Surprises and Summons
As we leave the friend group behind for the moment, our story now takes us to the Royal Woods Prison; where the rest of the family is being held. After the incident at the park, the Loud Family was quickly taken into custody and brought here for questioning by Officer Schoffner. Upon their arrival, the family was then locked within the Cooler; a cell where rather...unstable suspects were held until further notice.
However, the one that was immediately spared from incarceration was little Lily; who would be under Schoffner's watch until further notice. As a baby, she had no hand in the whole situation her family caused with her older brother and was thus spared from sharing her family's fate; for the moment. Much to the police woman's surprise, Lily was actually quite calm and joyful around her.
"It's amazing how well-behaved this kid's being" she thought to herself, "I was worried her elder sisters' behavior might've passed on to her." As the hours passed, none of the other Loud Family members had spoken a word since their arrival. Luna didn't hum any songs, Lana didn't try to seek out any rats in the cell and befriend them...even Luan did her best to keep quiet, not daring to make a single pun or joke about their situation.
Yet, in spite of the silence; the expressions on each family member's face spoke volumes about how they felt overall. Rita and Lynn Sr. hung their heads low with shame, Luna's frown hung so low that it could touch the floor, Luan (for the first time in her life) felt more like a crying clown than a happy one. The twins (Lana and Lola) lay huddled together, after having cried themselves to sleep just hours ago.
Lucy's mind was so distraught that she wished she could return home and lock herself in one of her coffins forever. Lisa, despite her claims of being "detached from inane human emotions," struggled to hold back her tears and poor Leni cried for so long; her face almost turned black from her mascara running. For forty minutes, not one of them dared to speak a word; fearing that doing so would restart the fighting all over again.
Then, the cell door suddenly slid open; which caused the family to suddenly shoot up in surprise. Almost a second later, Officer Schoffner entered with a clipboard in her hands. Without a second thought or even the slightest bit of hesitation, the first thing Rita asked the officer was if Lily was doing well.
"You're baby is fine, Ma'am; do not worry" the policewoman said stoically, "in the meantime, I'm here to talk about the rest of you; starting with your actions earlier at the park." Before Schoffner could speak so much as a syllable, after that; Leni, Lana, Lola and Luna quickly all fell at her feet and started sobbing loudly. "Please, Ma'am; we didn't cause all that stuff that happened at the park" Lola wailed, "it was my big sister, SHE'S the one responsible...she started this whole thing, leave her in here!"
Upon hearing this confession, Lori shot up from the cot and snarled softly; wanting nothing more than to throttle her sister for ratting her out to the po-po (as Lisa would say.) "Why you little TATTLETALE" she shouted, "this is just as much your fault as it was mine!" Leni scoffed bitterly at her elder sister's words and immediately called her a "lying bitch," soon after; which took the family by complete surprise.
"Really, Lori; is that how you really remember it" she asked with venom in her tone, "as I recall, this all started because you got mad at me after you lost that silly golf game against your 'arch enemy' Carol Pingrey!" This little reveal piqued Officer Schoffner's interest and she wasted no time in taking some small notes on everything that was being said. Meanwhile, Lori's heart and mind were burning with rage due to her sister's comment towards her passion.
"It wasn't a 'silly golf game,' you braindead bimbo" she yelled loudly, "it was the town championship, whoever won it would go on to earn a place in the summer's upcoming All-State Open!" Lori then went on to say that she was determined to try and become the first woman in Michigan to enter the Open. So; for her, "winning some silly golf game" was a rather BIG deal.
"So, you lost the game...big whoop" grumbled Lynn Jr., "that's still no excuse for you to drag the rest of us down into your little fight." Upon hearing her say this; Leni glared at her younger sister with such fire in her eyes, it actually made her squirm a little. "Don't you dare say that, you hippo crate...or whatever the word is" she hissed viciously, "you're another one who acts like if you lose at something, the world will end!"
At first, some of them (mostly Lisa) felt the slight urge to remind Leni that the word was hypocrite and not "hippo crate;" as she put it. But because of her sudden show of anger, a lot of them felt too nervous to speak. "Of all of us, you and Lori deserve to rot in here" she growled, "because of your bad attitudes and how you've treated all of us, we may have lost our only brother's love forever!"
