A/N Hey guys! I'm here with the next chapter! Spring Break is over and I am currently preparing for the end of my first year at college! I have no idea how I managed to finish this in a week, but I don't care!

R&R

Chapter 4: Finding A Place

*Boom* Thunder cracks across the sky over the rainy town of Royal Woods. Surprisingly enough however, the moon is able to glow through the storm, illuminating the shadowy path ahead for two young children.

"Come on Lincoln!" The young Lynn shouts, her voice booming with excitement as she rushes along, her new companion following close behind.

"I'm trying!" Lincoln holds onto a corner of Lynn's plastic raincoat; the duo holding it over their heads as a makeshift rain cover. "But you're not making this easy Lynn! I'm getting soaked back here!"

The young girl smiles and glances back, "Don't worry about getting wet kid! Getting wet is what's fun about playin' in the rain!" She looks ahead and keeps running.

"More like how you get sick!" Lincoln shouts. "But… that's how she…" His mind wanders for a moment. Lynn's soft brown hair turns white for a moment, while her red and white shirt turns a faded orange. Slowly, the world around them begins to shift as well, with the clean sidewalk ahead slowly filling with cracks.

"Come on! Let's play Lincoln!" A familiar voice calls out, the young girl's sprint soon devolving into a soft skip, with her looking up to the watery heavens above. "Come on, the water feels great!"

"I'm ok Libby." Lincoln stops his run; choosing instead to hold up the small, purple umbrella that had appeared in his left hand.

Liberty runs over and grabs his free arm, "Lincoln! You're always such a killjoy! Come on! A little rain couldn't hurt!" The girl then pulls him forward, "Come on!"

"I don't wanna!" Lincoln whines, pulling back against his sister. "You know I don't like getting wet!"

"If you're gonna get anywhere, you've gotta get out of your comfort zone!" The girl pulls on his arm even more, trying to get the boy to move from the cover of the umbrella.

"Libby!" Lincoln looks away and pulls harder in response.

Suddenly, an idea comes to the young girl, and a sinister smile forms on her face, "Ok then, if I can't bring the rain to you, I'll bring you to the rain!"

"What the heck are you even talking about sis?" Lincoln closes his eyes, desperately trying to pull back against his sister's iron grip.

Quickly, the young girl pulls harder than before, causing Lincoln to recoil just as hard. "And release!" Liberty shouts, as she lets go her brother causing him to stumble back, slip, and fall into a nearby puddle. "G'ahh!" the boy shouts, as his rear end ends up submerged in a deeper-than-expected pool of water, while the umbrella goes flying off in the wind, "No! The umbrella!"

"Haha! Well, that takes care of that!" Liberty throws her head back in laughter, before extending her arm out to him, "Now that you're all wet too, would you like to play in the rain with me?"

For a moment, the young boy looks at his sister's beaming face, and hesitates. "No… we could get sick Lincoln, you gotta take her home!"

"Don't be such a Debbie downer!" Liberty gives a soft, reassuring smile, "We'll be fine! After all, we've been through way worse!"

"You know what… screw it. If she's happy, what's the worst that could happen?" Lincoln chuckles and grabs her hand. "Sure sis, sure…" And with that, the two children run out and simply dance in the rain, their warm bodies moving around each other like stars flying around the earth, while their soft, white hair glows in the spring moonlight.

"Lincoln!" Lynn shouts, snapping the boy back to reality, "You ok kid?"

Immediately, the young boy flinches and darts his eyes for a moment, "Huh, what?"

"You phased out." She stops and turns to face him, make sure that what little could fit under their cover, was under their cover. "You stopped running and looked like something was botherin' ya."

"Oh…" He looks down, taking note of his now soaking clothes. His voice fills with regret, "… Sorry Lynn, I just uhh… thinkin' of something."

His companion tilts her head in curiosity and leans forward, "About what, Lincoln?"

"It's nothing." Lincoln quickly shakes his head and steps closer to the young woman, "Let's just get to your place so I can get a ride home, ok?"

For a moment, Lynn hesitates, "I should ask him… nah… that's not a good idea. Plus, you just met him!" Her rough expression softens, while her stiff body loosens up, "You sure you don't wanna talk about it and stuff? My sisters-"

"Please don't mention sisters." Lincoln cuts her off, looking into her eyes with a begging gaze, "Please."

"…My siblings…" Lynn continues, Lincoln's downcast, but unchanging expression is all she needs for confirmation, "Always say that when something's on your mind, it helps to spill… you sure there's nothing you wanna talk about?"

The boy shakes his head, before grabbing onto his portion of their shared jacket, "Yeah, I'm fine… let's just get to your house." He quickly looks around the intersection they had stopped at. Various homes of every shape and size seem to stretch as far as the eye can see, in every direction, "So uhh… which way is it?"

Lynn motions him forward, "Don't worry kid, we're almost there. We're just a hop, skip and a jump away!" She then offers her hand to him, "Want me to hold onto ya while we run? Ya know, just in case you phase out again?"

Lincoln looks at her beaming face for a moment. Her soft smile and hair glowing in the moonlight. For a moment, he can swear that her soft expression becomes more familiar, while her hair changes once more. Yet, this time he simply shakes his head ad slaps the hand away and responds, "No. I'm fine."

