A/N Hey guys, I'm glad you enjoyed that chapter! We're really closing in on the end of the fic, so I hope you guys enjoy what I'm putting out! I hope you guys enjoy this one!
R&R!
Chapter Twenty-Six: Let The Games Begin
Lana sat below that tree, the cool breeze brushing across her face as she lifted her head up to the cool sky. "Man, it's been a while…" Truth be told, given the events of the passed months, she never did find the time to simply stop and smell the roses. And though they were covered in snow she imagined their warm and lively smells filling new nostrils.
"Man, I wonder how Lola would enjoy the day. Maybe ice skating or trying out new tricks, right? Yeah, that's probably something she'd try," She looked ahead towards the field. "Or maybe she'd try to cheer Lynn on. Heh, I remember that she somehow managed to get onto the cheerleading squad for the last game of the season. Just like her."
After that, more memories rushed forward, all filling her mind with the soft cold winds of the winter, of all the adventures she and her family would have as they explored the soft sheets of white that took over their home or covered the jungle at the park.
And in response, she couldn't help but chuckle. "So many good times together… Don't worry, I'm gonna bring that back soon. Just gotta… get everyone back together. And then things will be just like old times when you get back. Could on it." Slowly, she felt her eyes begin to droop, the soft allure of slumber quickly overtaking her, before she rolled over and made herself comfortable, though she did find it difficult due to the fresh layer of cold snow. "Well, Lynn's practice isn't gonna be over for a few hours, maybe getting some sleep would be nice… Then I'll be able to keep up with her."
And a moment later, she found herself standing before a certain young girl with long, blonde hair.
She gave a soft smile at the sight. Despite the fact that these had become more and more common as the days passed, she found herself enjoying them more and more. It was as if her sister was speaking to her again, reminding her that no matter what happened she would always be around.
"Man, don't you just love winter?" Lola skipped forward and twirled, before landing in a pile of snow. "So nice and cool."
Lana chuckled, before coming to her side, a soft smile having already overtaken her. "Heh, yeah," She quickly scooped up some snow. "And what I like to do when it-"
Yet, before she could launch her ordinance, Lola sent a snowball flying, nailing her twin in the face. "G'ahh!"
Lola fell back in laughter. "Haha! You're not getting me this time, Lans! I'm queen of the snow to-"
Yet, not to be outdone, Lana quickly turned and scooped up more of the ice, before sending it soaring, managing to hit her sister square in the face with that. "Heh, not today!" The plumber beat her chest. "I will be queen today!"
"We'll see about that!" And with that, the princess ducked behind cover, launching her snow shells, while Lana rushed forward.
Snowballs rained down upon the older twin as she stormed the hastily-made snow trench and pounced, causing the duo to roll in the snow for a moment, before landing on the backs, soft smiles overtaking their faces.
"Heh, man," Lana cracked a smile. "Why do all of our snow fights end like this?"
Lola shrugged. "Who knows? But I wouldn't have it any other way."
"I love you, Lola," The plumber spoke in a soft, warm voice as she placed a hand on top of her twin's.
And in reply, the princess simply smiled and rolled her hand under the older girl's. "Always, I will love you."
"Hey," Lynn stepped over and placed a soft hand on her sister's shoulder, stirring her from her slumber. "You there?"
Slowly, the younger girl opened her eyes. "Huh?"
"Uhh, what're you doin' here, Lana?" She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Ya know, I have practice and stuff, so were you plannin' on hangin' out or something?"
Lana calmly pulled herself up and nodded. "Yeah, I just finished hanging out with Lisa so…" She rubbed the back of her head. "I was wondering if you wanted to spend some time together and stuff."
For a moment, Lynn paused, her eyes seemingly staring passed her little sister, before she looked away.
"Lynn, please," She clasped her hands together, before pulling them back and widening her eyes, seemingly trying to make herself even cuter than she already was."
Lynn let out a breath in defeat. Despite how she felt, there was very little she could do against a cuteness attack from her little sister. "All right, all right," She gave a soft smile. "What did you have in mind?"
