Ruined Future
A Loud House/Casagrandes story
Chapter 1: Waking up to a Nightmare.
On a balmy summer night both the Casagrandes and the Louds met in the country to see a meteor shower. "It's good to get out of the city once in a while." Hector said setting up a lawn chair.
"This was great idea the kids had." Lynn Sr. said sitting down, "This night has something for everyone, fun…"
"Alright everyone, get ready for Wishapoolza! Pony here I come!" Lola said to most of the younger kids.
"…inspiration..."
"An art piece with music made to go with it! It will be a first." Frida said,
"I ready to jam with the stars tonight!" Luna added,
"…discovery…"
"Lisa this is the best portable telescope I've ever seen." Carlos said peering into the scope.
"Thank you. But you should see the full-sized version I'm designing for NASA." Lisa said,
"…and of course, romance."
"Babe as beautiful as the shooting stars will be, I bet they won't shine like your eyes." Bobby said laying a blanket on the ground.
"Oh, Boo-Boo Bear." Lori said kissing her boyfriend. Then she turned and called out. "Lincoln! Ronnie Anne! Come join us! Bobby found the perfect spot!"
"No thanks." Lincoln answered,
"We're good over here!" Ronnie Anne added,
"Man, our older siblings are still trying to set us up." Lincoln kicked a small rock away,
"Don't they get it? Yeah, we crushed on each other before, but you and I are just best friends now. I don't want anything to change that."
"Me neither. Hey it's starting!"
There were a lot of oohs and wows when something happened. "That one looks super bright!" Lana said as the meteor whooshed by the two families and crashed in a nearby field.
"I must retrieve a sample!" Lisa said,
"We're on it Lisa!" Lincoln yelled as he and Ronnie Anne who were closest to the crash site ran toward the crater.
"Wow this is so cool." Ronnie Anne said,
"Don't touch it yet, it could still be hot from reentry." It looked like an ordinary rock from space but then in cracked open and smoke came billowing out suddenly Lincoln felt dizzy. "What's happening? My head hurts."
"Everything looks fuzzy." Ronnie Anne coughed,
"Lincoln! Ronnie Anne!" they both heard their mothers yell as they fell over as everything went black. The next thing they knew they heard the beeping of machines in a bright room. "Lincoln? Ronnie Anne? Doctor they're waking up! Bobby get up here, they're coming out of it!" Lincoln recognized the voice of his sister Lori.
"Lori? What… what happened to my voice?" Lincolns voice sound much deeper than before. Did that gas damage his throat?
"How are you feeling Mr. and Mrs. Loud?" a black female doctor in a metallic grey jumpsuit and a white coat asked,
"Mrs. Loud? What are you…" Lincoln turned to see a Hispanic woman with shoulder length hair in a hospital gown like his on the bed next to his own that looked like Ronnie Anne. She then turned and saw him. "Lincoln?"
"Ronnie Anne?"
"You're a grown up!" they both said at the same time.
Lincoln felt his face and looked into his reflection in a bedpan. He did look grown up and had a stubble on his face. "What? How?"
Ronnie Anne felt her chest and noticed she had become quite buxom. "Where did these come from?" she yelled in a panic.
"What's going on? Is this a dream? One of Luan's pranks?"
"Lincoln calm down!" Lori pleaded who was wearing the same metallic grey jumpsuit with a bar code and serial number on the left side of her chest,
"Nini it's okay! Big brother's here." A man who looked like Bobby came running in the room. He had a goatee and was wearing black body armor. He was followed be a small drone.
The doctor tried to regain control of the situation. "You both are safe here. Nothing is wrong with your bodies and no one is going to hurt you! Please try to relax." The couple in the hospital beds slowed their breathing. "Now what is the last thing either of you remember?" The doctor asked,
"The meteor shower, one landed nearby and we were going to get it for Lisa…" Lincoln said,
"But then it let out some kind of gas and then I felt dizzy. I guess we both passed out. Next thing I know I woke up with these." Ronnie Anne cupped her breasts.
