It's a Kid's World

2.1: The Ring of Fire

"RUN!" Lincoln shouted.

Lincoln and Lucy leaped from where they stood and made a frantic attempt to escape as the fearsome leader of the dead continued to point in their direction, prompting his minions to pursue the two siblings. Scared and alone, Lincoln and Lucy used their fear and adrenaline to push forward and ignore the fatigue that was affecting their bodies.

Lucy then fell over and hit the ground hard. Lincoln quickly saw this and immediately turned back to extend his hand out to his sister, helping her up. They had to do this quickly as the undead were close behind them.

The two ran for quite some time, but eventually their bodies were completely drained of energy, and the effect of their fear-fuelled adrenaline rush wore off. The two stopped in their tracks and began to breathe heavily.

"Sigh. They're still coming!" Lucy muttered as they still heard the zombies pursuing them.

"Don't those things ever get tired?!" Lincoln desperately asked.

"I can't move any further!" Lucy admitted.

"Me too!" Lincoln replied.

The two then spotted a bush and decided that, given their desperate situation, they would jump into it and hope the zombies wouldn't spot them inside. They quickly leaped into the leafy structure just before the zombies could catch up with them. Once the undead did reach the area, they stopped in their tracks.

Lincoln and Lucy looked on from inside the bush in silent fear and terror as the zombies scanned around, afraid they had somehow sensed their presence. One of the zombies looked right at the bush, and was effectively staring the two Loud children square in the face. The two siblings held each other's hands as they waited for the zombie to realise they were there and tear them limb from limb. They closed their eyes and waited for the worst.

Then a few thuds and slashes were suddenly heard.

Lincoln and Lucy reopened their eyes to see none other than the latter's friend and former club leader…

"Bertrand?!" a surprised Lucy asked as she poked her head out of the bush.

"Yes, I have returned. Given my parents are no longer here, I've made my way back to Royal Woods, only to find out my allies have formed a guard of sorts against these undead things." he said as he stood amongst a trio of zombies he had just slaughtered.

"Quickly, we must get out of here! There's more of them!" Lucy warned.

"I know, come with me!" Bertrand ordered.

"Where are we going?" asked Lincoln as he also poked his head out of the bush.

"Ugh, fine! Your brother can come, too. Now follow me!" Bertrand said.

The three kids then continued to quickly make their way out of the depths of the woods, but they could hear more of them coming.

Suddenly, one of them launched itself from out of nowhere and pounced on top of Lincoln.

"ARGH!" he screamed as it prepared to bite his face off.

Bertrand then quickly took out his dagger and struck it in the head, destroying it.

"Thanks." Lincoln said as he was helped up to his feet.

Three more zombies then ascended from the darkness and ran towards the kids. Bertrand had his weapon in hand, but it was only so effective.

"GO!" Bertrand commanded.

"No! We can't just leave you!" Lucy argued.

"I'll hold them off." Bertrand said as he tried to keep them back with his dagger.

"But…" Lincoln tried to say.

"According to the message I received from the others, they're hanging out at a grave site just outside of this place. NOW GO!" he demanded as he struggled to keep the attackers at bay.

One of the zombies then knocked the weapon out of his hand before the others jumped at him, taking him to the ground and continuing their vicious attack.

Lincoln and Lucy then made a run for it as the zombies were distracted with the other boy, who had made a noble sacrifice for them…

By the following morning, Luan and the other younger sisters had made their way out of the area. Though tired, the girls knew they had to keep moving…

"My feet ache." Lola grumbled, having walked non-stop all night.

"Yeah? Well my ears ache having to listen to your whining." Lana responded.

"And my brain aches having to tolerate two juvenile children engaging in immature prattling while we deal with a serious matter!" Lisa told them both.

"Just stop it, alright?!" Luan cried in frustration.

"She started it!" Lana shouted as she pointed at Lola.

"I don't care! Look, if we're going to survive out here by ourselves then we need to stop acting like children." Luan told them.

"But we are children!" Lola argued.

"I know, everyone is, but that's not the point. Whether we like it or not, we need to be more mature and responsible. That includes me." Luan said.

