"Hey Linka! Linka, wake up!" A familiar voice calls, causing the young, white-haired girl to tiredly open her eyes.
"Linka, it's Claudia!" The device continues, "Come on! Answer!"
Slowly, Linka reaches over and grabs the device off her desk, "Yeah Claudia? What is it?"
"Cristopher said it'd be ok for us to come over! Just tell me when and we can go!" Claudia continues, her voice filling with excitement.
"Really?!" Linka's eyes go wide while an excited smile forms on her face, "That's awesome Claudia! I'll ask my parents if I can go! Thanks so much!"
"No probs Linka." The girl responds, "Just stay safe and stuff. See ya later!" And with that, the walkie-talkie goes silent.
"Awesome! I'm now one step closer to finding the second fragment!" Linka cheerfully thinks, before yawning and pulling herself up from her bed, "Good morning Loud House." She stretches for a moment, before taking a look at her wall-mounted clock. "Huh, it's ten AM…" Slowly, the realization dawns on her, "Wait… isn't it Saturday?"
"Oh no." Immediately, she jumps to her feet and rushes over to her door, "Please, I don't need to deal with the flu protocol today! I really don't need to deal with flu protocol today!"
Then, she grabs hold of her knob and throws her room door open… only to revel her ten brothers frantically rushing in and out of each other's rooms, everyone stammering as they do so, "Uhh… what's going on?"
Immediately, Lars and Lexx rush out of their rooms carrying random bags, while Leif and Lynn rush in, no doubt to grab more. Loki rushes out of his and Loni's room carrying a random box of supplies, shouting, "Come on, we need more gear!" while Loni and Luke follow, carrying random boxes as well.
"Well… I'm not sure what's better, dealing with flu protocol or not having any idea why my brothers are panicking." Linka then steps forward and turns into her youngest brother's room, "Uhh hey Levi, mind telling me what's going on?"
The young scientist responds by throwing random junk out of a random bin.
"Levi!" She angrily shouts.
The scientist immediately turns and looks at his sister, "Oh, hey Linka, sorry, what do you need?" He adjusts his glasses, "We're kinda busy, but I'm pretty sure I can help you and…"
"Care to tell me what's got you guys so worked up?" Linka tilts her head in confusion.
Levi then turns back to the chest and continues throwing stuff out of it, "It's president's day weekend, and we all have the week off." He then pulls out a familiar orange device and throws it back.
"Huh, a duel disk?" Linka catches and inspects it for a moment, "Weird…" Then she asks, "But what does that have to do with anything?"
"Well…" The young boy turns around and rubs the back of his head nervously, "It's our yearly trip to the woods, and well…" His face goes red in embarrassment, "We all forgot to pack up… again."
"Oh…" Linka chuckles, "Seriously bro? Is that all that's gettin' ya nervous?"
"Yes." Levi answers, "Now please, can you stand clear? We're really busy and well… the last time we weren't completely focused on packing, we forgot some crucial supplies." He then looks his sister in the eyes, "Let's just say, it wasn't a very enjoyable week."
Linka shivers at the mere thought of what he could mean, before nodding, "Ok Levi. I understand." And with that, she turns and returns to her room, closing the door and dropping the duel disk on her desk as she does so.
"So… these guys are going to be away for the week huh?" the girl smiles, "The girls and I never went camping for more than a day and whenever we did they'd always say they hated it…" a soft, nostalgic air overtakes her as she sits down in front of her desk, "I wonder if… maybe I could join them."
Then she takes a deep breath, "One fragment down, three to go. After the randomness that the past few weeks have given, I guess it would be nice to just go out in the woods and just have a good time." She then gets changed into her typical tangerine blouse and blue skirt, before carefully maneuvering passed her panicked brothers and heading downstairs.
"Hey mom!" She greets.
The woman looks at her only daughter and smiles, "Mornin' Linka."
Linka takes a seat next to her mother, "Hey mom… I was wondering, what are we going to do while the boys are off on the camping trip?"
"Well… we usually have some mother-daughter bonding time and just some simple week off shenanigans." Rita calmly answers, careful not to stir Leon from his sleep, "Why do you ask?"
"Well…" Linka nervously looks away, "I was just wondering… if it would be all right if I joined them."
The mother smiles, "Now Linka, you know that those boys love going on their yearly camping trips without us. After all, it's their father-son bonding time." She then leans back against the couch, "Besides, we've never gone camping before."
"Yeah… that's what you think." Linka goes, before leaning back as well, "I understand mom… I just… I wanted to see what those boys do when they go and camp out in the woods. They seem like they have a really fun time doing it."
"I know dear, I know." Rita chuckles, before standing up, "Though… Now that you mention it… it does sound like it would be fun."
"What does honey?" Lynn Sr. asks as he steps into the living room, his back laden with his own camping supplies.
Rita then answers, "Linka and I were wondering if would it be possible for us to join you this year? After all, camping with you boys does sound like a fun idea!"
