A/N Man is my summer exhausting already. With summer classes and my inability to focus properly, I can't believe I managed to get this done in the time I did. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

R&R!

Chapter Seven: Just Another Day

"Just stay calm Lincoln." The young boy thinks as his sister pulls him through the short, but winding hallways of their hotel, "Everything's gonna be all right. Mom and dad are gonna come around and take care of everything… And Lori won't tell anyone until we get home. I'm just a little sick, no biggie."

"And here we are!" Lynn lets go of her brother and motions towards the twin metal doors of the elevator. She glances back at him with a smile, while making sure to secure her duffel bag on her shoulder, "You ready bro?!"

Immediately, Lincoln's eyes go wide, causing him to snap back to his senses. "Huh, what?"

"You're spacing out on me bro. You all right?" Lynn tilts her head in curiosity, "I mean, you're usually more… vocal about me draggin' you around and stuff."

Lincoln just shakes his head, "It's nothing really. I'm fine." He then holds his arm and looks away nervously, "I guess I'm still a bit tired from all the meds they put me on."

Lynn throws her head back in laughter, "Haha! Is that all?" She waves him off, "Don't worry about it bro, "I know the feelin' you get used to it after it happens enough to ya."

"Really Lynn?" Lincoln tilts his head.

The older girl smiles and affectionately rubs her only brother's head, "Yeah bro. Back in Royal Woods, I went to the ER so much that the nurses started asking which sport I got hurt in!" She then throws her head back in laughter. "They loved listening to the stories I'd tell!"

"Heh, well… at least she knows just how bad hospitals are… though I'm not sure the nurses really wanted to hear her stories." Lincoln then turns towards the metal doors next to them, "So, uhh, where are we going anyways?"

Lynn hits the down button, "I was thinking, since it's morning and because you've well…" She rubs the back of her head, "Been in the hospital for the past few days, and because none of us made any plans for today, I thought that it'd be the perfect time to teach ya some of my moves!" The young woman looks at her brother with an excited smile, "What do you think bro?"

"You know what… that would probably get my mind off yesterday…" He sighs, before shrugging, "Ehh sure Lynn, why not." He looks at her with hopeful eyes, "Let's just enjoy today."

"Great!" Lynn rubs her hands together, "From the looks of it, we're gonna be-"

Yet, before she can finish, a certain black-haired girl appears at her side. "Hey guys." She greets with a soft, yet pained-filled smile. "You two busy?"

"G'ahh, Lucy!" Lynn jumps up in surprise, causing her to land right in her brother's arms.

"G'ahh!" Lincoln then proceeds to stumble around for a moment, before hitting the nearby wall, causing his sister to fall out of his arms… and end up hitting the floor. "Ow…" The boy proceeds to rub the back of his head.

"You ok Lincoln?!" Lynn worriedly grabs his shoulders, and helps the boy back to his feet, while Lucy rushes to the opposite side.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Lincoln dusts himself off, "Thanks." He looks at his nearby younger sister, "Whatcha' doin' here Lucy?"

"What? Can't a girl who doesn't like the sun wanna hang out with her roommate and only brother?" She then steps closer to the boy, maintaining the smile as she, "After all, we never spend any time together!" She then grabs his arm and pulls it close, as if she was a baby clutching and was clutching her blanket. "So mind if I come with?"

The young boy hesitates for a moment, his heart racing in fear of the possibility, "What the… why's Lucy acting so strange?" He stares at the young girl, despite her long bangs covering her eyes, he can see the small, blue eyes hidden beneath, "Could she know?"

"What do you think Lynn?" Lincoln turns to face the older girl.

Lynn shrugs, "I don't mind really, After all…" She cracks her knuckles while putting on a sinister smile, "I could always use more trainees. What about you Linc?"

Both Lucy and Lincoln can't help but shudder at Lynn's idea.

"No… Lori hasn't told anyone!" He looks at Lucy and continues his thoughts, "She's just acting jumpy cause I just got out of the hospital." He begins to rub her head, "I don't blame her… She's never been the one to take bad news that easily."

"Please Lincoln?" She begs, holding onto his arm tighter. "I really wanna spend time with you."