A look of genuine concern overtakes the young woman for a moment, before she simply shrugs, "Ok then kid, come on. Let's go!" And with that thought in mind, the duo continues down the seemingly endless roads of the Royal Wood Suburbs.

Though, eventually, Lynn banks right, down a seemingly random street. And stops after a few more minutes of running, allowing the boy following her to finally catch his breath.

*Pant* "How can you run so fast?!" He tiredly asks, holding his knees as he does so.

"What can I say, I plan to become a pro athlete one day. Anyways," She motions towards the small house in front of her. From what he can see, its white exterior was peeling off from age, while the dark blue roof, as well as the lawn and the nearby tree are littered with random trinkets. "We're here! This is my home, why don't ya come inside?!"

The old man's words echo in the boy's mind, "Keep going, no matter what…" He immediately pushes the thought behind him, "Sure." Though his voice trails off when his eyes fall upon a random girl Playing in the mud with a dog and a cat.

Lynn quickly steps onto the stone path that leads to the door, "Don't mind Lana there, she loves playin' the mud."

"Ok…" The boy carefully follows the girl as they make their way to the front door. "Well this is an interesting why to end up in a home…"

A few moments after that, the duo stands before the red entrance to the home; the girl makes sure to wring out her ponytail, while the boy does his best to do the same to his shirt.

Lincoln's body fills with fear, "What if I tried to rob this house earlier? What'll happen if someone recognizes me… what if…" He quickly shakes his head.

"Something botherin' ya kid?" Lynn finishes wringing out her shirt with that.

The boy shakes his head again, "Nope! Let's uhh, just go inside and get everything set up, ok?"

The girl puts her hands in front of him, motioning for the boy to stop, "Cool it kid. Before we go in, I gotta warn ya." She chuckles while talking in a joking tone, "My family is a bit on the… louder side." She playfully nudges the boy, "Think you can handle it?"

"Why do I feel like I'm gonna regret going with this girl?" Lincoln takes in a deep breath, "And why the heck did I let her talk me into this?" and lets it out with that, "Whatever, I've probably had to deal with worse. Let's go." He softens his gaze, "How bad can it be anyway?" While he thinks, "I'm probably going to regret this right about now."

Lynn chuckles, "You're gonna see right now." Before she quickly unlocks her front door, and pushes it open… taking the doorknob with her. "Heh, oops." She holds the broken handle in her hand for a moment, before awkwardly rubbing the back of her head, "Well uhh… that was unexpected."

"Yeah… I can see that." Lincoln can't help but chuckle.

"Anyways…" She steps inside the home and tosses the handle onto the nearby coffee table, "Come on in."

"Last chance Lincoln… you can just turn around and go back to looking for Liberty." He glances back at the stormy night behind him, and grabs his arm in nervousness, "Well… I guess a ride home wouldn't hurt…" He sighs once more, and wordlessly follows the young woman into her home.

Immediately, his ears arm bombarded by the random sounds of her family's seemingly random activities… not that Lincoln knows what they are after all.

"So uhh… I guess you weren't kidding when you said they'd be loud, huh?" Lincoln can't help but look around in a stunned confusion as he takes in the scene around him. From what he could see, the living room is small, with a flat screen TV in front of one of the windows he had seen outside, as well as a couch and two side chairs in front of it. And from what he could see, a young woman with blonde hair texts away while reclining on it.

"So I guess they're really that loud huh… the only one here is her and I can hear them all…" Lincoln nervously darts his head around, "And so far, so good. This house doesn't seem too familiar… if I did rob this place, I probably did it a while back."

"What'd ya think Linc?" Lynn throws her arms out in excitement, "Come on, I'm all ears!"

"I think you have a nice place here." The boy smiles, though he doesn't let go of his nervous arm, "Yeah, it's better than any home I'll be allowed to have…"

"Heh, thanks." Lynn smiles, before motioning towards the blonde girl reclining on the sofa, "Anyways, that's Lori. She's my oldest sister. The others, as you can hear, should be around." She then steps passed the couches and into the room behind them, "But you'll probably meet them later. I'll go talk to my parents about gettin' ya home."

"Home… the orphanage…" He puts on a small smile, "Sure, thanks Lynn."

And with that, the young Lynn runs into the room behind the couch.

"Welp, I guess it'll be a good idea to say this search for Liberty has failed miserably…" He takes a deep breath, "Well… at least I don't have to worry about getting soaked in the rain or something…" He then simply stands by, taking in the room around him… silently planning on how he would sneak some snacks from them.

And so, a few moments pass, before Lynn runs back out of the room and shouts, "Come on, my parents wanna meet ya!"

"Ok then." Lincoln quickly follows, taking a quick note of the young woman as he walks inside the small room.

Immediately, he finds himself standing in the middle of small, pink bedroom, with random decorations and trinkets placed by the resident woman scattered around the walls and dressers.

"Hello there!" The man cheerfully walks around the bed and approaches the two children, while the woman simply smiles, choosing to stay where she stands."

"Well mom and dad!" Lynn cheerfully greets, pulling Lincoln over as she does so, "This is the boy I was tellin' ya about!"

