Here's the next chapter of the story, and the Proto-Lola arc. Before we begin with the reviews, I'd like to apologize for not updating the "Caste Examination" side story this week, and probably next week. I discussed this matter with my partner, A Hopeful Observer, and we agreed to not update the story until the P-Lola arc was finished. So, just need to be patient, okay?

Also, I'm kinda sorta working on several other stories (Atychiphobia, Lori the Fencer, Darcy or Family, Conflicted Feelings, and several other one-shots that I really wanna write), so... yeah, I'm kind of in a mumbled mess, but I can manage, don't worry.

Now, since I believe I've been blabbering for long enough, let's get to the reviews:

1) GennaiArakida-XIV: Yes, the dreaded name and book return. As for who's Gusion... well, Vine's Proto-Lucy, so...

2) Nobody245: Proto-Lola may appear either at the end of next chapter, or the chapter after that. And really, if the Proto-Sisters met the new Lincoln, they might consider him weird, but it's Proto-Lincoln (Who's an entirely separate persona) who they have a beef with.

3) Omega Ultra: Yes.

4) Finnjr63: Thx.

5) animehero1000: Think like a wedlocked child, or a half-sibling/cousin removed.

6) ChernoMan: Yup, they'll be back. Also, thanks. :)

7) Observant Guest: Yeah, I couldn't take away Carol and Lana's friendship! That would be cruel! As for why Carol seemed unsure, I'm fairly certain the situation she was in made it difficult for her to think clearly: She's now a new mentor, she met the pets, she's currently playing poker with a freaking dog, her mind's all over the place by now.

And now, to the chapter!

Episode 10: Onwards to the Sweetwater Mansion! Lola's Eternal Rival, Lindsey Sweetwater!

Next day, outside the Sweetwater Residence...

Lincoln, Lola, and Lana stood outside the residence, which just so happened to be a freaking mansion. This fact, however, only further angered Lola. After all, she was the one who put more effort in all beauty pageants, at least in her opinion, and yet her rival's the one with a nice-looking house?!

"Okay, here we are," Lincoln remarked, glancing at the twins as he asked, "Are you girls ready to go inside?"

"One thing I wanna say before we go," Lola stated, getting her brother's attention. "I understand why we came here, but why'd Lana come?!"

"I came along to make sure you don't end up saying something that could tick off Lindsey," Lana sternly answered, folding her arms and rolling her eyes. "Knowing how your relationship is with her, the first thing that'll come out of your mouth is probably an insult to her face."

"I wouldn't do such a thing!" Lola snapped, sounding offended. "I'd insult her fashion sense before insulting her body!"

Lana narrowed her eyes. "That doesn't help your case."

"Alright, I'll go see if they can let us in before you two start a fight," Lincoln sighed as he walked towards the door.

The boy touched the doorbell, and after a short bell sound, a miniature screen came out and said, with a mechanical voice: "Who's there?"

"Um, hello, whoever's behind the screen," Lincoln nervously greeted. "I'm Lincoln Loud, and I'm here with my sisters, Lana and Lola Loud. We came here because we heard about a beauty pageant happening this Sunday, and we wanted to know if Lindsey Sweetwater would come."

"Lindsey Sweetwater is currently under rehabilitation and rest due to sustained facial injuries," the voice spoke, sternly and bluntly. "Even if she wanted to go, she'd still need quite a bit of time before she could participate in a beauty pageant again. Especially if she's going to face off against the infamous Lola Loud. She's also not taking in any visitors, so the only thing I can ask of you is to vacate the premises."

"But-"

A couple seconds barely passed before a large array of weapons came out of the gate, all aimed at the Loud trio as the voice warned:

"Go away before you're terminated. You have five seconds to comply."

The sisters hugged their brother in fear, and just as he started to wonder what he could do, another voice-a female one at that-spoke out of the machine:

"Going way too overboard again, Greg?"

The other voice returned, "L-Lindsey? I thought you were resting in your room."

And the female voice responded, "I still am, I just decided to butt in before you sent them flying away, like with most visitors, and the Bluebell scouts too for some reason. Listen, I know I'm under doctor's orders to rest in my bedroom, but I couldn't help but feel like someone mentioned Lola Loud. Is she there?"

