Unbeknownst to Lincoln...
While the Class tournament was progressing to its final stages in Japan, a football tournament was wrapping up in Michigan. Lynn was carrying the entire Royal Woods sports regiment to victory. She just secured a 1st place win for the volleyball team, and not two minutes later was she whisked away to Royal Woods Arena for game 3 of the Area football championship, where she had a run in with Hank and Hawk. They would've done her in before the big game, were it not for the angry banshee voice of Tabane, and the return of the Roosters quarterback.
And it mattered. Every offense play, the Royal Woods Roosters threw the football to Lynn; it always ended in her getting tackled and or pounded. Every defense play, she was always the one who had to stop the ball from getting to the end zone, while her teammates were absolutely powerless to help her.
Two minutes left of the fourth quarter, and no score from either the Roosters or the Hockers, who currently have control of the ball. The final timeout of the game was used, and Lisa was helping Tabane with recovery efforts.
"Muscles glasses," Tabane said.
"Fatigue sensor," Lisa handed her a tool to rub all over Lynn.
"Jo dab lord," Tabane tossed the glasses away.
"Enoxacin," Lisa rubbed medicine on Lynn.
"MOIST!" Tabane pointed to Lisa's wristband health monitor.
Lisa tapped the screen and read its complex waves, algorithms, and tiny diagrams in less than a second, "Peak performance reduced to 55%."
"Dangit," Tabane muttered.
"Hey, why's she getting special treatment?!" A teammate demanded, "What about the rest of us?!"
Tabane snapped her fingers, "Chloe," and a demure woman with long silver hair appeared before the teammate and opened her eyes, thereby trapping the two in a nightmare world of her conjuring, "Eye see you."
"He is right about one thing," the quarterback said, "Every time we get out there, it's always five guys gunning for Lynn. Why don't I throw the ball to someone else for a change?"
"Because She's the fastest on our team," the running back moaned, "No one can catch the ball like her."
"Not anymore," a teammate ran to them, "Rabbit head said that she's out for the game."
"What?! What are we gonna do now?!"
"We need to come up with something else."
"Hey!" Lynn limped her way to her team, to their shock, "I ain't out yet! And I got me a plan to win this!"
"Really?" One teammate was skeptical, "You have a plan?"
"How are you gonna win us this thing?!" Another teammate bemoaned, "You can barely walk!"
"Well, if you don't mind huddling up, I'll tell you," Lynn demanded. The rest of the team begrudgingly gathered to hear her so-called plan. Ten seconds later, they were huddled around the Roosters 25-yard line, scared witless. They stared at the Hockers and prepared for the worst.
"Any last words, mud head?" Hank grinned.
"You wanted me? Well, you got me," Lynn gave back a weak smile as HIKE was called. Hank snapped the ball to his quarterback, then ran into the end zone. Once the ball was thrown, Lynn made her way towards the ball, with nearly all the Hockers stampeding towards her. At the last second, she sidestepped to her right, avoiding a massive pile on. She quickly moved behind her, placing herself out of the ball's range of catch. But it didn't matter, because she was hit by the Hocker who was meant to get that ball. One of the Roosters caught it instead.
Lynn was knocked back onto the field. She ran after the player who caught the ball, trying to protect him from oncoming threats. Sure enough, she saw Hawk blazing through the field and got in his way. This sent all three of them out of bounds, but at least the Roosters have the ball.
"Uhhhh..." Lynn groaned, "Not yet... gotta-"
"Come on, Lynn-er," her teammate hoisted her up, "We still got a long way to go..."
A long way indeed. The rest of the clock was spent making plays with minuscule gains. The same tactic was always used: Lynn snapped the ball to the quarterback, then she would run towards the ball without catching it. Someone else would always have to be there to get the ball when she inevitably collided with several Hockers who thought she would get the ball.
Ten seconds left in the game, and the Roosters made it to the 10-yard line. Hank and Hawk were infuriated.
"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!" Hank screamed, "WE KEEP GUTTING THAT TOMBOY, SO HOW DID WE WIND UP COWERING IN OUR OWN TURF?!"
