Cirque du Loud Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the Loud House and make no profit from this story.

-The following morning-

The set up had gone without a hitch. The concessions stand was ready to go, as was the ticket booth. Lucy's fortune telling booth was off to the side, sitting in the shade at the goth's request. A temporary fence made of chicken-wire had been set up in front of the area where the main event would take place, ensuring only paying customers could get inside. And aside of the holographic tent which would be set up as the show started, everything was ready and with plenty of time to spare.

But regardless of how smoothly things were proceeding so far, Luan still felt it necessary to check in on every little detail. She had already gone over the speaker set up with Luna, testing them to ensure that they could be heard loud and clear. Lisa had put together a collection of oddities, displayed via holograms, that had been shown in circuses in years past, providing tidbits of information about them as well. The fact that they were interactive compensated for none of them being the real deal.

The minutes flew by, the sun rising higher into the sky as noon steadily approached. Luan watched as all of her siblings loaded themselves into the van, eagerly awaiting their anticipated trip to the IHOW. Lori, from the driver's seat, looked out at her pun loving sister and poked her head out the open window a little.

"Are you sure that you don't want to come along?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Luan replied. "I want to keep an eye on things here with Mom and Dad. Besides, you know I prefer pancakes over waffles."

Lori shrugged. "Okay, suit yourself. We'll be back soon. Promise."

The eldest sibling backed Vanzilla up and turned the large vehicle to leave. As they passed her by, the other Louds waved at Luan. She waved back, watching them until they were out of the parking lot and off to their destination.

Luan checked her watch. It was half past eleven in the morning now. It wouldn't take them long to get there, but what was really going to take up time was waiting for a table. That and waiting for their food. But Luan trusted that they'd be back in time. It wasn't like it would take more than three hours to go, eat and come back. Luan was confident that they'd be back before she saw even one person coming to purchase a ticket.

- Two o' clock, one hour before before the big show-

Things were looking bad. Luan counted more than two dozen people waiting to buy tickets so far. And there was no sign at all of her siblings. She had received a text from Lori informing her that they were on their way, but that had been nearly an hour ago. There had been absolutely nothing else from any of her siblings since then and if they didn't get back soon...well, she wasn't sure what would happen. She could only try to delay things for so long before people would get fed up with waiting. And there were still newcomers arriving to join the line as time marched forward.

Luan weighed her options carefully. She could easily allow people to buy their tickets now and start roaming around the area. Between Lisa's sideshow, the concessions stand run by her father and the various circus props and circus-themed photo cutout boards Luan had gotten for people to enjoy, there was plenty to keep them occupied until three o' clock. In addition to those, Chunk had also offered to assist by doing facepainting and caricatures. Not to mention that Luan could easily perform a little bit to help entertain the crowd, giving them a little taste of what was to come.

Taking a deep breath, Luan stepped over to the ticket booth. She told her mother she could proceed with letting them pay for their tickets. Rita opened up the booth and the first customer stepped forward, cash already in hand. The people waiting in line gradually entered the area and Luan hurried off to change into one of her clown outfits. But as she was on her way, she noticed something that she had completely forgotten about.

Lucy's fortunetelling booth. She wasn't there to run it. Luan felt a mild panic rise up inside of her, but quickly overcame the feeling. It was just one little setback, no big deal. She'd just hang around the area, doing animal balloons for the kids. And if anyone asked about it, she'd just tell the truth. The fortuneteller was running late and should be on her way. Heck, for all Luan knew, Lucy and the rest of her siblings would be arriving any second now.

Luan continued over to where the costumes had been set aside and quickly changed into her outfit. After she finished applying her makeup, she grabbed a fanny-pack full of balloons and hopped onto her unicycle. She rode over to the area where the fortunetelling booth was and started inlfating a couple balloons, drawing the attention of some patrons. As she expected, there were questions regarding Lucy's booth, but luckily there wasn't any issues with the fact that it wasn't open yet.

