A/N: I should have stayed with my still ongoing stories but this idea keep bothering me lately, so here you go...
Lisa Loud was sitting in her chair with her eyes trained on the screen of her computer. She wore a white labcoat over her usual clothes, a green turtleneck sweater and brown pants. Her fingers were quickly typing on the keyboard, entering a complicated code for her new invention that was placed across the room. It was still in progress but she is almost done with putting the final touch into her latest creation. It will only be a matter of time before she could activate the device to see if it really works like it's supposed to.
She was excited, something that rarely happened to her but still occured in her short life nonetheless, her creation will bring a lot of changes in the world of science. Not to mention, how she would be look upon by her colleagues after she show them her amazing discovery. It was important for her to make this work. No, she wanted for this to work. That is why she had take a lot of precautios measure just to make sure that everything would be fine.
Among her other experiment in the past, this one could be considered as the most dangerous one that she ever made. Not only because it would consume a lot of energy to be activated, she also didn't know what kind of effect it would cause if something bad happened. Although she had reinforced her room before to be much stronger due to her past incident, there is still no certainty that it would be able to hold whatever that could happened in there from coming out.
It was a risk that she is willing to take but not something that her parent would agreed to. She understood their concern for her well being and safety, even with all the knowledge and certificate that she had acquired over the years, she is still a growing kid that makes mistake sometimes. It was proven with many of her failed experiment that exploded in the past, much to her disappointment. Her parent were getting more worried about her, but their concern would never be the same as the increasing concern of her only brother.
Her fingers stopped moving as she felt a tinge of pain pinching her heart. Her eyes dropped slightly from looking at the screen of the computer and landed on her hands over the keyboard.
He was genuinely worried about her and she used his concern to help her with her plan. She knew that her parent would never approve of her latest experiment, as a responsible parent they will do anything to prevent any of their kids from being in danger. She couldn't have them around if she wanted to continue with her experiment, they will find out about it and ordered her to stop entirely.
She can't stop now, not with how close she was with achieving her objective. But still the thought of taking advantage of her brother kindness was something that make her feels uneasy. She shouldn't have done that to him, but then she would never know the result of her experiment. It was a choice that she needs to make and she already decided what will be her priority.
It is almost reaching the end of summer, the perfect time to bring her plan into action. She wasn't as creative as Lincoln on creating a plan but with his help, they managed to make a strategy to send their parent away in a form of a vacation. It was his idea at first to submit in a contest that he had seen before in one of the commercial being displayed on the tv. The prize was a week trip for two on a cruise that will be completely sponsored by their company.
A perfect opportunity for them. It wasn't that hard for Lisa to win and obtain the prize after she entered the contest a few weeks prior, but the hard part was to convince their parent on going for the vacation. She did suggest that they drugged their parent and put them on the cruise while they were unconscious, which he definitely rejected without doubt. 'If we want to do this, we need to do it right,' he told her in a serious tone.
Again, he helped her by discussing about their plan with their sisters in the upcoming sister meeting. He did lie about a few things especially about him being the only one planning everything which indicated that she has nothing to do with it. Lisa wasn't sure why he was lying to them at first until she thought more about it. He was actually taking all the responsibility and blame for the action that she made.
Why would he do that? Won't it be better if he was telling them the truth. Instead of exposing herself, she kept quiet since she already promised to let him be the only one speaking for their behalf. He told them that he want to surprise their parent with the vacation and need their help with it. When they asked how they can help, he only answered with they could try to be good for a few days so he can convince their parent on going. They agreed with him and their plan went into motion for a few days until he decided it was the right time.
She was with her sisters, peeking from the stairs when Lincoln talk with their parent in the living room. Their parent were sitting on the couch while he stood infront of them. It took a lot of convincing before they finally agreed to go for the vacation as long as they promised to behave themselves. She realized how much effort Lincoln had put just to make sure that her plan would work, but for what cost. Would it be worth it to put her own brother in line for her experiment?
Their parent left the house early in the morning yesterday and the house quickly becoming loud and chaotic for the rest of the day. Lincoln volunteered to look after Lily since he don't want the baby to get involved with whatever she was keeping secret from him.