"It's as we feared, you've forgotten everything since the original infection." The doctor said,
"Guys that was fifteen years ago!" Lori cried,
"Wait so we have amnesia?" Lincoln asked,
"Not the kind you've seen on T.V." Bobby said,
The doctor explained. "That meteorite contained a rare space born retrovirus. For most species it remains dormant for years or even decades until it activates. We've been expecting this for years, you both had seizures and have been in a coma for almost a week, your fever only broke this morning. In all cases it disrupts the memory centers of the brain wiping almost all memories formed after the original infection."
"Is there any way we could get our memories back?" Ronnie Anne asked, "You called us Mr. and Mrs. Loud. We…we're married, aren't we?"
"M…Married? Wait was anyone else exposed?" Lincoln felt like he was about to pass out again.
"No thankfully. You two have been married nine years as of last month." Lori said,
The doctor cleared her throat. "Memories are formed by association. Exposure to familiar places, people, sights, sounds, and smells, could allow your short-term memory centers to access some long-term memories. Until then you both are essentially twelve-year old minds trapped in the bodies of twenty-seven-year-old people with no memories of anything after just before the Liberation."
"Liberation?" Lincoln and Ronnie Anne asked,
"That's the big thing we need to tell you but don't freak out." Bobby said looking at the drone that was hovering in the corner. "About a month after that meteor shower aliens from space arrived. They liberated us from the old world and brought us into the League of Equal Species or The League for short."
Lori had a nervous smile, "Under their guidance war, poverty, unemployment, those are all gone! They also fixed the environment and gave us advanced technology. Lincoln you're going to feel like you're in living those science fiction movies you used to watch!"
"Wow, there's a lot we got to catch up on." Lincoln sighed,
"Not everything, you both should still have the skills you've gained. Ronnie Anne you don't remember me, do you?" the Doctor asked,
"No." Ronnie Anne answered,
"Not surprising since we've only met two months ago when I transferred here. I'm Dr. Olivia Turner. We're colleges Ronnie Anne, you're a doctor, you work in this hospital!"
"What?"
"Last week you performed emergency open heart surgery and from the brain scans you can still do that. Both of you should be able to return to work the day after tomorrow."
"Well that's a relief I guess." Lincoln said, "I was not looking forward to going back to the school as a grown man."
"So, can we take them home then doctor?" Lori asked,
"Of course, just get them dressed and sign them out at the front desk."
"Great! The sooner we can remember things the better." Ronnie Anne said,
"Ronnie Anne, I said your SOME of your memories COULD return. You're both the first humans to contract this disease but in the majority these cases the memory loss is permanent. You need to prepare yourselves for that." Olivia said as she left the room,
"Well, let's get you two home. We all live in the same building so Lori and I will be here to help how we can." Bobby said pulling out another jumpsuit like Lori's.
"Do I really wear that?" Ronnie Annie asked,
"It's the standard issue uniform for humans. Leni or Carlota probably made them." Lori said, pulling a similar suit for Lincoln,
Lincoln picked up the suit, "Speaking of our family, where are they? Mom and Dad must be worried sick."
"Well they're…around." Lori said, "Everyone's super busy, we all have jobs to do after all. But we've been keeping everyone notified."
"Uh Bobby, could you pull the curtain and step outside with Lori? I need to take this gown off." Ronnie Anne blushed a deep red,
"Right! Guess you two are going to be bashful a while." Bobby said pulling the curtain between the married couple.
"I'm in the same room as a naked woman! Who is one of my best friends who became my wife!" Lincoln thought as he slipped the gown off and put on the jumpsuit. He and Ronnie Anne peaked at each other's silhouette hoping the other wouldn't catch them. "So, we're married." Lincoln said trying to break the awkwardness.
"Can we really be considered that?" Ronnie Anne asked, "I mean mentally we're still twelve, I'm not sure if it can still be held up."
"How do you think it happened? We are or were just okay with being friends, what changed?"
