the coffee maker's plug jammed into its core.
"Is that what we're looking for Linka?" Lars asks, before pulling the coffee maker from the hole.
"That has to be it!" Linka nods, "Yeah bro."
"Be careful… it looks like its attached to the wall." Lars goes, "You never know what can go wrong."
Yet, the girl doesn't back down. She steps closer and takes hold of the device, before pulling it from its resting place, "A ha! We-"
"Hehe!" A high-pitched voice laughs.
Without warning, the device floats out of Linka's hands and glows with orange light for a moment, before projecting an orange silhouette of the girl. The new figure spasms and glitches randomly, almost as if it is nothing more than a buggy computer program.
Lars looks on in shock, "Uhh, Linka, what's going on?"
Linka steps back in confusion, unsure of how to answer her brother, "Uhh… I don't know…"
"D-Do you w-w-w-wanna-anna play a g-g-game?" The orange figure asks, her voice sounding like a distorted version of Linka's.
Linka fearfully nods, "Sure…"
Then, the fragment splits into three parts that orbit the figure. "Ok the-then, h-how-ow abo-bobo-bout, hide and shriek-seek!" And with that, the figure floats up, before forcing the parts away, causing them to disappear through the walls.
"What the, where'd they go?!" Linka desperately shouts.
The young figure chuckles, before breaking out into maniacal laughter, "D-Don't worry, t-they're still on-on-on sch-chool grou-ounds, one's in-Hell- fire, one's near-drowning-water, and one's in the-lifeless-ai-ir! You be-be-better fi-find them if you w-w-want-to live-the fragment, hehe-haha-heha-hahe-haha!"
And with that, the being disappears.
"Linka, what the heck is going on?" Lars asks, his monotone voice unchanging.
Linka turns to Lars and responds, "We're playing a game of hide and go seek for the parts of a fragment." The girl thinks for a moment, "The question is, where did they end up?"
Lars then speaks up, "Uhh, what's going on Linka?!"
Yet, his sister doesn't answer, "Hmm, well the first is by fire…" She stammers, before snapping her fingers in realization, "How about the boiler room? That makes sense, right?"
"Linka!" Lars goes, grabbing his sister in annoyance, "Answer me!"
But the girl is too engrossed by thought to answer and ends up dragging him along as she paces.
"Ok, the second is by water." The girl whispers, "Hmm, I guess we could try the only working water fountain in the school." Then she continues, "As for the one in the air…"
Lars then looks down in defeat, "Sigh, I'd say that one is either in the air vents or on the roof." He looks away, "if it's the first one, then we won't find it tonight probably."
"Too many vents?" Linka asks and Lars nods. A distraught look overtakes the girl's face with that.
"Don't worry." Lars goes, placing his hand on his sister's shoulder, "We'll find what you're looking for."
"Really?" Linka asks, her voice filling with hope.
Lars nods, "Yeah, plus, I'm feeling inspired already. When I get home, I might add this to my own story. Also, care to flippin' explain what's going on?!"
"Later Lars. I'll explain everything later." Linka smiles and grabs the boy, "Now, let's go." And with that, the girl runs off into the school.
"Dangit Linka!" The boy grits his teeth, and follows her. "You have so much explaining to do!"
Meanwhile…
"Haha!" Luke goes, "You really did that with your ten bros?!"
Nyla nods, before continuing to strum away at her guitar, "Yeah!" Then she looks up at the stars above, "Being the only girl out of ten boy has its perks."
Luke's smile turns to a soft frown, "Yeah… it does…"
"What's wrong?" the girl's voice fills with a soft concern.
"Oh, it's nothing." Luke hastily responds, "Just… I'm worried about my sister."
"Who? Linka?" Nyla asks, tilting her head in confusion.
"Yeah." Luke responds, "You see… that girl who I've been with isn't really Linka. It's her male counterpart from another reality in her body."
"That… makes no sense…" Nyla goes, before sighing, "But I guess that would explain why she's registered as a class two anomaly."
Luke raises an eyebrow, "Wait, she's registered in something?"
