A/N And I'm back! Man, it's May, finals are coming up soon and I just got a letter telling me I have to sign up for the selective service. Ahh, I can smell summer coming. Anyways, as always, I hope you enjoy! Also, info for my other story is in the bottom A/N.

R&R!

Story Summary/Prompt: The aftermath of the "Birthday To Remember". And the return of the sisters! (Planned).

Story Twenty-Nine: The Citadel

*Gasp!* "Ha. Ha." A young child jolts awake in shock. Their slow, deep breaths quickly fill the quiet room with a tense air. Without another word, they look around fear filling their body, " Where am I?" They quickly hop to their feet and pull on the nearby light switch.

And with a single tug, the room's green paint lights up, just as it has done for years. "I'm… I'm home?" They immediately turn to face the mirror. Rather than the nightgown they are used to wearing before going to bed, they are wearing a set of orange pajamas. The child's eyes go wide in shock, "Does this mean?" immediately, they move their hand behind their head, checking to see if they still have the long, white locks they had gotten accustomed to, only to find the hair cut short.

They hear begins to race, "This… this can't be real…" They then pull on their waistband, exposing a set of red underwear with a noticeable bump, "I'm… I'm home…" Lincoln turns towards the nearby door, "Was that… all a dream?" He looks upon his desk, and notices all of the books and trinkets he had acquired resting upon its worn wood, though a certain quantum physics book is absent. "I guess it was…"

He sighs in defeat, "Huh… well… I guess I have to talk to Lucy about her dream book stuff now." He reaches turns and grabs his doorknob, "Still, why did that feel so… real?" He lets out a deep breath and turns, "Oh well, nothing a little time with the family can-"

The door opens with that, revealing his ten sisters waiting for him, furious expressions held on their faces.

"Uhh, hey girls!" The boy nervously greets, "What's up?"

The girls don't respond, choosing instead to stare at him with fire in their eyes.

"Uhh, you guys ok?" He tilts his head as he steps back in a fearful confusion, "You uhh… look like something is buggin' you."

"Yeah, we're annoyed." Lori crosses her arms, "And I'm sure you know why."

Lincoln immediately raises his hands defensively, "I don't-"

"You abandoned us!" Lynn cuts him off as she steps closer to the boy, "You left us for some boys that were exactly like us!" She raises her fist, "And now look! You think that just because you were gone for six months, we're going to welcome you with open arms?!"

"But guys, I-" Lincoln then steps back, not noticing the home around him slowly break apart, "I only wanted to-"

Yet, before he can finish the thought, he falls back, causing him to bump into a familiar set of boys, "What the?" he turns, only to be met by the eldest brother's furious gaze. "Loki?!"

"You lied to us for months!" He clenches his fists in anger, "You lied, and took our sister from us! Then you expected us to treat her like she was!"

"Loki, I'm sorry I-" Lincoln holds his hands close, as if trying to shrink away from the fury.

"Shut up!" He shouts, before turning away, "I can't even look at you anymore!"

"And because of you, our home is destroyed!" Luke angrily steps forward, the young man too preparing to fight, "You took everything from us!"

Lincoln immediately tries to speak up, "Guys, I'm sorry I-"

And behind him, Lincoln notices Lane holding onto Lars, while they both try to hold back tears, "Why didn't you tell us Lincoln? We thought our sister had moved on." Lane's voice is filled with a bitter pain, "You…" he can't even finish the sentence before he breaks into tears.

"I'm sorry! I just- I didn't want to make a bigger mess than-" Lincoln starts, only for a soft clap to echo through the room, before maniacal laughter follows it. "What's going on?"

Suddenly the two sets of siblings disappear, allowing a certain white-haired girl to step into view.

"Linka." Lincoln grits his teeth, the home completely vanishing at this point.

"How was that stupid mission of yours?!" The young girl throws her head back in laughter, "From what I've heard, my home dimension is gone, and everyone you wanted to send me back to with it!"

"I- I-" Lincoln stammers.

Linka stares him dead in the eyes, "You've failed! And guess what, since I'm a girl again, I win!" She throws her head back in laughter.

"No… no, no, no!" Lincoln whispers with a hopeless tone, before he turns and runs away, through whatever ruins of the home remain. "I haven't failed yet. I know it! I-" He frantically thinks, before a familiar voice calls out to him, "Wake up."

"William?!" He frantically shouts, "Where are you?!"

"Wake up." The voice repeats, gaining a more feminine tone as it does so.

"What?" He looks on in confusion, though he doesn't break his run.

"Wake up." He repeats, causing the world around him to disappear.


"Lincoln! Lincoln! Wake up!" Lori desperately shakes the boy-turned-girl. "We need you!"

And yet, the young girl chooses not to stir from her slumber.

"What are we going to do Lori?!" Leni fearfully asks as she and the other sisters frantically shake their sibling.

"Hmmm…." Lori hums, while she thinks, "Dangit… she's not getting up…" she rubs her chin, "Though… I wonder if this still works." With that in mind, she leans in close to Linka's ear and whispers, "Ronnie Anne is waiting at the door and she promised to shove a Sloppy Joe in your pants if you don't get up."