"Maybe my family and yours finally just wore us down. I'm dressed."
"Same here."
"You two ready? Did you both put on the little watch like devices that came with the clothes?" Lori asked, "They act like a smartphone, tablet, and has all your ID in it."
"It's important that you never leave your apartment without your ID bands or you could get in big trouble." Bobby said.
"Got it." The Louds said as they made their way to the elevator.
When they got out to the lobby Lori was still talking. "Obviously, Bobby and I married a long time ago, so Ronnie Anne just consider me your sister."
"Hey partner! Your sis and Loud finally woke up?" It was a man Bobby and Lori's age wearing the same body armor as Bobby. He had sandy brown hair in a messy cut and a drone was following him too.
"Derrick? What are you doing here?" Bobby asked,
"I was doing my job as Peacekeeper; like you should be doing; when I came across this perp. Guy got me in the arm, but I got him back. Now I'm just waiting for treatment." Derrick pointed to an alien man in a gurney,
Lincoln was shocked at the sight of the bright yellow skinned creature with tentacles coming out of his face bleeding green blood from his gut. Ronnie Anne was shocked for another reason. "Why is he just laying here? This man could die without treatment! Prep the ER now!" Ronnie Anne ran the man into the nearby room.
"Dr. Loud we can't just…" a nurse tried to say but Ronnie Anne ignored him and worked with skills she didn't know she had.
"Wow! She really is a doctor." Lincoln said,
"What is she doing?!" Derrick said pulling out an electric prod.
"Derrick, stop! I told you about her condition!" Bobby yelled, "She remembers how to do her job but not much else after she was kid! She doesn't know the rules!"
As Ronnie Anne finished her treatment the alien reached into his pocket and pulled out a small green crystal. "Thank you, don't let them find it."
Before Ronnie Anne could ask what it was, Derrick barraged in and she hid it in her pocket. "A little reminder, first priority goes to peacekeepers, then civilians unless they have life threatening conditions, offenders are always treated last!" He then turned to the patient. "As for you, I expect humans to break the law. We're still new to the League and not all of us have figured out that doing what they say is what's best for us." He pointed a high-tech looking gun at the alien's head. "But I thought an offworlder would be more…enlightened."
"If you shoot him then we won't find out who he's working with. You know how the chief hates incomplete information." Bobby said,
"Fine, but as for the good doctor she made an infraction but considering her condition and that she's your sister I'll let her off easy." Derrick turned on his ID band and touched some holographic controls which turned on Ronnie Anne's which projected a big red X. Most of the people around them gasped. "I just gave you a demerit. Try not to get too many of those. Oh and Loud…" he turned to Lincoln, "You don't remember me or our boss but don't think that he'll buy that excuse, so when you get back to work you better get through the backlog your absence made Paper-pusher."
As they left the hospital Lincoln asked, "What was he talking about?"
"You have an administrative position in the Peacekeepers, we're kinda like cops. Derrick may tease you, but we could not do what we do without your hard work." Bobby explained,
"So, I got a desk job, great." Lincoln said sarcastically,
"How could you work with a guy like that?" Ronnie Anne fumed, "And how are you a cop anyway? What about the mercado?"
"Ronnie Anne, the mercado's gone! The Liberation…wasn't a smooth process and it was blown up." Bobby said,
"Let's just get home, the GLART's this way." Lori interrupted,
"So, we are in Great Lakes City." Lincoln said,
"Well it used to be called that, it was renamed City 379 of the 4th Northern Administrative Zone.
A P.A. system then said, "It is time for all citizens to raise their dominant appendages for the Anthem."
Bobby and Lori raised their arms and made a fist. "Just a little patriotic demonstration we do about two or three times a day." Bobby said, "Just go with it."
Lincoln and Ronnie Anne followed suit and then another voice came out of the P.A. singing. "Our League stands for glory, a never-ending story! Reaching across the stars! Its truth is never far! Our League bring us together! May it stand forever!"
