A/N Man, it's been a little more than a week since I last posted and 3 months since I ended my last major story. After that, I really needed a break and some time to write the extremely surreal and strange (aren't those synonyms?) Bun Bun story… which is still in my queue! I just have to get to it!

Anyways, this was originally supposed to be a one-shot I wrote over spring break… instead I ended up writing a full-length fic. Oh well, I'm planning on writing the Bun Bun story/ the Lana story I have planned like this anyways. So, this story is prewritten all I'm doing now is editing and posting the chapters.

I hope you guys enjoy! I thank Wolvenstrom for requesting this fic and helping me out!

R&R!

Chapter One: A Hidden Past

"I can't believe it Clyde!" Lincoln held a small flier up to the sky, allowing the sun to glow through its translucent paper. "The League of Heroes 2: Ancient Defenders Open Queue Tournament is finally coming to Royal Woods!"

"And the winner gets two hundred and fifty thousand dollars!" Clyde spoke with an equally excited voice, before he let out a breath in disappointment. "I'm sorry I won't be able to go with ya Linc, but my dads really wanna go upstate so that can meet up with their accountant."

"No worries Clyde, I understand," the white-haired boy waved his companion off. "I'll just ask someone else to go with me," he rubbed his chin. "I mean, Ronnie Anne plays it too, doesn't she?"

Yet, his friend simply shrugged in response. "I dunno Linc, just because a lot of our friends are into this game, doesn't mean that they're gonna wanna play in a huge tournament like this," he turned towards his friend and motioned with his hand. "I mean, it's one thing to stay up late playing online, it's another to actually try and win a major tournament like this. You heard what Gus said! The last time they came over a thousand people showed up!"

"I know Clyde, I know," Lincoln shoved the flier in his pocket and turned to his friend. "But you never know, maybe I'll even be able to win on my own, right?" he looked ahead, towards the clear afternoon sky. "Plus… I don't know why, but I still wanna go, even if Clincoln McLoud can't."

"I guess that's all right," Clyde shrugged, before facing forward once more. "So, do you think the Dragon of Royal Woods is gonna show up?"

"Do you really think that a random girl really won the tournament the last time it came to Royal Woods?" The white-haired boy raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

Clyde nodded in response. "Yeah. I mean, these are E-sports after all. It's one of the very few places where there isn't a separate men and women's divisions for competing."

"But I mean…" Lincoln started, only to stop himself mid-sentence. For a moment, he stared at the ground ahead, his mind weighing the probabilities. After telling the duo about the videogame tournament coming to Royal Woods, Gus had told them about a quirky young girl- one of the few who had decided to attend and by far the least expected to win.

And yet, he insisted on the idea that she had won, even going as far as defeating the reigning champion of the game in a full match. "… It's just so hard to believe, ya know?"

"Heh, maybe it is," Clyde chuckled. "But sometimes, being an underdog just means you've got something to prove."

"Anyways…" Lincoln shook his head. "I doubt it Clyde. Remember what Gus said, no one's seen her play in over thirteen years. Why would she suddenly decide to come out of retirement just to join some random open queue tournament?" For a moment, the idea of a middle-aged woman walking into the venue and saying. "Hey, I'd like to play" popped into his head, causing him to laugh. "Heck, if she did I'd owe you five bucks!"

Clyde cracked a smile. "Deal."

"Heh, and on the off chance that I meet the Dragon of Royal Woods, I'll make sure to take a photo of her so you can tell me you told me so when you get back, ok?" Lincoln stifled a chuckle, before stopping in front of a familiar home.

"All right buddy," the dark-skinned boy smiled at his best friend. "If you want some help practicing in the meantime, just call. I finished my homework during lunch so I'll be able to log on whenever you need me."

Lincoln offered his fist in response. "Awesome, thanks Clyde!"

"It's no problem," Clyde responded by bumping his fist. "Just remember, I gotta take breaks every twenty minutes or else my eyes my get damaged," he turned and waved, before walking away. "See ya, Link!"

"See ya!" The white-haired boy waved his friend off once more, before turning to face his home. "The Dragon of Royal Woods… real or not, it doesn't matter to me. I'm gonna enter and win!" and with that, he rushed to the door. "I just hope I can convince mom and dad to let me play!"

On a normal day, he would spend the next few hours thinking about just how to set up his presentation. How he would grab his parents' attention and pull them along his rabbit hole of desires in hopes of having them sign off on what he wants. "But I just don't have the time right now! Dangit, I wish Gus had told me about this sooner!" He grit his teeth and stopped at the front door. "All I can hope for right now is that I can do well off-the-cuff and that they're in a good mood.

And so, the young boy took a deep breath. "There's no time to waste. Lets do this!" With that, he pushed the door open… only for a soccer ball to fly at his face.

"Incoming!" Lynn shouted, quickly sliding down the stairway railing in pursuit. "Watch your head, bro!"

"G'ahh!" Lincoln shouted, as he held his hands in front of his face, luckily stopping the ball before it could knock him unconscious. "I don't need to have a tragedy before the tourney."

"Good hands bro," the young athlete hopped off the banister and landed in front of her younger brother, grabbing the ball from him as soon as she hit the floor. "Maybe one day you'll be able to compete with me. My team has been lookin' for a new goalie."

"No thanks Lynn," Lincoln waved her off. "You know sports aren't my thing."

"What can I say?" She shrugged. "A girl can dream, can't she?"

"True, true," the boy shrugged as well. "But didn't mom and dad tell you to stop playing soccer indoors? I mean you almost knocked my head off with that!"

"I'm just warming up!" The brown-haired girl waved her brother off. "Besides, if you can't have a little fun, what's the point of playin' around?!"

"Well, given just how many lamps and vases she's broken from her 'practice' and 'warm-ups', mom and dad would beg to differ," yet, the white-haired boy simply sighed, knowing that his sister would continue on no matter what he said. "Ehh, I guess you've got a point," he looked into her eyes with a begging gaze. "Just be careful, please. I really don't wanna have try and gluing something back together… again."

"No promises!" Lynn threw her head back in laughter, before rushing out the door.

"Just please try not to break the TV, I need it for something later!" Lincoln shouted as the young woman threw the ball up and hit it with her head, sending in flying up into the air.

"Don't worry bro, I'm already on it." The young athlete waved him off once more, before jumping up and back flipping, hitting the soccer ball as she did so, before landing. "I need the TV too, ya know!" And with that, she ran after the ball, no doubt the item having crashed into the neighbor's yard.

"I just hope she doesn't go back on her word," he shook his head and turned, only for Luan to stand in front of him before he could bolt into the kitchen.

"Hey Linc!" She greeted with a warm smile. "What did the lion say to the tiger?"

Lincoln tilted his head in curiosity. "Uhh, what?"

"You're a striped T!" She threw her head back in laughter, before wiping a tear from her eye and raising the puppet resting on her arm. "Haha! What'd ya think, Mr. Coconuts?"

"I thought that was corny!" He spoke with an excited voice, before turning to Lincoln. "It was almost corny as popcorn!" And with that, the duo laughed, leaving the lone boy of the Louds standing by, unsure of just what to do.

"Uhh Luan, what're you doing?" The boy tilted his head the other way.

"What does it look like? I'm practicing!" She turned to look into her brother's eyes and spoke with a matter-of-factly tone. "Because I won the junior comedian's contest a few weeks ago, I qualified for the senior comedian's contest in a few weeks!" She then ran her free hand through Lincoln's hair. "I gotta prepare ya know!"

"Just like what I'm gonna have to do." Lincoln nodded in understanding. "All right then, I guess that makes sense," he shrugged, before looking up at her. "By the way, have you seen mom and dad? I need to ask them something."

Luan nodded. "Yeah, they're at the table working on stuff, so I don't think it'd be a food idea to bother them now!" She threw her head back in laughter once more, before quickly refocusing on her brother. "But seriously, from what I saw, they're not doing much, so I think it's a great time."

He smiled with that. "Thanks so much, Luan!"

"No problem," she replied with a smile, before stepping aside. And wordlessly, he ran passed her, leaving his older sister to talk to her puppet.

"All right Rita, I think I've outdone myself this time!" Lynn Sr. held out a small plate of food in front of his wife. It was simple, being on a small set of mashed potatoes topped with a leaf. No doubt that there would be something else to make it more interesting.