Immediately, Linka's eyes jolt open and she jumps to her feet in shock, "Ronnie Anne?!" She quickly looks around, "Where is she?!"

Without hesitation, Luna throws her arms around the girl, "She's nowhere Lincoln… is it really you?"

"What's going on? Where are we?" immediately, Linka looks around, panic filling her body, only for more sisters to rush her.

"Who cares about that?!" Lola shouts, before she runs over and grabs onto Linka's right leg. Lana follows it up with, "We're glad to have you back bro!" And she grabs onto her left leg.

"Lana, Lola?!" Linka stammers, only for Leni to join in, "Like, I didn't know we had another sister!"

"Poo-poo!" Lily grabs at Linka, while the baby rests in Luan's arms, "She says she's glad to have you back Lincoln." Luan throws her head back in laughter, "After all, you're girl to have!"

"We're glad you're all right!" Lori then joins in the pile-up, throwing her arms around her siblings as she does so, "We were so worried that something would happen to you!"

Linka smiles in relief for a moment, before finally going, "I'm glad you're here girls, but uhh… where are we?"

Lisa then steps forward, "Before we do anything else, let's make sure that the girl you are currently hugging is really our brother in a female body."

"Ok… how do you wanna do that, Lisa?" Linka asks, while the seven other sisters tighten their grip around her.

"Simple." She raises her hand, "What is your favorite sandwich?"

Linka tilts her head in confusion, "Wait… that's the question?"

"Yes." Lisa nods, "After all, the sibling we've spent the past months with, hates our real male sibling's favorite sandwich."

"Huh, ok then." The white-haired girl shrugs, "I love peanut butter and sauerkraut sandwiches."

Lisa's eyes go wide in shock, "It really is you!" She runs over and joins the group, "I missed you, brother."

For a moment, Linka looks on in shock. As if the mere idea of Lisa Loud showing an emotion other than bored indifference was nothing more than a foreign concept to her. "Don't worry girls, I'm all right." Linka smiles and lets herself get engulfed by the hug, "How's it been? I've been gone for six months after all."

"Six months?!" Lori shouts in surprise, "What do you mean six months?!"

"Yeah, I left home in October and have been living with those boys ever since." Linka then breaks free and looks into Lori's young eyes, "And it's the choice I'm still on the fence about. How about you?"

"Oh nothing much…" She nonchalantly shrugs, "Only nothing making sense anymore, no biggie."

"Heh, welcome to my world." The younger girl chuckles, before looking back up at her sisters, "But in all seriousness, what happened? Where are we?"

"I literally don't know…" Lori shrugs, while Lynn grabs onto Linka's hand, desperate to make sure nothing would happen to it.

And with that, the girls turn and look out into the vast space around them; millions of glowing lights and clouds surround them, illuminating the seemingly night sky with a vast array of colors. Oddly enough though, they stand upon a simple, rectangular metallic platform with lamps at each corner.

"Well… wherever we are, it like, looks nice." Leni finally goes, before a familiar voice responds, though no one notices the only man present looking around in both confusion and horror.

"We're in the inter-dimension." Nyla steps into view, "We're on my emergency transport platform, heading towards The Citadel. We'll be safe here for-"

Suddenly, the man scampers to his feet and shouts, "What the heck is going on?!" Lynn Sr. turns towards the young women grouped on the platform, "One minute we're at a party and the next these random girls walk through a portal!" He points at the girls, "And now we're standing in space!"

Linka sighs, "Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag." She awkwardly rubs the back of her head. "Hey dad."

Immediately, Lynn Sr. points at the girls, "Linka?! Who are these girls and why do they look like your brothers?!"

"Well dad, umm, you see-" The girl starts, only for Lola to cut her off.

"Lincoln doesn't have any brothers!" The pageant queen throws her arms around Linka's leg again, as if trying to protect her sister from the man, "He's our brother and we're his sisters!"

"What are you girls talking about?!" The man points at the girl, "That's my daughter Linka, and I have no idea who you girls are!" before grabbing the girl and attempting to pull her to his side, "Now will someone explain what's going on?!"

Linka pushes the man off and takes a deep breath, "Dad… I'm not really your daughter."

"What are you talking about?" The man growls, throwing out his arm and leaning in closer as he does so, "Of course you're my daughter and I'm your father!"

"It's true… dad…" She hesitates on the word, "I'm not really your daughter." She holds onto her arm in embarrassment, "Really, I'm a boy from another reality that accidently replaced your real daughter. My name's not Linka… it's Lincoln."

The man shakes his head, "No, it's not true, what the heck are you talking-"

"It's true!" The white-haired girl's voice rises as she stares at the man, "I haven't been your daughter for six months!"

And yet, with a hopeful skepticism, the man simply asks, "Where's my daughter then?! I doubt you could answer that, because you're right here!"

Linka turns to Luna, though moves on when she notices her scrutinizing Nyla. Instead, she turns to her gothic sister, "Lucy… where'd you leave Linka?"

"We left her at the party." The black-haired girl answers.

With his frustration building, he shakes his head, "You know what… I'm just going to sit down and try to take in exactly what you told me." Lynn Sr. then walks away and takes a seat in the opposing corner. "Because I don't believe it at all!"