A short while later the line at the ticket booth had completely diminished and a sizable crowd was spread throughout the area. There were now lines at the concessions stand and Chunk's stand. Another small line had formed just outside the fence surrounding the main field, all of the people intending to get the best seats when the time came for the big show. And Luan, between her balloon animals and general clowning around, had a good number of onlookers as well. The clown was so busy tending to her audience, that she almost didn't notice some of them diverging off to the side. Starting to line up at the fortunetelling booth.

"Sorry folks." Luan said. "But that booth isn't...open?"

To Luan's complete surprise, the booth was in fact open. Lucy was there, shuffling her deck of tarot cards. Luan looked around and spotted the familiar faces of her siblings. She excused herself from the group of people she had been entertaining and rode her unicycle over to them, hopping off once she was in front of them.

"Where were you?!" She asked with mild frustration, throwing her hands in the air. "You said you were on your way an hour ago!"

"Yeah, and then I told you we were running late because Vanzilla broke down again." Lori said, putting her hand on her hip. "But you never replied. I tried to call you too, but you didn't answer. Neither did Mom or Dad, but they were so busy that they didn't know I was trying to get ahold of them. What's your excuse?"

"What do you mean you tried to call me? I had my ringer on and didn't get any...oh..." Luan trailed off, having pulled out her phone and realizing that it wasn't on. "Oops. I think my battery must've run out. I guess that's why I didn't get your texts or call. Sorry."

Lori sighed. "It's fine. I just didn't want you to worry yourself sick because you didn't know where we were."

"Well, at least you got here with enough time to prepare. I'm relieved that I don't have to try and stall for time. Go and get ready. I'll go and double check that everthing is ready to go for Lynn's high wire act."

"Yeah, um...about that." Lori began, rubbing the back of her neck. "I have a little bad news. While we were at IHOW, there was some guy there who was a competitive eater and Lynn challenged him to a waffle eating contest. And she won."

Luan looked around to see her athletic younger sister. Lynn wasn't looking too good. She was leaning on Leni for support and had one hand over her belly which seemed to be buldging outa little bit. She offered a weak smile and tried to stand by herself, but only wound up leaning on Leni again.

"I'm fine." Lynn said. "I can still do my acts."

"Poppycock!" Lisa said. "You're in no condition to do anything other than rest. If anything you should count yourself fortunate that you didn't rupture your stomach after ingesting so much food so rapidly."

"I said I'm fine!" Lynn insisted. "Just push my act back a little and once I've had a bit of time to digest, I'll be ready."

"Well, what if you aren't feeling better by then?" Luan asked. "I don't need you blowing chunks in front of the audience! As much as I hate to say it, you're gonna have to sit out of the whole show."

"But what about my acts? You can't tell me you want to cancel them all! I'm doing half the dang show! Plus I'm in Lisa's act too!"

Luan groaned. Lynn had a fair point. Without her, not only were all of the acts she had planned out of question, but now Lisa didn't have a volunteer for her magic act. The possibility of having either their mother or father participate in Lynn's acts crossed her mind, especially since they were both already part of the clown act. But she doubted that they would be able to do any of it on such short notice. Not even if Lincoln helped them rehearse like he had done with Lynn...

Wait...that was it!

"Lincoln!" Luan gasped out, looking towards her little brother. "You helped each of us rehearse our acts! You could take Lynn's place!"

"Say what?" Lynn asked.

"I'm with her. Say WHAT?!" Lincoln exclaimed.

Luan kneeled down in front of him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Hear me out. You know her acts just as well as she does. If anyone could do it, it's you."

"Knowing her acts and actually performing them are two completely different things!" He pointed out. "Sure, I can take her place in Lisa's act, but there's no way I can do her daredevil run or the high wire act! And I am NOT getting fired out of a cannon!"

"Please Lincoln!" Luan begged. "I know it's a big request, but I don't have a lot of choices here! Don't forget this is for charity! Think of how much good the money we get can do for those kids in the hospital! Do it for them!"

"We can rearrange the show a little bit to buy you time while Lynn gives you some pointers on what to do." Lori added. "And don't forget that Lisa has safety measures in place for literally everything. You'll be fine."

Lincoln was silent for a few moments, hesitant to say anything. But after thinking it over a little, he agreed. He wasn't crazy about it, but he didn't want to let all of their hard work be for nothing. The circus wouldn't be as interesting with three of the acts out of the running. And he really didn't want to let Luan down. Not with how important this was to her.

