34. Changing Tunes

A/N: Sometimes the road to reconciliation isn't always a pleasant one, even if it's a bridge that has several open spots that will lead you to falling to your death if you aren't careful. But with how the session ended for Lincoln and Lynn, that bridge still seems like it's far from getting the funds necessary to rebuild it. As Lincoln slowly starts to regain the anger he felt towards his siblings, especially with the new information he has on hand, many start to think he'll wind up like his near-mirror image in Worth. However, what some do not realize is that base emotions have many different shades. Anger is not always going to be a thermonuclear explosion, but rather, it can be an aura of hidden hostility or tension.

And for someone like Lincoln whose dealing with two opposites on the emotional spectrum, he definitely needs time to sort himself out.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.

Lincoln stepped through the front door of the McBride household shortly after bidding goodbye to his mother. He didn't utter a word to Lynn before the van sputtered down the road, not that she blamed him. The athlete could feel the aura of simmering hostility surrounding the younger boy, and opted to just avoid speaking with him. After all, what more could she say? Lynn officially admitted the girls' own oversight to their procedures and the fact they purposely left their brother out was just icing on the cake of idiocy; while it might not have gotten that far, Lynn felt she'd witness her brother flying into a rant if she so much as spoke a single word to him. It was easy for Rita to notice the tension, as the storm of questions began right after Lincoln exited the car.

No sooner did he shut the door did a voice called out from the living room. "Dad? Is that you?"

"No, just me." Lincoln answered, his voice sounding a tad more agitated than he would've liked. Walking around the corner, he spotted Clyde sitting upside down on the couch with a handheld game in his palms. "Um..." He raised a brow as he took notice of how quiet it felt. Glancing towards the kitchen and hallway to the bed rooms, "Where are Mr. and Mr. McBride?"

"My dads went power walking through the park. You know," Clyde spoke as he sat up, "Their usual weekend workout. I was gonna join them, but you were with Dr. Lopez and would need someone to keep the door open."

Lincoln gave a light nod. "Thanks..." The boy strolled over before flopping on the couch, giving a heavy sigh as he sank into his seat.

The nerdy child gave a light frown. "Did you get anything from Lynn?"

The Loud nodded, but didn't say anything.

Biting his cheek, "So..." He set the game on the arm of the couch. "Was it bad or...?"

"...You ever get those times when you feel like it was better if you didn't know something?..." Lincoln asked out of the blue.

"Well, there was that one time I thought my nanny was feeling sick since she was making weird noises, and..." Clyde's train of thought dropped off from there as he shuddered heavily. "Let's just say I had to see Dr. Lopez every day for nearly 3 whole weeks..."

"...Lynn finally told me about the sister fight protocol, and why it came up so suddenly." Lincoln's frown deepened a little. "And why I wasn't told about it..."

"It was made to settle their disagreements, right?"

"Yeah, but they formulated it during the time we went to the B&B that one weekend. And the thing is, they didn't forget to include me into it; Lynn said they just didn't want me to get caught up in their stupid fights."

"Ok?" Clyde shrugged. "What's so bad about that?"

"The bad part is..." Lincoln furrowed his brows a bit as he folded his arms. "The bad part is they didn't even try to NOT get me involved. They blocked off the kitchen and bathroom for half the darn day, they wouldn't let me watch TV (which is kinda understandable), they took my bed sheets when we had spares, and they used my room as a safe spot three times!" He raised a few fingers to express his point. "I mean, we have 3 other rooms before you even reach mine, so why did it always have to be my room?! I mean, there's the attic and the basement too!" His left eye started to twitch a little. "And the dumbest thing about all of this, is that Leni and Lori were having a stupid fit over wearing the same dress! They can share a room, but not the same dress?!" He turned his glare towards Clyde, who flinched a little. The Loud was living up to his maiden name the more he talked. "Me and you wore the same shirt on Picture Day, and nothing was wrong it! And since I'm talking about it now, there's one important fact I remember when Lynn first told me about it a month back: Leni was wearing it first, so why does Lori feel she should be the only one to wear it?!"

The room was dead silent aside from the fading echo of Lincoln's yelling. Clyde blinked in surprise due to being caught off guard by the sudden rant, with the Loud himself a bit shocked at his own outburst.

"Sounds like Lynn really pushed your buttons huh?..." Clyde spoke uneasily.

Lincoln shifted his gaze down to the sofa before staring back into space. "It's not Lynn as a whole. It's just..." He put his hands on his face, slightly pulling down his eyelids as a sigh filled with frustration escaped him. "Now that I know why the protocol started, I don't even know what to think anymore..."

Clyde pursed his lips. "Did you...did you ask her about the beating?"

"...She said they were too angry to think straight..." Lincoln spoke softly, his feeling a bit wetter than normal. "Everyone just kept arguing back and forth, and I had to open my mouth at the wrong time and couldn't slip by without being noticed..." He raised his left arm, twisting it a little and noticing how weird it felt before setting to his side. "I...I guess they aren't really trying to kill me after all..."

"So, does that mean you'll eventually talk to them again?"

"Can you please ask for Luan next? She's got a lot on her plate that she wants to get off her chest, and I'm pretty sure you can imagine what it is." Those words played in Lincoln's mind just before the session ended. "...She asked me if I could speak to Luan next, and I kinda promised her that I would..."

"But are you going to?"

Lincoln lightly banged his heels on the face of the couch. "Haven't decided yet..."

"Well, when you do, you may wanna think about letting some of that anger go before then. Or..." Clyde paused, unsure of the validity of his advice. "You could just tell your sisters how you really feel, as this does involve them."

Lincoln flinched visibly, biting his lip whilst gripping his shoulders for support. "...I can't do that..."

Clyde raised a brow. "How come?"

Lincoln sent a deadpanned stare at his friend, as if the answer couldn't be even more obvious. "Cause that's what got me sent to the hospital the FIRST time I gave them a piece of my mind..."

The African American sent a weary look in return. "But, you just said that they weren't in the right state of mind when they hurt you."

"Yeah, but that means they'll be perfectly fine and ready to literally turn me into a human pretzel if I open up and say something mean to them. I can't go through that again..." The Loud held his left arm protectively, bringing his knees up to his chest. "I just got my arm back. What if they break it again? Or take my other arm? Or my leg?!" Lincoln gently rubbed his throat as his breathing started to become uneven. "O-Or my head?!"

The boy heard the sound of paper unfurling before a brown, paper bag was presented before him. He gently took it from Clyde before placing on his mouth and starting his breathing exercises.

Clyde patted him on his back while the Loud calmed himself. "I think you're just really confused about what Lynn said, or haven't figured everything out yet. First, you think they don't want your head, now you're thinking they do. And I think you really oughta tell them how you feel buddy; like Dr. Lopez told me once, it's better to not let anger take control, because then you'll hurt yourself and those around you."

Lincoln removed the bag from his mouth. "What did you get angry about?"

Clyde smiled nervously. "It was...something related to Bobby and Lori." The unsurprised look Lincoln gave him spoke volumes. "What? I can't help that Lori is so...amazing..." He stated in a heavenly tone.

"She's also one of the sisters who beat me up pretty badly..." Lincoln monotonously reminded him. "Also, I think you really shouldn't be so hard on Bobby. Have you ever hung out with him?"

"No?" Clyde stated quickly, folding his arms. "Why would someone hang with their enemy?"

"That's my point Clyde. Bobby thinks you're a cool guy, but it'd break his heart if he knew you didn't think the same about him. Don't think I don't remember that time you were being rude to him when you dressed at that waiter at Jean's."

"He had it coming though, right?" The African American gave his friend a quizzical glance.