Nyla nods, before releasing her device from the hard-light guitar, "You see this? This is a standard issue Holo-Disk." She then places it on her wrist, causing a metal cuff to come out and attach the device to her arm. "With it, us Anomaly Hunters can do our jobs."
Then she taps at the device's screen for a moment, causing a small map of the area to appear, "From here, we can manage missions, seal anomalies and report into base."
"That reminds me, I've heard a ton about sealing anomalies, what does that do?" Luke leans closer to the girl, causing Nyla to blush, "Well uhh, we seal them in cards to slow down or prevent dimensional collapse." Then she aims he device at a nearby bunny, "For example, that white bunny there doesn't belong, it's an anomaly." Then she taps at the screen for a moment, causing a light purple light to come from the Holo-Disk.
When it dies down, Nyla is holding a metal card decorated with a small bunny in hand. "It may not fix anomalies, but it prevents them from harming dimensions."
"Oh…" Luke goes, unsure of how to respond, "So uhh, why are you here anyway?"
Nyla sighs, "After you and your 'sister' beat me in that game a few weeks ago, command called me in."
"Yeah?" Luke goes, "So what?"
"Because I lost…" Nyla goes, looking away in shame, "They ordered me to card myself, stating that the loss caused me to become anomalous in nature." Then she looks at Luke and blushes once more, "But for some reason I just couldn't do it." So I opened a portal and got the heck out of there before they could send someone after me."
Luke goes, "Oh…"
Nyla continues, "Yeah, after that, I got a message declaring me disavowed. And warning that I have to card myself or face a punishment worse than death."
"Oh… ok then." Luke goes, still unsure, "That's not what I meant though. I meant, why are you here and not with your family. You know, back where you came from."
The girl begins to tear up. "Because I don't have a home anymore."
"What?" Luke goes in confusion.
The girl then takes a deep breath, "My home dimension of AX-144 faced dimensional collapse due to a high amount anomalies. Before the entire reality fell apart though, someone, I don't know who, saved me."
"What about your siblings? Your ten brothers?" Luke asks, his voice filling with concern.
"They were…" Nyla tears up, "I couldn't save them." Then, with her voice filling with pain, she continues, "After that I woke up in the Anomaly Elimination Unit HQ. They tested me a bit, told me I was one of the special few capable of being a hunter, gave me a class two designation, informed me that my home dimension was now an 'X' reality, gave me the rules and then sent me off to hunt anomalies."
"Wow… and you're only fifteen?" Luke asks, "I mean, wow… that's crazy."
Nyla nods, "I know bro. But hey, I got used to it."
"What's an 'X' Dimension?" Luke asks, "After all, you said your home reality was AX-144."
"An 'X' dimension is any destroyed reality." Nyla answers, "Apparently, the AEU recruits from those places."
"Oh…" Luke goes once more. "So uhh… what do you wanna do?"
Nyla answers, "How about you tell me about yourself Luke? After all, I spilled about myself."
Luke sighs and strums his guitar, "Sure, after all, it's been an interesting few weeks."
Meanwhile…
Linka and Lars rush down the long hallways of the school building. Their hearts race in anticipation as they turn into a stairwell and head down.
"Come on, the first part has to be around here somewhere!" Linka desperately thinks as she bursts into the boiler room.
"Linka." Lars goes, "I know that you're busy and all trying to find some part, but umm…" The Goth boy grabs his sister, "What's going on?"
"Like I said," Linka glares at him, "I'll explain everything later."
Lars steps back in fear, while the girl shines her flashlight at the nearby boiler, illuminating a small, metal frame, no doubt the metal plate that acted as the fragment's base.
Wordlessly, Linka steps forward and places her hand on the part, and immediately, it responds by glowing with orange light, before disappearing.
Before Linka can speak, the glitchy figure from before appears in front of the girl. The being chuckles for a moment, before going, "Hehe, you found one!"
The being disappears with that.
"Ok, one part down, two to go." Linka quips, before turning and running out of the boiler room.
"Linka! Slow down!" Lars goes in frustration, "Stop ignoring me and explain yourself!"