"Y-Yes-"

"Let her in, I could use a chat with her. I need to blow off some steam."

With that said, the weaponry returned where they came from, the screen left, and the gates slowly opened as the trio couldn't help but wonder what the heck just happened. Not the fact that Lindsey had some words to tell Lola, that was easy to get, but regarding everything else... they were stumped. However, it wasn't long before they agreed to just go along with it and not question anything.

They had a gut feeling that doing that would be for the best.

So the trio walked forward towards the door, and as they walked, Lola took a look at the statues around the garden, and she couldn't help but find some resemblance to a certain person she was familiar with. Who this person was, however, a bit hazy since she was still recovering from the headache.

That and her attention was caught when a butler opened the door, and her brother recognized who it was.

"Wait a minute, Chandler?!" Lincoln exclaimed in disbelief. "I thought you were with Penelope or something!"

"Well, since I have to work off some debt with the Sweetwaters, I couldn't be her companion for today," the redheaded butler answered, rolling his eyes. "However, Penelope has her ways, so she probably just found someone else to be her lackey for the day."

Lincoln couldn't help but wonder, "And who would be the poor guy?"

Meanwhile, at the market...

Penelope lively strolled around the market place, with her "lackey" following behind her. This lackey was none other than Clyde, who looked positively less than thrilled about the situation.

"Okay, so we need some apples, oranges, bananas, and also some vegetables, but I can't help but wonder if I'm forgetting something," Penelope remarked, not really paying any attention to her surroundings. "Do you have the list I gave you, Clyde?"

The boy took out a list from his pocket and read it out loud, "Yeah, besides what you said, we also need to buy some beef, chicken, carrots... the more I read this list, the more it looks like we're looking for the ingredients of some sort of feast."

"Clyde, have you forgotten what I had to do in order to reach to my level of prominence?" Penelope teasingly stopped, turned to Clyde, and threw him a wink. "Whether at school or in the city in general, there will be several poor victims robbed of their lunch money, or even beaten up! Clearly, they need somebody to help them get back on their feet, and who else besides me?"

Penelope turned back and leaped to continue her stroll, only to wind up crashing into a familiar trio of guys. A biker trio to be exact, a trio formed of Papa Wheelie, the leader, Flat Tire, the second in-command, and Rusty Spokes, one of Lincoln and Clyde's friends.

"Ugh, that hurt!" Wheelie yelled as everybody got up and dusted themselves, staying furious at the redhead as his companions realized who she was and shivered in terror. "Hey, you! Watch where you're going next time, jerk!"

"W-Wheelie, I'd watch it if I were you!" Rusty whispered to the biker leader. "She's Penelope Johnson, the top bully in all of Royal Woods!"

"This little nerd is the top bully?" Wheelie asked in disbelief as Penelope stretched a bit. "Nah, you must be joking, she's a nerd! I mean just look at her: Glasses that look like they merged with her eyes, buck teeth, an alien on her shirt, she can't be a bully!"

The instant Penelope stopped stretching, she smiled and said, "Well thanks for the compliment, Willy."

Wheelie flinched and turned back to face the redhead. "H-How do you know my real name?!"

Suddenly, Penelope grabbed Wheelie by the neck of his shirt, and she smirked as she growled, "I'm not in a good mood, Willy. Specially not after you screamed in my face like that. If you think I only end at knowing your real name, then you've seen nothing at all. So I suggest you go away before I get physical with you."

The girl released the guy and pushed him towards his companions, and after sharing a look, the guys ran away in sheer terror, shrieking at the top of their lungs. And with that done, Penelope turned back to Clyde, who held a serious look as she said:

"Thanks for not warning them to go away while they could. I'm sure they'll eventually be "grateful" for your "help."

"I've learned that there's nothing worse than interrupting you when you're bullying someone," Clyde rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "Besides, you were clearly having so much fun, nothing I'd do or say would've convinced you to stop."

"So, you're still too passive for your own good, huh?" Penelope shrugged and shook her head. "Don't you ever get tired of staying at the sidelines, hoping things will be okay? Have you ever wondered if you could take the initiative one day? Will you always be stuck as Lincoln's sidekick, unable to really take any action by yourself without him being there to support you?"

The redhead leaned closer to Clyde, frowning as she added, "After all, it's because of your passiveness that Calliope is no longer with us. I trusted you to keep her safe, and you wind up doing nothing to protect her."

Penelope narrowed her eyes. "Does that mean nothing to you?"

Clyde narrowed his eyes and looked at the ground, prompting Penelope to turn around and state, "Anyway, we're wasting time. Let's continue with the shopping, and when we're done, you can think about what I've told you. And trust me, for your own good, you better put some good thought into it."

Penelope strolled away just as Clyde returned to reality and followed her. And as he saw her stroll rather joyously, without a care in the world, he couldn't help but ponder if there was something Penelope was trying to tell him something other than he should be more assertive.

Then again, it probably would be better if he didn't give it too much thought.

Back at the Sweetwater Mansion...

Lincoln, Lana, and Lola held hands and walked together as they followed Chandler towards Lindsey's bedroom. As they walked, Lola and Lana took the moment to look at the pictures hanging on the wall. Most of them depicted Lindsey when she was younger, and with a muscular man with his face shadowed or out of frame.

"When you take care of somebody in Lindsey's condition, and you legitimately care about them, It's only natural that you'd want to make sure nothing happens to them," Chandler suddenly remarked, catching the trio's attention. "Of course, sometimes that desire to protect her can go a bit... overboard."

"Has anybody else tried to come here?" Lana asked.

"There was one girl by the name of "Giggles" that was given the job of cheering Lindsey up," the redheaded butler folded his arms and sighed. "She did manage to do her job well, but ever since then, Lindsey's been... contemplative, or something. Like there was something on her mind besides defeating Lola for once."

Lola flinched and growled as Lincoln remarked, "Oh hey, I know her! Luan set me up for a date with her alongside Luna, Lynn, and Lucy's friends."

"Really?" Lola asked with a mixed tone of curiosity and teasing. "And how did that go?"

"Well, things got a bit out of control later on, but at least everybody left the dance happy after they decided to hang out with my friends instead," Lincoln sighed and smiled. "I'm not sure how their relationship with my friends went later on, though, but I'm assuming they're still happy, to an extent. I mean, I haven't asked them or anything, but-"

"You better make sure your assumptions have some sort of weight to them, Larry," Chandler bluntly interrupted, startling the Loud trio. "After all, if it turns out to be wrong, then you could end up paying a terrible price. A painful one, even."

Then everybody stopped at the end of the hallway and noticed the door at the very end, with a sign reading "Lindsey's room" hanging on the door. Chandler then turned to the trio, gestured them to be on their best behavior, and he promptly grabbed the doorknob and slowly opened it...

Meanwhile, at the Santiago household...

Ronnie Anne went walking to the staircase with a stern look, the collar still attached to her neck, though at least this time the timer had reset and it wasn't even moving anymore. However, this didn't change the fact the tomboy was stuck with the thing on her neck with no idea how to take it out, so she grumbled and started to go upstairs until she heard:

"Are you out of your mind?!"

And she recognized the voice belonged to her mother. So she ran closer to the room the voice came from, the kitchen, and she took a peek from the door frame. Inside were Bobby and Carlota, sitting on the table as her mother, Mrs. Santiago, walked back and forth in a fit of rage. And while Bobby seemed nervous at the woman's anger, Carlota just focused on polishing her nails.

"Let me make sure I understand this: that collar is still in it's prototype stage, it's only gone through a couple tests on non-living creatures, and it hasn't even been tested on living creatures yet!" Mrs. Santiago snapped, before stopping and turning her focus to Carlota. "What made you think it was a good idea to put the collar on Ronnie Anne's neck, Carlota?!"

Ronnie almost gasped before she covered her mouth. "She put the collar on my neck?!"

And then Mrs. Santiago turned to look at Bobby. "And you! why didn't you stop her?! You know about the collar, you know It's not safe to use it yet, and you should've known the danger Ronalda would be put in if the collar was-!"

"I tried to stop her, Mom, I honestly did!" Bobby exclaimed back, with Carlota rolling her eyes as he continued. "But no matter how hard I tried to convince her, she just wouldn't listen to me! The only thing I managed to do was strike a deal with her."

Mrs. Santiago calmed down a little and raised an eyebrow. "Deal?"

"I put the collar on Ronalda while she was sleeping, that much is true. However I no longer hold the key to unlocking it," Carlota bluntly and briefly explained before looking at Bobby. "I handed the key to Bobby, so whenever he felt like Ronalda had gone through enough, he could use the key to free her from the collar's clutches. In fact, I think he was about to do just that when you called us here, Aunt Maria."

And as Mrs. Maria Santiago, or just Maria, exchanged looks with Bobby, Carlota got up and walked towards the backyard, only to be instantly spotted by the woman.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Maria snapped, getting the fashionista to stop on the spot. "I still have to give you an earful for what you did!"

"Do you really think I have the time to hear you jabber on and on like you always do, Aunt Maria?" Carlota shrugged and shook her head. "Unlike you, I have other things to take care of. In fact, I have to go help set up a beauty pageant for this Sunday."

"But, you don't like beauty pageants," Bobby casually pointed out.

"That's true. However, my... boss, does like them, and she asked me to help her for some reason," the fashionista somberly answered, taking a deep breath before she finished, "I made a deal with her, and if I want Ronnie Anne to be safe, I can't defy her. So, I have to go help her, or else she's gonna get angry."

With that said and done, Carlota left the room, and Maria basically asked Bobby to go take out Ronnie's collar, prompting the peeping tomboy to run off and try to find some place to act like nothing happened. So of course, she ran off to her room upstairs as fast as she could like she originally planned. She went inside, and sat on her bed as she waited for Bobby to come, all while wondering:

"Why would Carlota even put the collar on my neck?"

Back with the Loud trio...

Lincoln, Lana, and Lola went inside to Lindsey's bedroom, with Chandler closing the door once the three were inside. From what they could see, the room was mostly pink, with some large plushed toys laying around, and a bed in the middle of the room. Next to said bed was a tea party, where a girl with a bandaged face waved to catch the trio's attention.

And if Lola's intuition was correct, this bandaged girl was none other, than Lindsey Sweetwater.

"Greetings, everyone," the girl greeted as the trio approached her. "I'm Lindsey Sweetwater. I had my butler Chandler prepare this tea party for you three, to try and spice your visit up a bit, so please; sit down and I'll pour some tea on your cups."

"Well, hello there, Lindsey Sweetwater," Lola greeted, clearly hissing underneath her breath as she and her siblings sat down. "I find it kinda weird that you decided to see us while clearly having just come out of bed, but oh well, whatever makes you happy."

"I know I have reacted to your previous insults in quite an emotionally sensitive, not to mention immature, way but I'm afraid you won't get the pleasure of seeing me act like that in a while," Lindsey answered as she poured the tea on her visitors' teacups. "The doctor instructed me to stay calm at all times, just to make sure my body managed to heal properly. Apparently, getting really emotional slows down the healing process, or something like that."

"I like your wordy approach, Lindsey, but I'm afraid that won't trick us!" Lola sneered with a smug tone as the bandaged redhead sat down. "You have another reason for why you're not going, right? Besides your bandaged face, of course, there has to be another reason!"

Lindsey crossed her legs and rolled her eyes. "If we're going to assume somebody has hidden motives, that would need to be you, Lola."

"Huh?!" Lola flinched and slammed her fists down the table. "A-Are you accusing me of hiding something?!"

Lola then turned to her siblings, who took a sip of their tea. "Lana! Lincoln! Can you believe her!?"

"Totally," Lana bluntly stated.

"Um, well, you did accuse her of having hidden motives, and seeing how, that's... kinda rude," Lincoln argued, twiddling his fingers nervously before he added, "Besides, think about this logically: If she really did have hidden motives, would she really reveal them right away?"

Lola didn't even think about it for a second before she face palmed and growled, "How did I miss something so obvious!?"

"You were most likely too caught up insulting me to really give it much thought," Lindsey guessed, shaking her head in disapproval. "It's like the beauty pageant of 87'."

"You weren't born back then," Lincoln pointed out. "You weren't, right?"

Lindsey chuckled. "Of course I wasn't, but my dad participated in it. In fact, he was the one who made the mistake, and it costed him the win."

"Actually, now that you mention him, there's one thing we'd like to know before we move on," Lincoln said, earning looks from Lola and Lana as the twins drank a bit of their tea. "Who's your father?"

With a blunt question came a blunt answer:

"Mr. Universe."

The twins spat out the tea and Lincoln's jaw dropped. Luckily, he managed to close it as the twins caught their breath, and Lola exclaimed, "The Mr. Universe?! The legendary beauty pageant master who's won several dozen pageants when he was my age?! That Mr. Universe?!"

"Yes, but I'll understand if it's a bit hard to believe," Lindsey waved her hand. "Please, feel free to change the subject. We can talk about anything you want."

Hearing this, Lincoln gave it some thought. He definitely didn't want to bring up some other baffling subject, specially since Lola seemed to be about to explode any second now, judging by how much she was shivering. So he thought as hard as he could... and then Lana suddenly asked:

"What happened to your face?"

Lola gasped and Lincoln covered the plumber's mouth before they turned to see Lindsey's eyes being shadowed by her hair. However, she didn't seem to be particularly furious, or even angry in a manner fitting for one of Lola's rival. She seemed to be angry in a subtler way.

So Lindsey lifted her face a little and she stated, "I figured you'd be asking that question sooner or later. I was hoping you would do it later, but oh well."

Then she faced the pageant diva. "Lola, please get out of here."

"Wait, what?!" Lola snapped. "Why do I have to leave?! Why can't I stay?!"

"I have no problems with your brother, and while I don't like how her face reminds me of yours, I don't have problems with your twin sister either," Lindsey explained sternly. "So, I feel a bit more comfortable explaining what happened to them, rather than you, who should already know why by now."

"That's so unfair!" Lola whined, throwing her arms up in the air. "How do you expect me to try make up for what I did to you if I don't even know what I did!?"

"I don't, I've had enough encounters with you to know the kind of person you are," Lindsey narrowed her eyes and began recapping, "Selfish, bossy, self-centered, obnoxious, greedy... there's a lot more stuff, but what I have said should give you a general idea of what I'm talking about."

"That does sound a lot like Lola," Lana remarked with a shrug.

Lola gritted her teeth and glared at Lana, prompting Lincoln to nervously add, "B-But, she's usually only like that on a bad day! Normally, she's an angel!"

Lola calmed down and pridefully folded her arms and nodded, believing this would be enough to convince the redhead. However, Lindsey wasn't even fazed; She stood up, walked closer towards the diva with a stern look, and before she knew it, the pair were face-to-face, as Lindsey scoffed:

"More like a fallen angel, all things considered."

Then she narrowed her eyes and added:

"Besides, telling me won't change my mind."

And that statement brought a couple memories to the tomboy plumber nearby. "That's what Claire said..."

"So, I'm going to request that you leave again, and this is the last time I ask you nicely," Lindsey hissed, leaning closer to Lola. "If you refuse to leave by will, then I'll have Chandler take you out by force!"

Lola sneered. "I'd like to see you backup that claim!"

Lindsey pulled out a bell from behind her back and moved it a little, summoning Chandler to the room. She then pointed at Lola, and next thing the pageant diva knew, Chandler grabbed her by the neck of her dress, swung her out of the room, and then closed the door to said room before guarding it like a bodyguard.

Seeing this, Lola stood up and dusted herself. She clutched her chest and caught her breath as she looked at the redhead, who was throwing an angry glare at her.

"So, you took me out of there, good for you." Lola sighed before smiling. "Do you really think you can keep me out, though? You're a butler, those mostly work in household chores, so what's the chance that you even know how to fight?"

Chandler simply unfolded his arms and surrounded one of them with light blue lighting, instantly turning Lola's smug smile into a worried frown.

Back inside, Lindsey sat back on her seat and she promptly began her explanation:

"This happened a couple weeks ago, during the last beauty pageant I went to before the incident..."

Lindsey's flashback...

Lindsey leaned against the wall, arms folded as she looked around the stage as some beauty pageant participants walked around, some a bit more upset than others. Not only that, but it seemed like the pageant had just ended, judging by the words and the mention of Lola's name in the background, with the diva being nowhere to be seen.

"Things weren't any different than they used to be; I tried my hardest, Lola tried just as hard, she got the first place, and I followed behind in second place."

Lindsey of the past sighed before Lola came inside, holding the first place trophy.

"She got the trophy, she got the prize, she got everything she basically could get from first place. And all I really got was bragging rights, which I already had about a dozen of those, so it didn't really mean anything to me."

Lola walked past Lindsey, but not before pulling her eyelid and taking out her tongue, annoying the girl a little. In fact, Lindsey just rolled her eyes exasperation.

"However, one thing went a little differently: Once Lola left after the pageant was over, she went behind the pageant hall, where nobody would be at for hours. And I heard her talking to someone, so of course I went to check what was going on."

Lindsey sneakily went to the backyard and hid behind some crates, before taking a peek at Lola talking with... Lisa?

"The person she was talking with was a brunette toddler with glasses and a lab coat, who I assume was her younger sister. I took a listen to their conversation, and I found out something... troubling."

The Lola of the past snapped at Lisa, "I don't care what materials you need, I don't care how long it takes you, and just like you, I certainly don't care about how legal this may not be! Lindsey came this close to defeating me this time, and I must never allow that to happen! So I'm asking, no, I'm ordering you, to make something that will make sure I can win beauty pageants, forever!"

Past Lindsey covered her mouth and backed away, only to trip with something with a notable *THUD*, no doubt getting Lola and Lisa's attention.

"Shocked, I tripped over something, and had to make a run for it before they found me."

The girl got up and ran as fast and as far as she could, until she had left the building. Once she was at the frontyard, the girl leaned against a wall and slowly slid to the floor before she uncovered her mouth and caught her breath.

"Luckily, they didn't seem to chase, or even notice me, since they were nowhere to be seen when I stopped. However, it was too late: I already knew about Lola's little plan to make sure nobody but she could ever win a beauty pageant. Sure, a lot of details were lacking, but I knew what the basis was, and I knew that I needed to do something about it."

Back at the present...

"But, wait a minute, I don't remember Lisa and Lola ever agreeing to that," Lana remarked, scratching her head. "I would know because whenever Lola thinks she has a plan to win at beauty pageants, or just win in general, she brags about it to me or practically anyone in earshot."

"Maybe you weren't there when she was bragging that time?" Lincoln guessed, shrugging as he raised an eyebrow.

"It's not as simple as that, Lincoln," Lana shook her head. "I mean, think about it: why would Lisa even bother helping Lola, if she's not interested in beauty pageants? Knowing her, Lola would need to get something to convince her, and I find that hard to believe."

"If only I had known about that earlier, I could've saved myself a lot of trouble," Lindsey remarked, shaking her head in regret. "Sadly, I only knew what I knew at the moment, and that made me do one of the biggest mistakes I had ever done. However, since remembering that is painful, let's just say: I checked with the genius, I thought her current invention was gonna be used by Lola, I was wrong, we fought a little, and then the thing blew up right on my and the girl's face."

"Lisa was hit by it too?!" Lincoln exclaimed in shock.

"Yes, sadly though, I'm not willing to tell you any more about it," Lindsey nodded. "Now, if you don't want to suffer what Lola went through, I suggest you leave right now, please."

Not really feeling like incurring the bandaged girl's wrath, Lincoln and Lana left the room... only to find Lola face-first on the ground, electricity surging around her body while Chandler, with his arms folded behind his back, leaned against a wall nearby.

"I'm not gonna ask," Lincoln walked to the electrified girl and lifted her. "Anyway, Lindsey finished with what she wanted to tell us, and she asked us to leave."