Before the fighting could escalate further, Officer Schoffner quickly intervened and called for silence. "It no longer matters who caused what to happen anymore, people" she said firmly, "what does matter is that the town is finally catching wind of your actions and wish for justice to be served!" Upon hearing this, the family soon started to dread what Fate might've had in store for them.
"However...since many of you seem to genuinely regret your earlier actions, I'm willing to be...a little lenient" she stated, "there's someone here who has actually managed to convince me into letting you out early." The family gasped with shock at this news, thinking that things may actually be looking up for them. But then, they soon started to wonder just who it was that came to see them; let alone want them out of jail.
"With all due respect, Officer; who would actually want to come and help us" questioned Rita, "nearly everyone in Royal Woods wants our heads on spikes...who would want to bail us out?" Soon after she said this, her ears were greeted by a soft yet familiar voice. "Don't count the entire town out just yet, dear" the voice chuckled softly, "in one or two small corners, you may still have some friends to count on."
Despite feeling tired, sore and the fact that their hearts racked with guilt (along with some other negative emotions;) this voice suddenly filled the family with a great deal of hope. Slowly, Rita raised her head up and gazed over at the doorway leading to the lobby. There, she was greeted by a friendly face; Albert, her father and the children's grandfather (whom they've dubbed Pop-Pop.
With a joyful squeal and tears in her eyes, the woman raced gleefully into her father's arms. "DAD! How...What are you doing here" she cried happily, "how did you know where to find us?" Upon saying this, Officer Schoffner interjected by saying it was customary for officers to notify the families of those they've apprehended on what transpired.
"Truthfully, though...despite your number of kids; you don't seem to have many existing family members" Schoffner said matter-of-factly, "on Mr. Loud's side, it was difficult to get in touch with his father and I was informed that your sister was out of town, when a neighbor answered her phone." Lynn Sr. suddenly let out a nervous hiss, before he quickly facepalmed his forehead in bitter annoyance. A day or so before the girls' fight even started, he got a call from Shirley saying she'd be out of state for Spring Break.
As for his father...well; due to his hippie/off the grid lifestyle, his tech was rather (as Lori and Lisa would call it) low-grade. He owned a traditional push-button phone, an old PC computer from the 80's and an old television (the sort that still have what they call a "fat back.") With all this in mind, it would be a miracle if the man hadn't learned of his son's current situation.
"With those options being a bust; I was left with no other alternative but to call your wife's side of the family, Mr. Loud" muttered Officer Schoffner, "although, getting in touch with her Aunt Ruth was...difficult, to say the least." This news came as no surprise to the Loud Family, not even to Rita. Due to how poorly she lived and how unhealthy she often seemed, it was a miracle Ruth was still alive these days.
"In the end, there seemed to be only one other person to call, her father" Officer Schoffner stated, "but if I may be honest here...I hesitated to do so, at first; out of fear that my news would overwhelm him in some way." The family couldn't help but agree with the policewoman, truth be told. Despite being very active, energetic and capable for a man his age; Albert was still considered elderly, in the end.
As such, they were surprised that he didn't have a heart attack; after learning that his family had been put sent to jail. But they were willing to bet he might've had only a few conniptions, before coming over. Soon, the room fell into a deathly silence; one that was so quiet that one might be able to hear the fluttering of a moth's wings.
At this time, no one dared to speak a word; fearing that whichever side chose to do so might say something they'll later regret. Finally; after what felt like ages, Rita cleared her throat and faced her father with the warmest smile she could muster. "Nice to see you again, Dad" she murmured while hugging Albert tightly, "I just wish the present circumstances were different for your visit."
The moment she said this; almost instantly, the man's demeanor suddenly changed from joyful, to grim. "About that, Rita; I've been meaning to ask you some questions" he muttered softly, "like...what in the NAME OF ALL THAT'S SACRED TO HUMANITY HAS HAPPENED WITH YOUR FAMILY LATELY?!" To say that the Louds were taken aback by this sudden outburst would be a gross understatement but they remained silent, all the same.