"Well… at least he's not breaking down yet…" Linka sighs in defeat, before she turns towards the nearby ex-hunters, with Nell standing next to Leni. "I'm just worried what'll happen when that breaks."

With that, she walks over and asks, "So uhh… where are we going, Nyla?"

Nyla points ahead, "We're going to the Anomaly Hunter HQ, there, I we should be able to find the boys."

"Got it… you sure that's a good idea though?" Linka tilts her head in curiosity, "They wanna turn us into cards after all."

Nyla sighs in defeat, "Why I wish we didn't have to go, we don't have another option, so might as well." Her voice flattens, before Lana grabs Linka's arm and pulls her back towards the sisters.

"Huh?!" She goes, only for the sisters to hug her once more.

Lori breaks the embrace this time, "So twerp, while we wait, why don't you tell us what it's like being a girl? After all, you were a guy before."

Linka chuckles, before sighing in relief, "Heh, ok girls, let's catch up." She sits down on the hard, metal platform, and turns to Lana, "And before you ask, I do have a boyfriend named Ron Andy, dresses feel nice since I'm a girl now, and I only forgot to sit down to pee twice."

Lana laughs, while the rest of the girls squeal in delight, before sitting down as well, before talking amongst themselves as if they aren't floating in the middle of nowhere.

Meanwhile…

"Girls? Where are you?!" Lincoln walks into the small home he had called his own for the past six months, "Everyone's wondering where you are! We're getting ready to cut the cake!" And after a quick look around, she finds the bottom floor devoid of life, "You're not hiding from me, are you?!" She quietly climbs up the stairs, "You girls know what I'll do if you are!" She then steps onto the barren second floor, "Strange… they usually respond sooner when I threaten his body."

For a moment, he rubs his chin, "Where could those girls be?" He then turns, catching a glimpse of the slightly open room of his youngest sisters, "Of course! They're in Lisa's room again!"

She moves as quickly as a person with a boot over one leg can, and forces her way into the room, "Lisa are you-" only for his eyes to fall upon a familiar man, "Huh, William, what are you doing here?"

"If you're looking for your so-called sisters, you won't find them." William glances at the boy in a dress, an expression of disgust forming on his face, "Those girls have attempted to rescue their brother."

"What?!" She goes in surprise, before anger fills her expression, "I told them not to or else I'd-" She starts, only for William to cut her off.

"Now is not the time for your asinine attempts to stay in this dimension." He scolds, before turning face the boy, "As it stands, your home dimension has been destroyed due to an influx of dimensional anomalies, and I am currently unable to do anything about it."

"That's great!" Lincoln cheers, bring his arms together in excitement, "That means I'll never have to go home!"

William grits his teeth in annoyance, "Yes, that is true." He holds his hands behind his back, "However, it also it means I need you to do more for me."

"Whatever, I got what I wanted, why would I ever want to help-" Lincoln turns away and crosses his arms.

The man grabs his shoulder and speaks with a cold, commanding voice, "Because if you don't, I will send you to a dimension where you and your siblings are all male. And from what I've seen, that isn't the most comfortable place someone could go."

"Whatever! You can't do anything to me. I've done everything you asked!" She counters, though fear does enter her voice, "There's nothing you can do that will make me want to help you again. None of your threats scare me!"

William stares at the stubborn boy, clenching his firsts as he does so, "Is this… thing, serious?" He restrains the power building in his hands and simply grabs his amulet, "Fine, what do you want?"

Lincoln rubs his chin, "Well, since you want me to help you so bad, how about a place in your perfect world thingy?"

"Seriously? Ugh." He mentally groans, "If I didn't need this this person's help, I would send him to a random universe on the edge of reality." He then responds, "Very well." He fights the anger filling in his chest, choosing instead to breath out and let go of the small, blue necklace. "I promise I will give you a place in my perfect world."

"Great!" Lincoln turns and looks the old man in the eyes, while making sure to put his hands on his hips, "So what do you want me to do this time?"

"First…" he snaps his fingers. The small amulet glows with blue light with that, immediately causing Linka's numerous injuries to heal. "I need you to retrieve the remaining parts to a device I am building from the Anomaly Hunter unit. I can take you to their base, but you'll be on your own from there."

"Anything else I should know?" She tilts her head in curiosity.

"Don't get caught or else I can guarantee that." He responds, while thinking, "I suspect Lincoln will be able to confront Lyle… but be unable to beat her. I need a second option… I wish I didn't have to work with this… worthless thing."

"Well then, take me there." Lincoln flares his arms up, before hardening his gaze, "But if this is some sort of trick, I'll take the treasure for myself, got it?"

"Very well then." William nods, "But do not cross me, or I will send you to the edge of the multiverse." Then he punches the boy in the gut, causing his very spirit to shake in fear, "I can reduce you to nothing if I so chose."

"What?" Lincoln whispers, as she feels her very essence begin to wither.

"You heard me." He then releases his fist, and stands before her. And with a snap of the fingers, William transports the duo away.

A few hours later…

"We're here." Nyla declares as the small transport moves passed the clouds of the multiverse, giving rise to a massive, spike-like structure with a central glass dome. Three separate, smaller domes protrude from the core, while several metallic plates extend from the bottom; no doubt used to keep the structure stable within the chaos of the inter-dimension.