"Whatever, man!" Hawk pushed, "You Keep your eyes on Lynn! I'll get the ball."
The players gathered around the ball. Everyone prepared for the snap.
Especially Hank, "I'm through with you. I'm gonna beat you so bad, you'll be wearing your lez-sis's kisses on your bruises."
"That made no sense," Lynn whispered right when HIKE was called. As soon as Lynn threw the ball behind her, she guarded herself.
Hank plowed into her. He rammed her so hard, he carried her all the way to the 20-yard line with just his elbows. He flung her off him and sent her rolling. Lynn stopped herself with her leg and spat out blood.
"AND STAY DOWN, PUNK!" Hank screamed before hearing a whistle go off and the crowd go wild. He then looked up at the scoreboard and saw the Roosters' score light up 6, "Wha...how?! Hawk was supposed to-" He stopped when he heard Lynn chuckle, "WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!"
"I...I knew you would come after me..."Lynn propped herself on her elbows, "So now...they're gonna give the ball...to the weakest players, people you would ignore..."
Hank had been had. This whole season, Lynn was purposefully the only one who scored points, and this was the game she decided to hand things off to her team.
Hank got pissed, "Cud chewing heffer sucking-"
Lynn passed him, forcing him to go back for the one-point conversion, which the Hockers successfully prevented.
With one second on the clock, and the Hockers in control of the ball, the Roosters gathered round for one final plan. Lynn turned down a nano-injection and joined the quarterback.
"Alright, we need to prevent an overtime, for obvious reasons," the captain said, "Lynn, what's your plan?"
"Well, They're gonna make one of those fat gumballs plow the thing down here..." Lynn thought.
One of the Roosters caught on to what Lynn was implying, "Oh, no! No no no, you are not throwing your neck out again!"
"It's the only way..." was all Lynn said before the final whistle blew to resume play.
The final play. The Roosters and Hockers were lined up at their respective yards. The Hockers were channeling their overwhelming anger into their inevitable charge. The Roosters were motionless as they waited for Lynn to wind up the crowd and send the ball out of their hands.
"Coarse drink?!" Tabane was frantically bouncing up and down as Lisa and the white-haired woman did their best to calm her down.
"Lincoln...I hope you're watching..." Lynn whispered, "This one's for you..." she took one more deep breath and did the signature "COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOOOOO!" Then, she kicked the ball away from her and stayed behind while the rest of her team tried to prevent the rest of the Hockers from getting to their end zone. She saw the ball fly into Hawk's hands, and she still didn't do anything, not until she saw Hank and Hawk blazing down the field. She ran towards the pair, hopping between Hank and Hawk's paths. When they were close enough, she straffed left, prompting Hawk to shove the ball to Hank and charge ahead of him. She switched again and got directly in Hank's reach. She was about to tackle him-
"OUTTA THE WAY, BIRD BRAIN!" -but Hawk grabbed her by the face protector and threw her out of bounds, finally knocking her out.
Hank and Hawk high fived each other as they waltzed the ball to the end zone, throwing their usual taunts and dances at the rest of the field. And no one joined in on their celebration. Even their own teammates were somewhat appalled by what they did. But Hank and Hawk didn't care.
At least until they heard a whistle go off. That's when they stopped dancing and stared at the field. And saw the dreaded yellow piece of cloth.
"PENTALY BEFORE THE TOUCHDOWN ON THE ROOSTERS 14," a referee declared, "PERSONAL FOUL. HOCKERS NUMBER 97, FLAGRANT PERSONAL FOUL. INJURY TO ANOTHER PLAYER, YANKING THE HELMET DOWN." Then, the final nail in the coffin: "TOUCHDOWN IS INVALIDATED. THE HOCKERS WILL NOT SCORE."To a wild audience, the referee made final, "GAME SET, 6-0. ROYAL WOODS WINS."
"OH, HELL NO!" Hawk shouted.
