4. Spreading Like Wildfire

A/N: Welcome to chapter 4 guys. Once again, thank you for the continued feedback (also it reminded me of those errors I made in the first chapter, so I corrected those this morning). As far as the punishments concerned, I believe most were justified, though I know someone suggested juvie or having them spend an entire year at Aunt Ruth's. To be honest, I felt those are too extreme and would be unnecessary. And while destroying their prized possessions does sound fun, you gotta remember all of that shit must've cost a fortune, and given it likely took them years to obtain the stuff they have now, that's a bit harsh, even for my taste.

Also to Mr. Noname, I doubt I'll use that incident from Picture Perfect, largely because all of the episodes are mostly random plots that have little relation to each other. You could say Brawl in the Family takes place after Space Invader due to similar plots, but it doesn't mean they are interconnected.

Also to Wolvenstrom, that's not entirely true because even if Lincoln isn't involved, the sisters will still beat the hell out of each other.

Now, let's see how Lincoln's friends react to the news. Pretty sure you guys will enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.

Ronnie Anne Santiago was known as many things: a hardcore tomboy, the school's 'Tough Girl' and occasional bully, the Queen of Pain, and generally someone whose bad side you do not want to be on. Lincoln himself could attest to that. But 'concerned girlfriend' was something not many knew of. Only Bobby, Lori, and Clyde know about the close relationship she has with the middle child of the Loud family, and she preferred to keep it that way lest someone tried to denounce her already fierce reputation (even then, said person would very likely get decked in the face). Unfortunately for her, even she would be forced to show the sensitive and caring side she secretly harbors.

The young Hispanic girl was currently lying on her bed upside down, playing a new handheld game that came out just a few days ago. She texted Lincoln around noon to see if he wanted to hang out today, but had gotten no response. Some time later she texted again and even called his phone, but it went straight to voice mail. While Ronnie Anne wasn't text happy like her brother, it still bothered her that Lincoln hadn't responded at all. She grew irritated at the thought that he may be ignoring her, but she calmed herself, remembering that Lincoln's family was much larger than hers. No doubt his sisters were keeping him busy with whatever it was they did. But even so, he would have had to at least glance at his phone at some point.

A sudden knock on her door pulled her undivided attention from the game, which cost her another life. "Ugh! Dang it." Ronnie Anne turned her head to the door. "It's open!"

Bobby poked his head in, getting an irritated glare from his sister. The 11 year old sighed. "What is it Bobby?..."

"You haven't talked with Lincoln today have you?" He asked, a little nervous.

"No. I texted and called Lame-o, but he didn't have the nerve to respond."

"Riiight..."

Ronnie Anne glanced at her brother as his tone of voice made it evident something was clearly wrong. "Ok, what is it? Did you and Lori have a falling out again?"

"Well..." He sat on the edge of the bed. "You could say that. But, what I'm going to tell you is really, really bad news sis. And it's about Lincoln."

The 11 year old gave a questionable look before rolling backwards on her bed and sat up. "What do you mean?..."

Bobby paused for a moment before answering. "Lincoln is...he's at the hospital..."

Ronnie Anne was still confused. "Wait, what you mean he's at the hospital? Is he visiting someone?"

"No. I meant he's being cared for at the hospital. Lori told me everything a while ago...she and 8 of her sisters got into a big fight with Lincoln that left him seriously injured, so he's been admitted to Royal Woods General some hours ago. From what her dad said, he's likely going to be in there for a month...the girls got grounded big time...and me and Lori broke up...again..."

The Hispanic girl blinked twice. Despite having taken in every word he said, she didn't want to believe it. Sure, Lincoln has told her he's gotten into fights with his sisters, but the boy usually came out of them with only a few bruises or scratches. "Please tell me you're joking Roberto...please, please tell me everything you said is part of a prank. Did Luan have any part of this?..."

The boy glared at his sister. "Would I joke about me and Lori breaking up?! She texted me everything! Look for yourself!" He tossed her his phone.