"I could never say no to her." And so, the young boy sighs in defeat, "Ok, fine. You can come with us."

Lucy then lets go of his arm and throws her own around the boy, "Thanks Lincoln! You're the best!"

*Ding!* The elevator goes, before the two metal doors part ways. "And our ride's here guys." Lynn steps in, "We're burnin' daylight, come on!"

"Ok, ok Lynn." Lincoln waddles into the elevator, as Lucy proves to be unwilling to let go. "Let's just try to enjoy our last day in Aloha beach. After all… we have school in a few weeks."

"Yeah, then Lori goes off to college, right?" Lynn raises an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Yeah." Lincoln nods, "From what I've heard, she's pretty nervous about it…"

"We'll talk about her later, let's get to the beach!" Lucy then clutches Lincoln's arm once more.

"Sure…" Lincoln's voice trails off as the metal doors close, "Now that I think of it… I wonder what she's doing right now…"

Meanwhile…

"I'm sorry, but the person you are trying to contact is currently unavailable…" The answering machine goes, Lori responds by ending the call and dropping her head, allowing her arms to dangle lazily over the balcony, "Dangit… twelve calls and still nothing!"

For a moment, she considers throwing the phone out, over the balcony, allowing it to get lost in the abyss that is the ocean in front of her. Yet, she shakes her head at the idea, "That's the dumbest thing I could do right now." So instead, she options to walk back into the room, toss the phone on Leni's bed and jump on her own.

She lays flat along the bed, staring at the ceiling as she does so, "Dangit… where are those guys?! They've been gone two days and they haven't been picking up the phone!" She mentally sighs, "Maybe this is why they told me to drive everyone home… they knew they wouldn't be able to answer, so they made sure that we'd at least get home safe…"

She grabs at her head in frustration, "Ugh, dangit! Where are those guys?! Of all the times to not pick up the phone, why now?!"

"Uhh… you ok Lori?" Luna greets as she peeks her head in through the open door. "I could here you next door. Is something up?

"It's nothing Luna." Lori flatly responds, "Just trying to get a hold of mom and dad and stuff…" She sighs, "I just wanna find out what our home situation is gonna be like until they get home, ya know."

"Ahh… ok then." Luna rubs the back of her head, "You'll probs just be left in charge till they come home. That's how it usually is."

"True…" Lori looks away, "Still, it'd be nice to make sure. I mean, what if they want us to spend some time at…" She shivers, "Aunt Ruth's"

Luna can't help but to shiver as well, before shaking her head "Well, I'm sure everything you do is gonna be all right, I mean, mom and dad trust you alone with us all the time! Heck, from the sound of it, they trusted you to bring us all home! That's gotta count for something, right?"

"True." Lori looks out the balcony window and gazes upon the beautiful days passing by outside, "It's just… Lincoln's sick and I don't know how to help him."

"So uhh… mind if I come in? I wanna ask ya something." The younger girl continues.

Lori turns to her sister, "Huh? Oh sure Luna." She turns and hops to her feet, before walking over and undoing the chain lock keeping Luna out, "So what's up?"

Luna strums her damaged acoustic guitar, "Well… since it's our last day here and we've really got nothing planned, I was wonderin' if you could drive us to the big mall they've got here." She rubs the back of her head, "Cause… I kinda need to get my guitar fixed and some of the girls really wanna go shopping."

"Well… I guess there's no harm to it…" She shrugs, "All right then, sure."

"Really?!" Luna's eyes go wide in shock. "You'll really drive us?!

"Yeah. It is our last day here after all." She shrugs again, "Just tell everyone to be ready in about an hour or two and I'll drive us all there all right?"

"Great." Luna goes, before turning and walking away from the room. "Thanks Lori!"

"No problem Luna." Lori then closes the door and sighs, "Maybe a trip to the mall will get my mind off… Lincoln. After all, there's plenty there to distract myself with…" She then turns around and slams her back against the door. "Still… there has to be something else around here…" She scans her room for a moment, and notices a certain manila envelope to catch her eye, as well as allowing another idea to enter her mind, "Well… I guess it couldn't hurt…"

And with that, she sits down at the desk and begins to shuffle through the stack of papers she had been given.

