Snow Way I Can Do This Without You
Chapter Three: Didn't See That Coming
Greetings dear readers, watchers, and confused passers-by! Well to the penultimate chapter of Snow Way Down! Following the Kishotenketsu model of storytelling this would be the 'Twist' or 'Now For Something Different' part.
DreadedCandiru2: Oh you have no idea what's coming. Wait for the later stories.
364wii: Yes lot's of love, and a nearly dead toddler, sorta surprised only two reviewers commented on that.
Rebellion Rose: Thanks!
B9: Several plot points from One Magical Weekend, will appear as their own stories in this Rebooted timeline. Look to see Skyla appearing before this year is out and yes Stella will play a role. One reason I went ahead and stated my version of Darcy is Indian is because I originally had Stella as Korean but then she was revealed to be Filipino. Now I'm stuck between how to write her, canon, or what I had going on.
Samtastic 3.0: Oh you know Lisa caused this, evil little so and so. As for Lynn, after the latest round of Lynn Stans going 'if you don't like Lynn shut the fuck up.' Do not expect me to pull any punches with the Loud family bully.
TwistedDarkness225: Thank you! Hope it doesn't disappoint.
Alexpv22: I deal with those types all the time. Also yes I had the idea that Lynn Sr and the McBride's along with being some of Uncle Sam's Misguided Children were also massive geeks and gamers.
TigerClover: Hearing that my work is better than the actual show is probably the highest compliment I can ever get.
Zoinks81: Well first off you are welcome, hope you liked the… Well shit, cut off my thank you from chapter one. I'll need to edit that. As for Clyde, I've already done more with him in one chapter than you did across eight stories and you've been at this longer than me.
*~*~*~Loud House: Growing Up A Loud~*~*~*
An hour earlier Lisa was in the room she shared with Lily, the rap music echoed loud enough to drown out the noises outside the room, and the door was secured supposedly to keep Lily from wandering out, or so the other girls thought. In reality, it was to keep the sisters from barging in on her experiment. The lights were dimmed the main sources of illumination being her computer, a lamp, and the giant sphere holding the toddler strapped to a table, a copper plate fixed to her forehead, and wires running from the girl to her machine. the music did a wonderful job of drowning out her cries.
Lisa double-checked her notes, all of her experiments were leading up to what would happen this year. Experiments on Lily, harvesting her brother's organs for DNA samples, she wished she could have grabbed more, maybe an eye? He didn't play sports so didn't really need depth perception. Part of his liver maybe as it could grow back, and his reproductive organs, if what Lisa suspected was true he'd never need those anyway, "perhaps I could harvest from a sister?" Lisa wondered as she went over her preparations, it would be risky, she doubted harvesting a sister's organs would be tolerated, unlike with Lincoln when the girls played it off as a joke.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a signal from the computer, special earbuds kept the volume low for her and Lily as it wouldn't do for her subject to go deaf, the next phase was almost ready to begin. "Fair warning younger sister," Lisa said with a smile, "this will be most painful." She began typing in new commands to the system.
Lisa was a genius, she had the Jr. Nobel Prize (won for mixing ketchup and mustard with a laser) to prove it, along with a Ph.D. her parents didn't understand it was honorary and she saw no reason to correct them or her older siblings on the Ph.D. or her prize being the Junior version of the Nobel. It surprised her that her parents didn't understand this, after all, Lisa still had to go to grade school, if she really had a PhD. that would be impossible her only option would be college courses if she wanted to continue her education.
Still, her credentials, such as they were, came with certain perks, like access to Royal Woods Community College's science department, which was shockingly well equipped for a community college. Lisa would often "borrow" some of the equipment for her own uses, not that the school ever asked for any of it back, to be fair they'd have to know it was gone first.
The young scientist turned her attention back to her screaming younger sister, this experiment was simple, enhance Lily's development so she skips from toddler development straight to college levels, skipping childhood and her teen years complete with all the knowledge from pre-school right up to an associates degree in Liberal Arts. If all went as planned it would be wonderful, let humanity skip the boring parts of life and leap right into adulthood.
Lisa scratched her chin looking over the readouts, so far everything was going perfectly as planned. Nothing out of the ordinary, other than some issues with overheating and reporting errors while the system tried to map and alter Lily's genome. "I might need more samples, too bad my male sibling is tapped out, well maybe I could take an eye or some of his liver, or reproductive organs after all. Then again, I have a roommate right here I could tap for fresh organs…" Lisa smiled at Lily.