She never left her room, being too engrossed with her experiment that she ignored all the commotion happening outside. Lincoln was thoughtful enough to bring her meal for her when she didn't go downstairs to eat with them. He just put the plate infront of her door since she didn't open it for him. The door had been reinforced by her so no one could interrupt her privacy, even for him. This is important for her and he know that.
Lisa quickly shook her head, just now noticing her clenched fists before slowly opening them back. She lifted her head, looking back at the screen of the computer and started typing again. It wasn't entirely her intention to ask for help from her brother, she thought that he would want to do something much more related to his interest than helping her, but then he agreed, much to her surprise and confusion. It was unusual for any of her sibling to show even the slightest interest in her work, either because it was hard for them to understand or they're just too busy with their own activities. She couldn't blame them for that, not everyone can understand what she was doing sometimes.
A loading screen appeared infront of her, she stopped typing and pulled her hands by her side. She let out a sigh of relief and leaned her back against the chair, her head hung low as she was yet again lost in her thought.
Lincoln has been rather close with her lately, even to the extend of helping her when he don't need to. It was confusing for her to understand why he would do something like that. He had spent most of his time planning and gathering the materials that she needed for her device instead of enjoying the summer like other kids his age should have.
She looked back up to the computer and pushed her round glasses slightly up her nose, the loading screen is almost done and the device will be ready to be activated soon. She should bring Lincoln here and show him her invention that she has been working on since the start of summer.
That is the least thing she could do after all that he had done for her. But will it be good enough for him, maybe it would only be a waste of time and he would regret helping her if it didn't work like she hoped. Would he be mad at her for wasting his time with her useless invention. Her heart sank deeper the longer she thought about it. No, whether it will work or not, she wanted him to be here. He deserves to know what he was helping her for.
She turned her head towards the door, contemplating with her decisions for a moment before finally sliding down from her chair, letting her feet planted on the cold floor. She walked over to the door, her oversize white labcoat draped on the floor behind her until she reached the metal panel beside the doorframe. After entering the code, the mechanism that locked the door finally dismissed as she turned the knob and pulled the door open.
The first thing that she noticed after opening the door was the weird silence filling the hall. She turned her head from side to side only to see no one near her, it's almost seemed like the house is empty with how quiet it was. She could only guess that most of her sisters were out to do their own things. Stepping out from her room, Lisa walked down the hall and stood infront her brother's closed door.
This would be her opportunity to show her invention to him. She breathed in deeply, bringing her balled fist up and knocked the door a few times. When she received no answer, she opened the door only to find out that her brother was nowhere in the room. She lowered her head in disappointment. Of course he won't be in his room, there is no reason for him to stay in the house.
The silence deepened, did everyone leave, was she actually alone?
A weird sensation running through her body. Isn't this what she wanted, to be left... alone.
Then, why is it so hard for her to get back into her room. She lifted her head and her eyes landed on her brother's bed. Her thought quickly went back to him as she didn't realize her legs slowly stepping forwards.
He is always nice, not only to them but also to the people around him. Sure he could be childlish and selfish sometimes, but he admits his fault and tries to fix them. It was a wonder why he still couldn't find a girlfriend yet. Maybe when he was old enough, they would see what they missed about him.
Lisa climbed on his bed, struggling a little until she pushed herself up on her toes. She sat on the mattress with her legs folded to the back beneath her body. The labcoat slightly fell from her shoulder as she inspected the room that belong to her brother. It was admittedly small than any other room in the house, but it used to be a linen closet before so there is nothing much to say about it.
Even with the small amount of space in there, he managed to make the place comfortable. She lied down and pressed his cheek on the soft pillow, softly snuggling deeper into the sheet. She could still smell some of his scent filling her nostrils. It was nice, kind of making her feels safe in a way that she couldn't understand.
Needless to say she was tired after all the time she had spent for her experiment. Even when her body told her to get some rest, she refused to let herself be consumed by her fatigue, resulting in the lack of sleep that she was enduring for the time being. But now, being in his room and lying on his bed, she just wanted to close her eyes and forget about everything.
It felt like he was there with her, embracing her small frame in the safety of his arms. The warmth was comforting and the soft mattress engulfed her body into a state of calmness. It was perfect and her eyes slowly closing as her restraint to stay awake started leaving her body. She never stop thinking about him, if anything it is what that was helping her to fall asleep.
