Author's Note: Hey-ho! Holy crap, I don't know what it was about this chapter, but it took forever. And you know, I still wasn't satisfied with the final product – so much so that, for the first time since I started writing this fic, I brought on an editor for a second opinion. He didn't change much, saying that it was mostly fine the way it was, but I'm still not sure. I'll let you guys be the judge.
I'm Captain Dodge – thank you, and Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!
(…)
"Lincoln…"
Lincoln ran as fast as he could down the hall, but he wasn't getting any closer to his room. His sisters, though, were getting closer to him.
"Lincoln…"
Lincoln pushed his legs harder. His door was starting to get closer, but his sisters were right behind him.
"We love you, Lincoln…"
Lincoln kept running, but turned his head. His sisters smiled at him deviously, reaching and grasping for him, their eyes glowing bright red.
Terrified, Lincoln pushed his body to the limit, managing to reach the door to his room, run inside, and slam and lock the door just in time. He heard his sisters clawing at the door, howling with rage.
Lincoln sighed, relieved, but then heard a voice behind him.
"You think you're safe in here?"
Lincoln wheeled around to see Ronnie Anne standing there, leering at him.
"It's not safe, Lincoln…"
Lincoln tried to back away from her, but felt his back press up against the door. He reached for the lock, but felt his sisters pounding away on the other side. He wasn't safe. Not in here… and not out there…
It wasn't safe.
"I'm here for you, Lincoln… Whether you like it or not…"
Lincoln wanted to run, to push her back, to do something, but he couldn't. His body wasn't listening to him anymore – it was as if he was immobilized. He wanted to scream, to shout for his father – but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out. He couldn't run, and he couldn't scream.
He was helpless.
Ronnie Anne advanced on him, undressing. She pushed him down to the ground, getting on top of him.
"You're just… so… cute…"
(…)
"AAAAHHHH!"
Lincoln awoke screaming, drenched in sweat. Panting, he looked around the room quickly for Ronnie Anne, but quickly realized it had all been another nightmare. He was relieved only for a short while, as the sounds of his sisters outside his door nearly sent him into another panic attack.
Hearing him scream sent the Loud sisters rushing out of their rooms on instinct again, but this time, Lori stopped them.
"Guys, guys, wait!" Lori called. "Remember what happened yesterday…"
Everyone stopped, looking sheepish. Deciding that they neither wanted to unduly frighten their brother nor anger their father, they all regretfully left Lincoln alone.
The girls went downstairs, where breakfast was on the table, waiting for them. Mr. and Mrs. Loud sat in their usual places at the head of the table.
Mr. Loud gulped. "Um…" he said uneasily, "Good morning, girls."
None of the girls looked him in the eyes as they responded, "Good morning, Dad," and sat down. Even saying "good morning" had become awkward…
Breakfast proceeded much the same as it had yesterday. Mr. Loud brought two plates upstairs to Lincoln and Lisa, still cooped up in their respective rooms, and brought Lily back downstairs for her breakfast. No-one could think of anything to say – and no-one was in the mood for conversation, anyways…
No-one, that is, except for Lori and Lucy.
"Psst… Lucy!" Lori whispered.
Lucy looked at Lori.
"Did Lincoln get the poem last night?"
Lucy nodded.
"What did he say?"
"Nothing –"
"Excuse me, girls?"
Lori and Lucy flinched at their father's voice. At a table as quiet as theirs, even whispering couldn't go unnoticed.
"Mind telling me what's so secret that you two have to whisper about it?" Mr. Loud asked.
"I… We, uh…" Lori stammered.
Lucy knew what was about to happen, and decided to take one for the team. "Dad…" she said, "please don't be mad…"
Mr. Loud put down his knife and fork, folding his arms and narrowing his eyes at the girls. "What did you do?"
"Last night…" Lucy looked around the table, feeling everyone's gazes on her. "Sigh… Last night, we… sent Lincoln a poem."
"What? A poem…?" Mr. Loud shook his head. "Wait-Wait a minute – you girls talked to Lincoln?"
"Not really. We thought that if we didn't try to see him directly, he wouldn't freak out. So, we slipped a poem underneath his door."
"Poem… What poem?"