"Wait that voice…Luna?" Lincoln said shocked, "That song isn't what I'd call rock and roll."
"You hit your head guy? Rock is dead and gone." A bystander said,
"What?"
"Lincoln, Luna's fine, she changed the kind of music she does long ago. Now come on." Lori said,
The subway had monitors everywhere. "This is the five thirty news report. Earlier today three members of the League Congress were cleansed on charges of sedition, treason, and corruption. Their replacements will be selected in a special party election."
"Luan? Why is she a news caster?" Lincoln asked,
"She doesn't seem happy." Ronnie Anne said,
"Guys she outgrew comedy years ago. And that's just her work face." Bobby said as the train stopped. "Now we got one more stop to make. We need to pick up groceries for the week."
The Louds and Santiagos entered a building with several lines inside. "Next." A woman with blonde hair at the counter said as she handed out small blue bags with white plastic tubes attached to them. "Present your ID to receive this week's allotment."
"Lola is that you?" Lincoln asked surprised to see his little sister all grown up.
"Lincoln you're awake! What do you remember?" Lola asked,
"They lost everything after the meteor shower." Lori said,
"Where's Lana? I guess I shouldn't expect you two to have stuck together for fifteen years." Lincoln asked,
"She's doing reconstruction in one of the old religious cities, the Vatican I think, or was Mecca?" Then Lola saw the drone following Bobby, "I am just so gosh darn grateful to the league for showing us how backward we were!"
"Excuse me but some of us would like to eat this week." A woman behind them said.
"Right sorry!" I'll come by and visit tomorrow after my shift ends." Lola said handing Lincoln some bags marked "keep refrigerated".
"Lori what's going on? It seems like our sisters are either in dead end jobs or are miserable." Lincoln said as soon as they stepped outside,
"This is a conversation better held in private." Lori sighed,
They came up to a tall apartment building, "You can go back to HQ now." Bobby said to the drone which then flew off.
When they went inside an old woman that looked like a cross between a mantis and a centaur was waiting for them. "Santiago! Loud! You're late on your usage reports! Do I need to look for new tenants?"
"No, Mrs. Frixler!" Bobby said looking worried, "You know we've been having a family emergency, but Lori and I have been keeping up on the usage in both apartments! We'll have those reports sent to you by the end of the week!"
"Fine." As they got into the elevator Ronnie Anne heard Mrs. Frixler say, "Humans! Makes me wish I never came to this planet!"
"That was our land lady wasn't it?" Ronnie Anne asked,
"More or less." Lori said, "We're here, apartment Nine-D. Bobby and I live in Eleven-D two floors up so come get me if you need anything."
"After the craziness of today I just want to relax." Lincoln said,
Ronnie Anne opened the door, "Yeah I think we both had enough surprises." But they were in for a few more.
The apartment had faded yellow wallpaper and ugly brown and green carpet, some pictures were hung on the walls, there was a couch and a T.V., but most striking was at the table just outside the kitchen was a group of four made up of two girls and two boys, one boy and girl were in their teens while the younger pair were both clearly a mix Caucasian and Hispanic heritage. "Using this formula your answers are correct! You guys sure you needed our help with your homework?" the teen girl asked,
The younger boy had black hair like Ronnie Annie while the girl had a ponytail that was white like Lincoln. "Mom! Dad! Your home!" they said at the same time running up to them.
Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were visibly shaken, and the children noticed. "You don't remember us, do you?" the boy said as his sister looked like she was about to break into tears.
"No, I'm…" Lincoln tried to say but his emotions were overwhelming him,
"We are sorry." Ronnie said trying to open her arms for a comforting hug but like her husband the shock was too much.
"Art, Ritz, we talked about this." Their aunt Lori said, "We knew this would probably happen. Why don't you go finish your homework in your rooms? We need to talk to your parents."
The children quietly did as they were told. Bobby turn to the two teens, "Lily, Carlitos, you should go back to our apartment."
