It's a Kid's World
1.10: Destiny Delivers Different Directions
It was the first morning after the vanishing of Luna Loud. The remaining family felt as depressed and saddened as they did on the day 'The Big Vanish' happened. Lincoln felt some extra pressure, as it was his first day as the designated leader of the family. He and the other siblings were hanging out in Luna and Luan's room, remembering the sister they just lost.
The mood still being suitably low and dark for the day after Luna's demise, Lucy decided one of her poems, mourning the passing of her sister out of respect, was perhaps more appropriate than ever.
"Dark, depraved, the eternal void"
"takes away loved ones, leaves us destroyed"
"Our boisterous sister, taken from us"
"it feels like we've been hit by a bus"
"But there's comfort in knowing she went out in peace"
"the pain in our hearts, slightly decreased"
"She was wild, fun loving and really cool"
"And now she joins the everlasting dead pool"
"Thanks, Lucy. The lyrics were a little…" Lincoln began to say.
"Dark. Morbid. Depressing." Lola finished.
"Yes. But we know they came from in here, and that's what counts." Lincoln said as he put his hand over Lucy's heart.
"Thank you, Lincoln." Lucy said.
As Lucy sat back down, the new leader of the group decided it was time to do what their lost sister had intended and guide the remaining family on the right track to survival. Lincoln then walked over to the other side of the room and turned around to face the rest of his siblings.
"Okay, everyone. I know we all miss Luna, but I think it's time that we make plans for the next few months." Lincoln began to speak to the group.
"What can we do? Without Luna, we have no idea what we're doing!" Lola said.
"Well, for starters, I intend on bringing all the over 15s back shortly." Lisa stated.
"But how? You don't have any clue how it was caused and nothing to work with." Lucy reminded her.
"There's not even any power." Lana said.
"I'm working on it." Lisa uneasily admitted.
"Well, I trust that Lisa will do everything she can to put this right. But in the meantime, we have to prepare ourselves for a rough road ahead." Lincoln said in an effort to regain the attention of his siblings.
But as he was talking, the faint sound of footsteps could be heard in the background.
"Do you hear that?" Lynn asked.
"It sounds like footsteps." Lana said.
"An unusually large quantity of them." Lisa commented.
Lincoln and the others then decided to see who or what was coming…
As the Loud kids looked out of the front upstairs window, they saw a fearsome might approaching. It was Hank and Hawk. They had returned after their first failed attempt at a house raid. And this time, they brought a LOT more back-up with them.
"My god! How many of them are there?!" Lola shouted in disbelief.
"There must be at least 30 of them!" Lynn guessed.
"They've come back for revenge! They brought over twice as many men this time! We're toast!" Lana yelled.
Lincoln nervously stood and thought to himself about what plan of his could possibly enable him to overcome the odds…
"Lincoln, what's the plan?" Lana asked.
"Yeah, we need something fast!" Lola demanded.
They were one person down from last time, while the opposition had twice as many. Their ammo probably wasn't going to be enough to hold off that many brutish thugs from advancing. As a responsible leader, Lincoln had to make a snap decision…
"Get out!" Lincoln commanded.
"WHAT?!" All the sisters shouted in unison.
"We're abandoning base!" Lincoln said.
"We can't just leave! This is OUR house!" Lana insisted.
"Look, Luna left me in charge, and to keep you safe, I'm telling you, grab your stuff and get out of here! There's no time to argue!" Lincoln ordered.
"Come on, bro. We can take 'em, we've got the high ground!" Lynn argued.
"It's not enough, Lynn. My priority is taking care of you guys, not the house. It's a tough choice, but I have to make it!" Lincoln explained to his sister, who appeared sceptical.
"Unless you've got a better idea. Because if you think you would make a better leader, now's the time to show it!" Lincoln challenged.
Lynn's expression softened as she came to understand Lincoln's position, and she knew she didn't have a better option…
"Your call, bro." she said in acceptance.
"Hey! I'm too young and beautiful to be homeless!" Lola argued.
Lincoln then bent down on one knee to explain to Lola and the other younger ones…
"Don't I know you girls can argue? Look, I know this is hard for you, but we've got no choice. We will find somewhere, I won't leave you without food or shelter. I promise!" Lincoln told his sisters.