Chandler nodded. "I'll guide you to the exit, then."

The trio followed the redhead and eventually left the mansion. Once they were out, however, a certain pair of individuals entered Lindsey's bedroom, not through the door but through the window.

And they just so happened to be one of Lincoln's sisters, and one of Ronnie Anne's cousins...

Meanwhile, at the Loud House...

Lynn was on her bedroom, seemingly talking with Haiku on the phone. And judging by her expression, and how angry Haiku sounded, the duo weren't... quite on friendly terms.

"So let me get this straight: Rather than doing the responsible thing and stop Lucy from potentially summoning a demon, you're gonna help her do exactly that?!" Haiku snapped from the other line. "And how did you get my number in the first place?!"

"Lucy gave it to me, duh," Lynn answered. "And besides, I do know there's a major risk at hand, and I made a deal with Lucy: Once things seem to be going out of control, we're going to stop things immediately."

"You should've stopped that nonsense the instant you found out about it!" Haiku snapped at the top of her lungs, only to calm down before adding, "And speaking of deals, make sure to keep in mind about how demons like to do deals: If whoever you're trying to summon tries to strike a deal with you, refuse it without a second thought!"

"Of course we're going to refuse a deal with an stranger," Lynn rolled her eyes and sighed, "Do you really think we'd be stupid enough to do that?"

"Yes!" Haiku sternly and bluntly replied. "Especially Lucy! I mean, I don't want to offend her or anything, but she's still too young to fully comprehend what she's doing. Unlike you, who should understand what could go wrong, but don't care about it enough to try and stop it, Lucy's curiosity is getting the better of her. And if things do go wrong, you'll have nobody to blame, but yourself."

The jock managed to keep her cool up until the last sentence, which caused her to snap, "What are you talking about?! Lucy found the stupid book and got the idea in the first place!"

"Yes, but she also asked YOU if you could help her do the summoning," the poet on the other end bluntly answered, further angering the athlete. "Chances are, if you had said no right then and there, she probably would've saved it for another time. But no, for some unfathomable reason, you just had to agree to helping her with the stuff!"

"Okay, now listen up, you paranoid excuse for a poet, I know the danger involved, but I also know Lucy much better than you do! I've lived with her for my entire life, basically! So I know what she would've done if I had said no; She would just have gone to the next sister until one of them agreed with her, or until she convinced herself to do it alone, which would be worse than if I did it with her!" Lynn snapped at the top of her lungs, growling as a vein seemed to be this close to popping out of her head. "Now, anything else you wanna say before I hang on you!?"

Then, with a very stern, serious tone, Haiku answered:

"This can only end badly, no matter how hard. And once it inevitably blows up in your and Lucy's face, I'll only have sympathy for Lucy. As for you, I will only hold the most stern, calm contempt I can gather, before I tell you one single sentence: I. Told. You."

Haiku audibly hung up before Lynn did it, and the athlete, remembering Lucy was waiting for her, took the moment to calm down before she went to help Lucy with the summoning. After all, what good could she be if she was blinded by rage? So she went to the room and walked to the goth's side.

"Okay, Lucy, our other sisters are busy with their own business, and I already talked with your friend on the phone, so we're all alone to perform this ritual or whatever," Lynn explained as she sat next to her gothic sister. "You know, you still have time to give this whole idea a second thought, and throw it all away before it's too late."

Lucy sighed and glanced at the book, prompting Lynn to put a hand on her shoulder and state, "Listen, I just want to make sure you really think this is the best. This is something that could very well backfire so badly in our face and blow our minds like the other day. We're trying to deal with things we don't really understand. It's a big risk."

"So was having nearly a dozen of us, and yet Mom and Dad took it and managed to work around it and live to tell the tale," Lucy answered as she opened the book. "And we didn't have our souls are still anchored to this world after we fought our doppelgangers. If we endured that, then summoning something from beyond this world and come out alive should be a walk in the cemetery, right?"

"Alive, most likely, if we play our cards right," Lynn remarked, only to look elsewhere as she thought about another thing. "Unscathed, though-"

"I found the page!"