The twins, Lisa and Lily all lowered their heads as they came to the same sad realisation. Their days as innocent children had to be put behind them…

"Anyway, we should come across some kind of town or city anytime now…" Luan said to herself as she looked around.

"May I suggest we take a detour?" Lisa asked.

"Why?" Luan replied.

Lisa then simply pointed at the site she could see in the distance up ahead. It was a radioactive wasteland filled with remains of a power plant.

"What's that?" asked Lana.

"That is a power plant that exploded, no doubt a result of all the adults disappearing in the middle of a delicate process for the facility. Even though the plant was many miles away, judging from the distance, the radiation is still deadly. I suggest we don't approach any closer." Lisa explained.

"Are there sites like this all over the place?" Luan asked.

"Not necessarily. Some plants probably only shut down without expert adult maintenance. It all depends on what was occurring inside them at the time." Lisa said.

The siblings then took a moment to gaze at the remaining destruction from afar. Looking at the debris and mess that was in their sights caused a mutual sense of loss and sadness amongst them. It was reflective of the kind of world that had been left behind by 'The Big Vanish'.

A realm of chaos and ruin, dangerous for everyone within it.

"It's… sad." Lisa quietly said to herself.

"I guess we didn't really appreciate just what grown-ups did for us, huh?" Lola reflectively stated.

"Let's keep going." Luan said as she started to walk in a different direction, away from the radioactive area.

Finally, after a whole morning, Lincoln and Lucy had made it out of the woods and to their intended destination…

"That's the last time I roam into the woods with you." Lucy said.

"I said I was sorry." Lincoln insisted.

"I told you to turn left when we got to the old crooked oak tree, but you told me we should turn right. We've ended up circling the entire forest about three times over, it seems." Lucy griped.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Look, it doesn't matter. We're out of the woods now! The worst is over!" Lincoln responded.

"Unless they've followed us out of the forest." Lucy said.

"Let's not think about it." Lincoln suggested.

The two siblings then caught sight of the grave site Bertrand had told them about the previous night.

"We're here." Lucy said.

"Okay, I'll bite. Where are your friends, Lucy? All I'm seeing are a bunch of creepy looking gravestones!" Lincoln said.

"Wait…" she said, before beginning to knock on one of the gravestones.

"What are you doing?" asked Lincoln.

Lucy ignored the question and continued with the strange knocking sequence onto the piece of stone. After a moment, she stopped.

"What was that?" he asked, still confused as to what she was up to.

"That was a secret greeting, similar to a best friends handshake." Lucy stated.

Sure enough, after saying that, her friends appeared from behind the gravestones, like they did before with Clyde's gang.

"AGHH!" Lincoln screamed in terror as the creepy kids surprised him.

"Welcome, Lucy." Haiku greeted.

"We've been waiting for you for quite some time." Morpheus followed.

"I am here. I hope you will be generous enough to take in my brother as well." Lucy said.

"Sure. We've already taken in a few other new recruits. What harm is one more?" Haiku rhetorically asked.

"Huh?" Lincoln questioned to himself, wondering who else the young goth girl was referring to.

"Hey." called a familiar voice.

Lincoln turned around to find himself in shock as he saw all his friends; Clyde, Liam, Rusty and so on, all visually transformed from their good old selves, now resembling the dark and gothic dress style of their fellow Mortician's Guard members.

"Wow! You guys look, erm…" Lincoln nervously tried to say.

"Creepy? Yeah, I know." Rusty admitted.

"But the look kinda grows on you." Liam indifferently put it.

"I like it." Rusty's brother Rocky said.

"Anyway, it's good to see you again, buddy." Clyde said as he and Lincoln shared a hug.

"Right back at you. But how did you guys end up joining the Mortician's Club?" Lincoln asked.

"They saved us from a bunch of zombies!" Clyde confirmed.

"You two, huh?" Lincoln replied, given he could relate to that.

"Also, we're no longer called a club. We now go by The Mortician's Guard." Stella explained.

"We actually serve to protect the local kids from the likes of those undead monsters." Zach said.