Downstairs, Lincoln Loud threw his head to the back and stared at the ceiling with a defeated sigh. Currently, he is sitting on the couch in the living room with his youngest sister, Lily sleeping beside him. The house was unusually quiet today with less people in it, somewhat disturbing him a little.
He was too used with the chaos of his sisters that without their presence it's almost felt like he was in a stranger house and probably invading their privacy. Most of his sisters were already out to do their own activities and being the good brother he is, he told them that he will take care of Lily while they were gone. It was kind of his way of payback for their assistance in his plan, No, their plan.
Another sigh escaped his mouth as Lincoln brought his head down and stared at the tv with complete disinterest. His mind went back to the day when he agreed to help Lisa with her experiment.
She has been quite distant with all of them before the beginning of summer, always being in her room and only come out when she needs to. Although it was not unusual for her to be like that, he could sense something different about her. Call it brother instinct or what, he just saw something behind the facade of her emotionless expression. Maybe it was the same way he was with Lucy, or he is just too great with his surrounding, but it was enough for him.
He knew that whatever she was working on, it was important for her since she was desperate enough to ask for assistance from him. He was worried about her, there is nothing that could hurt him more than seeing any of his sisters being in pain. She was exhausted and weak, probably from all the research and experiment that took most of her time to rest like she supposed to.
She shouldn't have forced herself like that. Heck, she shouldn't even be in this situation in the first place. But then, she is Lisa, stubborn and never the one to give up that easy. He was also at fault for not stopping her. Instead, he agreed to help her with her secret experiment. He knew that stopping her would only be a useless attempt with how many time she had done something behind their back. But now with him assisting her, he could at least help her by lessening her burden in anyway possible while also giving her the rest she needed. He just wished that he could do more.
Just this morning, he had another argument with his older sister, Lynn after he refused to help her practising for her next sport tournament. He reasoned with her that he need to stay in the house to take care of Lily while their other sisters were gone. Unfortunately that wasn't enough for her with the way she retorted to his reason, saying that Lisa can do that for him.
He can't argue with that, if only he could trust Lisa with the safety of their youngest sister. But, with the way Lisa is locking herself in her room, it wasn't an option that he can choose. The arguement only got more heated the longer they fought over it. He knew that wasn't a fight he can win. It was already one sided when Lynn started coming back to him with all the excuses he gave his sisters while he was helping Lisa.
When he got nothing to say, Lynn said a few words that made him glad that their parent are not with them. If only they were there, he could only imagine the horror that would take place after that. After she was done releasing her frustration on him, she finally left the house, slamming the door and making Lily cries in her way.
He could still sense her disatisfaction and anger as she glared at him before disappearing from his sight. He was slowly getting used with that, it wasn't the first time he was having this kind of conversation with his sisters and getting the same result afterwards. Even from Lucy no matter how good she was at trying to hide them. It was his fault and he was ready to carry all those burden when he made that promise.
During his time with Lisa, there were a few arguments happening between him and his other sisters that he excluded the spectacled girl from. They were unhappy with the fact that he was spending more time with Lisa instead of attending to their activities like he usually does. It is hard being the only brother for ten sisters and be there for all of them at the same time. There is only one of him and last time he checked he is still the only son in their family. His hope to have a long lost brother suddenly coming back was slowly fading from his mind. Playing favourite was not something that he could exactly do either since he loved all his sisters the same.
Although, maybe, just maybe, there is a tiny bit of himself that always thought more about Lisa. He was worried that her passion for science would affected her in a bad way. Her occasional explosion was nothing much compared to the unhealthy state she was forcing herself into. He couldn't help but noticed how bad she looks like everytime she finished one of her experiment. Sometimes he even wondered if she ever tries to use any of her experiment on herself which he hoped she never did. He would never forgive himself if something like that ever happened.
That is the problem he was having while helping Lisa with her experiment. He couldn't help all his sisters at the same time with their own different interests. He won't be enough for them, not to mention the amount of energy being sucked from his body with every moment that he spends with them. And now with their parent no longer in the house, it just becomes worse and harder for him to control the situation.