The smiles for a moment, before looking down at Lincoln, scrutinizing him with a caring eye, "So this the boy you were telling us about?" He tilts his head in curiosity, "He looks a little young for ya, don't ya think?"

Lynn's face goes red in embarrassment, "What dad?! No!" She quickly holds her hands up defensively, "I found this kid out in the rain and I was wondering if you guys could call his parents or something… or give him some food cause he's hungry!"

"Uhh… hi there." Lincoln nervously waves his hand in front of them.

"Oh…" The woman responds, "Ok then." She steps over to the young boy and comes even closer to him then the man did. "What is your name?"

A nervous air overtakes the room with that, as the young boy steps back defensively and answers with a weak tone, "L-Lincoln."

"There's no need to be nervous son." The man, Lincoln assumes to be Lynn's father steps back and motions for his wife to do the same, "I apologize if we scared you a bit, we love new visitors! We'll call your parents so they can pick you up. Would you like to stay for dinner?"

Lincoln hesitates, before shaking his head, "No thanks, I'm all right…" though, he can feel his heart crack slightly.

"Very well then." The mother whispers in a slightly saddened tone. "How about you tell me your parent's phone number?"

Almost instinctively, Lincoln responds, "989-555-5555… ask for Mr. Sherman."

"Ok then…" The man quickly pulls out his phone and types. A few moments pass, the phone ringing in hopes that someone would pick up… and yet, no one does, causing the unprepared answering machine the Shermans never had time to set up, to answer the call, "I'm sorry, but the person you reached is not available, please leave a message and hang up."

The man doesn't hesitate to respond, "Hey there, we have uhh… Lincoln here. We were wondering if you could come pick him up. Please call me back at 989-555-4376." Before he hangs up and shoves the phone back in its receiver.

"So… he didn't pick up?" Lincoln tilts his head.

"Nope." The man shakes his head, "Where do you live? Maybe we could drive you home."

Again, Lincoln responds, "2775 Neptune Avenue."

"That's on the other side of town…" The woman looks at her husband in worry for a moment, "Do you think it's a good idea honey?"

The man shakes his head, "No, not at all. That's just begging for an accident." He rubs his chin for a moment, "How about you stay for the night and I drive you home in the morning?"

Lincoln hesitates for a moment, before letting out a deep breath, "Well… I've screwed up looking for her already… and I guess waiting here for the night couldn't hurt… No, I have to find my sister." Before he looks up and the man and woman, "No thanks… I just rather go home."

"Well ok then." The man thinks for a moment, "How about I call the cops and they can-"

"You know what." Lincoln cuts him off, doing his best to maintain the calm demeanor, "On second thought, I'd love to stay. You sure you don't mind me staying?"

"Not at all." The woman replies, "I'm sure one of our daughters could set something up for to sleep on tonight."

Lynn then shouts, "How about I show him around then?!"

"That could work, go ahead Lynn Jr." The man goes, no doubt named Lynn as well.

Lincoln nods, "Ok then, thanks…" Before he turns around and steps out of the parent's room.

"He seems interesting, doesn't he, Rita?" Lynn Sr. quips, "Imagine what having a boy around would be like…" His voice gains a soft, hopeful tone, as he looks up in daydream.

Rita looks away, "Yes he does dear, but you know what the doctor said about me, you and conceiving boys."

"Yeah…" Lynn Sr. simply sighs. "I love our daughters, but sometimes, it would be nice to have a son, ya know."

"...I should get dinner ready now…" Rita responds, though instead she simply sits next to her husband.


Lynn then shows him the living room, "This is where we do most of our living! The living room!" She yawns, "Anyways, why don't you look around, my sisters are around here somewhere."

"You're not giving me a tour?" Lincoln tilts his head in confusion.

"Course not. I just said that so my dad wouldn't introduce you to his golf club collection." She chuckles, before walking over to the stairs, "If you need me, I'll be in my room, ok?" And with that, she simply walks up the stairs, seemingly without a care in the world.

"Well… she was abrupt." He quips, before letting his arms go limp, "Almost reminds me of… her…" The young boy then quietly walks into the kitchen, and approaches the fridge, "Well… I guess if I'm stuck here for the night, I might as well do what I do best…" He reaches for the fridge handle… only for a voice to go, "Hey there!"

Immediately, Lincoln jumps and turns to face the source, "Huh, who, where, what?!" And immediately, he comes face-to-face with a young woman wearing a simple white shirt and plaid yellow skirt, as well as a small pink flower over her breast pocket

"I'm Luan!" She declares, before leaning in and flicking his hair, "Do I make ya nervous? You look scared white!"

Lincoln stands by for a moment, unsure of whether or not to laugh or to just groan from the horrible pun. So, instead he puts on a pained smile and gives a fake chuckle, "Haha, yeah, I'm scared white. I'm Lincoln!"

Luan laughs in response, "Haha! I'm glad you enjoyed!" She then motions towards the flower she has on her shirt, "How about you smell my flower too?"

"Uhh… sure." Lincoln hesitates, before leaning in… only to receive a burst of water straight to the face.

The young woman throws her head back in laughter, "I can't believe you fell for that Lincoln! That's one of the oldest tricks in the book!" She wipes a tear from her eye, "Anyways, I guess I'll leave ya alone for now. Man, Lynn's right, you are a good boy to have as a boyfriend!"