The man's voice fills with an unsure nervousness, "I'm not sure dear… remember, the first thing we do when we get to the forest is go on our yearly race to the campsite. It's a really hard hike and I don't want you two to get hurt. Plus, don't your two have anything else to do this week?!"
Rita puts her hands on her hips, "Lynn Bertram Loud Jr." A tranquil fury overtakes the woman, "Don't you remember just how many times I've saved your butt from stupid things before?"
Immediately, the man holds back and grits his teeth, "But Linka? She-"
The young girl then steps forward with begging eyes, "Please daddy, I can help! I would love to go camping with you guys!"
Lynn Sr. grits his teeth once more.
Meanwhile…
"Ok, the class two anomalies have been located." A small, blonde-haired girl in a blight-blue uniform declares, "What do you see Alex?"
Next to her, a young boy in a pink uniform looks into his Holo-gear, "The cluster of anomalies is in there…" His voice nervously trails off.
"Alex?" She goes, "What's wrong."
"He's… he's in there Aeif…" Alex nervously whispers. "He's…"
"Who?" Aeif responds, before looking through her binoculars as well… only to spot the entirety of the Loud Family gathered in front of their father. The young girl watches for a moment; as the boys listen to their father go on about whatever random topic concerned them that day. Quickly, her eyes fall upon a familiar, blonde-haired boy, "Oh… he exists in this dimension…"
The girl then turns to her brother, "Don't worry Alex, everything's going to be fine. He'll never hurt you again."
The boy takes a moment to regain his composure and nod, "Ok sis, when do you wanna try to… ya know, seal them in cards?"
"Let's wait for them to break off, it'll be easier to beat them when they're split up ok?" The girl then sits up and places a hand on her brother's shoulder, "Just remember, these guys aren't our family. And no matter what, I'll never let him harm you again."
Alex nods, "Thanks sis." And with that, they sit back and simply wait.
Meanwhile…
"So… boys uhh…" Lynn Sr. awkwardly goes, making sure not to break eye contact with the road, "Yeah uhh, there's been a change of plans…"
"Yeah?" Luke tilts his head in confusion, "What is it?"
Lynn Sr. rubs the back of his head, "This year, your mother and Linka are tagging along. So uhh… I need you guys to decide what your teams are going to be." Then he motions towards his wife, "I'll be taking your mother. So you guys have to choose someone for Linka."
The lone girl beams with excitement over the choice, "I can't wait to go camping! Something to get my mind off the mission would be really nice!"
"And remember boys, you till have to try to win!" Rita continues. "After all, it wouldn't be much fun if you didn't try!
Despite their unsure silence, the boys all wanted to mutter something along the lines of, "dangit" given their situation. Though, they hold their tongues, lest they offend their sister.
"So what are we going to do Loki?" Levi looks to his eldest brother, a concerned expression overtakes the young boy.
A slightly annoyed air begins to overtake the family, while Lynn Sr., Rita, Linka and the boys wait patiently for the young man's response.
"Dangit, what are we going to do?" Loki thinks, glancing at his brothers and sister as he does so. "Whoever takes Linka is going to have a bad time watching out for her… And if they lose, it'll be because they were taking care of her… there will be an argument over it…" Suddenly an idea comes to him, "But if the person in question is experienced enough…"
Loki takes a deep breath, "Ok guys, I'll take Linka as my partner ok?"
The lone girl smiles, "Really Loki?!" Her voice fills with excitement, before she gives a crude salute, "You can count on me!"
"Got it sis." The boy nods before he turns to his other brothers, "The rest of you, go in the pairs you feel comfortable with."
Levi hits his calculator and points to Loni; "I'll take my second eldest sibling then. Given the only other options will be difficult to work with"
Lexx and Leif turn to each other and nod. "We'll go together."
Luke then strums his guitar; "I'll take Lane then." And Lane nods his response, "Yeah, this'll be a hard wood of a time!"
"I'm not sure if I should be offended by that or not…" Linka immediately thinks.
"Good, then our pairs are set." Lynn Sr. declares, then he turns to face their two girls, "Now, how about you two get ready? We leave in an hour."
Linka and Rita nod, while Lynn Sr. continues, "Boys, help your sister pack up, I'll help your mother."
And with that, the family breaks up to pack.
A few hours later…
The Loud Family drives down an unfamiliar dirt rod as they make their way to the forest.
"Ok guys, you know what to do correct?" Lynn Sr. goes, and his children respond with a resounding, "Yes!"
"Good," He continues, before chuckling, "You girls excited?"
Linka and Rita both nod, while Linka continues, "I can't wait! To see what you guys do when you go out on these! You made it sound so cool!"
"Heh Linka." Leif goes, "You don't know the half of it!"
Lynn Sr. then turns to his wife, "You sure your brother will be ok with Leon?" And Rita gives a soft nod, "Course, he's great with kids!"
"Ok then…" The man then turns the family wagon into a deserted parking lot and turns the engine off, "K guys, we're here. You know what comes next."