Yesterday was a disaster, if it wasn't for Lori helping him out, he don't know what will happen to them. Even with both of them, it still took some time to prevent the storm known as the Loud sisters from keep going. He knew something like that would happen even before their parent left the house. It was a risk that also come with his plan, but as long as their parent leave the house, it didn't matter that much for him at that moment. Well, there is no use in regretting it now. He hoped he could be fair with his sisters but it's just way too impossible for that to happen.
Lincoln looked down at his baby sister and gently patted her head, making the girl slightly shifted in her sleep while sucking her thumb. He couldn't help but let a small smile plastered on his face, even when she cries and fills her diaper in his room, he just can't seem to get angry with her. Since she became his roommate, he was obligated to attend to all of her needs.
Lisa was the one that used to do that for her baby sister before, but with her almost spending her entire time in her room, It was kind of impossible for her to look after her younger sister. A reason why he took the responsibility of doing it for her. The other reason was obviously to keep the baby far away from the dangerous chemicals that he barely recognized in there.
Currently, there were only him, Lisa and Lily in the house after the others left. It's been awhile since the last time he checked on his younger sister in her room. He wanted to at least have a talk with her but she doesn't seem to open the door for him no matter how long he waited. At least he knew that she took the meal that he left for her infront her door. Still, the thought of Lisa locking herself in her room for a long time didn't sit right in him. Once in awhile, the voices in his head will scold him for letting his sister be like that, No, he is not crazy, probably. Maybe it was his brother intuition speaking to him in his subconscious. Eitherway, he knew that the voices were right.
But what could he do to change that. Other than his plan that usually backfired, there is nothing much to say about his character. He is not as strong as Lynn, or as artistic as Lucy, or even as smart as Lisa. He is just a white haired pre teen with ten sisters with different interests. His sisters are more interesting than him, they would have make a show about them. His life is far from normal but he would never wanted it to be different in any other way. Even with all the commotion his sisters had pulled him into, he just can't stop following them. Maybe it was his duty as their brother to do so, but their smile is what that make him stay, and he can't argue he also enjoyed his time with them.
Lincoln turned his head towards the stairs and remembered he still didn't check on Lisa yet. This would be his opportunity to at least talk with her since they were the only people left in the house. That is, if she finally opened the door for him. He looked at Lily for another time, making sure that she would not wake up anytime soon before returning his gaze to the stairs.
Taking a deep breath, he stood up from the couch and turned off the tv as he began making his way upstairs to the second floor. When he got there, Lincoln stopped in his track when he saw the door to his younger sister room was actually open. He was quite surprised but glad that Lisa finally decided to get out from her abode.
He stepped closer to the room, pushed the door wider and inspected the place for his younger sister.
"Lisa, it's me Lincoln, are you in here?" He said while walking further into the dim room. His eyes slightly narrowed to get a better view of his surrounding as his legs carefully stepping over the bundle of different colored wires laying on the floor beneath him. His gaze lowered in disappointment when he got no response from the younger girl. Realizing that she was no longer in her room, he decided to search for her at other places in the house. She can't be that far from him if he was right.
Lincoln almost stepped away when he saw something that caught his attention, there is a whiteboard with an equation for a complicated theory written over it with black marker at the far corner of the room. He got closer to the whiteboard, taking in every information that he understand from his own knowledge and experience. There is something about it that make him feels uneasy.
Seeing no other way to quicken the process of his thought, he closed his eyes in concentration and started running his own calculation in his head. A few minutes passed before his eyes shot wide open in shock at the realization. He quickly recalculate the equation on the whiteboard, making sure he didn't make any mistake. His body froze, he wished he was wrong but the fact was well presented before him.
No! This can't be true, he knew Lisa well enough that it was impossible for her to make a mistake as crucial as this. There must be something that he missed while searching for the right answer. Whatever it is, he can't let the device to be activated, it was too dangerous and the risk of something bad might happened was too high for him to ignore. He looked at the chamber looking device at the side of the room. His eyes following the wires connecting between the device and the computer on the desk. Seeing the connection between them, he wasted no time and headed there before looking at the finished loading screen infront of him.