For a moment, Rita took in the sight, before returning her focus to the random papers she had scattered on their table. "That looks good, what is it, Lynn?"

"It's my new recipe for mashed potatoes! Instead of just potatoes, I used-" he tried to explain, only for his son to cut him off by running into the room.

"Mom! Dad! Check this out!" He shouted, raising the crumpled up flier as he did so.

Instantly, the two adults turned to face their son, with Lynn Sr. tilting his head in curiosity. "Hey Lincoln, what's goin' on?"

Immediately, he held the flier up to his parents, a hopeful grin filling his face. "This has to work, I just know it will!" Before he spoke with an excited tone. "Check this out! There's gonna be a big videogame tournament next week and the winner gets a huge prize!" He pulled back, taking the chance to look at his parents with a begging gaze and child-like smile. "Can I go? Please mom and dad?!"

For a moment, the two adults remained silent, seemingly unsure of just how to react.

Though, the moment soon passed and Lynn Sr. turned away with his dish. "I'm not sure son, you might have to tell me more."

"Ok," the boy smiled, while he mentally kicked himself. "I knew I should've tried to make a presentation for them! This is the first time I've tried it like this…" he took a deep breath and steeled his nerves. "But, he didn't say no! So that means I still have a chance!" He refocused his gaze upon his parents; not noticing that his mother had seemingly froze up at the question. "So, uhh… what do you wanna know?"

"When's the tournament going on exactly?" The man continues, his voice seemingly softening as he did so. "I know it's summer and all, but we're doing stuff ya know!"

Quickly, Lincoln looks over the flier once more, taking the chance to confirm his knowledge. "It's gonna be this Saturday for the pre-lim rounds. And whoever manages to make the top eight get to come back on Sunday for the final round!"

The man hesitated for a moment, before shaking his head. "I'm sorry son, but I don't think it's a good idea."

Lincoln's heart sank. "W-why dad?"

"Son, I know you love playing those games and stuff, but… well… you need to study for school! It doesn't help that this tournament lasts all weekend if you do well! Think of your grades!"

For a moment, Lincoln hesitates, taking the chance to carefully choose his argument. "But, it's summer, dad! Plus, doesn't Lynn have her own games this time of year? I mean she's on like five sports, one's bound to have something to do, right?"

"That's different, Lincoln." Lynn Sr. didn't hesitate to answer. "She could put the fact that she's on so many teams on her application for college and might even be able to get a scholarship from them," he let out a deep breath and looked his son in the eyes, "But when it comes to videogames, there really isn't much you can do with it. You can't make a living off them. And no one's gonna hire-"

"G'ahh!" Yet, before he could finish, Rita sent her elbow into his side, forcing him to reel back in surprise and look at his wife in shock. "R-Rita? What was that for?"

"Lynn, please, I need to talk to Lincoln about this," she looked into Lincoln's begging eyes while her voice filled with a strange heat. It was almost as if she had heard those words before.

"We heard dad scream, what's going on?!" Lori shouted as she and the rest of the girls stuck their heads through the dining room doorway.

Rita immediately stood up and leaned against the table. "Sorry kids, I was just getting your father to stop talking about videogames for a moment," the woman shook her head and smiled, waving her children off as she does so.

"Ugh," her husband rubbed his aching side. "Rita, what was that for?"

"Lynn… videogames aren't worthless," she looked at her husband with a soft, caring gaze. "They may not build up your body like physical sports, but they do challenge your mind in ingenious ways. Though, most people don't know this because it's such a niche subject to talk about."

The man raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Since when have you thought so highly of that stuff, Rita?"

"For a long time Lynn," the woman turned to face her eleven children. "Believe it or not I was a pro-gamer when I was younger."

"What?!" A collective shout echoed through the home while their children's eyes went wide in shock

"R-really mom?!" Lincoln took a single step forward, seemingly unsure of just how to react to revelation.

