A Linc between Worlds chapter 1
It was late into the night, and the Loud House was ironically quiet and peaceful. The residents of the house were all sleeping deeply; dreams of their day, their futures, or their fondest wishes aiding in their slumber. That is, except for one. One of the youngest of the Loud children, Lisa, was taking the rare quiet time to catch up on her reading in the room she shared with baby Lily. With ten siblings and several animals in the house, the daylight hours were too noisy and chaotic for proper reading in Lisa's mind. It's a wonder Lincoln could read his comics in such a cacophony, she thought to herself. As her eyelids started to get heavy, something unusual caught her eye. A little watch set on her work table was flashing with a green light. Curious, she got up from her bed and went over to investigate. The watch was the same watch she had created to send her brother, Lincoln, to another dimension, to experience life with ten brothers instead of sisters. She had since updated the watch to send and receive messages, and right now, someone was attempting to contact her. "Odd. Who would need to communicate with me at this hour?" She pondered as she picked up the watch, tapping a button on it. "Good evening?"
"Evening, Lisa." Came the response from a familiar, lispy voice. "I do hope I didn't disrupt your sleep."
"Ah. Levi. No, I was just reading an engaging book on astrophysics."
"Nothing like a little light reading before slumber, I suppose." Levi said with a chuckle. Lisa snickered a bit herself. Levi was, well, her from the same dimension she had sent Lincoln to before. The only the difference between them was their gender. In almost every other way, they were identical. "But I'm afraid I'm not here for idle, yet intellectual chit chat. I am in need of your assistance...or more accurately, the assistance of your brother, Lincoln."
"Lincoln?" Lisa asked with a raised eyebrow. What could her older, yet simpler, brother provide that she could not, she pondered.
"Indeed. You see, our Lincoln has fled from our residence, and we have no idea where to find him. I deduced that the best one to know his movements would be Lincoln himself."
"Sounds logical. A moment please, whilst I wake my sibling and obtain his aid." Lisa put the watch into her pocket and tip toed her way into the converted closet that was Lincoln's room. The middle child of the family was curled up under the covers, looking utterly serene. "Almost a shame to wake him, but this is important." She commented, not even bothering to whisper. "Dear brother, I need you to wake up…" She added, gently shaking his shoulder. Lincoln grunted a bit as he opened one eye to look at her.
"L…..Lisa? Did you have that nightmare about getting a B+ instead of an A again?" He asked groggily.
"Don't even kid about something like that…." Lisa responded in an agitated manner, glaring at the half awake boy before her. "...and no. Your assistance is required in a matter of the utmost importance."
"It's too early for science, Lisa…" He groaned.
"Blasphemy!" Levi and Lisa exclaimed together. This got Lincoln's attention, causing him to sit up.
"Who else is here!?" A shocked Lincoln asked, looking around. Rather than answering, she pulled out the dimensional travel watch, holding it before him.
"Salutations, brother from another existence." Levi said in greeting. Lincoln just stared at the device in confusion. Where had he heard that voice before? The answer hit him like a smack to the back of the head.
"Levi!?" He asked with an angry frown.
"You remember me. Not at all kindly, by the sound of it."
"Lisa, what's going on!?"
"First off, keep your voice down. If we wake the parental units, we will have much explaining to do."
"Oh...sorry."
"Better. Now, second, Levi and his kin are in a bit of a quandry."
"Quite true. Our brother, the Lincoln from our dimension, appears to have run away from home."
"Gee….I wonder why..." Lincoln grumbled sarcastically.
"I understand the last time you had come here, it was a...less than pleasant experience-"
"That's an understatement…." Lincoln interrupted sourly.
"-but I assure you that what had occurred the last time was far from a typical day." Levi continued.
"Not only that, Lincoln, but you must remember you are used to living within a house of sisters." Lisa interjected.
"A prospect most frightening to me." Levi said with shudder.