Lincoln returned the gesture with an annoyed look. "No. He didn't. And you blew our cover when we were trying to leave when those guys showed up."

"Ok, I may have blown our cover, but you" He put his finger on Lincoln's nose, "Would've walked out on Ronnie Anne if I hadn't."

The Loud formed a glare almost immediately. "Hey! Don't bring her into this!" He spoke heatedly as he swatted his friend's hand away.

"It's true though." Clyde spoke evenly, unfazed by the Loud's irritation. "She would've been mad at you, along with your sister and probably Bobby. Plus, we both know you enjoyed kissing her."

Lincoln opened his mouth right as an accusatory finger pointed at Clyde, but the words died in his throat, leaving only a startled sound to come out. After a moment, a few words sputtered out as he tried to form a broken retort. Each time he spoke, Lincoln had to pause to recollect himself. "But you...I...how does that even?..."

Clyde smirked in triumph as Lincoln curled his hand into a fist whilst shutting his eyes, barely suppressing a growl as he knew Clyde had a point. "At least something good came out of me doing that."

"But my point still stands!" Lincoln blurted out, pausing to take a moment to simmer down. Breathing in deep through his nose, "Look, thanks for preventing me from making a fool out of myself and having everyone hate me, but Clyde..." He placed a hand on the other boy's shoulder, "You're pretty much the brother I've never had. But Bobby's like, the older brother I've always wanted."

"But...I thought I was the brother you always wanted!" Clyde whined, his voice breaking a little.

"Clyde, I said older brother." Lincoln stated, removing his hand and leaning against the head of the seats. "You'll always be my twin brother, in a way. But I'll never have an actual older brother to look up to since I already have 5 older sisters, and I doubt I'll get a little brother since Lily was the last one to become part of our family. So, Bobby is the closest thing I have to that."

Clyde nodded in understanding. However, he couldn't help the twinge of jealousy running through his core. Call it childish, like a pair of siblings vying for their parent's attention, but he still had his doubts about Bobby; in particular, there was the lack of contact as far as Clyde was aware of. "Ok. But when was the last time you talked to him?"

Lincoln gave a curt frown. He wasn't going to argue about this further, as it already dragged on longer than his patience would allow. "I haven't seen him I got out the hospital, cause we were busy dealing with my sisters?" He reminded him. "And just do me a solid and try to be friendly towards him please? It isn't like he hurt you in any way."

Without another word, he got up from his seat; Lincoln stopped short of the kitchen before he turned around. "And dating Lori doesn't count."

Clyde had his mouth open to state that little fact before clamping it shut upon Lincoln beating him to the punch. As his friend disappeared around the corner to grab a snack from the fridge, Clyde let his thoughts drift to Lori and her involvement with Lincoln's problem. As sweet and beautiful-actually, scratch the former. Lori might've been beautiful, but she still punched Lincoln's lights out and made him afraid of her; that much he won't deny. In fact, Clyde realized he didn't fawn over Lori as much since the day he heard Lincoln was in the clinic. He assumed the sudden talk about Bobby was what brought it up.

The more he thought about it, the more he started to realize that Lincoln may have been right. Bobby hadn't ever physically attacked Clyde or belittled him; he was possibly even oblivious to the rivalry the 11 year old started with him for Lori's affection. Heck, Bobby called him 'Clydesdale' on more than one occasion; and as far as Clyde knew, you only give nicknames to people you like. Just ask either him or Lincoln the numerous code names they give each other over the radio. Adding onto the fact he's never heard anything bad about the Santiago (no matter how much he tried to dig up), it was becoming increasingly clear that Bobby really was just a nice guy who could be a bit oblivious to his surroundings.

The nerdy child sulked in his seat. "Wow. I've been a real stinker, huh?..."

Clyde flinched as a soda can suddenly obstructed his vision. "Yeah, but it's not too late to talk to him at least." Lincoln stated as he waited for Clyde to accept the drink; he held a can in his other hand.

"I guess so." He grabbed the can, taking a moment to pop the pin. "Thanks. But don't forget what I said about holding your emotions in. One day, you might explode like a volcano if you hold it in, or a super nova! And," The boy took a sip, "You do owe me that if I'll talk to Bobby." He grabbed the remote and flipped the TV on, which revealed a rerun of the Ave Savvy series.

Lincoln sat down next to him, popping his can open. "I'll try...not that it'll be easy. If I know Luan like I HOPE I do, she might have a bunch of puns to throw at me before giving me a literal punchline..."

Lynn Sr. had his eyes squinted at the laptop screen in front of him, his finger slowly rotating the scroll key as he weighed the options of the website he was viewing. Rita came out of the master bedroom with her purse around her shoulder, acknowledging her gloomy daughter sitting in the arm chair with a book in her hands before rounding the corner.

"Honey, I'm-" The mother paused as she noticed her husband in his focused trance. Moving around toward his back, "Whatcha looking at?"

First thing she noticed was the logo at the top, which was PetSmart. Second, was the list of pets on the screen and their prices; or more specifically, the fact all of them were reptiles. "Water Monitors?" Rita read aloud as she eyed the search bar.

"SHHH!" The patriarch hissed as he clamped a hand over her mouth. He looked around to make sure that none of the kids were within earshot before adding, "Can't risk any of the kids spying on what I'm doing."

Rita leaned on the table as she placed a hand on her hip. "And just what exactly are you up to?" She looked at the screen again. "Is this about Lana?"

The balding man nodded. "Ooh, I just felt terrible after she realized most of her pets were gone for good, especially El Diablo (even though he terrified me)..."

Rita raised a brow. "She's doing better now though, isn't she? We've seen her spend more time with Lola lately."

"She has, but I still get that weird feeling that she still doesn't like me. She hardly talks to me, or look at me unless she needs something, and last night when I heard the twins talking through the ceiling, Lola asked her something about me and Lana tried to skip the question!" The father gripped what remained of his hair as he sulked forward onto the table. "I know taking her pets away was supposed to be punishing enough, but I didn't think this would happen..."

"Oh honey..." Rita patted his back. "I'm sure Lana doesn't entirely blame you. She hasn't had a huge outburst since the first time we got the bad news; but I would agree that she's still trying to get used to having her room less crowded."

"Yeah..." Lynn Sr. leaned back up in his chair, "Which is why I'm looking for another reptile to give her. She still has Hopps and, Izzy I think the name was, but we both know she's always been interested in bigger animals. I spent two days and 8 mugs of coffee browsing the pet sites for anything that would be suitable for Lana's age, and these lizards got pretty good ratings from what I've found." He clicked a link for one, which happened to be a Two-Stripped Water Monitor.

"Hmmm..." Rita let her eyes scan the text, soon widening about the facts that were listed as well as the underlying uncertainty about picking such a species. "It looks...friendly." The mother smiled nervously, "But I'm not sure if it's a good idea for Lana to have a giant reptile like that again, especially at her age."

"She's had way bigger pets dear; don't know where or how she got them, but they were there. Come to think of it," Lynn scratched at his bald spot, "I don't recall her ever telling us the pets she kept bringing in the house."

Rita gave a dull look. "I'm pretty sure that's because we'd tell her to put it back outside. And," She tapped at the screen, "It says this one will require a hefty amount of water, which is rather iffy when it comes to the bills."

"Mmmm..." Lynn hummed hesitantly. "This is a baby though, so it shouldn't need a whole pool or something. And if it does, the kids have an inflatable one in the garage. If push comes to shove, I'll look for another one; but I really think Lana is gonna love this one. Besides, she usually goes to ponds around the park, so it'll be good for both of them."

