3. A Living Nightmare

A/N: Chapter 3 people. In response to the constant questions as to when the next chapters will come or the frequency in which the story will be updated, it will be updated when I feel like putting in another chapter. I understand you guys are eager, but you CANNOT pressure an author to rush out good chapters, that's one way to degrade a story. It's the same effect for asking a game developer when another update will arrive, it won't make the chapters come any faster. Still, I appreciate your feedback, but please stop asking when the next update will come.

Now, if there are any more questions, let's see what will happen to the guilty party.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.

The drive back home felt like hours for Lynn Sr., even though the hospital was only 30 minutes down the road. With Rita staying with their son until he had awakened, someone needed to go home and find out what the hell made the 9 sisters lash out at their brother. Lynn also supposed it would've been better if he dealt with the girls first, seeing as Rita might end up doing something so severe even she would regret it later on. The father would've taken Lily with him, but she clung to her brother like a vice, adamant on not leaving his side.

While driving, a long list ran through Lynn's head on how to punish his daughters. He wasn't even sure if a simple grounding would do, and regrettably, an idea cropped up about spanking his own children. Both Loud parents were usually against the idea of physically assaulting their kin, as they considered it amoral and might cause even more rift in the already fragile bond the family had. But given the circumstances, such an option was now justified. Another idea that came to mind was having the daughters visit Rita's Aunt Ruth every week. All of the kids hated her visits due to their aunt's constant need for attention, whether is was showing them old pictures of past vacations or worse, tending to the blisters on her feet. Lynn Sr. cringed at the thought. But, it would help enforce a point. He would have to make up his mind soon, cause before he knew it, the family wagon was pulling into the driveway.

The house was deathly silent as the Loud patriarch entered the house. Glancing around, he saw Leni on the couch with a tear stained face and blood red eyes.

"Well, at least Leni seems upset about the whole thing. But about the others?..." Lynn Sr. wondered. Taking a deep breath, he summoned his commanding voice. "GIRLS! LIVING ROOM, NOW!"

Almost immediately, the other residents of the house made their way to the couch. Even Lynn Jr., who was still outside, heard him. Studying the looks of his daughters, it was evident some had been crying, still had deep frowns of self-guilt, or in Lana and Lola's case, had gotten into another scrap with each other. Over what, he didn't know, or care for the moment. He was surprised to see that Lucy's eyes were no longer hidden.

Holding a stern look, "I suppose you all know what we're here to talk about?..." They all nodded. Then he asked the soul-piercing question. "Why?..."

There was some initial hesitation from the 9 sisters. There reasons varied from why they acted so cruelly to their male sibling, but in the end, it boiled down to one simple thing.

"After realizing that the arguments that started yesterday were partially caused by our b-brother, we ended up realizing by accidentally spilling secrets we had about e-e-each other, he was the root cause of our conflict...but..." Lisa took her glasses off, clearing her eyes again. She couldn't even speak in her usual monotone as her voice was cracking even further. "I'm not sure if it's the same for everyone else, but I was also reminded of his other misdeeds and traits that made him an a-a...annoyance, and..." At this point Lisa broke down and started crying like an actual 4 year old. "I lost control of my anger!...I even stomped on his mentula twice!..."

Everyone was a little confused by that last part, so she clarified. "His...his genitalia..." The others gasped, and even Lynn Sr. had instinctively moved a hand over his package.

At this point, then Lynn Jr. spoke, equally at fault for causing some damage. "I twisted one of his arms until I thought I heard the bone snap..."

Lola then spoke. "I'm...pretty sure I knocked a few of his teeth out..." She glanced over at the blood patches still in the carpet.

Lynn Sr. sighed. "Anything else you girls want to say what you did to your brother?..." After getting no response, he continued. "Well then, I hope you girls got what you wanted out of that fight. Your brother, your only brother might I add, is going to be spending close to a month in the hospital! Not only does he have the injuries 3 of you are clearly responsible for, he also had his nose broken, his pelvis damaged along with his ribs, and he's suffered some blows to his head! All because the 9 of you couldn't keep a lid on your anger!" His voice boomed, the sisters visibly shaking. "And just so you know, saying 'you're sorry' isn't going to cut it this time ladies!"

The father sighed before sitting in a nearby chair. "Myself and your mother trusted all of you with one thing, that you could handle yourselves without much injury. That's the reason why this whole Sister Fight Protocol nonsense came about. But apparently, none of you can be trusted seeing it went out of control very quickly. So from now on, any time you girls start having a fight with one another, myself and your mother will handle it how we see fit. I've lost a lot of trust and respect for you all..."