Yet, the girl runs too fast. She easily jumps up the stairs in excitement, "I'm going to be one step closer to getting home at last!" Her heart races as she then banks right and rushes down another hallway, "Thanks for the one working water fountain Royal Woods."
Then, she stops and shines her flashlight upon on small opening in the brick wall, illuminating a small, metal box.
"Where is it?!" Linka desperately thinks, "This is the only working water fountain!" She then steps closer and shines her light in the small opening between the wall and the fountain body. "Jackpot." She thinks, before touching the small, black, cone-like part of the fragment."
Immediately, it disappears in burst of orange light as well and the orange figure returns. "Hehe! You found another!" then, the distorted voice glitches more, before the figure puts on a strange smile and finishes, "Lucky you."
And with that, the being disappears once more.
"Whatever." Linka thinks, unsure if it is the adrenaline or her determination to succeed doing the thinking. "I'm not going to let that… thing scare me. I have a mission and I'm going to see it through!"
"Linka! Enough!" Lars shouts, "Explain yourself right now or else I'll leave you behind!" Then, the Goth boy grabs onto his sister once more, "Please, what's going on? Why do I feel like I'm in a Flytrap?"
Despite the black bangs coving them, Linka can see the begging eyes Lars has put on, desperate for an answer.
She sighs, "Lars, there's more to me than you know."
"Please Linka, tell me then! We're running around the school on a crazy scavenger hunt and you're not telling me anything!" despite the darkness of the hallway around them, Linka is still able to see the soft tears flowing down Lars' cheeks, "Please, you're my sister. I know we haven't had the best of relationships, I still want to be with you, I want to help you!"
Linka sighs once more, "Lars, I want to tell you everything. I really do…" She looks away as she grabs onto his shoulders, "But… if I did, I'm afraid everything you think about me will change ok? I told Luke this stuff and he's not taking it too well. I don't want you to worry as well."
"Linka…" Lars pleads, "I'm your brother. You're the only person I feel even remotely close to in this family. I know we don't talk too much because I busy myself with my story writing, but that doesn't mean you have to close yourself off to me. Please!"
For a moment, Linka hesitates, "Should I tell him? I mean, after what happened with Luke, and William's warning… It's not a good idea right?" She sighs.
"All right, I'll tell you the truth." Linka responds with a defeated tone, "But you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone about anything I tell you, ok?"
Lars nods, "I promise Linka, just please, tell me what's going on!"
Then, she sits down at the base of the water fountain, with her knees up and her arms held around them, and Lars sits down next to her with his legs crossed.
"Well Lars, I guess I'll start with this," She looks him in the eyes she continues, "I'm not really your sister."
"What?" Lars goes, "What are you talking about, of course you're my sister!"
"I'm serious Lars, I'm not really your sister. I'm her counterpart from another reality in which I was a boy and had ten sisters! My real name is Lincoln!"
Lars looks at Linka with a look of disbelief, "Linka, that's seriously impossible to believe." Then he facepalms, "This is just some weird way of Lane getting back at me for scaring him last April Fool's Day." Then he starts to chuckle, "And all of this is just some elaborate prank to humiliate me, right?!"
Linka shakes her head, "No, it's no prank Lars. It's the truth. I'm not really you sister."
"Prove it!" Lars goes, "There's no way you're from another reality!"
"Well great, how am I going to prove this?" Linka thinks for a moment, before sighing, "Yeah, if I told myself that I wouldn't believe it either." She then sighs in defeat, "I don't expect you to believe it either really."
Linka's voice fills with regret, "I was the one boy out of ten loving sisters, but I decided that I would rather have ten brothers, just to see what it was like. So, out of curiosity, my Levi made me a watch capable of sending me to alternate realities…"
"So you went to the other universe and found it wasn't what you expected it to be?" Lars cuts in, his voice gaining an understanding tone to it.
The girl nods, "Yeah. With no girls around, you guys become… well arseholes. So I had enough, and with only a few seconds left on the clock, I jumped through the portal home." Then she sighs, "But out of nowhere, an omnicidal maniac version of myself come out of nowhere and sends me crashing into the wrong portal home." She flares her arms up in defeat, "Then some overly complicated dimensional anomaly stuff goes on and to make a long story short, your Linka and I ended up switching places."