Rita folded her arms, drumming her fingers against her shoulder. Still apprehensive of Lana owning another large animal, the matriarch knew there was a mutual feeling between herself and her husband that it'd only be a matter of time before the young mechanic winds up bringing another, potentially dangerous animal in the house. It was still beyond anyone how she kept them all in check, even more so when she shared a room with a girl who liked to keep her place clean and free of pests. Not only that, half the reptiles like some of the snakes shouldn't even be kept as pets, let alone within feet of a six year old. Heaven forbid one of them decided to have the kids as a snack, and that was something Rita was greatly concerned about when looking at this species of reptile on the screen.

However, Monitor Lizards are quite popular and have proven to make good pets if cared for, something Rita was certain Lana would be about to handle. Although the listing did note that there was a possibility of these guys biting their owners, they aren't usually aggressive and would normally do so if they felt threatened or weren't in proper care. Knowing how Lana does her homework, this shouldn't be an issue. Plus, there was the aforementioned fact of Lana's constant mud diving and hanging around ponds.

"Well, if it stops her from bringing anything else in the house," A smile formed on her lips, "I say go for it. Plus, since it is a baby, it shouldn't get too big until Lana is older."

"Thanks for the advice sweetie!" Lynn kissed his wife on the cheek. "I'll send an order for it right now. The twins' birthday is in a couple weeks too, so it'll make a good surprise present for her."

Rita chuckled. "You do that. I gotta head to the store." She kissed the tip of her husband's nose before walking out the dining room.

No sooner did Rita shut the door behind her did Luan come shuffling down the stairs, despair clearly written on her face. This didn't go unnoticed by her father. "Uh, you ok Luan?"

The comedian didn't answer, disappearing into the kitchen and returning seconds later with a freshly unwrapped popsicle in her hand. Lynn was about to question her again, but realized she probably wasn't in the mood to talk. Giving a light sigh, he resumed putting in the order for Lana's new pet.

"I'm so dead..." Luan groaned before taking a bite out of the popsicle in her hand. She flopped lazily onto the couch with her emo sister still occupying the arm chair as she was reading. It should be noted that Lucy's bangs had grown back to their usual length, but she still kept her eyes visible through the use of a black hairband at the top of her head. She didn't have to always keep her eyes visible, but you could say that she eventually grew used to it. Plus, while she wouldn't admit it, it was hard to read with hair covering your vision.

It had been roughly 20 minutes since Lynn divulged the news to the rest of her family before going out for another run. While it was good that Lynn managed to get through to Lincoln on specific matters, now the siblings had to worry about him going into a rage if Lynn's subtle hint at him 'looking as pissed as Lola on a mediocre day' was any indication. Not even the taste of frozen grape juice was enough to calm her nerves.

Lucy glanced up from her reading, studying her comedic sister's facial expressions and skin. The brunette's chest heaved up and down for a second as she drew in a heavy breath, an exasperated sigh leaving her forlorn form as she took another bite of the frozen treat. "You don't look like the undead. However, I haven't checked for a pulse yet."

"I might as well be, because I know for a fact Lincoln is gonna blow up on me harder than the Manhattan Project. And Lynn managed to get him to talk to me next."

"It would be understandable though." Lucy stated in her usual tone, ignoring the glare Luan was throwing her way. "Sometimes, fear will lead to anger. I'm almost a bit surprised Lincoln hadn't done it sooner."

"And what would you know about that?..." Luan shifted her position, placing one leg over the other.

"Remember how Lincoln was feeling before..." Lucy paused, pursing her lips ever so slightly. It's been over a month since Shattered Sunday as she called it now, and while her siblings may have little trouble recalling the beatdown, it still sickened the emo just merely mentioning it. "Sigh...that happened? He was on the edge of unleashing his frustration at us, but he stopped short when he noticed those hateful glares that pierced his soul."

Luan raised a brow, not quite understanding her sister's point.

The emo glanced up from her book after not getting a response back. "What I'm saying is, his anger was quite literally beaten down, shackled within his mind until the chains of Fear finally weakened enough to allow Anger to resurface. And since Lynn told him everything he needed to know about our failed system, that's what is likely fueling his inner demon." Lucy returned her attention to get book. "Or should I say, demons..." She dabbed her thumb with her tongue before flipping a page, "Now he has two emotions vying for control instead of one."

Luan looked rather dumbfounded at her creepy sister, slowly finishing what remained of her popsicle. Once her mystic-loving sisters words finally sunk in, the comedian couldn't help but feel like she was essentially screwed no matter how you sliced it. "...Do you still plan funerals?"

"It's been a while, but I still do (despite not having most of my equipment on hand)." Lucy poked her eyes up from her literature. "Why?"

"Because now I feel like I'm walking a tight rope above a deep chasm, and I'm gonna fall off real soon." The comedian responded as she sulked in her seat, allowing the wooden stick in her hands to fall to the carpet.

The 8 year old set the book in her lap. "...Normally, I would be envious of your feelings; but right now, I can't help but feel glad that I'm not next..."

Luan gave a squinted her eyes at the little emo. "Thanks for the encouragement..."

The teen refocused on the TV with her scowl still etched on her face. With so few options, Luan feared she'd just have to take what was coming; especially due to her actions on a certain holiday looming over her head. Speaking of pranks, it's been a while since she did anything related to Funny Business. Because of her success, many parents were stunned as to why Luan suddenly decided to cancel bookings for the rest of the month; it goes without saying that Luan had a dedicated base, as she continued to get calls from parents who planned on having an at-home party asking when she'd resume her business. Regrettably, the comedian had to let them all down with the same message:

"I don't know...won't be anytime soon though. I'm sorry..."

Her heart sank further and further every time she had to skip on the opportunity to bring children happiness; given the circumstances, it would seem hypocritical that Luan could bring other kids a form of enjoyment, while she only served to bring terror towards her siblings. That, coupled with the issues she had in regards to her brother, would've also hindered her performance as she wouldn't be in the right state of mind anyway. Man, did she wish Mr. Coconuts was here...

However...knowing how her siblings get when angry, their rage seems to dissipate within a few hours. The comedian furrowed her brows as she thought about how Lincoln acts whenever he's upset. As evidenced by their attitudes, Lincoln was more or less like Lucy as cliche as it sounded. Sure, when he's very upset or really wanted something, he'd compete with his siblings over it like the last slice of pizza; or that time everyone fought over who should get a treat at the store. Other times though, he'd prefer to be by himself until he was no longer angry about whatever drew his ire. Seems ironic as that's what they wanted him to do when the protocol was in place. But, unlike them, Lincoln didn't purposely interfere with someone's activities by hogging a vitally important room like the kitchen; he also didn't take anyone's belongings in order to fortify his room.

Sensing the situation to be a lengthy version of her deal after April Fools, the cogs in her brain turned as Luan started to formulate a plan to diffuse the situation. The teen's eyes lit up as one particular thought came to her. "Maybe I can appeal to his good side."

Lucy gave a side glance to her sister. "His what?"

Luan bolted up from her seat and speed walked to the stairs. "Can't talk right now, gotta write this down before I lose it."

Lucy had a brow raised as she watched her sister march up to the second floor. Turning to the reader, "I'm just as confused as you are. And before you ask, Lincoln isn't the only one who knows we're being watched. " She buried her head back into her book to hide the smile forming on her lips. "As creepy as it is."

"So why...are we running...again?..." Ronalda wheezed as she struggled to keep pace with the brunette in front of her.

"It helps me think better; get more blood pumpin' to the brain, you know? And right now, I could really use a distraction." Lynn replied, easily keeping her breaths steady.

Ronalda couldn't help the scowl that was forming in her face. Here she was, sweating like crazy, heart about to pop out her chest with her lungs begging for her to stop moving, and Lynn looked as if she barely ran at all. "But what does this have to do with self defense?!"

