4. Chapter 4(1)

Chapter 4: Reactions

Disclaimer: I don't own Loud House, all rights are owned by their respective owners and companies.

AN: Important Author's Note Down Below, Please Give it A Read.

Los Angeles, California

Now this wasn't something Lincoln saw coming.

Right now, he was looking at someone he never thought he see again, Lily Loud. For a moment, Lincoln thought those meds were messing with him or maybe Cassidy hit him harder than he thought. Yet somehow, he knew that standing right before him was his baby sister. Though she was no longer a baby but a beautiful young lady. She looked like her mother… and like some of her sisters.

"I don't know if this is the right room but… do you know who I am?"

It took a good minute before Lincoln realized what she had asked, should he tell her the truth? He could lie, tell her she had the wrong room and say he had no idea who she was. Lincoln somehow knew that she wouldn't fall for it, besides part of him wanted this to happen. Only thing he wished was that this could have happened at least until tomorrow because he was still sore from that fight.

Well, time to bite the bullet.

"Yep, almost didn't recognized you… man you really have grown up Lily."

Lily choked up and looked ready to cry as Lincoln looked down at her with a warm smile. It wasn't surprising that Lily got emotional and quickly wrapped Lincoln in a big hug that made the poor guy flinch in pain, Lily instantly stopped and reeled back in shock and embarrassment.

"Oh, I'm so sorry I just now noticed you're hurt." Lily exclaimed a little as she looked at how bandaged up Lincoln was. "Oh my God, what happened? Are you okay?"

"Heh, this?" Lincoln chuckled while gesturing at his injuries with a smile. "It's nothing really. Comes with the job, now how about we talk inside because I think we have a lot to talk about."

At first it seemed like Lily wanted to ask more questions but nodded after seeing how hurt her brother was. She entered the room and Lincoln closed the door. They both walked over to the sofa in the room where they took a seat. Lincoln let out a smile of relief finally being able to get off his feet.

"So uh, you must be wondering why I'm here?"

Turning his head to look at Lily, Lincoln wasn't surprised by how nervous she looked. He'd be lying if he wasn't feeling a little bit nervous as well.

"If I had to guess I'd say Lisa and Lori finally caught wind of me." Lincoln sighed as his smiling dminished a little. "And if I had to take another guess it's that everyone else is here too."

"Wait, what!" Lily shouted in shock. "How did you guess that?"

"Hehe! I have friends who keep up to date with stuff involving me." Lincoln chuckled as he took a good look at Lily who looked pretty confused. "God, it's crazy seeing the way you are now. You've grown into quite a beauty Lily."

Lily quickly transitioned from being completely clueless to embarrassment as she blushed and looked away from her brother's smiling face.

"You really changed since I last saw you." Lincoln stated happily. "Though I got to say I didn't think you still be wearing that necklace."

The embarrassment Lily had soon changed into confusion as she looked down to look at her bunny charm necklace.

"My lucky necklace?" Lily asked as she started to realize what Lincoln said. "Wait, what are you talking about? I didn't have this necklace until my 9th birthday, I found it on my bed right after my birthday party."

Slowly Lily's confusion turned into more shock as she looked over at Lincoln who was still smiling at her.

"Did… you give this to me?"

Somehow deep-down Lily already knew Lincoln's answer before he nodded. Now she only had more questions.

"Before you start blasting me with questions, it's probably best to tell you I've been checking on not just you but everyone else in the family at some point. Only time I ever checked in on you is when you were turning 9 years old. I had finished my training with my second mentor and decided to travel around a bit, only place I could think to visit was home… don't why but I sort of felt obligated to do it. First one I wanted to check on was you, it was when you and everyone were having that party in the backyard at our old house. I saw everyone else too, though there was one person I didn't see. Even from afar I could tell how bummed out you were because of that."

When he was done Lily had a downcast expression on her face as she remembered that day.

"I was really sad that two people weren't there…" Lily admitted frowning. "You and Lynn weren't there and that's all I really wanted. Just to have my family back together, I know it sounds stupid but that's what I always wished for when I blew out my birthday cake candles every year."

The look Lincoln gave her was one full of regret.

Even though Lily never went through the hardships like him and her sisters, she knew of a different kind of hardship. She just wanted to have her family, all her family together. It wasn't fair to Lily since she did nothing wrong. Life can be so unfair but that's how it is sometimes.

Lincoln knew how unfair life could be.

"It's not stupid to ask for your family Lily, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. Part of me wishes I could have left you something more that little bunny necklace. You didn't deserve to go through that all by yourself. Man, you must think I'm really a shitty brother—"

"DON'T SAY THAT!"

Lincoln gave Lily a surprised look as he didn't expect such an outburst from Lily.

"Don't you ever say that again, none of this is your fault. I never got the chance to grow up with a brother because of them. Our so-called family… all my life they lied to me and hid everything from me. It's their fault and nobody else's! God, I hate them and wished they were never my family to begin with!"

Tears were already falling from Lily's face as she clenched her fists as hard as she could. She wanted to say more but couldn't find her voice in her anger and sadness. All those uncontrolled emotions were reined in when Lincoln leaned over and wrapped his arms around his weeping little sister. Lily's eyes widened in shock by this unexpected action.

"You don't mean that, deep down I know that. Even when you were still a baby, I could tell you could never truly hate someone. You are so full of love and a light that just makes everyone gravitate towards you. That's what I knew when I first held you in my arms like I am now. They made mistakes, they hurt you and me but that's just what it means to be human. We mess up then we try to fix it no matter how useless it is. I'm not saying you should forgive them, hell you don't ever have to forgive them for rest of your life. But don't say you hate them because they gave you a good life, sure it could have been better and I would have loved nothing better than be there for you every time you needed me. I'm here now though… and I hope that's enough."

Lily didn't stop crying, she only wrapped her arms around her big brother and cried softy in his arms. Something she only dreamed about. Maybe he was right, she didn't hate her family but she would probably never forgive them. None of that mattered now since all she wanted now was to be hugged by her big brother. An experience she hasn't felt since she was a baby, and she had a lot of time to make up for.

Both Lincoln and Lily stayed like that for a while until Lincoln found Lily sleeping peacefully in his arms. Letting out a sigh and smile, Lincoln knew that Lily wanted answers but her body was all tuckered out. It was midnight after all, hell he was tired too especially after that fight he had. He should wake Lily up but he didn't have the heart to do it when he saw her face, she looked so peaceful. She almost looked like how she used to when she was a baby. He was also too tired to do anything like carrying her to his bed or anything. So, he only let her down placing her head on his lap to use as a pillow, he then sighed as he started to get comfortable. Not the best position to fall asleep but not the worst.

He should know, he's slept in worst positions before.

Tomorrow he would need to continue his talk with Lily, maybe even bring Clyde and Penelope into it since it may affect them too. They didn't know much for his past except Clyde but he only knew a little. Letting out a yawn Lincoln closed his eyes, his thoughts as he drifted off to sleep were about his time with his second mentor Mick Foley.

Flashback, 12 Years Ago

It's been a month or two since he almost got killed in that alleyway, a month or two since he met his second teacher in the world of combat. Mick Foley, a Hardcore Legend who's famous in Pro Wrestling. Never in his life had Lincoln thought he would be learning Pro Wrestling. While he may have partaken in a few impromptu wrestling matches against his will in the past whenever Lynn felt like it. Still, when Mick Foley asked if he would like to be trained under him Lincoln couldn't refuse. He saw how Mick took all those thugs by himself and came out without a scratch. Now Lincoln knew when to take a hit but what Mick went through was nuts. He wanted to be able to do that while kicking more ass than he was now. Besides, it wouldn't be such a bad idea to implement some wrestling into his boxing. That way he'd be prepared for anyone who could grapple him.

Maybe make it into his own mixed-martial art?

Lincoln also heard and read the stories about Mick Foley. How Mick went through hell and pain just to put on a show for the fans. The concussions, the broken bones, fractures, dislocations, torn muscles, second degree burns, broken teeth and having two-thirds of his ear being ripped off. The amount of stitches he's received in his life was crazy. Most considered him a legend but many saw him as a god of hardcore wrestling. Truth be told Lincoln was beginning to know that better than most now.