Lana rubbed her chin, before shrugging. "I dunno… wanna hang out on the field and stuff?" She stepped over and gave Lynn a playful punch. "Maybe you could show off some of your moves. I know how much you like doing that."
The older girl gave a soft smile at that. No matter how difficult things may seem, if she's allowed to show off her skills, that means that there is still plenty to look forward to. And so, she turned and motioned for her sister to follow.
Lana complied, wasting no time standing off in the sidelines, while Lynn held a football in her arms. She rested down in the snow, raising her rear to the sky, before she jerked up and lobbed the ball, sending it flying high above her for a moment.
Lynn could feel her heart race as she pushed her way through the snow. Her eyes focused on her target as she jumped up and rolled, freeing herself from the difficult terrain of the snow, before she landed and fell forward. The ball hurled towards the ground, the young woman effectively crawling before she stopped, allowing the ball to land nicely in her hands.
"Nice!" Lana jumped up, flaring her arms in excitement.
Lynn glanced at her little sister. "You think that was cool? You haven't seen anything yet!" She quickly hopped to her feet and passed the ball to the younger girl… who fumbled with it, before tossing it up, allowing it to land in her arms. "Heh, butter fingers, sis."
Lana's face went red in embarrassment, before she gave a quick nod. "Heh, well, mud balls aren't this hard and stuff."
The older girl raised her eyebrow in confusion. "Uhh, I know… but I haven't seen you play with mud in a while."
"Since the accident…" She shook her head. "It's nothing. How about you show me why you tossed this to me?" She raised the football and gave a soft smile.
For a moment, the older girl paused, her mind hesitating on whether or not to push forward, yet, she simply shrugged. "It's nothing… right? She already spilled the beans on everything, right?" She then stepped back. "All right. I want you to toss it high in the air for me!"
Lana nodded, reeled back, and lobbed it as high as her little girl muscles could muster.
In reply, Lynn bent her knees and sprung up, flipping through the air before she flipped and caught the ball, performing a superhero landing a moment later. "And, tada!"
"Nice one, Lynn!" The young girl cheered.
She placed a hand on her hip and tossed the ball over to her little sister. "Why don't you try, Lana?"
The blonde looked down at the ball in worry. "I dunno…"
"You wanted to hang out, right?" Lynn went. "You know this is how I hang out with people!"
Lana gulped. "If I'm gonna make sure that this place is perfect for Lola to see, then I have to do everything I have to!" She then passed the ball back. "All right, let's do it."
Lynn gave a soft smile, before tossing the ball up, just high enough for Lana to catch. In reply, the young girl jumped and tried to flip. "Come on, pageant practice, don't fail me now!"
The older girl watched as her little sister spun through the air, before reaching for the ball… only for it to bounce off the tips of her fingers and go off bouncing into the field while Lana fell flat on the ground in defeat. "Dang it."
Lynn stepped over and took a seat next to her sister. "Heh, not bad for a first attempt," She chuckled.
"Dang it," Lana let out a breath. She rubbed her head in frustration, before looking to her sister. "Well I guess…" She paused.
Lynn stood there, her arms shaking as she bowed her head. "Dangit!"
In an instant, Lana rushed to her feet and grabbed Lynn's hand. "No, don't run again."
The older girl glanced back, her eyes filled with shame. "I let you get hurt again…" She kicked herself. "I knew I shouldn't have tried that! I know you practiced a lot of spinning and dancing in the air but…"
Lana pulled her hand, prompting her to look up again. "Lynn, it's not your fault."
"But-"
The younger girl placed a soft hand on her chest. "Lynn, I know I got hurt but, even if you try to stop it, I'm always gonna get hurt. We all will." She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her. "But we love you anyways."
For a moment, Lynn looked away, before returning the embrace.
"For what it's worth, none of us blame you for what happened to Lola," She pushed back and looked into her older sister's eyes. "And she'd want you to have fun."