"Gotta be quick so you don't get hit. And after seeing how you tired yourself out from throwing only seven hard punches, you really gotta work on that. I mean," Lynn turned around, jogging backwards as she kept her lead. "I get it: you want to end the fight as quick as possible. But if your opponent doesn't go down before you tire yourself out, you better hope you can at least run."

The Hispanic girl squinted her eyes. "Showoff..." She muttered to herself before drawing more air to her starving lungs. "Can we at least slow down for a sec?...We've been running...for 15 minutes!" She panted desperately. The younger tomboy soon became focused on what was ahead of Lynn.

"Aw, come on! Where's your spirit?" Lynn joked, putting her hands behind her head. "Just another mile, and we'll-"

PSSSHHHHH!

The athlete had her boast cut short upon backing right into a stop sign. The sudden halt to her momentum forced her to rebound off the support and nearly fall face first into the concrete; Lynn barely managed to put her hands out in time, a grunt escaping her as she felt skin tearing on the hard ground. Whipping her head back, she saw the sign shaking on its post, with the octagon flashing its bolded letters in the sun as if it was mocking her.

Ronnie Anne would've laughed her butt off if she wasn't so short of breath. Placing her hands on her knees as she sucked in more air, the Latina managed to muster a chortle once she felt she wouldn't pass out. "You alright?"

"Don't say it!" Lynn growled as she stood up, turning her palms over to check the damage. Jagged red lines marked her hands, but there were no signs of bleeding. "Ugh, this is gonna hurt later."

"Maybe you should stop showboating next time." Ronalda chuckled after taking more heavy breaths.

Lynn huffed, cracking a smirk at the 11 year old. "Says the one who couldn't keep up."

The Latina whipped her up at the athlete, her forehead showing a red tint of anger. "Do I look like a track star to you?"

Lynn studied the former bully with a quizzical eye. Ronalda was dressed in sneakers, the gym shorts she normally wears for P.E., a black tank top, and (at Lynn's suggestion) a purple headband to capture the sweat that was no doubt pouring from her forehead. In comparison, the athlete was in her usual track suit with a white and red band strapped to her head.

"Hmmm..." The jock pursed her lips, tapping her chin as she formulated an answer. "If you put on a different shirt, you probably would."

"Hah hah hah..." Ronalda laughed dryly. She stood up straight as she placed her hands on her hips, her breathing still a bit ragged but more even. "So, Lincoln's mad now huh?"

"I guess." Lynn shrugged, leaning on the sign she just crashed into. "Don't get me wrong: I didn't want to piss him off, but after everything I told him about our protocol and how we tried keeping him out of it while also dragging him into it, even I would be ticked at that level of stupid."

Ronalda pursed her lips. "Well...better that he's mad than afraid I guess. At least angry people can simmer down after a while; I know that helps me a lot."

"I didn't say that he wasn't still afraid of us though. No one knows how Lincoln will act if there's more than one sister in the same room he's in. Aside from Lily, he'd likely go from being mad to getting out of dodge before any of us have a chance to talk."

"So...if Lily is the only person he doesn't get scared of, have you tried bringing her with you?" Ronalda gestured, taking a moment to vent air onto her forehead. As she expected, the underside of the headband was very damp.

Lynn tapped her foot on the ground. "No, mainly cause it might feel like we're using her to get close to Lincoln. BUT, she hasn't seen Lincoln in a loooong time; like, probably since he got out the hospital and moved in with the McBrides. Unless Mom's been taking her to visit him without us knowing." One of her eyes narrowed a bit. "Sometimes when Lily would cry, she'd ask for Lincoln, and we can't do much about it since he's a few blocks away."

Ronalda cringed a bit, soon deciding to remove her headband entirely. "I can imagine all the screaming and being unable to sleep."

"You have nooo idea." Lynn folded her arms as she glanced to the side. "Speaking of which, since Luan is supposedly next in line, that reminds of me somethin'."

"What?"

"Remember what happened last April Fools Day?"

"Yeah?" Ronalda raised a brow, shifting her position a bit. "Luan invited me over, but apparently it was a trap to get Lincoln out of his room. He set off all the pranks in the house, and somehow she expected me to end it by pieing Lame-O in the face?" Her brows knitted together as she crossed her arms. "Sorry sweetheart, but Ronnie Anne doesn't play that way. Plus..." Her glare softened as a light tint of red formed on her cheeks. Averting her gaze to the sky, "It was sweet of him to do that for me..."

"That's my point. Lincoln could've just called to tell you that it was a trap and don't come over. That way, he could've just stayed in his room with us and escape that crappy remake of SAW or whatever."

Ronalda gave a light nod. "Riiight. I asked him that too while I was drawing him some new eyebrows, and you won't believe what he told me."

Lynn simply raised a brow.

"He said, in his own words, 'If you got nailed by Luan's pranks, I thought you'd pulverize me. And if I told you to come another day, that'd lead to the same thing.' " Ronalda sighed a little as newfound frustration settled in her gut. "First off, that wouldn't make any sense because Luan invited me over. I know all the rules about April Fools and if I got nailed with a prank set up by Lincoln, I wouldn't exactly be mad about it." She gripped the headband tightly in one hand to let the excess moisture drain from it. "Annoyed? Yes. Mad? Sure, but I wouldn't beat him up over it. And if he said it wasn't a good time, I'd believe him and just come tomorrow. So, I flicked him in the head for being an idiot and told him I wouldn't beat up over something that dumb." Folding her arms, "If anything, if I went through even half the stuff he went through, like getting my hair shaved off, I would've brutalized Luan above all else."

"Same here sister. But I gotta ask, why in the world would Lincoln think you'd do that to him? I mean, yeah, you're rough around the edges, but you ain't a monster." Lynn squinted her eyes at the younger girl, leaning forward slightly. "Unless I'm wrong..."

Ronalda detected the subtle threat easily, given that her pupils shrunk a bit as she flinched a little at Lynn's words. "N-Nonono, it's not like that. I mean..." She held her tongue to form her words carefully. "I have been pulling pranks on Lincoln so no one knows that we're together," The tomboy saw the frown on Lynn's face grow. "B-But he's ok with it! I haven't hit him or anything aside from just a playful dab to the arm, and most of the pranks I've pulled are harmless."

"Most?" Lynn interjected.

Ronalda gently rubbed her arm. "...A couple times I did tie his laces together, and at one point he almost fell down the stairs..." Now it was Lynn's turn to bite her tongue as the young tomboy continued. "Look, I get. I know my history is what probably made Lincoln think I'd beat him up over getting pranked, but..." The Latina's face became somber along with her tone. "It still hurt to hear him say that. It's not like I try to hurt him on purpose or anything, and the only time I legit hit him was the first time he kissed me..." She unfurled her headband and situated it back on her head, shivering a little as the damp cloth touched her skin. "Lincoln doesn't know about it, but it just really hurts knowing that he thinks I'd be that shallow..."

Lynn pursed her lips a little. "Did you try to talk with him about it?"

"No." Ronalda put her hands in her pockets. "I'm afraid that I might say something stupid or he'll take it the wrong way."

"I don't see how that's a problem if you're just telling the truth."

"I'm the same girl who grabbed his attention by bullying him. Do you really think I'd have an easy time expressing myself like that?"

Lynn gave a light shrug. "Well, you got this far with him. Don't know what you guys do, but it's working if you're still together. But, as someone who has issues trying to get Lincoln to realize I'm not there to just bully him, I'll lay it out like this: you oughta tell him so he doesn't think of you as someone whose easily triggered." The jock stifled a chuckle. "That's Lola's job."