"You have become accustomed to such a lifestyle. I am sure their Lincoln is more used to the more rough and tumble life with his brothers."
"I suppose…" Lincoln commented. "But why should I help them when they treated me so miserably? Regardless of if it was normal day or not." With that, Lisa sighed.
"Dear Brother, I understand you are under no obligation to assist Levi or his brothers. However, Levi is my friend, and he is most distraught at the disappearance of his brother. I, for one, can say I would be inconsolable if I were to lose you, Lincoln." Lisa said, looking up at him with big puppy dog eyes, filled with tears. "Please, dear brother. If not for them, then for me?" Lincoln did his best not to look into her eyes, but one glance pulled him into them and melted his resolve in seconds.
"...I really wish our sisters never taught you that…fine. I'll help…"
"Thank you, Lincoln." Lisa said, wiping her eyes and handing him the watch. "I made a few adjustments to the apparatus. Instead putting you right into the other Lincoln's shoes, you will exist as a similar, yet separate entity."
"I don't have to worry about being seen or being around the other me, do I?"
"Of course not. This is dimensional travel, not time travel." Lisa answered, a little annoyed. "Also, you have no time limit, unlike last time. Take all the time you need. I will cover for you while you're gone."
"Right then. Wish me luck, Lisa." Lincoln said, grabbing a change of clothes before turning on the watch. "I think I'm going to need it." The portal to Levi's world soon opened, Lincoln sighing as he stepped through.
"Good luck, brother." Lisa said, just as the portal closed.
Levi steps back as a shimmering portal opened within his room, a rather grumpy looking Lincoln leaping through. "You have my gratitude, Lincoln, for agreeing to aid us in locating our wayward brother."
"Whatever...let's just get this over with. But I warn you...any funny business and you're on your own. Got it?"
"Very well." Levi said with a sigh. "Please follow me to Luke and Lane's room."
"What? Why THEIR room?" Lincoln asked suspiciously.
"Luke recently soundproofed the room. We can have a meeting there without disturbing Mother and Father. They are, as yet, unaware of his disappearance." Levi explained as he quietly led Lincoln through the hall.
"How is that even possible? How long have I -I mean- Lincoln been gone?"
"A few hours. He was seen in his bed at lights out, but then Lars discovered his bed empty and his drawers devoid of his things later in the night. All will be explained in a moment." The half pint brainiac quickly glances up and down the hall before tapping on the door three times.
"Who's there?" a hushed voice responded from the keyhole.
"Lane, this is no time for levity…"
"Lane, this is….ow! Ok! Ok! Geez, no one respects the classics." Levi sighs as the door made a small click and creeped open slightly. Levi slipped in first, gazing into the room at his nine other siblings: Luke was sitting on his top bunk, tuning his guitar absently. Lane was standing by the door and rubbing the back of his head, glaring over at Lynn Jr, who was bouncing a tennis ball on the floor and glaring right back. Leif and Lexx were sitting with Leon, keeping him from crying by the look of it. Lars had planted himself in a dark corner of the room, holding his poetry book close to him. Loki was sitting on the bottom bunk, flipping through his phone while looking bored, while Loni was looked blissfully ignorant as he hummed to himself in his pajamas.
"So, when is the slumber party starting?" He asked.
"For the last time, this isn't a slumber party…" Loki answered in an annoyed manner. " It's a sibling meeting, and now that Poindexter has returned, we can get on with it." Levi rolls his eyes at the Poindexter comment.
"Very well. But first-" Levi motions for someone outside the door to come in.
Outside, Lincoln takes a deep breath before looking toward the fourth wall. "Well, this is it. Probably an ambush. If I don't make it out of this…tell my sisters I loved them...and tell Ronnie Anne...well, you know." He braced himself as he stepped into what he believed to be the lion's den. The moment he stepped inside, Lane shut the door hastily and quietly.