"One of mine. It was about how bad we felt, and how sorry we were. We… We just wanted him to know that, Dad…" Lucy turned her gaze downward.
Mr. Loud leaned forward, scratching his chin. This was an unusual situation. On the one hand, they had disobeyed his orders, and saw Lincoln behind his back. On the other hand, they meant well, as usual, and there didn't seem to be any harm done…
Mrs. Loud recognized the problem as well, and decided to help Mr. Loud out. "Well, girls…" She sighed. "You know your father told you not to talk to Lincoln and why, right?"
Lori nodded. "We know, Mom. We just…" She blinked the tears out of her eyes. "We just thought… we had to do something to try to help him…"
"And we didn't scare him. We promise," Lucy said.
"Are you sure about that?" Mrs. Loud asked. She turned and looked at Mr. Loud expectantly. After a moment, he realized that she expected him to get to the bottom of the matter. He stood up.
"Come on, girls," he said.
The Loud sisters all got up out of their seats, and followed their father upstairs. Mr. Loud came up to Lincoln's room, and gently knocked on the door.
"Lincoln?" he called.
There was no answer. Mr. Loud knocked again.
"Lincoln, it's me, Dad. You know that."
There was still no answer. Inside, Lincoln sat on the bed, watching the door. Of course he knew it was his dad. He also knew that his sisters were out there, too – he had heard them all coming up the stairs.
Lincoln knew they were waiting out there for him – but what did they want? Were they waiting for him to come out, so that they could assault him again? Or were they waiting for him to come out, so that they could accept him again?
That was one thing that Lincoln didn't know. And he didn't know if he could take that chance, either…
Mr. Loud knocked a third time. "Lincoln, it's okay. They're not gonna hurt you if you just talk to me…"
Lincoln knew that was true, too. He didn't know why he hadn't known it before. For the first time in two weeks, he gathered up the strength to talk, truly talk, to his father.
"H… H… H-H-Hey, D-Dad…" Lincoln called from the inside.
Mr. Loud blinked, surprised. He honestly hadn't expected Lincoln to respond. "Um… hey, son. It's… it's good to hear from you again."
Lincoln smiled slightly. "Mm-hmm."
Mr. Loud chuckled, before rubbing the back of his head. "Um, listen, Lincoln… Your sisters said that they gave you a poem last night. Is… that true?"
Lincoln's smile vanished. How did he know about the poem? Did they tell him? Why? Wait… the poem! His sisters wanted to apologize, right? Then, there was no harm in telling him the truth… right?
"Mm… Mm-hmm…" Lincoln said.
"Oh…" Mr. Loud said. "Then… Um… So, ah… What… did you think?"
Lincoln fell silent. They had written the poem for him that day – when they were beginning to fall in love with him. Lucy said that its meaning hadn't changed. What was its meaning now? Did they mean to say that they were still in love with him – the more innocent sort of love that they had felt earlier that day? Or was it more literal? Were they really, truly apologizing for their actions that day?
Or… were they still as lustful as ever, and they had sent him the poem just to taunt him?
Lincoln shook his head. It was all so unclear, so confusing…
"I… I don't know…" he said. "I just… don't know…"
Mr. Loud closed his eyes – he understood his son's fractured state of mind. "Okay, Lincoln," he said, "that's okay. Just… Just… I've spoken with them, and believe me when I say that they're back to their old selves, and that they really are very sorry."
Lincoln stared into space, pensive. He knew he could trust his father – but then, he thought that he could trust his sisters, too, before they violated him. Could he really trust his father, then? He had looked out for him so faithfully, but abandoned him at a crucial moment. How could he believe his father when he said that he was sorry for leaving him? How could he believe his father now? Maybe he was just mistaken – maybe the girls had fooled him, just as they had fooled Lincoln…
As he was thinking, he suddenly heard a scratching noise at the door, and froze. What was happening? What was that?
Outside, Charles the family dog scratched at Lincoln's door. Ignorant of what was happening, he tried to get in to see Lincoln in his room, as he had done for the past two weeks until the girls came home. Though Mr. Loud was unhappy with Charles' unwelcome intrusion, it gave Lori an idea.
She walked up to Mr. Loud. "Dad," she said, "do you mind if I try something?"
"Huh? Try what?" Mr. Loud asked.