They nodded in unison as they began to agree with him.
"Alright, everyone! Quickly get your bare essentials and escape out the backdoor before they get in here!" Lincoln commanded.
Outside, Hank and Hawk arrived in front of the Loud's front yard, along with over 20 other teenage jocks.
"This is gonna be so sweet!" Hank said.
"Yeah, I've been looking forward to getting back at these dweebs!" Hawk declared.
"Alright, guys…" Hank began.
"CHARGE!" Hawk yelled, giving the signal for their men to follow.
The large group of burly jocks ran towards the Loud House at full speed, with the intent of not only raiding it for any remaining goods, but also leaving it a pile of wreck and rubble.
Effortlessly, the large thugs smashed their way through the door and into the house. They began searching the place, turning it upside down, to find anything valuable inside.
Hank and Hawk, meanwhile, decided to just smash up all the furniture. To them, they were doing it as much for revenge and to hurt the Loud family as they were for any material gains.
"Hey, don't punch that window, or your hand will bleed, and that will make me barf!" Hank shouted at Hawk, who was about to punch one of the glass windows.
"Aw, don't barf, bro, or you'll make me barf!" Hawk said back.
One of their cronies then peaked out the back window and saw the Loud siblings running away.
"Hey, it's those Louds! They're making a break for it!" he said.
"GET 'EM!" Hank and Hawk shouted.
Lincoln and his sisters, with backpacks on their backs containing their most important possessions, all tried to run away from the advancing army. Lily was also being carried by Luan. However, the thugs were on the pursuit.
"GOTCHA!" one of the thugs yelled as he pounced on Lincoln, who tried to squirm away.
"LINCOLN!" Lynn shouted as she ran over to save her brother.
She gave the bully a violent kick to the head for his troubles, knocking him off her brother. Lynn felt very satisfied, having made it up to Lincoln for their earlier confrontation.
"Lincoln, look out!" she warned him as she saw Hawk approach her brother from behind.
Hawk then picked up Lincoln in one hand and prepared to beat him up.
"You have no idea how much I'll enjoy this!" Hawk said menacingly as he prepared to hit the smaller boy.
Lynn ran over to help, but her protection attempts were in vain as another of the boys tackled her. She then tried to fight him off…
"They need our help!" Luan told her sisters as they rushed in to assist Lincoln and Lynn.
The twins teamed up to brawl against one of the teens, while Lucy and Luan tried to fight off Hank.
"Ha, just a couple of little girls? This will be too easy!" Hank said to himself.
Lucy then pointed at Hank and a swarm of her pet bats fled to her aid. They attacked him, making him run away in pain as he continued to get bit by the flying creatures.
Lincoln had suffered a few bruises from Hawk's punches, before being tossed to the ground, with the brute standing on top of him. Hawk then put his foot onto Lincoln's face and pushed it into the ground…
"This is where little nerds like you belong, in the dirt!" Hawk spat.
The brainy sister Lisa then appeared from behind, with a baton in her hand. Using her short stature to her advantage, Lisa used her weapon and struck the towering bully in the knee cap with it.
"ARGH!" Hawk yelled in pain as he collapsed to the ground.
Lisa then quickly helped Lincoln up as the two began to run off before Hawk recovered. They then ran over to Luan and Lucy, as well as the twins, who had managed to defeat one of the attackers.
"Let's get out of here!" Luan said as the group began to run off.
"What about Lynn?" asked Lincoln.
They saw Lynn holding off as many as the brutes as she could. They didn't want to leave her, but they knew they would be fighting a losing battle if they tried to help…
"GET OUT OF HERE, GUYS!" Lynn told her siblings while fending off the goons.
"But Lynn…" Lincoln tried to say.
"NOW!" she roared before getting slugged in the stomach as the numbers began to overcome her.
Luan reached out and grabbed Lincoln's hand, while holding Lily in the other, and led him away. The seven remaining siblings tried to escape, but more of the thugs kept chasing them. A couple of them caught up with the Loud siblings and began to brawl with them.