He was too late, the device is already starting up with flashes of light coming from the center. The metal frame of the machine is shaking and falling apart with the overload of energy surging throughout it circuit. Spark of electricity striking the floor, almost hitting him before leaving a burnt mark in its place. His heart pounded against his chest in fear. His breathing became ragged and his mind ran every option that he could think of with ever second passed. His quick thinking provided him an option, from all the plan he just created only one of them seems to have the result that he desired. But, it won't be easy. He knew what he needs to do and what it would cost him.
Lincoln quickly moved, shuffling the stack of paper on the desk, ignoring them as they fell everywhere on the floor. His pace quickened, not losing speed until he reached the door and closing it. Lincoln faced the panel beside him and began pressing button at random, already knowing what will happen next.
[WARNING: INTRUDER ALERT, SECURITY INFILTRATED, COMMANDING LOCKDOWN] A computer stated.
Immediately after, a metal barrier closing the door beside him and trapping him in there. A few clicking sound could be heard before the locking mechanism finally separated him from the other part of the house.
Letting out a sigh, Lincoln leaned his back against the metal barrier, his eyes lifted to see the device going out of control with the flashing light now almost consuming the entire room. If he was right about the strength of the barrier and the reinforcement that Lisa had told him before, it would be enough to prevent the destruction from taking almost the entire half of the house.
He won't have time to escape, the security was created to trap the intruder in the room without any way of getting out. He had already seen the schematic of it and the material used for them. He even approved that it was soundproofed from both sides, which was really helpful for Lisa on focusing with her experiment. He let out a humorless chuckle at that. Now no one can hear him scream, not that he wanted to either.
His shoulder slumped as his body sliding down until he was sitting down on the floor. The heat in the room slowly rising, making him sweating and panting for air. A smile spreading across his face. He was kind of relieved that Lisa was not in the room, even though he really wanted to see her. Lincoln gritted his teeth as he could feel every cells in his body tearing apart from the sudden sensation burning his muscles and organs. It was painful.
He wondered what will happen to him after this, that is if he even survive this. It only took a minute before he was finally engulfed by the bright light until there is nothing left to see. The entire room was filled with the scorching light, trying to escape from the crack but failed due to the reinforced wall. The house slightly shook with the impact but only for a quick moment. After that, silence took place as if nothing ever happened.
Lisa is still sleeping peacefully in her brother room, ignorant of the occasion taking place not far from her. She snuggled her face deeper into the pillow, letting his scent caressing her body. A smile crept upon her face as she wished he was there with her. This would be enough for her since there is no way she would be brave enough to ask for such affection from him. It isn't something that someone like her would do.
In the living room, Lily is slowly waking up from her nap. Her round eyes fluttered open as she stretched her arms upwards with a yawn. She sat on the couch and turned her head from side to side only to see none of her sisters or brother near her. She started to get worried, it was too quiet for her comfort.
"Inkcoln?" She mumbled for her brother. But still no sight of anyone coming to hold her. Now she is scared, where is everyone? Her lips quivered and her eyes became watery.
"Inkcoln!?" She repeated a little bit louder, almost on the verge of crying, only to receive the same result as before. She sniffled a few times before finally started crying her eyes out.
Soon after, a half naked figure could be seen running downstairs and into the living room. They lifted the baby from the couch and embraced her in their arms, slowly cradling her while saying comforting words into her ears.
"Shh... Lily, I'm here, you don't need to cry, I'm here now." The male voice soothed her worry away. Lily opened her eyes and her cries clowly dissipating. It only took her a moment to see the strand of white hair before her crying stopped as she clutched his chest, burying her face closer to him. "Inkcoln..." She muttered. "Don't worry Lily, I'm here, your brother is here for you."
Meanwhile, in the damaged room upstairs, three naked boys are having a weird conversation concerning their current situation.
"I'm definitely not expecting something like this to happen."
"Then, what did you exactly expect would happen?"
"Well, I thought the explosion from the device would disintegrated our body to ashes or perhaps changing us into a puddle of liquidized matter."
"Sigh, now I wanted nothing more than any of that to actually happen, at least then I won't be here to seeing this."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm naked, in a room with two other naked person, I think that would be enough to show how weird this is."
"I don't see the problem with that, we have the same body after all."
"And that's only make it even more weirder."