"I mean...I can't even begin to tell you the kind of morning I had" he grumbled with disgust, "one moment; I'm at the home, playin' cards with Seymour and Scoots. The next thing I know...I get a call from the pokey, telling me that you and the whole family are locked up!" Upon hearing his recollection of what happened, the family suddenly felt themselves shrink with shame. Rita in particular couldn't help but recoil at her father's disappointed tone, which made her feel like she was her eight year old self again; being scolded by her father after doing something wrong.
After Albert had finished speaking, five minutes later; silence fell over the room, once again. Then, after he took a seat in a nearby chair; Officer Schoffner offered the old man some coffee out of kindness to help ease his nerves. Albert happily accepted the gesture and took a sip from the cup, feeling that he needed something to help calm his nerves before continuing.
"I'm afraid that that's just the tip of the iceberg, family" he said unemotionally, "I haven't even told you the stuff Myrtle's been seeing on TV and in the papers lately." No sooner had he said this, Albert asked Officer Schoffner to bring him something he left behind in the main lobby. She agreed, walked out the door to her front desk and came back with a folded up newspaper in her hands.
"Oh...bogus, I can just imagine what that thing says" Luna thought fearfully, "I didn't think anyone still read newspapers anymore." As he opened up the paper, Albert began to read the article's text aloud to his family; an article that could be seen right smack on the headline. While doing so, he used a strong tone in his voice to emphasize the absurdity of some of the events it mentioned.
"'While under the care of his newfound friends, young Lincoln Loud spoke of the many chaotic situations his family often created for some time'" he muttered while reading, "'among these situations were USING HIM AS A 'TRAINING DUMMY, PERFORMING UNWANTED SURGERIES/EXPERIMENTS ON HIS PERSON, BLACKMAIL, NUMEROUS HOSTILE THREATS TO HIS PERSON AND BEING PURPOSEFULLY LOCKED OUT OF HIS OWN HOUSE!'" After reading the last example within the paragraph, poor Albert shook his head shamefully and pinched at his temples; desperately trying to ease his distressed mind. Afterwards, he proceeded to question the family on their side of the story; hoping he would get a reasonable explanation behind their actions.
"I'm particularly eager to hear the reason behind the 'being locked out of the house' incident for myself, if I may be so bold" Officer Schoffner interjected suddenly, "bear in mind that whatever you do tell us, it will still be viewed as a form of child neglect." After this was said, Lynn Jr. suddenly threw herself at the cell bars and furiously protested her supposed "innocence" on the matter. "We had a good reason for doing that" she shouted, "the twerp purposefully made us think he was bad luck by breaking most of our things...we had to teach him a lesson about lying!"
Alas, her words fell onto deaf ears; while Albert could only shake his head in shame at his granddaughter for her actions. "There is no such thing as luck, dear; good or bad" he muttered, "there's only chance and there's always a chance you'll lose at something, no matter who's with you." Soon after, Officer Schoffner began prodding the family for more answers; expecting to learn what sort of "lesson" they wanted to teach their son and brother.
"Well...you see, Officer; it's like this" Lynn Sr. mumbled sheepishly, "after my daughter accused my...m-my son of being bad luck, he...he o-orchestrated several incidents that made us all further believe in the lie; just so we'd all leave him be for some 'private time' at home." No sooner had he said this, Lynn added that the lie was only able to continue due to Junior's overly-superstitious nature. Of course, Albert was already quite familiar with Lynn's athletic rituals and habits; after seeing a few of her games in person over the years.
"When we found out that all of the bad luck incidents in the house were all orchestrated by my elder brother, Father felt it best to...'give him what for,' as they say" Lisa muttered, "we agreed, of course because he needed to learn never to turn your back on family." No sooner had he heard his daughter say these things, Lynn Sr. could feel many voices in his brain screaming loudly at him for his stupidity. Coincidentally, it seemed as though that both Officer Schoffner and Albert were thinking the same thing; as seen by the looks of disappointment on both their faces.