Lori walked up to Lincoln's door, and knocked as gently as she could. "Lincoln…?"
Lincoln tensed up. What did she want? What were they planning? Were they planning anything?
"Charles wants to come in," Lori said. Then she walked back to the group.
Lincoln heard her footsteps retreating. The scratching continued. Was she really gone? Was that really Charles? As Lincoln continued to debate back and forth, he heard Charles whine. That low, sad whine tugged at Lincoln's heartstrings, and made him realize that it really was Charles. He remembered how much he missed his pets. Gulping, Lincoln decided to take the risk. The door would only be open for a second, and if they tried to get in, his father would save him, just like he saved Lincoln from Ronnie Anne.
Trembling, Lincoln grasped the doorknob, summoned all his courage, and opened the door a crack. Charles ran in, panting happily.
Lincoln shut and locked the door, and sighed in relief. It wasn't a trick. His sisters hadn't lied to him. So, did that mean that they really were back to normal? Or… had they just changed tactics, playing a long game?
Lincoln sat on his bed, clenching his pant legs. He didn't know.
He just didn't know.
Outside, Mr. Loud had watched everything happen. Amazed, he left Lincoln to play with Charles and turned back to his daughters.
Lori, equally amazed that her plan had worked, said, "Well… Well there, you see, Dad? Lincoln knows now that we don't want to hurt him. And if we just give him his space, it'll be fine."
"I…" Mr. Loud cleared his throat. "Well, I'm not all that sure about that first part, but, well, it does seem like he's a little bit more comfortable around you girls, so…"
"Please, Dad, just give us a chance. We promise that we won't try to see him unless he wants us to. Just… let us talk to him…"
Mr. Loud shut his eyes, carefully considering the situation. Finding that he was unable to make a decision on his own, he asked the girls to wait upstairs while he discussed the matter with Mrs. Loud. As the two of them debated downstairs, the girls waited anxiously. Finally, the parents came upstairs together.
"All right, girls," Mrs. Loud said, "we've decided that you can talk to Lincoln."
The girls gasped with joy, but Mr. Loud held up one hand.
"Just… don't pester him too much, alright?" he said. "He might tolerate your presence a bit more now, but he still needs his space…"
The girls all quickly nodded and thanked their parents. Lori excused herself and went to her room, and the others followed her. Once everyone was inside, the girls all shrieked and squealed, ecstatic.
"Dudes! It worked!" Luna said.
"He knows now… he knows how we really feel…" Lucy said.
"Oh, it's been so long… I can't wait to talk to him again!" Leni said.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go talk to him now!" Luan said.
Many of the other girls voiced their agreement, and prepared to herd out of the room, but Lori stopped them again.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, guys, guys! Hold on! Remember what Dad said – we can't pester him too much!"
The girls groaned, disappointed.
"We should probably only see him one at a time," Lori said.
"Well, then I'm seeing him first!" Lola declared.
"Hey! I wanna see him first!" Lana said.
"No, I do!" said Lynn.
The girls quickly broke out into argument. Some claimed seniority, others friendly dispositions best suited for speaking with Lincoln, and others nothing at all, just loudly declaring that they were going to see Lincoln first. Once again, Lori had to intervene.
"Guys! GUYS!" she shouted, stepping in between the girls and breaking them up. "Cool it! Listen, I get it – we all want to talk to Lincoln. But… But you know what?" Lori looked at Lucy. "I think Lucy should go first."
The other sisters started complaining, as expected. But Lori waved for them to be quiet. "Guys, this was her idea. It was her poem. It's only fair if she gets the first turn."
Many of the girls pouted, but they understood what Lori was saying. Lola said, "Fine – but I'm going after her!"
Before the arguing could flare up again, Lori spoke up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, hey! Let's not start that again. How about…" She paused, devising a plan. "…We won't go in any specific order. I'll just pick someone, randomly, every time someone finishes talking to Lincoln. Everyone else will just have to wait."
The others were not satisfied with Lori's decision. "Well, what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Lynn asked.
"That's for you to decide," Lori replied.
"…Well, how come it has to be random?" Lola asked.
"To make things as fair as possible."
Some girls still groused and grumbled, but everyone seemed to accept that.