"TAKE IT BACK, OR ELSE!" Hank stomped towards the referee before suddenly having his jersey ripped off by his coach, "Agh! Hey, who the-"
"Not. One. Word."
"Uh, coach?" Hank panicked, "So, uh, did you see how the game was-"
"Ruined because you and your dumb frat bro couldn't control your egos?" The coach growled, "Yes, I saw."
"Come on!" Hawk attempted to please with the coach, "You know we would've won if-"
"SHUT YOUR PIEHOLE!" The coach ripped off Hawk's jersey as well, "I want you two to get your crud out of the locker room, and never come back."
"But-but coach-"
"AND NOW, I'M GONNA ASK THE PRINCIPAL TO PUNISH YOU TWO HOLDOVERS!" The coach bellowed before stomping out of view.
"Tch, who needs him anyway?" Hawk gloated, "We got what we came for, right bud?"
"Can't argue with that," Hank grinned at the sight of the players trying to tend to the unconscious Lynn, "We finally got to give her a piece of her own bi-" (And in the blink of an eye, they were taken off the field and sent into a black void, "Yo, What is this?!"
"Dude, maybe it's one of those IS things," Hawk guessed, "Heh, I guess his gaywad of a bro couldn't handle the beating and came back to save her!"
"The IS is a woman's weapon! You ain't no man!" Hank taunted, "Lose the cold metal ass and face me like a little boy!"
Upon that notion, the void was suddenly filled with a pool of blood.
"Oh, shoot..." Hawk was suddenly overcome with a feeling of nausea, "Bro, look away...I'm getting queasy..."
"Nice try, albino!" Hank shouted, "You're gonna have to try better than that!" All of a sudden, his shirt was stained with Hawk's vomit, "Ugh! Dude!"
"Wasn't me..." Hawk was too far away from him to puke on him.
"What?!" Hank suddenly grew scared, "Then who-" Just then, he had the urge to puke, "Oh god...who's doing..."
Then, an eerily pleasant womanly voice from behind, "Hello, Hank."
"Urgh...bllghhh...the hell are you..."
"My name is Chloe Chronicle..." the voice said, "but you may refer to me as..." Then a blood-curdling High-frequency noise boomed and made them puke uncontrollably, "...The White Death.")
Hank and Hawk collapsed on the field. Everything they were experiencing was a just an illusion. But their reactions definitely were real. Yet no one paid any attention to them, except for the white-haired demure Chloe woman and Clyde.
"Whoa..." Clyde moves in closer, "What is happening to their brains?"
"Please," Chloe said with open eyes, "I must ask you not to approach them, else-" Clyde looked into her eyes and suddenly fainted, "-you be trapped as well. Hauuhhhhh..." she closed her eyes and released them from the illusion.
Clyde was the first to wake up, "Whoa... I had the weirdest dream...my nosebleeds created this river-"
"Ah-Ah-Shhhh..." Chloe shushed him, "You better keep this between us."
"Oh...gotcha..." Clyde gave her a thumbs up before scurrying off to the locker room.
"Well," Chloe said, "It appears that my work is done." She attempted to leave when Tabane blindsided her with a hug.
"AKATSUBAKIIIIII!"
"Wha...uh, Master-uy-" She was flipped over and caught by her waist.
"Akatsubaaaaaa-KI!"
Chloe knew what this was. Tabane always acts like this whenever she gets a massive wave of inspiration. The bigger the wave, the bigger the project... and the worse the eccentricities.
"Akatsubaaaki! Akatsubaaaki!" Tabane started riffing La Cucaracha, "Ko u chi ku shi ma suuuuuu~"
"Master, please-"
"Akatsubaaaki! Akatsubaaaki!"
"Get ahold of yourself-"
"Saikō no okurimonoooo!"
"EEK! YOUR BRA!"
"ARRRRRRIBAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Lynn was shuttled to a hospital for possible head and body injuries. During her time out, she had a massive introspection, analyzing everything that happened within the past few months and relating it to Where wand her family stood now.
Lynn couldn't make every single video chat, but she made certain to send him an email with something about anything. She kept it up every day, in spite of the majority of her messages not getting a reply. But a month ago, when she heard
("LORI! LUNA! LENI! HE KNOWS! HE KNOWS EVERYTHING!")
she thought her world was done for. Bad enough with the bad luck crud, but when Luan explained the entire conversation, she was devastated. Everyone older than Lynn was devastated. That's when Lincoln shut off all communication to home altogether. Add on Lynn Sr and Rita's troubles to control the rumors at work, Lori having withdraws due to her friends' backlash, Luna being roped into a politically messy fight, Luan being forced to take a part time job due to her business going dry, Lola going crazy from her pageantry suspension, and Lisa and Clyde losing their nerves from their own part time job as personal assistants to both Lynn and Tabane...
...well, there was no way to fix this broken bridge. And building a new one was nigh suicidal. Lincoln was everywhere, in the news, social media, and most certainly on everyone's minds. Everything he did, his performance in the battles, even the changes in IS Academy policy, was constantly circulating through the town. Wherever the family went, he was there to eat their minds. There was just no escape from it. That meant immediate action.
What that action was depended on each person, but it all had one goal: to counteract the madness.
And look how that turned out...
Lynn had to extend her stay to be fully treated for her sports injuries, with barely any visits from the younger members of the family. The doctors asked her questions she didn't know how to answer, so they had to run multiple scans on her body just to get an accurate view of what happened. Out of multiple treatment plans, she played by ear and chose the one that would take the least amount of time.
Five days later, she was visited by Clyde and Margo.
"Everyone's talking about your sacrifice play," Clyde showed them the video of Lynn constantly putting herself in harm's way, "They said you paved the way to the championship win."
"Is that right?" Lynn moaned, still aching from the game, "Tell them to send their tears of joy to my foot..."
"Is your body ok?" Margo asked.
"It's like you'd expect," Lynn held up her heavily bandaged leg, "Smooth as a porcupine, and just as cuddly, heheh..."
"Wow, that does look bad..." Margo nodded.
"Where's Lisa?" Lynn asked.
"Helping Tabane out with a special project," Clyde said, "Something about Unfolding Armor or something..."
"I hope she can tough it out..." Margo said, "God knows what kind of godly madness she's gonna force upon her..."
"Were you able to reach out to Lincoln?" Lynn asked, to the disappointment of Clyde.
"Once again, no answer," Clyde said, "I've left a message according to protocol."
"Dang..." Lynn rubbed her head, "What's happening?..."
"A whole lot of crud," Margo answered, "We're all still reeling back from your big play. The doctor says you can't leave yet."
"But what about-"
"It's fine, Lynn," Margo put her hand on Lynn's lap, "The coaches asked me to take over for you."
"Really?" Lynn was a little downtrodden, "Nothing I did clicked? Not even the..."
"Nope," Margo said, "All they cared about was the war."
"Oh..." Lynn rubbed Margo's arm since she couldn't fully move her upper body to hug her, "Well, I hope they don't put you through the lake."
"Hey, I was trained by the best of the best," Margo jokingly punched Lynn's shoulder, "I swallow that fire before it can tickle me."
"Margo," Clyde got a message, "Basketball and hockey are calling you. You got practice in thirty."
"Already?" Margo groaned.
"That's what you signed up for!" Lynn nudged her. And the two shared a handshake before Margo left.
Clyde walked over to Lynn's side, "She's really something, isn't she?"
"Yeah," Lynn said, "She's made it to every single game I had. I don't know what I'd do if she wasn't there for everyone."
Clyde still wasn't used to the somberly acting Lynn and decided to go, "Well, I'm gonna go...Dad and Dad don't know I went here-oof!"
He was stopped by Lynn. Her hand snatched his in a moment of hidden desperation.
"Lynn?" Clyde questioned, "Are you sure you're..."
"Um..." Lynn forced the words out of her diaphragm, "...can you stay a minute?..."
"Huh?!"
"I mean..." Lynn quickly scrambled her brain for an excuse, "I've been here for a week now, and no one came to visit, so...it gets pretty lonely...y'know?..."
Clyde wasn't sure if she really did feel that way, or if she was too prideful to admit that she's hiding something, "Ok...do you have any idea how you sound right now?..."
"I'm very aware..." Lynn seemingly doubled down on her request.
Clyde blushed a little. Not so much because this was the first time any girl ask him to spend a day with her, but because a girl he already spent so much time with asked him. He held out for so long that he didn't realize how much time he spent making sure Lynn didn't get into any serious trouble. Until now. He realized that they had gone beyond friends without knowing it.
"Uh...well..." It took a while, but Clyde gave in, "I guess I could stay a while...I mean, today's a free day, so..."
"Yeah, I'm sure our parents are busy with their own crud."
Clyde ended up staying the whole day.
Meanwhile, Luna was waking up from a long nap in Sam's house. For the third day in a row, she had to flee the toxicity surrounding the house, what with her sexuality being made public. She's been drawn into a squabble about her brother's sexuality, and whether or not being an IS pilot would turn him gay. It would be tolerable, if not for Lola's flippity-floppity motormouth. The less said about her, the better.
Luna stretched her limbs across the basement sofa. Her arm accidentally knocked over her guitar, which toppled an entire stack of songs she and Sam wrote together, "Ah, shoot!" She caught her guitar in time, but her stack of journals was toppled, opening to whatever they felt like showing her, "Great...gonna take me forever to-" She stopped when her hands ran across a certain set of words:
(I'm the lighting rod that defies the vengeance over the skies.)
"Man, that takes me back..." Luna was instantly reminded of her last meeting with Lincoln, and all the memories that came with it...
("Luna! Big problem! Lincoln got whacked!")
("What?! LINCOLN! LYNN! What did you do to them?!")
("I didn't do nothing! They came to me-")
("DON'T LIE TO ME, SLEAZE BAG!")
...including that one, "Ugh, I need a drink..." She went upstairs to grab a quick drink. Instead, she ran into Sam and her brother.
"Morning, Lunes," Sam greeted, "You look like you've been through the desert."
"Yup," Luna sat at the kitchen table, "No name, no pain, and no river."
"Geez..." Sam gave Luna a piece of toast, "Try to hang on for a little longer. We're not at the worst of it yet."
"Blugh...I dread the day..." Luna muttered when Sam's little brother gave her a pack of juice, "Thanks, Simon..."
"Is something wrong?" Simon asked.
"Oh, you wouldn't understand," Luna brushed it off, "Just the same old high school drama."
"Hey, I was thinking," Sam sat down next to her, "All those songs we wrote, that you said you were gonna play in front of everyone?"
"Is now really the right time?" Luna asked, "You heard what everyone's saying about me. I don't want any of that to spill over to you."
"I know, but doing nothing is only gonna prove them right," Sam countered, "Why not play some of those songs in a rally?"
"And kill the steady vibe with a war cry?"
"We're already at rock bottom, so why not?"
Luna raised an eyebrow, "Whaddaya mean...we?"
"Samantha?" Suddenly, Mr Sharp stepped inside the kitchen, "Your mother needs your help."
"Again?..." Sam groaned, "C'mon, Sim. I think one of your shirts got pinked again."
"Hah?!" Simon ran out, "No! Leave that one alone!" Causing Sam to chase after him.
Luna laughed at their frantic state. Then, she looked at Sam's father, "That didn't really happen, did it?"
"No," the father sat next to Luna, "It was my pink shirt that got whited." He got a giggle out of her before he addressed her, "Luna, do you ever feel like you might have...overstayed your welcome a little bit?"
"I didn't have any choice," Luna responded, "Sam is the only person I can escape to. My family and other friends are too caught up in the drama to really focus anything anymore. I can't go one day without them complaining about secrets."
"I can understand... how do you see Sam, in that regard?"
"Huh?" Luna squinted, "Where'd that come from?"
"Sam's been acting a little bit gentler since you stuck that letter in her locker."
"What the-" Luna jolted, "The heck did she figure it out?!"
"It's been copied into one of your songs."
"Oh..." Luna was somewhat embarrassed, "I...inspired spurt?"
"Listen," the father said, "I don't mind you staying with us every once in a while, but sooner or later, this moping is gonna have to stop."
"Moping? That's what you're calling it?"
"What else would you call ten notebooks of lyrics sitting in the basement?"
Luna rubbed her forehead. She really did lose her edge thanks to this craziness. She didn't know what was keeping her back though, because she could get loud any time she wanted, parental advice notwithstanding. Then, the father tapped her shoulder.
"I'm just gonna tell you the same thing I told my kids," the father stared intently into Luna's eyes, "Keep it 100 at all times. No matter what. If you're gonna do something, do it all the way. If you're gonna get into a relationship with someone, you go in all the way. Got it?"
"Uh..." Luna got mixed signals from him, "What's the deal, dude?...Why are you telling me this..."
"Because this isn't like you at all. You are not the type to get hungover on one single thing. You're always the go-getter, no-nonsense type."
"Well...things happen, and you have to do a double take sometimes..."
"That's not good enough, Luna. You need to get your mind straight again. If you think too long, someone will have already taken advantage of you. I think you've had enough time to think about things. The time for thinking is over. It's time to act."
Luna understood his words, "Yeah...Ok... I guess I've been sitting on my own head for too long, huh?"
"Yes, you have. So, what's the first thing you're gonna do now?"
Luna smirked, "I just did it. I blinked." She got a small laugh from the father, "Ok, second thing I'm gonna do is play as many songs as I can. I would say "It's who I am" but...how many times have you heard that already?"
"A lot," the father said, "Anyway, do Whatever you have to do, but please limit your stay here in my house. You already have a family."
"Yeah, I know..." Luna was reluctant to return to her own after spending so many good days here, "I'll do my best..." Just the, she heard Sam and Simon walking away from the laundry room, "Oh boy...what to say..."
"Here," the father suddenly grabbed Luna's hand.
"Hey," Luna reacted, "What're you doing?"
"Sam tends to be aloof around people she really likes," the father winked, "I'm trying to change that."
"She...like-wuhhhh..." Luna blushed. To think that the father of the very person she had been desiring to spend quality with openly acknowledge mutual feelings between two women, she did not know how to react to it, given how he's typically questioning of Sam's habits. Maybe something has changed?
Well, she'd find out right now, because...Sam saw the handholding.
"Uh, Dad?..." Sam questioned, "What the heck are you doing?..."
"What's wrong with giving someone life advice?" Her father said.
"Is that what this is?..."
"Dad!" Simon called out, "Mom said your lucky dress shirt has been pinked!"
"WHAT?!" The father let go and ran to the laundry room, "Oh, no no no, I need that for a presentation tomorrow~"
Sam walked over to Luna, "Is everything ok? Did he do anything to you?"
"No," Luna answered, "He didn't say anything either."
"Well," Sam patted her shoulder, "I think it's time we fight back. Can't let those good words go to waste, right?"
"Yeah...Yeah, we got all the ammo we need right here," Luna grabbed her guitar, "C'mon, it's time to go to war."
Even if she wasn't there physically, Luna saw the final play of Lynn's game from a live stream. She knew that Lynn couldn't go on anymore, and that someone else had to step in and be the lightning rod. Luna was very hesitant, as she didn't want to walk into all the drama created by Hank and Hawk's siblings. But she couldn't stay away forever; if she doesn't charge into the fray, the fray will come to her.
"Hey, Sam?" Luna asked as she was tuning her guitar.
"Yo?"
"Am I flip-flopping all over the place?"
"Kinda," Sam admitted, "but it never mattered because you would always come around when it mattered."
"That's...a good thing, I guess..." Luna smirked, and made plans to fight back with the rest of the community.
Little did she know that the war she was about to enter would hide an unheard of secret.
One week after the game, Margo had to take over as the star athlete. She would always be planning ahead on plays, coordinating with her teammates, and giving her opponents a heck of a run for their pride. While her school has been a stomping ground for her reputation, she couldn't shake off a feeling of...inadequacy.
She used to be the star athlete of Royal Woods Middle, up until the middle 7th grade, when Lynn started to dominate. Ever since then, she has always had a hint of jealousy for her, always feeling like a shadow. She bore with it though, because Lynn was always ready to lend her a helping hand. But since the coming of the IS, everything changed. In between school and sports, she would always prepare herself to join the IS Academy in some capacity in order to get a leg up on Lynn, to feel like she had something that was hers.
Until Lincoln came along and stole her spotlight (completely on accident).
That was the moment she mentally walked out on her own friends. After school, Margo constantly looked for a way to get the leg up on the Louds, looking for a way to make Lynn feel the pain of having the one thing she's good at copied and pasted over onto someone else. A week before the volleyball finals, she stumbled upon a tall blonde woman, who would offer her a very special gift, in exchange for fulfilling one very specific deed: drive the Loud House away. Which...very oddly coincided with her own personal goals, to a degree. Margo wanted to take back the spotlight, not hurt anyone. But what did it matter when all she'd have to do was coerce a few choice individuals into making things hard for the Louds?
The plan was simple: get even closer to Lynn, close enough to get near the gossip groups around school, and therefore catch word of their juicy, salacious stories. Then, Margo would pass this information on to anyone who had a grudge against the Louds and get them to spark up rumors, although it wasn't that hard to do since that Louds were all the time...loud. She knew that they would fight back, so while the brother was away from home, she and her gang would whirl up a storm of words and gossip too much to handle. And she had some very convenient circumstances to draw upon.
Margo made it her mission to get the Louds away from Royal Woods, enlisting the help of Hank and Hawk to make things difficult for the Louds as much as possible. And it worked, to an extent. Lola and Lucy were out of character for most of the time, and everyone else was struggling to juggle with the constant circulation of vicious rumors. The only problem was Lynn, Luna, and Lori, as they were the least likely to go down fighting.
Which was why one day she made a special trip back to Hazeltucky. Back to her old clubhouse, where Janice and Juniper were hanging around the couch, and Hank and Hawk were out cold sleeping.
Janice and Juniper saw her, "Marge!" and they ran out to hug her.
Margo scruffled their hair, then walked over to a sleepy Hank and Hawk, "How are they?"
"Out of it," Juniper growled, "That woman you saw! She did something to them!"
"I know, but that woman is too powerful for us to handle," Margo said, "We got people who are tracking her down right now."
"Is she gonna pay for messing up our plans?" Janice punched her fists.
"Oh, I can assure you of that. It won't be now," Margo nodded, "It might not be for another few months, but she will pay."
"A few months?" Juniper repeated, "The heck are we supposed to do until then?"
"Get stronger," was all Margo said, "That's all we can do," before she scooted the two youngsters out, leaving her alone with Hank and Hawk. It was a good five minutes before the two thugs woke up.
"Ugh...my head..." Hawk groaned.
"Note to self..." Hank muttered, "White-haired people...freaks."
"Feeling ok?" Margo knelt beside them.
"No...this was the worst..." Hank complained, "We got kicked off the football team, and Hazeltucky lost volleyball and hockey."
"Hockey's part of the plan, Dude," Hawk corrected him.
"It's no big," Margo patted his shoulder, "You two did your best."
"Our best..." Hawk threw his hands, "But...but we couldn't win."
"But I didn't need you to," Margo said, "All I needed was for you to rough her up badly."
"I guess..." Hawk shrugged, "Still would've been nice if we actually won..."
"I guess you're right..." Margo responded, "but the plan is still on track. The Hockers are now way more agitated than ever. They're practically calling for blood now."
"So, What now?" Hank asked, "We gonna go after them?"
"No. Wait for them to leave Royal Woods," Margo said, "Thanksgiving is coming up. They'll definitely flee to one of their closest friends' houses."
"So, we're gonna hit them where it hurts?" Hawk asked.
"Oh, yeah," Margo grinned, "Get the dirt, coerce them, twist their words, whatever you gotta do."
"And we'll be there to help them," Juniper clenched his fist, "Those Louds are gonna regret the day they crossed us!"
"Relax," Janice poked his shoulder, "We'll get them either way."
"Settled," Margo said, "Everyone, We'll meet back here in one week to plan our final assault," She turned to Hank and Hawk, "That cool with you two?"
"Hell, yeah," Hawk punched his knuckles, "I'm in."
Strangely...Hank didn't say a word.
When everyone went on their merry way home, Janice and Juniper diverted their path to their local park, while Hank and Hawk were discussing the month ahead of them.
"I forget," Hank scratched his hair, "Why do we have to deal with the family pig sty?"
"Because their all pilots," Hawk said, "You saw how they got that hunk of metal to move, right?"
Hank thought back to hours before the big game. There was an IS demonstration going on at the local mall to showcase the evolving IS technology. The officials brought over a test model purely for showcase. And every single sister, including Lily, was able to move it to some capacity. No one saw, except for Hank and Hawk.
"Yeah? So what?" Hank questioned that event, "What's that got to do with taking them down? I thought we were supposed to just put them down a few pegs."
"Bro, imagine what they're gonna do if they all got to to that femme school," Hawk said, "The whole town's gonna rally behind them and boot us out."
"Ohhhhh...Wait," a very dark thought crossed Hank's mind, "So Lynn...planned that flag?"
"And we fell for it," Hawk hissed, "First, that whiny faggot shoots a few cards with that woman curse, and now the whole family's got the magic touch. Dude, we should rule Royal Woods and Hazeltucky by now. We did all the dirty work, and suddenly they got the spotlight. We ain't gonna use words anymore. It's time to stick and stone the Loud House."
Hank slowed his walk. This wasn't at all what he had in mind, "What about those Phantom Task people that Margo mentioned?"
"Bro, I don't care if Margo becomes a Rep whatever," Hawk waved, "Just as long as we get to bury the Louds," and shut the door to his house.
For once in his life, Hank wasn't entirely sure of this plan. All he wanted was to teach the Louds a lesson, not bury them. He's put people in the dumpster before, but not underneath the ground. He thought that this should be second nature to him
Someone willingly leaving their life on the clothing line without a second thought.
Where has he heard that before?...
("O M GOSH! What happened?! No no no no no, Lincoln stay with me!")
("Speak to me, Lincoln! What happened?!")
("LORI! LUNA! WE'RE GONNA LOSE HIM! WHERE ARE MOM AND DAD?! SOMEONE HELP!")
("What did you do to them?!")
That's right. The start of his second attempt at 7th grade. He saw right then and there the true brutality of bullying. And Hawk was right there beside the flagpole, getting firsthand experience of the thug life...and relishing it. Hawk cheered for more blood and more fists until the Louds showed up with the teachers. Hank was just...lost. He wasn't able to comprehend such a nasty level of violence in a middle school. He thought, what if that happened to him?
He ended up allying with Hawk, switching schools to Hazeltuckey, getting held back another grade, and toughening himself up so he could push back against any threat. But somewhere along the way, he completely forgot about why he toughened himself up and started getting roped into the bullying business, leading Hawk headfirst on his many exploits and brashes.
But whereas Hank had the good fortune of forgetting his reason for getting tough, Hawk didn't. Hawk never forgot. In fact, he relished in the fight. Since the two met, he wanted to fight against him, and then, he wanted to fight with him. He always looked for ways to dominate whoever he saw.
"Ugh, goddammit, why now?..." Hank was suddenly questioning everything he had ever done, "This is what I've always done, right?! This ain't nothing new!" Yes, this was something new, since their targets included a baby. "It's nothing special," he shook his head, "That devil woman got to your head...we're just expanding our territory, that's all." He assured himself that everything would be fine and went back home, "No more candy for us...I gotta think this over..."