"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Lars asks, his monotone voice hiding a hard skepticism.
Linka sighs once more, "No, no I don't." Then she continues, "After that, some weird guy came to me calling himself the 'Guardian Of Dimensions' and said that if I wanted to go home and prevent the destruction of my world, I would have to collect the fragments of a device called the 'MacGuffin'." Then, she looks at Lars once more, "That's what I'm doing right now, getting the first fragment."
Lars responds, "Linka, that's the craziest story I've heard in a while. It sounds more akin to fanfiction than anything else."
"Trust me, it's not." Linka responds, "I know it's difficult to believe, but that's the truth."
"Sigh." Lars responds, before chuckling and giving a sly smile, "Well, I guess I know what to write my next story on." Then he looks at her with caring eyes, "Thanks for giving me the inspiration." Then he looks away, "You know, now that I think of it, your story does make sense."
"It does?" Linka raises her eyebrow in confusion.
Lars nods, "Yeah. The real Linka wouldn't come to me for help, ever. She would say I was too spooky to spend time with. She wouldn't spend that much time with any of us really."
"Seriously?" Linka goes, "Why not?"
"Well…" Lars hesitates for a moment, "Sigh, as far as I know, it's because of the incident a few years back that caused her to end up, well, keeping to her own. Dad decided that us brothers had to watch out for the real Linka more, and threatened military school if we didn't. Loki's a testament to that."
"Yeah?" Linka goes.
"After the 'incident' dad and our brothers decided to watch over Linka with an over-protective eye." Lars' voice gains a soft heat to it, "I may have been very young at the time, but they began to ignore me more and more. To the point that I could leave and enter rooms with them noticing." Then he looks at his sister once more, "I wanted to talk to Linka about it, but she always put me off. So, I started to write in order to express the feelings I couldn't show or else my brothers would just put it off as me being a weakling." Then he looks her in the eye, "And while they may be laid back for the most part, being a weakling invites more bullying than you'd expect. That's why I hide the fact that I like My Small Horsie from everyone, even you."
"Lars…" Linka whispers, "I'm so sorry…"
Yet, the boy doesn't respond and instead continues, "So when I saw you spending more time with Lynn, I felt a bit jealous. And when you asked for my help, I felt ecstatic; I couldn't wait to spend time with you! Even if it was just helping you out, you wanted me to go with you!"
Then, the boy curls up, "But you're only a version of her from an alternate reality… Are we really so bad that you want to go?"
"No… they're not really that bad…" Linka thinks, before smiling, "Lars, you guys are some of the best brothers a girl can have. I want to go home because this isn't where I belong."
*Sniff* Lars goes.
"What about the real Linka? Does she want to go home too?" Lars desperately asks.
"What should I tell him? That his real sister doesn't care and would rather live my life than her own? No, that's a terrible idea." Linka then stands up, "Look, Lars, I know you have more questions, and I promise I'll answer them later, but please, I need to get this MacGuffin Fragment as soon as possible."
"Sigh, you promise you'll answer me?" Lars asks, his voice filling with despair.
"Yeah bro, I promise." Linka responds.
"Do you mind if I call you Linka?" Lars continues.
And Linka shakes her head, "Not at all, feel free Lars."
Lars smiles, "Thanks sis." Then he throws his arms around her.
"No problem bro." The girl responds, "By the way, what's the 'incident' I keep hearing about? I've heard you guys talk about it a lot, but I don't know what it is!"
The boy looks away and holds a downtrodden expression, "The incident... I'd rather not talk about it. All I know is, it's why everyone wants to protect you, why Loki ended up going to military school and why I started writing."
"Oh..." Linka responds, "Understood then." Then she stands up and pulls the boy to his feet, "Ok, we have to head to the roof now, the last part should be up there."
Lars turns and steels his nerves, "There's a roof access upstairs, follow me." And with that, the duo rushes through the dark halls once more, their flashlights acting as the only source of light as they bank right into the stairwell again.