"I'm not her-" He starts, though she had already walked away before he could finish. Wordlessly, he wipes the water from his face, "Well… she seemed like some sort of comedian…just like Liberty tried to be one time…" A memory of his twin's horrible attempts at comedy echo as he walks away from the fridge…leaving it untouched for the first time in years. "Well… I've met three sisters…" He takes a deep breath, "Just gotta stay calm. So what if they keep reminding you of Liberty? Everything's gonna be fine!"

"Mom!" A young, feminine voice calls out, before a young girl, dressed in a light-blue shirt and dark blue overalls kicks open the front door and runs inside, carrying a small pile of mud, "You gotta see my mud pie! It's extra squishy this time!" Though, before she can continue her run, her excited gaze falls upon a certain white-haired boy.

"Uhh… hi there." Lincoln nervously greets.

"Hey there mister!" She runs over to him, and holds a small pile of mud up to him, "Wanna see my mud pie?!"

"Uhh… sure…" Lincoln awkwardly goes, causing the young girl to push it closer, allowing him to take it in his hands and get a better look, "Wow… this isn't that bad actually… it's a shame Liberty would've hated it…"

"So what do ya think?!" Her voice fills with anticipation, "I worked on with Cliff and Charles for an hour!"

"She reminds me of the kids really." Lincoln gives a nostalgic smile, "It has a nice shape, great texture and really nice look. I think it's a great mud pie!" He then hands the pile of gooey soil back to the young girl. "You gotta show your parents!"

"Really?!" She takes the pile and smiles, "Thanks mister!" Then she tilts her head, "What's your name? I'm Lana!"

"I'm Lincoln." The young boy affectionately rubs the young girl's hair

"I gotta show mom and dad!" She declares, before running passed him and into the room with her parents waiting.

"She seemed nice…" He thinks, before turning around… only to come face-to-face with another girl… though this one looks exactly like Lana, save for the pageant gown.

"What the…" Her voice fills with anger as she clenches her fists "Who are you, and why are you here?!"

"Uhh… Lana…" He points at her, "Didn't you just run in there to your parents the mud pies?" He motions towards the parent's room, "And uhh… what's with the princess outfit?"

"Uhh, what?!" She looks at him in both shock and annoyance for a moment, before clenching her fists and gritting her teeth, "Don't you dare mistake me for my sister!" She flares her arms up in anger, "Especially if you don't want something bad happening to you or the things you love!" She raises her fist and motions towards herself, "I'm Lola! Lo-La! Don't forget it."

"Liberty was way worse when she was angry." Lincoln simply crosses his arms and stares at the young girl, "You done yet?"

Lola's tough attitude breaks with that, her eyes going wide in shock, "You're not afraid?!"

The boy shrugs, "Meh, I've seen better tantrums is all." He chuckles, "You're getting too mad, it makes your threats seem more empty."

The young girl simply grits her teeth, before turning and walking up the stairs.

A few feet away, Lori looks up from her phone, suddenly interested in the young boy Lynn had brought home with her. She carefully stands up, and despite the mounting curiosity she feels, she quietly walks passed him, choosing instead to continue texting her new boyfriend.

"Well, I guess Lori's not much of a talker." He shrugs, before rubbing his chin, "I wonder why she looks so familiar though…"

"She was probably at the park the other day." A soft, monotone voice greets, causing the young boy to jump away in fear.

"G'ahh!" He screams in fear as he turns to face the source: a young, black-haired girl wearing a black dress. "What the heck?! Where'd you come from?!"

Without missing a beat, the young girl answers, "I come from the abyss." She chuckles, "Hello there."

"Seriously?" Lincoln rolls his eyes, "Yeah right, and I'm an assassin sent to kill the girl that knows too much."

Lucy speaks with a monotone heat, as if the next words she says were no doubt sincere, "I hope to meet the souls of those you have slain one day." She gives a soft smile, contrasting with her Gothic appearance, "I'm sure they have great stories."

Lincoln raises his hands defensively, "Uhh… that was a joke you… uhh… spooky Goth girl."

"A shame, but I suppose it can't be helped." She leans closer to him and rubs her chin, "Hmm, you don't seem to be from around here."

"Yeah, I'm uhh…" Lincoln hesitates, "I'm just visiting until my parents come to pick me up and stuff… Your uhh, sister Lynn brought me here." His voice fills with an unsure embarrassment, as he steps back in fear, causing him to walk into the nearby fridge.

"What a shame. I guess you're the boy Lynn promised that she'd bring home for us to meet one day…" The Goth looks away, "You seem cute."

Immediately, Lincoln's face goes red in embarrassment, "No I'm not! I'm not cute!" Though he thinks, "The only time I was ever cute was when I was trying to get adopted with Liberty…"

"I'm sorry about that…" Her voice fills with remorse, "I'm Lucy by the way."

"With a voice like that, I can't tell if she's joking or being serious…" He rubs the back of his head awkwardly, "Uhh… thanks?"

"Hmm… interesting…" Lucy leans in even closer to him.

"Uhh, what?" Lincoln tilts his head in confusion.