He placed a hand on his forehead in frustration. "Normally I would discuss with Rita first, but since she's staying with Lincoln for possibly the whole evening I'll be saying this: you're all grounded indefinitely. Internet use is strictly for school use only, and any cartoons on TV will be blocked! Lori, your phone is getting parental settings on it, and you're forbidden from speaking with your boyfriend. You're driving privileges are also severely limited. The only places you can go are to school and work." The oldest sibling looked at the floor in shame.

"Leni, you are no longer allowed to do anything fashion-related, and you can forget about daily trips to the mall." The blonde whimpered.

"Luna, no more concerts for you. Along with that, all of your musical gear will be put in storage. You're lucky I'll be letting you keep your MP3 player." The brunette nodded, sniffling a bit.

"Luan. It pains me to say this but you are forbidden from doing anything related to comedy. No more puns, you CANNOT do anymore of your video blogs, and your Funny Business job is also out the window." The joker saw this coming, but it still pained her to hear that.

"Lynn Jr. You're banned from playing ALL sports. You're sporting equipment will also be put in storage, and for breaking your brother's arm, you're not allowed to wear anything dealing with sports, or turn anything INTO a sport." The jock nodded, fresh tears creeping from her eyes.

Lynn Sr. looked at Lucy next, who was visibly shaking. She was gonna be tough since she's usually, well, mellow. But, he did have something figured out. "Lucy, you're forbidden from writing any poems. Your book will be kept in my and Rita's room, and anything dealing vampires or darkness in your room will be thrown out." The goth gasped in shock, but didn't say anything afterwords.

Next came the twins. "Lana, no mud-related things for you, and you are to keep yourself clean. And all of your exotic pets will be taken to the local animal shelter to be cared for. Can't promise if they won't be given to new families." The tomboy's heart literally shattered upon that statement.

"Lola, pageants are forbidden, and you can no longer dress like a princess. Along with that, your tiara's and gowns will be put into storage." The little not-so princess cried silently.

"Lastly Lisa. You're lab is going to be given to charity, or maybe the university. I'll have to think on that. Also, you're going to help pay for Lincoln's medical bill. I didn't this before, but your brother also required surgery to be done to him." The 9 siblings audibly gasped at this. Lynn Sr. then decided to add more icing to the cake. "Lastly, visits to Aunt Ruth will happen on a weekly basis!" The girls were now terrified. Just as he thought, the girls cringed at the idea of going over to their great aunt's house, well besides Lana, but even she didn't like seeing Ruth too often.

"At any point should you test the waters of your punishment..." The father then did something he thought he'd never have to do. He took off his belt and placed it on the table. All of the siblings literally paled as they stared at it, as if the devil was smiling at them from the inanimate object. "Now go upstairs and think about what you've done." Without missing a beat, the children ran for their lives.

Lynn Sr. almost wanted to cry from what he did, but it had to be done. He already stated the ground rules, and there was no going back. Still, he felt sick to his stomach. Carefully, he put his belt back on and went to his room, needing to lie down for a while. "Maybe I should consult a family therapist too..."

Lincoln had awoken to find himself in a dark area. He looked around before memories of what happened previously came to mind, but surprisingly, he bared no scars from that tussle with 9 of his sisters. Focusing back on the blackness that surrounded him, he tried to find a point of reference, yet nothing came up.

"H-Hello? Is anyone out there?..." He asked cautiously.

"Oh there's someone here Lincoln." A voice rang out. Lincoln recognized it instantly. "L-Lori? Where are you? Where am I for that matter..." He thought aloud.

"Where she is doesn't matter Lincoln. It's what's going to happen to you that you need to be concerned with." Another voice spoke, this one with a lisp.

"L-Lisa?...Wait, is this a prank? This isn't funny guys!"

"Ooh I wish it were a prank, but sadly it's not." Luan's voice came next.

Lincoln looked around fearfully before attempting to run. Instead, he tripped when his right leg became stuck on something. Looking back, he sees it was chained to the floor. He tried to free himself when suddenly, another chain shot up from the ground behind up and wrapped around his neck, bringing him to the floor. He started choke as it tightened. At the same time, a bright light flashed and eliminated all traces of darkness, revealing a blood-red colored room. It was the living room of the house, yet it looked as if it came from hell.

"Wha...what's is this place?" The white haired boy asked, fear ever present in his tone.

All of his sisters (minus Lily) soon surrounded him, but instead of appearing how they usually do, they were demonic in nature. Luan was shown to be holding a set of chains. "Hope you like these CHAINLINKS. Heh heh heh! Get it?" The other sisters groaned.

"Why?" The chain on his neck tightened even further. "Why are you doing this?" Lincoln choked out.

"Simple bro. You're always the one who causes the fights in the house." Luna stated.

"And as an easy solution, we decided to nip the problem by its roots." Lisa stated, before her voice became distorted and deep. "By eliminating YOU!"

