Loud House belongs to Chris Savino and Nickelodeon

Gremlins belongs to Joe Dante


Prologue: A New Pet

Midnight. The whipping howling winds lash at the trees of Grand Venture State Park as a heavy storm blows through the area. Now under normal circumstances one would choose not to pass through a nature reserve during a storm. Unfortunately one individual didn't have a choice as passing down the woodland path was a horse and cart being ridden by an old Chinese man doing his best to hold against the storm. Due to his less advanced mode of transporation the old man was forced to cut through the park down the horse trail as he preferred not to get in trouble with the law for holding up traffic on the motorway. As he carried on toward his destination a bolt of lightning flashed across the heavens followed by a monstrous roar of thunder which spooked his horse causing it to reer on its hind legs. The old man tried to calm the animal as the cart backed up until it hit a tree causing one of the many crates it was carrying to tumble out and slide down a hill into the forest just as the man managed to settle his steed. As more lightning and thunder sounded he snapped the reigns enticing the horse to speed up, not wanting to be caught up in the storm anymore than they already were. As they galloped off into the night, the little wooden box that had fallen from the cart tremored and shook against the ground as the rain hammered on its surface...which muffled the small frightened whimpers coming from within.

XXX

"Alright, I caught one!"

"Nice catch, Son!"

"What a whopper! That'll make for some good eatin', bro!"

"Well enjoy your short victory, Linc! Cause I'm gonna catch one three times as big as yours!" As morning came the park was thankfully met with a bright and sunny day with the storm having passed during the night which was all the better for the Loud Family as they'd been staying at the national park for a few days during the summer and thanks to the strom they would be able to enjoy their last day there with good weather. To round off the day they decided to enjoy some fishing at one of the lakes and so far Lincoln currently had the biggest catch.

"Man, for a rookie you've really got a knack for fishing, Lincoln." Lori complimented.

"Yeah! And here I was worried he'd, get the hook!" Luan joked. "But instead his skills are, off the hook! Hahaha! Pow! Two for one!" despite the puns, the ashen haired boy appreciated the praise.

"Well since I blew my last trip here from paranoia over Lucy's fortune telling, it only made sense to do it right this time." he explained.

"Though you were lucky enough to be the only to observe the geyser re-erupting for the first time." Lisa reminded him of the spectacle he told them about. "And I must say it certainly lives up to its reputation as we were able to see it for ourselves this year." as the family enjoyed their day, Lana was scurrying around searching for animals she could mingle with being the little wild child she was. As she wandered closer to the forest, Lyyn Sr noticed and called out to her.

"Lana if you're gonna go for a walk don't go alone!" the tomboy looked back before she replied.

"Lincoln! Will you come for a walk with me?!"

"But I have to defend my title of biggest catch." Lincoln argued.

"Unlikely. That salmon was in the prime of its life. I highly doubt Lynn can catch anything bigger." Lisa interjected.

"I'll be the judge of that, brainiac." the athlete responded.

"Please, Lincoln?" Lana asked again.

"...Oh what the heck. This is starting to get boring anyhow." Lincoln shrugged before he went to join his little sister as they headed off into the forest.

"I'll text you when we're ready to go, ok~?!" Lori called after her brother who held up his thumb in reply.

XXX

As the two quietely walked through the woods taking the scenery as they went, Lana kept her eyes peeled for any signs of rabbits, squirrels or deer.

"You do know you won't be bringing back any animals from here right?" Lincoln checked. "They belong to the park."

"Yeah, yeah I know." Lana scoffed. "Doesn't mean I can't make friends with them though." but as they carried on they came to a halt when they saw a fallen tree blocking the path.

"Dang it. Must've fallen during the storm last night." Lincoln assumed.

"God thing no one was hurt." Lana commented as she examined the path. "Looks like a horse passed through last night too."

"Well that's odd. The rides always ended as eight pm." Lincoln wondered before he felt his phone buzz and looked to see a text from Lori. "Everyone's packing up Lana, we'd better head back."

"Aww. Guess I didn't find any animals today." she pouted.

"Hey, at least the pets will be happy to see you when we get home." Lincoln patted her head to cheer her up. "Wanna ride on my shoulders the way back?" his sister grinned at the offer and climbed on before they began to head back. But as she enjoyed the view from atop Lincoln's shoulders something shiny caught her eye amongst the bushes off the right.

