Back with Lincoln and Lyra, in Lincoln's assigned room, they sat on his bed together, Lincoln leaning his head on Lyra's chest and her arm around him. Lincoln wore his pajamas, as night had fallen it was close to bedtime for him. A bonding experience with a new motherly figure was just what he needed after half a month of neglect from his sisters and parents. Lyra understood him and how he felt, something he believed his sisters, maybe his parents as well, didn't have those previous days. And she trusted him with her own backstory, leading to her gaining a few years of professional experience working with children that struggled with mental health issues.

"Ready for bed?" Lyra asked after having their comforting moment. Lincoln nodded, a small smile returning to his face. He got into bed and snuggled with Bun-Bun.

"...Lyra?" he said.

"Yes, Lincoln?" said the white-haired woman.

"...Thank you," Lincoln murmured. "Thanks for... taking care of me."

"You're welcome." Lyra smiled. "Today was something, though, wasn't it? You made a new friend and you both got to know a few things about each other and your families."

"Yeah..." Lincoln looked sad again, likely under the belief that he was basically the outcast in his family.

"Lincoln?" asked Lyra. Lincoln looked at her. "Do you really feel like you've been... the black sheep in your family?" Now Lincoln knew what that meant and there were several moments where he felt like he didn't even belong in his family.

- Lori once bodily chucked him out of her room when he only accidentally walked in and she broke his Game Goggles in the process.
- All his sisters meddled in his affairs over a bully being a girl.
- They cast him out of his life when he uploaded a video of their comical antics in trying to get an award and be up there with them, leaving him to make himself a laughingstock to get back in their good books.
- They beat him to a pulp over some seat in the family van, which destroyed the whole vehicle.
- He had to slave away to their demands during a camping trip.
- His use of noise-cancelling earphones didn't work out.
- Their family got themselves banned from several public swimming pools.
- His sisters practically ruined Clyde's first sleepover.
- He took the blame for Lucy over clogging the toilet and the other sisters vowed to make fun of him for life over a Princess Pony book.
- They've beaten him up over money.
- Luna once blasted him with her music speakers at maximum volume with enough force to send him flying. How his eardrums survived is anyone's guess.
- Lori called him a monster and threatened to smash him with a lamp table because she blamed him for Bobby breaking up with her and forced him to go on a double date with Ronnie Anne. Lincoln had to kiss Bobby's little sister in front of everyone at the restaurant Jean Juan's just to avoid being on the receiving end on Lori's wrath.
- Luan's April Fool's Day pranking reached astronomical levels, scaring the whole family and possibly threatening them with physical harm. Lincoln had to take blows so that his friend Ronnie Anne wouldn't.
- His sisters got him in trouble at the grocery store and his mom placed all of the blame on him.
- His mom also grounded him over a football incident while he was on a stretcher and being sent to the hospital.
- His sisters forced him to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance and paired him up with multiple girls, getting him into hot water.
- When Lisa was promoted to Lincoln's class, her actions led both his sisters and his closest friends to blame him for everything.
- And did he even need to be reminded of the first Sister Fight Protocol?

And while Lincoln had his own fair share of causing mischief and trying to do things for his own selfish gain, at the most he tried his hardest to make up for these things and it seemed like maybe he had done his own antics because he felt like he had to. It was like if a comedian didn't perform just to make money or even because they loved doing it, but rather felt like they had to. Maybe Lincoln was the black sheep of the Loud family and so he was motivated to earn his place only for several things to fall out of place and fail spectacularly. And then, the darker memories came crashing down on him all at once and he starting crying heavily, his tears beginning to drip onto his pajamas as he squeezed his precious Bun-Bun.

"I'm so sorry, Lincoln," said Lyra, hugging Lincoln and attempting to wipe his tears away. Lincoln sniffled and let out a hiccup.

"I am... I... I-I...I am..." he cried, his speaking almost incoherent.

"You're what?"

"I am the black sheep of my... my..." He let out another fresh sob.

"Lincoln," Lyra said gently. "I don't know what kind of family you come from or the whole extent of what they're like... but there are crazy people upon this Earth and some can be cruel."

"Maybe I deserved it..." Lincoln said suddenly through his tears. "To be-"

"No!" said Lyra firmly. "Do not say that, Lincoln. Even if you did your own fair share of bad things, that does not make you a bad person. And you certainly did not deserve to be cast out of your family or go through anything else they put you through. A truly bad person would not see themselves as bad and they choose to be self-centered and arrogant, thinking the world revolves around them and expect others to be beneath them. That's not you, Lincoln. I see you as more caring and selfless, putting other people's wants and needs ahead of your own. It's just that where you come from, you were taken advantage of for who you are. And no one deserves that." Lincoln sniffled, wiped his nose with his sleeve, and nodded. "Now then... try not to let all this bother you. Get a good night's sleep and I'll be back tomorrow morning. Okay?"

"Okay." Lincoln knew Lyra was right. No family was perfect, but what he was put through at the hands of his sisters and even his parents was just too much. He deserved to be his own person, with or without them.