Ronnie Anne caught it and scrolled through the text blocks. As she read through them, her infamous temper was building up. It was only halfway through the texts that it reached it's usual peak, but it didn't stop there. By the time she was finished reading, the Hispanic girl was seeing blood red. This wasn't a tranquil fury you'd see in a volcano erupting, this was close to nuclear armageddon. To even enforce this point, Ronnie Anne's head was as red as a rose. She was also grinding her teeth and visibly shaking. To say she was livid would be an understatement.

Bobby was rather disturbed by this display. He knew she'd get upset, but he didn't expect this level of anger to surface again. The first time it happened was when Ronnie Anne was in 2nd grade. A group of boys thought it would be funny to do a food prank on her during lunch. After being covered in a large amount of foodstuffs, Ronnie Anne was instantly laughed at by everyone present. At first, she cried, but then she became absolutely livid and beat those pranksters so hard they spent nearly two months in the hospital.

Screaming in anger, the young girl threw the phone at the wall, smashing it to pieces. "Those fucking bitches! I don't care that they got the grounding of a lifetime! That's nothing compared to what I'm going to do! They put Lincoln in a hospital huh? I'll put them in comas!" With a strength that surprised her brother, she picked up her nightstand with little difficulty and flung it out the open window. The crashing noise could be heard throughout the whole block.

Bobby cautiously approached his sister, who now just seemed content on panting out her frustration. "Ronnie Anne..." She looked at him, and he could clearly see the hate burning in her eyes. But, at the corners of her eyes, he also noted tears had been forming. "Come here..." He pulled her into a hug.

Ronnie Anne resisted at first, but as her brother gently ran his fingers through her hair, any resistance she wanted to muster faded. The girl finally allowed herself to cry freely, hot tears running down her cheeks. This was the side of Ronnie Anne only Bobby knew she had. She wouldn't even let Lincoln see her crying if she was upset.

"Just why?!...Why would they do something like this?!..." She sniffled.

"I don't know sis...I honestly don't know..."

"...I want to go see him...I don't care if it's a school night...I...I just want to see if he's alright..."

"That's gonna be tough sis." Bobby looked at the clock. It was almost 10 o'clock. "You know mom and dad don't want us being out this late, but I'll promise you this: we'll go visit him immediately after school. Sound good?" Ronnie Anne nodded. Bending to her level, he lightly pecked her forehead. "Night sis. See ya in the morning."

The girl nodded before her brother left the room, closing the door along the way. Glancing out her window, she saw her socks and underwear scattered among the remains of her trashed bed piece. The 11 year old sighed as she closed her window, knowing she'd get an earful from her mother later. Changing into only her panties, Ronnie Anne slipped on a purple tank top before flopping backwards onto her bed. She definitely did not expect the bombshell that was brought on her just now. But, now she knew why Lincoln hadn't talked with her today; he was in no position to. Grabbing her phone, she pulled up the image gallery and flipped through a few photos. Each of them showed her and Lincoln posing at a few places they hung out at, but one she stopped at showed her kissing the cheek of a very surprised Lincoln.

"What did they do to you Lincoln?..." Ronnie Anne muttered.

The very next day, Ronnie Anne slumped to her first class. It was evident that she hadn't slept well, if at all, given the small bags under her eyes. Her depressed state was well evident to most of the students, who made sure to give her a wide berth. The only person brave enough, or allowed, to get near her was none other than Lincoln's best friend, Clyde.

"Hey Ronnie Anne. How's-" He took note of her features. "Woah...you ok?"

"Does it look like I'm ok?..." She half-glared at him.

"Didn't hurt to ask...but have you seen Lincoln? He wasn't at the bus stop this morning."

The Hispanic girl stared at the floor. "No...I haven't..."

The African-American lad was getting some bad vibes from this. "You and Linc didn't have a fight or something did you?"

"No Clyde...but I gotta ask. Did you talk with Lincoln at any point during the weekend?"

