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LOUD RUSH

Part One

Qualifications

In a typical Saturday morning, the members of the Loud family used to have a lot of things to do at once. Every single one of the eleven siblings carried through his or her own plans, which were not going to be easily thwarted by the programs of the other occupants of the Loud House.

…at least, this remained true until one Thursday evening, when Lynn Loud Sr. had stated his will to bring all the kids to the local kart racing track the following Saturday. The loud patriarch had made no mystery of his excitement to see the ten of them race each other in an authentic kart race.

His proposal had been received with confused and mostly annoyed faces. Clearly not all of them were keen on the idea, and even Lynn's wife, Rita, tried her best to convince her husband that maybe it wouldn't have been smart to bring all of them with so few time left for the kids to rearrange their weekend.

The reaction of Lynn Sr. was starting to whimper and whine about the lost possibility of entertainment, and in the end, they all resigned themselves to accept his request in order to calm him down.

Thus, that Saturday morning, the Louds were stacked inside Vanzilla, Lynn Sr. driving with the happiest face ever with his full family. Well, most of the family… Rita had remained at home to stay with Lily, who was obviously too young to participate, even though she had promised to come over in the afternoon and to be there at least during the race with the little toddler.

Most of the Loud siblings were sulking in their seats, envying their younger sister… even though that wasn't true for two of them.

Lynn Jr. was currently jumping from a seat line to the other, much to the annoyance of her sisters and brother. At first, the jock hadn't been enthusiast about the idea similarly to the rest of the kids, but her dad only needed a few words about motorsport, emphasizing the 'sport', to actually make her look forward to the race. "Come on guys, cheer up!" she said while landing between Luna and Luan, "We'll have fun!"

"You always have fun in whatever has 'sports' in its name, Lynn," Luna countered.

"Yeah, it's like you have a sport-diction!" Luan said, earning a groan from her roommate. "Luan, you're not helping!"

Lynn scoffed and proceeded to jump back into her own seat when she saw the glare fired at her by her father, no doubt unhappy about seeing her standing around without her seatbelt. His features relaxed though and he tried himself to put everyone in a good mood. "Lynn's right, kids. You just have to give it a chance!"

"Sure thing, dad…" Lincoln said mindlessly. Much surprisingly, Lincoln wasn't that interested by the prospect of the kart race. He was a master in Clash Squad Racing on the gaming console, all right, but his interest in races stopped there and he wasn't planning on spending the entire day on something he didn't even know if he liked or not. Luna and Luan, sitting beside him, shared his thoughts to an extent. There were comedic gigs to try and new jams to attempt they had to move back to please their father's idea. The fourth seat was occupied by Lucy, who had been even more silent than usual… which wasn't surprising by itself. She had yet to find a good reason to spend time on the four-wheeled vehicles her dad was so excited about.

Behind them, the twins almost looked like a reflection of each other in their frowns. Lana would have rather spent the morning taking care of the Loud pets as well as her own, while Lola had to be restrained before she could assault her own father when the news reached her ear. Even now she continued to grumble to herself, planning who knows what type of revenge.

To Lana's right side, Lisa sat quietly, her face immersed into a notebook, the contents of which were a mystery to everyone. Lisa was, even more surprisingly, the second exception to the general grumpiness. She had right away accepted the offer of her father, and at the request for explanations by her siblings, the young genius had simply shrugged it off. "Why not?" she had said, an unsatisfying reply that made more than one of the Loud kids suspicious about what the little girl really had in mind.

On the front seats sat Lynn, Lori and Leni. The two oldest Loud sisters were possibly the less willing to participate in the kart race out of the entire family. Just ten minutes before Leni had been shocked by the reveal that they were going to participate in the race, not watch it, while her older sister Lori was immersed into her phone, without a doubt complaining with her boyfriend about the ordeal she had been forced into. Their scowls were especially in contrast with the bright grin that Lynn currently wore.

Thus, the Loud family arrived at the kart track's external parking lot, and in few minutes they were in the lobby. Someone went right away to greet them, but it wasn't an employee of the kart track… actually, it was Clyde McBride!

Lincoln walked out of his family and, before Clyde could even say 'Hello!' he pulled him away from the fierce glares of his sisters. Clyde had been, in fact, the main cause of the entire ordeal: he had, a week before, taken part in a kart race after finally managing to convince his dads with months of discussions, and Lynn Sr. had heard him talking with his best friend about the race. Lincoln's dad had been very interested by the narration told by Clyde, and after that moment it was only a matter of days before Lynn Sr. made his announcement to the rest of the family.

Lincoln wasn't exactly happy with Clyde for this very reason, but he was still his friend and he knew better that to leave him at the mercy of his easily angered sisters, who knew what the cause of their father's sudden interest was.