"I guess..." The Latina dug a little further into her pocket and pulled out her phone. It was almost two, regrettably.

"So," Lynn pushed herself off the sign, "Ready to head back?"

Ronalda huffed, a light smirk working its way out. "Just don't run into anymore stop signs."

With the weight of so many thoughts gnawing at his brain, Lincoln eventually decided it was better to just lie down somewhere and rest his noggin. Normally, he wouldn't skip on watching Ace Savvy if he could help it; as much as he tried to sort out his feelings, there was just an air of confusion and frustration that only served to distract him from the entertainment and give him a headache that was bordering on a migraine. Lying on his side, the boy made a note not to put too much pressure on his left arm; it was still a bit sensitive, especially around his elbow joint and ulnar nerve. Clyde gave him one of those old ice packs where you just fill a bag full of ice versus the more modern type which is a super-cooled gel pack; it alleviated some of the pain, but Lincoln considered taking some pain killers in case it got worse.

Eh, forget it. He was too lazy and tired to get out of bed anyway.

As Lincoln put his brain to sleep, the brief thought of falling into another dream floated around for a moment. He hadn't woken up in another mirror life situation ever since the previous one that occurred earlier in the week, and aside from the sleepless nights the Loud dealt with due to anxiety for the joint session with Lynn, Lincoln felt his Ace Savvy dreams were pretty much over with. He was a little disheartened as he thought he and Lynn didn't survive the building collapse; try as she might, the jock did at least attempt to save him when all seemed lost. Then again, he'd be good and able to run by himself if Lynn didn't beat the utter shit out of him. Twisting his body so he was lying flat on his back, the boy moved the ice pack to his forehead before lying still. His eyes flicked open for a few seconds, only to close again as the Loud effectively passed out.

Aside from the small ticking of the clock on the nightstand, silence was the only thing that enveloped Lincoln. To his pleasure, his mind started to feel more empty the longer he slept, the dull pangs in his head decreasing he slipped further and further from reality. However, as Lincoln continued through his slumber, a dull sound started to ring in his ears.

BEEP...BEEP...BEEP...BEEP...

Weird...he hadn't heard that ever since he was in the hospital, which he thankfully was discharged from almost a month ago. The boy's eye lids tightened a bit before they slowly creaked open, his vision blurry as random shapes began to take form. As his vision sharpened, the boy began to feel a ticklish sensation on his nose, along with it feeling like something was plugged into it. The sensation soon became too much to bear before Lincoln let out a sneeze, soon coughing as his chest gave piercing aches for reasons he couldn't understand.

"Lincoln?!" A quiet voice called out, which was soon followed by a quick shuffling.

The boy breathed in deep as his eyes shot open; or in this case, eye. He could only see out of his left since the right refused to open. The first thing Lincoln saw was a certain little tomboy looking over him, worry very much clear on her face.

"R-Ronnie Anne?..." He spoke, his voice hoarse and weak.

Ronalda immediately wrapped her arms around him, being careful not to cause him further pain. "I-I thought you were gonna end up like my brother..."

Taken aback by the sudden contact, Lincoln darted his eyes around the room. In spite of Ronnie Anne's hair covering half his limited vision, he made out a TV, some medical equipment, buttons on the side of his bed, and if he leaned up enough, he'd barely notice the heart and pulse monitor just behind Ronnie Anne. The fact he felt a slight draft from below as well as his clothing being extremely light told him he was probably wearing a hospital gown.

"What..." He spoke hesitantly as nervousness crept up his spine. "W-What's going on?"

The tomboy released him, and to Lincoln's surprise, she sat down in a wheel chair. Like Lincoln, Ronalda was wearing a gown, meaning she too was a patient. What shocked him even more, was that the Hispanic girl had a cast on one of her legs as well as a hand wrapped up in bandages. Her backpack hung idly on the back of the seat, its sagging appearance indicating something heavy was inside.

"W-What happened to you?!" The boy yelped as he could barely contain himself.

Ronalda glanced down at her hand. "You remember anything that happened at the warehouse?..."

"Warehouse?..." Lincoln repeated, glancing away from her as he started to mull in thought.

Like a flash of lightning, several images burned through his mind, none of them being pleasant. The boy jolted up as he shut his eye tight, bringing a hand to his head whilst sucking in a hiss of air. Ronalda nearly jumped out of her seat, placing her good hand on his shoulder while questioning if he was alright. The heart monitor spiked a little before it settled down as Lincoln came down from the sudden shock.

"Lincoln?..." She asked once more.

"What happened..." The boy removed a shaky hand from his head, looking down at his clothed body. "What happened to Lynn? What about you guys and my sisters?" He touched the bandage that covered his eye, soon registering more of the medical tape wrapped around the top of his head. "H-How long was I out?!"

"Easy Lame-O, one question at a time..." The tomboy half chided before continuing. "You both are real lucky to make it out of there. When the exit started to collapse, we thought that would've been it; you both managed to get this far, only so we'd end up watching you guys die right in front of us..." Her face became a bit grim. "While the ceiling did fall on you guys, Lynn took the hits for you like her life depended on it. It was easier to dig you out, but it was harder to get to Lynn; didn't help the cops were coming, so we had to be quick."

"Where is she?..." Lincoln spoke quietly as he turned towards her.

"Still in the ICU; has been ever since you got here." Lincoln opened his mouth, but Ronalda quickly added "And before you ask, you've both been in freaking comas for almost a week..."

"A week?...That's how much time passed from the last one..." The Loud mentally noted. He moved his right hand up, only to find strong resistance when he did so. Raising a brow, the boy turned his head to find an unpleasant sight: a pair of handcuffs were connected from his hand to the railing of the bed.

Ronalda pursed her lips. "...One of the doctors found out who you were, and they called the cops..." As if to prove her point, there was a faint sound of radio chatter from just beyond the room's door, which was followed by someone responding to the receiver.

Lincoln gave a sigh mixed with sadness and frustration. Pinching the bridge of his nose, "Don't be...this is my fault..."

The Latina raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"If I hadn't thought to do this, none of us wouldn't be in here right now...Lynn nearly beating me to death got her point across..." He set his free hand down, clasping his hands together around his knees. "I was too dumb to notice that my sisters were trying to get me to change tactics, and I was to full of myself to realize what was going on until it was too late. And now, everyone is suffering after what happened days ago." Lincoln lied back on his pillow, his eyes becoming a tad wet as his tone went on without any traces of happiness. "The Full House is in shambles, Lynn might on her deathbed for all I know because of me, and then you and the others are probably in no condition to do much of anything..." His nostrils flared a little the savvy crime fighter fought back a few tears, believing he didn't have the right to cry. "I deserve to rot in prison since I can't even cut it out as a hero..."

Ronalda stared at the Loud boy with her mouth wide open, wondering if he had either grew a second head or got a bigger concussion that she realized after being buried alive. The amount of nonsense he just spewed from his ailing mouth was so disgusting to her that she almost had the urge to vomit. Her body trembled as storm was brewing inside her, knuckles turning white from how hard the gunslinger was gripping the arm of her seat. Her eyes gained an ever slight twitch the longer she stared at the boy in front of her, trying (and failing) to understand what made Lincoln go into a spiral of self-doubt like this. The more the answer continued to elude her, the angrier Ronalda started to become. Seconds later, the Latina grew tired of trying to solve that puzzle as her anger started to boil over. Exposing clenched teeth, the tomboy raised a hand that instinctively formed into a fist.

Taking precise aim, Ronalda did the only thing she found was the most sensible solution on the table...

