Lincoln Loud woke up just as the clock marked the 500 hours. He always had this habit of waking up exactly at that time every day; someone might think it was because of some kind of military training shit, nothing farther from the truth.

Back then when he was just a boy living in a house with twelve other people - mostly girls -, a hot bath was something destined only for the ones who were willing to sacrifice precious time of slumber to wake up early and be the first ones in get the first shower of the morning. Early bird gets the worms, I guess.

The man sat on the bed and stretched his body until he heard a soft crack coming from his upper back, then he took his hands to his jaw and the top of his head to crack his neck and get rid of that goddamn pain he got by sleeping in an uncomfortable position. He almost forgot what it was to share bed with someone you love; when he was on his own he slept with many girls - more than he could count -, but with none of them he felt that sensation of wholesomeness sleeping with Lucy gave him.

As he put on his slippers, he stood up and walked towards the corridor. At the doorframe he stopped to look over his shoulder and appreciate the beauty on its more pure state. From all his sisters, Lucy was the one that had this… I dunno… this kind of aura around her. For what his sisters and all the people said, whenever they were with her they felt like the room suddenly felt heavy and the temperature dropped a little bit. It was scary, but not for Lincoln; he found this quite… unique, and it always made him feel relaxed whenever he was going through a hard time.

All that time he was away from home, there wasn't any night he didn't wish to be near her.

Right now she was in the same bed that once belonged to their parents, and from where the white haired boy got up. The soft sound of her breathing was like music to his ears, and the sight of her beautiful, naked body lying in bed, barely wrapped by the covers after a night of passionate love making made him feel just as comforted as a kid running to the arms of his mother.

Moving on, he went upstairs and headed towards the bathroom, and after finishing doing his morning business he walked towards his room.

At least that's what he had in mind, because something made him stop at the door of what used to be Lori and Leni's room. He thought about it for a moment; in the time he's been in the house since he returned he'd never bother in check in his sisters' former rooms. Maybe it was because deep inside him he thought it would be disrespect their privacy; back when he was the man with the plan, if he committed the mistake of enter one of his sisters' rooms without knocking first hell would break loose.

Especially with Lori.

The boy touched the knob with his shaky hand, and after a quick moment he opened the door. It was dark as he suspected, it was still dark outside after all. He reached the switch and turned the lights on, just to reveal that the room was almost empty. Except for some old furniture such as the base of the beds and a nightstand, there was nothing else there. The floor was a little bit dusty and there were webs in the ceiling, but as long as there weren't spiders there was no problem.

As time passed some memories flashed through his mind, just like that time he and Lori read one of her teen magazines in an effort to stay up all night after seeing that cheap-ass horror movie about some farmer who liked to kill people and harvest their organs. Not long time ago he got to see that move again and laughed at the pretty obvious CGI effects when the villain ripped a man´s arms with his hoe.

Yeah, pretty stupid.

Another flash came to his mind as he spotted an old green brooch in the floor. It involved him and Leni when he was like nine years old.

The sky was falling apart as a big storm set upon the city; the lightnings striking and the sound of the thunders didn't really scare him, but he found out that it did for one of his sisters.

It was about midnight when he was lying in bed reading one of his Ace Savvy comics. The storm didn't seem to bother him at all, he was still focused in the epic battle his hero was having against the evil Jackpot. It was too late to have the lights on, so in order to keep reading he used a flashlight and hide under the covers.

An epic outcome was about to take place as Ace Savvy's sidekick, One Eyed Jack arrived to help a pretty beaten Ace. Lincoln didn´t take his eyes off from the comic as the battle went on, but soon he felt a primary urge building in his loins.

Yup, he had to tinkle.

He tried to resist as the end was near, but his body was pressing him hard. With a groan, the white haired boy turned off the flashlight and got of the bed.

Some minutes later after he finished his business in the john, he was completely ready to return to action; he, Ace and One Eyed Jack had unfinished business with Jackpot and he had no time to lose. As he got of the bathroom he headed to his room, but soon he came to a halt as he heard sobs coming from a room. First option was check on Lisa's room since she was the younger sibling, but after making sure she was still sleeping he discarded that possibility. He thought in going in checking Lola's and Lana's room, but as he walked towards their room the sobbing sound decreased, contrary to what happened if he neared the bathroom. The only option left was Lori and Leni´s room, but come on, they're the oldest. Who could possibly…?

As he opened the door, a lightning flashed and illuminated part of the room, lasting enough to let the white haired boy see his sister Leni sitting in her bed and hugging her legs, covering her face and trembling in fear.

