Lori had just returned from her fencing practice, and she was about to head to her bedroom before she heard something... Intriguing.

"Mom, this is completely unfair!"

The young woman went to check on what was the ruckus, and she was shocked to see all of her sisters, and Lincoln, in their parents' bedroom. Rita sat on her bed, legs crossed and arms folded, while Lynn Jr looked particularly furious at her.

"Is it true what Lynn said?" Lincoln asked, sounding partially concerned. "Did you really signed up Lori for fencing instead of her?"

They knew already?! Well, it kinda was inevitable, the family was that big, but still, the young woman at least hoped she could keep it a secret for one or two days.

"I'm not going to say more than I need to," Rita sternly stated. "Yes, I did sign up Lori for something instead of Lynn, but that's all I'm saying."

"But I'm the sports superstar of the family!" Lynn snapped, stomping the ground. "I do dozens of sports every day without breaking a sweat!"

"Even more reason to let Lori try it out instead of you," Loud Mama answered. "You have done so many sports right now, Lynn, that it's basically nothing new. Lori, however, is trying out something new, something she didn't even consider doing before I asked her about it."

Lynn looked at the ground, clearly upset. "Besides, it gives your sister a chance to be recognized as being something other than "the oldest sister" by other people," Rita looked at her children. "And no matter what you tell me, I won't take that away from her."

Rita went to leave her room, but not before giving one last warning:

"And if you try to do anything to sabotage her, you'll be grounded!"

The loud sisters-and Lincoln-flinched at the warning as Rita left, and once she was out, she caught a glimpse of Lori heading off to her and Leni's bedroom, and she could only smile as she hoped she had helped Lori dodge a bullet there.

Nevertheless, once Lori had reached her room-and made sure nobody was coming-she dialed Carol's phone number and waited for her to answer. Once she did, though, Carol was pretty blunt in her "greeting":

"Lori, I know I told you to call me earlier, but I'm busy right now, call me later."

And as Carol hung up, the girl stood in the middle of the fencing area, in front of Mrs. Johnson, who held an Epee while Carol held a Saber. The two were wearing fencing suits, and it looked like they were about to fight.

"I was informed about what you did with Lori," Mrs. Johnson stated as Carol narrowed her eyes in defiance. "You taught her how to handle the foil, the epee, and the saber, which was supposed to be the job of Bobby and Becky."

Carol put on her helmet and suddenly lunged straight for Mrs. Johnson. However, the redhead easily blocked and struck back all of Carol's attacks. "We don't need to do this," the redheaded woman said calmly in the middle of the barrage. "Just tell me why you did that and-"

"No! That's a secret!" Carol snapped. "If I tell you why I'm doing this, then you'll never let me continue!"

The redheaded fencer rolled her eyes and swung the blonde fencer's epee back before forcing her to step back to the edge of the arena. However, just before she reached the edge, Carol leaped up high and aimed for Mrs. Johnson's shoulder, only for the redhead to block the attack, then struck Carol's hip just as she landed, causing the blonde fencer to collapse.

"I scored," Mrs. Johnson said as Carol clutched her struck hip. "I'm sorry that I hit one of your weak spots, but I needed to stun you so I could ask again."

Mrs. Johnson walked to the front of Carol, then crouched down and asked, "Why did you teach Lori about the three types?"

The blonde fencer gasped for air as she took off her mask and explained, "You know that Bobby and Becky are relatively new, and being the best student you have, I thought I could teach her better than they could."

Mrs. Johnson narrowed her eyes. "But all I did was tell her how those three types worked!" Carol hastily added. "Everything else was all Lori's doing! I just... I just wanted to teach her how to do it right... I didn't want her to pull off a bad first impression..."

"...That's not the only reason, isn't it?" the redheaded fencer stated.

The blonde fencer flinched, pretty much confirming Mrs. Johnson's suspicions. "Don't worry, I won't force you to tell me what this ulterior motive is," the redhead reassured. "However, in exchange, you will be left in charge of Lori. You'll be her mentor, and make sure she learns everything she needs to know. She'll be your responsibility, have I been clear?"

Carol looked at the redheaded woman for a moment, then nodded. "Good, now let's find some place to rest." Mrs. Johnson said as she helped Carol get up. "And then, you'll call Lori, and tell her the news, got it?"