"So...let me see if I have this right, Mr. and Mrs. Loud" Schoffner muttered in disbelief, "you and your daughters not only locked out your only son/brother...because of some silly superstitious nonsense, you did it all... just so you could 'teach him a 'lesson' about lying?!" The family felt themselves cringe slightly in disgust with every word Officer Schoffner said, only now realizing the sheer foolishness of their past actions. But then; Lori, while still feeling rather flustered from earlier events, desperately tried to save face for her family.
"Officer...with all due respect, you don't seem to understand our side of the argument" she exclaimed, "not only did my brother literally sabotage everything we had in secret to help keep the lie going but back home, our dad always teaches us that family always supports each other...no matter how silly or stupid some of their ambitions might be." The other sisters, for the first time in days, all cheered unanimously in agreement with her words. But then, after mentally recapping the second half of her statement; they all glared daggers at her in annoyance.
"Despite the otherwise...shall we say, hurtful tone in her statement; I must agree with my eldest sibling" Lisa said suddenly, "supporting one's family in any way is an important requirement to create a stable and respectable family unit." The moment she said this, her Pop-Pop took a knee and rested a hand upon Lisa's shoulder; which gave the wee genius hope he had seen things her way. "I agree, hon; it is important to support each other in most of the things we do" he stated, "however...that being said, we can't be there for everything we do; everybody's got limits, after all."
To prove his point, Albert then mentioned how much he regretted not being there to cheer for Lola at her Lil' Miss Harvest Queen Pageant last November. But he reminded everyone that the reason he couldn't make it was due to exhausting himself after a big paintball game he had two days before. "I was so washed out by it all, I needed to rest at the home for a bit" he sighed, "I may be active for my age...but I'm still an old man."
After this, Albert went to ask what Lincoln had done on the days before the "bad luck incident" happened. To which everyone, even the parents, soon found themselves scratching their heads slightly; causing Officer Schoffner to raise an eyebrow in suspicion. "It was literally so long ago, Pop-Pop" muttered Lori, "but...I think he was doing homework...then, he came to my golf game, a few of Luna's concert rehearsals, Lucy's poetry readings, Lola's pageant rehearsal...then, uh...Luan had a prop testing session at home along with Rodeo Clown training and...uh...
In time, Lori suddenly started trailing off in her sentence; not because she had difficulty remembering what happened...but because she was starting to understand the point her grandfather was trying to make. After doing so many things for the family in the span of one month (if not one day) for so many people, she never once considered how exhausted Lincoln must've been afterwards. At the same time, the rest of the family came to a similar conclusion and found themselves sulking with shame.
"Okay...maybe you're right in saying Lincoln was in need of some off-time" Lori relented, "but that still doesn't excuse the fact that he lied about being bad luck and broke a lot of our things to keep the ruse going." Surprisingly, Officer Schoffner sided with the girl's argument; proclaiming that lying and purposefully breaking one's possessions to perpetuate said lie is never good. "That being said, however; answer me this" she asked suddenly, "has he ever asked you all if he could stay home, rather than attend your activities...even once?"
After thinking about it for a moment, Lynn Sr. answered in saying he did so on a few occasions and added that the family chose to respect those wishes; once or twice. "Good answer Mr. Loud...now, how often does he try to voice his disagreement on your ideas or wishes" questioned the policewoman, "I imagine that it must be often." Almost instantly, the girls proceeded to reference the many times Lincoln refused to listen to their advice; whether it be about things like dealing with bullies, keeping one's self active or even dating.
"I mean, being the one who's literally been in a relationship the longest in this family; you'd think that Lincoln take up any of my advice on dating" Lori grumbled, "yet, he's always trying to weasel out of any chance I help create for a romantic rendezvous with Ronnie Anne!" Upon hearing this, both Albert and Officer Schoffner asked who Ronnie Anne was. "She's my boyfriend, Bobby Santiago's little sister" Lori replied, "you remember Bobby...don't you, Pop-Pop?"