After a quick thank you hug from Luan, Lincoln went off to get ready. Since he didn't have his own outfits prepared like the rest of them, Leni had to take in the one Lynn was going to be using. It was just a good thing that Lynn wasn't much taller than Lincoln, otherwise she may not have had enough time. The other siblings also went off to change and ready themselves for their respective acts while Luan returned to the crowd she had been entertaining just a few short minutes ago.

Three O' clock came and all of the people who paid admission lined up to enter the main area for the circus. Rita began to let them in, checking their tickets as they passed by. Roughly five to ten minutes later, the bleachers on either side of the field were filled with the many people awaiting the promised entertainment. It wasn't a full house, but still quite the turnout. Luan could hardly contain her excitement. She couldn't even begin to imagine how much money they raised for the children's hospital.

"Okay everyone!" Lori announced, dressed in her ring leader outfit. "We're about to go on, so if any of you are nervous, just take some deep breaths and remember everything we did in our practice sessions. Leni, you and Lola are going first while Lynn gives Lincoln a quick coaching session for the high wire act. Be ready when I call you out!"

The two blondes nodded, both wearing stylish unitards. Leni's was seafoam green, Lola's a vibrant pink. And both girls had their hair tied back into french braids, Lola sporting twin tails while Leni had a solitary braid dangling from the back of her head. They took position while Lori walked out into the center of the field, carrying a microphone and a duffel bag with her.

The sound of applause began as Lori approached stood out in the open. She gave it a moment to wait for the clapping to end and then turned on the microphone. After giving it a little tap to make sure that it and the speakers were working, she took a steady breath and addressed the audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to Cirque du Loud! Before we begin the first of our acts this afternoon, I'd like to thank you all for your patronage today. One hundred percent of the proceeds shall be donated to the Detroit Children's Hospital the minute the show is over."

A second round of applause interrupted Lori. She gave a little bow, tipping her top hat to the crowd. Once it quieted down again, she picked up from where she left off.

"Thank you, but you're the ones who truly deserve the applause. The amount of money we've collected so far will make worlds of difference for those children. And should any of you feel the need to keep on giving, we do have a donations box ready for when the time comes for you to depart. But for now, let the show...begin!"

Lori unzipped the duffel bag and opened it wide. From within, dozens of Lisa's little flying orbs ascended up into the air. Each of them was glowing a brilliant color of the spectrum and whirring around over the audieance. People looked up at the sight, some pointing at the colorful objects. After a short display where they arced around the field, their lights changing slowly over the course of the flight, the orbs all flew off to a programmed set of coordinates overhead where they would remain hovering in place for the rest of the show. Once in position, Lori activated their primary programming which caused each of them to begin shimmering and projecting images much like what had occured the preceding night in Lori and Leni's bedroom. Soon, the holographic image of an entire circus tent had been generated over the area, leaving the audience gaping with awe.

The crowd then erupted in a combination of clapping, cheering and whistles. Lori smiled at the response, barely able to hear the classic circus theme music beginning to play over the din of the audience. Once they all settled down again, she introduced Leni and Lola for the first act. The two entered, Leni riding on Luan's unicycle with Lola sitting on her shoulders. The smaller blonde was twirling a ribbon from each of her hands. The elegant strands of fabric trailed behind them as Leni rode around the field.

Meanwhile, off to the side the other Loud siblings watched their sisters perform. All aside of Lynn and Lincoln, the boy trying to listen to his sister's advice. But if he were to be honest with himself, he was far too nervous to keep his attention on what Lynn was saying. It wasn't until Lynn pinched his arm that he snapped out of it and looked her in the eye.

"Hey! Don't ignore me when I'm trying to help you!" She snipped.

"I'm sorry. It isn't that I wanted to ignore you. I just can't stop thinking about how terrifying it's going to be!"

Lynn sighed and sat up slowly, reaching up to puther hand on his shoulder. "Okay, look. Yeah, I know it's not going to be as easy for you as it is for me. But I'm trying to make it so you can go up there and pull it off. Remember when we were little and did gymnastics together at day camp?"