And with that, the boys disembark and line up in front of the van, with their gear bags placed neatly in front of them. Linka and Rita follow, standing off to the side, unsure of what to do.
"Ok boys, check your gear." Lynn Sr. commands, while he takes out several rolls of paper as well as a plastic bag. "Remember, food supplies for nine days. Spare clothing. Sunglasses, and screen in case you're out in the open for too long. You're all wearing jackets. Make sure you have spare clothes in case it rains."
The man's voice fills with seriousness. "Remember to watch your water supplies. Just cause it's cold doesn't mean you won't get dehydrated. You should all have your lighters and emergency fire starters handy. And lastly, first aid kits, flashlights, sleeping bags, your tents, and your emergency flares."
Immediately, everyone goes through their bags, for those items, before looking up and giving an affirmative nod at the man.
"Good." His declares, before handing a map and compass to each of the teams, "Remember, if you need help, use your flares, we'll rush to you. The hike should only take today and tomorrow morning got that." The father's voice fills with determination, "I don't want any of you travelling through the night."
"Understood dad." The boys declare.
And Linka thinks, "As well as a Holo-Gear and dimensional watch… just in case a fragment is nearby."
"I wish you all the best of luck. Remember the first team to get to the campsite first gets the sweet spot." Then, the man takes his wife's hand in his own, "Now come along honey, let's do this.
And with that, the boys break off and enter the forest from their own points of interest.
"Ok Linka. You're with me." Loki takes his sister's hand in his own.
"I'm so excited Loki!" Linka declares, while she thinks, "My mind is excited at least. My body is dreading the idea of going out in the woods and spending time out in the cold."
"Heh, awesome Linka, we're gonna have a good time." Loki chuckles, before stepping into the woods as well. "Let's hope your excitement is hot enough to endure the cold."
Linka simply smiles as she looks ahead.
The forest is beautiful this time of year, with only a thin layer of snow blanketing the ground. The pine trees around them have been covered white by the stuff. No doubt there would be some annoyed birds around.
Despite the cold air around them, Linka actually begins to slightly overheat- though that's a given since her brothers insisted on giving her five layers to keep warm.
"Heh, Linka seems to be having fun already." Loki thinks as he glances at his sister, the young girl's smile already warming up the forest around him… it was either that or her natural heat. "I haven't seen Linka smile this much in a while… again…"
"This place is amazing Loki!" Then she breaks his grip and runs over to a random tree.
"Course sis, it's the forest." Loki chuckles, "It's always beautiful." Then the young man ducks under a tree branch, "Now come on, and watch your head, we'll sightsee, just we have to keep moving."
Linka nods, "You go it bro." And with that, Linka cheerfully follows, "Where are we going anyway?"
"We're going to the other side of the forest." Loki doesn't hesitate to answer; "We always start this camping week by racing to the campsite." He chuckles, "After all, there's a small area there where the ground's soft enough the rest on well enough, and it's decently close to the lake so it's not too cold." He turns to her, "It's the sweet spot."
"I see." Linka smiles, "Well then, we better get to hiking!"
Loki then awkwardly rubs the back of his head, "The thing is, I wanted to know, are you ok with going the route I usually take? It's hard ton traverse, but it'll get us there faster than anywhere else…"
"I don't mind at all bro." Linka nods, and takes her brother's hand once more, "Let's go."
The young man nods, "Ok sis." And with that, they head deeper into the forest.
Meanwhile…
"Ok Luke, boost me up!" Lane asks, and Luke responds by standing in front of the rock ledge in their way with his hands cupped, "I'm all ready bro."
And with that, Lane runs at Luke, steps into his hands and jumps. Luke responds by pushing up on his leg, giving him a boost up. It takes the young man to climb over, turn around and offer Luke his hand. "Ok Luke, your turn!"
Luke crouches for a moment, before jumping at his brothers, hand, easily taking hold it, before climbing up to the ledge as well.
"Ok Lane, we're making good progress." Luke goes, "Just a few more of these and we'll-"
"Halt!" A feminine voice calls out, before Alex and Aeif step out from their hiding place behind one of the trees.
"Uhh… who are you guys?" Lane tilts his head in confusion, "And why does it look like you're about to go to school."
The young boy hesitates to answer, while his sister goes, "Under the authority of the Anomaly Elimination Squadron, we will seal you away!"
Luke then steps in front of Lane, "Look you two, we don't want any trouble." His voice is filled with determination; "We just want to reach our campsite before it gets too dark."
"I'm sorry." Alex speaks up, his voice filled with an uncertain fear, "But it's our job to fix things!" Then, the duo raises their holo-gears. And before Luke and Lane can fight back, a blue and pink light emanate from the devices, causing them to become cards in the hunters' hands.
"Two down, more to go bro." Aeif quips, turning to her brother as she does so, "You ok?"
