NOVEL WEB Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Butterfly Family History
Waking up early has never been an issue for Lincoln. In a family as big as his, you need to wake up before everyone else to be first in line for the bathroom, for picks at breakfast, really anything . However, there is a difference between waking up early and having not gone to sleep. Since yesterday, Lincoln was deep at work studying all he could find about Mewni and magic in this dimension. Sitting in the Mewni Library all night between two towers of books, the boy barely felt time pass. It was only when he heard two people hiding nearby that he realized it was sunup.
"Am I interrupting?" Lincoln peaked his head in from above the shelf.
"Please don't tell my mom!?" The girl with black hair and golden eyes, along with gold crowns on her cheek, pleaded. "She'd kill Pyxar if she'd knew."
"It's okay, I'm not one to come between young love." The white-haired boy dropped down and walked around the shelf. "A little early to be sneaking around? Unless you..." Like before with the woman at the garden, those two had disappeared. "This is just rude."
"Oh, Lincoln, Dear Boy!" Calling from the library entrance, a thin man with familiar features and a more familiar voice called for the boy. "You're in luck, Eclipsa and I have uncovered some old notes from her Great-great-grandmother! My, these mortals have an understanding of this realms magic that I'd never believe would be possible in their short lifetimes!"
"Stolas?" Having read about this, the white-haired boy saw his magister had taken a human disguise. "What is this about notes?"
"Here." The owl demon in disguise handed them over. "They were written by someone named 'Helia'. I needed Eclipsa to translate, but I must confess, I didn't believe it when I first heard."
Something he noticed since becoming a demon, Lincoln picked up learning languages a fast as a snap. Reading the notes, he found what caught his teacher's attention. "The Nine Senses?" Thoroughly reading the notes, it became clearer how detailed Helia was in her studies. "From what I've learned, this realm's magic, Earth's magic, even Hell's magic is not all the same. What became of her?"
"It's bizarre, nobody knows much of her." Stolas revealed. "Even when Eclipsa was reading she had a hard time recalling her ancestor."
Lincoln also found that to be true. Marco told him that records has foggy, royals themselves don't know much of their own history, and all the books he's read have information that contradicts other information. It was a true mystery. "Magister, where is the queen right now?"
"She went to the portrait room."
The white-haired boy took off like a bullet. Running through the halls of Butterfly Castle, Lincoln needed to duck and swerve around the numerous servants, guards, and other personnel until he reached the Grandma Room, the sacred hall where tapestries of every previous Queen of Mewni is depicted. He read about it in one of the library's books, but he was still awestruck by the elegance and enormity of it. Walking down the halls, he passes by several tapestries when he recognizes a familiar face.
"Is that...? I knew it." Lincoln stopped in front of a tapestry that looked like the girl from the library. She had the same hair, eyes, face shape, even the same marks on her cheeks. "That girl must be a noble. Maybe Star's cousin?"
Continuing down the tapestries, he saw the queen staring at one in front of her. The portrait depicted a young girl, maybe between Lucy and the twins in age, with pink hair, eyes as green as olives, and pink flowers on her cheeks. When Lincoln moved in closer to speak, he spotted the clear signs of crying on the Queen's face. Careful to not disturb her, the white-haired boy red the pedestal under the tapestry:
Luna the Child
The child abandoned by the heartless mother,
assuming her duties much younger than any other.
"Luna?" Lincoln didn't realize he spoke aloud until he saw Eclipsa turn to face him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb... I just got a little distracted when I saw the name."
"Luna..." The Queen looked away. "It's no problem."
"Did you know her?" He knew it was a foolish question, but curiosity often trumps reason.
Eclipsa was quiet for a moment. "I believe I do, or I did?"
"You aren't sure?"
"I suppose being in crystal for so long disrupted my memories." She continued to cry. "I only learned about her after the Loverberry incident. After the chaos settled down, me and the others found another section of this room that was blocked off for years."
"Block?" Looking beside the tapestry, Lincoln saw Eclipsa's own. "Your... you're her mother?"
A moment of silence followed. "Yes. Luna is my daughter, and I can't even remember her. Everything I tried to learn about her, just made me realize how badly I must have hurt her."
"Like you said, you don't remember everything. What if... someone took your memories from you?" The boy considered. "Do you recall anything before you were crystalized?"