"Lincoln!" Leif and Lexx cried, leaping to their feet and charging at him. The snow haired lad nearly jumped out of his skin and reached for the return button. However, before he could, the twins clung to his legs in a big hug. This caught him completely off guard, causing him to just stare at them as Leon waddled over and hugged his left leg with Leif.
"This...was not what I was expecting." Lincoln admitted to the audience.
"See? What'd I tell you? Little twerp was just hiding out, trying to make it look like he ran away from home." Loki said, gesturing toward the confused eleven year old before him with a smug look on his face.
"Sadly, incorrect, Loki." Levi corrected him, adjusting his glasses. "This is not our Lincoln."
"You sure? Looks like our Lincoln." Lane said, circling the young man from another dimension.
"Feels like our Lincoln." Leif added, poking Lincoln in the side.
"Hehehey! Don't do that!" Lincoln said while chuckling and trying to brush his hand away.
"Sounds like the little dude, too." Luke commented as he set his axe down and lept to ground level.
"That is because this is Lincoln Loud from another plane of existence. Another branch of life. Another dimension!" Levi started to explain, getting more dramatic with each word, before regaining his composure and clearing his throat. "Sorry. Transdimensional travel is an exciting topic for me. At any rate, this Lincoln comes from a world where he inhabits a home exactly like ours with ten sisters instead of brothers. I hasten to add that this is not his first visit to our world. He once took the place of our brother some time ago."
"I think I get the plan." Loki said, tapping his chin with a smirk. "We sub our bro with this Lincoln until he decides to come out of wherever he is hiding. Great idea, Levi."
"Once more, incorrect. We already searched the house from top to bottom, if you recall. Lincoln- our Lincoln - is not hiding on the premises. My plan is to enlist this Lincoln's aid in finding our runaway brother as quickly as possible. After all, who would know his movements and potential strategies better than himself."
"That makes sense, I guess." Lincoln said, the twins and Leon letting go of his legs. "Alright...well, I guess the best place to start is seeing the note."
"What note? He didn't leave a note." Loni said.
"No note? What runaway doesn't leave a goodbye note?"
"My point exactly." Loki butt in, playing with his phone.
"One not wishing to be found, I imagine." Levi answered, ignoring his eldest brother.
"I see…any idea why he wouldn't want to be found? Why did he run away?" Lincoln looks around at the alternate Louds, most of which looking a little sheepish and guilty.
"I...might have taken his breakfast this morning…" Loni admitted, pressing his pointer fingers together. No breakfast before school...good start, Lincoln thought sullenly.
"I kinda asked Leif to 'fix' his bike to fall apart when he went to ride it." Lane confessed with a nervous chuckle. One glare from his other dimensional brother made him add. "It was just a prank…"
"I spooked him with a high note at his school, making him wet himself in front of everyone." Luke followed. "I didn't mean to! I just wanted to scare him a little, not embarrass him."
"I gave him the biggest Dutch Oven while trapping him in Lars' coffin." Lynn stated with a shrug.
"It took all day to get the smell out. I did not appreciate that…" The goth lad complained.
"I made him play Prince Charming with me, under threat of telling Mom and Dad if he didn't." Lexx divulged, shuffling a foot a bit.
"that...doesn't sound that bad." Lincoln said, looking confused.
"Well…he played the princess. And I filmed it. And posted it online. To get compliments for my acting skills." He elaborated, shrugging with a sheepish grin on his face.
"Ah. I see." Lincoln replied in a deadpan manner. "What about you, Loki?"
"Gave Linc a swirly." He replied with a shrug.
"...I'm afraid to ask, but why?"
"Thought it would be funny. And it was." The oldest Loud brother snickered to himself. Lincoln facepalmed before looking to Levi.
"Before you ask, I did nothing." Levi said, holding his arms behind his back as he looked up into Lincoln's eyes. "But that doesn't mean I am guiltless. I may not have harmed him in any way, I offered no aid either. I suppose my apathy to his plight was just as bad…"
"...I can see why he ran away, alright."