The young girl looks into the older boy's eyes for a moment, gazing into the blackness of his pupils, before she flatly declares, "I sense a great sadness within you… and pain, lot's of pain."

"Look, I don't know who you are really, but uhh…" Lincoln tries to push her away, "You really seem to be creeping me-"

"You were separated from someone you were extremely close to, recently." The young girl continues.

The look of confused affirmation is all Lucy needs to confirm her suspicions. "If you're wondering how I know, the spirits told me."

"Well I-" Yet, before Lincoln can finish, Lucy simply disappears from sight, almost as if she was never there. He takes a deep breath, "Spooky girl…"

He then simply shrugs, "Well, since I'm here, I might as well…" He turns to the fridge and approaches it with an outstretched hand. "Do what I do best…" And yet, when he is mere inches away from the handle, he hesitates. His eyes soften while he can feel his determination drain from his arm. "No… not now… these two were nice enough to let me stay the night… I couldn't rob them right after their kindness…" He clutches the locket held around his neck, "Liberty wouldn't be able to look at me if I-"

"Hi there!" A young woman with blond hair, wearing a long, turquoise dress walks into the kitchen, her beaming smile immediately warming up the room, "Like, I've never seen you around here before!"

"Huh, oh hi there." Lincoln turns to the girl, and immediately, she grabs his shoulders and picks him up as if he were a baby, "What the?!"

"You're so cute!" She pulls him into a tight hug, "I could just dress you up!"

"Let go of me!" Lincoln shouts in fear. Yet, no one comes to his aid. "Dangit!"

Suddenly, an idea comes to the young woman, causing her to snap her fingers, "I know! You can try out my new dress!"

"Wait, what?!" The boy's heart races in fear, "Why?!"

"I love making dresses, and you're the perfect size to be a model!" She then carries him up the home's stairs and into the first room on the left, where Lori is still texting away, not noticing the girl nor the boy she had brought up with her. "So will ya help me out?!"

Lincoln shakes his head, "No! I'd rather practice kissing than try on a dress!"

The young woman smiles, "Really?! I don't know who you are, but you're so nice!" She then leans in, as if expecting the boy to respond with the same.

"Something tells me she's not the smartest tool around here." Lincoln steps back and holds his arms up defensively, "You know what, I'll just try on the dress."

"Really?!" The young woman's voice fills with cheer, before she turns, grabs a nearby set of clothes and hands it to the boy. After that, the young woman smiles at the boy.

"Worst idea I've ever had." Lincoln thinks, before he walks behind a nearby changing rack and swaps his orange shirt and blue pants for the clothes the woman had asked him to model. And after a few moments, he walks out, now wearing an orange dress and accompanying blue skirt.

"You look great in that thing!" she declares, before walking over and adjusting her handiwork, "What do you think?"

Immediately, Lincoln's face goes red in embarrassment, "Shut up!"

"Aww, why?" She her gaze falls downcast for a moment, before immediately perking back up as she snaps her fingers, "I know, you wanna try on more dresses right?!"

"Liberty loved dresses…" Lincoln hesitates for a moment, before closing his eyes, shaking his head and declaring, "No! I'm a boy!"

"Well, you pass oddly well for a girl!" The young girl smiles, as she continues to adjust the dress.

"Yeah… people've said Liberty and I looked alike…" He looks away, the aching feeling he had been pushing down for the past day suddenly resurfacing.

"I'm Leni." She cheerfully declares

"And I'm Lincoln." The boy responds, his voice still filled with sadness, "Please-"

*Boom!*

"What the heck was that?!" Lincoln shouts in surprise.

Leni shrugs, "Why don't you go to check it out? I'm pretty sure you'd enjoy it!"

"Well, it's not like I'm doin' anything important anyways." Lincoln sighs, "Ok then, I'll go see…" And with that, he walks passed the changing rack once more, and swaps out the clothes Leni had made him model for the soaked clothes he had arrived in; before he walks out of the room… only to find scorch marks outside one of the doors, "Well, I guess I know where that explosion came from…" He chuckles for a moment, before approaching the epicenter and peeking, only to find a young girl with brown hair and a green sweater standing in front of a metal table, a mess of random chemicals sprawled across it.

"Dangit." She whispers as she waves away nearby dust.

"Uhh… what was that?" Lincoln pushes his way into the room, and motions towards the girl" And why does it look like you're only three-years-old?"

"That's because I am three-years-old." She motions towards the broken test tubes, "As for the cause of the explosion, my invention failed to control a reaction."

"Uhh… are you sure it's a good idea to have a three-year-old dealing with hazardous chemicals?" Lincoln looks around the room for a moment, surprisingly enough, despite the small explosion, nothing seemed to be damaged save for the random scorch marks outside the door. Heck, even the little girl that had caused it seemed to have come out unscathed!

"Just because I'm a 3-year-old doesn't mean I can't handle theoretical physics. My name is Lisa Loud. I have a masters in theoretical physics, and am currently working on my doctorate, or PHD as it is more often referred to as." She motions towards the numerous awards hanging on the walls.

Lincoln hesitates for a moment; desperately trying to hold the painful memories back… only for the sound of a baby crying to snap him out of it.