Currently Lincoln was with his teacher training in a private gym for pro wrestlers. Technically it belonged to one of the big wrestling companies but they didn't mind a legend like Mick Foley using it. Lincoln was in some gym clothes laid out on his back in a wrestling ring with Mick Foley who was also in gym clothes standing over him with a grin, showing his signature smile and his missing teeth.

"Come on kid, I only threw a few moves at you and now you're ready to throw the towel in? If you thought this was going to be easy because most Pro Wrestling matches are choreographed then you'd be mistaken. Pro Wrestling as a whole is based around and evolved from classical and catch wrestling with additions of strikes, holds, and throws along with acrobatic maneuvers. Most of these derive from various Martial Arts too, overall Pro Wrestling is where you incorporate all forms of wrestling styles to your choosing. My style derives from Greco wrestling which I implement in my Hardcore style of wrestling."

Panting heavily, Lincoln got up and got ready to go again. Both Lincoln and Mick circled each other until Lincoln ran at Mick and got him into a clinch, Lincoln tried to throw Mick over his shoulder and slam him down on the mat but Mick simply performed a swift leg trip knocking Lincoln down to the mat.

"Shit!"

"Take your time kid, you'll get the hang of it soon."

Lincoln sighed and got back up. He was starting to feel sore but kept on going, if Mick could keep going than he could too. Over the course of the training session Mick kept a close eye on Lincoln and knew his style of wrestling wasn't going to be easy for Lincoln given his size. No, Lincoln would need to know more than just this kind of style. So, after training was over Mick let told Lincoln to hit the showers. When he was alone Mick decided to make some calls to a few of his buddies in the business. He knew that Lincoln was going to need to learn more than just Greco style wrestling.

The next day for training Lincoln was shocked to see Mick in the ring along with some other people he didn't know. Once he got inside the ring Mick smiled at him.

"Alright kid, I can tell my style of wrestling is giving you a little bit of trouble. Now you aren't ready to learn my Hardcore style yet so I called up some friends of mine to show you different styles to see what suits you. These guys here are the best in the business and have years of experiences under their belt. They're going to show you their styles and we'll see what suits you. So, get ready."

All day Lincoln watched each pro wrestler show him their styles. He saw a lot of styles but there were three that interested him. One was Lucha Libre, a style that originated from Mexico. This style is focused on agile and acrobatic maneuvers such as spring boarding off ropes, jumping over or through ropes and breaking their fall on their opponents which doesn't fall back on the "flat back" style of taking bumps and hits which is used in the USA and elsewhere. Back in the day Lynn was always focused in Lucha Libre and forcing Lincoln to join in her wrestling. Sometimes he would get hurt bad and Lynn would simply tell him to be a man, yeah those were "fun" times.

The second style was called Strong style, a style of wrestling that Lincoln has never even heard of before but once he saw it, he was hooked. This style is a very hard-hitting style that incorporates shoot wrestling with Martial Art techniques. Shoot style wrestling is where wrestlers use more realistic or even full contact moves. Combine this with Martial Art techniques and you get Strong style. Main reason why Lincoln liked this was the striking, since he was boxer this would suit Lincoln well. Many consider this one of the best and most realistic styles in Pro Wrestling. From what Lincoln had heard many would use this style against real boxers, kick boxers and other kind of Martial Artists to great effectiveness. This style originated from Japan.

The final style didn't really have a name but Lincoln simply called it Hart style wrestling, apparently this style was invented by the legendary wrestler Steward Edward Hart aka Stu Hart of the famous Hart family. A world-class professional performer who focused on submission and technical style of wrestling that many considered the best. He singlehandedly created a dynasty consisting of his family and close friends. Many famous wrestlers today were taught by him and became legends themselves. Stu Hart was one tough guy, in his prime he would even wrestle wild animals like a Bengal tiger. People often called him brutal for the type of training he would put on his sons and students when training in his basement which was converted into a gym. Lots of people refer to this as the Hart Dungeon.

Lincoln didn't know why but these three styles seemed suit him. He was small enough and quick to do some of the crazy acrobatics for Lucha Libre, a fast and hard striker for Strong style, and strong enough to do Hart style. Right after showing him everything Lincoln walked over to Mick.

"Mick, I think I want to try and learn those last three styles." Lincoln stated with a determined look. "Lucha Libre, Strong style and that technical style of wrestling. I don't know why but those three really spoke to me more than the others. Besides, I think I can handle those three pretty well. This should be a breeze."

Mick Foley gave Lincoln a steely gaze, the sheer look in his eyes caused Lincoln to flinch.

"A breeze, huh? Let me be the first to tell you that this will be hell, especially for someone your age. It doesn't matter if you think Pro Wrestling is a joke or not real because I guarantee you Pro Wrestling isn't just a job or an act, it's a way of life for people like us. Every time we enter a wrestling ring, we aren't just risking our bodies but our lives too. I've seen good people fall apart from years of this type of shit, guys and gals who've had their lives taken away or get destroyed. All of this takes a heavy toll on not just our bodies but our minds too. Whether you become a pro or not, what you're going to learn is going to take time and dedication. If you aren't going to take this seriously then there's the door. Because when you enter this ring you aren't some runaway kid who thinks he's hot shit, you're training to became not just a Pro Wrestler but a warrior! I love and live for Pro Wrestling! Can you say the same?"

Mick pointed towards the door while giving Lincoln a cold look. Mick's words really hit Lincoln hard. He didn't mean to offend Mick's lifestyle or his sport. Lincoln knew Mick had paid a lot for this sport… no, this style of fighting. In Lincoln's eyes Mick and these other wrestlers weren't just performers, they were warriors like Mick said. Just by looking at Mick's past scars and injuries Lincoln knew Mick earned every damn right to say he was a warrior. Thinking about it gave Lincoln goosebumps, he's trained hard in boxing and had his butt kicked a lot but could he handle this?

Time and dedication, could he do it?

After thinking long and hard about it, Lincoln finally gave Mick his answer.

"Going to be honest, I'm a little scared. I wasn't even this scared when I went for boxing. Just by looking at you I know you are dead serious, but I still want to do this. I don't care if it takes years or if I get hurt. I wanna show you that I can do this. If you promise to give me everything you got and I promise I'll give tenfold and then some."

That serious look of Mick's turned into surprise before turning into a grin.

"Well, you best be ready kiddo because after you're done learning all those styles, I'm going to show you my own style and trust me when I say it's going to be hell. I should know since I spent some time there with a few friends of mine. First, we'll get your body ready to handle these styles by doing routine drills in and out of this ring, we'll also start getting you ready for strain your body is going to take and oh boy! It's going to really suck but it'll be worth it in the long run. Now, are you sure you want to do this?"

Mick already knew the answer when he saw the smile on Lincoln's face.

"Hell yeah! Let's do it!"

Unfortunately for Lincoln he had no idea what was in store for him. The sheer amount of hell he would go through would make any normal person quit and be forever broken, thankfully Lincoln wasn't really normal to begin with. His training begun and he quickly felt the heavy strain of it all. The drills alone made Lincoln throw up a few times and even collapsed from exhaustion. Mick promised to bring in some more friends of his to help Lincoln out with styles and drills to help him get ready.

When the day was over, it was just Mick and Lincoln left at the gym. Lincoln was exhausted, sweaty, and oh so very much sore. Right now, he was sitting by the ring with Mick, who handed Lincoln a bottle of water which he gladly accepted and took a big swig out of it.

"Oh man… my everything hurts!" Lincoln stated with a very exhausted expression. "I'm starting to think you're a sadist Mick! I've never felt more like crap, not even when I started training in boxing. Oh god, I think I'm going to die."

Sadly, given by Mick's jolly laugh and grin it seemed that claim had some merit.

"Ah don't worry, sure it sucks now but you'll get used to this sooner or later. I gotta say kiddo I'm proud of you. You really gave it your all out there today. Hell, even a few of the guys were impressed. If you keep this up, I don't have a doubt you'll be a hell of a pro wrestler. Now, how about we head home. Knowing my wife, she's started dinner already and you know how my daughter gets when we're late. Come on, we'll continue your torture—I mean, training tomorrow."