After that, they rush up the stairs and burst through the roof access onto the flat top of the building.
The moon shines brightly over them, while the soft sounds of the outside air pelt their senses. The scents of winter fill their noses while they can taste the sweat forming on their brows.
"There it is." Linka whispers, before stepping toward a small, golden, two-part cover. Lars stands by in silence as the girl kneels down and touches the final part.
Immediately, the final piece glows with orange light, and disappears.
And for a few moments, nothing happens.
"Huh, I guess we-"
"Hehe! You did it! You found all three parts!" The glitchy figure then appears once more, before stabilizing, "You did it!" Her voice is filled with a soft, child-like grace.
Linka steps back in uncertainty, while the being continues, "You lit the beacon! Now everyone knows where and when you are!"
"Wait, what?!" Linka goes, "What are you talking about?!"
"You didn't think getting the Segment would be that easy did you?!" The figure chuckles, "A lot of people would want to get it before you! If you want it, it's back where we started everything. Once you collect it, the beacon will automatically turn off. Good luck!" And with that, the being disappears.
Linka turns and looks at Lars, and the boy simply nods in return.
*Beep* *Beep* Linka's bag goes. "What the…"
She quickly goes in and pulls out her Holo-Disk and reads, "Warning, beacon in dimension 63i'\ has been lit. All nearby units completing tasks class two and below, report to beacon immediately."
"Linka, what's going on?" Lars nervously asks.
"Dangit." Linka goes before shoving the device back in her bag and running back into the school, "Come on Lars, I'll explain later!"
Then, just as they rush into the school and down the first flight of stairs, a blue and pink portal opens up in front of the stairwell exit
"Quick, hide!" Linka whispers, before ducking behind the stairwell door.
"Care to explain Linka?" Lars asks, and Linka responds, "These are Anomaly Hunters, they're supposed to clean up dimensional anomalies, but currently they're trying to turn me into a card."
"You know what…" Lars goes, "Fill me in later. Just tell me, what do we need to do now?"
Linka nods, "We need to get passed these guys and get to the Teacher's Lounge, before they find the fragment. How would you write a scene like this?"
Lars thinks for a moment, before answering, "Easy, I'd have my character look around and see what they could do, then I'd have them do it."
And Linka responds by quickly looking around the stairwell for a moment, before pointing at another vent. "Lars, do you know the school's vents that well?"
"Yeah sis." Lars answers, and without another word, the duo climbs inside and begins crawling.
Meanwhile…
"So your brothers seriously chased her through the town?" Nyla asks, "That sounds hilarious!"
Luke chuckles, "Yeah, but Linka didn't think so. Heh, those guys are crazy, but I wouldn't trade them for the world." Then he leans back, and looks at the young woman sitting next to him, "You know, you look really beautiful in the moonlight." The young man blushes.
"You really think so Luke?" Nyla asks, blushing herself.
"Yeah." He responds, before leaning closer to her.
Instinctively, Nyla does the same, and when they are mere centimeters apart.
*Beep* *Beep*
"What the?" Nyla goes, breaking the mood.
"Your Holo-Disk is going off…" Luke goes.
Nyla quickly reads the message and gasps, "Oh no." Then she jumps to her feet, "I'm sorry Luke, I've gotta go!"
"Wait, Nyla, what's going on?!" Luke desperately asks as he grabs the girl's arm, "What's got you so jumpy?!"
"Someone just lit a beacon!" Nyla hastily responds, "Soon this place is going to be overrun by hunters, and since I've been disavowed, they're going to attack me!"
Luke's eyes go wide in shock, "What do you mean?!"
"I mean what I said, someone turned on a dimensional beacon. Now this place is attracting anomaly hunters. Soon, this place is going to be filled with random people all set to turn the beacon off and card all nearby anomalies."
"But Nyla, Linka's in there still! We have to help her!" Luke shouts in desperation.
"No, it's a horrible idea! Just because class two hunters are significantly more powerful than class ones, I'm still going to get overrun!" Nyla responds, her voice filling with annoyance.
Luke looks at Nyla with pleading eyes, "What if I help you out? I know Link isn't my real sister, but that doesn't mean I can abandon both her and Lars, I need your help!"
Nyla sighs, "Dangit Luke."
A few moments later…
"Generating Hunting Field: Music Rush!" The Holo-Disk computers declare in unison.
Immediately a confused hunter shouts, "What the?!"
Followed by another, "Who's getting challenged?!"
A feminine voice responds, "All of you!"
And with that, Luke and Nyla burst in through the front door carrying hardlight guitars
Immediately, the nearby hunters generate their instruments and prepare to counter the musical duo.
"What the heck did you convince me to do Luke?" Nyla asks, gritting her teeth as she does so.
"I convinced you to help Linka and I out." Then he strums, "You ready for this?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
And with that, they begin.
Just like before, Linka and Lars make their way to the teacher's lounge through the school's winding vents, except this time, they hold off for a moment, and watch.
"Dangit, they got here before us." Linka whispers as she watches the two hunters simply stand by the floating Fragment.
"What are we going to do then, Linka?" Lars asks, his voice filling with concern.
Yet, the girl doesn't respond, and continues to watch.
Suddenly, one of the hunters shouts, "Class Two on deck!" And with that, a hooded figure steps into the lounge and approaches the device. The figure stares at the floating fragment for a moment, before turning around and ordering, "Make sure the area is secure." The two hunters nod, before turning and running out of the room.
"Why does that voice sound so familiar?" Linka thinks, before turning back and asking, "Lars, what would you have the characters do next?"
Lars thinks for a moment, before answering, "I'd have them go through their things and see what their options were."
The girl responds by going through her bag and pulling out her Holo-Disk and a small, metal card. She takes a deep breath, before inserting the metal card into the device.
"User detected!" The device declares. And Linka breathes a sigh of relief, before securing the device to her arm.
"You'll explain that later too?" Lars asks and Linka nods, "Yeah, so what would you have next?"
"I'd have them burst through and interrupt whatever is going on."
"Got it." Linka responds before kicking the vent gate open and moving through the opening.
"What the?!" The hunter goes, before Linka raises her Holo-Caster with, "Stay away from the Segment! It's mine!"
The hooded figure steps back in shock and responds, "What the?! No… it can't be!" Then, she throws the hood off, revealing a familiar blonde girl.
Linka's eyes go wide with that.
"Linka?!" The young woman goes.
"Leni?!" Linka responds, her heart racing.
Immediately, the Leni-lookalike's expression becomes downtrodden, "No… my name's Nell…" The young woman begins to tear up, "Sorry… you're just like her…" then, she raises her Holo-Disk as well, "I guess it's safe to assume you lit this beacon huh?"
Linka nods, "Yeah. I need this to get home"
"I'm sorry Linka, but I'm under orders to retrieve this as soon as possible." Nell responds
"So I guess we're going to have to fight huh? Like steels her nerves, "What's the challenge?"
Nell steels herself as well, "How about a cooking contest? Whoever makes the better cinnamon bun wins!"
"Huh?" Linka goes.
Nell nods, "Wanna do it?" Then she whispers, "My Linka always loved cooking those…"
"Uhh… sure…" Linka responds.
"Ok then." Nell then taps away at her Holo-Disk, "My name is Nell Uold of Dimension EX-196!"
Linka grits her teeth, "And I am Linka Loud of Dimension 63i apostrophe backslash."
While this happens, Lars steps back and simply watches in silence.
"Generating Hunting Field: MTT Bakery!" And with that, two hardlight ovens appear in front of the two girls, along with the ingredients needed to prepare the cinnamon buns.
"Huh, I didn't see this coming…"Linka thinks, as she gets to work, "I wonder what this Leni has been through…"
Meanwhile…
"And don't say if I were you!" Nyla shouts, before strumming her guitar once more. Followed by Luke adding, "Cause you're not me!" And with that, a barrage of hardlight notes flies at the defending hunters, who can only watch as they are pelted by the musical attack, causing Luke and Nyla's score counter to top one million.
"There I think that's the last of them." Luke takes deep breaths in exhaustion.
Nyla raises her Holo-Disk and taps away, and with a burst of purple light, the defeated hunters become metal cards in her hand.
"Why'd you do that?" Luke tiredly asks.
"Policy states if they lose, they have to card themselves, or be disavowed. I just made it easier for them. Plus, they won't be bothering us." Nyla responds, before running forward, "Now come on Luke we have to help Linka!"
Luke quickly follows and the duo rush over to the teacher's lounge.
They burst down the door and ready themselves for a fight… only to find Linka comforting a crying hunter.
"There, there Nell…" She whispers, "Everything's going to be all right."
Luke and Nyla drop their arms and stare in shock, "Uhh… what's going on?"
"They started a cooking contest to try and fight over the Fragment, but after about five minutes of baking, Nell started to cry profusely about how cinnamon buns were her Linka's favorite, so Linka went to her side in an attempt to comfort her." Lars' voice is filled with confusion, as if he is unsure of whether or not to be happy or annoyed at this turn of events, "Personally, I was expecting more of a climax."
"I can't Linka." Nell cries, before standing up, "I don't want to fight you. Even if you're not my actual sister, you… you're still her counterpart, and I could never forgive myself if I turned you into a card." Nell's tears flow down her cheeks. "Take the fragment and turn the beacon off… I'll cover for you."
"T-thanks Nell." Linka responds, before stepping over and taking hold of the floating fragment.
Immediately, the Matter Key Watch responds by glowing, engulfing the fragment in light. And when it dies down, the fragment is gone and the beacon is disabled. "Where'd it go?" Linka asks, and the watch responds by beeping and flashing, "MacGuffin Segment Detected and Equipped!"
"Awesome, we did it!" Linka cheers, and Lars adds, "Awesome, I'm going to write this in my next story.
Nell then stands up, "Well, it was nice seeing you Linka, I should be-" the young woman gaze then falls on Luke and Nyla.
"Nyla Uold of dimension AX-144, Class two, disavowed." Nell's voice hardens, before she raises her Holo-Disk, "You know what comes next, right?"
Nyla responds by doing the same, "Yeah, I know, you're going to try and card me right?"
"Nell, don't!" Linka shouts, "You don't have to fight!"
"I'm sorry Linka." Nell goes, "But, as a hunter, it's my duty to defeat disavowed members and seal them away as well… even if they remind me of family…" Then she tears up once more, "My… lost family…" then, she drops her disk and sighs, "Man I'm horrible at this anomaly hunter stuff. I can't even finish a simple task. I don't even know why I'm Class two." Nell quips, "If you need me, I'll be heading off I guess."
And with that, Nell turns and opens a portal, "Please, try to stay safe. Please Linka and Luke."
"What the heck?!" A masculine voice shouts, "Class two, Nell Uold, what are you doing?!"
Immediately the five people turn to the lone man.
"What happened to the mission?! What happened to these anomalies?! Why are you ignoring protocol?!" His voice fills with anger, "Have you gone rouge?!"
Nell remains calm and answers, "The mission has been completed. Stand down."
"But these anomalies?!" The hunter goes, "Why are you simply ignoring them?!"
"They are of no concern." Nell responds, her voice filling with a commanding strength.
The hunter raises his Holo-Disk, "You've gone mad haven't you? You've been influenced, if you try to walk away, you will be abandoning your job and I will be forced to report you!"
Nell raises her own Holo-Disk and sighs, "I ordered you as a class two hunter to stand down. If you will not, I will be forced to discipline you."
The hunter doesn't back down.
"Well then, I guess I'll be forced to do so." Leni coldly goes, before tapping away at her Holo-Disk.
"Generating Hunting Field: Dance Dance Evolution!"
Immediately, two hardlight arrow pads appear under the two hunters and two hardlight screens appear in front of them. The screens display four directional arrows and lanes for the inputs to follow.
The four others simply stand by in silence and awe as the computer continues, "First one to reach one hundred correct inputs wins!"
"I will defeat you!" The opposing hunter shouts, "My name is Dennis Orion of dimension KX-165!"