"Well, now my brother and I are here to help." Lucy stated.

"That's good news. I've also been in touch with our old leader, Bertrand. He'll be here soon to lead the charge." Haiku said.

"Um…" Lucy struggled to say.

"You might want to change your plans." Lincoln said for her.

"What do you mean?" Haiku asked.

"Bertrand was killed by the zombies last night. He saved us from them, but he sacrificed himself to do so." Lucy sadly explained to her friends.

All of the original Mortician's members then lowered their heads in utter sadness, as they all valued Bertrand as a close friend and leader figure.

"He will be missed, but he's in a better place now." Haiku said as she pointed at the ground.

"He'll fit right in down in the underworld." Lucy said.

"In a way, I'm actually a little happy for him to be down there." Haiku stated, which sounded more heart-warming in context.

"Anyway, I'm sure you two would like to get inside after spending all these hours out in the woods?" Stella asked the two Loud siblings.

"You could say that again." Lincoln confirmed.

"Very well. Let's make our way inside. There's a lot to do." Haiku said as everyone followed her back into the base.

"Lucy, how come you guys didn't build your base in the cemetery that's actually in Royal Woods rather than this one that's outside of it?" Lincoln curiously asked as they walked into the lair.

"This one is closer to the forest. My friends and I have been planning on observing and countering these dead creatures for a while now." Lucy said.

"You mean they've been here a while?" he asked.

"There have been sightings and speculations, but their presence has only been confirmed recently." Lucy explained.

Later that day, another of the Loud sisters had an alarming sight of her own to behold. Lynn, having been transported in a roller dumpster, all as part of a demeaning gag at her expense, peeked outside the lid to see she was being transported into a large stadium. Once inside, the arena itself was quite a sight. While it had no electric lighting, due to the lack of accessible power, there were massive fires in each corner of the arena, lighting up the whole interior of the building.

Hawk then opened the lid so he could quickly say a few words to his fighter…

"Alright, ponytail! We have some pretty high stakes bet on this fight, so you'd better perform!" Hawk demanded to the energetic Loud girl.

"And don't even think about throwing the fight just to spite us!" Hank warned her.

"Ha! Lynn Loud never throws a fight!" she proudly declared.

"Good, because if you do…" Hawk threatened.

"We're gonna rip off your face, and shove it up your junk pipe!" Hank finished.

Lynn then looked around and got a glimpse of the middle of the arena where the action would take place. Contrary to her expectations, all that was there was a bare dirt ground…

"Huh? What the heck is this?! Where's the ring?!" Lynn questioned.

"Oh, you'll see…" Hank teased.

"And now, we have a singles bout for the EWF Women's Championship! Entering the ring first, LIZZY 'THE TECHNICIAN' THOMPSON!" shouted the announcer as a small pre-teen girl, about Lincoln's size, walked out. She had long dark brown hair and was wearing a predominantly pink and white wrestling attire.

Her opponent, from Great Lakes City, the reigning, defending EWF Women's Champion of the World, BECKY THE BRUISER!" the announcer continued.

Becky, the little feisty blonde with the uni-brow, then came out wearing her familiar white, red and orange wrestling outfit.

"Hey Loud, HERE'S your ring!" Hawk told her as two young boys began to pour gasoline around the area the two girls were set to fight in.

One of the boys then lit a matchstick, stepped back, and tossed it on the ground, creating a literal ring of fire.

Lynn had a strange mix of fear and awe. While it was surprisingly more dangerous than she was expecting heading into the situation, she was still Lynn Loud Junior. Extreme competition is what she was all about.

"FIGHT!" the young male referee roared to the two girls.

As the two girls circled each other within the large ring of flame, Lynn looked around to see the crowd. There must have been over 1000 children in the seats around her. Pretty big for an unofficial event held by a literal bunch of kids.

As Lynn turned back around to face the action, she could see the young blonde girl Becky completely dominating her opponent, tossing her all over the place and applying brutal submission holds as the other girl struggled to fight back.

"So, am I facing the winner of this match?" Lynn asked.

"Oh, you're not on yet. You have to wait for the main event." Hank teased.

"Yeah, let's just say we put you in a fight above your weight class." Hawk said.

Lynn then grew a determined look on her face. Though obviously meant to intimidate her, Lynn insisted to herself she wasn't afraid of anyone. It wasn't the first time she punched above her weight, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

The team of Ronnie Anne, Sid and the three tiger sisters had followed the mysterious hooded figure for miles and miles. They had travelled through the entire lower peninsula of Michigan in pursuit of this strange entity. Unsure and sceptical of their destination, the two girls began to have doubts.

"I'm sooo tired! Can we take a nap?" Sid asked as her fatigue got the better of her.

"I don't think we can. That guy ahead won't stop for us." Ronnie Anne said.

"Do we even know where he's taking us? Does HE even know where he's taking us?!" Sid questioned.

"I don't know. But we can't stop now! We're completely lost without him." Ronnie reminded her.

"I think I can remember the way back." Sid said.

"Really? Because I lost track hours ago." Ronnie admitted.

The two girls then ceased their chatter and looked ahead again to see that the mysterious figure was out of sight. What they could see, however, was the edge of the land. They had reached the upper edge of the lower peninsula, and came across Lake Michigan. What was there was a bridge with a sign next to it. The sign simply said 'ROAD TO NOWHERE'.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Sid said nervously.

"It's just a bridge… over some water." Ronnie insisted as she tried to downplay her sense of fear.

Just then, a crocodile leaped out of the water and tried to jump up and eat the two girls, performing a ferocious bite in the process. The three tigers growled back at the beast, but the two girls were not so fearless.

"*Gulp* I think we should head back." Sid encouraged fearfully.

"We've come all this way. We can't just turn back now!" Ronnie argued.

"But that old looking thing… it'll break! I don't trust it!" Sid said.

"We just need to be careful. We each go one at a time, keep several meters apart so too much weight doesn't get put on one part of the bridge. I'll go first, my girls will follow me, and then you trail along last." Ronnie instructed.

Ronnie Anne then took a leap of faith, placing her foot onto the bridge, testing its stability. To her friend's surprise and her relief, it remained intact. The three felines then followed their master.

"Come on, Sid. If we're going to make it in this world, we need to take a few chances!" Ronnie shouted to her friend, who still stood at the edge of the bridge.

Sid then uneasily stepped onto the bridge and cautiously followed the others, all of them keeping their distance from each other in the hopes that the structure beneath their feet would withstand them.

The first day on the job as the newly appointed personal servant of the ruler of the city was not all that glamorous or pleasant for the likes of Carl Casagrande. As the day came to an end, Carl began to grow tired of his new master's petty demands.

"Are these shiny enough for you, sir?" Carl asked his new boss.

"Yes, I think I'll tolerate it." Don Morito indifferently put it.

"What is your next job for me, sir?" Carl asked.

"That will be all for today." Don said.

"Really?" Carl asked.

"Well, I think shining my shoes, polishing my statues, scrubbing my dishes and mopping all the floors in this building is enough work for one day." Don recalled, amused by all the grunt work he made Carl do.

"I guess this means tomorrow I can finish early, huh?" Carl asked cheekily.

"Oh, not at all. I have plenty more for you to be doing. Tomorrow, you will get up early to sort out my garden. You see, there are some tedious weeds out there. I need you to deal with them." Don smugly told him.

Carl then grumbled to himself, dissatisfied with Don's treatment towards him.

"Ha, you should've seen the look on your face." Don said as he laughed.

"Huh?" Carl asked, confused.

"Don't worry about the garden. I was kidding for my amusement. I have professional gardeners for that. Oh no, I wouldn't expect my prestigious personal servant to waste his hours with weeds." Don explained.

"Oh, erm, thanks… I guess." Carl said in response.

"Do you know why I put you through all that hard graft today, boy? To teach you about humility. You may find that hypocritical, but I assure you, I haven't forgotten who I am." Don said.

"What do you mean? Who are you, then?" Carl asked.