After Lincoln finally let Clyde away from his grasp, the latter immediately realized that something was wrong. "Hey, what's the down mood about?"

"You know very well what the answer is, Clyde," Lincoln replied. "I heard Lola and Lana planning to capture you, and heaven knows what they'll do after that… The rest of my sisters aren't happy, either."

"Oh, they just have to try it! I'm sure that after the qualification session they will all be eager to go against each other. Didn't you tell me that you all love competition?"

"Yes, that's true… but that's different from this." Lincoln sighed. "Look, Clyde, I'm not even that excited about it, too."

Clyde wasn't fazed. "Come on, Lincoln, believe me! Wait to get into your seat and you'll see!" His eyes became suddenly unfocused. "Not to mention this means I'll be able to impress Lori. A perfect race from start to finish should be enough! Even though I'd probably have to let her win somehow…"

"Didn't you tell me that you managed to cross the finish line by miracle and with two laps late to the penultimate kart your last race?"

"Well, that was the first try! And we didn't even get to do qualifications!"

Lincoln rolled her eyes and a weak smile appeared on his lips. Clyde was always the same… he seriously hoped that his reassurances had a concrete basis.

Eventually they had to gather with the Loud family. Lincoln tried his best to shield Clyde from the sight of his sisters (especially Lori, since she was as annoyed as Clyde was in love, if not more), and he was relieved to see them finally reaching the left end of the hobby, where the real manager awaited.

Lynn Sr. walked away from his family before exchanging greetings with the man behind the counter, and they immediately began to talk. None of the loud siblings wasn't that interested to listen to their conversation.

Lynn Jr. jumped around, trying to spur on her sisters. "I hope you'll all do your best, I want to have some real challenge this time around!"

"I see no challenge, only sadness in the knowledge that only one of us will win, and the others will be left with nothing but sullenness…" Lucy commented.

"Actually, some of us will most probably have to ride two-seated karts. At least, I doubt they will let the youngest of us ride a vehicle alone," Lisa pointed out.

"WHAT?!" Lola shouted in dismay, "I'm going to put my beautiful complexion in danger and I won't even have the chance to drive myself?"

"Yep," Luan confirmed with a pout rarely seen on her face. Clyde smirked before saying, "Don't worry, you will see this is nothing short of kar-tacular! Haha, get it, Luan?" he said, but the jokester literally froze him in place with a glance of her eyes.

"Can't believe I'm really here, boo-boo-bear," Lori said while taking on the phone, "I just hope dad's going to keep his promise and let me get Vanzilla for tomorrow…"

Leni examined a series of uniforms hung behind the counter with a criticizing gaze. "Where do these outfits come from? Humph, I would have brought my own from home if I knew how out of fashion these are!" She looked around, "Maybe I can do something to fix them…"

"I hope we will be done soon. Hops wasn't well this morning… I'm worried…" Lana said to herself.

"I have to admit, these guys know their thing in music at least!" Luna complimented as she listened to a rock piece being played by a speaker set fixed on a wall.

Lincoln looked at her sisters while they tried to kill time. He was a little bored as well: Clyde was momentarily out of order since he had taken a glimpse of Lori's face, and he wasn't too much willing to go examine the showcase of motorsport souvenirs.

"KIDS!" Lynn Sr. called, "We're ready. Time for a briefing to start things up!"

The Louds (and Clyde) quickly regrouped around the manager of the track. "Good. Girls… boys," he began, "Welcome to Royal Woods' Kart Track. I'll try to be brief and let this boring phase end soon. Now, you probably know about the track's guidelines concerning safety… most notably, about the age's limits."

Lisa nodded and elbowed the pageant queen's side. "Told ya'."

"Now, based on what Mr. Loud told me, there are three of you who are under the age of eight. Is that correct?"

Lana and Lisa raised her hands, while Lola had to be convinced by Lori before she signalled to be one of them as well.

"Sorry to say this, girls, but you cannot go and grab the steering wheel by yourself. But don't worry, we have a few two-seated karts ready to use, and you'll ride with one of the older participants."

Lisa was unperturbed, and Lana wasn't that annoyed as well. She, however had to go to Lori's aid in order to stop her twin from leaping at the manager and cover her mouth before she could utter what she thought about the man.

The manager continued his speech, acting like Lola Loud wasn't trying her best to break free and attack him. "Now… Lisa Loud? You are four-years old… which is a bit younger than the mean we usually let kids take part in our races, even as passengers."

"You have nothing to worry about, sir," Lisa said calmly, "I probably know more about race safety than you do in any case, and I assure you that at home I deal on a daily basis with far… louder predicaments than tiny kart engines."

"…riiiight…" the manager replied with a raised eyebrow, "I guess you can take part as well. Now… Lucy Loud?"

