Okay, this and next chapter will focus on Stella, Mabel, and Sam, since it gives me the chance to reveal some bits about this universe I think are long overdue an explanation.

As for why I'm posting this now... things are a bit rougher now. The laptop I was using was returned, my phone's being wonky and won't load properly, and I have to get some things in order. So, I'm actually taking a proper hiatus now.

I'll try to work on the next chapter when I can, but I need to make sure I know what I'm doing before I head into it. So, enjoy the chapter for now.

But first, let's answer some reviews:

1.) Nobody245:

* Well, Lincoln did casually reveal Lori was coming soon, so...

* That will be explained soon enough.

2.) Observant Guest:

* I wanted to reveal the fate of some other characters, like Maggie, but I didn't get the time to do so.

* There's a couple more hints coming this chapter.

* Did you check out the music I mentioned earlier chapters, like DEUS from Mirai Nikki? Speaking of which, it's been a while since you suggested a music track.

And now, to the chapter.

Episode 70: The Truth Behind the Exchange! Revelations That Shake Us to the Core!

"What do you mean Lori's coming tomorrow?!" Luna exclaimed.

"Exactly what I mean; Lori is going to come to Royal Woods tomorrow, and she'll likely want to know what you've been doing all these years," Lincoln casually replied. "And yes, it's she's probably gonna be angry with what she finds."

"Finds what?" Luna inquired. "We haven't done anything that-"

"Luna, you and everybody here know what he's talking about," Lisa interjected, folding her arms as she added, "The Mass Birthmark Exchange."

Everybody turned to the little scientist, and Lincoln folded his arms.

"Ah yes, the fabled Mass Birthmark Exchange. That sounds like something Lily should know about. Speaking of Lily, Lisa do you know where she is right now?"

Lisa got ready to use omnipresence, but Lola hastily grabbed her arm and turned to Lincoln. "Why do you want to know?"

"I just told you; the Mass Birthmark Exchange is something Lily should be aware of. Now, last time I'm going to ask: Where is she?"

Lola nervously released Lisa's arm, and the scientific god promptly did her thing.

"She's having ice cream with Carol."

"Is Loan with them?"

Lisa shook her head.

"Fair enough, I'll deal with Loan later myself. For now, would you be so kind as to go to her and inform her about the event, Lisa?"

"She doesn't need to do that!" Lynn snapped. "Lily's barely started training with her divine powers!"

"And yet she has enough time to join in the exchange?"

The sisters looked shocked, except for Lisa, who walked to a nearby window.

"What... are you talking about?" Luna narrowed her eyes. "Are you accusing her of something?!"

"Maybe I should've worded that better," Lincoln casually spoke. "You see, when Lily arrived in Royal Woods, she brought with her a girl that was part of her caste, but who, as I found out, actually belonged to Leni's caste."

Luan's eyes widened. "You mean we missed one?!"

"So you do admit you had a part in it," Lincoln pocketed his hands. "I can't start acting all high and mighty, though. After all, I participated in the exchange as well."

"You did?" Lucy said, her blank eyes widening in disbelief. "Whose caste did you change?"

"These are all very good, very interesting questions, but I should get going," Lisa said as she opened the window and prepared to jump off. "I'll be sure to buy you some ice cream to cheer you up."

With that said, Lisa jumped off, activated her jet shoes, and flew towards Lily's location.

"I should get going as well; gotta run the multiverse and make sure the timeline follows my endgame," Lincoln spoke as he stretched. "By the way, Luan?"

The divine comedian turned to Lincoln.

"You've heard about the theory that Loan could be a lovechild from the future, right?"

Luan tilted her head. "Yeah, what about it?"

"If you dare look into the future to confirm it, I will replace your clock eye with a pie, like I did just now."

Luan turned to a mirror as her sisters gasped, and in Lola's case screamed. As it turned out, Lincoln was right: the clock that formed Luan's other eye had transformed into a pie with whipped cream on top.

"Luan, are you okay?!" Lucy asked as she ran up to her sister.

Luan giggled. "I've heard about being pie-eyed, but this is ridiculous."