*Wahh!*

"Hmm?" Lincoln raises an eyebrow as he gazes upon a young, blonde-haired baby resting in her crib. He smiles and steps closer, before reaching out to touch her. "Aw, it's ok, little one..."

Immediately, the baby laughs at the sight of the boy, "Poo-poo!" Before giving him a raspberry.

"That's Lily." Lisa goes, "She's three months old."

"And a cute one at that" Lincoln tickles her belly, "And" he gives her a raspberry in response, "To you too."

Lisa adjusts her glasses and continues, "As I was saying, are you the boy my elder sister Lynn said she would bring home?"

Lincoln turns to the young scientist, "Uhh no… I'm Lincoln, she just brought me home and your parents said I could stay the night."

"I see." She continues, "And may I have your name?"

"Lincoln." He calmly responds, "I'm Lincoln."

"Well, Lincoln, for what's good for ya, I suggest you leave the premises and go home." She looks away, "It's hard to get an rest around here when twelve family members are working to do whatever random things they can conceive at the same time."

*Ring!* A sound echoes for a moment.

"For example, I believe my sister Luna has begun her nightly music session in the garage." Lisa finishes.

"Oh…" Lincoln looks away and begins to step over to the door.

Lisa's voice remains monotone as she finishes, "If you want to meet her, the basement access is in the dining room."

Lincoln looks at the scientist and shrugs, "Thanks."

"No problem." The young girl responds, and with that, the young boy walks out of the room, "Now…where to go next…" He rubs the back of his head for a moment, contemplating where to go next, "Hmm… maybe I could-"

"Kids! Dinner's ready!" Rita shouts, her voice echoing through the home as if its walls were made of paper.

"Well… I guess that answers my question." Lincoln chuckles, before quietly walking down the house's stairs.

"Well Lincoln, feel free to sit at the table." Rita motions towards the dining room, "We'll join ya in a few, ok?"

The boy nods, "Ok then…" And he walks over to the table and takes his seat. A few minutes pass, and the entire family take their seats at the one, oversized table the family owns. Lincoln sits at the head, opposite the family patriarch.

With everyone seated, Rita starts, "Well kids, before we eat today, I want to introduce you to our guest, Lincoln!"

Lincoln awkwardly waves his hand, "Hi there."

"He was literally walking around mom." Lori cuts in, continuing to text as she does so, "We all probably met him already."

"I didn't!" A young woman dressed in a purple shirt with torn sleeves as well as a purple skirt, stands up and greets, "I'm Luna!" while she thinks, "I wonder why he looks so familiar."

"Settle down girls." Their father commands, "Now, I know you-"

"You have nice hair. It makes you look totes adorbes!" Leni speaks up, her voice filling with a naive cheerfulness.

"You're the boy that mistook me for Lana!" Lola shouts, before leaning closer to him, "So are you the boy Lynn said she had a crush on?"

Immediately Lucy, Lynn and Lincoln's faces go red in embarrassment.

"No!" Lincoln frantically waves his arms defensively. "I'm not! I'm just uhh…" His voice trails off in embarrassment.

"Wow, this must be a crushing experience for you! Haha! Get it?" Luan quips, causing everyone, except for her father- who laughed at joke- and Lincoln- who was too busy trying to stammer out his response-, to groan in annoyance.

That's when Lana hops on top of her twin and asks, "Hey, since you're not the girl Lynn likes, is there a girl you like?"

"Uhh…" Lincoln's face turns even redder, "This got really personal, really quickly." He stammers more, "Well uhh… I don't uhh…" suddenly, images of Cristina pop into the young boy's mind, causing him to shake his head, "Nope! I have no crushes!"

Their mother then cuts off their swarming, "Now girls, don't tease him so much. He's our guest, and he's only a child. I don't think he's worried about that stuff yet." She turns to the boy, "Am I right?"

Lincoln nods in affirmation. "Yeah…"

"Well then, why don't ya tell us about yourself, Lincoln?" The woman's husband speaks with a calm tone, "After all, since you're staying the night, it'd be nice to get an idea of just who you are."

The boy begins to shake ever so slightly, fear filling his body, "Well, uhh, sure… what do you want to know?"

"Where did your sister go?!" Lynn shouts, her voice filling with excitement and curiosity.

"Well uhh… let's just say she's very far away." Lincoln shudders in fear, tensing his body up as he does so, "I can't let them find out the truth… I just can't."

Lynn tilts her head, as if silently pondering whether or not to continue asking the young boy questions. Though, luckily for Lincoln, the next sister speaks up.

"So how'd you meet Lynn?" Luna asks, her voice filled a soft nonchalance, "And why do I feel like I've seen you before?"

"We met outside in the rain, nuff' said. And what do you mean by the second one?" Lincoln nervously responds, though his voice wouldn't hint at that.

"Nothing…" Luna rubs the back of her head, "I just thought I saw you before and stuff."

"Well by the sound of it, you two had one heck of a shower! You two lovebirds!" Luan throws her head back in laughter, eliciting a similar response from before.

"Please be quiet!" Lincoln begs, his eyes falling upon the comedian of a sister.

"Whoa, easy there kid." Lynn motions for him to calm down. "It was just a joke. It's kinda her thing."

Lincoln lets out a deep breath, "Oh… ok then…"

Suddenly, Lucy appears, holding a small book, "Hello there."