The twelve girls stand up and turn to the building, awestruck by the sight.

"Whoa, so is that the Anomaly Hunter HQ?" Linka asks, her drop dropping in shock.

"Like, yeah!" Nell responds, "If you ever need something from the Anomaly Control and Time Paradox Avoidance Squadron, this is where you go!" She points at the building, "Plus, if you ever need a place to stay for a bit, that's where ya go!"

Nyla remains silent, unsure of what else to say.

Lori then taps Linka's shoulder, causing the younger girl to turn to her, "Yeah Lori?"

"You still have to explain your deal with these anomaly hunter guys. Why do they want you so badly?" Luna steps forward, making sure her guitar is strapped to her back properly as she does so.

"They think I'm an anomaly, so they want me to turned into a card." The white-haired girl shrugs, "There's really not much else to say."

"So… what's the plan?" Lisa speaks up fearfully, "From the dreadful tone I hear in your voice, I suspect we're going into extremely hostile territory."

Linka hesitates for a moment, before sighing, "First, we have to find the boys."

"What?!" Lola throws her arms up in annoyance, "Why do we have to get those idiots?! We're your siblings, not them!"

"I know that Lola." Linka turns away from them, "But if I've learned anything from spending time with them, they're not just my siblings… They're my family too." Then, with determination filling her gaze, she turns back to her sisters and finishes, "And I'm not abandoning family."

The girls begin to talk amongst themselves, as if trying to debate whether or not to go along with the idea. Though, much to Linka's relief, Lori looks up at her and nods, "We're good. What else?"

Linka then sighs, and rubs the back of her head, "Then we have to find Lyle… I'll explain more when we find the boys, ok?"

"Ok." Lucy suddenly appears, though Linka remains unfazed, "But when we find them, we want answers."

"And you'll get them." Linka then turns to the ex-hunters, "Nyla, Nell, do you two have any way of finding the twins?"

Nyla begins to tap on her holo-gear, "Of course, when Luke gave them to me, I made sure to hide tracking devices in their gear." She taps a few more times, causing a small map to project from the device. The young woman stares at the map for a moment, before turning it off, "According to my map, they're coming in on the other side of the base. We'll be able to beat them to the abandoned hanger."

"Abandoned hanger?" Linka raises an eyebrow in interest.

"Simply put, the darn base is so huge, that one of the hangers never gets used." Nell looks at Linka in excitement, "I found it after I met you, almost as if fate wanted to make sure we had a way to get in!"

"Well then I know where we're going first." Linka turns to the family behind her, "You guys with me?"

The girls nod, while Lynn Sr. quietly stands up.

"Ok…" Linka turns to Nell, "Can you bring us inside?"

"Of course." Nyla taps her device a few more times, causing the emergency transport platform to rise and enter the small abandoned hanger. From what everyone can see, the place is completely deserted. With the equipment present covered in dust and dirt, no doubt accumulated from inter-dimensional travels.

"Remember girls, we can't get caught." Linka whispers, as the platform lands, "If we do, we'll get into cards!"

"Right." Nyla sighs, "Don't remind me." And with that, another emergency platform comes into the hanger, this one carrying the boys as well as Rita.

Immediately, Linka runs up and jumps into Loki's arms, "Guys! You're all right.

"Yeah, we're all right." Loki rubs her back, "Now I think-"

Yet, Loki stops when he catches sight of his father, confusion in his expression, "Loki... are you my son still?"

Loki nods, "Yeah."

"Care to explain what the heck is going on?" The man asks, his voice slowly filling with rage.

Immediately, twenty-two sets of eyes fall upon the young man, who can only sigh in defeat. "Well, I guess it's time I told all of you guys the truth." Loki thinks for a moment, before taking a deep breath and looking at his father, "Dad, we're all still your sons." He motions at the girl in the amazing dress that Leni is dimly admiring despite the situation, "Lincoln here accidently got sent here six months ago, which sent our Linka to his world, where instead of having ten boys and a daughter, that worlds version of you had one son and ten daughters. These girls are those daughters."

He then turns to the rest of the family, and motions towards the ex-hunters, "Nyla, Nell and the twins here are alternate versions of Luke, Loni, Lexx and Leif from other worlds." He rubs the back of his head, "We didn't tell you because almost everyone involved wanted to fix and get it done without worrying you" He then looks back at his father, "That's everything… you ok?"

The man grits his teeth, "And you seriously expect me to believe that?"

Loki and Linka shake their heads, "Of course not, but you can't argue with this!"

Lynn Sr. stands by for a moment, unsure of how to respond, choosing instead to clench his fists in anger.

"Dad… you ok?" Luke asks, while the other boys remain silent, as if they too are trying to process the truth.

"No. But now I know where to direct my anger." He then turns to the white-haired girl, "What the heck is the meaning of all of this?! Where's my daughter?!"

Linka immediately steps back in fear, "I don't know!" She desperately looks to her eldest sister, "Lori?"

Lori shakes her head, "We left her in the other dimension. She wouldn't have let us go otherwise."