Back with Lincoln…

"Ok Lincoln, watch closely now." Lynn, now dressed in a simple red swimsuit, holds her body tight, before stretching her arms out at her sides. Then, she braces herself and charges at the ocean, "First, you gotta get a good run." Her voice echoes over the crashing of the waves, "Then, when you can feel the water under your feet…" She claps her hands together and jumps at the water, "You dive!"

The young woman crashes into the water, causing a massive slash to rise up from her spot.

A few moments after that, she pops her head up and spits out some sea water, "And that's how you make a big splash Linc!" She uses her hands to magnify her voice, "Now you do it!"

"Welp this is just gonna end up badly." Lincoln, now dressed in a set of simple orange swim trunks, takes a deep breath, "Ok Lynn." Then, he braces himself, "I just gotta…" He pulls… only to realize that a certain girl is still cradling his arm. "Uhh Lucy, do you mind?"

Lucy shakes her head, "Nope."

"Well… would you mind letting go then?" He begins to shake her in frustration, "Dangit Lucy, why of all times to cling to me like the plague, why now?!"

The young girl shakes her head.

"Is something wrong, Lucy?" He stares at her sister, his frustration beginning to build.

"Sorry Lincoln… I just…" Her voice trails off as she looks away shamefully, "It's nothing. I'm sorry."

"There's more to this than she's letting on." Lincoln mentally sighs, "Do you wanna swim with me too. I don't mind."

Lucy shakes her head, "No… Water and Goth don't mix that well." She turns towards a nearby beach umbrella, "The ocean gives too much life and takes too much at the same time. I can write plenty of poetry about it in the shade. Just… please be careful Lincoln. Please."

Lincoln puts on a soft, reassuring smile, before he carefully rubs his sister's head, "Don't worry Lucy, I'll be fine. And no matter what, I'll be here for you."

"Thanks Lincoln." Lucy then steps away, "If you guys need me, I'll be under my cover of darkness." Before she takes a seat on the towel the trio had set up just for this very reason.

"Well… it could be worse." Lincoln then braces himself just as Lynn had done mere moments prior, "Welp, here goes nothing!" And with that, he runs at the water and jumps in, submarining himself in the cool, salty liquid, but bursting out and splashing his sister.

"Haha, good one bro!" Lynn quips as she blocks the incoming volley of water, "But you really needed to hold yourself together. You seemed to tense up just a bit, before you hit the water. It's probably the meds still trying to work its way out of your system."

"I guess so Lynn." Lincoln treads water for a moment, "Or it's the thing affecting my brain starting to move on to the rest of my body." He continues with a hint of shame in his voice, "So uhh… do you wanna try the trick again or what?"

"Well…" The older girl rubs her chin for a moment, "How about we just swim around instead? I mean if you can't do a big slash right because the meds haven't worn off yet, I doubt you'll be able to do anything else I could throw at ya."

The boy thinks for a moment, "She's probably right. And you know what? That doesn't sound like that bad of an idea." And with that, he answers, "Sure Lynn. I think that'd be a great idea."

"Awesome Linc!" She puts on an excited smile, before rushing through the water, "How about we start with a race! First person to reach the lifeguard tower wins!"

"Hey! That's cheating!" Lincoln responds, before following his sister, "At least I'll be able to see these girls be happy while I still can. Who knows how they'll react when Lori finally tells them the truth."

Nearby, Lucy sits under them umbrella, with her legs tucked into her chests. "Why did the spirits tell me that everything would be fine? Lincoln's sick and Lori and Lincoln are doing their best to hide it…" she bows her head in shame, "If only I hadn't hidden in that vent…"

Back with Lori…

Lisa takes a deep breath as she stands before her eldest sister's room, "I am almost certain that I have discovered why Lori's test results have come out as they have…" She glances at the small notebook and box filled with tests in her hands, "But I need her to take a test… and maybe finally tell me what is ailing our brother." And with that, the young girl moves in to knock…

Only for the door to give way, "What the?" Immediately, she pushes her way into the room, coming face-to-face with Lori, who was just sitting at the table with a stack of papers in her hands.