"Lily?!" Lincoln gasped,
"Carlitos?" Ronnie Anne felt she was about to fall over,
"One big shock after other huh?" Carlitos said rubbing his red hair,
"Yeah from your perspective the last time you guys saw either of us we were in diapers." Lily said as she gathered her things, "But I bet you'll remember everything in no time! OR at the very least you'll fall in love all over again and when you're ready for date night I'm always happy to babysit my favorite niece and nephew."
The teens left and Lincoln turned to Lori who had just placed the bags they got into their refrigerator, "Why didn't you tell us?!"
Lori pointed to the hallway with two visible doors the kids went into and whispered, "Keep your voice down! Dr. Turner hoped that the shock of meeting them like this could jumpstart your memory."
"Well we're shocked alright!" Ronnie Anne whispered, "They're what? Seven?"
"Almost eight." Lori corrected,
"I'm just a couple years older mentally! I can't be their mom!"
"To put this on us on top of everything else." Lincoln whispered,
"Bro what are talking about?" Bobby asked,
"Come on Bobby! I maybe twelve but I'm not an idiot! I know when my sisters are not happy! You and Lori have been walking on eggshells with the League stuff trying to make things sound great but Lola is essentially a lunch lady, Luan looked like she has forgotten how to smile, Luna had to give up the music she loves, and the Leni I know would have a heart attack if she had to make something like what we got on! We're living in one of those authoritarian regimes! Lily and Carlitos only look happy because they grew up in it and don't know any better! I can't imagine any version of myself that would think it would be a good idea to raise kids in this place!"
Lori took a deep breath, "The Liberation has another name, one the authorities don't like to hear because it conflicts with their clean image. We called it the One Day War, because that's how long the invasion took. You two need to understand what happened, they, the League, they killed everyone one over twenty and others who fought back or they deemed unfit! All our parents and grandparents are gone! We had no choice but to submit and follow their rules or be shipped off to one of their New Enlightenment Centers, which are literally gulags! Ronnie Anne you already have one demerit! Get a hundred and it's off to a center but it is much worse for parents! They are crazy strict on who can and can't raise kids! Want to know my job? I'm a secretary in the Department of Children's Protection! I see kids taken from their families every day! If you two get three demerits in total in one year, then you'll be deemed unsuitable to be parents! They'll take the kids away from you! They have a strict two child policy and Bobby and I gave up the right to have our own children to raise Lily and Carlitos! That means if you lose the twins, we can't take them! Lincoln all your other older sisters were deemed unsuitable years ago! And since they only let children in either two parent households or state run boarding schools, that means none of your younger sisters or your cousins Ronnie Anne can have them either because they're all single and the Department can smell a false marriage to keep kids out of the system! You two need to grow up and fast or the League will take your kids and you'll never see them again!"
The Louds fell onto the couch. Bobby had a serious look on his face, "I know this hard, you just learned you've lost your parents and your whole world. But in a way so have Arturo Lynn and Rita Maria, those two love you guys."
"We…we named name them after our moms and dads." Lincoln sobbed,
Lori turned on the T.V. and accessed a file on her ID band, "You had me record this a couple of years ago to prepare for this day. Just watch it and I am sure you'll understand."
"We'll leave you to it but just remember, don't go against the League. They are very much aware of your condition and will be watching you closely. If you mess up the kids will be the ones who'll really suffer." Bobby said as he and his wife left.
The screen shown an image of Lincoln and Ronnie sitting exactly where they were right now, "If you're seeing this then it happened and you are the us we used to be and odds are the us we are now are gone for good." The recording of Lincoln said,
In the recording Ronnie Anne said, "Right now, you're scared and confused. The world has changed so much, you are in a relationship you decided you didn't want, and two children you've never meet before are counting on you."
"We know it isn't fair that all this is placed on your shoulders all at once but as we learned years ago, life is hardly if ever fair. I'm sorry, we only ask that you don't let Arturo and Rita feel alone. Each of them is an ace, but they will need you three hundred sixty and five."