"Before I fell in love with Globby, I was deeply sad and angry about... something." She rubbed her forehead. "I know I wasn't... aren't the best queen or mother, but really? I forgot my on daughter and left to be with another man? Just how despicable must I have been?"
"People... change." That was all a child could say.
Eclipsa took out a handkerchief and cleaned her moist face. "Come now, we have some work ahead of us."
Another day passed for Lincoln on Mewni. Despite her own self-doubt, Eclipsa proved to be an effectual teacher. Her student helped by already having a firm grasp on the basics of magic, fluency in the Mewman language, and the imagination to think unorthodoxly. Although, with how swiftly he was advancing, the Queen found it hard to form lessons while taking on her sovereignty responsibilities. The work load piled so fast that she needed to leave a lesson early to attend a meeting with her mewnisters, vassals whose families have sworn loyalty to the Butterfly family and act as the Queen's council by overseeing different aspects of the kingdom.
"My Queen, we need to develop these lands to expand our agriculture!" The Mewnister of Agriculture, Lady Fields insisted.
"Expansion would put more tension between the already fragile peace we have with monsters." Lord Sir McKnight, the chief of the Army, argued against. "Our most pressing issue is defense against hostile influences. Queen Eclipsa, I say we increase military spending and increase troops."
"Ridiculous!" The newest member of the council, Ludo, a kappa and Mewnister of Monster Rights, disagreed. "You think my people will react well to an increase in armed mewmans? Any act of aggression would lead an internal conflict the same as external."
"As much as I regret to say, Ludo is right." The next speaker was Lord Redbird, Mewnister of Security. "My sources have reported an increase in petty crime and public fights in the past year than the last three combined. If we don't surprise violence, we could be looking at riots in the streets."
"I agree with Sir Redbird." Lady Flowers, Mewnister of Justice, stood in support. "I say we reallocate funds to our guards."
"I'm afraid that wouldn't be in our best interest." Countering the head of Justice was Lady Stone, Mewnister of Treasure. "In addition to trade between kingdoms becoming less stable, revenue of the treasury is in deficit. Before anyone can make any major changes, I vote that we raise taxes."
"Raise Taxes!?" The outrage originated from Lady Forrest, Mewnister of Boarders. "The last thing we could do to keep the peace is raise taxes! Our people can barely keep their hearths lit and their bellies filled. The common folk are most at risk."
"Touching, your concern for the average citizen." Lady Stone sarcastically applauded. "But my vassals have already done the math. We either risk revolt from peasants, or wewill have an economic collapse." She turned to Eclipsa. "It is your word that takes affect, My Queen. What course of action should we take?"
Although she remained collected, Eclipsa was hesitant to make any call. "After a moment of consideration, I rule that we-"
Clank
From behind Eclipsa, a silver tray had hit the floor and spilled its contents of a tea set and biscuits. When everyone turned their attention to the source, they were given the surprising attendance of a young man with white hair and blue eyes. "Sorry, I didn't... I'll leave! I just thought some tea would help." He apologized.
"It's fine, Young Lincoln." Eclipsa disregarded her student's mistake.
"Who is this?" Lord Redbird inquired.
"Excuse me, where are my manners?" The boy put the tray down and bowed. "I am Lincoln of House Loud. I am old friend of former Princess Star Butterfly."
"It's true." The Queen, more at ease, confirmed. "Lincoln is a dear family friend. Recently, I have agreed to provide him tutelage in the mystic arts."
"You can use magic?" Lady Stone asked, her tone slightly condescending. "I see you lake cheek marks."
"Indeed, I have only recently begun learning." Link moved in closer to his teacher's side. "Forgive my wandering ears, but I couldn't help but over hear that the kingdom was facing a few problems."
"Problems?" McKnight scuffed. "I wouldn't call threat of war, revolt, and collapse to be simple problems."
"Oh, but they have such simple solutions." Lincoln casually declared, they presented stacks of papers he had been carrying under his cape. "To address your concerns, Lady Fields, if instead of developing new lands, the kingdom could introduce new practices of companion farming." He showed detailed diagrams. "Certain crops don't compete with each other over nutrients, because of this you can grow certain crops in close proximity. Mewni's chief export is corn, two plants that work well with corn are squashes and beans. The corn stalk grows quick enough to provide support for the beans to climb, the bean plants provide the soil with important nutrients, and squash repels insects and weeks."