It didn't take long for Albert to remember the boy in question, much to the eldest Loud Sister's relief. Whenever he visited, Lori would tell him many stories about Bobby Santiago and all of the dates the two of them had together. Furthermore, he even had the pleasure of meeting him once or twice; before the boy's family moved away to the city sometime ago.
"I didn't realize the boy even had a sister; to tell you the truth, sweetie" Albert admitted, "but what does she have to do with Lincoln?" Then, all of a sudden; all the girls went into a flurry of frantic words and wild stories about Ronnie Anne. Each one of them kept talking about how "she and Lincoln were meant to be" or how (in Lori or Lucy's words) their relationship was "like a bud waiting to blossom into a beautiful rose."
Finally, Rita let out a shrill whistle; causing every one of her daughters to fall silent immediately. "Now...we're gonna try this again, one at a time" she said calmly, "explain to us what Ronnie Anne has to do with your brother?" With that said, Lori decided to give her parents and grandfather the full details on the two in question.
"Long story short; she was once a girl who used to bully Lincoln every chance she had, back when she attended Royal Woods Elementary alongside him" she explained, "she'd do things like putting 'kick me' signs on Lincoln's back, booby trapping his locker to dump garbage on him, shoving sandwiches down his pants, pull said pants down in public, put gum in his hair; you name it." As the story went on, the three elder Louds slowly started to feel uneasy about what they were hearing; leaving Lynn and Rita wondering why Lincoln never told either of them about all this before. At one point in the story, Lynn Jr. added how they originally wanted to help "protect" Lincoln; when they learned he was being bullied in school.
"But once we found out the bully was a girl, there was a change in plans" Lola stated, "instead of helping protect him, we wanted to try and help set the two of them up...romantically, that is." After hearing all of this, Officer Schoffner did something that some people might call either odd or "unbecoming" of an officer...she threw back her head and suddenly burst out laughing. She laughed so hard and so loudly that she practically fell off of her swivel chair, which caused little Lily to giggle and clap with joy.
When she finally managed to calm down enough, Schoffner saw that the girls were all looking at her with confused stares; as if they were silently saying that they weren't joking. "Wait...so, you girls were all serious" Schoffner asked after clearing her throat, "you actually tried to set your brother up (romantically speaking) with a bully?" Almost immediately, Lori tried to defend hers and her sisters' decision by claiming every act of bullying Ronnie Anne performed was just her way of showing how much she "loved" Lincoln.
"Girls, I love you and I always will...but that is, without a doubt the dumbest logic we've ever heard" Lynn Sr. said firmly, "I mean...next, I suppose you'll tell us that her breaking Lincoln's arm could be Ronnie Anne's way of asking Lincoln to marry her?!" Lori was taken aback by her father's rather grim statement, appearing offended that her father would even suggest such a grim idea. Hoping for some support, she looked over at her mother and offered up the same explanation...but Rita appeared as displeased as her husband did.
"I have to agree with your father, Lori" she said firmly, "bullies are often people who either have a lot of heavy personal issues that haven't been resolved yet, people who have a...bizarre craving for attention or people who just love to cause suffering to others; it's almost never about romance." Albert nodded in agreement with her daughter, thinking back to all the times he was once bullied when he was a boy. "But Mom, you're still not seeing the big picture here; Ronnie Anne does love Lincoln" Lori said pleadingly, "I mean...when Bobby and I were their age, I stuffed sandwiches down his pants loads of times and look at us now!"
Some of the others, from Leni to Lynn, sided with their sister; proclaiming they've done similar things to people they liked, in the past. "Oh...is that so" Lynn Sr. inquired, "then...Luna, answer me this; if you spent your time shoving sandwiches down Sam's pants, harassing her mercilessly or putting 'Kick Me' signs on her...how do you think she would feel?" Upon being asked this, the pixie-cut rocker suddenly felt a heavy tug at her heartstrings before leaning up against the wall.
Even now, she could still hear the last words Sam said to her on the phone echoing loudly in her mind. "It really hurts me to do this, Lunes; it really does" Sam's voice murmured softly, "but until this family business of yours is settled or until my loving Purple Pixie comes back...I think we need some space," Even though Sam ended that call with the soft murmur of "I love you;" to Luna, it felt almost like a breakup message.