A part of Lincoln hoped Mick was joking about the torture but he knew better. It didn't really matter; he was going to stick with this training even if it kills him. At least he hopes it won't come to that. Time to head back to Mick's home which was pretty much a mansion. It didn't surprise Lincoln that Mick was very well off considering he was a famous retired wrestler, a writer, a colored commentator and stand-up comedian. He had a wonderful family, and they happily took him in when he had nowhere to go. They gave him a spare room they had and treated him like family ever since.

For the longest time it felt to Lincoln. Guess it was the family part, no matter how much Lincoln told himself otherwise he still felt hurt about what his family did to him. However, unlike those people, the Foleys were good people and treated him with nothing but kindness.

"Let's go kid, don't want my wife to give us an earful."

"Oh, I'm coming Mick!"

Lincoln quickly chased after Mick who was leaving, when Lincoln caught up to the retired pro wrestler. He grinned while ruffling Lincoln's hair, of course Lincoln grumbled and shot him a small glare but Mick simply chuckled. Eventually Lincoln laughed and smiled brightly. While he did feel like alone at times, it wasn't so bad when you have mentors and friends like Mick and his family.

In time Lincoln would finish training and make his second mentor proud beyond belief.

End of Flashback

The Next Day

It was morning now in the city of Los Angeles, the sun was shining a light through one of the windows in Lincoln's hotel room. The light shined upon a slumbering Lily who slowly stirred awake. As she groggily got up, she yawned and rubbed her eyes. Taking a look around, there was a bit of confusion on her face until she remembered where she was and how she ended up here. Looking around she saw that Lincoln was nowhere to be found but she soon the heard a door open from behind her, turning around she saw Lincoln in nothing but his boxers and towel over his shoulder. Steam escaped from the room he was in which meant it was the bathroom and Lincoln had just finished taking a shower.

"Morning, sorry if I woke you up."

"Oh um, it's okay I just woke from the light shining in my face."

Lily had a blush on her face as she looked away in embarrassment upon seeing the state her brother was in. She's never been around a person of the opposite sex who were in nothing but their underwear, the fact that it was her brother too didn't really help either. Lincoln on the other hand was too oblivious to notice his sister's embarrassment or didn't care. He walked over to his bed where his clothes were at, he then went on to put them on while Lily sat quietly on the sofa and kept her head forward so she didn't have to see Lincoln getting dressed. Her blushed remained as she sneakily shot him a glance here and there.

Just as Lincoln put on the last of his clothes, he grunted a little in pain as he felt his broken ribs. Lily saw this and her embarrassment turned into concern as she got up and walked over to check on him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a bit sore from last night."

"No, you are seriously hurt." Lily stated while looking at the state her brother was in. "You should go see a doctor. I know injuries from a fight when I see one Lincoln."

The look of surprise on Lincoln's face said it all. He didn't expect to hear that, guess he should have known better since Lily seemed like a smart kid. Though how did she know it was from a fight?

"How did you know I was in a fight?"

Lily stayed quiet for a few moments before giving Lincoln a sad frown.

"Lynn and sometimes Lucy would look like that when they came home a few times." Lily admitted with a sigh as she took a seat on Lincoln's bed. "Lynn was always getting into fights whenever she could. Lucy never got into fights but came home a few times hurt, if I remember correctly, she was training in Taekwondo a lot at the time. So, that's probably why."

If Lincoln was shocked, he didn't show it as he nodded his head and took a seat right beside Lily on the bed.

"So, how did you sleep?"

"Honestly… it was the best one I've had in the last couple of days, sorry for everything last night and using you for a pillow."

"Ah, don't worry Lily. You were so cute and peaceful when you were asleep, I couldn't bring myself to wake you up. I didn't mind at all. You've dealt with a lot and it's okay to let it out every now again. Now, you wanna continue our talk over some breakfast? This place has a good restaurant downstairs, though a bit pricy I'm sure it's going to be good. Don't worry since I'm buying."

Whatever Lily was going to say she was stopped by the sound of her stomach softy rumbling. Lily blushed once more in embarrassment as she nodded.

"Yeah, I think I would like that."

Not saying a word Lincoln simply smiled as he got up and Lily got up to follow him. Lincoln was in his regular clothes while Lily had on what she first got here. Lincoln asked if she wanted to go to the bathroom and freshen up but she polity refused. After all it was just breakfast. Both brother and sister left the room and took the elevator down. Once they reached down stairs they saw a few guests and hotel employees walking around as they went to the restaurant. Walking up the front desk of the restaurant, Lincoln gave the receptionist his info and they immediately walked Lincoln and Lily to their table.

"Wow, this place is so fancy. I haven't been to a place like this since Lori took us all to eat at the one fancy place. Whoa, look at all this stuff and the prices! Are you sure you can handle this Lincoln?"

Chuckling softy Lincoln smiled while ruffling Lily's hair.

"Don't you worry about it; my wallet can handle this. It's a big brother's job to treat their little sister every now and again. Order whatever you want Lily, it's my treat."

Lily pouted a little when Lincoln ruffled her hair but she smiled brightly when she saw him smiling and hearing his words. She's been treated like this before by her sisters on occasion, before she discovered the bad luck incident but this felt way different. Her chest felt warm and she felt at ease around Lincoln, a feeling she's never experienced with her sisters. Was it because it was with her brother, something she could only dream about when she was so little? Was this what it felt like to have a big brother? Lily didn't know the answer but she didn't really care as she just wanted to experience this feeling a little bit longer.

Soon both Loud siblings read their menus and ordered when their waitress came. She took both their orders and left, both Lincoln and Lily decided to talk while they waited. Nothing about what happened or about their family drama, they just talked over small things. Like the weather, what's been happening in the world, and what's been happening in Royal Woods.

"Really, Flip is still alive and you work for him?"

"Yep, not the easiest guy to work for but at least he pays me. Not a lot but every bit helps."

"Heh, you know Clyde and I used to work for Flip. It didn't work out but we got some good experience from it. I'm glad you're working and getting experience; god knows I wasn't really doing that when I was your age. I mostly traveled and got into fights, guess trouble always finds me one way or the other."

Things got quiet at the table as Lily didn't know what to say. Thankfully their orders finally came, it was simple breakfast but smelled wonderful. They both thanked their waitress and got down to eating. While half way through eating two people approached their table, Lily didn't recognize them but Lincoln sure did.

"Clyde and Penelope, good morning." Lincoln greeted with a smile while taking a bite out of his beacon. "Hope you both slept well?"

"I should be the one asking you that buddy." Clyde smiled before looking at Lincoln with a bit of worry. "You doing okay? You sure got knocked around last night, wanna have me send for that doctor again later?"

"Please, I've dealt with way worse injuries than this. I'm right as rain after some sleep and getting some food in me. You worry too much and don't you say anything snarky Penelope, I'm fine."

"Lincoln we're just worried about you. It's not normal or safe for a person to be up and around after getting as injured as you were last night."

"Hold up, what did happen last night?"

Everyone looked over at Lily who seemed confused and a bit nervous once all eyes were on her.

"Um, Lincoln who is this?" Penelope asked not recognizing the young lady sitting with Lincoln.

"Oh man, Lily is that you?"

Clyde quickly grabbed a nearby seat and placed it next to Lincoln, who was still eating.

"Wow, you've really grown up! This is the last place I expected to see you, how are you doing? Do you remember me? We met a lot when you were a baby but I think we only met once after that."

Lily looked more puzzled as she took a closer look at Clyde, suddenly her expression turned into surprise when she realized who Clyde was.

"Oh, now I remember you! You're Clyde McBride, you and my brother are best friends, you also own Clincoln McLoud Entertainment. I don't remember much about you but I do think we have met once long ago. I only recognize you from the photos I found in our attic one time but yeah, I do remember you. It's an honor to meet you Mr. McBride."

"Oh please, just call me Clyde. So, how did you get here? I though you still be in high school or did you graduate already?"

Lily grew silent as Penelope decide to join them by grabbing a nearby chair. Everyone at the table could see Lily was hesitant to say why she was here. Eventually it looked like she was going to speak but Lincoln beat her to it.