"Alex was a powerful psychic, with the ability to control objects at will…" Lori reads aloud, not noticing the young girl that had entered her room, "He would spend his days reading a magical spellbook with his sister Alice who, while still very young, was studying to become a powerful sorceress…"

"Hello eldest sibling." Lisa greets, causing Lori to jump up in shock.

"Huh?!" She lands on her feet and turns towards her young visitor, "Oh, hey Lisa. What are you doing here?"

The young girl adjusts her glasses, and stands up straight, "I just came to inform you of some of my most recent finding, as well as to inquire about our male sibling's current condition."

"Well can it wait Lisa? I'm kinda busy here." Lori begins to shuffle through the papers she had been going through

"I see." The younger girl doesn't break her bearing, "Very well, I just ask that you take this test-" She then holds up a small box with a pink caption, '99% accurate home test!'

"Some other time Lisa. I'm really busy reading right now to deal with one of your stupid tests." The older girl sighs, "After I finish here, I have to try to get a hold of mom and dad again."

"Interesting. Reading what, if I may inquire?" Lisa looks on in curiosity.

"Some strange story a depressed cab drive gave me." Lori flatly answers, "So far it's very 'meh' of a story. You wouldn't like it."

"Oh…" Lisa adjusts her stance, and holds her notes and the box behind her back, "Very well then. I will return later. Is there a specific time you would like me to return to administer the test?"

"Later, after our trip to the mall." Lori answers, not even bothering to work with Lisa anymore.

Lisa nods, "Very well sister. If you need my assistance, I will be waiting in my room until that time arrives.

"Great." Lori then sits back down and continues reading, "One day, the kids were having a picnic, when the hypnosis girl spotted them and immediately. Fell in love with Alex. Using the powers of her wavering eyes, she put him under her spell transforming him into a dangerous mind bender." Lori turns the page, "Yet, Alice would not give up on her brother. She was forced to leave him to go on an epic quest to find a cure. Knighting that their bonds would not waver against this challenge…"

She closes the stack and shoves the papers back in the envelope they came in, "Well that explains why that guy never bothered finishing it… it sucks arse." She then stands up and begins to pace the room. "Well… that didn't help at all."

"Hey Lori, you busy right now?" Lana knocks on the door, while Lola follows close behind.

"Huh?" She looks at the twins, "Oh yeah, I'm not, why?"

"We just wanted to know what we could get Lincoln!" Lola awkwardly rubs the back of her heard, while looking away in embarrassment, "I mean, he just got back and stuff and I think it would be a good idea to show that we care about him and stuff."

"Yeah, cause she doesn't like what Lincoln wrote about her in his journal." Lana can't help but snicker, "Yeah, plus, you guys seemed really tired this morning too."

Lori raises an eyebrow in surprise, "Well, I doubt I'd be able to tell ya what he'd like…" The young woman rubs her chin, "Maybe you guys could look around the mall. You'll probably stumble across something there."

"Dangit…" Lola mentally kicks herself, "Fine then… When are we going anyway?"

The older girl checks the nearby clock, "We're leaving in ten." She looks back at the twins, "Why don't you go get the others and meet me by the van? And almost everyone wants to go too."

"Got it Lori!" Lana goes, "Do you know where everyone is?"

"If I remember correctly, Lynn mentioned taking Lincoln to the beach." She begins counting on her fingers, "Everyone else should still be in their rooms waiting.

"All right then!" Lana salutes her eldest sister, before dashing out of the room, "I'll get everyone!"

That leaves Lola alone with Lori, as well as a nervous silence in the room.

"So… what gave you the idea to do that, Lola?" Lori looks at her younger sister with a joking smile, "I mean, it's hard to see you wanting to give someone else a gift, ya know."

"I dunno…. I just wanted to and stuff." The pageant girl shrugs.

Lori looks at her with skeptical gaze, "Really?"

Lola's face turns bright red with that, "Yeah! I'm Lola Loud! Of course I can get my brother a present!" While a thought pops up in the back of her mind, "Especially when he writes that I'm impossible to deal with and very annoying. I'll show him!"

"Heh, you sure there's no other reason why you're doing this?" Lori crosses her arms, allowing her smile to fall to a frown, "Please don't tell me you know the truth. Please don't tell me…"

"I wanna get him something because I want to!" Lola turns around and scoffs at her sister, "Do I have to say anything else to get you off woman?"