"You probably think I see myself as some kind of big shot. I am the ringleader of the mafia, after all. I have my own throne room… and yet, I always remember what my father used to say to me. For all my power, I am still only one man, and not even a fully grown one. That last sentence is more relevant now than ever. I am as powerless as everyone else to this vanishing effect that makes us disappear at 16. As such, I need to look to the future. Think of not only myself, but the whole family. Family is something I was taught to hold dearly." Don explained.

"Most of my family disappeared. The family I have left is trapped by you! How can you blab on about family when you're holding mine in a cell?!" Carl angrily questioned his master.

"Actually, today your brothers spent their hours carving new weapons for my foot soldiers. Swords, shields, and so on. They found it quite interesting, or so I've been informed. Speaking of brothers, mine requires some attention. That's what I need you for." Don said.

"Wait, are you saying you want me to babysit your brother?" Carl asked.

"No, I'm giving you an order to take care of an important member of our organisation! Now enough with the questions! Remember your place, Casagrande!" Don commanded as he grew irritated with Carl's insubordination.

Carl then nodded in agreement with the demand, while underneath being frustrated with having to be a babysitter. Then again, it was probably less exhausting than the day he just had…

As Ronnie Anne and Sid continued to cross the bridge, and cautiously so, due to the instability of the structure and the mist that surrounded them, Ronnie stopped in her tracks as she came face to face with a vicious animal.

"A hog?! What's it doing on a bridge?!" Ronnie Anne asked.

"I don't know, but I'm glad I'm way back here!" Sid said.

"Fog, a bridge, and now an angry hog?! This is starting to seem an awful lot like a level from that dumb video game Lincoln plays!" Ronnie recalled.

"Hey, I know that game! Actually, it's pretty awesome!" Sid said.

"Eh, it's alright. Not quite in my top 20." Ronnie replied.

"Yeah, well right now, I'd be less interested in video games and more focused on not getting eaten alive by that thing!" Sid reminded her.

"Don't worry about it." Ronnie said calmly as she stood to the side and allowed enough room for one of her tigers to walk ahead towards the hog.

Knowing it was outmatched, the hog quickly ran for its life, terrified of the larger beast.

"Good girl, way to show that little dude who's boss!" Ronnie said as she stroked her pet as a reward for its assistance.

"The sooner we make it past this bridge, the better." Sid said as she sighed in relief, before the group kept moving.

"We should make it to the end soon. I hope so anyway, it's starting to get dark." Ronnie Anne said.

Lynn's time for combat was finally upon her. She witnessed first-hand how brutal it could get, as she saw two little girls carrying away Becky's unfortunate opponent on a stretcher, with the little blonde celebrating with her championship belt held high above her head earlier on.

A few matches had taken place since then, including tag team bouts and other match types. Finally, it was her turn.

"So, who am I going to take on?!" Lynn asked, eager to fight, ignoring the danger of the situation as always.

"Oh, you'll find out." Hawk said as Hank then picked up the girl and threw her into fighting area.

More gasoline had to be spilt on the floor as the fires had to be put out and reignited between each match.

"And now, we have a bout between two newcomers. First, we have the sports star of Royal Woods, LUNATIC LYNN!" the announcer said.

"Aw yeah! It's a good thing I pocketed this thing when we tried to escape the house!" Lynn told herself as she pulled out her familiar red and blue wrestling mask and put it on.

"Her opponent, STEAK 'THE SILVER SNAKE' STANKCO!" the announcer then said.

The large, burly young boy with the black mohawk then made his way down to the ring area with confidence and fire in his eyes.

"Oh yeah, we forgot to tell ya! You're fighting a dude!" Hank shouted from the sidelines.

"No sweat, LJ, you got this!" Lynn told herself as she stood tall and refused to back down.

The fire was then reignited after the referee entered the ring to join Lynn and Steak.

"FIGHT!" he yelled.

Steak immediately charged at Lynn, but she jumped up and flipped over his head, before landing on her feet.

"You'll have to be quicker than that, buddy!" Lynn taunted.

"STAND STILL!" Steak shouted as he charged again.

This time, Lynn waited for him to come close, then she quickly sidestepped as he threw a punch. It missed, and Lynn took the chance to deliver a quick kick to the gut, winding the larger boy.