"She's not the only one here, in the city I mean. Turns out Lori and the others finally tracked me down. If I had to guess they got some sort of plan for me don't they Lily?"

Everyone else at the table looked shocked, especially Lily as she looked at her big brother who was still eating with an easygoing expression. Wasn't long until Lily saw that both Clyde and Penelope were now looking at her for much needed answers. Not surprising she felt a little nervous having this much attention on her, nevertheless she sighed and decided it was time to explain everything she knew so far. Starting with how she and the others ended up here in the first place.

"Look, I think I should start at the beginning. Okay it all started when my sister Lana and I first arrived Los Angeles…"

Flashback, 3 Days Ago

Lily couldn't believe it. She was finally in Los Angeles! All her life she's only dreamed of visiting a place like Los Angeles. It was crazy to think up until a few days ago she was in Royal Woods minding her own business, now look at her. In a completely different state far from everything she's ever known. On a crazy mission to find her long lost brother, with her estranged sisters who were all to blame for this.

Oddly it reminded Lily of those cheesy soap operas her Aunt Ruth would watch daily at home.

"We should be at the hotel in a few minutes Lily."

If Lily heard her sister Lana she pretended not to as she kept her gaze out the car's window. A wondrous filled glint could be seen in Lily's eyes as he took in the city's sights and nightlife.

It was around nighttime, Lana and Lily only arrived in the city no more than 20 or 30 minutes ago when they landed in LAX and stopped at a private hangar owned by Loud Inc. where they saw a few other planes were also hangered. Both sisters did not give them much thought as they were tired from the flight which was more awkward than boring. Though it was boring too. They both sighed in relief when they were out of the plane and watched as their luggage was being packed into a black Sudan with a chauffeur. Which was no doubt sent by Lori and the company. Not that they didn't mind since they were too tired from the flight. Once everything was packed, they both thanked their pilot and left the hangar in the car.

While driving into the city, Lily took notice of the sights and couldn't help but be awestruck by the big city. Although she has visited somewhat big city like Great Lakes City, that was small compared to Los Angeles. Lana smiled a little when seeing her baby sister act like a little kid again. It brought back some good memories.

After some time passed Lily had her fill of the city's sights, she looked over at her big sister as they were both seated in the back of the car. She could see Lana was deep in thought and Lily couldn't stop herself from wondering what she was thinking about? Maybe it was about Lincoln or something? Lily could remember the many times her sisters had that same look growing up. It was a pretty common sight when growing up.

Before finding about the whole bad luck incident, Lily was very close to each of her sisters. She loved them and looked up to each of them, even Lynn who she rarely saw. They were everything she strived to be growing up. While she loved them deeply, she did have a closer bond with some of them than the others. For her it was Lucy, Lola, Lana, and Lisa since she grew up with them. The others were dealing with their own problems or had moved out or in the process of moving out. Lori and Leni had moved out while Luna, Luan, and Lynn were never around enough because of their own respective problems. Luna was focused on her music while Luan and Lynn became reclusive. Leni visited often along with Lori but it was never really the same. The only ones who ever had time for her were Lucy and the others.

Lucy was always the mother hen around her, her family always compared their relationship to that of Lincoln and Luna. From what she heard Luna always did her best to look out for their brother and have much fun as they could. Though Lily could see why they thought that, to her Lucy was always the big sister she could count on whenever needed. Whether it was with advice or help with homework Lucy was always there. In return Lily was always there for her too. Like whenever Lucy needed someone to listen to her poems or if she was really sore from Taekwondo practice and needed help. Lily was always there for her even if she didn't ask or refused.

That's just who Lily was.

Lola and Lana, Lily could say she had some really fun times with them. Both twins always made sure to be good big sisters to her while making sure it was fun along the way. Lola was always the one Lily would go to for beauty and fashion advice, Lily dreamed of being as beautiful as her growing up. Lola would take her to beauty pageants and other such events when growing up together. Showing her everything to get into the beauty and fashion world if Lily ever wanted to join it like herself and Leni. When Lily started to enter puberty and was freaking about all the pimples showing over her face and other such joys of puberty, Lola was there along with the rest of her sisters to guide her through that troubling and awkward time.

Like her twin, Lana made sure Lily had a good time whenever they did stuff together. Lana taught her a lot of things like helping around the house if anything needed fixing. She even taught her a thing or two about fixing Vanzilla. What Lily loved best about spending time with Lana was the fun things they do involving animals especially their pets. All of whom were unfortunately gone. Anyways, as time went on Lily looked up to Lana as she proved she could handle herself in just about anything when it came to animals, being a handywoman, a mechanic or using her strength and size. Growing up bullies came to fear her when she hit her growth spurt and gave her a wide berth. Still, she never hurt anyone unless they deserved it like if you intentionally hurt an animal, her family, or friends because you'd be sent to an ER if you did. However, she was as kind and gentle as they come even though she always stayed a tomboy.

Not that Lily or the others didn't mind. From what she heard Lola couldn't stand Lana's tomboyish antics back when they were younger but now Lola would join in with her twin's antics on occasion. Apparently, their older brother's disappearance hit them hard like everyone else but instead of shutting themselves in or crumbing, both twins changed for the better. Lily wished she could say the same for a few of her sisters.

Finally, Lisa and Lily were more than just sisters. At one point they were best friends, being roommates, they learned they could always count on each other when growing up. Lisa would always make sure her little sister didn't struggle with school work, though she would never do her work for her. She would offer to help whenever she had time to offer it. What Lily did in return was help out Lisa by being her assistant when it came to her experiments or just making sure she would get enough rest and social interaction with their family and the outside world. Growing up both learned to rely on one another, they were very close and usually inseparable. However, as time went Lily began to slowly notice small changes in Lisa. For example, Lisa was always in their room on the computer working on something, and that she had been spending more time with Lori whenever she visited. It looked like Lori and Lisa were working on something secret and important.

At first Lily didn't think much about though in time she noticed more of Lisa's changes which were no longer small. It was shorty after Lori had created Loud Inc. and wanted all of them to join her board. Eventually after having enough of it, Lily decided to do something about it. Lily snuck back into their room one night while the rest of her family were having dinner. There she got on Lisa's computer and started to look for anything involving Lori and Lisa, after some searching, she found some files but couldn't access them without Lisa's password. Only reason her computer was unlocked is because she knew no one could see her secret plans and files without her password and even if they managed to open them no one other than a genius like Lisa could understand them.

Knowing she couldn't access the files and whatever else Lisa was hiding, Lily focused all her efforts on finding something else. Anything else that would help her. Eventually Lily found Lisa's video journal, there she found out Lisa was working on something that could help find Lincoln but first she needed funding and Lori's pull with the government. Going through the videos she slowly unraveled the truth about everything with videos dating back 17 years ago, and soon she discovered the dark secret her family has hid from her. At that very moment Lily felt many emotions but one feeling she felt was clear… betrayal.

All that led up to now.

A broken family reuniting with the hope to find one of their own. Lincoln, who was somewhere here in Los Angeles. While Lily's thoughts were on her brother, she stopped and took a glance at one of Lana's scars. That's when Lana looked over at Lily, she saw her quickly turn away and acted like she was staring at the window.

"Come on Lily, go on and ask. I know you want to."

It almost seemed like Lily wasn't going to say anything but it looks like her curiosity got the better of her.

"You get any new scars?"

Lana smiled after hearing her sister's question, Lana's answer was her pulling up her shirt a little revealing her well-toned stomach and abs where a large scar was located above her bellybutton. Lily cringed a little at the sight, while Lana laughed a little.

"I got this from an ornery Black Bear from the zoo I work at. He was getting too aggressive with the other bears and the higher ups decided to separate him. Everything was going well until the bear panicked and tried to attack one of the other handlers with me, thankfully I stopped and wrestled with the big guy for a little bit until I tired him out and helped him back in a secure cage. In the struggle I got this little beauty, stung a little but it wasn't really nothing serious."

Pulling her shirt back down, Lana kept her eyes focused on the road ahead as the chauffeur drove them to their destination. Lily's attention lingered on Lana until she went back to staring out her car window. Though her thoughts came back to her sister.

