Well, I feel like this one could have been better so go ahead and tell me what could been better.

Otherwise, reader responses...GO.

That Engineer: Here, here.

Gamelover41592: What's Snake Formation? Also, yeah, I feel like part of Lincoln's development is knowing how physically inferior he is in comparison with his teammates, and I doubt that gives him any reason to get a swelled head.

DreadedCandiru2: Well, he can always do better.

364wii: I doubt Canon!Lincoln is that bad.

DarthWill3: Yeah, sorry. Like I said, already juggling way too many relationships to meaningfully give any worthwhile scenes to Ronnie. Also, yeah, the article could have been better.

Gundamvid: To watch your enemies dash themselves like waves upon the jagged rocks like always give that nice 'All according to Keikaku*' feeling.

*Keikaku means Plan in Japanese.

Guest: I get what you're saying, but do remember that this story is from Lincoln's perspective and he probably overblown some of the things he's done. Sure, he 'did' the exercises, if doing them half-well or for like 2 minutes counts.

DJTimmer: Well, you'll get your answer this chapter.

Agui972: Same answer as above.

Asylum117: Lincoln and Clyde's friendship… _

T: Like I said, we'll see.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Loud House.


"What's the plan?" I said as I thought about it, and looked the part too. I could already tell that the other members looked a little peeved that I didn't actually have any real ideas after that little speech of mine. Seriously, where did that come from?

"Alright, here's what I got. If they bring out Patrick early, then we can't let him get out into the field. The moment he leaves our range, we might as well give the Offense the touchdown. So if the Offense gives him the ball, everyone that's not on the line has to go and block all the running routes that Patrick can take. Fastest runner on the field doesn't mean anything if you can't run anywhere."

There was that plan for Patrick, but there was still the other offense to consider. Even if they didn't decide to bring out Patrick for whatever reason, that didn't mean that we could relax. Terrence, Matt, and the other Receivers and Running Backs were still good, especially against a group of barely motivated Defense.

"As for the other offense, pay close attention to the line. If they try to push out, they're gonna try to open something up for Patrick to run. If they're holding in place, they're gonna go for a throw. Either way, if you see that Terrence is open for a sack, go for it."

"Wait...So what are you going to do?" Thomas asked.

"Gonna focus on Terrence. Everything he does, everywhere he goes. No matter, I'm gonna be on me like a bad smell on a dirty diaper."

Gross...Why did I say it like that? There had to be a better way to say what I meant.

"Besides, I doubt you would want me on the line. No matter how strong I got over the past few weeks, there is no way that I can hold the line."

Thomas looked at me and felt my bicep before nodding. "Yeah, I guess you do you."

Just as that happened, the whistle blew. I took a deep breath, before putting on my helmet. It's showtime, day one of being Defense. I really do hope that my words got through to the others, because I do not look forward to playing with a bunch of quitters.

As we met at the 0 yard line, 11 of us meeting their eleven, I noticed someone missing. I checked, then double checked, only to see that it was somehow true. The Offense didn't have Patrick on the sidelines. Noticing me, Patrick simply shrugged.

Looking back, I stared at Terrence, who was just getting into position. What was he planning, or really, what was he thinking? If I was him, I would definitely put Patrick on the starting lineup , make the other team sweat. Heck, they probably would even have tunnel vision on Patrick only, completely focusing on him and giving everyone else a chance to work.

Then Terrence looked up at me.

I didn't understand, what was Terrence's plan? Did he know something about this exercise I didn't? I wouldn't put it past him, he's been on this team a lot longer than I have, so he probably knows how Coach operates…

Gah, what am I doing? Can't rely on possible what-ifs. Gotta treat this like Coach meant every single word.

"Great." One of the other defense came up to me. "They don't have Patrick on the field. That's a bit easier."

I shook my head. "Yeah, but Terrence and the others are still on the field, and from what I could see, majority of them have been on this team longer than we have."

Looking at the faces and the numbers, I remembered how they all looked to be part of the same age that Terrence was. Not to mention there was something about the way they stood and talked compared to the Defense. While the Defense were at their positions, they were shifting, clearly impatient and ready to play their respective roles and only them, just staring at their targets. Meanwhile, a majority of the Offense players were still, taking in everything around them.

We had essentially a team of newbies vs a team of veterans, and we have to stop them from getting 12 points in seven and a half minutes. This just got a lot harder.

"Oh yes, before I forget, each team has three timeouts. Also, if the defense manages to intercept or make the Offense only advance 19 yards or lower in 4 downs, then the Offense will start back at the zero yard line. That said…"

Everyone stilled. I looked around. The Defense were in our 4-3 defense, with four linebackers in front, two linebackers slightly backed up, two cornerbacks on the sides ready to intercept any receivers, and two safeties in the back with me in the middle with my eye trained on the Quarterback. The Offense, meanwhile, had gotten into the T formation, with their linebackers in front with Terrence right behind the center linebacker with Matt and two others right behind the Quarterback.

At that moment, Coach blew the whistle, and everyone exploded into action. The Linebackers collided with each other as Terrence backed away with the ball. A moment later, the quarterback handed it off to one of the others, who immediately ran with the ball to their left with Matt and the other person acting as blockers.

Me and the other safeties saw this and ran over. The cornerback on that side blocked Matt, leaving us to deal with the ball carrier and the other blocker. As the safety stopped the other blocker, the ball carrier tried to go around the two, only to run into me.

Gritting my teeth, I forced the guy down onto the ground. I looked around. Stopped them around the 8 yard mark.

At that rate, they'll be within kicking range of the goal in about 10 downs, and assuming that each down has about 10 seconds of playtime, they will have spent about a minute and 40 seconds just for one kick. Then again, can't assume that will always be the case. Still, as long as the Offense and Terrence feel like they're making progress, they won't decide to bring out Patrick. Patrick is just insurance.

Helping the guy up, I nodded to him as we both made our way back to our starting positions. I saw that the Offense got back into the T formation. Then as the action started up again, with the ball carrier and the other two this time going towards the other side. We stopped them there, still only giving them eight yards.

Then the Offense did this play again, then again, then again…

"Man, Terrence must be so scared of you he's only sticking to a run game!" One of the defense players said to me as he passed me by as we set up on the 40 yard line.

As we got back into position, I caught a sight of Terrence looking back at me. Is what the other guy said right? Is Terrence that scared of me intercepting the ball?

Looking around, I saw that the rest of the Defense were smirking, patting each other on the back… and slightly forward. The defense was already eager to defend the next run.

The Offense were back in their T formation, but I could tell that there was something different about it.

"HEY! DON'T GET COCKY!" I shouted to everyone else, only for no one to listen to me. Figures.

The whistle blew and I realized what was different as I pretended to put my full attention to the side and moved forward. Matt had been on the other side, and quickly ran over. The Defense didn't notice or care as they charged the ball carrier and his blocker.

Terrence clearly had something behind his back.

Seeing brown in his hands, I turned around, making a beeline for Matt. Just as I jumped in front of him with my hands outstretched, the ball landed right in them. Landing down, I took a deep breath.

They almost got me too with that one.

"Not bad, Loud." Matt said as he jogged back.

Wait, why he is so calm? I just ruined the past minute and half of progress they just did. Something was seriously up. Jogging back to the zero yard line, I caught a glimpse of Terrence looking at me.

He was looking at me like someone would when I impressed them with one of my chess moves in the park.

Heh, when you thought about it, Chess is kinda like Football. There are pieces or people with defined abilities on the board, they usually move a certain way, and you have to use them in a unified way if you want to win. Sure, you can't outright control the pieces, there are no turns, and you're trying to put the ball at the end zone rather than trying to capture the King.

But hey, from all the sports I have seen Lynn play, Football was probably the one with the most seeable strategy.

As I huddled with the others to discuss what to do, the others were looking at me with some apprehension. Why were they… Oh yeah.

"Like I said, don't get cocky. Anyways, let's go ahead and keep our formation."

"Wait a minute, shouldn't we change our formation?" One of the other defense asked. I looked at his jersey. Number 45. I really need to learn everyone's name. "I mean, won't the Offense eventually get used to that formation?"

I shook my head. "Maybe, but we are in the most generalized defense formation. We have people to hit the line, and we have people to guard against a pass or a run. And right now, even if the Offense is doing nothing but runs, they could try to pull a fast one on us. You guys are doing pretty good, let's keep up the pressure. Just remember; don't get cocky, watch out for anything, and don't assume that it's not your problem, because as long as you're on this team, it is."

"Alright." "Okay." "Got it." A few people of the group said as they went to get into their positions, a little filled with appreciation. As I got back into my own position, I saw Thomas looking back at me. He nodded at me before looking back forward. Looks like I'm starting to get the other Defense players to like me. Maybe this won't be that much of a chore after all.

Then I looked back at the Offense, and more importantly, the formation they were now using. It looked like the T formation, only this time, two of the three people behind Terrence were slightly farther back. Looked like they switched from the T formation to the Wishbone formation, which is a good choice if you want to do a triple option offense more easily, where you could either hand it to someone near you, pitch it to someone running on the outside, or even run the ball yourself.

Alright, we game now, Terrence?


As the Defense got back into position for the next round, I took a look behind us at the goalpost that was behind us. Right now, the Offense managed to take us to the 20 yard line, more than enough for them to make the kick. But the question remained, was that going to be what they were planning to do?

You had to give credit to the Offense. From what I've seen, they were a true jack of trades. Compared to everyone else, they may not be a master of a single play, but they knew enough. They were really using the Triple Offense to their full advantage, leaving the Defense, and me, guessing every step of the way. Sometimes we guessed right, and sometimes we guess wrong, and that's how we got to this point.

My brain was definitely asking me to just take a nap when we get home.

So I believe I could be forgiven for thinking that Terrence might not actually take the kick.

Taking a look at the Offense formation, two of the Offense were back with one kneeling while the rest were on the line. Though, I couldn't see Terrence. How did I manage to lose him.

The others set up to try to counter the kick, while I stood a bit farther around the center to try to get a better vantage point.

The whistle blew. The center Linesman of the Offense passed the ball to the kneeling player. The guy caught it and brought it down, keeping it on its point. The player behind ran forward, bringing his foot back as he got ready to kick it…

Only for the setter to pull the ball away at the last minute as the kicker passed by.

I started looking around. They went and threw away the kick. What was their plan, their strategy?

Then the kicker blocked for someone that came out of the line. The setter spotted the person coming out of the line and threw towards them. The person caught the ball handily, allowing me to see the jersey number.

#1? What was Terrence doing on the line? Wait, he managed to cross the line, got to intercept him.

Still have some room before he passes me by. Gotta stop him. Quickly calculating where we would meet, I sprinted over. Colliding in three...two...one…

He passed me. HE PASSED ME! I tried to quickly change my direction.

Someone might as well have stuck a stick in between my legs, or gave my leg the memo that they don't work like I wanted them to work at that moment. Either way, I ended up falling to the ground, staring up at the sky. Rolling back onto my stomach, I could only watch as Terrence ran into the end zone. Dang it, that's one touchdown, and they got it in 4 and a half minutes.

I looked down at my legs, before slowly bending my knees and flexing my feet. Okay, my legs are fine. I just tripped. I just tripped… while sprinting...and trying to make a sharp turn…

...I tried to make a sharp turn while I was sprinting...Just like Patrick taught me...the way he ran…

Could it be?

"LINCOLN! You alright?" I looked up to see Terrence looking down at me. I nodded.

"Yeah, just tripped. Totally fine." Terrence nodded before holding his hand. Grabbing it, I pulled myself up.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

With that, me and Terrence ran over to our groups. Everyone's eyes were on me as I joined them. I sighed as I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Sorry, guys. He got past me."

Everyone looked at each other, before someone spoke out.

"It's fine." Thomas said. "We didn't see it coming either. Still, anything different you want to do now that the Offense got their first touchdown?"

"Well…"

"OH CRUD!" One of the Defense shouted out. Seeing he was looking at the Offense, I turned to take a look as well as the others. While the Defense started gasping, I simply stared.

Patrick was now in the Offense's huddle. And just like that, the people around me started to panic.

"Well, we're done."

"GAME OVER, GAME OVER!"

"Why didn't he just put Patrick on the team in the first place anyway?!"

"Guys, calm down."

Everyone turned back to look at me.

"Hello, are you there, Loud?! Are you blind?! THEY GOT PATRICK NOW! We're done."

"No, we're not."

Thomas spoke up. "No way… Don't tell me. You actually thought of a way to stop Patrick?"

The silence that came after was so thick, I could have cut it with a knife.

"Well...It's more of a hunch, really."

Everyone looked at each other, uncertainty shining in their eyes. Yet, I could also it slowly dawning among them, slowly and tentatively, like trying to get Charles to try some new dog food that we got him.

They were daring to hope.

"Okay, Loud, what do you have planned?"

"Okay, do what we do normally. 4-3, but the safeties should get ready to assist the cornerbacks. Let's assume that Patrick is going to get some help. If you guys do get Patrick in front of you, and he looks like he's going to turn, turn into his space. Understand?"

Everyone nodded.

"Okay, we got 3 more minutes! LET'S MAKE THEM WORK FOR IT!"

The defense shouted in response, before we all got into positions. As I stared at the Offense formation, they got back into the T formation, Patrick on the right hand side of Terrence. Patrick gave me a small wave before returning back to his serious face. I took a deep breath as I readied myself for the whistle.

When I thought about it, hunch was the right word. Sure, I just realized the flaw in Patrick's style, but there was no way that Patrick himself didn't know it as well and worked to cover it. It was a hunch, a longshot, but it wasn't like I had a choice.

No matter how far I had come physically since the first day I came here, I knew that I couldn't compare to Patrick. So...If I can't compete with him on a physical level, then I just got to compete with him the only way I know how!

TWEET!

BEING THE MAN WITH THE PLAN!

Terrence handed the ball to Patrick. Patrick ran ahead with a blocker ahead of him. The blocker took care of the cornerback. Patrick ran by.

I started running over as Patrick approached the safety. Patrick started to slow down, trying to make a turn. The Safety stepped forward, making Patrick slow down further. He stopped just short of the safety. Safety can't tackle him.

I CAN!

A wordless roar ripped through my lips as Patrick turned his head. His widening eyes were all I saw before I slammed into him, feeling my body collide with his safety gear. We both tumbled to the ground, with me rolling on the ground before I stopped with my back on the ground.

Silence.

Everyone was staring at us.

I looked at Patrick. He was still holding the ball in his hands, but with a white knuckle grip. Soon he relaxed before he looked over at me.

He grimaced. "Dang it."

I nodded. "Found the flaw."

He sighed. "I know."

"HOLY CRUD! LOUD STOPPED PATRICK!"

Like the sound of a starting gun, my view of the sky was suddenly dominated with the faces of the Defense. So many hands reached down and pulled me up, smacking me on the back to my helmet. They were all around me, so many faces and smiles I barely knew up from down.

"Okay, OKAY! Okay…" Hearing me, everyone calmed down and I took the chance to breathe. Now I know what a pizza feels after we're done with it.

"HOLY… You actually did it! You ACTUALLY DID IT!"

I nodded. "Yeah, I know. Barely can believe it myself. But we're not done yet. We still got another 2 minutes and 40 seconds to go!"

Everyone nodded. At that moment, I couldn't help myself.

"But what did I tell you? WHAT DID I TELL YOU?!"

"YEAH!" Everyone shouted before going off to their positions. Thomas was left, standing there.

"Thomas, something you need?"

Thomas stared at me for a moment before patting me on the shoulder before walking away. I noticed that his head was slightly down. Or was it? I couldn't tell from the back.

Either way, I had to get ready for the next down. Even if I managed to stop Patrick this time, Patrick knew that I had the ability to stop him. As I entered into my position, I took a look at the Offense and stopped myself from sighing.

They decided to field Patrick again. Okay, we can do this again.

Everything stood still for a moment. I stared at Patrick. He stared back at me.

TWEET!

Patrick ran. I followed after. The cornerback and safety on that side prepared themselves to meet Patrick. Patrick stopped in front of the cornerback, who moved forward-

Wait, Patrick stopped in front of the cornerback himself? Where was his blocker? I took a second look and my blood practically became ice water.

Patrick didn't have any blockers.

I looked back at Terrence. He still had the ball. He didn't pass it to Patrick.

Was he waiting for this moment, when I took my eye off him?

Quickly looking around, I saw that Matt crossed the line and was running towards the goal. He had a head start before me. There… there was no way I could make it.

I changed directions quickly and forced my legs to run with everything they had. Slowly, I started closing the distance. But how? What was taking Terrence so long to throw the ball?

I looked back. One of the defenders managed to break through the line and tried to sack Terrence. Terrence managed to avoid the defender but he had to dance out of the way. I tried to look at the jersey number, before giving up.

Now's NOT THE TIME!

Forcing my legs to go faster, I watch Matt's back get closer and closer, before he turned his head. In his eyes, I saw the ball get closer and closer. I knew that there was no way I was going to catch Matt in time before he crosses into the end zone.

Have to take a chance.

Watching the ball in Matt's eyes, I waited...waited…

NOW!

Putting all my power into my legs, I jumped as high as I could, reaching as high as I could with my hands cupped. I flew through the air, hanging there. Come on...

All I felt was the ball scrapping the tips of my fingers as gravity pulled me back down. A moment after my feet touched ground, I lost my balance and fell forward. I reached for Matt one more time before my face met the ground again.

Rolling on the ground, I quickly flipped over in time to see Matt run into the end zone and Coach's whistle.

...We lost.

We lost.

I slammed a fist down on the ground.

Dang it.

DANG IT!

I felt a few tears start to prick through my eyes before furiously wiping them away. Standing up, I closed my eyes before breathing through my nose and blowing out my mouth. I repeated this process for a few moments, before calming down enough.

"You alright?" Thomas asked as he came near. I weighed all the options I had to say.

"...Yeah. Sorry, dude. I messed up."

Thomas looked at me before removing his helmet and rubbing his face, smearing his sweat all over his face. "...It's fine, Loud. You did the most out of all of us. We can't ask anymore."

I nodded to him before we both walked over to the huddle and kneeled with everyone else. A few more members of the Defense patted me on the back. I nodded to them but paid full attention to Coach as he started to talk.

"Alright, let me go ahead and say that both teams, both of you, were great out there. You both played your hardest, and you played some mighty fine football as well. Still, Defense, you lost…"

Here it comes.

"So feel free to do one more lap when you're doing today's cooldown laps."

Me and the rest of the Defense looked at each other. Was Coach serious? Did he really mean that? I thought he was actually serious about that.

"Yeah, as long as you play hard and look like you're trying to improve, Coach won't make you do that ten more lap thing. That's only for people that don't actually try."

Me and Thomas looked over at Matt, who looked over and smiled. "Why else do you think that Terrence didn't put Patrick out until now?"

...That made sense.

Coach clapped his hands together. "That said, practice ain't over yet! Everyone take a water break, then we get back to work, got it?!"

"YES COACH!"


"Alright, everyone take a knee!"

After everyone did their cooldown laps, everyone knelt down in front of Coach.

"Like I said, great work today. Just so you know, we will be working on some defensive formations next week. For both groups, I expect you guys to know these inside and out. We'll also be working on some fundamentals as well. Finally, expect another two of those practice quarters throughout the next two weeks. I expect the same effort you displayed here today."

"YES COACH!"

"Alright, sound off."

We stood up and put our hands together.

"WE ARE THE ROOSTERS! ROOSTERS! WE ARE THE ROOSTERS! ROOSTERS! AND THAT'S WHAT WE COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOOOOOOO!"

With that, we were dismissed, and everyone started to walk towards the locker room. I went over to Coach, who was looking over something on his clipboard. He noticed me coming over.

"Lincoln, something you need?"

I swallowed whatever nervousness I had. I had to know. "Coach, is the reason you put me on the Defense is to give the other Defense players a kick into gear?"

Coach knelt down and looked at me eye level. "To be frank, I wasn't expecting that of you?"

Something on my face must have given me away before Coach held up his hand.

"Lincoln, let me explain. I never expected you to turn the others around because I didn't put you on Defense for that reason. I really felt that letting you be a wide receiver on an Offense that already has so many ways to score would make you… redundant, you know what that word means, right?"

I nodded my head.

"Well, I figured that putting you on the Defense would let you do more good for the team, ever since I saw how you masterfully predicted that last play. The feeling that I made the right decision was seeing you play against Terrence today. I don't think I've ever seen Terrence playing a run game as long as he had to."

He shook his head.

"But we're getting off topic. Either way, the point is the attitude problem that the other players on the Defense had was their problem, not yours. Still, you did a good job, and you deserve a pat on the back on it."

I nodded. "Thanks, Coach."

He nodded back. "Go hit the showers, Lincoln." With that, he walked away.

Walking back into the locker room, I found the rest of the team waiting for me.

"Uh...Is there something I missed?"

Everyone looked at each other, before the Defense stepped forward with Thomas at the helm.

Thomas nodded to me. "Cap."

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You're the Defense captain." Terrence said as he stepped up, a small smile on his lips. "What's else is there to say?"

"Aren't you the Captain?" I asked.

Terrence shrugged. "I doesn't bother me. Might even be better with two perspectives instead of one. Either way, you want the position?"

I searched deep inside me. What did I want to do?

I found my answer.

I stepped up on a nearby bench and looked around.

"For the past three games, the Defense has been letting the other team get points, always making it a close game. At this point, every other team has probably heard of us and think of us as easy points."

I smirked.

"How about next game, we prove them wrong?"

"SOUNDS GREAT!" "LET'S DO IT!" "HECK YEAH!"

As the defense erupted into cheers, I kept the smile on my face.

Defense Captain. Can't be that hard.