Fury builds in the man's body, before he furiously turns to the boys and shouts, "That's it, you're all going to military school! You guys were supposed to protect your sister and now she's alone in another dimension!" He goes on with a fatherly fear, "What if she's alone, what'll happen if something happens to her?! You had one single job, and you failed to do it!"

Rita, on the other hand, remains silent, trying desperately to process everything. "She's been gone for six months… does that mean… The girl I bonded with, wasn't my daughter?"

Though, after close to ten minutes of ranting, finally "I don't want that sadistic excuse for a sister back!" Loki shouts, his voice filling with anger.

Only for Lori to counter with, "Well, we don't want her either!"

Rita then speaks up, "Wait, what?!"

Lori immediately continues, "That girl has made us worry about her for no reason, and has officially screwed with Lincoln's life to the point of near disrepair! At first we thought it was a phase, but then she started getting us to change ourselves for her!"

Luna then shouts, "She said my music was too loud!"

Luan adds, "She insulted my pranks!"

Lisa then adds on, "She threatened to cripple Lincoln's body if we tried to make her switch back with him!"

Loki then goes on, "And she didn't have much of a problem giving Lincoln those black eyes when he confronted her. She was willing to kill her old body so she could keep her new one, mom!"

Luke then adds on, "She says she wanted us to stop babying her, and she got over what happened years ago. But she still acts like the world owes her!"

"Now kids... Linka is your sister and-" Lynn Sr. shouts, a commanding air following in his wake.

And yet, Lars breaks passed it, and responds, "She insulted your parenting!"

Finally, Linka speaks up again, a soft, commanding air overtaking her as well, "And she doesn't care about you."

Immediately, Lynn Sr. grabs the girl and pulls her up to his face, "Watch your tongue you little-"

"Don't talk to my little sister that way!" Loki shouts, causing the man to turn to him in anger

"You just said she wasn't your sister!" Lynn Sr. counters, dropping the girl as he does so. "Why do you care about her if that's the case!?"

Yet, the cadet counters, "She's been more my sister in half a year than Linka's been in six! And you know what? She might just be right! You did a lousy job raising her! We all did." He sighs, "We smothered her until she suffocated, and ended up teaching her that she was the most important person in the world. We turned her into a selfish brat that doesn't care about anyone but herself."

Leif and Lexx look at each other, while Lane can't help but look at the floor, "I… Linka… never really forgave me? I never…"

"What are you talking about?!" He looks back in confusion.

"With all due respect, Linka is the worst!" Luke speaks up, pulling his guitar to his front as he does so.

"I can affirm that." Lars responds, with Levi adding" "As can I."

A fierce air overtakes take boys, while the girls can simply look on and watch.

"Should we do something Lincoln?" Lori quietly whispers, though Linka shakes her head.

"From what I've learned, this is normal, just let them sort it out." Linka quietly responds.

Lynn Sr. steps back in confusion, "What?! Are you telling me not one of you wants your sister back over this… this imposter?"

Loki doesn't hesitate. "No dad. I don't. And quite honestly, neither should you."

Lynn Sr. grabs his son by the shirt and slams him against the nearby transport. The young man grunts but doesn't break eye contact with his father. "You little troublemaker! You were supposed to protect her! I thought you'd learned your lesson, but you've been letting this faker do as she pleases for-"

Loki grits his teeth, "The better part of the year."

Suddenly, Lynn Sr.'s eyes go wide in shock, allowing him to only stammer, "Y-year?"

"Six months." The young man answers, Lynn Sr.'s hand loosening as he does so.

Yet, the man tightens his grip again, "No, no that's impossible. I know my daughter. She's been growing, sure, but all of it's been good and-"

Luke cuts his father off as well, "That was all Lincoln."

Lynn Sr.'s eyes start to lose their harshness as he loosens his grip over his son. He stumbles back a bit as the news slowly downs on him.

Rita's breathing gets louder, before she turns and leans into the nearby Nyla's shoulder, doing her best to hide her tears.

"Ev-everything?" Lynn Sr. asks in shock, as the realization falls upon him, as well as the brothers that didn't know already.

Loki nods sadly, "Everything dad." He at his other brothers, the boys too beginning to release the emotions they've pent up over the years, "Every single thing we've bonded over. Everything you've been proud of her for. Re-uniting with grandpa, all the friends she's made, the improved grades, the willingness to join in our things…" He looks at Leif and Lexx, "Protecting you and being a princess." Then Lane, "Choosing to help you in your play." Then moves onto Loni, "And going out with you…" His voice trails off.

Luke picks up for him, "All the fun we've had, all the pain and self-hate we've moved passed…" Though he too can't finish.

Lars then appears, causing only Lucy to jump in shock. He grabs onto Linka's hand, using his sister to give him strength, "That was all because of Lincoln…"

"But what about the real-" Lynn Sr. starts, though Loki cuts him off, knowing what he would ask, "She hates us."

Rita lets out a loud sob, before quieting down. No doubt the boys could feel the same, while the girls can't help but look at Lincoln in amazement.

"She resented the over-protectiveness. She told me she 'got over' the incident years ago, but was too busy hating us for caring about her to bother talking about it. She just sat back letting it stew and just waited for us to magically know what she was thinking without any help from her." Loki clenches his fists in pain.