Now, she factored in some of the things her father suggested into her own relationship and she soon realized his point. Sam was rockin, energetic, adventurous and truly unique...but if Luna spent all her time putting sandwiches down her pants, pranking her or heckling her the same way Ronnie Anne did Lincoln; there was a strong possibility Sam might call the authorities on her. After coming to this realization, Luna sat back onto the cot and twiddled her thumbs in silence.
"Let me ask you a better question, girls" Rita said firmly, "has Lincoln ever actually shown any romantic interest in Ronnie Anne before...or have all their antics just been friendly behavior/banter?" There was a soft murmur amongst the girls, as if they were sheepishly trying to repeat their mother's second phrase. "Truth be told, I thought that was the case" Rita stated, "fact is...Lincoln may actually be interested in someone else, for all we know."
This caused the sisters' expressions to brighten slightly, thinking that their brother might find love after all. Furthermore, they were suddenly reminded of yet another moment where they tried to play Cupid. However, during this moment; they were trying to help set Lucy up with Rocky Spokes (Rocky Spokes' younger brother.) Not only did they try to force Lucy to change who she was, several times over; they also purposefully destroyed Lincoln and Rusty's science project (which would give the latter a reason to bring Rocky over to the house again.)
With all of this in mind, the Loud Sisters (save for Lily) suddenly found themselves blushing profusely with shame; with Lori's face shining the brightest. The moment they saw this change in demeanor, both Lynn Sr. and Rita quickly decided put their feet down (both figuratively and quite literally.) "Whatever is going on your brother or any of your siblings, be it love related or anything else; that doesn't give you girls the right to meddle in their affairs" Lynn Sr. decreed firmly, "the only time you all should get involved, if at all, is when they actually come to you and ask for it!"
At this point, Lisa decided to offer her 2 cents on the situation; proclaiming that, since he was a male, Lincoln lacked "the reasonable amount" of proper knowledge on certain things (like relationships, confronting bullies and such) to deal with them correctly. "Many of us, however are actually quite adept in those matters already" she said dryly, "as such, it's only natural for us to become involved in our brother's or each other's personal affairs." Before anyone could say or do anything in rebuttal, Albert quickly snapped his fingers and called for everyone's attention.
"I don't think you'll be doing anymore meddling for the foreseeable future, girls" he said firmly, "especially since you and your parents will be rather busy, over the next couple of days." The whole family gawked at Albert in confusion and asked what exactly would they be busy with. "Before I answer, I have one last thing to say" Albert murmured with a sigh, "whatever happens...I love all of you dearly, including your brother."
Touched by his words, the family cooed softly and hugged Albert with all their might; all while professing their own love for him as well. "That being said, whatever feelings I have doesn't change the fact that I'm sorely disappointed in all of you" he grumbled slightly, "especially your parents, who are supposed to keep all eleven of you safe and happy." Upon hearing this, Rita couldn't help but hang her head in shame; feeling like she truly did fail her children.
"But...to give you some bit of good news, I've managed to help bail you all out of the Cooler" he said with a small grin, "you'll be heading home today, once we're all done here." Despite the current circumstances, this bit of news helped cheer up the family a little. But then, they wondered just how Albert was able to get them out.
"How did you do it, Dad" questioned Rita, "don't tell me you've dipped into your pension fund, you need that money!" For the first time all day, the old man offered his daughter a genuine smile; assuring her that his pension was still safe. "I actually had some help from some people I met on my way here" he stated, "apparently, some of the parents of Lincoln's new lady friends helped call them up."
At that moment, the door swung open and the Louds could see three people dressed in suits approaching them. The first of the trio was a slender, young lady with purple lipstick and a shining bald head; the second individual was a man with thick mutton chop sideburns and the third was a man with an equally thick almost Duck Dynasty-style beard. As this trio of strangers walked in, the Louds couldn't help but wonder just who they are and why they were here.