"All right, then. Now remember, girls, we have to make Lincoln see that we love him, and that we want him back. So, be gentle, and try to coax him out. Lucy, you're up."
(…)
Charles scratched at the door, begging to be let out. Lincoln pressed his ear against the door, listening for any strange noises. He didn't hear any. Quickly, he unlocked the door, let Charles out, then closed and locked the door just as quickly. He could never be too careful…
As Lincoln returned to the bed, a knock on the door sent a chill down his spine.
"Lincoln."
It was Lucy. Lincoln checked to make sure the door was shut and locked.
"I just want to talk," Lucy said.
Talk? Talk about what? Was this some sort of ploy? Lincoln wasn't sure what she was up to, but he did wonder what she wanted to talk about… Deciding to risk it, he grabbed a paper bag and sat with his back against the door – just to be safe.
Lucy heard him sitting down on the other side, and sat down leaning against the door as well. They both sat, silently, for about five minutes.
"…Did you like my poem?" Lucy eventually asked.
Lincoln jumped, surprised by the sound of her voice. "U-Uh… I-I-I-I… Uh…" His fears were confirmed – he couldn't talk to his sisters after all. He fell quiet.
Seeing that he was still uncomfortable talking, Lucy said, "I know you're scared. I get it – I would be, too. But you have to believe me, Lincoln – we're back to normal, now. And we just want things to go back to normal, too."
Lincoln started to tear up. He wanted more than anything to believe that, but… how could he?
He didn't think he could handle being broken again…
Lucy couldn't control herself, either. Tears started rolling down her cheeks as she turned to face the door. "Lincoln…" She placed her hand on the door.
"We just want our brother back…"
Hearing that made Lincoln completely break down. And hearing Lincoln sobbing made Lucy break down, too. After a good few minutes of crying, both of them calmed down, sniffling, and Lucy wiped her tears away.
"Please, Lincoln… We miss you…"
Lincoln hugged his knees to his chest, shivering. "I… I-I-I…" He rested his head in his lap. "I… can't…"
Lucy hung her head. "O… Okay, Lincoln… I understand…"
Hearing Lucy's footsteps fade into the distance only made Lincoln feel worse.
(…)
Lori piled the last of the dirty dishes in the sink, and her mother took over washing them. She came out into the living room, about to head upstairs to her room, when she met Lucy at the foot of the stairs.
"Hey, Lori."
Lori jumped. "Gah! ...Oh, hey, Lucy. You done talking to Lincoln?"
Lucy nodded. "Yeah. I think you should give him a little time before you send someone else, though…"
"Right, right… So, um… what… did you two talk about?"
Lucy shrugged. "…Nothing much…"
Lori sighed. "All right… Well, your breakfast is still there. It's cold, but if you're still hungry…"
"All right."
Lucy walked past Lori into the dining room, and Lori headed upstairs. She stared longingly at Lincoln's door…
…and her view was suddenly blocked by Lily.
"Wha…?" Lori saw that Lisa had pushed Lily and her crib out of their shared room and into the hallway. As Lori walked over, Lisa went back inside, and came back out pushing Lily's changing table as well.
"Lisa!" Lori said.
Lisa looked at her oldest sister, somewhat annoyed. "What?"
"What are you doing?"
"I can no longer tolerate the preshenche of my youngesht shibling, ash it provides an unwelcome interferenche with my work. Plache her in another room, if you would pleashe."
"'Work'? What 'work'?"
"That ish none of your conchern. Good day."
Lisa went back into her room and shut the door without another word. Incensed, Lori banged on the door.
"Lisa! Lisa!"
There was no answer, except for the sound of welding. Lori continued to bang on the door and call for Lisa, to no avail. Finally, she gave up, and pushed Lily's crib and changing table down the hall into her room, grumbling all the while…
(…)
Lincoln lay on his bed, feeling empty, but staying alert. Once again, he became painfully aware of how small and cramped the room was…
An unknown length of time passed before a knock on the door had him sitting upright.
"Uh… hey, Lincoln…"
It was Lynn. What did she want? Lincoln braced himself against the door again, worried that she might try to kick the door down…
"Do you mind if I just… I dunno… bounce my ball here for a little bit?"