Lana was an animal handler for Royal Woods Zoo and was a part time Park Ranger, she was also a skilled mechanic and handywoman though they were mostly her hobbies now. Given her physique Lana proved she was able to handle any kind of aggressive animal by simply wrestling it down. This certainly earned her the nickname "Queen of Risks". A nickname she loved deeply but only because Lincoln was the one who gave it to her long ago. Another thing about Lana was her background in amateur wrestling, in high school she was their star wrestler. Which helped out a lot when it came to handling aggressive animals. Though Lily still wasn't happy with Lana and the rest of her sisters, she had to acknowledge their accomplishments and strength.

"Excuse me ladies, but we are now arriving."

Both sisters looked ahead and saw that their driver was correct. They were pulling up to the grand hotel they would be staying at. The hotel was large and looked very fancy, no doubt this place was expensive. It should be since Lori was pretty much paying for everything. For a while Lily forgot how rich her family had become. Still, not all the money in the world could fix the terrible mistake they made and yet here they are.

The black Sudan pulled up the front entrance of the hotel, where three bellhops could be seen waiting for them. Once the black Sudan was parked, both Loud sisters opened their doors and left the Sudan. One of the bellhops walked over to Lana with a friendly smile.

"Ms. Loud, we'll take your bags and take them to your rooms. I believe your sisters are waiting for you two in one of our private meeting rooms. If you would kindly follow me, I'll lead you to it."

The bellhop began to walk away while the other two walked over to the Sudan and started to unload the luggage. Lana and Lily followed the one leading them to Lori. Soon they found themselves in the large and luxurious lobby, they passed a few guests and workers of the hotel minding their own business. Eventually the bellhop led both sisters down a hallway and found themselves at a door with plaque that read "Meeting Room 1". The bellhop opened the door for the Loud sisters and closed the door behind them when they walked in while he remained outside, they both saw that the room was an average size room and had a large conference table. At the table they saw their sisters Lori and Lisa sitting there waiting for them.

"Hello girls, I'm glad you both had a safe flight."

Lori smiled as she and Lisa got up and walked over to greet their siblings. Lana was the only one to smile back as she gave Lori and gentle huge, Lily did her best to keep a neutral expression but found it rather difficult. After giving Lori a hug, Lana went and gave one to Lisa who sighed but smiled.

"Man, you both are sight for sore eyes, the whole flight was boring. So, is everyone else here yet?"

Lisa perked up glasses a bit as she looked at Lana with a frown.

"Unfortunately, the rest of our siblings have yet to arrive yet. Lynn was the first to arrive but has been difficult as expected. After telling her we have yet to find our brother's exact location she stormed off to the hotel's bar, I do believe she's still there. Luna and Luan should be landing soon along with Leni and Lola, Lucy should be here first thing in the morning. In the meantime, I suggest we all get some much-needed rest for tomorrow. We will have much to discuss."

Lana nodded while Lily frowned a little, finally both Lori and Lisa noticed Lily. Lori smiled while Lisa kept her frown.

"Lily, I'm so glad to see you and I'm happy you had a safe trip. I know it's been awhile since we last talked but if you need anything don't be afraid to ask."

"Drop the act Lori, just tell me where my room is so I can get some sleep."

Lori dropped her smile a little but she did what her little sister asked, she looked over to Lisa and nodded. Lisa reached down her pockets and pulled out to room cards. She handed them to both Lana and Lily, while handing Lily hers both sisters looked at each other very intensely for a brief second before Lily had enough and started to leave.

"Give me my space, only bother me when the rest of your sisters get here and we can get this over with. Unless you all want to do it yourselves and keep it from me. Not like that would be the first time."

No one said a word as Lily left the room, eventually Lana was the first to speak with a heavy sigh.

"Yeah, she's still pissed at all of us. That's pretty much established now. Oh yeah, thanks for letting me travel with her too. She was just a pure joy on the whole flight here, loved how she threw her nasty glares while ignoring my existence all at the exact same time. Geez, Lori are you sure all of this is a good idea? I mean, you got Lynn who's just a powder keg ready to blow up and Lily who hates our guts with a sheer passion. Don't wanna call you stupid but I'm just saying you better know what you're doing sis."

Lori simply smiled as she placed a hand on Lana's shoulder.

"Don't worry Lana, Lisa and I got a plan. You just get some rest and we'll come get you once Lola and the others get here."

Lana wasn't going to argue with that and smiled.

While this was happening no one in the room noticed Lily was peeking through the door which was slightly opened. Seeing all she needed, Lily quickly left and shook her head in disappointment. Looking down at her room card she saw her room's number and knew where to find it. While Lily walked back into the lobby looking for the elevators, she took notice of the hotel bar's entrance. Looking further in she saw someone she hasn't seen in ages.

Lynn Loud Jr.

She was at the bar sitting on a stool and taking a drink of something. It was so strange but to Lily this was always the place she saw her older sister in. Long ago she would never admit but now, this is where Lynn belonged. Honestly all of this was her fault to begin with. Still though, Lily probably hated her but she couldn't help but feel a little bit sad for her.

Eventually Lily had enough of the sorry sight of Lynn and went off to the elevators. Soon as she left though Lynn turned her head around and saw Lily's fleeting figure slowly disappear. She then went back to drinking, trying to forget her problems but never being able too.

The Next Day

Lily didn't have a good rest, not at all.

She kept tossing and turning because of the sheer thought, not of her family. She only kept thinking about Lincoln and worried about what was going to happen. Fortunately, she forced herself to get enough sleep but was still feeling tired. Waking up she got ready and waited in her room all day. Room service came by and delivered her breakfast, at first, she thought it was a mistake but remembered Lori and knew that this was her doing. Begrudgingly she accepted the meal, she then waited patiently in her room for someone to get her. Eventually someone did, it was a bellhop who told her she was needed in the meeting room on the first floor. She politely thanked the bellhop and left to go to the meeting room.

"This is a bad idea…" Lily whispered to herself as she found herself in front not the meeting room's door. "Come on Lily, this is for Lincoln."

Finally, after some more self-words of encouragement, Lily grew enough courage to open the door. Walking inside she was greeted by the sight of all her sisters in one room. Something she never thought she would see again. At the conference table she saw Lori, Luna, Luan, Lucy, Lola, Lana, and Lisa were all seated. Turning to her right she saw Lynn leaning against the wall with arms crossed and eyes closed. The only person Lily didn't notice was Leni, who blindsided Lily and grabbed her then pulling her into a giant hug!

"OMG! Lily! You have gotten so big; I can't believe we're all here! Like it's been so long since we've all been together! I've missed you guys so much!"

The blonde airhead went on and on saying how great this whole reunion was, all the while unknowingly squeezing the life out of her little sister who tried to speak and break free but Leni was shockingly very strong. Guess those 10 years of training really paid off.

Leni… can't… breath!" Lily somehow managed to wheeze out.

"Alright Leni, that's enough."

Turning around Leni saw Lori giving her a small smile yet critical look. Leni quickly heeded her sister's words and gently put Lily down, who desperately took a much-needed breath. When Lily was finished, she went over to the table to find a seat but not before giving Leni a heated glare. Leni smiled and laughed a little rather sheepishly before going back to her seat. Once she and Lily were seated, Lori took a good look around the room. Leni was right about one thing; it had been a long time since they were together in one spot. Truthfully it brought a bit of nostalgia back to Lori as she remembered the goods time. When their family was happy and whole.

Now they were here, all together to try and make their family whole again. However, this was going to be a challenge. Nothing Lori was worried about but in fact she enjoyed challenges greatly. She wouldn't be such a successful business woman if she didn't like challenges.

"I'm so happy to have all of you here today, Leni is right by saying it has been a long time. Unfortunately, that's how life can be sometimes. We grow, we travel, we change for the better and worst. I'm going to be honest with you all, we've all made mistakes. Except for Lily, we've all made a terrible mistake long ago that is still affecting us to this day. I'm going to cut the bullshit, we're all here to make up for that very mistake. Lincoln is in this city; it took some time but Lisa found his location and he's staying at a well renowned hotel not far from here. Courtesy of his old best friend Clyde McBride, CEO of one of our rival companies. We don't know how long they've been in contact but we assume they've only made contact recently and that Clyde has hired Lincoln for whatever reason."