Lincoln and Lucy squirmed their way out of the chaos and made one final attempt at fleeing the scene. They finally managed to escape…
"Wait, what about the others?" Lincoln asked, fearing for his sisters.
"Don't worry, they've got this." Lucy assured her brother as they made their way out.
And she was right. The combined aggression of Luan, Lana, Lola, Lisa and even Lily was enough for them to out-brawl the large and burly but ultimately only two thugs they were up against.
"And that's what happens when you mess with the Loud family!" Lana proudly declared.
"Yeah!" Lola said as the two high-fived each other.
"Where are Lincoln and Lucy?" Luan asked.
"They must have quickly made a run for it!" Lana said.
"Oh no, we have to catch up to them! What if they get lost or run into trouble?!" Luan worried.
"They're resourceful. They can handle their own affairs." Lisa said, prompting her sisters to keep moving.
And with that, the Louds managed to escape a savage attack, though in doing so, ended up parting ways with each other amidst the frantic chaos…
…all except one of them. Lynn Junior was still at the mercy of Hank and Hawk.
In Great Lakes City, CJ and Carlitos, as well as Ronnie Anne's group of friends were taken prisoner by the mafia and placed into a cell together by the ringleader Don Morito. One day after being imprisoned, they were greeted by Don, who decided to visit his new 'recruits'.
"It was a very brave but foolish move your friend made yesterday with that ridiculous motivational speech." Don said to his prisoners.
"She's brave, not foolish!" Nikki argued in defence of her friend.
"Even after getting you all in this mess, you still consider her a friend?" Don asked.
"She wasn't the one who put all of us in here, you are!" CJ said.
"That's because a good leader is strong and does what is needed to ensure no one challenges his position." Don justified.
"You, a good leader? You're a jerk!" Sameer slandered.
"A good leader is one who knows it is better to be feared than loved, if given the ultimatum. I make decisions based on what will keep people afraid of me and therefore obedient. Fear of punishment does just that, which is why I've punished you." Don explained.
"Where did you get that garbage from?!" Casey questioned.
"Machiavelli." Don smugly pointed out.
Carlitos, incapable of proper speech, then blew a raspberry at the mafia boss, to show his hostility towards him.
"Pfft. It's been fun discussing power politics with you all, but I have a city to run. Besides, I have some nice jobs planned out for all of you. Farming, growing vegetables, digging for valuable materials, making new clothes, carving new knives and swords for my guards… the list goes on." Don teased.
The prisoners could only sit in their cell with anger and disgust expressed on their faces in disdain for their captor's words. He had a monopoly over the city, and it seemed there was no one left to challenge it…
As Don walked away from the cell, he shared one last comment with the prisoners…
"You'll start work tomorrow, so you better get some rest. As for your brother Carl, I have more specific plans for him." Don said, with the last sentence intended for CJ and Carlitos exclusively.
Lynn had received quite the beating. Multiple bruises, a black eye and a bloody nose, and even a missing tooth. As tough as she was, she couldn't defeat that many big brutes all at once. However, most of them had visible bruises and wounds inflicted on them as a result of Lynn's resistance.
"Well, ponytail. You put up a good fight. I've gotta say, I'm impressed." Hawk taunted.
"But we should still teach her a lesson for fighting back in the first place!" Hank said.
"Hmm. How about, if you tell us where the rest of your stupid family went, we'll only punch out half of your remaining teeth?!" Hawk sadistically threatened.
In response, Lynn snorted and then launched a snotty, bloody spit into Hawk's face.
"If I even had a clue, I still wouldn't tell you!" she harshly told them.
"Why you little!" Hawk cried as he went to throw a punch at Lynn, but Hank grabbed his hand and stopped him.
"Wait a minute! The runt obviously doesn't know where they went, she's too stupid for them to trust her with that!" Hank said.
Lynn then growled in response to that insult.
"But I think we could still earn something out of her." Hank continued, before whispering something into Hawk's ear.
"Actually, that's a great idea. It would do our jobs for us, too!" Hawk agreed as the two developed a sinister grin.
"What? What did he just say?!" Lynn asked, not knowing what they had planned.
"You like a good old-fashioned fight, huh?" Hank asked.
"Heck yeah, I love any competition, and I enjoy playing rough!" Lynn responded.
"Then you'll love what we have in store for you! We're signing you up for the EWF!" Hawk told her.
"The E-What?" Lynn asked, confused.
"You'll see." Hawk answered.
Just then, the boy who was previously beaten up by Luan, the twins and Lisa walked over, having finally recovered from his beating…
"I'm back! Sorry guys, they got away!" he told his peers.
Lynn then quietly let out a sigh of relief to herself, thankful that her siblings escaped from the bullies.
"You idiot! Oh well, it doesn't matter anyway, since they're gone and that means nobody can stand in our way!" Hank responded.
"That's right! Franklin Avenue is now ours! This part of Royal Woods belongs to us!" Hawk announced in victory.
Elsewhere, on the other side of town, the election results were due for confirmation.
"Okay, the results are in. Those in the top five of everyone who was voted for will be allocated a seat in the committee of leaders, while the winner will be granted the position of President." Jordan spoke out to the crowd.
"You've got this." Chester whispered in Chandler's ear.
"And the winner and new President of our faction, with 87 votes is… CHANDLER MCCANN!" Jordan announced.
The crowd cheered as Chandler was hurled up into the air atop everyone's shoulders in praise. Chandler looked down at Chester, who shot back with an arrogant grin, essentially saying to him 'told ya'.
"Now for the runners up. In second place, with 34 votes… Me? Wow, thanks guys." Jordan revealed in surprise.
"Woo! You go, girl!" shouted Mollie and a few of Jordan's other popular girl friends from within the audience.
"Okay, erm… third place, with 29 votes… Benjamin Williams." Jordan confirmed.
"Woah? I actually won a seat?" Benny asked.
"Way to go, Benny!" said one of his theatre club friends standing beside him.
"Fourth place, with 23 votes… Margo Roberts." Jordan continued.
"Wow, I can't believe it!" Margo responded in disbelief.
Her friends then immediately gathered around her for a group hug, which she embraced.
"And finally, the fifth person to be given a seat on the committee, with 16 votes… oh." Jordan then stopped in her tracks.
"What is it?" asked Chandler.
"We appear to have a tie. In fifth place we have Mike. You know, your rival? To be honest, I'm surprised anyone voted for him after what happened the other day. But there's also 16 votes for someone called Chester Bundy." Jordan said.
"That would be me." Chester said as he walked forward to reveal himself to everyone.
"Oh yeah, you're that kid who put Mike in his place!" one boy said.
"Yes, it would appear the public likes me." Chester pointed out.
"Well, since Mike hasn't made an appearance for the turnout, I guess that means we'll give you the seat." Jordan said.
"Excellent." Chester replied.
"There you have it, everyone. Your new committee! The first meeting will commence tomorrow morning." Jordan finished, allowing everyone present to converse amongst themselves.
Chandler was concerned about this rather seedy character receiving such a position of power. He quietly confronted Chester and decided to make it clear who's boss…
"Look, dude. I thank you for helping me win this whole thing, but I'm not sure I approve of all your ideas and decisions. Just remember, you work for me now. So, don't do anything rash or reckless without my say-so! Got it?" Chandler made clear to his newest political ally.
"I'll be on my best behaviour. Don't worry… President McCann." Chester said.
Luan, the twins, Lisa and Lily all continued to make their way out of Royal Woods entirely. They had made their way out of the built-up area of town and onto a large hill in the surrounding area.
"Okay, looks like we shook them off!" Lana said, acknowledging a lack of pursuers.
"Well, that's my beauty exercise for the day." Lola joked with her remaining energy, audibly exhausted from the whole ordeal.
"The outcome of this day's events was rather bittersweet. While we did escape the advancing threat against our household, we lost three more siblings in the process, as well as our base of sanctuary." Lisa pointed out.
"I know it looks bad, but we have to keep pushing forward and maybe we'll find somewhere we can lay low for a while. As for the others, they can all handle themselves. They're not kids… I mean, they are, but no more than anyone else." Luan said in confidence, still holding her baby sister in her hands.
"Hey, look." Lana called out to her sisters as she noticed the view behind them.
The sisters looked on from atop the hill at the stunning view of Royal Woods. As the sunset began, the image it created for the sisters to see was a picture of beauty.
"Wow, is that our home?" Lola asked in awe.
"Yes." Lisa answered.
"I've never seen it like that before." Luan said in praise.
"It's awesome, isn't it?" Lana asked rhetorically.
"Yeah, it is. It's sad that we're leaving it behind, but it's what we have to do." Luan said aloud.
And she was right. It was a shame to leave Royal Woods, but the sisters needed to do so in order to survive.
"Alright, everyone. That's enough sight-seeing. We have to keep moving." Luan prompted the others.
But the Louds weren't the only ones making an escape. Ronnie Anne and Sid had made their way out of the city along with Ronnie's three pet tigers, Maria, Carlota and Frida. A day after having fled, and they had already travelled many miles away from their home, with no particular destination in mind.
"This is all my fault! I never should have opened my stupid mouth!" Ronnie Anne self-criticised, blaming herself for the imprisonment of her friends.
"You were just trying to help everyone rise up against that jerk Don Morito, or whatever his name was! To be honest, I'm proud of you for standing up to him like that." Sid said, trying to raise her friends' spirits.
"Thanks, Sid. But I still feel guilty about CJ and the others being captured by that suited jerk!" Ronnie angrily stated.
"So, I guess you were right about him being the one to have Carl all along?" Sid asked rhetorically.
"Well, he admitted it to my face. The arrogant little…" Ronnie Anne muttered.
"If he does have Carl, do you think he has Adelaide, too?" Sid questioned, still worried about her sister.
"Probably. I don't know. Assuming she didn't do what we just did and make a run for it after our parents disappeared, then yeah. If she stuck around Great Lakes City, she probably got captured." Ronnie deducted.
"Or worse!" Sid fearfully speculated.
"We can't think like that! We've got to believe there's a light at the end of the tunnel in all of this!" Ronnie argued.
"You're right! If there's any chance we can save everyone from that tyrant, then we have to do everything we can to make it happen." Sid said, determined.
"Now you're talking my language!" Ronnie said in praise of Sid's line of thinking.
Suddenly, the tigers stopped in their tracks, sensing apparent danger.
"What's wrong, girls?" Ronnie concerningly asked her pets.
The three tigers then roared in unison as they saw a rather odd figure emerge from the horizon.
It appeared to be a hooded entity, wearing an orange robe with a red belt. It was standing on top of the large hill in the distance from the two girls.
"What are you thinking? Should we follow him?" Sid asked.
"Eh, have you got anywhere else to be?" Ronnie Anne joked as the two girls and their feline companions began to walk towards the hooded figure in the distance.
"Who knows, Sid. Maybe this could be our first amigo we find in our fight against the mafia." Ronnie Anne optimistically suggested to her bestie as the two made their way ahead.
But as Ronnie Anne wandered off in search of allies she could find to overthrow Don Morito and his army for the sake of her loved ones, one of those loved ones, Carl Casagrande, was brought before Don in his throne room for a civil chat…
"Hello, Carl." Don greeted.
"Um, hi." Carl answered cautiously.
"Some privacy, please." Don demanded from his guards, who then immediately left the room.
"That's better. Now, I'll cut right to the chase. I want you to work with me more personally, boy." Don said.
"Why?" Carl asked.
"Well, for one thing, I actually sorta like you. You're a complete joke, but it's your insistence on being a big shot and a macho man in spite of that which makes you amusing." Don insultingly admitted.
"Thanks." Carl said sarcastically.
"Also, I won't lie, having you close by would benefit me. You see, I've captured your brothers, Carlos Junior and Carlitos." Don casually confessed.
"WHAT?! You dirty rat! You let my brothers go!" Carl demanded furiously.
"Oh, the boy has a heart, does he? Such love for his brothers, that's actually quite admirable. But still, I have uses for them as part of my expanded workforce." Don said.
"Don't even touch them!" Carl ordered.
"I won't, as long as they do a good job." Don half-heartedly promised.
"I mean it, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry!" Carl tried to threaten, only to earn a chuckle from the mafia leader.
"Like I said. Amusing. Anyway, I will not harm them as long as you do what I ask. As for what I was saying before you interrupted me, having you close by would benefit me because one of your relatives, your cousin Ronalda Anne Santiago, if I've got her name right, unfortunately… escaped." Don said to Carl, uneasily admitting to the last part.
"I bet she did, she's pretty awesome. Oh, and she goes by the name Ronnie Anne." Carl corrected.
"Anyway, in case 'Ronnie Anne' comes back with any kind of muscle behind her, then I want insurance to stop her from trying to overthrow me. YOU are my insurance. Well, you and all the rest of your family I have locked away." Don explained to his newest client of sorts.
"So, you're just using me?" Carl asked.
"Think of it from your end. Working as a personal servant to me will grant you many privileges." Don insisted.
"I don't want any privileges! I just want you to let me and my family GO HOME!" he pled.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. As you've probably gathered, I'm not nice, and I have an element of fear to uphold. In all honesty, your free will isn't really a factor in all this. You're doing this, whether you like it or not, so I suggest you get over it!" Don laid down the law.
"You begin tomorrow. I look forward to working closer with you, Carl." Don said, before pressing the button on his chair to call the guards back in, who quickly arrived to take Carl away.
As Carl was escorted back to his room, he grew sinister thoughts in his head. He believed that working closer with Don might be advantageous for him, as it provided more opportunities to bring him down from the inside…
The night arrived, and Lincoln and Lucy had finally made it far out of Royal Woods, albeit in a different direction entirely from Luan and the others. In the midst of panic and in a desperate effort to flee from danger, the two siblings completely missed the familiar graveyard located outside the woods.
Instead, they had made their way deep into the middle of the forest, just as the darkness reached its maximum.
"Um, Lucy… I know you're really into all this spooky stuff, but I'm a little creeped out." Lincoln said anxiously.
"We just escaped from an army of angry bullies. What is there to be afraid of out here?" Lucy asked, completely desensitised to any of the potential danger that a dark forest implied.
"Well, just off the top of my head… big grizzly bears and monsters, bottomless pits, sharp things…" Lincoln began to list.
"Shh." Lucy commanded, interrupting Lincoln.
"What?" Lincoln quietly whispered.
"Do you hear something?" Lucy asked, sensing an abnormal presence.
After knowing for sure that something, or someone, was coming, Lucy gave the instruction…
"Hide!" Lucy quietly but firmly told her brother.
The two siblings then hid behind the tree and leaned over to peak by the side of the trunk at what was approaching from behind the darkness of the woods.
It was more than one figure. Several silhouettes of pre-teen children emerged from the shadows, revealing their disfigured and decayed forms.
The children appeared to be of the undead variety. Lifeless eyes, mangled teeth and gums, discoloured skin and oddly enough, a piece of metal lodged into the side of each of their heads.
As Lincoln looked on in fear and Lucy in an odd combination of fear and awe, they finally saw something else. A large figure stepped out from the darkness, appearing front and centre amongst the others. An adult sized being, wearing a helmet that completely covered its head, mesh gloves, a bulletproof vest with metallic sleeves attached, black padded trousers, and combat boots.
The undead creatures surrounded this entity, seemingly under its command. Stood before Lincoln and Lucy was the fearsome leader of the dead.
Lincoln and Lucy quietly gulped to themselves as they realised just how much danger they were in…
The leading figure then spotted the pair from behind the tree and pointed in their direction.
The two terrified children then braced themselves as they realised, they were in deep trouble.
Author's Footnote:
And… that's all for now, guys. Season one is complete. I have yet to write the next season. All being well, I should begin with writing that very shortly. Regardless of views (which are steadily increasing according to the stats), I do want to continue IAKW, especially since I already have an outline for the narrative going forward. Despite that, for the commitment for such a big project to be more worthwhile, I have to see what measures I can take to increase this story's popularity, since it would still be nice. Firstly, I shall be making accounts on other sites to promote this work. I will also be asking certain friends of mine to provide shout-outs or ads of some kind to further promote this story to wider portions of the fandom. As for any of you followers who like this and want to see it continue, perhaps see if you can give a little shout-out here and there. Every little helps, after all.
Final Edit: All checks and minor edits have been made and this season is now truly complete. Keep an eye out for season two.