And Luke finishes, "And since trading lives with Lincoln, all she's done is ruin it. Tearing apart his family almost as much as he's fixed ours. Breaking up with his girlfriend. Making everyone think he's gay. Threatening violence and using her new 'guy muscles' to get her own way, and even threatened to kill Lincoln when he tried to set things right. Whatever she is, she hasn't been our sister in a long time. She's nothing but a selfish, twisted little psychopath now!"

Silence overtakes the families with that, with only the soft sobbing of the boys as well as their father to fill the void. And for once, Lynn Sr. chooses not to tell them to stop crying.

"Guys, I know you just reunited and all, but… we're in The Citadel, we can't stick around for too long or else we'll get captured." Nyla chooses to speak up, "And I know none of us want to be turned into a card."

Linka then speaks up, "Agreed. We have to find the missing fragment and save your universe."

"Don't talk to me." Lynn Sr. coldly responds, before stepping over and comforting his wife with soft whispers. "I can't even look at you anymore.

"Ok…" Linka goes.

"So what's the plan then?" Lori asks.

Linka responds, "We need to get the last fragment"

The male Lynn Jr. asks, "What? And where's that… sis?"

"I'll explain everything later, but for now, you need to know that we have to go in there." She points at a nearby hanger door, "And we have to somehow get The Component from Lyle Loud."

"And how are we going to do that?" Luna speaks up, putting her hand on her hips as she does so

For a moment, Linka thinks, "I don't know…"

"Well, could you at least tell us who this 'Lyle' character is?" Lucy asks as she appears in front of the girl.

Nyla taps her Holo-Gear and answers, "She's a class three hunter."

Both Lisa and Levi adjust their glasses, before Lisa speaks, "I'm assuming from the amount of dread in your voice's inflection that your numbering follows the Defcon system instead of counting down."

Alex then responds by nodding, "Yeah. The only one above Lyle is the commander… and other class threes of course."

Luna walks over to Nyla, "Hmm, so if you're the other version of me..."

Nyla immediately responds, "I'm a version of you. The force has a lot more different version of nearly all of us." She mumbles, "We used to have more Lincolns. But some smartass 80's version named Lincooln passed himself off as the commander and abused the power for thee short time he had I in such a way they are still clearing up the mess today. But we don't have time to explain."

Luna nods, "Right. So who's this Lyle?"

"Oh that's like, easy!" Nell points at Luan and Lane.

Lane and Luan motion towards themselves and respond in unison, "Me?"

Nyla shakes her head, "No, look down."

Everyone looks at the contents of the comedian's arms. Two babies.

Nell then continues, "Lyle, like, comes from a universe were the family birth order was reversed. In her world Lori, or Loki is the baby. While she was the oldest."

Lori then rubs her chin, "So we have to fight a version of our baby sister... to get a fragment that is supposed to save the universe."

"Yeah." Linka nods, "I know it sounds crazy."

Lori shakes her head, "That's by far the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

Linka nods, "I know the feeling, you get used to it."

"Look, I'm still trying to process everything…" Lynn Sr. then speaks up, "But what are we going to do."

"We have to get to her somehow." Linka sighs in defeat, "But I don't know how."

"Like, I know what we can do!" Nell shouts, much to everyone's surprise. "Like, if we disable the generators, we can force command to send in the class threes to deal with us."

"That could work!" Linka goes in excitement, "And since Lyle's a class three, she'll be forced to fight us!"

"Is that literally the only idea we have?" Lori crosses her arms, while Loki sighs, "Well, the boys and I have no choice, our universe just fell apart, no doubt yours will join it soon enough." The young man looks at his brothers, "I'm just worried that my bros won't be able to handle the truth that well right now.

"We'll… we'll be fine." Loni weakly answers, while Lynn looks away, mentally kicking himself at the thought of his sister actually wanting to do ballet with him. Lane remains silent as well, as do the twins.

"Fine." The girls sigh in unison.

Nyla rubs her chin, "But we can't wait for command to send out the class threes, we'll have to confront them head-on."

"And how will we do that?" Linka asks.

"Simple, we'll break in." Nyla answers, before the group huddles up and begins their plan. "We just have to reach the Central Operations Regular Emergency Room."

A few minutes later…

"Warning, warning, intruder alert! Intruder alert!" The intercom goes as the group rushes through the halls.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?!" Linka shouts as she tries to desperately follow the nearby ex-hunters.

"Nope!" Nyla responds, before banking down a corner, "I rarely came here so I don't know the layout that well!" She turns down another, "Let's hope the girls and boys are able to take out the citadel generators before we get to the CORE Room!"

Suddenly, the group comes upon the massive double doors to the core of the citadel.

"Dangit! They're still locked…" Nyla's voice trails off in fear and disappointment.

"We have to keep hope!" Loki and Lori go simultaneously, only for the roaring sound of footsteps to drown them out.

"Dangit!" Nyla shouts, "We've got company!" Nyla raises her holo-gear, causing the computer to respond: Generating hunting field: Music Rush!

"I hope the others are literally doing better than us!" Lori stands her ground with Loki doing the same.

Lynn Sr. remains silent, while his wife smiles, as if a soft desire she had long since repressed starts to burn in her chest.