"And that's not all," Lincoln said cheerfully. "Come on, give it a taste."

Luan nodded and casually rubbed a finger on her pie eye, tasting it as her sisters winced.

"It's a banana pie!"

Lincoln nodded. "I figured you'd be the only one in this room to see its-"

Luan and Lincoln pointed at each other, shouting in unison:

"A-peel!"

A drum was heard being played as Luan and Lincoln laughed out loud, the latter snapping his fingers and turning Luan's eye back to normal.

"Okay, I really needed that," Lincoln sighed. "Well, I'm heading out. Remember; Lori's here tomorrow, she'll be angry with you, and Loan will probably be just as angry and help her destroy this entire city."

"Wait, what did you say?"

Lincoln snapped his fingers and teleported out of the room, leaving the sisters to think about the revelation.

"He very clearly said Loan would be angry with us and would help Lori," Luna scratched her chin. "But... we haven't treated her so badly as to justify her anger, right?"

"I don't think so," Lynn spoke. "I mean, outside of distrusting her, have we done anything that would make Loan angry at us?"

The sisters hummed in thought, thinking of a possible reason to no avail... until Luan thought of something:

"We never gave her the WiFi password!"

Meanwhile, at the Cristinanity church, Stella and Mabel ate their breakfast, the former only taking a bite every so often, while the latter gorged on her food.

"This is delicious!" Mabel chirped, moaning in delight. "I haven't eaten something so good in days!"

Mabel stood up and waved her hand at the kitchen, chirping with her mouth full:

"My cpmpliments to the chef!"

The chef, an Asian man with an apron with "Kobato" written on it, waved back with a wide smile.

"Mabel, you're making a scene," Stella said as the blonde sat down.

"I'm sorry, I've been running for so long I haven't had many chances to eat anything decent," Mabel replied. "And what about you, Stella? Shouldn't being sealed inside a rainbow crystal for four years whet your appetite?"

"I mean, I am hungry," Stella rubbed her arm. "But my appetite's kinda off due to the atmosphere... and for something that appeared while you weren't around."

Stella reached for her back and took out the mask piece.

"Isn't that," Mabel raised an eyebrow. "A piece of Lincoln's mask?"

"Did somebody mention Lincoln?!"

The sudden exclamation caught the duo off-guard, and Stella hid the mask as the owner of the voice appeared: Sam.

"Oh, uh, we were just thinking out loud!" Mabel replied. "No pun intended, of course."

"No worries, doubt I would've caught it anyway," Sam replied. "So, what exactly do you wanna know about him?"

Mabel turned to Stella, who promptly spoke:

"Lincoln is practically omnipresent. No matter what, he always has relation to something, and people have an opinion of him. What does Cristinanity think of him?"

Sam stared at Stella for a while, engaging in something like a stare fight... until the blonde smiled:

"Well, don't fret; we don't hate him with a burning passion like some other people do."

Mabel sighed in relief. "That's good to know. So, you like him?"

Sam frowned and looked elsewhere, her smile unfazing. "I never really said that..."

"But you just said you don't hate him," Stella pointed out.

"Listen, girls, the world is more complicated than that," Sam crouched down. "Like, way more complicated."

Mabel and Stella exchanged looks, unsure of what Sam meant.

"Finish eating breakfast, and I'll show you what I mean," Sam said as she stood up. "It'll also give me a chance to explain the significance of you being here."

Sam walked away, leaving the duo with their curiosity intrigued, but their guards straightened...

Lisa flew down to the city square of Royal Woods, where she spotted Lily and Carol having some ice cream, sitting on a bench near a petting zoo.

"Oh hi, Lisa!" Lily chirped upon seeing her sister. "You wanna join in?"

Lisa clutched her chest, feeling it tighten as she flew down to the ground uneasily.

"No, Lily... I'm fine," Lisa replied as she reached the ground. "But there's something I need to tell you."

Carol quickly caught on. "Wait, Lisa, are you sure it's-"

"Lincoln insisted."

There was no more room for discussion after that.

"It Must be something really important then," Lily remarked as she swallowed her ice cream in an instant. "So, what do you need to tell me?"