Lincoln didn't answer, but after a few moments, he heard the dull thumping of Lynn's tennis ball bouncing against the door. As usual, Lynn was doing her thing with or without permission…
After a minute or so of bouncing, Lynn stopped. "I… I'm not bothering you, Lincoln, am I?"
Again, there was no answer. Lynn looked at the ball in her hands, and sighed, dropping it. "Listen, Lincoln, I… I-I'm sorry, alright? Everything that happened before… That wasn't me, okay? It… It wasn't us…"
There was still no answer. After another minute, Lynn slumped her shoulders and gave up. She picked up her ball, but before she left, she said:
"This… It's not a family without you, Lincoln."
Lynn left, and the gears started turning in Lincoln's head. It was clear now – they were trying to get him to leave his room. But why? Did they just want him to come out of his shell? Or were they trying to trick him into lowering his guard, so that they could molest him again?
Was he defending himself… or was he driving away the only people trying to help him?
Lincoln shook his head. He didn't know. He just didn't know…
(…)
"What do you mean, you don't want to see Lincoln?" Lori said.
Leni shrugged, averting her gaze. "I'unno… I thought about it, and I just, like… don't think he'll be happy to see me…"
"Leni, you are the sweetest, kindest person I know. If anyone can get through to Lincoln, it's you. Please, Leni… do it for us."
But Leni shook her head. "Lori, thanks, but… I just don't wanna do this. And… I don't think Lincoln does, either…"
"Leni, please –"
"Lori, this is my decision. Please try to understand…"
Lori hung her head, sighing. She didn't get it, but then, Leni wasn't someone who was easily gotten… "Okay, fine. If that's what you want, then fine. I'll get someone else…"
As Lori walked away, Leni called after her, "Don't be mad, Lori…"
Lori turned back to Leni, still walking away. "I'm not mad, Leni."
When Lori turned back around, she saw Lola standing in front of her. "Hey, Lori," she said, "if Leni's not going next, can I go instead?"
But Lana stomped up behind her and protested. "Hey! Lola, what do you think you're doing, trying to go next?!"
Lola scoffed. "What? She said we'd be going randomly!"
"Yeah, but here you are, trying to get her to let you go next!"
"Oh my gosh, Lana, get off my case!"
The twins began bickering and shouting at each other, until Lori shouted them both down. "Hey! HEY! That's ENOUGH!"
The twins stopped fighting – for the moment.
"Neither of you are going next, after that little spat! Both of you are just going to have to wait." And with that, Lori went down the stairs.
"Aw, what? Come on, Lori! She started it!" Lola shouted. Their argument started up again, but Lori kept walking to the living room.
Luna was sitting on the sofa, staring at the powered-off TV. Lori sat down next to her.
"Um… hey, Luna," she said.
Luna didn't answer.
Lori rocked from side to side in her seat awkwardly. "Um… it sure is… quiet around here…"
Luna picked up the remote and turned on the TV, turning up the volume. She turned to her elder sister. "Happy?"
Lori furrowed her brows and folded her arms, watching the TV. It was tuned to a news channel.
"…meanwhile, the governor has been attempting to push his new bill advocating more careful scrutiny for wrongdoing in the chemical industry through the Senate, citing the infamous Loud case as an example the dangers corruption can have on the population…"
Footage of the incident started playing on the screen. Lori covered her ears and shut her eyes. "Aaahhh! Turn it off! TURN IT OFF!"
Luna quickly did so. Both sisters sat there, panting, before Lori said, "Listen, Luna, you know what I mean."
"What's the point?" Luna growled. "It's just loud and annoying…"
"That's not true, Luna. Your music is awesome, and it raises our spirits! And we need our spirits raised now more than ever…" Lori looked at her rocker sibling expectantly.
Luna sighed, and got up. "Fine."
(…)
Lincoln heard another knock on his door. They just kept coming…
"Hey, Linc," Luna said. "I, uh… I've got my guitar here, and, uh… I dunno, I thought I'd just play you a song…"
Lincoln sat against the door again, but listened intently. Plot or no, it had still been so long since he'd heard Luna play…
Luna didn't have a specific song in mind – she just strummed her guitar, and tried to play the way she felt. She soon became lost in the melody, letting her mind drift off as she made up lyrics as she went. The lyrics were indistinct, at least in her mind – speaking about love, loss, regret, and other things. The flow was irregular, but Luna didn't care, instead letting the music – and her feelings – flow…
Her improvised song ended. Luna came back to reality, and realized that she was crying. Listening to the other side of the door, she realized that Lincoln was crying, too.