"With these... we could produce almost three times as much food as originally done!" The head of agriculture marveled. "How did you uncover this?"
"As much as I would like to take the credit, it's actually an old practice by native people of Earth. I just found the nearest equivalents here." Link bowed then addressed Lord Sir McKnight. "As for national defense, instead of more troops, the army should place its energy in an military alliance with the neighboring powers."
"Even if they would help us, what reason would anyone have to form an alliance?" McKnight questioned.
Lincoln provided a list of reports. "I hope you don't mind, Lord Redbird, I asked some of your spies to give me their reports on the kingdoms of Musty, Fahrmann, Gorge, and Camelidae. Apparently, an accumulation of bandits, pirates, and corrupt influences have brought instability in their lands. If the Butterfly Kingdom was to send army and navel assistance to clean up the mess, it would give favorable reputation with the masses and give incentive for the ruling powers to form an alliance."
"Compelling arguments, Young Loud." Lord Redbird added, slightly infuriated. "However, if we send too much our own military we would put ourselves at risk."
"I'm glad you brought that up, Your Lordship." A smile on his face, Lincoln bowed. "That's why I had this prepared before hand." He presents the mewnister a stack of letters. "These are letters of introduction from mercenary units and monster groups that have fallen on hard times. If you would hire them, not only could it solve the issue of sending forces on Mewni's behalf but also look favorable in the eyes of monsters in the kingdom."
"I second the motion!" Ludo stood on the table. "We send my people to defend this continent!"
"...Not a horrible idea." Redbird went to read the letters.
"I'm afraid our young guest is still forgetting an issue." Lady Stone spoke. "The Treasury can't support these actions without funds."
"No it cannot... which is why we need to address the biggest issue." From the pile of papers her had, these were the only ones in a manila folder. "Queen Eclipsa, you have corruption in your kingdom."
Being presented with the folder, Lady Stone opened it. "There are tax documents."
"Correct, I did some math and found evidence that several guilds have been committing tax fraud." Lincoln began. "Taking advantage of food scarcity and increased export, these guilds have been selling wares for over three times what they claim to be selling on their tax returns. I would go into further detail, but I don't want the rest of you to be overwhelmed."
"I... I don't know how this escaped my people's attention." Lady Stone kept reading. "Are there more evidence?"
Lincoln was quiet for a moment. "Everything you see should explain how much we can collect of the treasury."
The two shared an indifferent look. "Excuse me, Your Highness, but I need to set right what went wrong."
Overwhelmed, Eclipsa cleared her voice. "Well, now, if today's business is settled, we are adjourned." She rose from her seat. "Lincoln, let us resume out lessons."
Following after his teacher as they left, the Queen took the time to thank the boy as they walked. "You really saved the day, Lincoln Loud."
"That was nothing." He shrugged. "In truth, you should thank Magister Stolas, if he didn't assist me I may not have arrived in time."
"Did someone call my name?" Around the corner, looking at some art with Octavia, Stolas spoke. "Eclipsa, Lincoln, how did the meeting turn out?"
"Thanks to you and our student's resourcefulness, a crisis may have been averted. I don't know how I could possibly thank you." The Queen bowed slightly.
"If you insist, I wouldn't mind a few of thosedashing knights of yours at my beck and call." Stolas waved flirty at two guard. "I'm joking... mostly."
The two adults continued their conversation as the child and teen followed from a distance. During this, Octavia asked her young companion a question.
"Did you tell her about the embezzlement?" She asked, like it was as trivial as asking about last night's game.
"No, I only gave the proof of tax fraud." Lincoln answered. "I'm outsider here. If I went up to the council and shown their leader that near half of the people in that room was stealing from the kingdom, I'd have a target on my back."
"You can just leave." She stated a simple fact. "Is there really anyone on this medieval rock who can be a threat to you?"
Lincoln chuckled. "Sometimes, it's better to lose a piece then risk checkma-" Danger went off in the boy's mind like a pistol, turning to his right, he saw a glimpse of a young woman.
At first, he thought it was star because of the similar hair and face, but this girl had yellow eyes, a middle ages style dress, and a blank expression on her face. He and she were not facing each other; they past by each other no differently than two strangers on a busy street. Yet something in him sent off an alarm in Lincoln's head. It was instinct, his instincts telling him that a great danger was near. He saw her only a brief moment, but the chill of fear remained.