Lincoln nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"Good. Think of how you walked across the balance beam. Except it's a wire and you are going to be much higher up. So don't look down, go nice and slow and you'll be fine. Okay?"

"I...I guess so...I think."

Lynn sighed again. "Would it help if Lisa explained her stupid safety measures to you?"

Lincoln nodded rapidly.

"Lisa!" Lynn called. "Come here for a sec!"

Their younger sister emerged from a makeshift changing area consisting of a tall circular red curtain with a with a matching cover. Lisa took a moment to adjust her glasses and then walked over to them. She had just finished changing into her outfit for her act, a forest green pantsuit with a tophat which had a similar colored band above the brim.

"For what reason have you summoned me? Do you require my assisstance in some manner?" She asked.

"Yep. Linc is starting to wuss out. Tell him what would happen if he fell while walking across the wire."

"Very well." Lisa said, facing her elder brother. "Lincoln, should you lose your balance and plummet to the ground..."

"Your choice of words isn't really helping." Lincoln said nervously.

"Noted. But regardless, should you fall, you would do so at an accelerating velocity due to the force of gravity. Before you could even reach the halfway point between the wire and the ground, the safety measures would activate. My Safety-Suit, patent pending, would detect the sudden decline in your altitude and trigger the inflation of multiple air bags which would cushion your landing. You wouldn't feel anything other than the painless impact of your protected body upon the field. It is for this reason that we omitted setting up a safety net as it won't be necessary."

"Well, what if your suit doesn't activate in time?" Lincoln asked, his voice full of worry.

"In the unlikely event that should occur, I will simply activate it remotely. I will be watching and assure you that I won't let you be hurt, Lincoln. I swear on my promising career as a young scientist."

Lincoln looked Lisa in the eyes and started to seem less afraid. The younger girl, in a rare gesture, offered a hug to further help comfort him. He happily accepted and then went to watch the end of Leni and Lola's act. The duration of it had mostly been Leni riding around on Luan's unicycle, going over a few small jumps here and there while passing by the bleachers a couple times. She continued to circle around, going over a few more slightly larger jumps while moving towards the middle of the field. There she had done a trick shown to her by Luan where she spun the unicycle in place continuously while Lola continued to use the ribbons to dazzle the onlooking crowd.

"Wow." Lincoln commented. "Leni really got the hang of riding a unicycle."

"I know." Luan said, standing beside him. "It took a lot of practice but we got her there. Although having Lola do a routine with her did help. That girl is a perfectionist when it comes to her performances."

Back out in the field, Leni stopped her spins and began focusing on just keeping the one-wheeler in place. Lola passed her ribbons to Leni so she could then carefully prepare herself to stand, her feet planted on Leni's shoulders. Leni passed the ribbons back up to Lola and then held out her hands to the sides while Lola stood upright. The younger blonde did so while resuming her ribbon twirling, the music changing to a steady drumroll. Lola then bent her knees a tiny bit and then leaped off of Leni, performing a double somersault before sticking an elegant landing on one foot. She then wrapped things up by performing a few pirouettes, holding her ribbons so one was higher than the other as they spun around her.

Lola slowed to a stop and gave a bow to the applauding crowd, Leni following suit while still on the unicycle. The two blondes then went over to join their siblings and take a seat. Luan brought the two of them bottles of water, Leni happily accepting hers. She was sweating a little bit, but other than that, she seemed to be practically glowing.

"That was, like, so much fun!" She said. "I totes need to get one of those half-bike thingies for myself!"

"You can borrow mine any time, as long as I'm not going to need it." Luan said. "Great job by the way! You too, Lola!

"You're welcome." Lola said, opening her water and taking a sip.

"You made it look so easy!" Lana said to her twin. "Weren't you nervous?"

Lola scoffed. "Of course not. It wasn't the first time I've performed in front of a large audience and it won't be the last. Why? You're not getting scared, are you?"

"No!" Lana said a touch defensively at first, but then she rubbed her arm a bit nervously. "...maybe...there's a lot of people out there and it is kinda scary."

"Don't be silly." Lola said. "You performed in front of people before. You posed as me for that pageant that one time. And you won too. You'll be fine, trust me."