"Come on, man...it was just some boyish pranks." Luke explained. "Well, from most of us anyway…we were just messing with him, not trying to hurt him."
Yeeeah. Not buying it, the white haired Loud thought to himself.
"And what Luke and I did were accidents." Loni included, getting a small laugh from Lane.
"Hehe. Accident…." He quietly commented, but he ceased his laughter when Lincoln leered at him. "Sorry. Sounded too good not to laugh at."
"Your Lincoln clearly doesn't see it that way...especially if it happened all in one day."
"That was poor planning on our part." Lane admitted. "We didn't know our pranks would overlap, or that Loni would have forgot he never cooked his own breakfast."
"Well, we know why he ran away, but he left no clues as to where he could have gone." Luke mused, rubbing his chin.
"That's why I brought this Lincoln here." Levi pointed out. "So, can you provide any insights?" Lincoln thought for a moment. Where would I go in this Lincoln's shoes, he wondered. After a few seconds of quiet thought, he finally spoke up.
"I can think of three places I'd go if I were as upset as he was. Three people I could go to confide in." He started, raising three fingers. "First, Clyde."
"An obvious choice, I admit." Levi commented.
"Second, Ronnie Anne."
"You mean your giiiirlfriend?" Loki taunted, making mocking kissing noises. This got a few snickers from the younger siblings and Lane.
"I'm not even from…..nevermind." The middle Loud groaned in frustration. "Anyway, third would be Pop Pop."
"Then let us sally forth and find our misplaced sibling!" Lexx declared dramatically, pointing toward the door.
"Over acting aside-" Levi started, getting an angry leer from his slightly older brother. "-Lexx is right. We must move with all due haste. All who wish to accompany us…"
"Aye!" Luke, Leif, Lexx, Loni, Lane and Lars all raised their hands.
"I'mma just stay here." Loki said, finally putting his phone down. "Just in case you guys are wasting your time following alt dweeb on a wild wimp chase."
"I gotta game in the morning." Lynn said, spinning the tennis ball on his finger.
"Very well. Someone would need to stay with Leon and distract Mother and Father should they begin to suspect a ruse anyway." The little baby Loud looks sadly up at Levi, who pats him on the head. "Sincerest apologies, youngling, but we need to travel quick and light. We will bring our brother home. I promise." Leon crossed his arms in front of him in objection, but realized pretty quick that pouting wouldn't work in this case.
After giving Lane and the Lincoln from another world time to change, the six loud brothers and one interdimensional traveller made their way to the Loud family garage, where they kept their bike gear and bikes, as well as Lexx' motorized jeep. Since Leif had dismantled his Lincoln's bike, this Lincoln had to ride in Luke's sidecar. It was a little small and uncomfortable, but it was better than running behind the pack. Once everyone was set, Loni opened the garage door and the squad sped off into the early dawn. "Let's start at Clyde's." Lincoln said, holding on to the sidecar as Luke rocketed down the road. "It's the closest and the first place I would go."
"Sounds good. Hopefully, he's still there." Leif said, pedalling as hard as he could. An awkward sort of silence followed for several seconds, before finally being broken by Loni.
"So…..Levi says you're from another world?"
"Another dimension, more specifically." Levi corrected him.
"Right. That. Where we're not your brothers, but sisters."
"Yeees…" Lincoln said slowly, wondering where this was going.
"What are we like?" The dimmest of the brothers asked curiously.
"Huh? Well….really, you're not all that different, personality wise...for the most part." Lincoln answered, hoping it would be left at that. However, the curious gazes of Loni and the younger brothers suggested otherwise. "Ok...there are a few minor differences. For instance, Leni is really into fashion and designing clothes."
"Really? Me too." Loni commented happily, catching Lincoln off guard. "Only I'm more into making costumes for, like, plays and Halloween and such."