Alex nods, "Yeah, I'm all right. Just… they reminded me of… him…"
Aeif puts her arm around her brother, "Don't worry, we'll get to his counterpart here soon enough. We'll make sure he can't do anything to anyone else, and save this reality too."
"Yeah sis, we will." Then, Alex turns to face his sister, determination filling his expression, "Let's go. We've got more anomalies to seal."
Later…
A few hours later, the sun begins to set over the wintry forest, taking with it, the light that illuminates the Loud Family's paths ahead.
After hours of climbing up and down the uneven ground along Loki's route, Linka and Loki step up to a small clearing, by the forest mountainside, where Loki declares, "Ok sis, just a few more feet and we'll be at the Anima Pass." Then he turns to Linka, "So I suppose this is a nice place to camp for the night."
"Got it bro." Linka then drops her backpack in the clear patch under a tree, "So, how about I get us some firewood?"
Loki immediately looks at his sister in surprise, "Are you sure Linka? I mean, it's your first time camping and uhh…"
"Come on Loki." Linka waves him off, "It's just firewood! It's not like there are killers in the forest or something!"
"Yeah…" Loki looks away, "I hope at least."
"I'll be fine, just cause it's my first, doesn't mean I'll be in too much danger!" The girl then steps in front of her brother, "Besides, I went camping on my own back home!"
"Fine." Loki sighs, "But be careful, and I want you to scream and run back at the first sign of trouble ok?" Then he drops his bag and begins to go through it as well, "I'll set up our tents and stuff, ok?"
Linka smiles and nods, "Ok bro!" And with that, she turns and heads off in a random direction.
"I hope she'll be all right…" He takes a deep breath and sighs, "It's been months since Levi told us she wanted to be a boy… but she's done things that go against that idea… Man I don't know what's going on with her." Then, he takes out his mallet and one of the tent's pikes, "But at least she seems happy. And at least she's safe."
And with that, he gets to work hammering in the tents.
A few minutes later…
"Wow Linka." Loki goes as he watches his sister set up the campfire, "When did you learn to set up a fire pit up like that?"
"From the time I had to serve all my sisters when we camped." Linka immediately thinks, before putting on a sheepish smile and turning to face him, "Oh just found out from TV!"
"Ok… I guess that makes sense." Loki nervously goes, before taking a seat on a nearby fallen log, "So, we've got some time sis. Wanna go eat now?"
"Sure bro, what's on the menu?" Linka chuckles.
"We've got MRE's." Loki chuckles, "I remember back at the academy I had to eat these darn things every single day." Then, he pulls out a small brown box and his water bottle, "Come on, just cause it's a package filled with lies, doesn't mean you can't enjoy it."
Linka chuckles, "What do you mean bro?" The girl then takes a seat next to him.
Loki responds by pouring some water into the source, "MRE stands for 'Meal-Ready-to-Eat." Then he smiles, "They're not a meal, it's not ready, and you can't really eat it."
"Heh, and why's that?" the girl tilts her head in confusion.
"You'll see when you eat it." Loki answers, before taking out a small plastic fork and picking at the now warmed food that had been packed. Without hesitation, he takes a forkful and shoves it in his mouth, quickly chews and swallows."
"Here I go." Linka gulps in fear, before following in her brother's footsteps and taking a forkful in her mouth… and immediately gagging as the taste of garbage rolls off her tongue and down her throat. "Ugh, that's horrible!"
Loki chuckles, "Trust me, you get used to it sis." Then he takes another spoonful, "So Linka…"
"Yeah Loki?" The girl chuckles and turns to her brother.
"So sis, why'd you decide to tag along this time? After all, it's not like you to well, wanna do stuff we like."
Linka shrugs, "Come on, you're my brothers! We haven't spent that much time lately and well… what better way to spend time together than to go out and go campin' with em?!"
"Yeah… you stopped hanging out with us after the incident made you afraid of us… even when you started talking to us again you still chose not to spend too much time…" Loki shakes his head, "Heh, true." Then the young man looks forward, "That's nice, after all, what better way to have fun than to do it with your bro."
"Course!" Linka nervously responds, "Why does Loki seem more concerned about that than usual?"
"I'm still your favorite brother right?" Loki nonchalantly asks, and Linka responds with a smile, "Course bro!"
Loki gives a soft, fatherly smile with that, "You know, if there's anything you ever need to tell me, you can trust me with it."
The girl nods, "Yeah bro, I know." Then she looks at her food, and hesitates, "Well… I have him here and we've got nothing better to do… maybe he could tell me the truth…" Then she looks up at him; "Loki… would you mind telling me anything too?"
"Hmm?" Loki places his arm around her, "Of course sis, to you I'm an open book!"
She hesitates, "Can you tell me why you ended up in military school all those years ago?"
He raises an eyebrow in surprise. "You mean dad never told you?"