"Not here, Lily-"

"GAH! BRAIN FREEZE!"

Lily grabbed her head and ruffled her hair as she groaned in pain, Carol rubbing her head as Lisa counted the remaining seconds before it went away.

"Okay, feeling better, I'm better, I survived," Lily sighed a few moments later. " So, were you saying, Lisa?"

"

"I can't tell you here, we need to go somewhere private," the scientist answered. "Come with me. You as well, Carol."

The hybrid-casted flinched. "Me? Why?"

"Old time's sake, I guess," Lisa formed a tired smile. "It's been so long since we last hung around together all three of us."

Carol nodded in agreement, remembering the moment Lisa was talking about, and the trio promptly flew towards another part of Royal Woods: a docking bay.

There, several spaceships were stationed, ready to take whoever drove them into outer space. Out of all of them, the one that caught most attention, and the one the trio headed to, was a giant, green square-shaped spaceship.

"What I need to tell you, Lily, is something that will upset you no matter how I word it," Lisa explained as the girls followed her to the main room, where Darcy and David acted as helmsmen. "So, we need to head to a place where whatever happens there, will stay there."

"You mean like Las Vegas?" Carol guessed.

"No, I'm not allowed to go there anymore," Lisa sat down on a chair in the middle of the room. "You'll see soon enough. Darcy, David, set course for Planet Akashic. Speed 7."

"Establishing coordinates," David spoke. "Adjusting speed..."

"All systems are ready for takeoff," Darcy remarked.

Lisa snapped her fingers. "Engage."

And so, the squareship retracted its leg, floated up, and promptly took off into outer space in a green blur.

Back at Cristinanity, Stella and Mabel, having just finished their breakfast, were looking for Sam around the church.

"You know, it would've been nice for her to let us know when to find her," Stella commented wearily. "Even if we don't know how this place works, maybe-"

Suddenly, Stella stopped.

"Stella, what's wrong?"

*Badum... Badum...*

"I think I'm hearing a heartbeat," Stella scanned her surroundings. "And it's going down... here!"

Stella bolted down a hallway, Mabel following behind her as she ran. The heartbeat grew louder and louder the deeper they came in, until it began beating faster... and they found the source was through a door.

"It came from here."

Mabel raised an eyebrow. "In Sam's room?"

"How do you know its her room?"

Mabel pointed up at the sign on the wall reading "Sam's room" in bold letters.

"How come I didn't notice that?"

Soon after, the door began opening and the duo tried to hide... only for Sam to spot them anyway.

"What are you doing here?"

"I suddenly heard some heartbeats and followed them here," Stella explained as she dusted herself. "Is that supposed to happen?"

Sam's eyes widened. "You heard my heartbeat?"

"I guess so."

"Then you have to be the one," Sam stated, gaining a smile as she closed the door. "Come, follow me and I'll let you know just what's going on."

Sam lead the way deeper into the church, and the trio eventually reached a large gate guarded by a guy with brown, poofy hair.

"Sup, Beanie?"

"My name's Benny."

"Whatever, could you let us in? I need to explain something to Stella."

"Stella? As in, THE Stella?"

Sam nodded, and that was all the guy needed to hear. He turned around, unlocked the gate, and moved aside, watching calmly as the girls entered the room.

"Okay, I'm gonna simplify this story I'm gonna tell you as much as possible," Sam said before seemingly turning to the reader. "But even simplified, this creation myth is complicated and convoluted, so I'll ask you to please stay with me until the end, okay?"

Sam turned out to be talking to Stella and Mabel, the former nodding as the latter spoke, "For a second there I thought you were breaking the fourth wall."

"Ha, if only! The only one who can do that is Lincoln!" Sam responded. "The selfish little prick never taught anybody else how to do it. Anyhow, let's get to business!"

Sam walked up to a bookshelf and took out a very peculiar book.

"What's that book you got?" Stella asked.

"This, Stella, is the book that will help me tell you the story."

Sam turned around and revealed the book and its name.

Ars Loudia: Creation Myths.