"Yeah." Lexx confirmed. "He makes me costumes for all my performances and pageants."
"Huh. That is kinda cool." Lincoln commented.
"Thanks." Loni replied proudly.
"As for you, Lexx, Lola's talents lie more in singing, dancing, ribbon twirling, etc, instead of acting, though you share a passion for youth pageants."
"I do dabble in song and dance, but acting is where I truly shine."
"Not mention tattling." Leif included, getting laughs from all his brothers. Even Lincoln got a laugh out of that.
"Shots fired." Lane commented, while Lexx glared at his twin.
"Har har. You're just jealous how much the audience loves me."
"Excuse me while I barf…" Leif gagged as he feigned throwing up.
"Anyway, Leif...you and Lana aren't at all different. You're kinda messy, good with animals, great with tools." Lincoln proceeded to explain.
"Sounds like my kinda sister."
"What about me?" Luke asked, glancing at the boy from another dimension beside him. "Does your version of me still rock?"
"Out loud."
"Aw yeah!" Luke exclaimed, throwing his fist into the air.
"Though Luna is much, much nicer…." Lincoln added, clearly still salty about the swirly on his last visit. Luke sighs a bit.
"Look, little dude, I'm sorry about that. I'm just not a morning person, and very cranky before I had my cup of joe." Lincoln felt that was no excuse, but he was willing to give him credit for apologizing.
"Bet you were mad about that. Your face was all 'flushed'" Lane joked, laughing at his own joke. The Loud Brothers all had a hearty laugh at that. Lincoln just sulked, fighting back a wave of snickers himself. He hated to admit it, but that was kind of a good one.
"Moving on...Luan is a practical joker herself, but she prefers the use of booby traps. I noticed you prefer to get more 'hands on' Lane."
"Hahahaha. Yeah, I feel it adds a 'personal touch'." Lane jested.
"As far as Lars goes, I'd say you're pretty close to my sister Lucy." Lincoln explained, turning to the pale boy all in black. "Except Lucy has a talent for appearing from seemingly nowhere."
"Wicked." Lars replied with a small smile. "Wonder if she can teach me how to do that."
"The Lynn from this world is..pretty much an exact copy of the Lynn from my world. I can't find any difference between them. They're both even named Lynn Jr."
"Really? Don't tell Lynn. He would probably freak." Luke said. "...on second thought, allow me."
"And as for Loki…..he seems to have a lot of Lori's most negative traits and few of her positive ones. I mean, Lori is bossy and overbearing sometimes, but she keeps the order in the house in a pinch. Yeah, her eyes are glued to her phone and she's prone to...threats of violence… but when the chips are down, we know she really cares and she'll come through for us...and I don't get that from Loki." There was a moment of uncomfortable silence among the boys following Lincoln's word. Most of them wanted to say something in Loki's defense, but they couldn't. He really wasn't that far off. As they approached the McBride residence, Luke finally spoke up.
"Lincoln...er...alt Linc. Listen, you may not be entirely wrong about Loki, but you gotta understand, little brother from an alternate mother...he's at a tough age in life. Pressures of going to college after high school, his relationship with Bebe, keeping his grades up, all the responsibilities of being the oldest...it's a heavy load to bear. And then there are the raging hormones…but you'll be learning about that soon enough yourself. My point being the guy is under a lot of stress, and we all deal with it in different ways...even if they aren't the best." Luke said calmly as he stopped the bike. "Not saying it's an excuse…" he added before Lincoln could speak. "...just trying to get you to see things from his eyes." Lincoln looks toward his rock and roll brother quietly as he considered what he said. He knew Lori had a lot of responsibilities and knew she was planning for college, but she always seemed to have everything under control. Then again, if she kept all these problems to herself, how would anyone know? Lincoln didn't usually give Lori too much grief (at least, not on purpose), but he made a mental note to not to bother her so much when he got back.
