Home for Break 2

Next day, Lincoln and Sibella could be found biking through Royal Woods, Sibella borrowing Leni's bike for this purpose. They were on their way to the hospital to pay a visit to Zanya. Phantasma had opted to go later, since she volunteered to help watch the younger of the siblings so Mr and Mrs Loud could take care of their grocery shopping for Thanksgiving, with Lori, Leni and Luna's help. The young boy and the vampiress came to a stop in front of the hospital, Lincoln locking up their bikes before they went inside. After they signed in at reception (Sibella getting an odd look when she signed her surname of Dracula), they were directed to the room where the zombie girl was currently resting. Inside the room, there were already two people; Chandler, who was sitting by Zanya's bedside, and Cynthia, who was standing in the corner of the room, giving the brown haired boy the stink eye. The moment the door entered, Mrs Talon turned her head swiftly toward them, her eyes twitching. "Who goes there!?"

"It's ok, Mrs Talon. We're friends."

"Sibella? Sorry. Just all kinds of jumpy. Half expect that scum that did this to try and finish the job...so I can atomize him when he tries." Her eyes turn to Lincoln, leering mistrustfully at him. "And you are….?"

"L...Lincoln Loud, ma'am." He replied shakily.

"Oh! You're the son of that nice family who my daughter's staying with." She said, her smile returning and her eyes finally ceasing their twitching. "Sorry again. I didn't mean to startle you.."

"Hehe...don't worry about it…" Lincoln said with a nervous chuckle. He turns his attention to the brown haired boy sitting beside the unconscious ghoul girl. "Hey Chandler.."

"Hey Larry…." Chandler said, not looking back at the white haired Loud.

"Lincoln…."

"Right…" The middle son sighed and moved over with Sibella, to the end of the bed. All was silent for a moment, all eyes on Zanya. The poor girl looked pretty peaceful at this point, no longer in any pain. There was tube going into her mouth, where liquified food could be administered at least once a day to aid in her recovery. Seeing her like this filling Lincoln with a number of intense emotions; prominently anger, sadness, and an overwhelming sense of determination.

'If that creep ever finds Grimwood's...I won't let him do the same to my friends…' He thought to himself, a furious scowl appearing on his face. He was interrupted in his musings when he felt Sibella's soft hand on his cheek. Lincoln turned to look into the sad eyes of his vampiress girlfriend. His anger quickly faded as he put an arm around her, holding her close to him, Sibella giving him a one armed hug in return.

"If I ever find the jerk who did this…" Chandler started up, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Take a number…." Cynthia growled softly.

"At least she is safe now, and she's going to pull through." Sibella said, trying to calm the two. "Let's count our blessings in that respect."

"Yeah...you're right, miss…?" Chandler turned to look at her, and was forced to do a double take. He did not expect to see such a beautiful girl there.

"Dracula. Sibella Dracula." She introduced herself. His jaw dropped.

"Dr...Dracula!? As in….!?"

"Yes. The daughter of Count Dracula." She answered with a small smile. Chandler had no idea how to respond to that, but something seemed to click in his mind seeing the two of them. He pointed between them, not able to find the words.

"Yeah." Lincoln replied to his unasked question. "She's my girlfriend."

"One of them, anyway." Sibella added with a little smirk, the white haired lad blushing quite a bit. This made Zanya's boyfriend's brain crash entirely, a look of utter bewilderment on his face. Sibella couldn't help but giggle at this as she moved over to the window to look outside.

"Dude...are you mad!? Cheating on Dracula's little girl…." Chandler finally asked quietly, looking at Lincoln like he were a dead man walking. Her ears twitched as she turned her head slowly to look at Chandler from the corner of her eye.

"Huh? Wha…? Oh no! It's not like that." Lincoln replied hastily. "You see, Sibella, our friend Phantasma, Ronnie Anne and I-"

"Wait...Ronnie Anne Santiago!? The tough girl who used to go to our school?" He asked in amazement, then smirked. "So you WERE dating..."

"No. But we are now." The white haired boy explained, wiping the teasing smirk from his face. "Like I was trying to say, we're all in a...how did Lisa and Phanty put it? Oh yes. A polyamorous relationship." The popular boy before him just looked at him like he were speaking latin. "It means we're all in a relationship together and we're all alright with it."

"...I never knew that was a thing."

"Me neither, until Phantasma told us all about it."