"It couldn't possibly be worse!" Loki raises his arms as well, while Luke and Lars follow suit.

"Whatever guys, we have to hang on as long as we can!" Linka raises the hardlight guitar that had appeared in her hands.

Nyla begins to strum with that, "Well whatever happens, don't lose!" And with that, the four of them begin to strum to their heart's content.

Meanwhile…

"Halt!" A set of hunters charge at the second group of kids.

Nell quickly responds by hitting her Holo-Gear, causing the computer to respond, "Generating Hunting Field: Dance Dance Evolution!" As well as generating direction pads under their feet.

"I still don't understand these games." Levi declares, while Loni responds, "Neither do I!"

Immediately, Loni grabs Levi and hoists him onto his back, "Hold on bro!" And with that, both Nell and Loni start hitting the pads, forcing the guarding hunters to fight… and promptly lose to the duo.

And with a burst of light green light, they end up as cards in Nell's hand.

"Like, you have got to show me how you do that." Leni goes in surprise, "It'll make storing all my dresses way easier."

Nell shakes her head, "I tried, all that did was make a hole in the floor… and I lost the cutest dresses!"

Loni and Leni both go, "Aww." In disappointment, before Nell motions towards a nearby computer, "Anyways, it looks like all of the other hunters are busy dealing with Nyla and Linka, let's turn off the generator!"

And with that, the group walks into a small room with a beam of light emanating from a small device in the center, feeding into a small orb of light.

"You sure you know how to do it, sis?" Luna asks as she watches Nell run over and begin typing in the computer.

"Yeah, computers were never your thing!" Lynn shouts.

"Like, yeah! All you gotta do to turn off one of these things is to overload the generator part! They always forget to put a limiter on it!" And with a few taps of the keyboard, the beam of light increases in strength, causing the small orb to expand. And within a few moments, the orb breaches its confines and disappates.

"Warning: Core Alpha Offline!"

"We did it! One care down, two to go!" Leni goes in excitement, only for the sound of footsteps to echo through the room.

"We're not done here yet guys." Luna raises her guitar with that, while the female Lynn Jr. raises her fists.

And within moments, a group of hunters rushes into the room.

Meanwhile…

"We're here, the shield generator!" Aeif goes, before turning to Lisa, "I need you to disable this thing!"

Lane and Luan as well as the male Lynn and Lucy stand by.

"But how?!" Lisa flares her arms up in fear. "I've never dealt with anything this advanced before!"

"I don't know, but you have to!" Aeif raises his holo-gear, "I don't know how much fodder I can handle before I end up overrun!"

"Generating Hunting Field: Dinomic Powerload!"

"Now get to work!" Laser weapons appear in the young boy's hand, as well as the other siblings.

"Aeif, you know I'm a lousy shot!" the male Lynn declares, before ducking behind a nearby console for cover.

"Well, at least you're not a Lucy shot!" Lane puns as both he and Luan hide as well.

"Hey! That was a great one!" Luan responds, "How about, you're gonna have a blast!"

Both Luan and Lane throw their heads back in laughter… though Lane's smile seems to be less sincere than looks would suggest.

"Would you two stop making puns and protect Lisa?! This is not the time!" Aeif climbs onto another console and fires her hardlight blaster, causing several hunters to end up as cards, "There's too much fodder to handle on my own!"

"Wanna make this Super Hot?!" Luan asks, before she jumps from cover and fires her weapon as well.

Lane responds by shooting a hunter wielding a hardlight sword, "Don't bring a laser sword to a laser gunfight unless you've got the force!" The duo laughs in response, only for laser burst to whizz right passed them.

"It's a good thing these guys have the aim of stormtroopers!" Lynn jokes, while he fires as well… only to miss just as many shots as the hunters.

"Ugh, whatever!" Aeif joins the front, "Lisa, how are things going?!"

Lisa types away frantically, desperate to figure out a way, "I got it! Force them to concentrate fire on me!"

"What?! Are you crazy?!" Lynn shouts, while Luan puns, "You, you're gonna break bearing!"

Lane chuckles, "I get it!"

"No I'm not! If the console goes, so does the generator!" Lisa responds, before ducking to the side. Immediately, the five kids stand next to each other, before jumping to the sides, causing the fodder to blast the console.

Immediately, the core beam stops feed the orb of energy, allowing it to disappear into nothingness.

"Warning: Core ßeta Offline!"

"We did it!" Aeif goes in excitement! While the others begin to cheer.

Only for another round of lasers to fire.

With the third team…

"G'ahh!" Alex shouts as a hunter's attack forces him back, "Levi, guys, you gotta hurry up! I don't know how long I'll be able to last with these hunters getting in the way!" The young boy raises his arm, determined to protect his new family members.

"Generating Hunting Field: Union Hanger!"

Immediately, hardlight controls appear at the remaining sibling's fingertips.

"Guys! Build stuff to protect Levi!" Alex commands, and immediately Lily and Leon tap away at their controls, causing hardlight blocks to come together into walls and weapons of all kinds, leaving the hunters trying to fight desperate for a break.

Lola, makes sure to create a magic wand to fight with, while Lana uses an oversized hardlight frog.