"Yeah…" Linka responds, rubbing the back of her head as she does so, "Yeah… no one's talked about the incident since I came so I'm kinda lost…"
"You sure you want me to tell you?" Loki turns to face her, "I'll have to talk about my role in the 'incident' all those years ago…"
"I don't mind… I can handle it." The girl responds, and Loki sighs, "Ok then…" before he takes a deep breath.
"About six years ago, I was just a normal kid, carefree and whatnot." He starts, his voice filling with a nostalgic bliss, "Dad back then was way more laid back. He was fine with whatever us boys did so long as it wasn't hurting anyone else."
Linka listens intently, unsure of what to make of her brother's words.
"So of course, without a leadership structure of some kind. Bad things were going to happen… eventually." He looks into the fire they had started, "I befriended this boy, he was fifteen at the time. Nothin' much to him really; he was a nice guy, but had some… issues in the legal department."
"What do you mean?" Linka tilts her head in confusion.
"Simply put, he was a drug dealer." Loki answers, before putting another spoonful of MRE in his mouth, "Now, I never did that stuff. He warned me against that stuff." He takes another deep breath, "One day stupid little Ol'me decided to go out with him on one of his trades."
Then he looks at the girl once more, "To make a long story short, the guys he dealt with found out where we lived, because I wasn't careful. I messed up." His voice fills with a pained guilt, "So one day, mom and dad decided to leave you, Lars, and Lane behind while they ran errands."
Then he throws his arms up, "So of course that's the day they decide to break in to our home." Then he sighs, "I don't know what they did to you three but… all I do know is that mom and dad decided to come home early that day and were able to subdue the intruders before anything bad could've happened."
"The police told us we were lucky they weren't armed." Loki then looks up and takes in the soft moonlight around him, before he runs his hands through Linka's soft, white hair, "After that, dad figured out I was partially responsible for what had happened. He decided that I needed discipline. So he sent me off to military school." Then he takes a deep breath, "For four years… he never seemed so… perky after that."
"So… does that mean that Lane is messed up too?"
"You ok Linka?" Loki nervously goes.
The girl quickly nods, "Yeah, I'm fine… I just… I feel like I had a hand in you going away…"
"Don't worry." Then, he places a soft hand on her shoulder, "When I went away I hated it, but I didn't fight back because I knew I deserved it…"
The young man turns to Linka and gazes into her soft brown eyes, "But whether he knew it or not, dad sending me away turned out to be the best thing that had ever happened to me." He looks away as he says, "I mean the reason was horrible and I wish it never happened," Before he looks at his sister again but I learned. It's cause of it that I met Bebe. I have a future in the armed forces. And now, the guys and I could protect you and each other. It's why I always win this contest, and why we're gonna win that sweet spot!"
Then, his voice gains a soft solemnity, "When I was there, I made a promise that I would make sure nothing bad ever happened to you sis. And if I ever see those SOB's that hurt you, I'd kick their arses!"
"Thanks Loki…" She smiles, "You're the best." While she thinks. "Could that be why Linka doesn't wanna come home?" Then she looks away, before staring into the fire, "But after everything I've seen her do… why don't I feel any sympathy for her?" She then forces more of the MRE into her mouth and swallows. The girl fights the anger building in her, "These guys love her. Why does she want to live my life more?! Grr… watch yourself Lincoln, you can't let Loki know… can I?
"You sure you're ok?" Loki asks, his voice filling with concern.
Linka nods, "Yeah bro." Then she looks at him with begging eyes, "Thanks."
"Ok…" Loki then leans back and looks up at the sky. "At least you're ok sis. At least you're ok."
"Agreed." Linka then looks down at her food in contemplation, before she takes another deep breath and continues, "Hey Loki… I can trust you with anything right?" She hesitates, "Should I tell him? I mean, after the way Luke and Lars reacted to finding out the truth… what would he do?"
"Course sis." He responds, "After all, I'm your big brother!"
"Well I-"
*Boom* something goes, causing the duo to jump to their feet.
"Loki! What was that?!" Linka frantically shouts.
Immediately, Loki looks up, "That' was the sound of a flare going off, nearby too." Then he looks at his sister, "Grab your bag, we'll be back, but we won't know what the danger is until we get there!" Then Linka looks up as well, and spots a small, red trail rising up from the forest.
And with that, the duo rush over to the flare.
It takes them a few moments to do so, but when they finally arrive, they're the only ones in the empty clearing.
"Ok, I think the flare came from here." Linka whispers, before looking around, "Where is everyone?" She then shines her flashlight around, hoping to catch sight of the sender.
"Let's look around sis, they couldn't have gotten far." Then he shines his flashlight at the forest floor, causing a small, metallic device to glow in the darkness. "What the?" Loki squats down, and pulls the device from the snow.
"Oh no…" He whispers.
"What is it Loki?" His sister stands behind the young man as he shows it off.
"It's the flare." He answer, concern filling his voice, "That means something happened to the sender." Then his body tenses up, before he shoves Linka to the ground, "Hit the deck!"
Immediately, a snowball flies over them.