A small smile came to Lana's face, starting to feel a little better. She went to sit down and wait for her turn as she would be performing after Lincoln went on next in Lynn's place. And since his act was going to be a lot scarier than hers, she hoped that seeing him go up there and face his fears would help her own. At least she hoped he would face his fears. If he couldn't do his act, that meant she'd be up next and she definitely wasn't ready just yet.

Lincoln heard Lori addressing the crowd again and stepped over to the side of the field. The orbs floating over head began to shut out the natural light they had been filtering, leaving most of the area dark save for a single spot of light shining on Lori. The teen went on for a moment about a presenting the audience with a circus classic before a second spot of light illuminated the young boy, wearing a red unitard that was still a little loose in some areas. Lincoln froze up for a moment, but then slowly began to walk out there with the light following him. He looked up and gave a modest wave to the countless people watching him as he approached a tall steel pole that was standing on one end of the field.

"Just don't look down." He whispered to himself. "Go nice and slow and do not look down."

He began to climb up a ladder on the side of the pole. It led up to a platform where a wire ran across the field to the another platform. The wire was thick, but not enough for him to believe that it could hold the width of his feet. And the distance from one platform to the other seemed much longer than it actually was to the preteen. Even without looking down, he became filled with fear as he stood on the first platform. His legs suddenly felt like they were made of stone and he stood there, frozen. It took all of his willpower to finally take his first step towards the edge where the wire was attached. But the next step was much more difficult and he froze again once his foot was set down on wire.

Time seemed to slow to a stop for Lincoln as struggled to keep moving forward. A little voice in the back of his head kept screaming at him that this was a terrible idea. It told him he'd fall and break all of his bones. That he couldn't do this. He could never do anything like this! And he agreed with the voice too. At least until he heard Lori addressing the audience again.

"Looks like he's got a little stage fright, folks. This is his first time performing in front of so many people like this. Think we can give him a little encouragement?"

The sound of cheering began to sound from the bleachers. Words of encouragement could be heard over the music as its volume was temporarily lowered. Some people clapped for him, some of them doing so more enthusiastically than others. Lincoln knew that they were only trying to help, but if he were to be honest, it was only making it more difficult. All it did was remind him of the pressure he was under to go through with this. If he proceeded, he might fall and the act would be a flop. But if he chickened out, he'd disappoint all of the people watching him, not to mention Luan.

Luan...disappointing her would be just too much for him to bear. Even if backing out of this act wouldn't result in people asking for a refund, he'd still feel guilty about it. Too much time and effort went into preparing all of this and he didn't want to let any of it go to waste. So he hadn't practiced this routine like Lynn had done day after day, big deal! There were paying customers who were not only watching and waiting for him to walk, but they were cheering him on too!

More importantly, his big sister was counting on him.

Taking a slow, deep breath and steeling his nerves, Lincoln faced the challenge before him again with renewed confidence. He stood up straight and held his arms out, keeping his hands open with the palms facing downward. Slowly moving his other leg forward, he got a feel for things, maintaining his balance as he fully stepped onto the wire. The sound of applause sounded all around him, but he drowned it out, repeating a self-encouraging mantra over and over in his head.

'You're just walking on a balance beam. All you have to do is move in a straight line one step at a time.'

Lincoln kept going, his movements slow and steady. He kept his eyes locked on the platform in front of him, not even bothering to think of how far away it was. Distance wasn't important, balance was. Step by step he progressed across the wire, occasionally wobbling a teenie-tiny bit as he took a step. Before he knew it, he had reached the other side. The moment his foot was on the platform he looked back at the wire, a mild sense of disbelief washing over him. But once he accepted his accomplishment, he thrust his fists in the air, hearing the crowd applauding his performance.

After taking a moment to savor the attention, Lincoln went to descend back down onto solid ground. As he took the first step down the ladder, he waved to the crowd and received a little more applause in return. With a wide smile, he blew them a kiss with one hand. Then he blew a second with his other hand. And then he blew another big one using both hands in a wide sweeping gesture.

That last action had cost him his balance in the process. The next thing he knew, he was falling...

To Be Continued...