"Are these the people you were talking about, Dad" questioned Rita, "if so, who are they?" As if sensing the Mrs. Loud's confusion, the slender woman decided to introduce herself and her colleagues to her. "We are the Law Offices of Baldur, Burns & Bush" the woman stated, "specialized in familial disputes and domestic violence, here to relay an important message unto the secondary half of the Loud Family."
When the girls asked what their message was; Baldur, Burns and Bush all turned sideways, pointed at them dramatically and exclaimed the words "YOU'VE BEEN SERVED" in dramatic unison. While questioning what the trio meant by served, it was...somewhat clear as to why they were there. "Sirs and Ma'am, w-w-we understand your involvement in the situation" Rita said nervously, "b-but if you could let my husband and I speak to our son, I think we might be able to work all this out."
Despite Rita's sincere tone of voice, the lawyers crossed their arms and firmly shook their heads at her. "I'm afraid that cannot be done at this present moment, Ma'am" Bush stated, "until further notice; you, your husband and all ten of your daughters are hereby forbidden to speak to our client." Soon after, Mr. Burns added that the family was also prohibited from coming within fifteen to twenty feet of Lincoln at any time.
No sooner had all this been said, the lawyer handed over a document to Mr. and Mrs. Loud; specifically, a court order. "Mayor Davis believes that the time has come to lay things out on the table, as they say" Ms. Baldur said firmly, "meaning that it's time for your family's drama to be properly addressed...and for justice to be served." Despite the sudden nature of this summons, both Lynn and Rita understood that this was necessary.
"Remember this; until the court date arrives, you will obey the restraining order" Mr. Bush decreed, "failure to uphold it in any way, Mr. and Mrs. Loud will be met with serious consequences; both for you, your wife and your daughters." After saying all this, Ms. Baldur asked Mr. and Mrs. Loud if they understood what they'd been told. In spite of their initial shock, both they and their daughters were able to nod in response.
"I just got one question, Mrs...uh, Baldur" murmured Luna, "does my bro know about this court summons thing, by chance?" Baldur's expression softened slightly and she replied in saying he would be notified, in due time. "When I last spoke with Mrs. Pingrey, she informed my associates and I that your brother plans on visiting a friend at his farm with her daughter and a collection of their friends" she explained, "he'll receive word about this matter, tomorrow."
Everyone nodded silently in understanding; remembering that the farm in question was the home of Lincoln's friend, Liam Honeycutt. They all hoped that somehow, he would be informed of the order and that he would be able to attend the trial. After that, Mr. and Mrs. Loud accepted the court summons; praying that after the trial, they might be able to make things right with their family and the town again.
(First AN: Out of the frying pan and back into the fire, as they say. It was harsh enough receiving a lecture from Pop-Pop, who is often the most laid back member of the Loud Family. But discovering that they are being summoned to court after everything that's happened...well, let's hope the Louds have a good lawyer of their own to help them out of this)
(Second AN: As you saw, Lily was spared from having to stay in the Cooler with everyone else. Unlike her elder siblings, she is not one prone to do much fighting in the house; not even towards Lincoln. So, don't worry; not everyone has been locked up)
(Third AN: Much of the information on the other Loud Family members were either based off of information from the Wikia page *in terms of Aunt Ruth's character* or thought up by me *in terms of Lynn's father.* So, I did my best in describing each of them and their abilities in being good providers)
(Fourth AN: The three lawyers who will be working on Lincoln's behalf are all based on near similar versions from the Spongebob episode, Restraining Sponge. But while my characters are known as Baldur, Burns & Bush; Squidward's lawyers are known as Harry, Combover, & Bald. In any case, I loved their scene in the episode and thought Lincoln deserved lawyers who are just as strong and determined for justice as those characters were)
(Final AN: The name of the one member of the Lawyer Trio, Baldur, was inspired by that of the Norse God; which is sometimes spelled Baldur or Baldr. In any case, I chose that name for my character because...it was the best way I could make an allusion to her most noticeable physical trait; namely her bald head. Through out media, lawyers are often shown as a team of three and have strange names.
This is my own take on that little joke)