"Three girls...all ok with all of them dating you. You are one lucky guy." Chandler had to admit.

"I'd say the same for you." Lincoln said with a light smile, Chandler looking kind of confused. "Zanya told me that the two of you were dating last time we hung out." He explained. "I can't say I know her as well as you do, since we've only hung out once and chatted every so often. However, she seemed like a really nice girl."

"Yeah. She certainly is." He agreed, looking back at his unresponsive sweetheart. "And adorable...one of a kind." Tears were starting to fill his eyes, which he was quick to wipe away. He felt a slight pressure on his shoulder and looked up. Lincoln had put a comforting hand on his shoulder, smiling lightly to him. "...thanks La….Lincoln." He said, with a small, grateful smile of his own. "...sorry for giving you such a hard time in the past…"

"Water under the bridge, man…" Things go quiet again for several seconds.

"So...do you have pictures of this Phanty girl?" Chandler asked him. Lincoln nodded and pulled out his phone, starting to share some of the pictures and selfies he had taken at Grimwood's, while his newest friend started to share some of his own pics he and Zanya had taken together. Sibella smiled once more, turning to look out the window once more.

Back at the Loud House…

"She's around here somewhere…." Lola asked, her back to Lana as the four sets of eyes scanned the living room.

"But where…?" Lana commented with narrowed eyes. The two moved slowly behind the couch, their senses heightened as they kept an eye out for someone. This particular someone had reached through the couch, tapping Lola on the shoulder.

"Not now, Lana...she could strike at any time."

"I didn't do anything."

"Yes you did...You tapped me on the shoulder."

"No I didn't." Just then, Lana felt a tap on her shoulder. "Don't you start…"

"Don't I start what?" Lola inquired, keeping her eyes facing front.

"You tapped my shoulder now."

"Did not!" Lola said in an irritated tone, turning her head slightly.

"Did so!" Lana retorted angrily, turning to face her twin.

"Nuh uh!"

"Yah huh!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Yah huh!"

"I didn't tap you on the shoulder!"

"And I didn't tap you on the shoulder!" The two were practically nose to nose, glaring at one another. It was at this point a realization came to them.

"Uh oh…" They said together as two arms reached through the couch again and scooped them both up. "Aaaah!" They screamed as Phantasma floated into the air carrying the odd couple twins, giggling.

"Hehehe! I gotcha!" She chirped, setting Lola and Lana down on the couch before she proceeded to tickle the both of them. The twins were thrown into immediate hysterics, squirming around on the couch. The sudden attack only lasted a few seconds before the fun loving phantom stopped, grinning at the giggling children before her.

"No fair…" Lola complained as she tried to calm down.

"Two down, one to go." Phantasma said, smiling as she tapped her chin. "Now where would Luan be?" As if on cue, a pair of hands covered her eyes.

"Guess who!?" Luan declared from right behind her. Phantasma turned quickly, with the intent of grabbing the teenaged joker...only to find she wasn't there. Instead, it was Lucy, holding two fake hands on sticks and a tape recorder taped to the front of her dress.

"...she paid me a dollar for this." She admitted. The confused spirit blinked, looking closer at the recorder. This turned out to be a mistake, because when she did, a net shot from a secret compartment within it, causing Phanty to get launched over the couch and wrapped up in the net.

"Well, looks like that's a wrap! Hahahaha!" Luan joked, stepping out from inside the fireplace, brushing some soot from her skirt. She was looking a little smug at first, but her grin was lost when Phantasma simply phased through the net, arms crossed with a 'you were saying?' expression on her face. "...well played." The prankster commented simply before bolting for the kitchen.

"Oh no you don't!" The playful phantom cried before giving chase.

Meanwhile, in the dining room and out of the line of fire, Ronnie Anne was playing with Lily, the infant giggling and clapping at the game of patty cake. She had decided it was safer there, since the others were playing kinda rough in the next room. Just then, Luan came running by, followed closely by Phantasma, both zooming by into the living room. RA blinked as she and Lily turned their heads to see them run by again, and again. "Just another day in the Loud House, huh?" Ronnie commented as her head followed the two as they kept running past. Lily babbled a bit, but nodded, also tracking their movements. At one point, it was just Luan dashing along, the ghostly girl no longer on her tail. The goofing teen realized this after a few seconds and skidded to a stop halfway back to the living room. She looked back, then forward, pulling a pie from seemingly nowhere. She started to creep across the room, with Phanty passing through the wall right behind her, sneaking up behind her. "Heh. Luan's gonna get it now." Ronnie Anne whispered.