"Ok then, you can try." Nell responds, "I'm Nell Uold of Dimension EX-196."
"3… 2… 1… Begin!"
And with that, the two-hardlight screens begin ton flash random notes and keys for the two hunters to hit with their feet.
Nell puts on a smile as she cheerfully dances on the pad, while the opposing hunter desperately fumbles in an attempt to keep up.
The song heats up, causing the moving arrows to move by faster, causing Dennis to stumble even more, while Nell just continues on her way. "I will not let you win." The man angrily shouts.
Then, when Nell hits seventy-five inputs, the board speed maxes out, causing the man to fall down in confusion.
"Come on Dennis, I thought you were going to beat me!" Nell taunts. "This is why you don't challenge class two." Then, with one final string of inputs, Nell's counter rises above one hundred. And the game ends."
"That was too easy." Nell responds, before aiming her Holo-Disk. Then, with flash of turquoise light, the opposing hunter ends up as a metal card in Nell's hand. "Heh, that was fun too." She quips, before turning to the group. "You guys take care now, will ya?"
"Yeah, see ya around Nell!" Linka goes, "If you wanna hang out, you know where to find me!"
Then, Nell looks at Nyla with a serious expression, "Nyla, you know what's coming for you right?"
The disavowed hunter nods.
"Good, I wish you luck sis." Nell finishes, before opening a portal and stepping through.
"Wow… well that was… fast… and unexpected." Lars quips.
"Yeah… but it was Leni, Loni's counterpart. What did you expect?" Linka responds, "Do you think we'll see her again?"
Nyla shrugs, "Who knows, maybe."
"What was she talking about by the way?" Linka asks, "What's coming?"
"I'll answer that later." Nyla quickly answers, much to the group's dismay.
"Anyways, that was interesting for a night." Luke finally goes, "Come on guys, let's go home."
Lars and Linka turn to each other and nod, before walking out of the room.
"Hey Luke." Nyla grabs the young man's arm before he can go.
"Yeah Nyla?" Luke responds, and the girl digs her hand into her pocket and pulls out a small, microphone-like device, "I heard you needed something like this, hope it helps."
Luke takes the part in hand and looks at in surprise, "How'd you know?"
"I stalk you at night." Nyla then chuckles, "Don't worry, I came by earlier to ask you on a date, and I overheard you talking to Levi." Then she holds her arm, "So… wanna go on a date sometime Luke?"
The young man shoves the part in his pocket and smiles, "Sure Nyla, come by later and we'll plan it." Then he turns and glances at Linka and Lars, "I've got to bring those two home."
Nyla then hugs Luke and whispers, "No worries, I understand." Luke returns the embrace with that.
And then, the siblings simply head home.
A few minutes later…
Luke, Linka and Lars walk into their home, tired and slightly bruised, but still not turned into cards.
"So how was that walk kids?" Rita asks.
Linka responds, "It was awesome, I can't wait to go again sometime!"
"Heh, ok then Linka, tell us in the morning." Lynn Sr. goes, "It's time for you three to head off to bed."
"Yes sir." The boys respond, while Linka goes, "Got it dad." After that, all three children head up to their rooms, with Luke making sure to leave the newly acquired piece with Levi before heading off.
With a final goodnight, Linka steps into her own room, and is immediately greeted by a familiar old man.
"You did it Linka!" William cheers, his voice filling with excitement. "You got the first fragment!"
"Yeah, just had to fight another hunter and ran into a Leni counterpart." Linka quips. "By the way, the people that got carded, they're not… dead, right?"
"No, that would be morbid… though now that I think of it, sealed in a metal card for all eternity isn't the best way to go out…" William shakes his head, "anyways, I just came to congratulate you for what you did as well as give you the next clue."
Linka raises an eyebrow, "Oh? And where would the next piece be?"
"The next piece rests where what is seen cannot be unseen." The guardian answers, tipping his hat as he does so.
"Just as vague as ever huh?"
"Of course." And with that, the guardian disappears.
Linka then sighs, "Well, one part down, more to go am I right?" And with that, she throws herself on the bed and falls into a deep sleep.