"Is everything alright?" Octavia was confused by Lincoln's troubling reaction.
"She... was powerful." That was the only thing he could say, then one word flashed in his mind. "Helia."
"This is it, Lincoln." Queen Eclipsa encouraged. "As difficult as it is to learn new spells, creating your own is a skill that can take an unfathomable number of attempts to accomplish."
Returning to lessons in the garden, both teacher and student was observed by a small gathering of people interested in seeing someone use magic. Amongst the crowd was Stolas and Octavia, Star and Marco, Moon and River, and little Meteora watching on her father's shoulder. Three hours after the council meeting, Eclipsa instructed Lincoln in how to use magic to create spells. After nearly a hundred failed attempts, the boy has of yet created his own spell.
"Maybe I should stop?" Lincoln was self-conscious of the crowd.
"Don't give up." The green-haired woman grabbed the child's hands. "You're a bright boy. I can see you'rethisclose to getting to the next level." She nearly pinched her fingers. "Listen, this isyour magic. Not mine, nor any queen, demon, or what have you. As long as you speak from your true self, you need not worry how others see you."
After she gave her student some space, Lincoln closed his eyes to tune out any worries. The magic that usually manifest around the boy's hands, the kind that mimicked the magic of the boy's teachers, became something different now. It was a black and white argyle pattern, like that would be seen as a chessboard turned ninety degrees. The monochromatic squares manifested behind Lincoln's hands like an aura. When it came time to perform a spell, the young mage shot open his eyes.
"52 Pick-Up!" Materializing, fifty-two black and white playing card sized light constructs appeared on the ground surrounding the boy. Obeying the mage's will, the cards levitated in the air and moved with Lincoln's hands. Amazing the audience, Lincoln had the cards made simple constellation-like pictures; then, he finished the spell by having the cards cut through the fountain statue in a fluid motion.
"AMAZING!" Star applauded over the cheering crowd, then ran up to lift Lincoln in an iron hug. "I knew you could do it!"
"Outstanding, Lincoln!" Stolas congratulated. "Simple, yet poetic."
"Yeah, really fits your wholething here." Octavia gestures to all of the boy.
"It was a good show!" Globgor applauded. "That was one for the books."
"Pick Up!" Walking on her tiny legs, Princess Meteora went up to the boy. "Pick Up!"
"Are you asking to see it again, or for me to pick you up?" Lincoln bent down and asked the toddler; when she kept saying it, the white-haired boy lifted the little girl in his hands.
"Congratulations, Dear Boy." Eclipsa placed an encouraging hand on her student's shoulder. "My word, is that a faint sign of cheek marks I see?"
"What, let me see!?" Star grabs Lincoln's face. "Oh my corn, you're right!"
Via looks closer. "I see it too, look." The owl teen pulled out a compact mirror and put it in front of Lincoln.
Looking at his reflection, the white-haired boy saw it was true. They weren't like the symbols the Butterfly family was known for. Instead of solid shapes, Lincoln's marks were like black lines that perimeter a circle around both his cheeks. A little thrilled about this, a big smile grew on his face. Before he could say anything on the matter, the boy caught sight of more people entering the garden.
They all resembled Star. Well, they had her face but differences in hair and eye color, and different cheek marks. Yet the most bizarre part was that Lincoln had recognized most of them, but he found it hard to believe as they had been dead for generations. Appearing around Lincoln and his friends were the Queens of Mewni past. He was struggling to see an explanation for this, but then the one he saw as Luna, Eclipsa's first daughter, approached him with detachment. Without a word, she looked at her mother and then at Meteora in Lincoln's arms.
As fast they appeared, a second later they had vanished.
"Am I the only one who saw that?" Lincoln asked, spooked.
"Saw what?" Octavia asked.
Looking at his group's concerned faces, the boy took a deep breath before giving the honest answer. "I think the ghosts of queens past are haunting this castle." A moment passed with nobody saying a word. "You think I sound crazy, don't you?"
"No..." Eclipsa was the first respond. "I believe every word you said."
"How could this be?" Moon spoke next, deeply shaken. "Could have something to do with what happened with Mina Loveberry?"
Sharing a similar look of fright, everyone in the group but the Goetia understood the former queen's worries.