"They are sweet, smart, and fun. It is up to the two of you, the us from the past to build their bright and happy futures. While we do hope you'll rekindle the love we feel for each other now don't feel pressure to go into such a relationship unless you want to. We only ask you stick together and at the very least as best friends work together to love and raise our babies since we can't anymore. After all they are your babies too and they need you now more than ever."
The recording ended and they took a good look at the pictures in the apartment. While there were several of other members of their families the most were those of Art and Ritz as they grew up, holding them as babies, toddlers napping together, the whole family playing with a ball in a park. They nodded to each other and went to two different rooms. Lincoln opened the door to his daughter's room and her sniffling, holding a familiar stuffed animal. "Rita, it's…it's Dad uh kinda."
Ritz dried her tears and turned around. "Hey, Dad. Um did you want something?"
"I just wanted to…you know talk with you and your brother. See how you are, looks like Bun Bun is helping you."
"You remember giving him to me?"
"No, just that he used be mine, but I guess I thought you needed him more." Ritz looked sad, "I know this isn't fair to you guys, but we want to help you through this, and maybe you can help us too."
At the same time Ronnie Anne found her son looking at a book of nature photos. "Arturo, honey…mijo…ugh I don't even remember what I call you. Son can we talk?"
Art put his book down, "Sure Mom, and…you sometimes call me…sweetie pie. It's a little embarrassing in front of the other kids."
"Have I really gotten that sappy? Never mind, your dad and I are really sorry about this whole mess."
"It's okay Mom."
"No, it's not! You both are paying for a dumb mistake we made when we were kids! We never should have gone into that crater! Nothing we can do will fix it, but if we work together, we can at least make this a little better."
"Then let's get started!"
"Sure thing…sweetie pie." Ronnie Anne teased,
"Mooom."
A few minutes the family sat at the dining table. "I can look at you both and can feel it here in my heart that you my son and daughter. But your first words, your first steps, I can't remember any of it." Lincoln said,
"Then we'll make new memories Dad." Art reassured,
"How bad is your memory loss?" Ritz asked,
"Right now, we've been reset back to how we were when we were twelve, before the League came." Ronnie Anne sighed, "And because I couldn't remember the rules, I got this." It was simple for Ronnie Anne to show what was on her ID band.
"A demerit!" Ritz panicked,
"But I don't want to go to a boarding school! Everyone I care about is here!" Art slammed his head on the table and groaned,
Lincoln patted his son's head, "So, you know how bad this is." Lincoln said, "I would have suggested we look at albums or videos to see if they jog our memory first, but this has to be the priority right now if we want to keep this family together. We need you to help us learn the laws."
"I know what to do!" Ritz ran into her room and came back with a board game covered in dust. "You used this to teach us the rules, now we can do the same for you!"
Ronnie Anne wiped off the dust which led to the family coughing, "Conformity, the game of good citizenship."
Art was still coughing a little before he said, "As you can tell we haven't played this in a long time, but this could be fun. But we better change the game rules a bit, start Mom with one demerit card and if both of you get a total of three, you'll lose."
"And like in real life Mom and Dad should one Demerit for every two we get. We have to be extra careful to be on our best behavior Art." Ritz said,
Lincoln smiled, "That recording we made is right, you're both smart kids. Now how do we play?" Two hours of playing later it was Lincoln's turn again. "Okay I rolled a four." He moved his piece and Ritz read a question card.
"You see a pamphlet on the ground saying bad things about the League. Do you a) leave it where it is and report it? b) pick it up and throw it in the trash or c) ignore it?"
"Well I can't ignore it. We lost the last game with that littering mistake."
Ronnie Anne fumed, "It was potting soil next to a garden! Not harmful to the environment!"
"I'll throw it in the trash." Lincoln answered,
Art pushed a red button making a loud buzzing sound. "Wrong! Dad that's transporting seditious material!" he gave Lincoln his second demerit card of the game. "At least you're getting better, you're already lasting much longer than when we started,
Lincoln's stomach growled, "We should take a dinner break."