"Leni?"

The blonde lifted her head to see his little brother standing at the doorframe with bewilderment on his face. One part of her didn't want her brother to see her like that; what would he think if he sees his elder sister all scared and crying? She was supposed to be the big sister and protect him or any of her little sisters in this kind of situations. "Oh, h-hello Linky."

"Are you okay?" The boy asked with concern. He walked to her and sat in the bed.

"Ah? Oh, yes I am. I-it's just that I, like, don't feel very comfortable with storms. But don't worry, it's just…"

Another lightning flashed through the window, and this time it came accompanied by a loud thunder that roared in the sky. Leni literally jumped in her spot as she covered herself with the cover.

Lincoln wasn't dumb, and he was lucky Leni was a bad liar.

He gazed over Lori's bed, just to find it was still made. He forgot she's in a sleepover at Carol's house.

"Leni, are you afraid of storms?" Lincoln asked innocently. He didn't get an answer. Soon, sobs could be heard again from under her sister's covers, but this time they were louder.

Even though he was just a small kid, he was aware of the situation. He took the covers off, revealing that his sister was whipping the tears out of his eyes. It was pretty obvious for him that she needed help, but on the other hand he had a battle pendant against the forces of evil on his room.

Leni covered his face with his hands as another thunder roared, and to be honest it scared the hell out of him too.

He couldn't just leave her like that; she may be five years older, but she was in need now. Leni have help him countless times when he needed help… or at least she tried, and most of the times it ended bad, but at least she tried. She cared about him and their other siblings as much as a mother would do, and now it was his turn to do his duty as a brother. Ace Savvy and One Eyed Jack were capable enough to face The Jackpot without his help; they could wait for other day.

But Leni couldn't.

He crawled through the bed to reach where his sister was and sat next to her. Leni stopped crying when she felt Lincoln's arms wrapping around her.

"Don't cry Leni." Lincoln said as he rested his head on her shoulder. He wasn't sure what to do since it was the first time one of his sisters needed help with this kind of problem; but something inside was, like, unconsciously telling him what to do. It seemed to work since she stopped sobbing, and after some moments he felt as she returned the hug and buried her face on his chest.

"Please don't go." She said in a more calmed, yet scared voice. It seemed that she was getting sleepy, so he grabbed the cover and set it over them, caring not to move too much.

"I'll never go, I promise."

Yeah, it seems he didn't keep that promise.

The morning came accompanied by a thick cover of snow. Thanks to the snow eater machines the street was clear, but the sidewalk was pretty difficult to walk thanks to the cover of ice which made it too slippery. The time was eight o'clock when black SUV passed through the intersection of Elk and Liberty; on the driver seat was Leni Loud, who had a very important appointment in a couple of hours, and hell, she didn't want to miss it.

At the cross of Texas and Ford she came to a halt and waited for the traffic light to turn green; her fingers drumming on the steering wheel and her right feet waiting to hit the gas pedal. Her gaze looking forward as a couple of children crossed the street. Normally she would let it pass; even though she considered it was too cold for children to be out, it was a normal thing since that time of the year kids were on vacations. But for some reason she took a better view to them: the boy was around eleven or maybe twelve, used an orange jacket and a pair of jeans. Those details didn't pass unnoticed by the blonde, but what seemed to be more noteworthy for her was his white snow hat, the chipped tooth and the freckles on his cheeks. It seemed life wanted to make a joke on her.

A really bad one.

The other kid was a girl like 14 years old wearing a green coat and a black snow hat on her blonde hair. She was grabbing the boy's hand as they both crossed the strip. Leni couldn't help but smile at such sight; she felt her mind floating on a sea of her most precious childhood memories, just like that time when…

*HONK*

The car behind her sounded the horn, taking her abruptly out of her mind. As soon as she saw the green light blinking she shifted to first gear and hit the gas before it turned to amber. The sound a car horn was the most annoying sound she have ever listened; she normally would have cursed the driver, and if he insisted on sound it one more time she would get down from the car and give him a little piece of her mind, but this time she was thankful he did it because if not, who knows how much time she could have spent thinking back on her childhood.

The rest of the way as easy; she procured to take the streets where she knew there wasn't any traffic light or children around and that saved her a lot of time.

Twenty minutes had to pass until she finally arrived to her destination. The woman pulled at the entrance of a nice house; it was white and in front had a big, beautiful garden full of flowers. It wasn't big nor luxury, just a normal house that resembled a lot to hers in Royal Woods. It had this old house design just like her house at Royal Woods; this was what she liked the most.