"Lincoln…" Luna said.
Lincoln kept crying.
Luna got up. She felt as though there was nothing more she could do for him. She walked down the hallway to the stairs, still strumming her guitar…
(…)
Luan sat on her bed, browsing on her laptop. Lori knocked on the door, and Luan looked up.
"Hey, Luan," Lori said. "What are you doing?"
Luan shrugged. "Oh… just browsing my old comedy website…" She scrolled down the page, smiling sadly. "So many… hateful comments…"
Lori walked up and shut the laptop. "Don't listen to them," she said. "None of them really understand what you did or what you're going through right now. Don't listen to them."
Luan blinked at her, then nodded. "Yeah, you're right, Lori. They're just trying to get me to lash out – trying to lure me into a trap." She shrugged. "I guess that's why they call it the 'Internet'…"
Normally, Lori would have groaned at one of Luan's lame puns, but now she burst out laughing. "Ahahahahaha! Hahahahaha! Haha… Ha… Ha… Oh, man, Luan, that was a good one!"
Luan rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Heh, heh… Yeah, well… I guess I can't help being myself…"
"Ah… Man, I feel like we could all use a good laugh right now…"
Then Luan got an idea. She put her laptop aside and stood up.
"Yeah, you know what, Lori? I think we could…"
(…)
Another knock. Another sister.
"Hey, Lincoln!" Luan called. "I've got some jokes for ya!"
Jokes? That was typical of Luan, but Lincoln wasn't in the mood to laugh. Before he could tell her off, though, she started.
"So, did you hear about the two silk worms in a race? It ended in a 'tie'! Hahahahaha!"
Lincoln got the joke, but he didn't laugh. Luan continued.
"And hey, did you hear about the guy who got hit in the head with a can of soda? He was lucky it was a 'soft drink'! Hahahahaha!"
This time, a snicker escaped Lincoln's lips.
"By the way, Lincoln, someone stole the toilet! We're trying to figure out who, but we have nothing to 'go on'! Hahahahaha!"
Lincoln couldn't resist anymore – he burst out laughing. It was music to Luan's ears.
Luan spent the next half-hour telling Lincoln joke after joke after joke, and by the time Luan had exhausted her supply of bad jokes, Lincoln was on the floor gasping for breath. Luan smiled – she was so happy to see Lincoln happy again…
"Hey, Linc, listen," Luan said, "I really enjoy telling you jokes like this and all, but I wish I could see your face while you laugh, you know…?"
Lincoln's good mood vanished into thin air. There it was again – that attempt to get him to leave his room. It couldn't be denied anymore – they were trying to manipulate him into leaving his room. He still didn't know exactly what their intentions were, but their constant hovering over him wasn't making it any easier to figure out!
Luan noticed how quiet it had become in Lincoln's room, and knocked. "…Lincoln?"
There was no answer.
"Lincoln, what's the matter?"
Still no answer.
Luan stared at Lincoln's door, confused. For some reason, Lincoln didn't want to talk to her anymore. She didn't want to press the issue, so she turned to leave.
"Um… Well… see you, Linc."
(…)
The day had worn on late into the afternoon. Lori wondered if Lisa would like to speak to Lincoln. Though she had been acting strange and aloof ever since they had returned home, and she hadn't even been involved in the plan from the beginning, Lori felt Lisa still deserved a chance to talk to Lincoln.
Lori stood outside Lisa's room, and overheard Lisa arguing with someone.
"…can't do thish to me! After everything I've contributed to NAShA, you're sherioushly going to jusht cut me off, jusht like that?! No, no, you lishen to me, you ungrateful little –"
Lori knocked on the door. "Lisa?"
"Ugh… Jusht a moment, I will be right back. No, no – don't you dare hang up on me! I'll only be away for a few shecondsh!"
Lisa opened the door and glared up at Lori, who saw that her younger sibling was wearing her headset.