"You think so?" The athlete raised an eyebrow in curiosity."
"Yeah," Lana pulled back and flipped, only stumble and fall on her face again. "Heh, I think she'd laugh at that. She always did enjoy some fun."
"Yeah, I guess she did," The young woman gave a fond smile, before she stepped over and offered a hand to her little sister, and the little girl accepted. A moment later, Lana was sitting on her rear while Lynn took a seat in front of her, tossing up a small ball as she did so. "So, why'd you wanna hang out today?"
For a moment, Lana considered trying to lie, to try and simply chalk it up to just wanting to hang out with her big sis again. And truth be told, a part of her truly did wanna hang out.
"No reason really." She smiled. "It's just… ever since the pageant, we really haven't done much."
Lynn chuckled a bit. "Got another idea to try and wake her up?"
"No," Lana shook her head. "After what happened… well, I guess I realized that there really wasn't much for us to do. Even with everyone helping out, nothing seemed to work."
"So, do you think she's gonna be gone forever?" Lynn asked, her voice softening.
"No, not a chance," Lana hopped to her feet and stepped over to the ball, wasting no time picking it up and prepping herself. "But until she comes back, I wanna make sure that there'll be something waiting for her."
Lynn crossed her arms. "I see," She snickered, before softening her gaze and climbing to her feet. "Heh, but if we're gonna hang out, how about we get someone else to join us? They've been stuck in their room playing video games all day after all."
Lana tilted her head in confusion. "Uhh… who?"
A Few Minutes Later…
"Hey Stinkoln!" Lynn sent her foot into the door, forcing it open as well as causing the boy behind it to jump in surprise.
"G'ahh! Lynn?!" He went.
Lana immediately came up from behind her. "Hey Lincoln! We wanna play a game, but we need another player!"
For a moment, the young boy paused, his eyes glazing over his sisters.
"Please," Lana clasped her hands and put them behind her, widening her eyes as if to appear more cute than she already was.
Despite the amount of times his sisters would do this to him, even he wasn't immune to its effects. There was just something about Lana being so excited and smiling that pushed him to take a breath and nod. "All right, all right," He hopped to his feet. "So what did you two have in mind?"
After that, Lynn grabbed her brother and pulled, effectively dragging him through the home and out to the backyard, before shoving a ball in his hands. Lana followed soon after, her little legs unable to keep up with her elder siblings'.
"The game is simple, we're gonna play some catch," A sinister expression overtook Lynn's face, before she tossed the ball up. "The person who keeps their hands on it the longest, wins!"
"Cold potato then!" Lana instantly rushed over, quickly scaling the tree, before flipping through the air, catching the ball in mid-flight. "Easy!"
"Not quite!" Lincoln slid passed his sister, easily grabbing the ball, before running off, trying to put as much space between him and the duo.
Yet, not to be outdone, Lynn pounced, causing the duo to roll in the grass for a moment, before she forced herself up onto her feet, raising the ball triumphantly. "Haha! It's mine!"
Lana and Lincoln looked to each other and smiled, before they both charged.
"Uh-oh," Lynn reacted by turning and trying to bolt across the front yard. Yet, the younger girl anticipated this, swinging from the patio to cut off her advance.
The athlete glanced back, her mind racing in excitement as her mind came up with a plan. She jumped over her little sister and blew a raspberry at her, before turning… while Lincoln ran squarely into his little sister.
"Haha!" The plumber could feel the excitement build in her chest as she pushed herself from the snow and scooped up a ball. "If you can't catch em…" She reeled back, waiting for a moment, while Lincoln pushed himself forward to give chase to his sister.
Then… *Smack*
"Ahh! I'm hit!" Lynn went, clutching her chest, before falling down in a pile and letting her tongue plop out.
Lana flared her arms in excitement. "Yes! We win! The ball is ours!"
Lynn chuckled and pushed herself up. "Heh, not a bad shot," She pushed herself up and pat her head. "Man, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you practiced it."
"I have… with Lola," She gave a soft, fond smile.