"Nuh uh. Oooann win." The baby Loud whispered back.

"You really think so?" The latina asked, looking at her. "You wanna back that up?" She jested with a smirk. To her surprise, Lily simply nodded, pulling a dollar from behind her back and placing it on the table between them. "...wha...how….who…?" Ronnie Anne asked, utterly mystified. The infant merely shrugged, then pointed at the dollar again. She thought about it for a moment, then whispered. "...this never happened." Before adding a dollar to the pile. The two returned their attention to Luan and Phantasma. The comedianne slowly peeked around the corner, her ectoplasmic opponent practically breathing down her neck. RA grinned a bit, thinking her victory was assured as Phanty looked ready to strike. However, before she could, the pie in Luan's hand suddenly turned and went right into her face. Phantasma floated back in surprise, reaching for the pie pan. The family joker turned and took her chance, tickling the phantom gal while she was distracted.

"Nice try, Phanty, but pie am the Clown Princess." Luan quiped with a giggle as Phanty wriggled around in the air, laughing into the mess of pie on her face.. "I know ALL the tricks." Ronnie Anne just stood there, her mouth hanging open as Lily picked up the two dollars with a smirk of her own. Luan eventually stopped and walked over to Lily, picking the baby up and taking her into the kitchen, the infant grinning at Ronnie Anne as she was taken away.

"...did I just get hustled by a baby?" She asked in astonishment, Phanty cleaning the pie from her face.

Sometime later, into the evening, everyone was relaxing after a hearty meal from Lynn Sr. In Luna and Luan's room, most of the kids were just hanging out while Lincoln played the stand up bass: Sibella and Lori were in one corner, doing each other's toe nails while giggling and chatting, Lynn and Ronnie Anne were chilling in the corner opposite, and Luna, Phanty and Lucy were sitting near Lincoln, listening as he played. "Wow. You are pretty good on that bass." Phantasma commented with a smile.

"You been practicing, bro?" Luna asked, laying down on her front as she turned to look at her brother.

"Not that much, but I've had a few chances to play for Gila and Tanis at Grimwood's." Lincoln said.

"I must say, Lori…" Sibella started to say. "...I am very glad we got the opportunity to get to know you all better."

"We're all literally so thrilled you and Phanty came to visit us." Lori replied with a big smile.

"Yeah. It's always a kick meeting Lincoln's girlfriend...er...girlfriends. That's gonna take a bit of getting use to.." Lynn said, rubbing the back of her head.

"It's fine, Lynn. We know it's kind of an out of the box thing." Phanty commented, spinning her head around to look at her.

"And if there's one thing Lincoln is known for, it's out of the box thinking." Lucy piped up, quietly.

"True that. Remember that time they had that business event at his school?" Luna asked, Lincoln's cheeks flushing a little.

"Oh yeah! When Lincoln decided to be the Girl Guru." Lori interjected, giggling.

"Girl Guru?" Ronnie Anne inquired, grinning. "Oh, this I gotta hear."

"Come on...don't tell them-" Lincoln started to plead.

"Living among girls all the time, Lincoln thought he knew about all girls." Lucy explained to Lincoln's girlfriends, not hearing his request for their silence.

"And thus, he used his experiences with us to advise his fellow classmates about girls." Lynn added.

"That actually sounds somewhat logical." Sibella commented, raising an eyebrow.

"He suggested that one guy give a girl a dutch oven to win her over." Upon hearing that, Ronnie Anne and Phantasma both burst out laughing, while Sibella was trying (and failing) not to giggle, Lincoln covering his face as he turned all red.

"I take it back." The vampiress amended, her mouth covered by her hands. The one son groaned, utterly embarrassed.

"Oh! What about when Lincoln thought the way to impress Stella when they first met was to dress like he just came from 'Happy Daze'?" Luna pointed out, getting some more laughs and giggles from Lincoln's girlfriends. Lucy looked over at Lincoln, noticing his intense embarrassment, and decided perhaps it was time to shift the focus a little.

"He isn't the only one who thought that was a good idea." She said, getting everyone's attention. "When I first met Rusty...I wanted to get his attention, thus I asked my sisters for help."

"How did that go for you?" Phanty asked with interest.

"Imagine me as a cheerleader…" She said quietly. This made Ronnie Anne and Phantasma snicker a little, and in spite of himself, even Lincoln chuckled a little.

"Sorry, but I really can't imagine you in a cheerleader outfit." Sibella said. Lucy smiled, taking that as a compliment.

"She did look adorable though." Lori commented, pulling up the picture on her phone.

"Wait...you saved that?" It was then Lucy realized that errors were made. Her oldest sister turned her phone to show everyone present Lucy in the various outfits they tried on her. Lucy looked away, turning very pink in the face.

"Awwww. She does look adorable." Phantasma said, chortling sweetly.

"It didn't work...but it turned out he really liked me the way I was." Lucy commented shyly.

"I'm glad it went well for you." Sibella said as she finished the second coat on Lori's toe nail polish. "How about you, Luna? Did you ever do something like that?"

"Me? Nah man. I was true to my heart, and myself with Sam...but I did almost make a big mistake for the sake of my dream…" Luna sighed a bit as all eyes turned to her, the third born sister sitting up and turning to face them. "I had submitted a song to a music competition, but it wasn't me...it was cookie cutter bubblegum pop song. Not that I'm hatin' on that kinda music. I like it too. But it wasn't me. Anyway, they picked my song, but when I showed up, they said I didn't fit the image they saw of me."

"Pfft. Bunch of idiots." Ronnie Anne said with a roll of her eyes.

"My thought exactly now. Anyway, they were willing to give me a chance...provided I change everything about myself to suit the 'image' they wanted me to have."

"Was it really that bad?" Phantasma inquired curiously. In answer, Luna showed them a picture of her 'Lulu' persona, cringing and closing her eyes. "Ack!"

"Now that is scary…" Sibella commented before she could stop herself. "Oh...sorry, Luna."

"It's cool, Sib. It scared me too." Luna confessed. "Especially when they wanted me to play the equivalent of a 'Guitar Lord' controller and lip synch." She shuddered in disgust. "Thank goodness I came to my senses. I got disqualified from the competition for losing Lulu, but Luna Loud had her chance to rock again. Almost became my biggest regret."

"Well, since everyone else is sharing...what about you, Lori?" Ronnie piped up, turning the attention to the eldest Loud sister, who wasn't ready for the sudden shift.

"Who...me?" Lori asked nervously.

"Yeah, you." She reiterated with a grin. "I mean, Lincoln and Lucy had their turns (which you were all too happy to help with) and Luna volunteered, so why not?" Lincoln and his gothic sister both smirked to one another, before looking back to their older sister. Lori was sweating a little.

"Come on, Lori. If you can't think of an embarrassing story, maybe I can help…" Lynn said with a very Luan like grin.

"No! No...that's not necessary…" Lori said, waving her hands at her younger, more athletic sister. No getting out of it, she thought. "I...I have a regret story of my own. For a long while, I was the only one to have a driver's license, other than Mom and Dad, of course. This meant if the others needed a ride, they needed to ask me. I...kinda took advantage of that."

"You had us serve you hand and foot just for a lift." Luna corrected her sourly.

"...anyway…" Lori continued, pretty annoyed at getting interrupted. "...Lincoln decided it was a good idea to teach Leni to pass her driving test...and I admit in hindsight, it wasn't a bad idea."

"Thank you." Lincoln interjected.

"It almost looked like he would have succeeded too...and I didn't like that...so I sabotaged their attempt by having her listen to blatantly wrong driving advice all night…"

"How blatantly wrong….?" Phanty asked apprehensively.

"...Leni could have hurt someone, or herself, with that advice…" Lori confessed, looking down at the floor. Sibella gasped, while Ronnie Anne's jaw dropped. "I know...I know...it was incredibly stupid and selfish of me...thank goodness no was hurt, though she still failed…."

"Wow...no offense, Lori, but that was a terrible thing to do." Phantasma said, shaking her head.

"Oh, trust me...if you thought that was bad...that was nothing…" Lynn Jr said, starting to look really down now, as if her boyfriend broke up with her or something.

"What do you mean?" Sibella asked with a tilted head.

"What if I told you that I was responsible for doing something to my brother that EVERYONE in this house deeply regrets…?" When she said that, RA and the Grimwood Girls looked at one another, wondering what she meant, while the other Loud sisters looked uncomfortable and saddened. Lincoln, on the other hand, felt a stab of alarm. He knew what she was about to say. "You see, nearly a year ago, I-"

"Lynn!" Lincoln yelled, causing all the girls in the room to jump, cutting off his older sister. "We all agreed to never speak of that again…"

"But-"

"No buts." He said, setting the instrument aside and walking over to Lynn. "I've already forgiven you for it." He said softly, kneeling beside you. "All of you."