"Um, Lisa? Do –"
"I'm bushy. Leave me alone."
Lisa slammed the door in Lori's face, then resumed talking into the headset. "I'm back, now – wha…? Hello? Hello?! UGH! Unbelievable…!"
Lori guessed that she was busy, and left her to her business. Just then, she heard a crash behind her, coming from the twins' room. Peeking in, she saw that the two were fighting once again.
"You come any closer, and I swear, I'll pound you!" Lana said.
"Just try it! I'll tell Dad!" Lola responded.
Lori didn't know what this feud was about, and she didn't care. As the twins started coming to blows, she intervened again. "HEY! Both of you, STOP IT!"
Lola and Lana directed their glares towards Lori.
"You guys," Lori said, "can't you stop fighting for just one minute?"
"When am I gonna get to talk to Lincoln?!" Lola demanded.
"Wha –? You can go right now, if it means you'll shut up about it!"
"FINE!" Lola stormed out of the room.
Lori assumed the problem was solved, but was quickly proven wrong by Lana angrily hitting her.
"OW! What was that for?!"
"You're always taking her side!"
"What?! I literally am not!"
"Then when is it gonna be my turn?!"
"You can go after Lola!"
"See?! It's always 'after Lola'!"
"It is NOT! Ugh! Lana, what do you WANT from me?!"
Lana was starting to tear up. "I… I want… I want…" She dropped to her knees.
"I want Lincoln…!"
As Lana curled up into a ball on the ground, crying, Lori came to a realization. In every one of the twins' arguments, she had never once asked what the problem was. That was what Lincoln always did. No-one could resolve conflicts like Lincoln could. She was too bossy; Leni, too airheaded; Luna, too wild; Luan, too silly; Lynn, too aggressive; Lucy, too gloomy; Lola and Lana, too immature; Lisa, too detached; and Lily, too young. Time and time again, Lincoln had proven to be the most mature, level-headed among them.
And they had broken him.
It was at that moment that Lori truly understood how much the family needed Lincoln's guidance – how much they needed him.
Lola came back into the room, sniffling.
"W… What's the matter?" Lori asked.
"Lincoln… Lincoln told me to go away!" Lola cried.
"What?" Lori began to pace the floor. "No… Oh, oh no… W-We're losing him… We've got to do something!" She involuntarily thought back to what Leni had said.
"I just, like… don't think he'll be happy to see me…"
Lori got an idea. There was still one sister that Lincoln would be happy to see…
(…)
Lily burbled and giggled when Lori's big face came into view. Before she knew what was happening, Lori was lifting her out of her crib.
"Come on, Lily," Lori said, "don't you want to see your big brother Lincoln?"
Lily clapped her hands. "Linky!"
"That's right! 'Linky'! Come on!"
Lori took her baby sister out of her room and down the hall, knocking on Lincoln's door.
"Lincoln?" she called. "Lily really misses you… She wants her big brother… Won't you come out and hold her?"
Lincoln had had enough. They just wouldn't leave him alone. Oh, they had started out nice at first, but they moved on to guilt-tripping quickly, and tried to subvert his mind with music and jokes!
And now they were using Lily against him?!
He didn't care what their intentions were – he was not going to stand for that. Lincoln stood in front of the door. He wasn't going to give them what they wanted, but he was still going to give them a piece of his mind.
He raised his leg… and kicked the door hard, screaming:
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Outside, Lori jumped backwards, startled, and Lily started crying. The other sisters, hearing the commotion, rushed over and surrounded Lori.
"What happened?!"
"What did you do?!"
"You made Lily cry!"
"N-No… I didn't…"
"Is Lincoln crying in there, too?"
"What did you say to him, Lori?!"
"I thought you told us to be gentle!"
"Your stupid plan didn't work!"
"But… I thought we all agreed to it…"
"Thank you, Leni!"
"It was still her plan!"
The other sisters (barring Leni) closed in on Lori, hurling abuses and accusations at her. But before they could start doing any physical damage, they heard Mr. Loud's authoritarian voice shout:
"Hey, hey, HEY! ENOUGH!"
The girls slowly turned to see their incensed father standing at the head of the stairs again. Lori tried to appeal to him for help.