Lincoln recoiled as a moderate, blunt force smacked his cheek. His body tilted towards his right the shock from the impact put him in a daze. "Are you kidding me Lincoln?!" Ronalda screeched into his ear as the savvy hero rubbed the sore spot. "How in the world is any of this your fault?! Sure," Her voice lowered a bit, "You might have been stubborn to take their advice." The sharpshooter then resumed her voluminous rant, "But you weren't the one who went overboard! Who decided to beat you to death?! Your sisters! Who framed you and put a bounty on you and your sister's head?! Your sisters! And who almost got away with murdering another villain and going against a moral all of you swore to uphold? YOUR! FREAKING! SISTERS!" Ronalda prodded him in his chest at those last three words.

"Ok-Ok! J-Just don't hurt me again!" Lincoln pleaded as he raised his hands defensively, shifting away from the enraged gunslinger as much as the bed would allow.

Ronalda panted a bit as her rage began to subside, taking a few moments to stare directly at Lincoln's eye. She could see the huge amount of uncertainty, guilt, and fear over numerous things sitting behind that pupil, making her realize that yelling at him was the very last thing he needed right now. As her mind cleared further, the Latina knew she'd have to use a softer approach.

Ronalda breathed in through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. Turning her chair parallel with the bed, the gunslinger gingerly climbed in, wincing a little when her cast brushed the railing. Lincoln watched her carefully as Ronalda fully sat herself next to him, soon finding himself trapped in a comforting embrace.

"I didn't mean to yell at you Lincoln. It's just that, you were fully prepared to handle your sisters and whatever the consequences were. All of us were behind you, and we wouldn't dare leave you to face this alone. That's why, when you said all that stuff about it being your fault..." Ronalda turned to him. "It felt like I didn't know you, like I was staring at some weird kid who was a total coward and not the person I..." She pursed her lips as she glanced away, and Lincoln could see a faint red tint on her cheeks. "The person I l-love..."

The blush went away as Ronalda looked at him again. "I don't know what Lynn or whoever it was told you, but none of this is your fault Lincoln. We followed you because you're a guy who stands for the good of all, and we'd do it again without question. We are your friends after all, and Lily still considers you the only real family she has left." The Latina then kissed the spot where she punched him, causing the boy to blush feverently. Ronalda gave a sincere smile at this. "But we both know I'm more than that."

"H-How are you so frightening, yet sweet at the same time?" Lincoln finally stammered out as a crooked smile took shape.

"I could ask how you're such a dork, yet humble." The assassin replied, pulling him closer. Lincoln moved his arm a bit until it wrapped comfortably around her waist. "Besides, if it's worth anything, I'd say we came out of that fight better than your other sisters."

The boy raised a brow. "How so?"

Ronalda hummed as she started to recall many injuries as best she could. "On our side, it's just me and you that are in here. Queen sent a shard in my leg and hand, and Lynn beat you to near death. Even though you already admitted it, I could right away some of those bruises weren't from falling concrete; another doctor even said it looked like you had blunt trauma from someone hitting your ribs because of the size of the bruise." She gently rubbed his cloth-covered eye. "Mom says your lucky you still have this one, but you won't be able to use it for a while."

"Your mom's a doctor?"

"Yeah? Thought you knew that." Her eyes appeared crestfallen as she moved onto the other bit of news. "She also knows of what I do as a hero now. Long story short...it's..." Her nose flared a bit as her eyes became a tad watery. "It's complicated...Mom doesn't want me to fight with you guys anymore, but I told her the reason for it and she kinda understands why. But at the same time...she doesn't want to lose me too, you know?"

"...Bobby hasn't woken up yet?..." Lincoln asked, his look matching hers.

Ronalda gave a curt nod. "I know me and Mom only have each other now..." Her grip tightened a bit around the Loud's side. " But I can't just sit around and not do anything! I mean, I'll need time to heal now with this busted leg," She gestured towards her cast, "But I couldn't leave you and everyone else to fend for themselves. I've done things that even someone like you would refuse to do, and the city has been safer because of that."

Lincoln nodded in agreement. The amount of homicides went down on a weekly basis as the murderers had been usually found with a bullet in their heads, as grizzly as it was.

"I want to listen to Mom, but I also want to keep her safe..." Ronalda let her head lie on Lincoln's shoulder. "And I feel the only way I can do that is being out there, doing what I do best."

"I know that feeling..." Lincoln started, moving his hand towards the small of the girl's back, giving it a few gentle strokes. "When my sisters first found out I was Ace Savvy, their thoughts were split. My younger sisters thought it was cool, but my older sisters cared more about my safety and wished that I'd stop. I even got into several arguments with Lori about it." He stayed silent for a moment, letting the wave of depression was over him before mustering the strength to continue.

"There were days where home...just didn't feel like home. Everything was always tense, like we were waiting for a bomb to go off. A few times when me and Lori argued, it almost got physical; and while I know we both said some things we shouldn't say to each other, there was a level of understanding. She was just worried about losing another family member since we already lost our parents, and if I had to be honest, Lori had become more like Mom in many ways since we were orphaned. But I was just torn, and wanted to follow my gut; I really wanted to listen to Lori, but I also wanted to do my best keeping them safe. If I could've had it both ways, it'd be easy." Lincoln let a sigh escape him. "But it never is..."

"How did you manage to change their minds?" Ronalda asked as she glanced up at him. "Did they just eventually give up on trying to stop you even though it hurt them a lot on the inside?"

Lincoln managed a little smile. "Kinda. Instead, they decided to join me." His smile soon disappeared with sadness regaining the controls. "Guess even hero families still have problems..." The savvy crime fighter glanced at her. "So...what happened to everyone else?"

"As far as I know, they're still hiding out at the base. Lily especially came in to visit you a few times, and she'll likely be screaming in my ear for not calling her when you woke up. They weren't hit too much, just some mild bruising that went away already. Your other sisters though..." Ronalda paused to gather her thoughts, along with preparing Lincoln for some grim news. "Lori had all the bullets I shot her with removed, but she's still weak and can't eat too much. Leni...she has a skull fracture and it's unknown when she'll wake up. Don't know where she got it from, but I think she probably hit a boiler with her head. As you already know, Lynn is still in the ICU and is unlike to wake up soon. She's got several broken ribs, her legs aren't in good shape, and I heard something about her spine or whatever..."

The sharpshooter could see the hidden distress in Lincoln's eyes. The possibility of losing any of his sisters would be pretty hard to bear, something she already went through when Bobby was shot all those months ago. "However, I heard the doctors say they were at least stable, so they'll live. I think..." This didn't help his mood as Lincoln gave light huff. Whether or not he was bottling up his despair was unknown to her, but Ronalda continued. "Your other sisters are somewhere out there. That joker and rocker are doing ok, though I saw the spooky one come in here once to get her ears checked. As for the smaller ones, the one with the glasses is fine and so are the two that I think are twins; well, except the one who acts like a spoiled brat. I bet she's got a bad arm now since I took a shot at her."

Lincoln was about to respond when they heard talking at the door. "I urgently need to see my ailing brother, please." Came a muffled voice that reeked of high intellect.

"Hate to break it to you sweetie, but your brother is a known criminal. I'm already hesitant on letting one person look at him." The officer, who was likely female, responded back.

"And I regret to inform you," Shuffling could be heard, "I wasn't asking."

"What the-"

BZZZZZZZZZT!

Both tweens glanced at each other in confusion before a loud thud was heard. The door opened to reveal Lisa (dressed in her plain clothing) struggling with dragging the fallen cop into the room. The couple immediately went into a panic, with Lincoln being fearful of his life and Ronalda quickly digging into her backpack. Ignoring the pain in her leg, she pulled out a heavy revolver (her father's gun), then shuffled herself to Lincoln's front and pointed it directly at the 4 year old.