The woman sighed and nodded. "Yes, and unlike what your father was saying, becoming a pro is an accomplishment worth of award. It required hours upon hours of intense practice to even break into the minor leagues. I used to spend sixteen hours a day on a given game and platform just so I could memorize attack patterns, learn the controls and little nuances present in the coding! And when I was done there, I had to learn how to anticipate an opponent's strategy!" Suddenly, a commanding air overtook her as glared at her husband. "I didn't earn all those trophies I left at my parent's house by just waltzing into a convention center and playing just for the fun of it all!"

She then turned back at her son, her gaze softening while his eyes filled with wonder and amazement.

"M-mom was a gamer?!" His mind raced in surprise, though his response still alluded him.

"That is literally hard to believe, mom," Lori spoke up once more, tilting her head in confusion as she did so.

"Yeah!" Lola flared her arms. "Lincoln's gonna rot his brain out if he keeps playing those things and reading comic books! What are you talking about being good at them?!"

"Plus, you're acting like they're an actual sport or something!" Lynn cut in, crossing her arms and staring in disappointment. "Last I checked, there's no college letting people in for just playing games on a computer!"

Yet, their mother simply chuckled. "That's where I beg to differ," she then stepped passed her children made her way to the stairs, motioning them to follow. "Come with me everyone, I have something to show you."

The children looked amongst each other for a moment, before shrugging and following their mother, leaving their father alone in the kitchen.

He hesitated for a moment, surprise filling his body. "First she knows how to fly a plane and now she's a pro-gamer?! What else don't I know about you, Rita?" He shook his head. "I can't let it get to me," before following the rest of his family.

Soon after that, the whole Loud Family stood in the attic, with their matriarch digging through the random boxes in search of proof for her claims.

"Lets see here… nineteen ninety-nine… two thousand… Two thousand one, two… here it is!" She declared, before she pulled a box marked "2003" and placed it in front of them. "This is from the my last year competing. While I left most of my trophies behind, I kept this one as a memento."

And with that, she opened the box and pulled out the object, allowing it to shine before the eleven children and man. It was beautiful, with two plastic towers adorned with gold trim and topped with golden eagles. At the trophy's top was a small platform topped with two strange characters dressed in overalls high-fiving while jumping in the air, while its base was adorned with marble and covered by a black plaque.

Suddenly, Lori's eyes went wide in realization. "W-wait… t-that's what it was for?!"

Rita gave a prideful smile and nodded. "I knew you'd remember this old thing, Lori," she chuckled. "Why, I remember you trying to climb it! Ahh the memories," and with that she pat it, her gaze softening at the thought.

"Uhh… who's Rita Oak?" Lana leaned in closer, rubbing her chin as she did so.

"That was my name before I married your father," she rubbed her daughter's head.

"I don't get it though…" Leni spoke up. "You, like, sound like you were really good at those games Linky likes! So why don't you play them anymore?" She tilted her head in confusion.

The woman took a deep breath with that. "I'll admit, I didn't quit until I found out I was pregnant with Luan," she rubbed the back of her head and chuckled. "I somehow managed to stay a pro gamer even with Lori, Leni and Luna running around and making messes in the little house we used to have… though looking back on it, I think that was the best practice I could've ever gotten."

She turned back to her family. "I considered trying to keep up with the competitive scene even while I was pregnant, but I realized that it just wasn't possible. Our family was growing and my career as a pro gamer was really demanding," her voice filled with a pang of regret. "Sometimes, I would have to go entire nights without sleep because I would have to balance taking care of you guys and practice. And that's not even mentioning what I would have to do to actually participate!" She looked away, her mind racing back to those days of old; back to when the Loud Family wasn't so loud. "Since most competitions don't have a set venue from which to hold tournaments, I would end up travelling a lot just to make every tournament I could. And when I got to where I needed to be, the stress I would be under wasn't healthy for a mother, let alone one-to-be of four, to handle."

"I see and so, because of those mental factors, you feared your physical health would decline?" Lisa rubbed her chin, seemingly trying to understand what she was getting at.

She nodded and spoke with a strong tone. "That… and the fact that after everything's said and done, there was always the chance that I could lose a given tournament and go home empty handed. When it was just me, that was a risk I'd be willing to take, after all, I had a lot in savings and from my sponsors, but when you have to take care of children… big rewards for high risk gambles don't seem too appealing anymore."

"Did you know any of this, dad?" Luna turned back to her father with a curious gaze. "You've been awfully quiet ever since mom started talking about this stuff."