Emotions varied from each of the sisters yet they were all happy to hear something about their brother after all these years of chasing rumors and ghosts.

"What's the name of the hotel?"

Everyone looked over and saw Lynn staring at both Lori and Lisa intensely. Lisa seemed very nervous for some reason while Lori remained calm and sighed.

"I think it would be wise we try not to rush things seeing how delicate this situation is, that's why myself and Lisa won't be telling any of you where he is for now until we have a solid plan."

The reactions from their sisters were what they expected.

Leni, Lynn, Lola, and Lana were pretty mad. Lynn more so than the others it looked like. Oddly enough Luna and Luan were quiet, Lucy being silent was typical of her. Lily was silent too but she looked just as mad as the rest of her sisters.

"Look, I know you all want to see him. I do too but we have to think this through okay? Lincoln ran away for a reason; we need to make sure we don't spook him and mess this up or we'll lose him again. We need you all to trust Lisa and myself so we can make this work. Now, you must promise us none of you will go out searching for Lincoln on your own. Lisa and I have some something in the works, in the meantime you all are to lay low. We don't want Lincoln catching wind of us and vanishing."

THUD!

A loud smash was heard throughout the room, everyone looked to where it came from and saw Lynn had just punched a hole through the wall next to her. Lynn pulled out her fist and gave a very heated glare aimed at Lori. The older sister of the Loud family didn't seem phased at all by what just happened.

"You finished?" Lori asked not amused one bit by her sister's actions.

Lynn huffed and without a single word uttered, she left the room but not before shooting one last glare at Lori and Lisa. When she left the room everything got quiet again, Lily looked around at her sisters and got up.

"Where are you going?" Leni asked confused by what Lily was doing. "Don't you want to visit with us and catch up?"

The look Lily gave Leni was that of surprise which quickly turn to anger and disgust.

"You really are an airhead if you think I want that, I'm only here for Lincoln. The sooner I get away from all of you the better."

SLAM!

"Okay that's it! I've had enough of this attitude of yours Lily!" Lola exclaimed slamming her hand on the table catching everyone's attention. "Lana told me everything, you have got to stop acting like a little brat! We're all here for the same thing. So, could you at least cut us some freaking slack."

"Oh really, you sure have a lot of nerve calling me a brat, Miss Pageant Queen." Lily scoffed glaring at Lola. "Weren't you such a brat not too long ago, especially around Lincoln? Matter of fact, didn't you take advantage of Lincoln a lot before he ran away? Always making him come to your every beck and call."

Lola flinched a little by Lily's words, they hurt because they were true. She knew that she was a horrible little brat long ago. A manipulative and spoiled brat. She regretted what she did just like the rest of her sisters. Out of all of them she knew full well she was the worst to Lincoln.

It seemed like Lily wasn't done as she took a good hard look around at the rest of her sisters.

"I hate it how you all call him our brother… I never got the chance to really meet him. I never got to hug him, ask him to read bedtime stories or tuck me to bed. Never having the chance for him to be there for me when the thunder scared me or when I would get a nightmare or when I would get sick. I don't have single memory of him I can properly recall, all I get are these little flashes and I hate it! Why do all of you have such happy memories of him when I can't! After everything you did to him you don't deserve those memories! Not when I never got the chance even meet him! All I have are these stories you've all told me that are for all I know are total bullshit! It's so fucking unfair! I HATE YOU ALL AND I WISH YOU ALL LEFT INSTEAD OF MY BROTHER!"

After letting everything out Lily stormed out of the room crying. Leaving her sisters remaining in the room to process Lily's harsh but true words. Each of the Loud sisters were reacting differently.

Leni became a crying mess as she did her best to stop crying, Lola and Lana were by her side trying to comfort her. Both Luna and Luan had depressed looks on their faces, Luna sighed as she rested her arms on top of the table and resting her head on them. Lucy looked more gloomy than usual which was surprising. Though Lori and Lisa did their best to hide it, they too were hurt by their little sisters' words. Yet what hurt them more was the fact it was true.

Turns out they failed two siblings.

Unknown to all of them, Lynn had not really left as she was leaning against the wall right by the room's door outside. She heard everything Lily said and even saw Lily storm away with tears in her eyes. Thankfully she was too busy crying and storming off to notice Lynn.

What Lily said really affected Lynn too because it was very true. They really had ruined not only Lincoln's life but Lily's as well. Lynn couldn't help but blame herself for all of this. If it wasn't for her stupid superstitions and stubbornness than Lincoln wouldn't have left. Lily would still have her brother and all the problems they've all faced since then wouldn't have happened. Lynn felt all of this was her fault, it didn't matter what Lucy or the others thought otherwise.

That's why she need to make all of this right somehow and the only way to do that is bring Lincoln back home with them. Sadly, Lynn had no idea how that was going to happen but she knew that she was going to do everything in her power to make it happen. It wasn't going to be easy but nothing in life ever is. She learned that the hard way while traveling, her travels have taken her all around the world. Chasing after rumors and sightings of Lincoln. Although she never did manage to find him, she's met a lot of interesting people along the way. People who helped her get stronger, it was right after she graduated from high school she traveled and over the past decade she became stronger. All thanks to those three guys.

Her mentors.

Lynn sighed as all this reminiscing was bumming her out way more than usual. Especially after Lily outburst, which meant it was time for one of Lynn's favorite pass times.

"I need a drink."

Two Days Later

Honestly, the past two days have been completely miserable for Lily, ever since she stormed out of that meeting, she's stayed put in her room. All her meals were sent up to her and she had everything she needed in her room to keep herself preoccupied. Her sisters never once bothered her since then either. Still, none of this has been fun at all. Ever since coming here she's done nothing but sat around all day messing around while her brother was out there in the city. Lori and Lisa knew where he was and they haven't said a word about it since they all arrived here.

Supposedly they were still planning something but were keeping it to themselves after what happened. What the others were doing Lily had no idea.

It was getting late and Lily was drawing some sketches. It kept her mind off her problems which were piling up as of late. She just had her dinner and was getting ready to go to sleep. But as she was drawing, she heard a knock at her door, she was curious about who it was since she already had her meal. Getting up off her bed Lily walked over to the door and looked through the peek hole. At first, she was surprised by who she saw but then became visibly bitter.

Opening the door Lily saw her sister Lisa standing there with a troubled expression.

"What do you want Lisa?"

"I… I wish to talk to you."

"I have nothing to say to you."

At that moment Lily was going to shut the door in Lisa's face but she stopped by saying three words.

"It's about Lincoln."

The door stopped just by a few inches before Lily slowly opened it.

"Come in before I change my mind."

Lisa did as she was told and walked in, Lily closed the door and walked over to Lisa who was standing in the middle of the room. Both sisters soon found themselves staring at each other.

"I'm guessing you and Lori have come up with a plan?"

Lisa seemed very troubled for some reason. Maybe it was because she and Lily were alone for the first in a long time? Or maybe it's because of something else? It was odd to see Lisa like this for Lily, Lisa always seemed serious and out of her sisters even more than Lori at times. She was also as calm and collected like Lucy. Something was wrong.

"Actually, you are correct, Lori and I have made a plan but I'm afraid you and perhaps a few of the others will not agree with it."

Somehow Lily knew that was Lisa was about to say.

"Unfortunately, that is all I can tell you."

"What!" Lily exclaimed staring at her sister with shock and anger, and rightfully so. "I should have known you and Lori would do this crap! Always keeping your damn secrets—"

"Let me finish!"

Before Lily could finish, Lisa cut her off and gave her a very serious glare that Lily had never seen on Lisa before. Listening to her gut, Lily decided to remain quiet and listen to what Lisa had to say. After seeing she got Lily's full attention, Lisa continued where she left off.

"Although I can't tell you what we have planned, I can say that it involves pressuring those close to Lincoln at the moment. His old friend Clyde for example. Lori recently got into contact with some unsavory individuals in the underworld and plans to put the pressure on Lincoln and those close to him. She's also been meeting with a lot of her fellow CEOs from other companies and even rivals to help out in the matter. It's true I want Lincoln back more than anything… but not if it hurts him anymore than what we've already done."