"Wait stop!" she said climbing down from Lincoln before she slid down a hill off the path towards the object.

"Lana what're you doing we gotta go!" Lincoln shouted as Lana reached the strange object and pulled away the vegetation surrounding it to reveal a large brown crate with strange carvings on it. What's more there was a padlock on the lid.

"Lincoln! I found a weird crate! It's got these carvings and a big lock! Maybe it's treasure!" Having grown curious himself, Lincoln slid down after her and looked at the box.

"Whoa. What kinda crate is this?"

"Let's take it with us! I bet it's full of gold!"

"I dunno, Lana. Maybe we should hand it into the park."

"And miss out on a possible fortune?! Are you crazy?!" a second and more stern text from Lori prompted Lincoln to make his choice.

"Fine we'll take it with us. We don't exactly have time to debate."

"Sweet! Gimme me a hand." Lana grinned as they picked up the crate and carried it back with them.

XXX

After arriving back at Vanzilla and convincing the others to let them bring the mysterious crate home, the Loud Family soon found themselves standing around the strange box which sat on the coffee table.

"Man talk about spooky. Look at those carvings." Lynn commented on the container. "What d'you suppose is in it?"

"I'm on Lana's side. It's gotta be treasure!" Lola grinned. "Why else would it have a huge lock on it?"

"Locks aren't just for keeping valuable safe." Lucy brought up. "They can also be a means of imprisoning. Perhaps we've stumbled upon the legendary Box of Pandora or maybe the Ark of the Covenant."

"Poppycock." Lisa snorted. "Not only are both those containers mythical fantasies but this box fits neither of their descriptions. Pandora's box was never a box at all but a pithos jar and the Ark of the Covenant was made of solid gold and required four people to carry it. This container is small and made of wood."

"Well we're never gonna know what's inside until we open it." Lori stated. "After you, Leni." she said gesturing to the padlock.

"After what?"

"Pick the lock." she specified.

"Oh right." As Leni searched her pockets for a hair pin, Charles sniffed the box cruiously and then barked at it...before something barked back.

"...Did you guys hear that too?" Lincoln asked the rest of family. But before they could nod another bark came from inside the crate.

"OH MY GOSH THERE'S THE ANIMAL IN THERE!" Lana screamed. "Leni hurry up and open it! Whatever's in there must be starving!" Leni thumbled for her hairpin as the family muttered amongst themselves in confusion.

"Who would lock an animal in a wooden box?!" Luna questioned as Leni began to pick the lock.

"Maybe to stop it from making a crate escape?" Luan guessed. "Get it?" Click! The family's groans were silenced by the sound the lock opening and falling to the ground. They all stared at the box unsure who should open it.

"Anyone wanna volunteer?" Lincoln asked.

"Count me out! It could be vicious! That may be why it was locked!" Lori suspected fearfully.

"Ooh you're scared~!" Lynn teased her.

"Put your money where your mouth is, jockstrap!"

"I'm not touching that thing! I don't know where it's been!" Lola recoiled in disgust.

"Alright everyone calm down!" Lynn Sr spoke up. "As the man of the house I'll open it. Stand back everyone." the others remained where they stood as he slowly lifted the hinged lid of the box open. At first nothing seemed to happen, when all of a sudden something small a furry jumped up from inside the box making a sharp squeak as it peeked over the rim before disappearing back into the crate. Naturally this caused everyone including the pets to jump in surprise as Charles edged towards the box growling in defence thought Lincoln held him back.

"What the heck was that?!" Rita asked no one in particular.

"Hey cool it, guys!" Lana made her way to the front of crowd. "Whatever it is it's probably just scared and it doesn't need us making it worse."

"Lana's right, let's just take it slow, ok Charles?" Lincoln petted the dog to calm him before he joined Lana in front of the box as the family waited for the strange creature to emerge. Sure enough, a pair of small hairy paws with stubby fingers began to rise from the crate and gripped the rim allowing the creature to slowly pull itself up to reveal the most adorable face anyone had ever seen. It was covered from head to toe in white fur with patches of brown all over save for a pair of large bat like ears and a small muzzle. Its nose twitched and as it looked up at the Loud family with a pair of big bright eyes a friendly smile crossed its face and it let out what sounded like a mix between a chirp and a purr.

"You gotta be kidding, mate..." Luna murmured in astonishment equal to that of her family. Charles slowly padded over and sniffed the animal who reached out with one of its stubby paws to try and pet him.