The man's face instantly went red in embarrassment. "I'll be honest… I did know a bit," he quickly focused his gaze upon his wife. "But I always thought that you just did this stuff to distract the kids!" He flared his arms in surprise. "I mean, whenever I came with and watched you, I always saw Lori, Leni and Luna just watching you play and being quiet!"

"And you never wondered where mom was getting all her winnings from?" Lori raised an eyebrow.

The man rubbed the back of his head once again. "I just assumed that Rita's parents were sending money to help us out, you know, since I was working full time and she would always come by with a several thousand dollar check every other weekend."

"All my parents ever sent us were condoms and manuals how to use them," Rita mumbled before looking back at her husband. "Really Lynn? Did you really forget I used to play these things when I was younger?" She chuckled. "Heh, I remember you trying to impress me by challenging me on one of our dates."

"He did?!" Lola looked up in surprise.

The woman nodded. "Yeah, but your father never liked them as much as I did, so I had an easy time mopping the floor with him."

"I remember… but I thought you had outgrown those things before we got married and were just playing on your old skills!" Lynn's voice filled with confusion.

"I didn't 'outgrow' them until I outgrew my third maternity dress," Rita shook her head. "Up until that point, gaming was a major part of my life!"

Lisa then stepped forward, adjusting her glasses as she did so. "This is an interesting paradigm you have brought up, mother and father, but I still seem to be missing one important detail."

"What would that be, sweetie?" Rita squatted down to the four-year-old's height.

The young scientist rubbed her chin and looked towards her mother. "If our father tried to impress you with videogames and you had to spend countless hours training, why have you always told us that you met him as a crossing guard?"

"Simple really, I worked as a crossing guard part-time," she chuckled. "After all, even though I worked a lot and brought home huge cash prizes, due to the very nature of my profession, it was never a good idea to one: constantly stay indoors to play, and two: rely on that as my only source of income," she stood up straight. "And so, the off-season I decided to act as a crossing guard just so happened to be the year your father got back from his time abroad and well, as they say, the rest is history."

"That's all well and good but what does this have to do with me entering the tournament?" Lincoln spoke up, holding up the flyer as he did so. "I mean… you just spent the last twenty minutes telling us about how you were so great! Do you think I'll be able to get that far?"

The woman took the chance to turn towards her husband, the man watching her with a gaze of uncertainty while she silently begged him to answer. And so, he sighed. "Now son, I know you really wanna take a shot at that grand prize, but you heard your mother. She was a champion level gamer and even she didn't think it was a sustainable career to start a family on. I think it would be better if you just kept to your schoolwork and maybe find something else you're good at. You know, your own calling in life."

Lincoln's eyes fell downcast with that, disappointment filling his body.

"Now how about we head downstairs? I'm sure you all have stuff you wanna get back to," the man placed his hand on his son's back, before leading him and the rest of his children out of the attic, leaving Rita standing alone, her old trophy still held in her hands.

Slowly, she found herself raising the award, allowing her to get better look at its bronze words. For a moment, she imagined reading Lincoln's name on the plaque, how much pride she would feel if he was able to succeed, before she found herself asking. "Now that I think of it… what is Lincoln's calling in life?" Her mind lingered on the question. "I was champion for a long time, before I decided to retire and raise our family. Back when I still played, I saved up so much money from my victories that every single one of my children has a college fund completely paid for. And this home, while falling into a state of disrepair now, had once been really nice- I could look to our neighbor's homes for proof of that…" slowly, she returned the award to its old case and began making her way down the stairs. "If even one of my children could make a living like that and not breed like rabbits… then I'm sure they would be able to live a comfortable life of luxury… if not, at least comfortable for their family…"

She slowly found herself standing in the second-floor hallway, her eyes following her numerous children; their soft laughs filling the place with their typical chaos. "Their happiness is all I could ever hope for," she smiled. "Heck, nowadays, pro-gamers are seen as celebrities! I've heard how reporters talk about those guys in Thailand and Japan, they're basically celebrities!"