"Ugh! That does it, you'll pay for that!" Steak said as he leaped at Lynn again.

He managed to grab her and pin her to the ground. Lynn was freakishly strong, but so was he, and she struggled to squirm her way out of his grip. After pulling off her mask in disrespect, he tried to choke her, while she did all she could to resist.

"Ha ha! A pretty lousy first match! I expected better from this place! Instead, I end up fighting a little prissy girl!" Steak insultingly said.

"What did you say?!" Lynn furiously asked as she began to use her maximum strength to break free of his hold.

"Woah!" he cried as the petite Loud girl managed to power her way out of his grip, before placing her feet beneath his chest.

"See ya!" she said before kicking him off her.

He stumbled backwards, stopping himself just before he collided with the fiery edge of the ring. As he regained him stature, he walked right into a punch in the face from Lynn, followed by two hooks to the gut, and a knee to the groin.

"ARGH!" he yelled in pain.

"Time to say goodnight!" Lynn said as she got up close, impressively managed to lift the larger boy onto her shoulders, and then performed the attitude adjustment finisher.

As Steak hit the ground hard, Lynn quickly got on top for a pinfall victory.

"1…2… 3!" the referee counted before raising Lynn's hand.

"Here is your winner… LUNATIC LYNN!" the announcer shouted to the crowd.

Lynn stood and looked as over a thousand children cheered for her. It was the first time she had been truly happy and full of joy in weeks. She delivered a muscle flex pose, as she got absorbed in the hype of the moment.

"Oh yeah! LYNNER LYNNER CHICKEN DINNER!" she boasted out loud, though her celebration was premature.

"And now the main event, Lunatic Lynn will battle… THE REIGNING, DEFENDING, UNDISPUTED EWF CHAMPION, MAX POWER!" the announcer suddenly said.

"Hey, WHAT?!" Lynn asked, confused.

"Oh, yeah. We knew you'd win the first fight pretty easy. Thanks, by the way, we got some good winnings because of you. But we also wanted to teach you a lesson, so you're booked for a second fight that you're probably gonna lose. Have fun." Hawk said as he as Hank fled the scene to collect their winnings, laughing away while leaving Lynn to her fate.

Lynn then waited tensely for her next opponent to come out…

The boy then made his entrance. Fireworks were on display in honour of the champ as he walked over with nothing but his black shorts and shoes, owning the shirtless look. He had dirty, messy blonde hair and a serious, aggressive expression on his face. He actually appeared a little smaller than her first opponent, Steak. He definitely had notable muscle, but it was more lean rather than buff. He was still half a head taller than Lynn, however, and had a larger build than her. Not that it mattered, as Lynn was far stronger than her physique implied.

"Okay, he doesn't look so tough." Lynn said to herself, growing more confident that she could win.

After the ring of fire was extinguished and then reignited, Lynn squared up to her second opponent inside the circle of flame.

"You beat that big guy, huh? Maybe you're not as puny as you look." the champ said to the petite Loud girl.

"Keep talking, buddy. I've wasted chumps twice your size, so I don't expect you to last long!" Lynn bit back.

"FIGHT!" the announcer yelled as the two young fighters got ready to throw down.

"Word of advice, don't take it easy on me because I'm a girl!" Lynn warned as she went to throw a punch.

To her surprise and shock, he caught the fast strike effortlessly with his hand.

"I won't!" he told her before smacking her in the mouth.

Lynn stepped back, inspected the damage by putting her finger on her lip, and saw a slight spillage of blood.

"Okay, bro… let's do this!" she said, determined as she put up her dukes and prepared to battle it out with the champion.

Author's Footnote:

Well, here we are with a second season, far sooner than I expected I would finish it. To be fair, this whole COVID-19 and lockdown situation has brought about a lot of unexpected things. Either way, I guess I can give followers of this story at least one minor silver lining in all this, by giving them an early season two. Anyway, I hope you all liked the start to season two. Again, feedback for this story is always welcome, and I aim to upload the second chapter in just a few days. We'll see.