The blonde fencer flinched, "B-But what if Lori gets the wrong idea?! She already doesn't like me 'cause I beat her for Homecoming queen, I don't want her to hate me even more!"

"You just have to do your best in explaining the situation to her," the redhead explained. "Lori is a mature young woman, she should be able to understand, and allow you to speak. Otherwise... Well, I might need to talk to Rita soon."

With all that said, it took a while of rest before Carol actually managed to come up with the courage to call Lori again. So she got up, slowly enough so her hips wouldn't react, then dialed Lori's number. And it wasn't long before the girl answered with a peculiar greeting:

"Literally hello?"

"Hello Lori, it's me, Carol," the blonde fencer said. "Sorry for rejecting your call a while ago. I hope you're not angry."

"Hey, if it was Bobby who hung up with me, then I'd be angry. In your case, though, I think It's okay, I guess," Lori answered, then quickly added. "As long as you have a valid reason for hanging up on me, that is."

"Got it," Carol sighed. "Listen, Lori, there's something I need to tell you-"

"There's something I need to tell you to," Lori blurted, immediately shutting up Carol. "My family already knows I'm practicing fencing, and in particular, Lynn doesn't seem to be happy about it."

The blonde top fencer could only flinch. Not that she had ever met or dealt with Lynn Loud before, if anything, she'd be a piece of cake if she even tried to practice fencing and tried to reach her level, but she had heard horror stories about her determination, her aggressive personality, and her farts.

Specially her farts.

However, what Lori said next eased her fears: "However, mom has already dealt with them just in case they tried to butt into my business, and specially in the case of Lynn, it'll be very hard for her to join without mom's help, and dad's certainly not gonna help her, so we don't need to worry about her."

"Phew, my heart skipped a beat there," Carol and Lori laughed for a bit, before Carol continued, "Well, what I needed to tell you was that... Well, I had a little discussion with Mrs. Johnson, over the things I taught you-"

"Oh right, what was that all about, by the way?"

"Listen, Lori, I have my reasons for doing what I do. The basic gist is, we fought, I lost-no surprise, since Mrs. Johnson is a much greater fencer than me, and she did hit my weak point-and in exchange for letting this slide, she tasked me to become your mentor, and teach you how to be a good fencer."

Lori, however, didn't respond right away. And who could blame her? She just heard Carol, the supposedly top best student, being defeated, and admitting that, Mrs. Johnson was the best fencer she knew. The only thing easing Lori's fear is the fact that, as long as she acted like a good girl, she wouldn't have to fight Mrs. Johnson.

"Lori?"

The young woman returned to reality. "Oh, huh? Y-Yeah, I heard you loud and clear."

Then she realized Luan was shooting a glare at her from afar. "Pun not intended."

Luan smiled and gave her a thumbs up before leaving... Then falling down the stairs. "Anyway, so, you're my master now?"

"That's pretty much it. Does it bother you?"

Lori's silence spoke for itself.

"Look, I know that we're not exactly on friendly terms, but I didn't even want this to happen! The situation went out of my control!" Carol then got an idea. "Listen, how about, this Wednesday, you go to my house-when I tell you, of course-and I introduce you to the other five?"

"Why would you think meeting the other top would calm me down?" Lori pointed out. "Wouldn't that literally make me even more anxious."

"Well, Lori, the rest of the top five are nothing like me. In fact, they're very nice," Carol smiled. "If you see how all top five act outside of the dojo, then perhaps you'll feel more at ease with the idea that I'll be teaching you."

"I guess so... Wait, if you'll teach me, then what are Becky and Bobby going to do?"

"They're students too, of Mrs. Johnson. So, what do you say?"

"... Literally, I don't think it would hurt to do that."

"Alright, do you still remember what I taught you about the three types of sabers used in fencing?"

"Yeah?"

"Practice with them while I organize everything for this Wednesday. You still have to go through the initiation test, after all."

"Practice until Wednesday. Got it."

The hung up, and while Carol fell back to continue resting before calling her fellow top five partners, Lori fell back on her bed and looked at the ceiling, still feeling slightly unsure about the whole situation. After all...

Why would Carol even do all of this?