Suddenly, the group of demons brandished several weapons, ranging from small objects like a hammer to heavy ones such as a chainsaw and spike gauntlets. Being restrained to the floor, Lincoln couldn't do anything to defend him. As his sisters jumped, he screamed as loud as he could.

In real time, Rita resting in one of the chairs in the room. Lily was asleep, hugging her brother's undamaged arm. The only sound in the room was that constant rhythmatic beeping of the heart monitor. However, it soon detected Lincoln's heart rate beginning to climb, the constant beeping getting faster and faster. The mother of 11 was soon awoken by this, wiping the sleep from her eyes before taking a glance at it. His pulse was higher than normal, and was still climbing. Rita began to fear that her son might be suffering a heart attack, but this thought was quelled when he started to talk in his sleep.

"No...no please...don't..." He murmured.

The mother then realized he was just having a nightmare, and was quick to aid him. Coming over, she gently shook him. "Lincoln. Lincoln! Wake up!"

Within seconds, the young boy's eyes popped open as he screamed loudly, only for it to turn into a coughing fit as his chest was still sore. The heart monitor's beeping began to slow, signifying his pulse returning to normal. Lily was startled from the noise and started to cry as well. Rita picked up her infant daughter and soothed her while also tending to her son. "You ok Lincoln?"

The middle child groaned. "M-Mom?...Where...where are we?"

"We're in the hospital Lincoln..."

"Wait...the hospital?..." Looking around, he noticed the bandages on his chest, his arm cast, and devices hooked up to him, etc. His chest and mouth were still sore as well. "My...my sisters...they..." Tears started to flow from his eyes as memories of 9 of his sisters pummeling him cropped up.

Rita calmly set Lily on the bed and comforted her sniffling son. "Shh shh...don't worry my baby boy...everything's gonna be alright..." She gently stroked his head. She wished to hug him, but this might injure him further.

"Wincoln?" Lily spoke, surprising them both.

"Lily?...When...when did you..." Lincoln started. Lily didn't say anything as she crawled up to her brother and hugged his face. If there was anything Lincoln couldn't deny, at least Lily wouldn't hurt him. Lincoln used his right arm and returned the gesture. "How long was I asleep?"

"For several hours. You had to go through surgery dear...I'm not sure what they did but I'll ask the doctor." Rita replied.

The boy was about to say something when an announcement came over the PA system. "Attention all guests. Visiting hours will end in 5 minutes."

Rita sighed. She didn't want to leave her son by himself, and there was a possibility security might escort her out. "Dang it...sorry dear but I don't think they'll let us stay..." She picked up Lily, who resisted.

"Noooooo!" The baby whined.

"Mom..." She paused, glancing at her son. The look he gave her said he would be deathly afraid of being alone in the room. "Please...don't go..."

Maternal instincts overrode whatever rules the system had in place. There was no way in hell she was going to abandon her child when he needed her, especially now. "Alright sweetie. I'll go ask the doctor and see if we can work something out."

Roberto Alejandro Martinez-Millian Luis Santiago Jr., also known as Bobby, was well known for his prowess of being a hard worker and a dedicated boyfriend. It is quite shocking the lengths he would go to make his girlfriend Lori happy, even going as far as to getting certain jobs just to impress her. Despite being easy-going, he can be a bit childish, such as that one time he broke up with the Loud girl just because Lincoln made Ronnie Anne upset (which to be fair, the two children had not been in a commited relationship yet). But, at least he means well. After that double date at Jean Juan's French/Mexican buffet, the Hispanic boy got to know Lincoln better, and considers him the little brother he always wanted.

Considering that Bobby and Lori text each other non-stop, the two often grow concerned when either one hasn't been responding at their usual frequency. As such, it's typically an indicator that something's wrong. And boy this would be the understatement of the year. Roberto spent 30 minutes re-reading the texts Lori sent him, still not believing what was on it. She told Bobby everything: the fight, the failure of the sister protocol, Lincoln's hospitalization, and just recently the punishments being enforced on her and every sister except for Lily. She ended this by saying it would be the last text he would see from her for a while.

Putting the phone on his bed, Roberto was just stumped. He couldn't believe 9 of Lincoln's sisters put him in the hospital. Sure, he was a bit angry at them for doing such a thing, but they didn't mean to, right? And speaking of Lincoln, the 17 year old's thoughts drifted to his little sister. Considering how close she and the Loud boy are, she would not take the news well.

Giving a heavy sigh, he tossed the phone on his bed and sought out his sister. She would find out eventually since Lincoln's absence would become apparent, and it's better she get a head start on the grieving process.

A/N: The punishments have been set, the actors are taking their place, and more is on the way. I can only imagine the look on Ronnie Anne and Clyde's face when they find out.

I mentioned the whipping of children since it's something that happened to me growing up (fully deserved it), but in some cases I believe there are kids who need to get their asses beat to set them straight. Had quite a few bad apples in my elementary school who could've used it.