"Remind me never to mess with Lily when we get home." Lola flatly commands as she hits random hunters with her weapon.

"No promises sis!" Lana shouts as she jumps and smacks the fodder with her plunger, while the frog runs through their formation like it's nothing.

"How's that computer going Levi?!" Leif asks as both he and his brother ride into the oversized hallway with a Humvee equipped with an oversized cannon, though the hunters present quickly counterattack with their own, hardlight shield.

"Almost… there…" Levi then stops, smacks himself and shouts, "Duh, why didn't I think of that sooner?!" He runs around the console and shouts, "Disabling generators now!"

And with that, he pulls out the core connecting the console to the generator.

Immediately the stream of light fades away, allowing the orb to dissipate as well.

"Warning! Core Γamma Offline! Switching to emergency power!"

And with that, every Holo-gear shuts off, before rebooting.

"We did it!" Alex shouts.

"No duh!" Leif goes sarcastically, "But we've still got more fighting to do!"

And with that, the group stands and holds its ground.

"There's too many of them!"


"They did it! Come on guys!" Linka shouts as she turns to the, now open, entrance to the CORE Room.

"You go inside! We'll handle the fodder!" Nyla declares, "We can't risk you getting carded for no reason!"

"But what about you guys?!" Linka goes in fear, while Rita and Lynn Sr. quickly run inside.

Loki and Lori both look back at their sibling, before Loki goes, "We'll be fine."

Lori then continues, "We're still your favorite siblings, right?"

Linka nods, "Of course." And with that, she turns and rushes into the dark CORE Room.

She slowly walks forward, "Where are you Lyle?" And with that, the lights flash on, allowing her to come face-to-face with one Lyle Loud. The young woman holding a pair of cards in her hands.

"Well it looks like you're one eager anomaly huh?" she quips, "You shouldn't let our parents out of sight, they're really easy to card."

"I've come to retrieve the component you stole from my dimension!" Linka points at her. "And release my parents now!"

Lyle immediately counters, "What? Do you mean the artifact I have retrieved?" She shoves the cards in her jacket pocket, "I will never relinquish it. It will be used to hunt more anomalies."

Linka grits her teeth in annoyance, "I have to get that part!" Suddenly, an idea comes to her, "Well, you may use it for the hunt, but you can't use it as effectively as I can with this!" she raises her wrist and motions towards the golden watch resting on it, "Besides your gonna leave when there are three more fragments standing twenty feet away from you.

"My mission was simple, prevent the artifact from being lost." She raises her holo-gear. "I have no use for more. You cannot-"

"Well, I want it!" Linka counters, "I don't care you don't want them. I challenge you for the fragment you took!"

"So?" Lyle shakes her head, "I-"

Suddenly, a masculine voice echoes over the intercom, "They made the challenge Hunter. You must accept."

"Grr." Lyle growls, "Sir with all due respect, they are right here, in the CORE Room. We can just send in the class ones, take them out easy and…"

The Commander counters, "Irrelevant. Once a challenge is given, you must accept or face elimination yourself. You have proven yourself an asset thus far Lyle. However your class three status does not mean you will not be sealed away for repeated failure…. Though given it is their challenge, you choose the field."

"Very well commander." Lyle then types away at her Holo-Gear.

"Generating Hunting field: So...So...So...So-So-So-" The computer begins to glitch out.

"What the heck wrong with that thing?!" Lyle complains. "Can somebody fix it?!"

"Soooooooo." The computer goes silent with that… only to immediately shout, "GEN-SOooooOOooo-SooooOOoooo!" Causing the field to generate around them.

"What the heck?!" Lyle shouts as both she as Linka take in their area. The generated field looks like a corrupted version of Sogen; the grassy fields are purple, while its floor constantly glitches, and an incessant amount of bugs fly around the place like it is nothing. Literal bugs, and errors alike.

A moment passes, before Lyle's eyes go wide in realization, "Wait, now I know what's wrong with this thing! It's malfunctioning thanks to the presence of multiple anomalies!" Lyle snaps a look at Linka, "But the only anomaly around is this girl. Unless... there couldn't be another anomaly around, could there?"

Just before Lyle can look around for the other anomaly, the girl gets ready to fight her.

"No matter, I have some pests to card!" Lyle raises her Holo-Hear defiantly.

And with that, they enter a fight in the corrupted field, as a shadowy figure watches from nearby…

20-8-5-18-5 9-19 7-15-15-4 1-14-4 5-22-9-12 9-14 20-8-5 3-8-1-15-19 15-6 18-5-1-12-9-20-25, 2-21-20 23-8-9-3-8 23-9-12-12 16-18-5-22-1-9-12?

9 23-15-14-4-5-18 9-6 20-8-5-25'12-12 18-21-14 9-14-20-15 2-12-5-14-4-9-14 2-12-1-14-4-9-14!

A/N And that's the Segway that took all day to finish! I sure hope it was worth it! I'm now extremely exhausted. I thank everyone who is reading, reviewing and encouraging me to continue!

Also, for those that read my "Finding A Loud" story, it was updated yesterday, but due to site error, no notification email was sent.

And as always, I thank Exotos, Wolvenstrom, and Insane Master Writer Studio for their help!