"Whatever." Lori shakes her head, "How about we get downstairs then? The others should be getting ready to go, and I'd hate to keep em waiting."

"Really?" Lola raises an eyebrow in confusion, "That doesn't sound like ya."

"Whatever." And with that, they head downstairs.

A few minutes later…

With the entire family gathered up, Lori shoves the keys in the ignition and starts up the family van, "So, are you guys enjoying your last day here guys?"

"From the looks of it sister, yes." Luna answers, whole holding up her damaged guitar, "I have my guitar ready as well."

"Like, I can't wait to go to the mall!" Leni quips, "I like, have so many beach dress ideas I couldn't make because…"

Lily slapping Leni with her rattle stops the older girl from talking, "Poo-poo!"

"Ow, Lily!" Leni whines, "What was that for?"

"Poo-poo!" Lily shakes her rattle at the girl, while sporting an annoyed look.

Leni shakes her head, "All right fine."

"Well I on the other hand have found several interesting things about our family." Lisa cuts in, adjusting her glasses as she does so, "Elder sister, I would like to inform you about the thing I wished to tell you earlier-"

"Later Lisa." Lori cuts her off, "It's our last day here and I doubt it's that important, ya know.

"It has to do with you and your relationship to your boyfriend." Lisa immmedaitely thinks, before sighing in defeat, "Very well, I'll hold my peace for the time being.

"Good." And with that, Lori drives the van out of the hotel parking lot and onto the highway, "How about you guys?"

Luan is the next to answer the question, "I get you sand and beach this!" He then throws her head back in laughter.

"That was a horrible pun Luan." Luna shakes her head in disappointment. "I don't even know if that was even a pun it was so bad."

Lana laughs, "That burn was funny!"

"Dangit." Luan shakes her head, "Oh well!"

"Well, Lincoln and I went swimming!" Lynn then cuts in while she throws her arm around the boy.

Lincoln smiles, before Lynn ruffles his hair, allowing some of the leftover water to sprinkle upon their siblings, "Yeah, it was pretty fun." Though, he can't help but nudge Lucy ever so slightly, "Uhh Lucy… why are you so clingy today?"

Lucy immediately looks up hopefully, "What? I can't be clingy to our only brother?"

The boy shrugs, "I mean, you can, this just isn't like you is all." He then tries to push her off, but the girl just doesn't budge.

"If you want me to let go… I'll consider it." Lucy's voice trails off, while she simply tightens her grip on the boy.

"Poo-poo!" Lily cuts in, while flailing her arms.

"Good… the girls are in good spirits. That'll make dealing with Lincoln's… issue easier." And with that, she drives into the mall parking lot.

A few more minutes later…

"Ok girls, get whatever you need for the trip home." Lori commands, "We'll meet back here when you guys are done, all right."

"And how'll we know when everyone's done, if I may inquire?" Lisa crosses her arms.

"We all have phones Lisa." Lori pulls her own out, "Plus, I've already gotten what I wanted the last time we came here so I'll just be sticking around here if you guys need me."

"Ok then." Luna then steps forward from the crowd, "Well, if you guys need me, I'll be getting my guitar finally fixed."

Lisa follows her, "I might as well join you."

"Why's that?" Luna raises an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I need to study acoustics." Lisa flatly responds.

Luna shrugs, "Ok then."

"All right guys, everyone else, go make groups of two and head off." Lori commands, before taking a seat in a nearby bench, "And be safe!"

Random mumblings of agreement emanate from the crowd with that, before the Louds break up, leaving Lori alone on the bench.


"So where is this music shop that you are so determined to go to?" Lisa asks while holding onto Luna's hand.

Luna shrugs, "Don't know. I looked the place up though so…" She glances around the mall square, causing her gaze to fall upon a small hobby shop called, "Norm's Guitars". "And there it is, come on!" The young woman then pulls Lisa along, and takes her into the store.

Within a moment's notice, the duo is standing before a young man, with Luna's guitar raised towards him, "So can ya fix it mate?"

The man, who the duo assumes to be Norm, glances at the guitar and takes it in his hands, "Hmm, yeah I can fix it. It'll take a bit though. Do you mind waiting?"