The young genius could see her words were really affecting Lily, yet she still looked lost.

"Lily, you need to sneak out and go warn Lincoln." Lisa explained catching Lily completely off guard. The genius then pulled a smartphone out and gave it to Lily who looked very confused. "I can make sure the others don't notice you right away but you'll have to go right now. If you wait any longer than Lori will surely notice something is amiss and stop you. Use this phone, it has Lincoln's location, along with his room number and my contact number too. You need to go right now!"

"Wait! Like right now!"

Lisa nodded and quickly started to guide Lily to the door but stopped when Lily stopped to slightly pushed Lisa away.

"Lisa hold on! This is nuts, what the heck am I going to do exactly? Dropping in unannounced on someone I barely know is crazy! How am I supposed to get there in the first? Walk around in the middle of the night in some city I don't know my way around? What if he doesn't believe me… or want me there in the first place!"

During her whole rant, Lily found herself shaking like a leaf and her heart rate was racing. She was afraid, Lisa could see that. The genius immediately grabbed Lily's hands and held them tightly. She then looked at Lily directly in her eyes with an understanding look. Which was oddly comforting yet sad in some way.

"Lily, it's okay to be afraid. I'm so sorry that you have to do this alone but it needs to be you. I don't know how Lincoln will react if I go. He most likely won't believe me no matter how hard I try to convince him? And I can't blame him if that did happen."

"What makes you think he'll even listen to anything I say?" Lily asked the anxiety clear in her tone. "What if he doesn't recognize me or doesn't care and hates me? What if he blames me for what happened? I… I… I can't do this! Coming here was a mistake!"

Tears threatened to come down from Lily as she couldn't help but focus on her anxiety. Just like when it seemed Lily was going to cry and freak out some more, Lisa stopped her by pulling Lily into a tight hug.

"You have to calm down Lily, you can do this. Though I don't know how Lincoln feels about the rest of us I can assure you he would never hate you. You were still a baby when this whole horrible mess happened. There could be a chance he doesn't recognize you at first, but I know he will. He'll also most certainly listen to what you have to say since I know for a fact you are the most honest out of all us. I know this all happening so fast and you don't deserve this much pressure, however Lincoln needs you. You are the only one right now who can help him. There's a car waiting for you downstairs, show him the location marked on the phone and he'll get you there. I'll have someone get your stuff to you as soon as I can but you need to leave now."

With that all said, Lisa pulled away from Lily with a few tears falling down her face.

"I'm sorry I let you down." Lisa whispered under her breath as she started to leave. Before she left though she gave Lily one last glance. "I'm sorry we let you both down."

Saying all she needed to say, Lisa left the room leaving Lily completely alone. For the longest time Lily just stood there thinking what to do. She was still afraid, who wouldn't be? Truthfully, she wanted to just stay in this room and never leave. Though that's not what she was going to do at all. Lisa's unexpected words and actions hit her harder than she knew, while she couldn't help but blame her and the others for all of this. For a mere moment she forgot all about that as Lisa did her best to comfort her. Sadly, that didn't write away all the wrongs she's done. Though what she said was true, Lincoln needed her right now. Lily had to admit she was still scared but she wasn't going to just sit here and cry about it.

Lincoln, her brother needed her and nothing was going to stop her.

End of Flashback

Everyone at the table was dead silent when Lily finished, who sniffled a little wiping away a stray tear.

"Crap… I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

Looking over across from her, Lily saw Lincoln giving her a comforting and proud smile.

"You've been through a lot, it's normal to let it out in some way. I'm sorry you had to go through all that alone. But here you are, even when you were afraid and doubtful of yourself. You still went through with it and now, you're here. You really are a brave and amazing person Lily."

Lily didn't expect to hear that but at the same time it felt like what she needed to hear right now. The praise and smile Lincoln gave her caused her chest to swell with happiness. She didn't say a word, only thing she did was smile back.

Seeing Lily was okay now, Lincoln turned to both Clyde and Penelope with a serious expression.

"Everything else aside, if what Lisa told Lily is true then we've got some trouble heading our way." Lincoln sighed. "Sorry if hiring me comes to bite you guys in the ass. Didn't mean for my family drama to become a problem for everyone."

Penelope frowned as it looked like she was going to speak but Clyde beat her to it.

"Ah it's nothing buddy, whatever Lori's planning I'm sure we can handle it. Wouldn't be the first time a rival CEO plans my downfall, come to think of it didn't we just deal with one last night? Anyways, I'm sure whatever Lori has in store for us we can handle it. It's you I'm worried about though; I think it would be best for you to lay low especially since your sisters are close by. Besides, you still need to recuperate from last night."

"Oh, come on, I keep saying I'm okay."

While Lincoln and Clyde looked like they were about to have a disagreement, Penelope's phone began to ring. Pulling it out she saw she received a notification from one of her news feeds which was a link to a video. Curious about the title of the video wondering why such a video hit her news feeds she pressed on the link, eventually she found out why when playing the video. Her expression quickly turned into shock.

"Um, I think laying low is going to be a little bit of a challenge sir."

Penelope then proceeded to show everyone the video playing on her phone, the title of the video read "A Brutal Look Into America's Underground Fighting Scene". As the video played out everyone else faces turned to shock, the video was of Lincoln's fight with Cassidy! Penelope stopped the video at the point where Lincoln rips off his mask while laughing like a mad man.

Lincoln's reaction could be summed up in one word.

"Crap…"

Unbeknownst to Lincoln and the others at the table, many around not just the country but the entire globe was watching the video at this exact moment.

Great Lakes City, Michigan

Downtown, at a frequent and popular gym. This was no mere simple gym for it was a boxing gym. Where boxers who are hoping to become champions come to forge their path to victory by training and sparring. There was no one else in the gym except a woman who was training on a punching bag in the corner.

The woman looked to be around their late 20s at least, she was a Latin-American and was average height for a person her age. Her build was above average given her well-tone abs and muscles. She had tan skin, short black hair which was tied into a ponytail. She was beautiful yet had an intimidating aura around her, she had freckles on her cheek and two buck teeth sticking out slightly. She was wearing a black and purple sports crop top that matched her sport shorts, she also had on black and purple sparring gloves and boxing shoes.

Each punch she gave the punching bag made contact and it swayed violently. The woman was barely building up a sweat as her strikes were getting stronger. Finally, the woman let out a loud yell and punched the punching bag with all her might! The sheer force of the punch made the punching bag break off from the chain that was holding it up.

THUD!

The punching bag landed on the floor; the woman panted heavily trying to catch her breath. Suddenly the woman took a look at the wall next to her where it had pictures and oddly enough newspapers framed up but what really got the woman's attention were the three championship titles framed up along with the pictures and newspapers. They were boxing championship belts, one was from WBA, the World Boxing Association. The next was from the WBC, World Boxing Council and lastly the WBO, the World Boxing Organization. Each of these belts were the real deal.

In the pictures and newspapers, the woman was in every last one of them with family, friends, mentors, and trainers. One of the newspapers headlines read "Local Girl Enters Middleweight Division With Devastating TKO!" with a picture of the woman standing tall over an unconscious opponent. The next newspaper read "The Goddess of War Brings Home The Gold!" and it showed the woman who was a bit beat up holding the WBA title in the air with both hands. Another newspaper read "Another Championship Win, Who's Next?" and it shows the woman holding up the WBC championship belt over her shoulder. The next newspaper read "Third Boxing Championship Win, Road to Become Undisputed Champion Begins?" and this time it shows the woman holding up the WBO title in the air with one hand. Finally, the last newspaper read "Ronnie Anne Santiago, The Greatest Middleweight in The Women's Division!".

Yes, this woman was Ronnie Anne Santiago. Just like so many others, time has passed and it changed her greatly.

"You know, that equipment isn't cheap Niní."

Ronnie Anne turned around and saw a man around his early 30s walking towards her with a friendly smile. He was Latin-American with black hair with tuft combed upwards, he was fairly handsome as he had on white business shirt with a pair of jeans and business casual brown shoes. This man was Ronnie Anne's older brother, Bobby Santiago.