Loki wastes no time jumping to his feet and hardening his stance, "Show yourself!"
Generating Hunting Field: Snow Warrior's Graveyard. A computer goes, while a soft blue hue engulfs the clearing, illuminating the dark night.
Linka's eyes go wide, "Oh no…"
"What is it Linka?" Loki turns to his panicked sister.
Immediately, the girl turns to him, a frantic fear filling her voice, "Loki, I need you to get out of here! It's too dangerous for you!"
"No." he flatly responds, "What's going on here?"
"I don't have time to explain!" Then Linka drops her bag and rushes through it for a moment, before pulling out her holo-gear and a familiar metal card. She quickly secures it to her wrist and shoves the card inside, before she continues, "You're in danger Loki. If you don't get out of here, you're going to end up in a card!"
"No Linka, I'm not leaving you until you explain what's going on!" Loki's face fills with determination, before he turns to face the darkness ahead of them.
Linka's device immediately generates a hardlight snow blaster in her hands.
"Last one standing wins!" The computer goes, before two more hardlight blasters generate across from them.
Loki responds by shining his flashlight at them, revealing two familiar children.
"Lana and Lexx?!"Linka grits her teeth, "Who are you?! Why are you here?!"
Alex steps back at the sight of the young man, "Aeif… it's him!"
Yet his sister counters, "Calm down Alex, he's not going to hurt us." Determination fills her voice, before she turns to face the duo and aims her snow blaster, "It's time to seal you away forever anomalies!"
"Seal away?" Loki turns to his sister, "What's going on Linka?! Why does one of them look like Leif and Lexx?!"
"I'll explain everything later, just please I need you to stay clear!" Linka shouts… only for the twin hunters to aim and fire at them. "Dangit." She responds by shoving Loki away, causing him to stumble back in the snow while the icy pellets hit het her.
Linka groans in pain for a moment, while Loki regains his bearings. Then, the young man's eyes go wide in shock, "Linka!"
Yet, before he's able to get up to his feet, a dark blue light engulfs his sister, causing her body to disappear… leaving the strange device she had equipped, behind.
"No…" Loki whispers, an unresolved rage building in his heart as he turns to the kids, "What did you do to my sister?!"
The boy steps back fearfully, while his sister remains determined.
"Answer me!" Loki picks the device from the snow and slaps it on his wrist, causing it to latch on to him and a hardlight rifle to appear in his hands.
Aeif raises the metal card depicting Linka, "She was an anomaly. So we sealed her away. Then she shoves the card in her pocket, while her brother continues for her.
"Y-yeah!" The young boy's voice is filled with fear, "And now we're going to seal you too! We're not going to let you abuse anyone else!" Then he too raises his weapon.
"New user detected!" The computer suddenly goes. "Intrusion penalty: shock!"
"What the?" is all Loki can mutter, before a surge of electricity rushes through his body, causing him to fall to the ground in pain, "G'ahh!"
"See Alex, he's harmless!" Aeif aims her weapon, "Goodbye Akio counterpart. You won't hurt anyone, ever again!"
Yet, Loki doesn't give up, and he jumps to his feet, dodging the incoming ordinance as he does so. "I don't know who you think you are, but the name's not Akio!" quickly, the young man ducks behind a tree.
"We don't care!" the girl shouts, "We are going to do our jobs! The only thing left for you to do is run or fight us!"
"Run?" Loki's voice fills with both anger and determination, "Yeah, that's not happenin'." Then he jumps out from cover and rolls, catching a glimpse at the two hunters as he does so. "My name is Loki Lexington Loud, and I am not leaving here without my family!"
"Yeah, good luck with that!" The girl yells, before rushing out from her own cover and charging at Loki's hiding tree… only to find the young man nowhere to be seen.
"Hey idiot, over here!" He shouts, before aiming and firing at the girl. "You should've known better than to challenge a guy who went to military school and was the top of his class shooter for three years in a row!"
Immediately, Aeif dodges the attack and fires back, though Loki had taken the chance to escape his hiding place.
Alex on the other hand steels his nerves, before joining in the fray with, "Where are you?!"
"I'll show myself as soon as you tell me where my family is!" Loki counters.
Alex pulls out a small deck of cards, "We sealed them in cards. They're all right here."
Then Aeif continues, "And you're next Akio!"
"A promise is a promise." Loki mutters, before jumping down from the trees and showing himself, "Now, care to explain what this sealing stuff is?"
"You're an anomaly." Alex answers, while Aeif raises her cannon, "Now you shall get sealed!" And with that, the twins unleash a barrage of snow at Loki. Yet, he responds by dodging to the side and using a tree for cover once again.
The twin hunters rush over in anger, desperate to catch up to the anomaly they so sought.
Yet, just as he did before, Loki easily disappears from sight and continues, "I'm going you ten seconds to free my family or else I'm going to use everything I've learned to beat the answer out of you!"
"Sorry, but they're anomalies, and as such, we'll never release them!" Aeif answers, before aiming at the tree branches above and firing.