"Not at all." Luna shakes her head, before turning to Lisa, "Don't you have to do something here too?"

Lisa nods, "Yes." She walks over to nearby guitar, "May I test out these instruments? I have a study that I wish to conduct."

Norm shrugs, "Sure, go knock yourself out kid."

And with that, Lisa gets to work. First she holds up a random guitar- one with a blue body with pick guard- and strums, creating a rather dull sound.

"Uhh Lisa… you need to plug it in." Luna walks over and grabs one of the cords.

"Oh, I see." Lisa quickly adjusts her posture, "Thank you elder sibling." Lisa then strums, allowing the speaker to send a low wave of sound through the store.

"This can work…" Lisa thinks before placing it down and grabbing another one.

"What are you even trying to do Lisa?" Luna tilts her head in curiosity.

"I'm just trying to understand how some sound waves work for a little experiment I have planned when we return home."

"Ok then." Luna shrugs, "Just try not to break all the windows in the house again." She chuckles, "That's my job."

"Very well sister, very well." And with that, Lisa gets back to testing.


"Like this dress looks great Lola!" Leni holds up another copy of Lola's pageant gown.

"Leni!" I'm not looking for another dress! I'm looking for something for Lincoln!"

"Oh…" Leni puts the dress back, "Why's that?"

Lola hesitates her answer for a moment, "It's cause I haven't been a good sister to him and I really wanna make it up to him."

Leni rubs her chin for a moment, "Oh…"

"Yeah…" Lola rubs the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Well then, why didn't you say so!" Leni flares her arms in excitement, "I know just what to do!" She grabs the six-year-old.

"Huh?!" Lola goes as Leni pulls her through the store and out of the mall's clothing store.

"Where are we going Leni?!" Lola shouts. Leni responds by running even faster. At that point Lola is only able to hold on desperately as her elder sister jumps up a flight of stairs and banks down a random corridor, before finally stopping in front of a small storefront.

"We're here!" Leni lets go of her little sister and motions towards the store, "If you wanna get Lincoln something he'll love, just buy him a video game!"

"I feel sick." It takes all of Lola's willpower to not throw up, as Leni leads her into the store, "Ok Leni… so what should I get him?" Lola starts to walk around the store, glancing around at the random games lining the walls.

"How about Laser Macguffin 3?" Leni holds up a small box with a crystal heart behind two laser guns as its cover.

"Nah… I think." Lola rubs her head and grabs a random game, "How about Shooting Quasars?" She holds the box up to Leni, and her elder sister simply shakes her head, "Nah, I've played that game before, it's really dumb."

Lola immediately snaps towards her sister, "You play videogames?!"

"Like yeah!" Leni waves her off, "They're totes fun!"

"Huh… so you really can help me with this." Lola grabs another game and shows it to her sister, "What about this one, Leni?"

Leni smiles at her choice, "I think he'll love it!"

"Great." Lola smiles, "Thanks Leni." While she thinks, "I hope this'll work." And with that, they buy the game and return to the mall.


"Uhh Lucy… Mind telling me why you're being so clingy?" Lincoln asks as he drags his sister along.

Lucy puts on a smile, "No reason Lincoln, no reason at all." She gently holds onto his arm, "I just wanna stay close to you is all."

Lincoln sighs in responds, "All right then… what do you wanna do?"

"Whatever you wanna do." She then begins to walk alongside the boy, though making sure not to let go of his arm.

Lincoln rubs his chin, "How about the arcade? I'm sure we can find something we could both enjoy in there."

Lucy nods in agreement, "Sure brother, let's go!"

And with that, the duo walks into the nearby game room.

The store is relatively small, with only a few games sprawled along the sides, and filling up the main room.

"So… see anything you wanna play?"

Lucy nods, "I'll play whatever you want to, brother."

"You sure?" Lincoln raises an eyebrow, "I mean… there are some things here that even you would hate to play."

"As long as I'm with you, I don't mind it at all." Lucy then follows Lincoln onto one of the consoles.