Meanwhile, back with Lily, Lisa, and Carol, the trio landed at the planet Akashic, whose surface was filled to the brim with bookshelves; no matter where they looked, books could be seen anywhere, alongside pillars with written information on them.

The squareship landed safely on the ground, and the trio calmly left it.

"Darcy, you're in charge while we're out here," Lisa explained. "You and David charge the ship for take off, and tell Gloom and Lupe to check for anything at Engineering."

"Aye, ma'am!"

Lisa nodded, and joined Carol and Lily as they began walking down the streets.

"So, Lisa," Lily blurted. "Why are we here?"

"Akashic is basically a planet-sized compendium of all known information, which its inhabitants, the Akashicans, have to look after thoroughly," Lisa explained as she adjusted her glasses. "Everything you need to know about what I'm gonna tell you can be found here."

"Okay, but why did you take me here?"

"I figured you'd want to stay away from our sisters once you're told about the Mass Birthmark Exchange."

Lily grew concerned, but when she turned to Carol for answers, the hybrid-caste turned away. So, they kept walking until they reached a massive library, guarded by...

"Who's the pretty woman who looks like a princess?" Lily asked, tilting her head.

"Dr. Lopez, Clyde's psychiatrist," Lisa answered. "She's neither part of my caste or an Akashican, she's just working to pass the time.

"May I ask what is your business here?" Dr. Lopez inquired.

"We're here to find out about the Mass Birthmark Exchange," Lisa glanced at Lily. "And maybe provide us a panic room, just in case."

Dr. Lopez looked sternly at the trio, then sighed and opened the doors, warning:

"Whatever you find out, it's on you whether you like it or not."

"Noted."

And so, the group walked inside, encountering a massive collection of books, with bookshelves upon bookshelves guarding them. Surely, finding the right book would take a while... for any ordinary mortal.

For Carol and Lisa, the latter communicated telepathically what book they were after, and the former opened a portal and took it out with ease.

"Okay, let's head to the panic room." Carol said.

"What book did you get?" Lily inquired.

Carol looked at Lisa, who nodded with a serious expression, and she revealed the book to Lily:

Ars Loudia: Mass Birthmark Exchange.

"Let's see, Japanese, Greek, Mesopotamian, aha! Here it is!" Sam said as she surfed through the book, sitting down with Stella and Mabel soon after. "Alright, settle down, this is gonna be a doozy."

Stella and Mabel leaned closer as Sam narrated:

"At the beginning of time, nothing existed besides The Maker. One day, They got an idea, and from that idea came the first man and woman."

"Lincoln and Cristina?" Stella guessed.

"Yup!" Sam clarified. "Anyway, with the first man and woman born, they copulated, and from them came the first set of divinities: The Loud Sisters. In the meantime, The Maker created the world around them, and then vanished without a trace, leaving Lincoln to take the realm."

"He did a little bit of work and then leaves the heavy lifting to Lincoln?" Mabel folded her arms. "That's not very nice."

"Eh, I don't know, I mean Lincoln did a lot of bad things, but he was a good ruler overall."

"Can you continue?" Stella asked.

"After The Maker left, the gods took it into them to create the Concepts, vaguely sentient representations of.. well, concepts, like good, evil, morality, mortality, and so on. Some of the stronger ones became what is known as the Chains of Reality, which gave the universe its current form: Matter, Gravity, Space, Time, Mortality, Evolution, and so on."

Sam frowned. "But not all Concepts were created by the gods, or even good. Some were negative, like-"

"Ignorance and Fear," Lisa said, reading the open book while she, Carol, and Lily sat in the middle of a pillowy panic room. "The former plagued the older gods, and still plagues the new reality even today. And the latter is the same... as well as a reason for the exchange."

"Why would fear play a part?" Lily asked.

"When Lori and Leni seemingly joined Lincolnism, not only did the strongest sisters seemingly join the enemy, but did so with the strongest proto-sisters controlling them, and being inside them." Carol explained. "The thought of those impossible odds being something they'd have to face eventually terrified our sisters. Especially when they learned of their ability to sense members of their caste."