"D-Dad –"
But Mr. Loud pointed down the stairs. "Downstairs. Now!"
The girls all fearfully obeyed.
Once downstairs, the girls congregated on the living room sofa. Everyone had inched away from Lori.
Mr. Loud marched back and forth in front of them, while Mrs. Loud sat in the armchair.
"Girls," Mr. Loud said, "what in the world was going on up there?"
Lori started to speak up, but Luna cut her off. "Lori said something that made Lincoln snap," she said.
"Lori!" Mrs. Loud said.
"N-No! You don't understand!" Lori cried. "I… I didn't say anything wrong! He just started yelling at me all of a sudden, and…"
"And do you have any idea why he might have started yelling?" Mr. Loud asked.
"No! I just… We were all talking to him, and –"
"What?!" Mr. Loud turned his gaze through every Loud sister present. "Girls! What did I say about giving Lincoln his space?!"
This time, everyone turned to Luna to speak for them all. Luna started sweating. "U-Um… Uh… D-Dad, we did give him his space! W-We only saw him one at a time…"
Mr. Loud pinched the bridge of his nose. "Girls… You realize that there are eight of you, right?"
The girls looked at each other sheepishly.
"Um, D-Dad, we…" Luna sighed, slumping over. "We're sorry, Dad. We… We just wanted to see him again! We thought, if we all convinced him that we were sorry, and that we didn't want to hurt him, he'd come out of his room…"
Mr. Loud quietly contemplated all of this. Then, he shook his head, sighing as well. "Girls… look, I get it, all right? I understand. You want to see Lincoln again – your mother and I do too! But… with everything that's happened to him… He needs time, all right?"
Luna looked up at him. "W-We… We were just trying to help, Dad…"
"I know you were, girls, but… you just can't rush these things, you know?"
The conversation ended there. No-one said a word for the longest time, as everyone reflected on what was said, and what was done.
Then, a quarter of an hour later, the doorbell rang.
Everyone got a jolt from the sound. Then, to the girls' surprise, Mr. Loud started laughing.
"W… W-W-What's so funny, Dad?" Luan asked.
Mr. Loud fought back his laughter, and said, "I… heh, heh… I just remembered that, just before all of this, I… haha… I ordered a couple pizzas for you girls to make you feel better, and… and for being such good sports!"
He broke down laughing at the irony again, and everyone joined him. Lori and Luan were right – they did need a good laugh.
Mrs. Loud answered the door and paid for the pizza. The deliveryman recognized the family, but was respectful enough not to say anything about it. The girls enjoyed the pizza, but ate it in silence – the guilt over the incident earlier was starting to come back. By the time dinner was over, their good spirits had gone, and by the time they went to bed, they were feeling worse than ever.
Before going to bed, Mr. Loud knocked on Lincoln's door. "Lincoln?"
"Go away!" Lincoln shouted.
Mr. Loud recoiled, surprised by his son's hostility. "I… son, I just wanted to know if you wanted to talk about what happened –"
"No! NO MORE TALKING!" Lincoln threw something at the door.
"B… But…" Mr. Loud sighed. "A-All right, Lincoln, we'll… we'll talk about it when you want to talk about it."
Leaving Lincoln to stew by himself, Mr. Loud went downstairs to the master bedroom, where he sat down wearily on the edge of the bed. Mrs. Loud put a hand on his shoulder.
"Honey?" she said. "Are you alright?"
Mr. Loud shook his head. "…No, Rita. I'm not alright. Nothing is alright. It… It feels like this whole thing is a nightmare…"
Mrs. Loud looked grim. "Lynn… maybe… Maybe we should… consider taking Clyde's advice…"
Mr. Loud looked up, shocked. "No!"
"Lynn, it would be best for everyone!"
"I'm not letting my girls down! Not again – I… I can't fail them again…"
"You won't be failing them, Lynn!"
"Honey, I… I… I-I don't know, just…" Mr. Loud looked at his wife pleadingly. "Just… give them one more chance, please? And, and if it doesn't work out, then we'll do it, okay? We'll go with what Clyde said. But… But just give them one more chance…"
Mrs. Loud looked at her husband for a few moments, then reluctantly nodded. "…Okay, fine. One more chance. But they'd better behave themselves from now on…"