And a few minutes later, Lincoln comes out on top. "Lucy is acting really weirdly…"


Lori taps away at her phone again, this time still attempting to call her parents… and still nothing happens. She still doesn't get the response she so desires. With a soft sigh, she shoves the phone in her pocket and walks into a nearby store.

"Hello and welcome to Unallowed Terra!" One of the workers greets, snapping the young woman back to her sense, "Huh?"

"You've walked into a comic book store."

"Oh, ok." She rubs the back of her head in embarrassment, "I wasn't paying attention…" She thinks for a moment, "Maybe I could get Lincoln something for the trip home…"

And with that, she asks, "Did any new Ace Savvy comics come in yet?"

The worker nods, "Yeah, issue 107 came in today. Ace Savvy and the Journey for the White Joker."

"What's it about?" Lori calmly asks.

"Ace Savvy needs to find the cure for one of his friends, so he goes on a journey to enjoy one last adventure with them before they're gone… and hopefully save them before it's too late." The work then rubs the back of his head, "I'd say more, but I think my description was a bit… crappy."

"Huh, ok then." Lori shrugs, "Do you have a copy in stock?"

The man nods and turns to face a stack of comics behind him.

And a few minutes later, Lori is outside the store with the book in her hands, "Ace Savvy wanted to make the most the little time he had left…" Lori can feel an idea beginning to form, "It isn't the best… maybe for Lincoln…" She clutches her hand close to her chest. "It'll be worth it."

And with that, she sits down by the exit and gets to reading.


"So why are you hanging out with me, Lana?" Lynn nonchalantly asks as the duo walks through the mall's sports goods store.

Lana shrugs, "Well, Lola's busy trying to get something for Lincoln, so I'm kinda stuck."

Immediately, Lynn snaps toward her sister, "What did Lola do this time?!"

Lana waves her off, "Nothing. She just realized that she hasn't really been that good of a sister to anyone, so she's gonna try to make it up for you guys… eventually."

"Ahh, ok then." Lynn turns down another random aisle, "Well at least she's trying to be easy to deal with."

"Yeah…" Lana looks away, "I just wonder how long she can manage to keep this stuff up…"

Lynn then grabs a ball off the nearby rack, "Anyways, I got what I came for."

Lana responds by grabbing a Nyrf blaster off the wall, "And I got what I came for!"

The two sisters playfully laugh with that.

Later…

"So how did you guys enjoy our last day in Aloha Beach?" Lori nonchalantly asks as the family walks back to the van they despised so much.

"It was Alola!" Luan puns, causing the infant in her arms to facepalm. "Haha." Luan chuckles, "I just sat around the food court telling jokes, what about you guys?"

The siblings then talk about what they did for a few moments, before Lori finally speaks.

"Well… mom and dad picked up…" She goes, causing the girls' eyes to go wide in surprise, "They gave us permission to have a little fun before we go home."

"What does that mean sis?" Luna tilts her head, while strumming along on her newly repaired guitar.

"It means… if you guys want… we can have a short road trip before we come home." Lori awkwardly rubs the back of her head, "It's just an idea though. And if you girls really want to..." She glances back at Lincoln, "But I wanna do it for his sake..."

Random questions and confusion emanate from the girls with that, followed by Lori going. "So pack up tonight and think about if you wanna enjoy the end of summer on the road or at home. And we'll talk about it at the meeting, ok?"

Lisa raises an eyebrow in suspicion, "Is something going on sister?"

"Not at all." Lori does her best to hide the nervousness building in her spirit, "Nothing at all."

And without another word, they get in the car and drive off.

20-1-11-5 23-8-1-20 25-15-21 6-9-14-4 1-14-4 20-18-5-1-20 9-20 23-9-20-8 3-1-18-5. 6-15-18 20-8-9-19 9-19 20-8-5 19-25-13-2-15-12 15-6 25-15-21-18 12-9-6-5.

A/N Well that was shorter than expected, but then again, I needed to transition into the planned plot of this story somehow! Next chapter will finally bring what I wanted to do when I started this. Bout time don't ya guys think? Also, if there are any mistakes, please feel free to point them out!

And this is a first… I don't have anyone to thank for helping me… wow.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed!

Guest replies (C6):

HEROS Central: What I have planned is bittersweet. That's all I'll for now.