Carefully, the woman stepped forward, towards the room at the end of the hall. "Lynn was right mentioning how Lincoln hasn't found something he's really good at like the girls, but… maybe this is what he's good at. For years we've been thinking he'd be good at art or writing or something. After all, he did win that comic book contest a few months back!" Rita reached her arm out to grab and turn the knob. "But… he didn't seem to love that with all his heart… Maybe his future isn't along a beaten path, but lies in a less obvious place," and with that, she steeled her nerves and pushed the door. "There's only one way to find out."

"Lincoln, are you in here?" She whispered.

"What is it?" The boy responded, disappointment filling his voice.

"I've been thinking," she replied with a soft, motherly tone. "How badly do you wanna go to this tournament?"

"I don't know why but… I really wanna go. I found out today and it's been the only thing I've been able to think about!" Lincoln's voice filled with a desperate sincerity, while he turned to look her in the eyes. "It's almost like… I'm being called to join it…"

"Just like I was all those years ago…" she hesitated for a moment, uncertainty filling her veins. "How about this then, I'll let you go play under one condition…" she spoke with a commanding tone, seemingly trying to urge Lincoln against her.

"R-really?!" The boy's eyes went wide in surprise. "I'll do anything to go! Just name it!"

"You have to beat me in a match," she offered her hand. "Nothing special, just a normal match in the game the tournament is based on.

"Uhh mom, are you sure this is a good idea?" Lori stuck her head in the hallway, surprise filling her voice.

The woman glanced back at her eldest daughter and nodded. "Of course I am, dear," before she returned to her son. "My question is, do you accept these terms?"

Without hesitation, he nodded, before grabbing his mother's hand and shaking it "Y-yeah! I'll play you…" only for his eyes to go wide in the realization. "Wait… since when have you played League Of Heroes?"

"That's the name of the game huh? Sounds a bit familiar," she stood up straight and helped her son to his feet. "What type of game is it?"

"It's a fighting game where you have three battlers to work with- a warrior, a mage and a ninja. And each has unique abilities to use in combat," Lincoln quickly explained. "You have to defeat all of your opponent's heroes to win."

"All right then, let's go downstairs and set it," she motioned for him to follow and he wordlessly complied, with his sisters following suit.

And soon enough, Rita and Lincoln both sat in front of the TV, the game inserted into console and the controllers in hand, ready for the task at hand.

"This is gonna be easy!" Lincoln leaned forward in anticipation. "I've been playing this game for a long time and I'm sure mom knows it!" His eyes followed the counter as it quickly made its way to zero. "I'm gonna beat mom and-"

Yet, before he could even hit the controls to fight, Rita sent her character- a winged woman in golden armor- straight into Lincoln's, causing him fly off the edge of the arena and his first character- a marked man wearing strange, golden armor- to fall to his doom.

"Player one, hero defeated!" Almost as soon as that appeared, Lincoln's second character stepped forward- a man dressed in a strange set of magical robes and wielding a magical staff.

"What the?!" Lincoln's eyes go wide in shock.

"You have to pay attention!" Rita shouted, before she commanded her character to jump over Lincoln's and uppercut him, dealing a quarter of his health in damage. "You'll never be able to compete if you don't!"

"I have to fight back!" The boy frantically thought, before mashing the buttons on his controller "Ability activate! Magical Meltdown!" And immediately after, Lincoln's mage engulfed himself in fire, before launching a barrage of red orbs at Rita's warrior… And all the woman did in response was dodge and tackle Lincoln's character once more, forcing him out of the arena; much to her son's frustration.

"Dangit… this isn't going well for me! Mom's destroying me!" Lincoln frantically thought as his final character appeared on screen. In desperation, he shouted. "Go rank-up evolution!" Yet, much to his dismay, Rita simply repeated what she had done, cancelling out the ability and continuing the onslaught, until only her character was left standing, with Lincoln's team entirely wiped out.

And for a moment after that, the living room remained silent, the Loud children unsure of just how to respond.

"Wow mom, you wrecked him!" Lynn's voice filled with disbelief.

"I thought you were great at this game, Linky!" Leni's mouth fell agape in surprise.

Lola, meanwhile, fell to the floor and laughed at the sight. "Haha! Mom's better at videogames than you, Lincoln!"