"What kind of animal is that?" Lori asked unable to take her eyes off it.

"I-I-I'm...I'm at a loss for words." Lisa spluttered. "I mean it's clearly...some sort of mammal."

"Some kind of monkey maybe?" Lynn wondered.

"How does that look anything like a monkey?" Lola scoffed.

"Well it can stand on two legs and it's curious." the athlete argued back.

"He's...he's..." Leni murmured before she rushed to the front of the crowd and got up in the creature's face. "HE'S THE CUTEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN!" the animal squeaked in fright and dived back into the box.

"Stoppit! You're scaring him!" Lana pushed her sister back.

"Wait how do you know it's male?" Lisa queried.

"Trust me I can tell." Lana grinned.

"It's ok, little guy. We're not gonna hurt you." Lincoln said softly as the creature peered back out of the crate and stared at him and then to Lana who was smiling at him.

"...L...Lana." everyone gasped. "...Lin...coln..."

"Di...Did that creature just say my name?" Lincoln whispered.

"Mine too?" Lana added.

"I say again. Monkey." Lynn repeated her assumption.

"But how? How could he possibly know your names?" Rita asked her children.

"He must've heard us when we found him in the woods." Lincoln assumed.

"Dad? Can I pick him up?" Lana asked her Father who was still processing the situation.

"Well, you are the expert, sweetie." he said. "Just be careful." Lana slowly reached out to the creature and gently wrapped her hands around him before lifting him out of the box.

"Heh-heh. He's no bigger than Lily." she giggled as she held the creature before her who patted her cheek with a paw. "Aww he likes me. Cute little gizmo."

"Gizmo. Huh, has a nice ring to it." Lincoln smirked.

"Actually that's quite a fitting term for this creature as the word means unknown or unidentifiable." Lisa concurred. The animal purred joyfully.

"I think the little guy likes it." Luna grinned as she scratched one of his big ears. Lana turned around, and looked at her parents pleadingly, holding the newly christined Gizmo to her chest.

"Honey..." Rita said doubtfully.

"But Mum he's lost! We can't just put him back in the box. And if we turn him in he'll just be taken off to some scary lab and experimented on!"

"That fate's just as liable here." Lucy muttered throwing a glance at Lisa who was scribbling down notes as she stared at Gizmo.

"Besides you trust me with a frog, lizards, snakes, monkeys and even an alligator. Why not Gizmo?"

"But that's just it, Lana." Lynn Sr said. "We don't know what he is so how are we, let alone you, supposed to properly care for him?"

"Well he seems smart. I'm sure he can tell us." Luan assumed.

"Look. How about we just keep him sheltered here for a while and see what happens just like we did with Waterson." Lori suggested reminding the family of the puppy they'd cared for. "If he belongs to anyone they'll find him here soon enough. And if not we'll take care of him. All of us." she winked at Lana who beamed back at her. The parents looked at each other and then to the kids and they had to admit seeing them and even the pets doting on Gizmo was charming to say the least.

"Oh alright. We'll hang onto him for now. But remember, he's your responsibility." Lynn Sr said sternly before he smiled. "I'm sure he'll fit in just fine."

"Oh my gosh, we totes have to take a picture!" Leni piped up handing her phone to Rita who held it up.

"Smile, Giz. We're gonna get a photo." Lana prompted the little furball who looked Rita's way with a smile.

"Alright. Here we go." Rita signalled before she tapped the screen and the phone flashed as it took the picture and the second it did so Gizmo screamed and leaped from Lana's arms burying his face in Lincoln's shirt as he shook like a leaf letting out small frightened sobs.

"Gizmo what's wrong?!" the boy asked petting him.

"Something spooked the little guy." Luna said.

"Was it the flash?" Lynn wondered. "That must've been it."

"Guys." everyone looked to see Lucy holding Gizmo's crate. "There's something written on the inside of the lid." everyone gathered around to see three sentences carved into the underside of the lid which read as follows:

He hates bright light. But keep him away from sunlight at all costs. It will kill him.

Keep him away from water, even to drink or bathe him.

No matter how much he cries, no matter how much he begs, never feed him after midnight.

The family stared at the three rules before looking down at Gizmo who was now sleeping in Lincoln's arms having calmed down from the shock.

"What are you, Giz?" he wondered.

To be continued...