Lisa heaved a sigh of relief before kicking the door shut, only to give a girlish yelp upon noticing the weapon being aimed at her. Raising her hands defensively, "Please put that away. I am not here to cause any further harm."

"Like I'll believe that! You just killed a cop for all I know!" The Hispanic girl retorted.

"She's not dead." Lisa stated, reaching behind her person and holding out a taser gun to her left. "I just applied enough voltage to keep her unconscious for a few hours." She dropped it to the floor and kicked it out of reach.

"W-What do you want Lisa?..." Lincoln squeaked out, hugging the bed sheets close to himself.

The prodigy cleared her throat. "After that disastrous brawl at the Royal Woods Lumber Yard, and after reviewing what footage I could retrieve from the security system, I've come to the conclusion that none of our teams are in any condition to handle our usual slew of villains and high ranking crimes like planned out bank robberies. It has also..." Lisa paused, the thought of her 3 sisters in various conditions flashing through her mind. "It's allowed everyone to reflect on our actions, which are not remotely positive in any way. It goes without saying that hardly anyone has been able to get any rest over the past 120 hours..." The little girl rubbed her eyes a bit, which Ronalda noticed a few, lightly visible bags under them.

Regardless, the sharpshooter wasn't convinced of the little sob story. "Yeah yeah, you guys are worried about your 3 sisters," Ronalda spat acidically. "But not one ounce of concern for your brother..."

"That's not true!" Lisa retorted, glaring back at the sharpshooter. "Yes, we intended bodily harm towards Lincoln, I won't deny that. But we never wanted his death!"

"Lynn was about to mme that a reality after she defeated me..." Lincoln spoke quietly as the the girls turned to him. "I-I had to beg her not to before she let me go..."

Lisa pursed her lips, holding down a frustrated growl as she exhaled through her nose. "Neither myself or our other siblings were previously aware of this until now. If she were awake, I'd definitely give her a massive lecture about following orders..."

"Still doesn't explain what the heck you're doing here." Ronalda reminded them, lightly thumbing the hammer of the revolver. "Now spill before I decide to put you in a bed..."

Lisa took her bag off and unzipped the top pocket, pulling out what appeared some type of medical case. The prodigy opened the case and turned it towards them, revealing 5 syringes with a green fluid contained within.

"Ever since our last altercation, I've been working tirelessly to ensure the health for everybody current receiving intense medical treatment. Everyone in my family, including myself, is afraid of losing one another over a petty squabble that put four of our siblings (Lincoln included) in the emergency room. God forbid that any of them perish from their injuries..." Lisa had to stop for a moment to collect herself, the death of her parents coming to the forefront of her immense brain. "We are literally all that remains of our family after mother and father's untimely passing...and we can't afford to lose anyone else..." She took out a syringe, giving the needle a light flick of the fingers. "This is a potent healing solution that can return the body to 100% functionality. I had a prototype ready at the time, but Clyde had stolen it before I could properly test it."

Lincoln's eyes widened a bit. "Y-You knew about that?"

Lisa gave a short nod. "Saw everything on my security feed. I would've notified our sisters about this, but I wanted to see if my long and tedious labor paid off. There was a 20% chance the body would reject the drug and eventually lead to systematic organ failure, a bit more so at the chance of an unknown mutation." She spoke nonchalantly while adjusting her specks.

The part about 'organ failure' made Lincoln's pupil shrink down as best it could, with Ronalda getting rightfully irate at Lisa's uncaring attitude. Her finger twitched around the trigger. "You sick little-" The Latina started.

"BUT! Given how quickly Lincoln must've recovered from injuries that would've left him bed ridden for 40 days, I can safely assume my project was a success." The 4 year old took out another syringe. "With this batch, I've further decreased the chance of the body rejecting the fluid as well as the chance of mutation. Adding onto this, I've not only fixed Lola's damaged scapula, but I've done the same with Lucy's auditory nerves." She walked over and placed them on the bed. "These should cure you in as little as a few minutes."

Ronalda glared at Lisa for a few moments before giving a huff as she put her gun behind her. Picking up a syringe, she eyed it critically whilst rotating it in her fingers. Focusing back on the prodigy, "How do we know you aren't lying and this isn't some kind of poison?"

Lisa calmly rolled up her sleeve, showing a part of her forearm that had a spot of irritated skin with a small hole at its center. "While it may not be valid proof, I have tested it on myself." Rolling her sleeve back down, "Lily left some particularly nasty purple blemishes on my face and eye. Now, unfortunately I must be quick to give these to my other siblings." The brunette backed away from the bed, grabbed her case off the floor and stuffing it into her bag.

"I don't get it..." Lincoln stated, eyeing his little sister in uncertainty. "First Lynn almost kills me, then risks her life for me when she could've left me behind. And now you're helping us Lisa? Just...why? Why are you doing this now of all times?..." He lifted the hand that was cuffed to the bed. "You guys labeled me as a criminal; I thought you'd prefer to see me in jail or stuck in bed for the rest of my life..."

Lisa strapped her bag onto her person. "Family ties run deeper than you may realize Lincoln." Turning around, "While our actions may not have been the most logical approach, you could say we weren't in the best mental state when attempting to resolve our issues. Not only that," Lisa whipped out her tablet, swiping her fingers across the screen a few times. "I suspect there's more going on to this whole scenario than we realize."

Lincoln had a hunch on what Lisa might be referring to, but he couldn't assume much. "What do you mean?"

"Tell me..." Lisa squinted her eyes, her tongue sticking out as she continued to fiddle with the screen. "Do you notice anything 'off' in these?" Came her question upon passing the tween her tablet.

Several pictures taken from security cameras in the warehouse showed the girls at different stages during the fight. To Ronalda, she didn't see anything out of place; part of it might have to do with the fact she had a simmering rage burning within however. Lincoln, on the other hand, spotted something odd almost immediately. Blowing up a few pictures, the heroic detective noticed the odd coloring in each of his sister's eyes. The only one who still appeared to be normal was Lily, given the picture of herself and Lisa fighting on a catwalk.

"This can't be right..." Lincoln muttered. "No one in our family has yellow eyes. But, I saw Lori and Lynn with them even though Lori has blue and Lynn is brown."

Ronalda pursed her lips in thought. "Mmm..." She scratched at her head. "Now that I think about it, I think I saw it too. Not with just Lori, but Leni too and the princess girl."

"Lola." Lisa corrected. "And, that's precisely my point." She took the tablet back. "There's something strange going on, and..." The little girl paused, seeming hesitant to continue. "W-While it would be extremely impolite to ask this of you as we don't deserve your help, I don't know of any other persons who can handle a task like this." Lincoln didn't immediately respond after a few moments, so Lisa continued. "Please, get to the bottom of what's going on with us, before we lose our minds completely..."

The prodigy took her cue to leave, though not before checking the cop to ensure she was still out cold. Satisfied with her analysis, the prodigy collected her taser gun and walked into the hallway, making a beeline for Lori's room.

Ronalda watched the door for a moment before turning back to Lincoln. "So," She grabbed her revolver and stashed it back into her bag, "Was she talking about them being under some kind of mind control?"

"Didn't seem like it. They were fully aware of what they were doing," Lincoln's eyebrows tilted down a bit as an unexpected flash of anger flowed through him; now wasn't the time to dwell on that though. "But I did notice Lynn's eyes turn back to their usual color just before..." Lincoln's lip quivered a little, with the Loud soon shaking his head to try and move on from that horrible experience. "Anything really bad happened. But, if it is mind control..." Lincoln squinted his eye as he mulled in thought. "Me and Clyde haven't heard anything about a certain vampire for months now..."