"G'ahh!" The family, and Lincoln, goes before calming down.

"Uhh, hey there Lucy." Lincoln nervously responds.

Lucy looks down at the book and blushes, "Would you uhh... like to see my grave collection?"

"Grave collection?" Lincoln tilts his head in both confusion and curiosity, "What's that?

Lucy nods, before opening the small, black book, revealing page after page of photos of people's graves. "Yeah! I have an entire collection of photos!"

"Uhh…" Lincoln leans away nervously, unsure of just how to respond to this sister's activity.

Lori then speaks up, "Don't mind her, she's just our spooky sister." She doesn't bother looking up from her phone.

"Ok then…" Lincoln adjusts himself in the chair once more, "So, uhh… any other questions?"

"Why were you out in the rain?" Rita asks her voice filling with a motherly concern. "What happened to your sister that you started looking for her?"

"Uh, well it's… I was … she well…" He takes a deep breath, "Let's just say I was out there for personal reasons..." Lincoln looks away, while rubbing the back of his head once more.

Lynn Sr. raises an eyebrow, "Would mind sharing? I mean, if it's important we could make some-"

And yet, Lincoln simply holds his hand up, motioning for him to stop, "Really, it's fine. I was out there for a really personal reason…"

"Very well." Lynn Sr. goes, "Girls, since Lincoln is going to be staying the night, I'm gonna need you to find a spare pillow and blanket for him."

"I'll do it! It's the least I can do for the little cutie!" Leni leans over and pinches Lincoln's cheeks affectionately.

Lincoln responds by pushing her away, "Thanks Leni."

"No problem!" The young woman responds.

And with that, the family and their guest get to eating their meal.

A few hours later…

Soft moonlight filters into the, now dark, living room. Falling upon the young boy just as it had done countless nights before. Luckily for him, the Living room couch was too hard, and the girls were able to find him a spare blanket to sleep with… not that it made the night any more bearable for him.

Rather then drifting off to the land of dreams he so desired, Lincoln simply stares at the ceiling above him. For a moment, he considers trying his luck getting back to the orphanage in the rain… only to immediately push that thought to the back of his mind, "No, bad idea Lincoln…" He sighs, turns and gets on his own feet.

"I guess it'd be a good idea to take some stuff from them… Not too much or else they'd notice…" His body trembles for a moment, his knees shiver, while he can feel his arms tense up. "For the kids… for the kids…"" He then, quietly, walks over to the nearby fridge, and slowly opens it up; revealing the mess that is the Loud Family's food stock.

Usually, when pulling one of his raids, Lincoln would find going through his target's fridges rather easy- given that most were simply organized with the more used and replaced items in front for the easy pickings, but not this time.

"Dangit…" he whispers, before digging into the pile, "At least they're all asleep, right? Yeah, that makes sense. I won't have to worry about anyone-"

*Yawn* a young woman goes.

"Double dangit." Lincoln quickly looks around for a moment, before jumping into his hiding spot.

The young girl wears a simple purple nightgown with a weird, triple triangle symbol and the name "Machinae Supremacy" scrawled under it. She yawns again, before scratching her back, flipping the light switch and quickly scanning the kitchen. She smacks her lips and quietly walks over the fridge. "Gotta get some pudding…" And opens the door, only to come face-to-face with their guest.

"Hey Lincoln." She tiredly greets, "You mind passing some of the pudding over?"

"Sure…" He quickly turns his body in the fridge and grabs a brown container, "Is this it?"

"Yep, thanks." She takes the snack from him and closes the fridge. Without another word, she turns causing her gaze to fall upon the empty bed her guest had been sleeping on. Suddenly, her eyes go wide, and she turns around sharply, reopening the fridge with that, "Lincoln! What are you doing here?!"

"I uhh…" He stammers, before holding his hands up at his sides for plausibility, "I like sleeping in fridges?"

The young woman stares at him for a moment, before helping him down from his perch and continuing, "Lincoln, I of all people can figure out when someone's lying." She stands up straight and looks down into his brown eyes, "So please, tell me the truth." She crosses her arms.

For a moment, Lincoln considers lying to her, saying that he got spooked in some way and decided to hide in the fridge, yet even he realized that that excuse made no sense whatsoever. And so, he simply sighs, "I was… going through your fridge."

"Well if you wanted to get a snack why not just come to us in the first place?" The young woman asks, before taking out another packet pudding and handing it to the boy. "Here you go, that should be enough for a midnight snack, but once you finish I want you back to sleep, okay?"

Lincoln hesitates for a moment, before nodding, "Thanks, uhh…"

"Luna." She responds, "I'm Luna."

"Luna… thanks." The young boy smiles.

Suddenly, a thought comes to Luna; her eyes go wide, "Now I remember!" She cheerfully declares, before looking at the boy.

"Uhh, what are you talking about?" Lincoln tilts his head in confusion.

Luna smiles, "I remember seeing you at the park with your sister!" She rubs the back of her head, "Where is she anyway?"

"She's around and stuff." He nervously answers.

"Heh, you two seemed pretty close last time I saw ya." She chuckles, and squats down to his height, "Would you mind tellin' me where she is, or is that too personal?"