"What's going on?" Octavia asked. "I could look past you knowing alien royalty, but who the bloody hell is Mina Loveberry!?"
The group looked towards Lincoln as the boy took a deep breath. "Octavia, may I please borrow your phone?"
"What? Answer my question!?" She demanded.
"I'll tell you, but I need to make a call after I do." Tired of the secrets, Via handed the boy her cell phone. "Mina Loveberry used to be this kingdom's greatest warrior... but she had some views I and the rest of us didn't agree with."
"Alright." Octavia accepted the answer. "But what 'happened' to her?"
Lincoln took another deep breath. "I know the Butterfly family through my parents... I first me Star when she was sent to attend school in Echo Creek. Some time after that, Mina tried to usurp Queen Eclipsa and put Moon back into power." He narrowed his gaze at the light-blue haired woman. "They nearly succeeded... but I help stopped it."
"How?" Octavia wanted further answers.
Without another word, a blank stare went to Lincoln's face and he walked away to make his call.
"Seriously... what happened!?"
Moon stepped up to answer, to the collected displeasure of the group. "We all make choices that we can't take back... he made a choice that saved innocent lives. The consequences... he has to live with."
It was clear from everyone's expressions that the full story was painful to speak. "Lincoln said you tried to become queen again." Stolas spoke.
"I did... and now I have to live with the consequences of what happened that day until I die." Moon answered, her family comforting her.
"Wow, that boy must really hate you?" Via remarked.
Strangely, Moon laughed at it. "He does. And we used to be so warm to each other..." Tears flowed down the former Queen's face. "And now I destroyed it."
"Fuck Yeah!" Toasting his fourth drink of the night, Blitz celebrated another successful day of business killing humans. "Those pencil-pushing bastards didn't know what got 'em!"
"You can say that again, Blitz!" Millie toasted along with her boss.
"Strange as it sounds, I agree." Moxxie joined in.
At the IMP headquarters, the imps were celebrating a big score while Loona drank by herself across the room. The founder had just chugged his beverage when he got a call from an unknown number.
"Whoever the fuck you think you are, I'm off the clock so go find some street walkin'..." In the middle of his rant, Blitz heard the other end talk. "Lincoln? Where the shit you been!?"
"Is that Lincoln!?" Millie got in closer. "Hi, Sugar, how is our special little guy!?"
"Shit, give me a second to put you on speaker!" The tallest imp did as he said. "Go!"
[Guys? Can you here me?] Lincoln said on the other end. [Listen, I think I found a special client for us. Great pay, but I need you to keep what I've been doing with you secret.]
"Oh, sounds like we have a story there." Blitz opened another beer.
[They know me from when I was alive. I need you to be on your most best... on second thought, be more than on your best behavior. Be the kind of person you would beat up if you saw them walking down the street.]
"Sorry, I didn't know we were having tea with the Queen of Shiba-land or whatever!"
[Blitz, despite how much I respect you, if you do or say anything that could cause problems for these people... I will kill you.] A pause was left in the IMP office. [I will grab you by the throat, and stare blankly into your eyes as the life is extinguished from your eyes.]
"Shit..." That was all the boss could. "Okay, we get it. Just who in the seven rings is the client, and who are we killing?"
[The client... the Queen of Mewni. Our target... this may sound ridiculous, are the ghosts of queens before.]
"GHOST!?" Blitz perked up. "We'll be on Earth in five fucking minutes!"
[Mewni isn't on Earth. I'll send a friend to bring you. Just go to Echo Creek, he'll find you.]
After making his call, Lincoln went back to the others in the garden. "I called in some new friends. Marco, I need you to go bring them here, please."
"No problem." The teen in a hoodie agreed. "How will I know them when they get there?"
"Believe me, you will know them when you see them." Once his friend left for Echo Creek, it was time to get to business. "Queen Eclipsa, I may be able to help, but I need to go to the Grandma Room."
"The one with the tapestries?" She asked. "Very well, but I fail to see how it will help."
"Thank you... I will also need the spellbook."
Relocating to the Grandma Room for Lincoln's plan to unfold, the white-haired boy began by drawing a circle in the center of the room with a radius of three feet with a piece of chalk. Once the circle was completed, Lincoln decorated the outer area of the circle with voodoo-like veve symbols. Pretty soon he got finish with the circle; and once he got to his feet, Marco returned with IMP.
