A haze of smoke choked Lincoln as he stumbled over roots and through thick branches, hardly managing to keep his footing while he clinged from tree to tree through unfamiliar woods. With each step his foot sank into ankle-deep mud threatening to steal his prized rhino leather boots from him. Somewhere nearby the a volley of cannon fire shook the few remaining rust-colored leaves from their branches to the ground. Disoriented Lincoln continued to stumble forward, towards the sound of the cannons, unsure of what could be ahead. With the forest quiet after the cannon barrage a soft whimpering now caught his attention. Frantically he thrashed through the branches and brush towards the sounds of distress. Lincoln stumbled into a clearing where no leaved had fallen with a small figure sat in the center making muffled moaning sounds. The thing looked much like a child but with long dirtied hair which looked dark and stringy in the haze around them. The child itself was covered in a thick crust of something which appeared to be mud or blood or a mixture of both. It's shoulders shuddered slightly with every moan that escaped it, the hair of Lincoln's neck stood up as he approached it cautiously.
	
Lincoln crouched beside the child and placed his hand on its small back where he could feel the scrawny thing's spine and ribs poke through. [color=B0C4DE][b]"Hey"[/b][/color] Lincoln started off trying to coax a reply from the child which only continued to whimper.

[color=B0C4DE][b]"What's your name? Can you tell me where we are?"[/b][/color] he asked, trying once more to get a response while attempting to sound as soothing as possible.

The thing stopped making the low moaning sounds and looked up at Lincoln with a pair of clear blue eyes smiling slightly at him with tears in it's eyes. Another volley of cannon fire could be heard in the distance, Lincoln snapped his head around and saw the faint black outline of a shell flying through the sky and arcing towards his location. A moment later the world exploded around him in a blaze of fire and earth. The face of the child burned into his mind as he hurdled through the air. Landing hard on a tangle of roots, he felt a mass of soil rain down across his back, stuffing his face into the mud making it impossible to breathe. Lincoln freed himself from a prison of mud leaving him covered from head to toe in it, splashing through shallow puddles of muddy water he found the remnants of the child at the center of the crater made by the explosion. Clawing his way towards the shredded form before him, Lincoln could feel dread weigh down his gut, the next thing he recalled was the faint sound of a song far off in the distance. It was a song he had heard a few times before but lost the exact name of. Whatever it was, slowly it pulled him from his dream.

Blinking himself awake he sat up from the table, wiping some drool from his face before he noticed a puddle had collected on the table before him. Ignoring it he turned his attention towards Anubis and listened to her little spiel before she threw a stack of jobs on the table. Everyone began nabbing them up like fiends, Lincoln pictured their hands like vultures swooping in for their next meal. Lincoln grabbed one of the remaining contracts and began inspecting it. [color=B0C4DE][b]"Hmm.. The Sack Man?"[/b][/color] he muttered to himself as he read. The paper spoke of multiple accounts of a strange looking male suspect carrying an unnaturally large sack over his shoulders. The last known location of the suspect was somewhere in South America, a village Lincoln was unfamiliar with. [i][color=EEE8AA]"A being seen world-wide carrying a large sack apparently stealing children?"[/color][/i] He began pondering the contract before him while tapping his thumbnail against his lips. [i][color=EEE8AA]"Kinda cliche isn't it? How could one guy get all over the world in such a short amount of time though?"[/color][/i] The thought of one being having the ability to be seen across such vast distances in such short amount of time bothered Lincoln. This was definitely a contract he could find himself enjoying. 

Leaning back on two legs of his chair while he sucked in air through his teeth, Lincoln continued speculating as he looked around at his comrades. Beside him a weapon/meister duo were babbling about something. Further down Abel was mumbling off about poison-based witches to himself. Lincoln pictured him sprawled across a stone floor, his face blued as he gasped for life with the imaginary poison spreading through his blood. A smirk cracked across Lincoln's face which he tried to conceal, although Abel was a massive inconvenience at times Lincoln didn't actually want him gone. Just not anywhere in his vicinity ever. 

Lincoln turned his attention back to Anubis. [b][color=B0C4DE]"Yo, I'll take this one. The uhh.."[/color][/b] he paused as he looked down at the contract before him before continuing [b][color=B0C4DE]"The Sack Man."[/color][/b] 

He leaned forward making the front two legs of the chair clack to the floor loudly before standing up and approaching Anubis, placing the contract before her to stamp. [b][color=B0C4DE]"As per usual, I won't be needing help."[/color][/b] He joked as he handed the paper to her.

After a moment his typical grin faded and a more serious look stretched across his face, [b][color=B0C4DE]"By the way, how is Lord Death doing? I haven't seen him after the.. well you know. Is everything okay?"[/color][/b] he asked, his voice laced with concern. Lincoln had always viewed Shinigami-sama as a grandfather figure, one who stood unopposed in power. Someone to look up to who could always be relied on. After the battle with the Kishin, Lincoln had heard Lord Death was severely weakened and was even almost defeated. The thought of Lord Death being gone filled Lincoln with fear, how would the world maintain any form of normalcy without him? He didn't think it would be possible.