Ronalda's eyes went wide. Out of all the villains she could think of, there was one in particular that had a great likeness towards anything dark and sinister; along with a gross habit of messing with other people just for the hell of it. "You think she might have something to do with this?"

"Most likely. If hearing what Lucy talks about is anything, it's supposed to be one of their abilities."

"Well, that just makes things dandy..." The sharpshooter spoke dryly, shifting her gaze to the syringe in her hand. "What do we do about these?"

Lincoln gazed at the medical tool, a bit hesitant at the sudden help from the one person who likely orchestrated the coup against him. "Clyde gave me one of those before, and I felt better in seconds." He grabbed the other, eyeing the substance sloshing in the container. "Looks the same too."

"Even then, it could still be a trap." Ronalda gripped the tool in her hand tightly. "I'll go first." She positioned the needle against the vein in her arm. "Lincoln...if I die from this, just know that..." A red tint formed on her cheek as she bit her lip. "J-Just know that I-I've always liked you..."

Before Lincoln could give his own response, Ronalda injected herself with the strange mixture. It felt weird and uncomfortable as the foreign liquid entered her bloodstream, soon making its way throughout her circulatory system. At first, the tomboy thought her arm might experience tissue death as the substance ate its way through her body, or possibly organ failure or unconsciousness as Lisa's project worked its way through her body. The slowest deaths are always the worst, which is why she often preferred to make her kills quick. Doesn't stop Ronalda from toying with her victims if they deserve it though.

To her surprise, Ronalda barely felt a thing. Well, not necessarily nothing, but the Latina started to feel as if she was wrapped in a warm, fuzzy blanket. She moved the fingers of her hand that had been stitched, quite surprised to feel no amount of pain from just moving one digit. Even more so, the dull ache of her pierced leg soon vanished like it never happened in the first place. Taking a risk, Ronalda undid the straps to her cast before slipping it off entirely. Fresh skin marred the spot where her shin was pierced, leaving only a pink tint on the exact spot the shard cut her.

Wiggling her toes a bit, "Guess she wasn't lying."

Lincoln hummed in approval, soon injecting himself with the other syringe. Like his girlfriend, his body began to feel immensely better, though he shuddered a bit as his bones popped back into place along with the odd sensation of his missing teeth growing back. The patch around his eye started to feel uncomfortable, at which the Loud started to undo the tape that held it in place. Wincing a bit as skin and hair was pulled, Lincoln soon removed the patch, blinking his right eye a few times as his perception increased. Rubbing the socket to get rid of any dead skin, Lincoln was surprised (and delighted) to find his vision was back to its 20/20.

"That feels, much..." The boy lied back on the bed, "Better..."

Ronalda grinned at her boyfriend, soon climbing off the bed. Unfortunately, the moment she put weight on her recently healed leg, it slipped out from under her. Lincoln jolted up upon hearing a loud thud echo in the room, soon scrambling over to the side Ronalda slipped off. "Ronnie Anne?!"

"I'm ok! My leg is still asleep..." The tomboy groaned, gripping the railing to hold herself upright. She eyed the handcuffs still attached to Lincoln's hand before turning back to the sleeping officer. "Give me a sec."

Hobbling over on one leg, she knelt down and padded the woman's body before finding a set of keys. Unclipping them from her belt, the Latina hopped back to the bed, eyed the keyhole on the cuffs for a moment before fiddling with the keys until she thought she found the right size. It was a perfect match as Ronalda inserted the key and twisted the lock, the latch coming undone around the bed before doing the same to Lincoln's hands.

"Thanks." Lincoln rubbed his wrist, glancing at the cop sprawled on the floor. "What about her?"

Ronalda gave a wide smirk. "Oh, don't worry about her." She spoke as she twirled the cuffs in her hand as she shuffled over to the cop, soon stopping them by whipping the cuffs into her fist. "You just worry about getting out of here and back to the hide out. We'll figure something out later."

Lincoln raised a brow as he climbed out of bed, his legs feeling a bit wobbly due to their lack of use after a few days. "What about you?"

Ronalda had her tongue sticking out partially as she turned the cop onto her stomach, moving her hands towards her back and strapped the cuffs on. "Besides Mom, no one else knows my identity. So I can just easily say you got away when I wasn't looking." She stood back up after making sure the cuffs were secure.

Lincoln gave a short sigh. "So much for having a decent rep..."

"Pffff!" The tomboy placed a hand on the wall. "I hardly had one as is anyway, and you don't see me crying about it."

"True..." He did a quick check around the room, a bit dismayed that there were no spare clothing for him to wear. "Guess I'll have to stick with this gown until I can find a store..." Lincoln glanced over at Ronalda, a devious idea forming in his head. "But first..." A wide smirk started to form externally. "Before I leave, I got one thing I really need to do."

Ronalda formed a confused stare as she pushed off the wall. The tomboy was about to voice her thoughts when Lincoln suddenly grabbed her by the arms and pulled her in a kiss. Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull as they held the position for a few moments before Lincoln took his lips off hers. "Thanks for waiting for me to wake up." He then lightly kissed her on the nose before leaning close to the Latina's ear. "And that was for the surprise attack last week."

Before the sharpshooter could respond, Lincoln took his leave; he checked the hall to make sure no other doctors (or cops) were around before following signs towards a set of stairs. Ronalda blinked as she continued to stare at the door with her eyes still the size of snack plates and her mouth hanging open slightly. Once her brain finally restarted itself, she shut her trap, which formed into a cute smile as her lids fell half-way.

"I'm so lucky I got his attention..."

While Lincoln was asleep in his room, Clyde paced back and forth in the living room, occasionally checking the front door as if it would open at any moment. Beads of sweat were on his forehead as he checked the time. "Ok, it's almost 4:30. You can do this Clyde; just try to know your enemy." He breathed into a paper bag before exhaling, trying to keep his determined look from faltering.

Following his friend's advice, Clyde finally relented and invited Bobby over so they could hang. Despite his busy schedule, the oldest Santiago child was able to make time for 'The Clydesdale', even mentioning how much fun they had at the town fair earlier in the season. Clyde held an awkward smile during the whole talk over the phone before quickly asking if he could come over. Bobby had to pause to register everything Clyde said before agreeing.

And now, the moment of truth...

Clyde stopped his pacing upon hearing the doorbell ring, with Cleopawtra and Nepurrtiti meowing in curiosity as the eldest cat approached the door. He knew it couldn't have been his dads as they have keys, and the nerdy boy highly doubted the Loud siblings would risk a visit; not to mention Clyde didn't have any plans with his other friends today. Gingerly walking to the door, the boy lifted a shaky hand before swinging it wide open; what would normally be the best greeting anyone could get just felt very weird to him.

"Sup Clydesdale!" Bobby spoke, holding out an extended fist.

"Heeeeeey." Clyde smiled nervously as he bumped fists with the teen.

A/N: Yeah, this was more of a filler chapter than anything else, but we still got to see a bit of progress being made. Next time we may go into more detailed topics, like Luan's idea to avoid a major rant being shot her way. However, that in itself would be difficult due to her comedic taste not exactly flowing well with her brother. At the same time, Lincoln feels he can't voice his opinion without suffering another beatdown if he were to cut loose. At least he can find comfort in the fact he survived that horrific brawl in his dreams, which could influence his decisions later on. Man, I hate that I'm reduced to updating once a month...

As a special note to a certain user by the name of LoudHater: you may have noticed that I had been deleting any review you leave. That is because I don't have time to deal with cowards who would bash others just because they refuse to stroke your hate bonor for everyone but Lincoln. You're free to make your own fic (which I'm certain would get bashed to hell and back given how you write your reviews), but please note this: it really brings a smile to my face, knowing how much I'm pissing you off. :D