"Where are they!?" Blitz jumped through the portal with a 'ghost vacuum'. "Where's a sexy ghost I can fuck!"
To shut his boss up quickly, Lincoln pulled him in with magic silk and punched the imp's lights out. "Sorry for that." Link didn't say that to Blitz, but to the others in the room.
While the mewmans, human, and monster watches the new guests, Stolas ran up and lifted the tallest imp in his arms. "I'll keep an eye on Blitzy. Via, would you like to help?"
"No thanks." Octavia didn't like Blitz or how her dad was around him; when she spotted Loona, her dad's lover's adopted hellhound, she greeted with a shrug. "Hey."
Loona looked up from her phone. "Hey."
"Sugarcube!" Millie ran up and hugged Lincoln. "I heard you wanted to go 'ghost huntin'. Now, we're are we?"
Walking up to the boy, Moxxie observed the room. "This place is beautiful. The architecture seems reminiscent of the Middle Ages of Earth's Europe. And these tapestries, the craftsmanship is faultless; truly the work of a great artisan."
"I'm glad you like them." Moon walked up to the group of demons and the boy. "These were my mother's greatest work. You have a good eye for art."
"It was nothing." Moxxie sheepishly rebuffed. "Wait, is this your home?"
"Indeed, but I believe she is who you're looking for." The tall mewman pointed towards Eclipsa.
"Guys, let me introduce you to Eclipsa Butterfly, Queen of Mewni." Lincoln happily introduced. "Queen Eclipsa, these are Millie and Moxxie, over here is Loona, and my boss who I just put asleep is Blitz. They've been good friends to me and have been looking out for me for a while."
"Pleasure to meet ya, Queen!" Millie offered your hand. "We got word from Jill that you've been teachin' our boy fancy, royal spells."
"I agree with my wife." Moxxie added, placing a hand on Millie's shoulder. "We're both thankful you've been so hospitable for him in his time of need."
Eclipsa smiled, accepting the imp woman's hand. "Honestly, I should be thanking you. I've known young Lincoln since before he was killed, it's comforting to know he found people to care for him." She gestured to the size-shifter with a young child in his arms. "Let me introduce my husband, Globgor, and our daughter, Meteora."
"Good evening." Globgor offered a hand, both M accepting. "Go on, Little One, say 'hi'."
Meteora reached for the imps. "Hi!"
"She's adorable!" Millie squeed, eyes bugging.
"This is nice and crap, but why are we here?" Loona asked, annoyed.
"I needed the grimoire." Lincoln swiped it from the hellhound. "I'm about to try something I never thought would be possible before and needed some references." Returning to the circle, Lincoln placed the demon grimoire beside the Butterfly Book of Spells. "Glossaryck, get your Smurf looking butt out here!"
Startled by what the boy said, everyone not familiar with Glossaryck stared in silence. On command, the Mewni spellbook opened on its own. After the pages were done flipping, a tiny blue man with a jewel in his forehead.
"Hello-" Before Glossaryck could finish talking, Lincoln pulled out his magic pistol, Hustle, and pointed it towards the little man's face.
"Listen here you cryptic, Yoda little bastard, I going to make this easy to understand." An angry Lincoln stated his terms. "One, you will tell me how I can use my powers to talk with the ghosts of the dead queens. Two, you try to give me some mentalists bullshit, I will set your book on fire then throw you into a place so remote, you would go even crazier than you are now before anyone found you. Three, I am going to remove this pistol from your face and you will obey every order I made."
Doing as he said, the pistol was removed from Glossaryck. "Nice to see you again." He gave a genuine smile at seeing his young friend. "Now let's see what you've got planned." The ancient being looked at the spell circle Lincoln drew on the floor. "Ooh, interesting formula. You always had an unrivaled artistic flair, but also preferred to make things more complicated then they should."
"Glossaryck, will this work?" Link demanded an answer.
"It won't be easy, but if you're planning what I think, it should work." The little man floated around.
"In that case, I got some more work to do."
"Crist on a Stick, Link!" Blitz rubbed his sore head. "You couldn't just say, 'Shut Up!'?"
"Would you have listened?" The young mage asked, carving a small figure out of stone.
"Let me just apologize again for our boss." Moxxie spoke to Eclipsa. "I have theories that he was born with no filter between his mouth and his brain."