"Good idea, we haven't eaten anything all day." Ronnie Anne said as they began to put the game away, "I'm just glad we don't have to come into work until after tomorrow. It should give us some time to get more of these down."
"Mom with your condition do you think the hospital cut down on your triple shifts?" Ritz asked,
"I…I hope so. My mom had to work double shifts all the time and she regretted leaving your uncle and me alone a lot of the time and it sounds like I've become just like her. I'd hate to think that I'm probably never home with you guys."
"Your work's important and Dad's home every day. Yeah, we wish you were here more, but we get it." Art said,
"I got it too, but it didn't make her or me feel better then and it doesn't now. Guess what they say is true, you do turn into your parents."
They were then in the kitchen. "Okay so your aunt Lola gave me these bags and I guess what's in them is supposed to last us a week so how do we eat these?" Lincoln asked taking one out of the fridge.
"It's easy Dad just take one and insert it into the dispenser." Art pointed to an appliance next to sink and connected to it with a tube.
"Okay." Lincoln twisted the bag into a socket.
Ritz walked up to the machine with a bowl. "Then just pull the lever and you got a nice warm bowl of Vitacream ready to eat! One bag makes enough for a meal for four." as she pulled the lever out came a light blue goo.
"This smells worse than Lily's diapers! That she no longer wears." Lincoln thought,
"And this is the only thing with have to eat?" Ronnie Anne asked,
"It's what we ate all our lives. I heard some of the other kids gossip that some the higher ups get to have other kinds of food but none of us humans can have any until we of the next generation are grown and earned them through service." Art said filling his bowl,
"So, you like to listen to gossip, just like my abuelo, your great grandfather."
"Wait, you called yourself the next generation?" Lincoln asked, as they made their way back to the table,
"I don't know why. It just what all the adults call us kids."
Ronnie Anne took a bite of the vitacream. "It's pretty bland."
"Is it?" Ritz asked, "Like Art said, this the only thing we've had since we've gone off baby bottles."
Lincoln sighed, "You two don't know what you're missing. Before we had so many tasty things and all we can get you is this…" The next thing Lincoln knew some of vitacream splatted on the side of his face.
Ronnie Anne laughed, "I think I found another use for it. That's a good look on you Lame-O."
"Well let's see how it looks on you!" Lincoln flicked some in the direction of his best friend.
As their parents laughed in their little food fight the twins sat there with their mouths hanging open. "W…Why?" Ritz stuttered,
"You…you always scolded us when we played with our food! You always said, 'We only get so much each week! You won't get big and strong if you waste your food!'" Art tried to sound like his dad.
"We told you we have the brains of kids that aren't that much older than you." Lincoln said,
"We are trying to be mature like adults should be but it's hard to keep it up all the time. Don't worry we won't do this out in public and embarrass you." Ronnie Anne said, some goo dripping from her nose.
The kids couldn't hold back their laughter. "I can't believe how silly you look!" Ritz giggled,
"Yeah we do, but it's been a hard day and we needed a laugh." Lincoln said using a napkin to wipe off his face, "Still don't think because we can't remember things that means you can use that to do things like stay up past your bedtime, get a bigger allowance, or extra dessert. Your Aunt Lori would know what we did and did not allow."
"I've seen pictures of deserts in my books but how do you get extra of a place that doesn't get much rain?" Art asked confused,
Ritz was just as confused, "What's an allowance?"
"Never mind." Lincoln groaned, "Just stuff from when we were kids."
"There's something else I'm confused about, Mom why did you call Dad a Lame-O?"
"I guess I never told you that I used to play pranks on you dad using that name to tease him, and even as we became friends it became affectionate nickname. I must have stopped using it at least sometime after you were born to set a good example." Ronnie Anne explained,
Art snapped his fingers, "Oh, like how you call each other mi amore all the time except when Dad calls you Stardust, Mom."