"Yes?" Lucy said, startling the man since she was right behind him. His paper notes fell to the ground. "Yeah. Uh… now…" he blabbered while recomposing and picking up the notes, "You're eight years old and therefore you can, in theory, race with a kart of your own. However, you should know that, following our custom, we let such young kids drive only after classes dedicated to karting, which start even before they reach the age of allowance. Now, would you-"

"If I have to visit the beyond during his race, I'll do it regardless of who is driving," Lucy interrupted. The manager was shocked, but the gothic girl continued her speech, "…maybe, though, I might be able to feel something about this so-called race if I don't have to focus on driving… and it could get ideas for a few poems."

She looked at the bewildered manager, "If that's what you prefer, I can ride with one of my sisters."

The manager tried his best to remain calm. Lynn Sr. chuckled at the man's reaction, "Don't worry, that's Lucy Loud for you, it's just her way to say it's not a problem."

"...uhm… okay…" the manager spluttered before continuing, "So, uh… there's four kids here who need a driver."

"You're free to make whatever couples you like, girls!" Lynn Sr. announced. Before anyone could even acknowledge the info, Luan suddenly fired up, "I take Lana!"

Lana was surprised by her sister's choice, but Luan simply winked at her. What the jokester had in mind remained unknown by the young tomboy, at least for now.

"Father, I express the desire to be with Leni," Lisa said. Immediately all the other Loud siblings and Clyde turned towards her in shock, while Leni was more than happy. "Wow, thank you Lisa! I didn't know you had faith in me!"

"Lisa, are you sure?" Luna whispered to the four-year-old's ear. "Remember how Leni's attempts to get a driving license ended up?"

"A kart and a road vehicle are two different means of transportation," Lisa replied. Then, he turned away before saying, "Besides, I have everything under control…" She went to go to Leni's side while rubbing her hands, an action that did not went unseen by Lincoln. Okay, she has a plan, he thought, …please don't do something explosive though this time!

"Good. How about you, Lola and Lucy?" Lynn Sr. asked.

"I'm sure I can drive far better than any of my older sisters!" Lola roared, "I literally drive a car almost every day at home!"

"I have no preference…" Lucy said quietly.

"In that case, I'll choose for you," Lynn Sr. quickly decided. "Lori, you will drive for Lucy."

"Mmh-mmh, right dad," Lori answered, not really listening since she was concentrated on reading whatever was on her phone.

"While you, Luna, will drive for Lola," he finished. Luna immediately went to Lola's side and patted her shoulder. "Buck up, Lola, I'm sure we'll put on a spectacle they won't forget!" she said, but Lola kept her eyes fixed on the ground, offended.

"That's sealed! It should be… yes, it's seven karts total: Lincoln, Lynn, Clyde, Lola and Luna, Lucy and Lori, Lisa and Leni, and Luan and Lana," Lynn Sr. mentally counted.

"Very good," the manager approved, "you're going to spend the day as follows: now we're going to do a little qualification session, where you'll get accustomed to driving our karts and you'll gain a place on the starting grid. After lunch, the real race will begin. Now, time to get to the technical part. Who of you has ever had any experience with driving?"

The manager continued on with his due explanations of the rules and what was and wasn't allowed. Lincoln lost interest early and his thoughts fell on what was going to happen that day.

Maybe the others will find all of this entertaining after all… perhaps I will, too.

Clyde McBride elegantly made it through the last turn of the track before speeding down the straight, pushing down the throttle of his kart and not letting it go until he crossed the finish line. Only after did he ease himself and let his vehicle breathe for a moment while he re-did the track one last time. He was pretty sure that with his last lap he had managed to strike a record.

At first, the qualification session had been just as the eleven-year old had predicted. Thanks to his experience he quickly found himself in virtual first place, leaving behind himself more than one Loud driver, and Clyde was sure that for some minutes he had the best time as well. That remained true, however, until someone made an unexpected overtake on him: none other than Lynn Loud herself. And soon, all of the other Louds began to rise their pace and Clyde was basically forced to spend all his efforts on doing a good time.

It was clear that the Loud siblings had gotten into the racing spirit quite quickly, and Clyde was curious to see exactly what the various sisters' and his best friend's opinions were. He wasn't prepared, though, to the sight that greeted him when he finally reached the 'mini pit-stop' of sorts where the others participants had already arrived.

Clyde turned off the engine and stood up, immediately removing his helmet and leaving the kart to one of the assistants who were present. He glanced at the Louds and was surprised to see that they were… quiet.

As if, in complete silence. Which, given we're talking about the Loud family, is saying something.

Before Clyde could question the weird hush out loud, Lincoln rushed towards him, grabbed him by an arm and dragged him away from the silent Loud sisters. Only after he was sure they were out of ear range Lincoln let Clyde go.