"Keep that talking up Mox, and I'll show you a filter!" Blitz yelled. "Now, how in Satan's ass is making voodoo dolls gonna help me fuck a ghost!?"
"I'm not making voodoo dolls." Lincoln clarified. "In order for my spell to work, I'm going to need representations of each of the queens. In leu of going to the crypts and doing it there, I'm making figurines of them out of the castle bricks."
"Plus, I don't think it is physically possible to... with a ghost." Marco added, polishing the carvings.
"What's your name again?"
"Marco Diaz."
"Tell me, Marco, you ever get some of that?" The imp pointed to Star by her parents.
"Wha-NO!" The Hispanic teen denied, blushing.
"What? They're not in charge anymore." Blitz chuckled. "Besides trying to kill you, what's the worst thing her parents could do if you said the truth."
"Excuse me, Blitz was it?" Moon asked, aggravated. "I think I would know what my daughter was doing."
"That's what every mom wants to believe, Ex-Queen MILF. Tell me, does your little girl still think she was grown out a pumpkin patch?"
Tired of his boss' remarks, Lincoln covered his mouth with some silk. "Again, I apologize for my partner."
"Don't worry." Star brushed it off. "I know what it's like having a friend who can be alittle much."
A minute later, the flake of stone came off the final small statue. Once he was finished, Lincoln arranged the figurines around him in the chalk circle. It was time for the next phase but before he could start, a portal opened right in front of him. Unlike the ones he's used to, this portal was a white triangle with a black outline. Stepping through the portal was even more confusing, it was Lincoln in his IMP uniform.
"Tomorrow morning. You went to Connecticut. Owl Door. You're gonna be grateful for this." The other Lincoln handed him a slip of parchment paper. "Also, go alone."
"Got it." The Lincoln in the circle saluted and the other one left; then, he read the paper. "Huh, this might come in handy."
The boy looked around and saw everyone was looking at him. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" Blitz yelled.
"Time travel." Lincoln answered like it was obvious to everyone. "He was me from the future. From tomorrow morning. Apparently, I'm going to Connecticut for reasons I don't know. I should be on the look out for a door with a... door in the shape of an owl? Or something like it. And future me came back to give me this."
Information of a future self coming to the past mystified everyone. "Fuck it, I'm gonna go find something to drink." Loona went off.
"I... know where the strong stuff is." River went with her, clearly in a daze.
"How are you so calm!?" Moxxie asked, panicking. "Your future self just appeared!"
"I've dealt with time travel before, Moxxie." Lincoln informed his friends. "In situation like this, the best course of action is just stay calm and go about your business."
Practicing what he preached, the white-haired boy turn his finger into a blade and made a small incision into his opposite palm. Focusing on his spell, the blood became black before forming into magic particles that absorbed into the chalk. The spell taking affect, stones began forming around the boy in the shape of an oval. When it was over, a dry-stone hut had been formed.
"Why did you have to make this?" Star asked.
"When I use my little trick, it works best in a defined space. Plus, with nobody else inside I don't risk making the process more challenging." To prepare himself, Lincoln returned his Sinner form and his IMP uniform. "Everyone... I don't know what's going to happen. But if the fact I came from the future help myself stands, I should make it out alive."
"You don't have to do this, Lincoln." Eclipsa tried to change her student's mind. "We may not know what's happening, but if only you can see them, we could just meet elsewhere?"
"Listen to the Cougar!" Blitz added. "So far, she'd the only person makin' sense whose not me!"
"I agree as well." Stolas walked up.
"Thank you both." Lincoln bowed to his teachers. "But I need to do this for more then myself, or the people in this castle. When I saw those ghosts last time, the were self-aware. That means they could be in pain."
"A noble sentiment." Moon complimented. "But that doesn't mean you should do this."
Lincoln glared at the former queen. "I won't abandon people just because it'll be easier." With that final word, the boy closed the door to the hut and sat on the floor cross-legged. "Dunjon Link!" Sending him to his next challenge.
Outside, everyone was still looking at Moon. "Oh, there is some juicy details!" Blitz pointed. "What was it? Was a court room doll involved?"
Moon Butterfly looked down at the imp for a moment before Globgor interrupted. "Please, allow me." With a single whack to the head, the monster put Blitz asleep.
"Thank you." Moon smiled.