Lily frowned. "And what did they do?"

"The only thing they thought they could do," Lisa sighed, turning the page as she added, "Seek out the members of Lori and Leni's Castes... and convert them to their own, forcibly if necessary."

Lily's eyes widened in disbelief. "They did what?"

"In order to try gain better control over the Concepts, the gods experimented for centuries," Sam explained to a shocked Stella. "One of these experiments was to join a Concept together with a host, and then produce an offspring. Cristina was hosting the Concept of Love when she and Lincoln did the thing... and gave birth to you as a result."

Stella grabbed her head. "You mean... I'm the humanoid form of the Concept of Love?"

"No, your powers are based on it, but you can't actually control it," Sam shrugged. "Though this didn't stop them from originally naming you-"

"Love Loud!"

Mabel felt a chill go down her spine, recognizing the voice as she and the trio ran back outside... and found Holy Leni and Lyra standing nearby, their arms folded behind their backs.

"I believe we have some unfinished business."

Leni flashed a smirk, prompting the group to get ready for an attack...

Meanwhile, Lincoln watched the events unfold on his throne, holding a glass of what could only be described as a maybe-alcoholic drink as his eyes fixated on Stella.

"Alright, looks like the pieces have moved just as I expected," Lincoln spoke as he stood up. "Now, Stella, it's up to you to decide what to do next."

It was in that moment that Chandler, Paige, and Bun-Bun appeared, bringing with them Clyde and Ronnie Anne.

"Master Lincoln, we have returned," Bun-Bun said. "And we brought with us-"

"Clyde!"

"Ronnie Anne!"

The duo walked towards each other and shook hands as the trio turned to look at them. Lincoln, meanwhile, dissipated his throne into light and walked closer to them as he said:

"Good work you three. Go take a rest, I'll call you if I need you again."

"Actually, Lincoln," Chandler remarked. "There's something I would like to talk to you about-"

"We can discuss it later, Chandler. Take a rest, I insist."

Paige put a hand on Chandler's shoulder, and once she stole a glance at Ronnie Anne, the duo and Bun-Bun teleported away.

"I can't believe we meet again like this!" Clyde said as he scanned the tomboy. "You've certainly grown a lot since we last met."

"Don't look too much, Clyde," Ronnie Anne said teasingly, pulling a pose as she added, "You got a daughter and wife, remember?"

Clyde casually, gently slapped Ronnie Anne. "You know what I mean, you tease!"

"I'm happy to see you're on better terms than four years ago," Lincoln remarked, getting their attention. "I can still remember that time at the beach when you nearly killed each other."

"You're exageratting a little bit, Lincoln," Clyde replied. "Say, is that a glass of alcohol?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, it's just for show," Lincoln answered before casually throwing the glass away, with it vanishing from existence soon after. "Anyway, it's very nice to see you again, my dear friends."

"Yeah, it's been like, what, four years?" Ronnie Anne asked, putting her hands on her shoulders. "I mean, I was busy setting up a hidden village for my caste, what were you two doing?"

"I stayed over at Planet Tokyo to become Mick Swagger's apprentice, and changed to Luna's Caste," Clyde explained casually. "It was a little hard to be accepted, what with the planet holding a dislike towards Lincoln, but I managed."

"Meanwhile, I found myself training my divine powers and watching over the multiverse," Lincoln spoke with his arms folded behind his back. "Which included watching things a man should never see, and atrocities committed on, and by, alternate versions of my sisters... of myself..."

Ronnie Anne and Clyde exchanged looks, stunned speechless by the statement.

"But that's besides the point! There's something I want you to look at with me."

With a snap of his fingers, Lincoln transformed the room into a movie theater, each of the trio getting popcorn and drinks while the screen grew bigger, showing the scene as clearly as possible.

"Is that... Leni?" Ronnie Anne asked. "And I can see Rock-O's girlfriend, but who are the other two?"

"Lincoln, what exactly are we looking at?" Clyde asked worriedly.

"Patience, my friends." Lincoln replied as he got himself comfortable. "Soon enough, we will bare witness to... The birth of a god."