Though not only was he just Ronnie Anne's older brother, he was also her sponsor and CEO of Casagrande's Bodegas. A recent but successful chain of bodegas that were spread-out all-over America. Just like his little sister, time has changed him too.

"Oh please, between the both of us we can buy as many punching bags as we want." Ronnie Anne smiled back sharing a laugh with her brother. "So, what brings you here? Not that I don't like you checking up on me but I thought you were busy all day at the office."

The smile on Bobby's face was gone and replaced with a frown, something Ronnie Anne rarely saw.

"Bobby, are you okay?"

Bobby let out a sigh as he pulled out his phone and began to type on it.

"I never really told you this for good reason, but remember those private investigators we hired just before you entered boxing? The ones to help us find Lincoln… I've still got them on the payroll and they've been sending updates on anything new they find. This morning they sent me this video and I couldn't believe it myself at first. That's why I waited until I made sure this was for real. Just take a look at the video."

What Bobby just told her was a lot to take in but Ronnie Anne wasn't able to ask any questions before Bobby pushed play on the video and handed the phone to her. Looking at the phone in her hand she watched as the video played out, her eyes widening as the video kept going until the moment Ronnie Anne paused the video to look at her brother in pure shock.

"When and where was this recorded!"

"Los Angeles, some junkyard just outside the city. It was apparently recorded just last night. Before you say anything else, I want you to know that I've already planned a flight. You can bring your friends with if you like, they're with you in your corner every time you fight. So, if want them with you when we leave, I'm okay with it. Though are you sure you want to do this? I can go by myself, if it's just another bogus sighting it will mess up your training schedule for your next title bout. It's for the IBF Middleweight championship, if you win, you'll be the undisputed champion. It's been your dream ever since—"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Robbie Anne shouted stopping her brother from finishing. "None of that matters until I see him, not until I get to ask him what's been bothering me ever since he disappeared. Not until I see him…"

Both brother and sister were silent after that, Bobby frowned sadly while looking at his sister. Ronnie Anne looked to be deep in thought as her focus was set on a certain picture, it was the last time she, Clyde, and Lincoln were all together. It was taken before Lincoln left for the foster facility up in New York, where they could help him deal with the trauma he experienced. That was almost 17 years ago if Ronnie Anne remembered correctly. In the photo they were all smiling but Ronnie Anne knew they were fake smiles that hid their sadness, this was one of the saddest moments in her life. The day her best friend left her.

"What have you been up to, Lame-o?"

She could not wait to hear Lincoln's answer once she saw him again.

Bobby was also having some serious thoughts of his own, whether or not it was truly Lincoln or not. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to have some extra muscle if things get out of hand. Hiring bodyguards was a good idea but nothing was better than family.

'I wonder if Carlino has some free time? If he has some free time from his wrestling matches then I know he'll want to come. After all, I am his sponsor too. Regardless, I sure hope this is the real deal. We're coming Lincoln.'

El Paso, Texas

In a familiar bar in Texas, the same one Lynn Loud visited not too long ago and had a bar brawl in. The place was more or less back in business. People were drinking, eating, playing pool or just talking. Although one man was just drinking with a bored expression in the corner table, he sighed and pulled out his phone. He started to surf the web until he found an article catching his attention. It was something about the underground fights going on in California, apparently there was a video of a recent fight that was getting people talking and interested in the underground fighting scene in America.

Which was honestly pretty small and mediocre.

Clicking on the video the man watched it all the way to the end. As the video progressed the man smiled very savagely with a glint in his eyes.

"Well shit, guess they aren't all pussies in California. That white-haired fuck looks pretty tough… since I can't find that Punk Abbot faggot this guy will do for now."

The man stood up showing his imposing and tall stature. He had jet blonde spiky hair with blue eyes. From the looks of it he had an exceptional colossal body, packed to the brim with muscles. Covering both his arms were various tattoos, the most notable ones were the skulls located on both his shoulders and crosses down his forearms. He began to grin showing a grill with an engraving located on his front top teeth, it read "FUCK" on it.

This man was Adam Dudley, an up and coming street fighter trying to make a name for himself. He's only fought in a few matches but has completely decimated his opponents with one punch which was very impressive. He used to be a hockey enforcer known for playing really rough and knocking out opposing team players despite being on the ice. Right now, he was looking for a famous street fighter named Punk Abbot who many considered the best in America. Unfortunately, he was having trouble finding him, that's why he was in a bar drinking but now it looks like he's found himself another target.

"Suppose I should book a flight before someone crushes that white-haired cunt before me." Adam grinned imagining the fight he was going to have. "Punk Abbot can wait… someone else needs an ass whooping."

Soon enough people were going to learn Adam Dudley's name.

Tokyo, Japan

"Take a look at this kid, he seems a bit rough around the edges but I know there's more to him than meets the eye. Just look at him movements and his fighting style. I can't make heads or tails of it and I love it! This kid has a career in underground fighting, and I want him for Purgatory. I want you to see this kid and give an assessment of his skills. To see if he's ready to enter the big leagues and if what I'm going to offer him is worth it."

In Tokyo, at a very luxurious private mansion. A meeting was taking place between two men. They were in a large office discussing the video that everyone else seemingly is talking about too. One man, who seemed like a very imposing individual with a thick well-defined musculature, a large frame and his back, shoulders, upper arms and outer pecs were covered in Japanese tattoos. He had ruffled light-colored hair with the sides shaved, dark-colored eyebrows, broad handsome facial features and his most distinguishing feature being his goat-like eyes.

This man was Toyoda Idemitsu, one of the richest men in the world and representative of an underground fighting organization called Purgatory. There were quite a few underground organizations in the world but many placed Purgatory up with the greats. Toyoda was an extremely ambitious man with a bit of a childish side, but he was also a shrewd and sharp business man. After all he was rich enough to buy an entire country if he wanted.

"That's why I'm sending you, not only are you a great fighter but you know America very well. You've no doubt fought there in the past, you also got one or two students down there, don't you? From what I've heard they're doing quite well for themselves. Isn't one going to end up an undisputed champion soon? Anyways, that's a whole other talk for later. Right now, I'm asking if you're okay with doing this. Are you in Carlos?"

The other man, who was sitting across Toyoda in a chair smirked.

He was light-skinned, with lean and small stature with a mustache and dark hair which was a short mullet. Oddly he was very muscular given his small size, he was wearing casual clothing just like Toyoda.

Now this man here, he was not only considered a legend but many called him a god in his home country of Mexico. Years ago, he became the undisputed champion in the middleweight class division, despite being slightly shorter than average boxers of that class. Shockingly after achieving this goal that many strived for. He surrendered his belts and switched to super middleweight class. Eventually he dominated every weight class until he ended up in the heavyweight division and amazingly built up his body from scratch every time. At one point, he became so strong that, also due to problems with his promotor, he retired and vanished from the public eye.

After that he joined in the underground fighting scene in Brazil, where he struggled against martial arts and styles he never saw before. After acknowledging his weight was an obstacle for him since he was still a heavyweight. He lost much of his weight and began training in another martial art to help him. Which he mastered in record amount of time. Since then he is now one of Purgatory's strongest fighters.

His name is Carlos Medal, El Dorado or The Don Juan of Acapulco.

"To be honest, I was hoping to visit the states again. Perhaps visit my students and see their progress. Regardless I'm all for this, this kid seems to be a boxer of some kind and I'm curious to see his skills up close. I'll be on the next flight out and see this kid for myself."

"Excellent, I've already booked your flight and have arrangements made for you once you get there. Now remember Carlos, be sure to have fun. If the kid proves to be a waste of time you are welcome to do whatever you want to him. Please be sure to send me updates as they come to you."

Carlos nodded and got up; he then left the office with a smirk. Something his employer also shared.

Somewhere Across The City

At a popular restaurant, two men were having a similar conversation. Just like the other two men we saw just moments ago; these two men were discussing the video. What they also had in common with the other two men is that they were also quite well-known in the underground martial arts scene. However, both couldn't be more different from one another given their respective size and stature, both men were sitting at a table while one ate while the other was talking.

"Jack, I know you don't like to be bothered unless it's of great interest to you but I think what I've recently discovered something online that will interest you."