"Fuck you!" Lily replied glaring.
"Careful younger sister, I can always remove your vocal cords, almost did if you'd care to recall, actually those could prove useful," Lisa considered the option, "by the way do you know the best thing about having ten siblings?"
Lily said nothing whimpering in the machine.
Lisa nodded, glad the girl had learned her place, "easy access to test subjects," with a grin she started to adjust a few of the controls, Lily let out a desperate scream for help that while muffled by the music still made Lisa jump and turn a knob further than she intended.
Lisa turned around and glared at Lily, "I see I'm going to have to wipe your memory when this is done, can't have your tattling now can I?"
Sighing Lisa started to look for her memory eraser, 'why can't that girl see this will benefit science in the long run?' Lisa thought to herself. 'sure Lincoln is minus a couple of organs, it's not like it's going to harm him in the long run and he IS almost out of organs I can take. Besides if I can perfect organ cloning won't need to harvest anymore so what's the big deal?'
Alarms begin going off from Lisa's computer.
"Strange, I don't recall any track on this album having any sirens in it…" Lisa muttered turning around as her computer erupted into a fireball, a wave of heat and force of an explosion sending Lisa to the ground, as her vision began to fade the door of her room/laboratory flew open, she heard Lincoln's voice shouting for Lori to call the fire department, the last sensations she felt was Lincoln lifting her up and his voice saying, "what have done to Lily?!"
*~*~*~Loud House: Growing Up A Loud~*~*~*
For Lincoln the next few hours were a blur, only a few moments had any sort of clarity.
Lily was covered in blood as Lincoln desperately pulled her free, detaching wires and grabbing for the solution bags the IVs were attached to.
Dragging the toddlers and the IV bags and tubes into the hall.
Lori and Leni taking over as Luan led Lincoln away.
The ambulances arriving for both little girls, the IVs gone from Lily's arm.
Then, somehow Lincoln found himself standing in front of a drink machine, three cans of pop were held in a makeshift pouch formed from his shirt exposing his belly, on a table near him two drink holders held seven coffees between them, he stood there looking at his face in the cans, trying to remember where he was, when another face appeared behind him reflected in the rainbow of metallic labels. Short blonde hair, blue eyes, and two pearl earrings. The woman was smiling down at him.
"Mommy?" Lincoln asked looking up.
"Me again," Lori reached down pulling the cans out of his shirt and placing them in her purse.
"Still the same difference," Lincoln replied then leaned against the drink machine, "we're at the hospital right?"
"Yeah," concern was in Lori's voice, "you seemed out of it the whole way over, they almost took you in for shock, but Doctor Sundari said a little rest and was all you needed maybe. Anyway of I see Lucy, Lana, and Lola's drink orders and ours but nothing for you."
"How did you plan to bring all this back?" Luna said, making Lincoln jump, turning he saw Luna and Luan each grabbing a drink tray.
"Yeah, don't try to do it all by yourself. You aren't Ace Savvy you know?" Luan smirked, "nice work getting Lisa and Lily out of there, but I got a feeling after she wakes up Lisa will wish she'd been left in that room."
Lori nodded, "I don't see her worming her way out of this one."
Lincoln muttered something and Lori knelt down beside him, "what was that?"
"Mom and Dad can't punish her," Lincoln said getting a round of confused looks.
"Why not? She stuck Lily like a pincushion and almost killed her," Luan said, "I know sometimes you think mom and dad go easy on us compared to you but come on!" Luan hoped he wasn't going to bring up the baseball bat incident, or what happens every April 1st, she and Luan
"Last year during Pranksgiving, Lisa let mom and dad into her bomb shelter, but FIRST they had to sign contracts saying they'd no longer punish her for her experiments, this included experiments done on us, the next day she takes my appendix, why do you think Mom took out and hid the IVs in Lily anyway?" Lincoln said.
The older girls exchanged looks, the organ harvesting thing was right up there with the baseball bat incident, just something none of them wanted to talk about. After all, how do you justify letting something like that happen, then joking around when a second attempt was made. Then a third, successful attempt later that same night. The sisters were in solidarity that it was right to remove the IVs, they'd long ago understood Lincoln wasn't always all in for family first. The girls exchanged looks and by silent agreement decided not to debate the point.