"Yeah. He came over on Saturday because his sisters were fighting again." Before he could say more, the 5-minute warning bell rang. "Dang it, I'll tell ya more at lunch. Or you can ask Lincoln if he shows up today." Clyde stated before running off.

"So he doesn't know yet..." Ronnie Anne muttered. She made a quick stop by her locker before sprinting to class.

Throughout the first 3 hours of school, the Hispanic girl could barely pay attention. Only thing on her mind was trying to piece together what caused the fight between Lincoln and 9 of his siblings. The texts Lori sent only told stated what happened after the fight, nor did it speak of the extent of Lincoln's injuries. She was called out a few times for not paying attention, but she didn't care much. Once lunch rolled around, she sought out Clyde, who also happened to talking with Lucy's goth friend, Haiku.

"So I was thinking about asking Lori to the movies this week." Clyde gave a dreamy sigh. "You think she might be still into Blarney?"

"Considering she's 17, doubt it." Haiku replied without any hint of care in her tone.

"Clyde, whose this?" Ronnie Anne asked as she approached the two.

"Oh, this is Haiku. We met each other at the Sadie Hawkins dance."

"Pleasant meeting you."

"Great, another Lucy..." The Hispanic thought to herself. "So what were you saying about Lincoln earlier?"

"Oh, right. He stayed the night to let his sisters cool down, and during that time I gave him a therapy session. He said he tried the best he could to help them, though they were following something called a Sister Fight Protocol. From what Lincoln said, it only made things worse. He said if they just let him help, he could fix everything, but instead they kept telling him to not get involved. So he resolved to back and try to get his sisters to talk it out the next morning. I don't know anything after that." Clyde explained.

"Well I do..." Ronnie Anne replied, her anger surfacing again.

"You do?" Clyde asked. Haiku simply raised an eyebrow.

"His so-called 'sisters' put Lincoln in the hospital...all because he wanted to help them?!" She said more to herself than anyone else.

Clyde was drinking his juice when Ronnie Anne said this, causing him to nearly choke. "Lincoln's in the hospital?!"

"Now that you mention it, Lucy was quieter than usual. In fact, she even had her eyes visible." The goth girl stated.

"Never thought I'd live to hear that...Ronnie Anne, are you completely sure you know where he is?" Clyde asked.

"Look McBride, I'm deathly sure I know where my own boyfriend is!" Ronnie Anne yelled a little too loud, causing some of the students within earshot to glance. She gave them all a hate-filled glare. "What are you all looking at?!" Immediately they averted her gaze. "I swear, if I see even one of his sisters, I'm going to-" The tomboy paused when someone caught her eye.

Not far from Clyde, Haiku, and Ronnie Anne, was Lynn Loud Jr. However, something was different about her today. Her normal, cheery self was gone, only leaving this depressed shell of a sports fanatic. Not only that, instead of wearing her usual red sports jersey and matching shorts, instead it was a red tank stop with blue jean shorts. Sitting next to her was Polly Pain, who was trying (and failing) to get her to talk.

"Come on Lynn. It's one thing to stop wearing your favorite jersey, but quitting every sports team?! Something's clearly wrong here."

Lynn sighed. "I told you Polly, I don't want to talk about it..."

"Well, I may not be a psychiatrist, but I do know that the longer you hold it in, the more it's going to hurt..." The roller blader stated.

"Something's going to hurt alright..." A new voice stated.

Looking up, Ronnie Anne stood across from their table. "What's up with you Ronnie Anne?" Lynn asked.

"I know what you did Loud..." The girl spat with venom.

"What are you talking about?" Lynn asked, getting defensive.

"I'm only going to ask this once, and you better give me an answer before I rearrange your face!" The Hispanic girl yelled, leaning on the table. "What...did you do...to Lincoln?!" She slammed a fist on the table at the end.

"Wait, what does Lincoln have to do with this?" Polly asked.

"Yes Lynn, tell us why Lincoln is involved in this..." Ronnie Anne growled.

The jock grew angry at this. She'd been asked the constant question of 'why' several times this morning, from each sports team she resigned from, her friend Polly, and now Ronnie Anne. She didn't wish to talk about what happened yesterday, but the world just wanted to pry into her personal life didn't it? Also, it didn't help other students were now taking notice of this spectacle.

"Fine! You want to know what happened to Lincoln?! He's in the hospital because of me and 8 of my sisters! He's there because we all failed to keep our anger in check, and I broke one of his arms in a fit of rage! HAPPY?!" She explained, tears of anger falling down her face.

Ronnie Anne's hands curled into fists as her pupils shrank. Even if did shed some light on the issue, she clearly wasn't happy the answer. "You BITCH!"

The Hispanic girl lunged over the table and tackled Lynn to the floor, knocking the two food trays over in the process. The school's tough girl started strangling the life out of the jock, but Lynn grabbed one of the discarded trays and smacked the dark haired female in the face. Using it as a weapon, the brunette hit Ronnie Anne a few times in the head before she caught it and literally threw both it and Lynn onto another table several kids were sitting at, sending food and trays flying. In a panic, half the cafeteria stampeded out, though the other half, like most dumb students in school, simply encouraged them to keep fighting. Ronnie Anne jumped on the table pinned Lynn to it, delivering 3 harsh blows to her face. However, Lynn caught the forth punch and flung her to the floor, taking the opportunity to do the same to her.

In response, the tough girl pushes Lynn's face up before kicking her off. She lunges at the Loud girl but Lynn backfists her. Taking advantage of her hoodie, Lynn pulls it over the Hispanic girl's head. She spins Ronnie Anne around while her vision is blocked, landing a few blows to the back of her head before her enemy manages to slip out of her jacket, revealing her to be wearing a black tank top with the words "Bite Me" on the front. A little dazed, Ronnie Anne couldn't protect herself from the flying kick Lynn lands directly on her mouth, sending her flat on her back. The crowd winces at this. Shaking her head, the Hispanic girl felt something loose in her mouth before spitting out a tooth.

Now further enraged, she charges back towards Lynn. Lynn aims another kick at her, but the tough girl grabs her leg, lifting her up and slamming her onto her stomach. Pinning her to the floor, Ronnie Anne proceeds to slam her face into the Quartz-like surface. Lynn turns her head to the side, revealing her nose to be damaged and a few of her teeth about to fall out. She tries to punch Ronnie Anne off, but instead the tough girl grabs her fist and plants her foot onto the jock's head.

"You broke Lincoln's arm huh? Let's see how you like having one..." She glared viciously before twisting the girl's arm. Lynn could feel the bone reaching its limit and knew Ronnie Anne wouldn't stop there. She tried to get up or at least roll over, but the Hispanic girl had her where she wanted her. The jock grunted in pain, kicking her feet out as pain coursed through her arm; the muscles and bone reached their max flexing potential. One more twist and the bone would pop right out. But before Ronnie Anne could take her vengeance, a booming voice resounded throughout the lunch room.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" The students turned, catching eyes with the principal, 2 security officers, and a few teachers.

Kevin Walker had a few years of being the school's head to know a good deal about the students, particularly those with outstanding achievements or the bad apples. Walking to the center of the crowd, he found the two girls still in the position they were in when he interrupted. "Both of you: my office, NOW."

Hesitantly, Ronnie Anne got off Lynn, who started to massage her sore arm. "Don't think this is over Loud..."

"Far from it..." Lynn glared, spitting out her loose teeth.

Somewhere in the crowd, Clybe, Haiku, and Polly Pain glanced at one another, unsure what was going to happen now.

A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter, from expressing Ronnie Anne's pain to the fight at the end. I was thinking of adding some hair pulling since both of them have pony-tails, but I think this is good enough. Lynn is really lucky the principal walked in, because Ronnie Anne was gonna break her arm and then some.