Lynn looked back to Lucy and got a clear look at the page, depicting the pair of Proto-Lucy and Proto-Lynn.

Back at the Sweetwater Mansion...

"Well, hello there, I was expecting you to come eventually," Lindsey greeted at her visitors. "You're the ones who agreed to come here, right?"

One of the two people nodded and said, "That's right. I'm Carlota Casagrande."

And the other lifted her dress a little and bowed elegantly. "My name is Leni Loud, one of Lola's older sisters, and we're, like, here to help you with something."

However, despite the showcased good manners, Lindsey wasn't quite trustful of Leni yet. "You introduce yourself as one of Lola's sisters, and you expect me to accept your help? Even more so when I've dealt with her for about a year or so now?"

"I was just proving how me not being the sharpest tool in the shed isn't just talk," Leni shrugged and walked to the exit. "However, if you totes don't want any help in defeating Lola-"

"I'm not participating in the beauty pageant she's going to go, doctor's orders," Lindsey stated. "But, assuming I was, why would you, of all people, help me?"

"'Cause we three share the same goal: Teach Lola a lesson," Leni put a hand on Carlota's shoulder. "And Carlota over here may have just the thing needed to make that come true."

The Latina reached for her back, and pulled out a copy of the Ars Loudia, making Lindsey raise an eyebrow. "Using this book, we can summon my master into this world, and she'll most likely be willing to help you deal with Lola."

Lindsey raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

Concurrently, at the Sweetwater mansion and the Loud household, the rituals for the summoning were prepared: Lucy and Lynn traced an eye-like symbol on the ground, while Leni and Carlota drew a diamond. Some candles were lit for Lynn and Lucy's ritual, and glitter was spread for Carlota and Leni's ritual. Finally, Lucy and Lindsey stood in front of the symbols and extended their arms forward as the symbols on the ground began glowing.

Lindsey shouted:

"Gorgon with eternal memory, I summon thy, Gremory!"

And Lucy shouted:

"With a blank state of mind, come forth, Vine!"

And then, the symbols glew even brighter as a pillar of light came out of them, somehow going through the ceiling without actually destroying them. And then, from those same pillars, seemingly formless... blobs of something materialized, before taking on a humanoid shape.

Eventually, they fully formed and the pillars vanished, allowing the summoners to realize one thing:

Proto-Lola and Proto-Lucy had been successfully summoned.

-Next Chapter Preview-

"Hi everybody, Lynn here."

Haiku flinched, and generally looked intensely worried as she talked with Tabby and Polly, before outright getting on Polly's back.

"So, what I'm about to tell you might be a little upsetting,"

Meanwhile, in another location, Lynn Sr. and Rita stood alongside Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Shrinivas, Mrs. DiMartino, and Coach Pacowski as they watched two monitors, one represented with a skull and another represented by a diamond, blaring.

"I helped Lucy summon her counterpart from our copycats, the progenitors,"

The team looked up to see the monitor come out of the ceiling, and then it cut to the Loud house, where Lynn stood in front of a terrified Lucy as Proto-Lucy dusted herself.

"And I know that's terrible, tell me something I don't know..."

A quick cut was made to show Lindsey and Proto-Lola exchanging looks, with Proto-Lola looking a bit upset about the staring. Then it cut back to show Proto-Lucy talking with Carol, who was being restrained by giant hands made of darkness.

"But the good news is, Lucy's counterpart seems to be reasonable, for some reason..."

Proto-Lucy pointed at Lucy, who flinched but listened as her counterpart said her deal.

"Next time, on Chains of Reality: Divinity Reborn..."

Proto-Lucy went close to Lucy, and touched her stomach before speaking some more. And then she suddenly grabbed Lucy by the neck of her dress and snapped at her.

"A Helping Hand, and a Healthy Beating?! Proto-Lola's Advice and Proto-Lucy's Proposition!"

Back with Lindsey and Proto-Lola, the prototype diva spoke some more before extending her hand towards Lindsey, who narrowed her eyes.

"Don't miss it!"

For the final scene, Margo's shown to speak with Proto-Lucy, with the latter smirking with malice as she answered back.