"Have we really gotten that sappy?" Lincoln asked,
"Apparently." Ronnie Anne said, "I also call Arturo Sweetie Pie." This brought up a groan from Art,
"Speaking of nicknames how'd you two get yours?"
"It's not that interesting…" Art said, "Since I was little, I loved looking at pictures of places outside the city, including the drawings in the picture books. My friends thought I just liked art so Art. But I hope to visit places like that someday."
It was Ritz's turn. "When I first lost some of my baby teeth I got a bit of a lisp, you said I sounded like how Aunt Lisa used to. At first my classmates teased me with that nickname, but I grew to like it. It helped since there was another girl named Rita in my class."
Out the window a flying police car drove by shining a spotlight around the neighborhood. "Attention citizens! Thirty minutes until second stage curfew!"
"Isn't having lights on after stage two worth a demerit?" Ronnie Anne asked,
"Crud, I didn't think it was that late!" Art said panicked,
"At least the game is helping." Ritz said,
"We all better get to bed, but first…" Lincoln pulled his children into a hug. "We are going to get through this."
"Do… do you want us to tuck you in?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"No we can put ourselves to bed and we don't have much time." Art said.
A few minutes later the kids were already in bed while in their own bedroom Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were looking through their own drawers and closet. "There has to be pajamas or a night gown somewhere!" Ronnie Anne said,
Lincoln opened a drawer finding only socks. "Unless along with getting mushy we've also started sleeping in the…"
"Don't even finish that sentence! Ah!" Ronnie Anne found a purple slip night gown hanging in the closet. As she took it off of the hanger, she put the gem she got earlier on the closet self. "Don't you dare peek Loud!"
Lincoln continued to try to find his own sleepwear not looking in Ronnie Anne's direction, "You know you're a Loud now too."
Ronnie Anne ignored the comment, "We still haven't figured out the sleeping arrangements and time's running out. You don't have to take couch; I'd be comfortable there and I don't want to the kids to get the wrong idea in morning. This has been hard enough on them."
"Found some. Huh, guess I switched to boxers." Lincoln put on a tee shirt and pajama shorts. "I've shared a bed with Lynn in PJ's before, we can share too. We are husband and wife after all."
"That is going to take some getting used to. I do agree that we should stick together for the kids, but I was never one who played house." Ronnie Anne said as she slid into bed,
Lincoln sighed as he got into bed too while turning off the lights with only moonlight shining through the window allowing them to see, "But you're scared that we could develop feelings like our other selves did or lose ourselves to any memories of those feelings that might resurface. I am too."
"It's not that I'm against the idea but it's just…I have a body my brain isn't ready for. Looking at you now, my body is having these feelings and urges that I don't know how to deal with! I mean look at you! You don't have a six pack or anything, but you're toned and can't help feel warm when I look at you!"
"I feel the same way. I feel warm just thinking about your…additions. I'm excited, confused, ashamed, and scared all at the same time and I, I, I really need my mom and dad right now!" Lincoln broke down into tears. "I could really use their advice, but they're gone! I want cry and morn, but I can't because I need to be strong for Art and Ritz!"
"You're not the only one!" Ronnie Anne looked like she was about to break down. "I wish I could ask my mom about what to do! To be hugged by my dad! To cry my heart out! But I can't let myself cry! I've learned so much about me has changed and not just my body, I use a cutesy nickname for Art, I work long hours like my mom in practically the same job, and I wear a slip that leaves little to the imagination while we call each other cheesy, mushy pet names! I feel like if I let myself cry then I'm going to lose the last thing that makes me, me!"
"It's okay." Lincoln embraced the woman who was one of his best friends and wife. "You don't have to look strong for me. We're both in the same boat and crying will never make you weak to me."
"And you can cry if you need to too. I won't judge." The dam broke and Ronnie Anne cried, and Lincoln joined her. They cried and cried and until they fell asleep in each other's arms. That was just the first day of a new life, burdened by the loss of time, the responsibility place on them, and the ever-present eyes of the force that took their world and its freedom from them.