"But, we-" She started to say, but Lincoln stopped her again.

"It's ok, Lynn. Really. It's all in the past. Let it stay there, ok?" The pony tailed teen slowly looked up at him. "You messed up, yes. We all messed up. But you've taken steps to correct what brought it on, and you've come quite a ways." The two keep sharing a look for a few seconds before Lynn hugged him tightly.

"You're too nice, Linc...ya know that?" She whispered to him.

"So I've heard." He whispered in return.

"...WHAT exactly are we missing?" Ronnie Anne asked, dying to know after Lynn hyped the story up.

"Sorry, RA, but like the little man said. We all said we'd never speak of it again." Luna said with a shrug, looking relieved. The latina didn't like that answer, but judging by the looks of the Loud siblings and how adamant Lincoln was regarding the event, they weren't going to be getting any better answers any time soon. Before Sibella and Phantasma could ask any further questions, Lucy piped in to change the subject.

The next morning, Lincoln met with his older, tougher sister in the backyard, where she was preparing for another day of training. She wasn't alone either; Leni was on standby, as was Lana, both watching as Lynn set up a sandbag dummy. "Ah, there you are, tough guy." She said with a smirk, looking over at her only brother. "So, yesterday, we went over the basic techniques. Today, we'll go over how to put the basic moves together fluidly, plus a few tips and techniques from Leni and Lana." She explained, jabbing a thumb toward the older and younger sister. Lincoln nodded as Lana wrapped his hands in boxing tape.

"Right then. Let's get started." He said, clenching his fists to test the tape. "Thanks Lana."

"Anytime, Linc." The cap wearing twin replied, skittering back beside Leni.

"Like that spirit, little bro." Lynn commented with a grin before she turned to face the training dummy. "I've shown you the basic punches and kicks, but those alone aren't gonna do much. So what you need to do is string them together into a combo. Watch me now." She adopts a fighting stancing, bouncing slightly on her toes as she considered her inanimate opponent. After a few seconds, she lunges, delivering a right hand jab, into a hit with her right elbow, and finally a swift roundhouse kick. "Keep up the offensive, and you won't have to worry too much about defense. But you need to combo the right moves, or you're just wasting energy and giving your opponent openings to fight back." She explained, demonstrating her point with a right jab, followed by a left high kick. "The idea is to make your attacks flow nicely."

"I….think I understand." Lincoln said, rubbing his chin.

"Good. Give it a try." Lynn stepped aside to let him step up to the training dummy. Lincoln took a deep breath and moved to a simple stance, looking like a boxer. He throws a few simple left right jabs as a warm up, before going into a one two three combo. The athletic sister slowly shook her head a little. "Hold up, bro." She finally said, stepping in to stop him. "The old one two is classic, but very limited and predictable. You can't be predictable." She explained. "Don't just punch: throw a kick, use your knees or elbows, head butt him, whatever, as long as it doesn't throw off your flow." Her brother nodded as he returned to his focus to the stuffed target. He starts to throw a combination of punches, kicks, back hands and knee blows, slowly at first so he could get used to the motions. Lynn seemed pleased with what she was witnessing, offering him some pointers in the meantime. After a minute or two, she encouraged him to speed up, which he tried to do. However, he was not an experienced fighter and his movements quickly became sloppy and ineffective. "Ok...ok. Stop. Stop." Lynn groaned, covering her eyes as she shook her head.

"That bad?" Lincoln asked her.

"Put nicely...positively embarrassing." She answered, crossing her arms in front of her. "But no one becomes an invincible martial artist in a day, week, or even a year. Guess we'll just stick to slow movements for now, until those motions become second nature to you." She directed him to start practicing again, moving at his own pace again. He did certainly seemed to be getting the idea, his attacks flowing better and better the longer he practiced. After about an hour (with a few water and bathroom breaks sprinkled in), she stopped him with a smile, patting him on the back.

"So far, so good, Linc." She told him. "When you practice on your own, steadily increase how quickly you execute your combos and you'll be golden."

"Thanks...Lynn." The one brother replied, catching his breath.