She killed the engine and got of the car, and after taking a gym bag from the backseat she headed to the front door. Walking through the path in the middle of the garden she could notice the plants weren't normal; from one single stem, three different flowers were growing: one was a rose, the other was a tulip, and the last one… she doesn't know what kind of flower it could be, but after seeing a bee that was flying nearby being captured by some kind of tentacle-like thing that came from inside it, she lost all interest in finding out what that thing was.

Ignoring her surroundings, she continued walking until she reached the front door. In her mind she was convincing herself that she didn't need to resort to this, but deep inside she knew it was a lie. With a heavy sigh she lifted her fist to knock at the door, but just before she could even touch it, it opened itself.

As the door fully opened she realized nobody was around. Leni got into the house at the same time that the door closed behind her. The inside was pretty much as she expected; it had a minimalist style, with only the necessary such as a TV, a couple of sofas, a read lamp and a shelf full of books. Yet, the room felt quite… lonely.

"Long time no see, big sister." A female voice could be heard. Leni couldn't identify where it came from until she saw Lisa coming from the kitchen with a pair of coffee mugs on her hands. She was using one of those white lab coats scientists use or something, a light blue shirt, her usual brown pants and black shoes.

"Five years to be exact, little sister." Leni replied with a sly smile. She dropped the gym bag and sat in the couch as her sister placed the coffee mug in the table in front of her.

"To what do I owe your visit?" Lisa asked while taking a sip to her coffee.

"What? Can't I just come and see how's my little genius sister doing?" Leni asked in a totally fake innocent voice. Lisa just stared at her with narrowed eyes.

"I believe I don't have to tell you how much of a bad liar you are."

Leni sighed. "You're right."She said with a sly smile.

"And I suppose you didn't come just to drink some Coffee, do you?"

"And you're right." Leni said; her gaze now was serious. "I need your help."

Lisa gave another sip to her coffee. "And what could I possibly assist you with?"

"Even though I wasn't around when it happened, I have some knowledge about your case." The woman said as she gave a sip to her cup. Lisa remained stoic, not surprised with her sister's declaration.

"It wasn't classified, so there's no point on recalling that. But, since you already did it I suppose the kind of help you need has something to do with that."

"You´re right." The blonde said. "I can´t tell you much, but I'm going to need your help with a weapon."

Lisa fixed her glasses. "A weapon? Well…" The genius took out a gun from under her coat. It was a Glock 18 with a long magazine. "Give it back after you're finished with it."

On this, Leni looked at her little sister with anger.

"Quit messing around Lisa, you know what I'm talking about."

"Well, if you're expecting me to make a weapon especially for you, then you're losing your time. I was prohibited from making weapons." She said with her normal, indifferent voice.

"Don't give me that!" Leni suddenly stood up and faced her little sister. "I know you still sell weapons to those terrorists!"

An awkward silence set on the room as Leni glared at Lisa with fire on her eyes. The genius didn't seem to be bothered by this, and giving another sip to her coffee she replied. "You have no proves"

Leni inhaled some air, retained and exhaled in an effort to relax a little. Once her pulse returned to normal levels, she sat again on the sofa and reached for the gym bag.

"You know, I thought something like this might happen. That's why I came prepared." The blonde opened the bag, and from it she took a folder, after read some of the papers from it, she handed it to Lisa.

The brown-haired girl took it without taking her eyes out of Lenis. As she read the content on it, her stoic face changed to a mix of surprise and fear. Names, dates, places and more information of her deals with the bad people were all registered on some kind of record with her name on it.

"This is the deal: do what I say, do this job for me and I'll leave you alone. If you refuse, then I think the guys at the FBI would appreciate this information more than you do." Leni said with a serious glance. Lisa was against the wall; she never thought one of her sisters would blackmail her like this. Lola would be the more likely on doing it, but Leni?

She had no choice; there was no way she was going to jail again.

"I guess you win." Lisa admitted with a defeated sigh.

"You let me no option, little sister." Leni said. She really wished Lisa would have accepted when she told her at first, but knowing how her little sister was, she had to have something to encourage her.

"What do you want me to do?" Lisa asked. She sounded kind of annoyed, but Leni couldn't blame her; when she was younger, like, when her head was full of air, she used to be the victim of her sister's blackmailing, especially Lola. At the time she didn't see it as such, but as she grew up she realized what all those 'special favors' her sisters asked her to do really were.

"I want you to build an armor."