"Catch!" Another voice called out, only for Lynn to jump up and catch a football again.
Lana quickly turned, only to find, Lincoln, reeling back, ready to play the next game.
"Monkey in the Middle!" Lynn shouted, before lobbing it back.
"No fair!" Lana laughed. "I wasn't ready!" She jumped up, trying to catch it.
Yet, Lincoln rolled and scored before she could. "Gotta be quicker than that, Lans!" Then, he tried to toss it back.
However, just like before, Lana ran and grabbed at the patio, quickly climbing it before flipping and plunking it out of the air. "Thanks for the ribbon dance practice, Linky!"
"Haha, fine, I guess I deserved that," With that, he stepped between the duo and they continued their game all the way until the daily lights turned on to signal their return home.
"Man, what a workout!" Lynn stretched as she stepped into their home.
"Worth it though!" Lincoln went with a smile.
"All in a day's work," The youngest among them glanced back, her eyes focusing upon the bright stars above. "And soon, everyone's gonna be ready for you to come back. You can count of it."
"Hey Lana," The athlete placed a soft hand upon her sister's shoulder. "You feelin' ok?"
She nodded quickly. "Never better." Before she stretched and yawned. "Anyways, I'm gonna head upstairs. Maybe take a nap before dinner."
"Heh, all right then." Lynn punched her palm. "Just remember, if you wanna hang out again, you know where to find me!"
"Count on it," Lana nodded with a smile, before she stepped passed her siblings and made her way upstairs. "Man, I can't believe it, heh. I didn't expect Lynn to push me that hard, but hey. She was smiling." She glanced back, taking a quick look at her brother, before turning and entering her room. "I haven't seen Lincoln enjoy getting pulled outside like that in a long time. Heh, I guess some things just never change."
*Ribbit*
The young girl quickly looked back, allowing a certain frog to come into view. "Hops?"
*Ribbit* he hopped over and pulled out his bowl, motioning towards it as he did so.
"Heh, sure," She stepped over and grabbed some of his feed. "I guess I haven't been taking care of him lately. I should thank Lincoln for watching him," She took a breath as she poured. "Without him, I definitely wouldn't have been able to keep going. Thanks Lincoln, you're the best."
"Poo-poo!" Another person called out. Though Lana already knew who it was.
"Hey Lily!" She excitedly stepped over to her little sister and nuzzled her. "What're you doing here?"
"Lo-La," Lily replied, giving Lana a kiss.
The older girl let out a breath in defeat. "I'm sorry Lily, Lola's not gonna be back yet. She still hasn't woken up."
Lily pouted in reply.
"But hey, don't worry, she's gonna be back, I just know it," Lana pushed Lily's chin up, allowing her to look into her sister's eyes. "You can count on it."
The baby gave a small nod, before Lana turned to face that side of the room. "My question is though, who's next? Lisa got out of the house. Lynn and Lincoln hung out outside too."
Hey mind wandered for a moment. "Who do you think I should help next, Lily?"
Lily rubbed her chin, before nuzzling close and taking a nap.
"Heh, yeah, maybe I should just rest and figure that out in the morning." And so, she turned and headed out of the room, wasting no time putting her sister to sleep before going out to eat dinner.
A/N And there we go! Another chapter is in the bag! I hope you guys enjoyed so far! As always, R&R! In other news, I got a new iPad so I'll have an easier time writing on that than on my laptop! Plus, I can draw now!
14-5-22-5-18 7-9-22-5 21-16 12-1-14-1, 8-15-16-19 23-1-19 8-21-14-7-18-25 23-1-9-20-9-14-7 6-15-18 25-15-21!
Review Replies (C25):
Boris Yeltsin: I imagine Lisa would have trouble with platformers, only to keep trying until she develops her hands well enough to play them!
DreadedCandiru2: You're getting the goal!
SuperParkerBros: Err no promises mate. Sorry, but that doesn't really sound like an idea I'd do.
Gamemod: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed!