Ho-Ho-How are you doing, you beautiful people? It's me, Exotos135, with a new Christmas fic for you. One that simply has to be important, since I'm bothering to put an Author's Note at the beginning, lol. XD
So, this fic is special because it's the first fic I've ever made (I think) that's based on another fic: In this fic's case, it's based on "The Broken House" by my friend, Omega Ultra. It's a simple, if depressing, AU story about the Loud House where... well, I think the title speaks for itself.
But not everything can be darkness, so I decided to write this! Just a simple get-together for the Broken Louds, to give them a break for once.
Don't worry, though, this is not-canon.
So, have a Merry Christmas everybody, and a happy new year to all of you, including my friend Omega Ultra. Check out his stuff when you can, it's pretty good.
It was snowing in the city known as Royal Woods, Michigan, and while some people would see it as a sign somebody was going to die soon, or someone would be redeemed, the Loud family wasn't nearly as depressing about it. For them, it simply signalled they were going to get a break. That and, because it was Christmas, it also meant that yet another disappointing year would finally end.
One of the Louds, Lana, was rolling around the snow as her twin sister, Lola, giggled as she made some snow angels nearby.
"No Lana, that's not how you make snow angels!" Lola said in the middle of her laughter, catching the girl's attention. "Come here, I'll show you how to do it."
Lana walked on all fours to her twin sister and watched her make anothe snow angel. And once she finished, she went even closer and licked her face, "Alright, I'll teach you later, you little bitch."
Bitch, in this case, was used as a friendly term since Lana acted like a dog, and that word also meant a female dog.
Suddenly, a snowball struck Lola, and Lana growled as the culprit made her appearance: Lisa.
"In a family as broken as mine, It's up to me to show people we're not all pessimistic morons," Lisa stated, making another snowball. "And I shall begin my quest by showcasing my snowball war superiority!"
"Not if we have something to say about it!" Lola stated, wiping off the snow and making some snowballs before getting on top of her dog-like sister. "Go forth, Lana!"
Lana howled before she, Lola and Lisa engaged in a friendly snowball fight.
Meanwhile, inside the Loud House...
Leni was knitting what looked like a sock while moving back and forth in a wheeled chair. As she did that, Lynn and Lucy worked together to decorate the artificial tree. And by that, I mean Lucy got on top of Lynn's legs while putting on the decorations.
"Okay, Chad's sock's all ready," Leni remarked, looking at the finished sock. "How are you two doing over there?"
"I'm doing fine, and I would be doing better if Lucy finished putting the dang decorations already!" Lynn replied, groaning as she tried to keep herself still. "I mean, just 'cause I'm paralyzed from the waist down doesn't I find this comfortable!"
"I'll be done in a moment, okay?" Lucy replied before putting on the last decoration. "There, I'm done."
"You know Lucy, I haven't seen you do any drugs lately," Lynn remarked as the goth got off her legs. "Are you sure you're okay? You tend to not function that well without your fix every once in a while."
"I am on a drug, it's called Christmas Spirit," Lucy answered, flickering a bell.
"Figures," Lynn then realized something. "Where's Lincoln, Luna and Luan, by the way? Aren't they supposed to be helping us decorate the house?"
"Now that you mention it, I don't think they've left their rooms..." Leni said.
Lincoln's Bedroom...
The boy, Luna and Luan worked together to cut some papes for the decorations. "Thanks for helping me make these, girls, I'm always afraid that Liberty's gonna come in and turn this into a competition, like every year," Lincoln remarked, rolling his eyes.
"Don't worry about it bro, Mick's taking the day off, so I figured I should help you," Luna answered, right before Luan revealed her expertly cut christmas decorations. "Wow, Luan, you're pretty good at this cutting business."
"Well, you could say I've had some practice," Luan said with a chuckle. "Get it?"
The crickets that came next certainly did.
"Let's stay focused," Lincoln suggested, right before somebody knocked the door. "Come in, it's open!"
To everyone's surprise-and Lincoln's delight-the one who came in was none other than Lori, sporting a weary look on her face and with her hands on her pockets.
"Lori!" Lincoln exclaimed, running straight to the bounty hunter before hugging her. "I thought you were going to come later!"
"That was the deal, but the target I was set to-" and then Lori noticed Luna and Luan were nearby, looking at her. "I mean, the guy that ordered the pizza lived close to my house, so I finished the delivery faster than expected."
Luna and Luan shrugged at the explanation and went back to cutting decorations. "Don't you find it weird Lori works at Pizzaholic Patrick's?" Luan inquired.
"I find it weirder there's a place named Pizzaholic Patrick's," Luna answered. "And even weirder is the fact we never went there before."
With her sisters fooled, Lori took Lincoln out of the room and went to her and Leni's bedroom. Since Leni would be busy for a while, there was no danger of her finding out anything.
"The guy I was set to beat up put up less of a fight than I expected," Lori explained, brushing Lincoln's hair. "So, I managed to come earlier. How have you been doing, little bro?"
"F-Fine," Linc answered, scratching his left ear.
"I saw you scratching your ear, and that can only mean one thing: You've been repressing Liberty for over a week," Lori stated, putting her hands on her hips. "Come on, let me see her."
Lincoln nodded, and one change of eye color and pink bow later, Liberty promptly took control of Lincoln's body. "Finally, that little brat allowed me to take center stage!" Liberty remarked as she dusted herself, seemingly not noticing she was with Lori at the moment. "Do you know how it feels to have a complete pathetic failure do stuff you could do with ease?"
"No, but I do know how it feels to deal with a pain in the neck like you," Lori hissed.
Once "she" heard Lori's voice and turned around, she not only saw her smug smile, but she took a step back in horror. "Oh no, what the heck are you doing here?!" Liberty asked, utterly terrified. "I-I thought you agreed to only come here for the holidays!"
"Um, that's exactly why I'm here, idiot," Lori answered, pointing at a calendar showing it was December 25th. "And I'll stay here until the next day."
Liberty's heart skipped a beat, right before "she" realized what this meant. "Oh, so all I have to do is wait until December 26th and then this woman from the underworld will leave!" "she" thought, gaining a malicious smile that Lori soon noticed.
"Oh, sorry, I may have said it wrong: I'm staying until the new year," Lori clarified with a trollish grin.
Liberty's heart skipped another beat. She would have to deal with Lori. Until New Year. That was practically 6 days!
"Forget it, I'm not staying if you're staying!" Liberty proclaimed. "Lincoln can have his stupid body back, I'm not going to deal with you for 6 days!"
And with that said and done, Lincoln became the dominant personality again, and promptly hugged Lori. "Thanks!" he said, tightening the hug.
"Don't worry, little bro," Lori replied. "It was my pleasure."
Meanwhile, downstairs...
Lynn, Lucy and Leni sat together at the couch, watching a Christmas special about a living snowman right before Lisa, Lola and Lana crashed through the window and landed right on the carpet, covered in snow.
"Oh hi guys!" Lola greeted as she wiped off the snow... only to be covered in the stuff again when Lana shook it off. "How are you doing?"
"We're fine, how about you?" Lynn answered.
Lisa popped out of the snow, like a daisy, and proclaimed, "Just to clarify, I let these two win!"
Just in that moment, Lincoln, Lori, Luna and Luan went downstairs and noticed the sight. "What's all the commotion about?" Lori asked, catching everybody's attention.
Lisa, Lola, Lana, Lynn, Lucy and Leni immediately left what they were doing and ran straight to Lori, right before bombarding her with attention. While all that happened, Lincoln-hearing the phone ringing nearby-went to the kitchen and answered the phone.
"Hello?" he greeted.
"Oh, hi Lincoln," answered Ronnie Anne from the other end. "I was wondering if you didn't mind if I came over, maybe spend some time with your family?"
"Y-Yes! Absolutely! Please come in!" Linc nervously answered, right before calming down and adding, "I-I mean, I like that idea. I will meet you later."
With that said and done, Lincoln hung the phone and slid onto the ground as he caught his breath.
Later, at night...
The Louds-and Ronnie Anne-gathered around the bonfire as the decorated tree illuminated the living room with multiple colors. Under the tree were a bunch of gifts, left to be opened the next day. But don't worry, each of the Louds still managed to get gifts, which they were excited to open.
"Are you sure you don't mind not having a gift too, Ronnie?" Lynn asked the girl. "We could share it if you want."
"You deserve it more than I do," Ronnie answered, forcing a smile.
And with that, the Louds opened their gifts, with the Louds giving their opinions:
Lori quickly opened her gift, and took out some cash. "Wait, what?"
"Mom and dad weren't sure what to give you, so they decided money was the best thing," Lincoln explained.
"And here I thought mom and dad had monetary issues," Lori remarked, right before handing some of her money to her siblings. And Ronnie.
Leni gently opened her present, and took out, to her apparent delight, a baby-like doll. "Chad's definitely going to like this! I hope..."
"And why would that be the case?" Lynn inquired.
Leni fell silent.
Luna grabbed her gift with her teeth and tore it open, before she took out a medical kit and a guide on how to cure ear problems. "How do I blow this?"
"You don't blow it, genius, you use it to clean your ears so you can hear better," Lisa explained.
"And why would I need that?" Luna asked once more.
Luan simply opened her present. What did she take out? Well, take a guess, you dummy. "About time."
"Now you can expand on your comedy shows!" Lola said.
"Again, about time," Luan repeated with a satisfied smile.
Lynn tore her gift to piece, and what she got was a ball. Not any specific kind of ball, just a normal, bouncy ball. "Well, I guess it's okay?"
"Hey, look at the bright side, you can use that to teach me how to play sports," Ronnie remarked.
Lynn smiled.
Lincoln carefully got a pair of headphones. "Awesome! Now I'll get to hear my own thoughts!"
"Wouldn't that include Liberty's thoughts?" Leni pointed out.
"Only when she's dominant," Lincoln answered.
Lucy took out her gift's bow, and it promptly opened on it's own. What she got was some chewing gum. "Wow, a snack as a gift. I'm not gonna joke, I'm legitimately impressed."
"Maybe you can chew it instead of doing... you know what?" Lynn suggested.
The goth ate the chewing gum, and it wasn't long before she stated, "This is very underwhelming."
Lana tore her gift to pieces, and took out a toy bone. She happily played with it, all while she ran all over the room.
Lola shook her gift before opening it, and getting a teacup set. "Seriously? I mean, I like it, but come on."
"Maybe you can use it to get a break every once in a while?" Luan suggested.
"Only if my boss allows it," Lola replied, shivering at the idea.
And Lisa split her gift box in two and got a guide on how to act properly in social situations. "Well, I find this offensive."
"Oh come on, Lisa, it never hurts to learn how to properly act in social situations," Lori said.
"That's racist!" Lisa exclaimed, pointing at Lori.
So, with their gifts opened, most of the Louds decided to watch some TV, just generally waste their time until they had to go to bed. All except for Lincoln, who went closer to Ronnie Anne. "So, Ronnie, um, I was wondering..." Lincoln stammered. "I-If you're free tomorrow or-"
"It would be nice to hang out with you, Lincoln," Ronnie interrupted, causing the boy's face to completely turn red. "But Liberty isn't coming, is she? 'Cause I really don't like her."
"Don't worry, as long as Lori is at home, she's not going to pop up anytime soon," the white-haired boy answered.
Ronnie and Lincoln exchanged pleased smiles, and as the Louds enjoyed the rest of the night, a particular figure watched from afar. This figure was Lily, the "ghost baby" of the family, who turned to the reader and waved goodbye before flying off into her room, giggling all the while.