Loki is barely able to dodge the snow ordinance, as he jumps to another tree, "Well then, I gave you two the chance, but I guess that's too good for ya huh?" Then he jumps down from the tree, quickly aims his weapon, and fires a single snowball.
The snow bullet flies through the air for a moment, before hitting the female twin smack in the head, causing her holo-gear to detach from her hand and her sealed anomalies to fly off her person as she crashes into a nearby tree.
*Groan* she goes, while Alex looks on in shock, "Aeif!"
Immediately, a small bar pops up on Loki's holo-gear, reading, "Seal defeated opponent? [Y/N]"
"I wonder…" Then, he hits the "Y" and immediately, the device responds by sending out a flash purple light. When it dies down, the girl is gone, and Loki is holding a metal card decorated by her image. "Well, that explains how you sealed my family away."
Alex falls to his knees, "No… Aeif… no, it can't be." The young boy turns to face Loki, defeated tears rolling down his cheeks, "Unseal my sister now!"
"No." Loki flatly responds, "Not until you unseal my family."
Alex stands up and grits his teeth, before aiming his weapon, "That was my only sister!" And with that he fires a barrage of snowballs at Loki, yet the young man doesn't hesitate to dodge and rush over to yet another tree.
"Linka was my sister too!" Loki declares, before quickly climbing up the tree.
Alex screams as he continues firing snowballs at Loki, who can only dodge the incoming onslaught.
"Where I came from, you hurt us! I may not have wanted to join this unit, but I did because I was promised I'd be able to get closure for what happened to us because of you!" Alex shouts, his voice filling with determination as he follows the little light given off Loki's hardlight weapon.
"I have no idea what you're talking about! I've done nothing to hurt you! You sealed my siblings in cards!" Then, Loki sends a counter-assault against the hunter, yet Alex responds by dodging and ducking behind cover, before reloading his snow.
Loki grabs a handful of snow and shoves it in his cannon as well, "I have no idea what's going on! But no doubt, it isn't good." Then he rolls behind the tree, only to find Alex had evaded him once again.
"Grr." Loki grits his teeth and holds his weapon at the ready, "Where'd you go pipsqueak?"
"Over here arsehole!" Alex shouts, before firing once again. This time Loki counters by firing his own weapon at the incoming snow, causing both to fall out of the air.
Loki then charges forward at the boy, before rolling under Alex's volley of snow and finally catching up to him, grabbing the boy by the collar of uniform and holding his weapon to his face. A furious fire burns in the former cadet's eyes as he orders, "Unseal my family now."
"Never." The hunter grits his teeth, before spitting in his face. "You don't deserve them. And you'll never hurt us again."
"Screw you." Loki mutters, before pulling his snow cannon's trigger, dousing the hunter in snow- causing his holo-gear and the cards he had collected to fall to the ground under him.
Just as he did with his sister, Loki hits the "Y" option, causing a flash of purple light to engulf the Lexx look-a-like. Causing him to become a card in the eldest Loud Sibling's hand, "If this really was Lexx, I'd kick his ass."
Loki then wipes the spit from his face, before looking at the device he had been using, "If this thing could seal people in cards… then maybe it can unseal them." Then he grits his teeth, "Linka has so much explaining to do later." Then, he scrolls through the menu for a few moments.
"Replay memories?" Loki looks at the card in his hand, before taking a deep breath, "Well, I might as well find out what the heck happened…" Then he selects the option and shoves the card in the device's receiver.
It takes a moment for the device to load, before it projects the image of, well, himself, shouting at the boy he had just turned into a card. "I guess this was what that kid remembered."
"You need to learn your place Alex! Ever since mom, dad and Linka died, you never learned!" Then, Loki watches as the man pulls out his belt and ties it up. The scared little boy steps back in fear, before his counterpart begins to beat upon the young boy, causing Loki to wince.
"Wait… where this guy came from… Linka and our parents died?!" Loki immediately thinks, before the projection statics out, moving to a scene in which the boy was talking to the girl he had just carded.
"I'm sorry Alex, but… we have to card them." The girl goes.
The boy looks away, "I know Aeif… can we at least save them for last? Because…"
Aeif nods, "No problem. We'll save them for last. Let's seal the rest first." Then she looks him in the eyes, "I miss her too Alex."
"Ok… so they were watching us huh?" Loki then scrolls through the memories the boy had. Though, besides how ruthlessly they had sealed his siblings, nothing of interest caught his eye.
After he finishes going through the memories, Loki turns off the feature, causing the boy's card to eject from the device. "Well… I guess it's safe to assume what would've happened if those SOB's had been armed all those years ago…" he shakes his head, "Don't focus on what could've been. You made a promise and you're going to keep it. You may have messed up all those years ago, but that doesn't mean you can let it define you"
Then, he scrolls through the device's other features, and comes across the, "unseal" option. He quickly hits it, and picks up his family's cards.