"Well that was an interesting sight," Lisa pulled out a small notebook and began to record her observations. "It seems our male sibling is unable to stand up to our mother in terms of skill. She seems to have perfected the fine motor skills and coordination required for this game while you… have not."

Despite this all however, Lincoln didn't respond, his gaze unmoving from the defeated sign hanging over his screen. "I… I'm not going to the tournament," pain began to fill the young boy's body, before his eyes fall downcast in shame.

"If you wanna see what a man can really do, beat him to the ground and give him a reason to get back up," Rita stood up straight and stretched for a moment, before adjusting her blouse. "You know Lincoln, you still have a chance to beat me."

Immediately, the young boy perked up, his eyes wide in shock. "R-really mom? B-but you pounded me into the ground!"

"I said we were playing a match. Which means that this is a best two out of three," she smiled at him. "If you can beat me two more times, I'll let you go."

"But… what's the point? You destroyed me three-O!" Lincoln's voice filled with despair, as he looked away.

"Now Lincoln, I've played enough games over the years to be able to pick up the controls near-instantly, but I don't know the little details of this game," She gave him a determined gaze. "I'm sure you can beat me twice in row. Try again, won't you? And this time, give me everything you've got!"

Lincoln could feel a soft, motherly heat overtake him, almost as if she secretly wanted him to win against her. Suddenly, he could feel adrenaline begin to flood his veins while he clutched his fists. "I can win right? I can win!" He nodded. "All right," before he turned back to the screen and readied himself for the second round.

Immediately after that, Lincoln tightened his body, while he did his best to move his fingers as quickly as he could against the controls. "I have to catch up to her! She works fast, well then so can I!"

"Wow… this looks like quite the racing game doesn't it?!" Luan punned, yet, while Rita would normally laugh, she remained silent, her gaze focused solely on the task at hand: beating her son in the game of his choice. "Man, I guess this crowd just wants to play games with me!"

"Ugh," the family groaned in response.

"I have to win! I have to win!" Lincoln mentally repeated, pain beginning to fill his thumbs as he did so. "I will win! I will answer the call!"

"You're not gonna beat me or anyone if you don't calm down and focus on the game at hand. You're hitting those controls so hard that I can hear your tapping from here," Rita averted her gaze. "Hitting the buttons harder doesn't make the console sense them any faster."

"S-she's right…" Lincoln took a short moment to take a deep breath, before immediately returning to the game.

For the next few minutes after that, Lincoln and Rita fought hard, though eventually, Lincoln was able to get the upper hand on his mother in the second game, using the very trick she had used to defeat him.

In the third game, Rita countered Lincoln's assaults and took out the first two fighters he wielded, but Lincoln was able to fight back and managed to win with just a sliver of his HP remaining.

And when they were done, Lincoln and Rita dropped the controllers, with the woman beaming with pride. "Good job, Lincoln. You win the match."

"Does this mean I can go to the tournament on Saturday?!" Lincoln's eyes lit up in joy.

"You got it," she stood up, "and since you seem to have a lot of potential, I'm gonna do you a favor Lincoln…" the woman ran her hand through her son's hair. "I'm gonna train you for it."

Suddenly, Lincoln's eyes go wide, "R-really?!"

The woman nodded. "Yeah, and when we go to the tournament, I'll be acting as your coach."

"Really mom?! This is gonna be amazing!" Lincoln's voice filled with joy, before he threw his hands around the woman. "Thank you mom!"

"Heh, no problem," she stood up straight and turned towards her daughters. "We're gonna have to prepare, wanna help your brother win his first tournament?"

The girls looked among themselves and smiled, before rushing upstairs to get ready. Rita and Lincoln followed soon after, leaving Lynn Sr. alone in the living room.

"This isn't gonna end well…"

18-9-20-1 12-15-21-4 9-19 1 10-1-3-11 15-6 1-12-12 20-18-1-4-5-19 9-19-14-'20 19-8-5?!

A/N Looks like I'm back in the saddle and nothing's changed a bit. Heh I hope you guys enjoyed! As always, I'm gonna update once a week and time on Saturdays! I thank Sesquipedalian Numeral for looking this over and my friends on the TLH Discord for giving my advice and encouragement!

As always, feel free to PM me or join the TLH discord if you'd like to talk!