Lincoln hesitates yet again, almost as if considering telling her what had happened. How he was an orphan because of an accident he had no control over. And about the dreams he is having because she had left him. And yet, he finds himself unable to articulate what he would like to say, choosing instead to answer, "We got separated…"

"That's a shame." Luna's voice fills with motherly softness, "How? Maybe I can-" She starts, but stops when she finally notices the expression Lincoln had shifted to.

The boy tenses up, the memory of what had happened just the night prior burns in his mind. He fights the urge to lash out, to tell Luna to shut up, go to sleep and never mention his sister ever again… and yet, he finds himself unable to even speak. He loosens up and looks at the young woman in front of him.

"You ok kid?" She finally goes, breaking him from his trance.

"Y-yeah… I'm fine…" He replies, grabbing his arm as he does so.

However, Luna doesn't buy his act. Opting to grab him by the shoulders and look into his eyes with a begging gaze, "Look, I know we just met and stuff, but… if something's on your mind, I promise I won't tell anyone."

Lincoln's heart races in fear, "I shouldn't… no I can't… no one understands." His body speaks while his mind can only listen.

"We got separated… please, let's leave it at that." The young boy can't help but begin to shed a tear with that.

"Ok." Luna stands back up and walks over to the nearby coffee maker, "Wanna talk, kid? It seems you've got a lot on your mind tonight."

Despite ever nerve in his body screaming at him to deny her request, he responds, "Sure Luna… sure…"

"Want some cocoa?" Luna begins warming up a small, white mug with the letter "L" engraved on it, "It'll make everything calmer for ya."

Lincoln sighs once more, "Sure Luna…"

And so, Luna makes him a small cup of cocoa, while doing the same for herself. After that, they sit at the dining table they ate dinner at just a few short hours prior.

"So… I guess you start." Luna takes a small sip, "After all, you're he one raiding the fridge."

The young boy does the same, though he swirls the sweet liquid in his mouth for a moment, savoring its unfamiliar taste, "Well… I guess I'll start by, I wasn't raiding your fridge for a snack."

"Oh?" Luna raises an eyebrow in curiosity, "Then why were ya doin' it mate?"

"You can't tell her you're an orphan… her sympathy is the last thing you need." He continues with a soft, wavering voice, "Well… I live in a home with a lot of kids too and since there's not a lot of money to go around, I usually go out and try to get some stuff to make up for it."

"Well I'm not sure how to react to that." Luna leans back calmly, "So you act like Robin Hood or something?"

"Yeah I guess…" He sighs, "And well… my sister, while she didn't like it, knew I had to do it, for everyone's sake." He clutches the locket hidden under his shirt "But… yesterday, the courts decided to break us apart and give her to a new family." He lets out a deep breath, "So I went out to find her…"

"That explains it." Luna looks upon the boy with a sincere gaze, before placing a finger on his mouth, "You don't need to say more. I understand."

Lincoln lets out another deep breath, "But before she left… she told me that I'm going to do great things…"

"She sounds mature." Luna chuckles.

Immediately, Lincoln breaks out into laughter, "My sister wasn't mature at all. She would try to, but when no one was around, she'd break out like the child she really was…"

The young woman leans in closer, "Oh? Tell me more about her."

"Sure I guess." He rubs the back of his head in thought, pushing the aching feeling in his chest away as he does so, "Well uhh… I remember this one time where she accidently left her favorite stuffed bunny at home when we went on vacation, so my parents had to drive us back to get it." He chuckles, "And on the way back, she thought we were passing unicorn fields."

"Seriously? Sounds like the time Lola thought that she could get prettier by smearing unicorn poop on her face, so she ended up getting horse dung and smearing it on herself." The young woman throws her head back in laughter, "She smelled like the stuff for weeks!"

"Haha!" Lincoln laughs, "But that doesn't compare to the time Liberty-"


After about an hour of sharing random stories from their families, the duo stands up from the both have bags under their eyes, no doubt from the tiredness they both experience.

"So you feelin' better Linc?" Luna calmly asks, a soft smile forming upon her face.

Lincoln nods, "Yeah… thanks Luna." He grabs his bag and peers inside, "You sure your parents won't mind if I take some of your pudding?"

She waves him off, "I'm pretty sure, given the fact that we have to restock every week, I'm sure they'll just shrug it off as us needing to get more and stuff."

"Thanks." He whispers, before throwing his arms around the girl, and pulling her into a warm hug, "Thank you Luna." He does his best to hide the soft tears forming under his eyes, "I really needed that."

"No problem mate, no problem at all." She lovingly rubs his head, "Now how about you go to sleep huh?"

"Sure." And with that, Lincoln breaks the hug, walks back into the living room, and falls into a deep, dreamless sleep.

1-23-23, 9 23-1-19 8-15-16-9-14-7 12-21-14-1 23-15-21-12-4 19-9-14-7 1 12-21-12-12-1-2-25 6-15-18 8-9-13

A/N Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed! In order to compensate for the fact I'm working on 3 stories at the same time, I'll space out their updates. This story will update in 2 weeks, and "Unwavering Bonds" will be updated next week, etc.

As always, I thank Sunblast-X, Exotos135 and Wolvenstrom for their help!