With a few more taps, they all glow with white light, before flying off, with one dissipating right next to him.
And with that, Linka falls to the snow next to him. She rubs her head as she goes, "Ugh, what happened?"
Loki squats down to his sister, "Some weird kids came along and sealed you in a card."
The girl's eyes go wide in shock. "So… I have a lot of explaining to do don't I?"
"Yeah." He responds, before helping the girl up to her feet, "How about we start with, who were those two? And why were they after us?"
"Ok…" She sighs, "Those two were anomaly hunters, and they were after us because they wanted to seal us in cards for all eternity."
The former cadet holds off for a second and thinks, "Ok, and why did you have one of their device things? And what do you have to do with all this jazz?"
Linka hesitates for a moment, "How about I just tell you everything right from the beginning? I think that'll make this easier for both you and me."
"Fine." The boy nods, before kneeling down and grabbing the devices the hunters had left behind. After that, both he and Linka walk back to their camp and sit on the fallen log once more.
"Well Linka, I'm waiting." Loki mutters.
"I can't tell him everything..." Linka hesitates, "Well, a few months ago, this weird guy named William Cryptos came and told me I had to save the universe!"
"Seriously Linka?" Loki's voice fills with skepticism.
"I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth." She takes a deep breath, "He told me that the universe became messed up by this weird anomaly." Then she looks him in the eye, "Which apparently is an evil counterpart of me. In order to fix everything, I have to collect the parts of a device that can fix everything."
"And these weird people that were after us?" The young man cuts in, his frustration building.
Linka looks up to the stars, hoping that they would be able to help her answer, "Those were anomaly hunters. These weird guys sent out to seal anomalies so they stop dimensional collapse or something like that." Then she takes a deep breathe, "Because of my counterpart's actions, I'm seen as a class two anomaly, along with the rest of you…"
"You know… if I didn't just turn two people into cards I wouldn't have believed you." Loki stares at his sister with a fatherly gaze, "So… when were you planning on telling me?"
Linka puts on a sheepish smile in response, "I… I wanted to wait until I thought you were ready!"
"Linka!" He yells, "If you're dealing with people like that all the time, don't you know how much danger you're in?!"
"Yeah!" Linka counters. "I accepted it though, because well… the universe needs me to do this stuff!" She then looks away, "I don't want to lose you guys…"
Loki takes a moment to calm down, before he continues, "Linka, you know we care about you, I care about you! Why didn't you tell me sooner?! I just fought those two and won!"
"Because I didn't want you to get hurt." She answers, "Yeah, that and the fact that I'm still not sure if I should tell you the truth, given what you've told me..." Her voice gains a remorseful tone as she continues, "You guys see me as weaker than, well, everyone… and I didn't want you all to worry about me."
The young man places a soft hand on her shoulder, "Linka, you know we care about you." He turns her to face him, "Please, I want to help you then. I don't want anyone hurting you." The man fights the small lump growing in his throat, "I know it's not what I like, but… if you have to do this… I don't want you getting hurt. So please, let me do something to help."
"Ok…" Linka looks him in the eyes, "Well… so far I've found one of the four fragments I need to complete the device…"
"Yeah?" Loki goes, "What about the rest?"
"I think I know the location of another, but the other two are still a mystery to me." She answers, looking into the small fire as she does so, "I'm planning on going after it after this trip." Then her voice fills with a begging tone, "Please don't tell anyone yet. I want to tell them when it's best."
"I see." Loki whispers, "Well then… I'll help you in any way I can I guess." Then he turns to the fire as well, "Just… promise me you'll be safe Linka." He then turns to her with begging eyes, "If it's for the best, please. None of us would ever be able to forgive ourselves if something happened to you. I promise I won't tell, for now."
"Thanks Loki!" Linka smiles and throws her arms around her brother. "And no probs bro! I promise I'll be careful… thanks for not freaking out."
"Oh, I'm freaking out." Loki returns the hug, "I just learned in military school how to not look the part."
"Really?" Linka chuckles, "Can you tell me more?"
"Sure sis." And with that, the boy breaks the hug, before the duo goes off talking about the past adventures they have had, Loki talking about the things he did and learned in school, while Linka talks about the adventures of the past four months.
The next day…
After the craziness of the day prior, Loki and Linka quietly enter the empty campsite. The site consists of a few snowless clearings next to a lake, as well as a small picnic table held off to the side.
"We made it!" Linka declares, throwing her arms up in excitement, "Now let's go get the sweet spot!"
Loki chuckles, "Sure sis." Then, he leads her over to a small opening, right by the lake, and begins to pitch their tent.
Meanwhile, Linka looks out into the cool blue waters of the lake and takes a deep breath, "For now… everything's fine…"
"You gonna help Linka?" Loki quips, and Linka turns to him with, "Sure Loki!"
And with that She begins to help her brother pitch their tent, while the rest of the family comes along to set up their tents as well, though in considerably less comfortable places.