"We should get back," Lori stood guiding Lincoln along with beside her the other girls forming a silent procession, Lincoln's eyes stayed on the floor, it was marble, tan with a green central line up the center and color-coded lines off to both sides splitting off and headed into different directions, they arrived at the waiting area, a collection of green upholstered wooden chairs in a little side alcove.
Lincoln saw Lana resting in their father's lap, Lola was curled up in their mom's lap, and Lucy was seated beside Leni laying in her lap, off by herself Lynn sat scowling.
"We're going to have a chat with her later," Luan said, "even with this she can't stop trash talking. The girl just cannot stand any sort of loss."
"Love should be stronger than foolish pride," Luna said.
They had the waiting area to themselves, Lincoln kept moving forward still dazed, and took the first seat he came to, something cold was pressed into his hands, a can of pop.
"You forgot to get yourself something," Lori said, "now drink up, it'll help," she sat beside him.
Lincoln nodded, it was cold, wet, he realized he hadn't read the label and right now it tasted like cold water, after finishing he turned the red and white can around to view the label, Coke-A-Cola.
"Thanks," Lincoln looked up with a smile which Lori returned and ruffled his hair.
A shadow fell over Lincoln, arms wrapped around him, then his father spoke. "you did a good job son. The doctors said they both should be okay."
"Excuse me," Doctor George Sundair, the family physician a short, clean-shaven, middle-aged Indian man with short cut dark hair and lines crossing his face from a lifetime of laughing and smiling had joined them, he stood with his shoulders relaxed and a smile that lit up his eyes.
After he had the family's undivided attention he went on, "it's Lily. She's asking for her brother and she is being… Very insistent on it. Lisa is awake as well."
"Go ahead son," Lynn Sr said, "Lori go with him it's only two at a time and we need a word with Lynn."
"Lily will be moved to another room soon," Dr. Sundari assured him, "you'll be able to take both girls home in a few hours. But with Lily, well… You'll see."
*~*~*~Loud House: Growing Up A Loud~*~*~*
With those words Lori and Lincoln hurried behind the doctor, halfway there Lincoln's legs started to give out and Dr. Sundari called for a wheelchair, a few dirty looks came from the Nurses until Chloe the head Nurse reminded them he'd just arrived in shock and pulled two girls from a fire.
As Lori wheeled him the rest of the way they heard a soft voice talking in a British Accent from room 111 Lilian "Lily" Loud was written under it in purple magic marker. Lori swallowed, she'd been here enough to know the magic marker colors had a meaning, purple was for when a patient was to be kept under watch due to something they hadn't been able to diagnose.
"I must apologize," the soft British accented voice went on, "it was completely uncalled for to snap at you like I did, I fear today has left me very grumpy."
Dr. Sundari knocked and opened the door, there an Asian nurse whose name tag read 'Annie' was working on Lily, "sweetie," the nurse said, "you're own flesh and blood used you as a Guinea Pig, stuck you full of needles like a pin cushion, and almost got you blown up the day before your birthday. I think you have a right to be a little cranky. There the last IV's out and we got you unhooked and I'm guessing this is your brother and sister?"
"Oh, Dearest Lori! Dearest Brother! I'm so happy to see you both!" Lily chirped in the soft voice they'd been hearing.
There was a crash behind Lincoln, Lori had collapsed into a chair in the room starring at the toddler, Dr. Sundari was by her side in an instant.
"Oh my goodness! Lori!" Lily said standing up, her eyes the size of tiny saucers, her head whipped around to Lincoln, "is she okay!?" Lincoln would have hit the floor himself if not for the wheelchair as it was his jaw hung open.
"Brother?" Lily asked, "was… Was it something I said?"
*~*~*~To Be Continued~*~*~*
As I mentioned at the start of this fic you just don't see a lot of Indian characters in fiction outside of Convenience Store clerks, the most famous example being Apu. So realizing that I don't remember the Louds having a General Practitioner I created Dr. George Shandari.
Lisa's Ph.D. is a way for me to resolve an issue in the show. If Lisa had such a degree she'd never be allowed in Kindergarten, rather her socializing would be handled at the community college. So I made her degrees honorary.
Finally, her dialogue was inspired by a certain infamous reviewer who wants to be a backseat writer that often complains when Lincoln or any of the little sisters is shipped with anyone and who flat out loves to order around writers, some even give in. One example was trying to brush Lisa's organ harvesting under the proverbial rug, so I used some of their own arguments in Lisa's mouth. Both being egotists it fits.
The last chapter will be out in two weeks' time. Already doing work on the next story and outlining the rest of the sequence.