"While you take a rest, I'll let Leni take over for the next demonstration." She turned to face her fashionista sister. "Leni, do your stuff."

"Ok!" Leni chirped, moving in front of the bag smiling. As soon as she got there, she paused, looking to Lynn. "...but what'd he ever do to me?" She asked, pointing to the dummy. Lynn sighed, but she was prepared for this. She leaned in and whispered into Leni's ear. She gasped, then glared at the dummy, her face red and her eyes almost literal fire.

"How dare you hurt our Linky!" She screamed, grabbing the burlap target by the head and judo throwing it clear across the yard. Lincoln's jaw dropped as Lynn laughed.

"Nice one, Leni. I think you broke your old record." She commented, before noticing Leni was rolling up her non existent sleeves as she stormed toward the fallen dummy. Clearly, she wasn't done with it yet. Lynn was forced to intervene. "Whoa. Cool down, Leni. It was just an example...for pretend."

"It was?" Leni asked, her anger fading in an instant. "Ooooh...does that mean I owe him an apology?" She inquired, pointing to the sack of sand.

"...don't worry about it." The exasperated little sensei said with a sigh. "Anyway, Lincoln, as you saw, Leni is no slouch when it comes to judo. In fact, she's dang good."

"Awwww, it's nothing, really." Leni said with a giggle. "A girl's gotta know how to defend herself, after all."

"Ok, Leni. How about you show him how it's done?" The fashion loving teen nodded and walks over to the target and picking it back up. She starts to explain to her younger brother how a standard throw worked, moving nice and slow so he could see every motion. The sporty sister watched with interest as Leni showed him the throw again, a little faster. After that, she let Lincoln try, and try he did. He managed to get the dummy up and onto his back, but then the weight of the burlap sandman caused Lincoln to collapse.

"Hahahaha!" Lynn cackled, slapping her knee. "Sorry, bro, but that was pretty hysterical."

"Ugh….this thing is heavy…" The white haired boy groaned as he tried to push the dummy off. "How did you throw this thing?"

"Well, the idea is to use your opponent's own weight, strength and momentum against them." Leni elaborated, helping her brother up. "Why don't you give it another try?" Lincoln nods as they reset the dummy and he tries to throw it again….and again, and again, and again. However, each time, all he succeeded in doing was getting sandwiched between the sandbag and the dirt.

"Well, points for trying, bro." Lynn commented as she helped him up with Leni.

"You just need to practice more, Linky." Leni said encouragingly, tenderly patting his shoulder.

"Yeah. Given a little time, you'll get the hang of it." Lana interjected with a smile as the fifth oldest sister replaced the target.

"Ok, Lana. You're up." Lynn called out, the tomboy twin grinning as she ran forward and Leni moved aside.

"Alright, Linc." She said, putting her thumbs under the straps of her overalls. "As any handyperson can tell you, you gotta be ready to improvise. And in a fight, anything can be used to defend yourself. Observe." Lana sudden draws a plunger from her overalls, then lept at the dummy and smacked it across the face, rolled under its legs, and hurled it at the back of its featureless head. She then grabbed a branch and smacked it in the back of the legs. "Don't be afraid to get creative, and aim for their weapon hand, their shins and back of the legs."

"Good advice, Lana." Lynn commented with a nod. "Disarm and immobilize."

"Right. And when I say anything, I mean ANYTHING! Throw a vase, toss a curtain or rug over their face, grab a broom or mop and clean their clock. That kind of stuff." Lana explained, reclaiming her favorite plunger.

"Alright. I think I get it." Lincoln replied with a nod.

"I thought you'd pick up the idea pretty quick." Lynn said with a smile, Leni heading back inside with Lana. "I'll leave the dummy up so you can practice whenever you like. In the meantime, why don't you take a little break?"

"Maybe...think I'll just hang out here for a bit longer." Lincoln said, taking a seat on the back stoop with a water bottle. His sporty sister nodded and went inside with the others. Lincoln glanced back for a moment, waited a few minutes after taking a few drinks of water, then returned to the dummy. There, he proceeded to practice his punches, kicks and combos again, for another half hour.

AN: A few people have asked in the past in the review section about NSL and how certain characters would react to it. Well, the passing mention I make here in this chapter is ALL I plan to say about it in story; here and in the rest of my stories. I may strongly dislike the episode, but it has been so thoroughly bashed that I have nothing new to say about it, except that it could be salvaged.