"Wow Lincoln, I know you're worried about me fainting because of Lori, but that was a little uncalled for. She still had her helmet on!" Clyde said.

Lincoln glanced at her sisters. "That's no more true…"

Clyde watched and got a glimpse of the blonde beauty in her racing uniform, and he barely managed to turn his face away before passing out. "Ohh… okay, maybe you're right. Thank goodness for those helmets while we race! Speaking of which, how has it been? Did you like it?"

Lincoln kept his gaze on his sisters without answering, and Clyde got the feeling he was worried about something. "Is there something wrong?"

"What? No, no Clyde, I admit, this was more fun than I expected, but look…" Lincoln said before making a signal with his head towards the nine females.

Clyde observed the sister (minus Lori) and tried to see if there was something wrong. Indeed, the girls were all strangely silent, and not a word was spoken between them. On the contrary, Clyde noticed their narrowed eyes, the frowns and the glares they threw at each other. There was a clear tension around them.

"Did I miss something? An argue or what?"

"Clyde, don't you realize it?" Lincoln explained, "It's the race! We've been… I mean, they've all been influenced by competition spirit, again!"

"And that means?"

"It means they will do anything, anything, to win from now on. No matter how hard, dangerous or stupid!"

"You're a little exaggerating, Lincoln. It's a kart race, of course we're going to jab at each other and do our best to win."

"Not with my sisters, Clyde," Lincoln replied vehemently. "You have to stay silent and not let them hear anything about what you're going to do, your strategies, way of driving, and so on."

"Strategies? I thought that was an exclusive of Formula-tier races."

Lincoln sighed. "Look Clyde… just be careful. I'm afraid this next race is going to be quite far from monotonous, and I absolutely have to w-… I mean, to have fun!"

Clyde put a hand on Lincoln's shoulder. "Relax, buddy. I'm sure you're just overthinking it and we'll all be laughing together once the race's completed. May the best racer win!"

Lincoln chuckled with a struggled, fake-ish laugh. "Yeah, sure… may the best racer win."

Clyde was pondering over Lincoln's words right now. Maybe he wasn't overthinking that much…

By now he was at lunch with the almost full Loud family. Lynn Sr. sat at the head of the table while the kids filled the seats on the sides, with Clyde being in the centre of one. The lunch had been more awkward than Clyde had premeditated: the Louds had been all as silent as ever, in a way that Lucy wasn't that different from her other siblings, and their hunger wasn't the best, either.

Lynn Sr. apparently was oblivious to the tension between his son and daughters. After finishing his dish, he said, "So, kids, how's the first ride been?"

"I gotta say, it was fun!" Leni chirped up. Clyde realized that she was probably even more oblivious than her own father. "I thought it would be all totally boring, but I was surprised!"

"Happy to hear that hon," Lynn Sr. replied while smiling. He waited for additional answers but none came: the other siblings were too much occupied with their own business. Luan and Lana whispered to each other unclear words, Lori had her eyes fixed on her phone, Lucy was almost invisible, Lisa wrote down notes on her notebook with an unsettling grin, Lola glared at her other sisters and Luna tried her best to eat up her food without much results. Lynn and Lincoln were especially worrying since they, of all people, seemingly lost their tongue.

"Come on, I know you have to say something about it," Lynn. Sr. pressed.

Lisa raised her head and exhibited her best smile. "It was… an enlightening experience, father."

"Yep, very interesting… I guess," Lola added.

"Yeah…" Lincoln said, letting out an awkward chuckle.

"Yep," Luna nodded.

"Uh… sure, right…" Lynn's voice was forced, like she had made herself say it against her own will.

Luan and Lana stopped the exchange by saying together, "We cannot wait to get in the real race this afternoon!"

The other sisters, except for Lori, immediately looked at the two with wary faces. The oldest Loud sibling remained unperturbed by their assertion: "Humph, whatever. I just hope this is gonna end soon…"

She ignored the hostile glances she got from her siblings (and Clyde, who had to hide his face under the table and take a few breaths with his safety bag to calm himself down after hearing her voice) and stood up, going away while still texting on her phone.

"Ohh, Lori," Clyde said while climbing back to his seat, "only you seem to not get influenced by the competition spirit. She indeed is on another level… right Lincoln?"

No answer.

"…Lincoln?"

Clyde suddenly realized that not only his best friend was missing, but the entire family had abandoned the table as soon as Lori did. Lynn Sr. was the only one left and he watched Clyde with a perplexed look.

Clyde could only shrug before casually saying, "Well, they really want to get on the grid as soon as possible… seems like this is going to be fun, isn't it?"

AN: This story will be kept short. At the moment, it is planned to get another chapter plus a short final one, and both should not take too much time to be posted. Given the high amount of characters of this fandom, I wanted to start out with a simple fanfic to get used to writing them, and what you've just read is my attempt at doing so.