Author Notes - So I have a bit of a goal in mind when it comes to this story. See, a common criticism of the movie is that we really only see how the situation is affecting four characters for the most part: Mirabel, Luisa, Isabela, and Bruno. Oh, and Abuela, obviously. The other members of the family - especially Pepa's side of it - don't get nearly enough focus, thanks to the movie having only 90 minutes to work with.

But this is a LITERARY work, which can be as long or as short as it needs to be. So, I want to give each Loud sister at least one scene (or multiple small scenes, as is the case with a couple) to show off their gift and how it affects their life. Of course, that's nine girls to worry about (Lily doesn't have a gift yet), so that might end up being an impossible task. Still, I will be trying my hardest. I just want this story to be a different enough experience from the movie so copyright doesn't hunt me down for lunch, while also trying to maintain my artistic integrity. If I have any left at this point.

By the way, 'Ruidosa' is literally just the Spanish word for 'loud'. I know, I really strained my creativity on that one (obligatory sarcasm clarification).

CHAPTER TWO - LISA'S GIFT CEREMONY

The Fox Quintuplets had been staring at him for a good minute or two before any of them got their words back.

'You don't have a gift?!' Pam cried. 'You must be so sad!'

Lincoln smirked, and puffed out his chest. 'Well, no, I'm not. I'm actually just as special as my sisters, thank you very much.'

With the best timing ever - or worst timing ever, depending on your perspective - Lynn burst through the open front doors so quickly that you could miss it just by blinking. She stopped on a dime in the middle of the plaza, and tossed the peanut butter jar over to Rita.

'Stinkoln told me we were out.' She said, wiping her brow. 'So I went to get some more. Oh, and while I was there, I helped those guys finally finish that new church. When I got there, it was still a bare frame! Luna told me they wouldn't shut up about it. I think they might want Lori to move it later though.'

Lincoln gave her a look to highlight her unusefulness in this situation. Lynn, in response, flashed a nervous grin and dashed away into another room. Which room? Anyone but the one Lincoln was in.

Pam gave Lincoln a look of her own. 'Are you sure you're okay with not having a gift?'

'Uh, y-yep!' Lincoln replied, his voice as shaky as his smile. 'I'm special too!'

His nerves locked up when Luan approached him with a stupid grin on her face.

'Oh, Lincoln does have a gift!' She said, before she changed her form and voice to resemble his. 'The gift of DENIAL!'

Lincoln groaned. 'Luan, that's-'

'LUAN!' Rita yelled.

Everyone went quiet as their attention fell upon the impatience matriarch. That glare would get anyone to stop in their tracks.

'We don't have time for your jokes!' Rita said. 'We have to make sure Lisa's gift ceremony goes well.'

Luan morphed right back into her regular self, forgetting to change her hair colour from white to brown for a moment. 'Yes, Mom…'

Lisa's gift ceremony was approaching. It was no exaggeration to say that Lincoln had been trying to help with literally everything. Alas, anything he wanted to do could be done better by someone else.

Carrying the box of fireworks? Lori could lift that and a couple of tables all at once.

Setting up the streamers on the wall? Lynn could place them all faster than he could say the word 'streamers'.

Even just be a back-up? Luan was the most efficient backup anyone could want.

And seeing Leni flaunting her flowers while remaining seemingly oblivious to how 'perfect' everyone thought she was - when she almost certainly knew - didn't help anything. And his mother's words (which were spoken to him after he nearly set something on fire, don't ask) would continue to haunt him for the rest of the night.

'Maybe you should leave the preparations to someone more… capable.'

But, in spite of everything, the ceremony was ready. The sun had set, and Rita had fetched the sparkling candle that she only brought out for the most important of occasions. The matriarch of the Louds stood at the foot of the steps, enveloping seemingly the entire plaza with the candle's soft orange glow. Many people from the town - non-magical friends of the Loud family - filled the plaza, full of Lynn Sr's special healing 'Lynn-Sagna' and waiting in anticipation for the lucky little girl to show up. The Loud family themselves, meanwhile, crowded the second storey around the glowing door: the door soon to be Lisa's new room. Hopefully.

'This is the most important time in any Loud's life.' Rita said, speaking almost like a storyteller. 'For this night is when they are blessed with a most wonderful gift, one that will help keep the miracle burning and provide for our lovely town. Tonight, we will see Lisa Marie Loud finally receive the gift she has been anticipating for oh so long.'

Lisa, done up in an adorable little green dress, had watched the whole thing from behind a doorway. The red carpet leading up to the stairs was already rolled out, and the guests crowded around on both sides like a wedding. No one had seen her yet, and thank goodness because her little hands wouldn't stop shaking.

'You okay, Lis?' Lincoln asked, though he was sure the answer was 'no'.

The five-year-old flinched, having forgotten that her big brother was even there to begin with. Lincoln, like Lana, was wearing a dashing little tuxedo, but was the only other Loud to be with Lisa in this room. All the other Loud siblings had to do their gift ceremonies alone - Lisa was so lucky that he was there.

'N-Negative.' Lisa replied. 'Normally I do not feel nervous regarding such events, but… there's so many people. A-And I might not even get a gift. And what if…?' She gulped. 'What if I turn out like Lu- the one who can't be named?'

Lincoln gave her a smile, and knelt to her level. 'Lisa, you will not end up like the one who can't be named. You're not going to see the future and then disappear. I don't think Ruidosa would repeat a gift like that, especially if it convinced the one who can't be named to leave.'

Lisa looked back at the crowd, and gulped again. Some of them, especially the kids, began twitching from the anticipation. A young girl - who Lisa recognised as Darcy - could hardly contain her excitement and bounced all around. How could she keep her in waiting for so long?

'How about I go out with you?' Lincoln suggested, not caring about how much that sounded like a date request. 'I might make it seem less scary.'

'You can't do that!' Lisa cried. 'I-I do not believe your presence would lower my chances of getting a gift - really, I don't - but if I do fail to receive one… everyone will surely blame you for it.'

'Hey, I don't care about that. You're clearly nervous, and I want you to be happy. So let me hold your hand!'

Lisa almost said no, to be final this time, until she looked back at the crowd. She analysed her symptoms: increased perspiration, higher heart rate, sudden desire to see the lavatory facilities… all signs of heightened nerves. So, without saying a word, she reached up and grabbed Lincoln's hand. That was all that was needed for her anxiety symptoms to die down significantly.

'Alright,' Lincoln said. 'Let's go.'

The spotlights - controlled by a couple of Lana's animal friends - shone upon the brother-and-sister duo as they stepped up onto the red carpet. Everyone's eyes fell upon them, and the only things you could hear were Luna's quiet piano playing and worried whispers from people in the crowd. Lincoln's smile slowly faded away; he could hardly make anything out, but he knew from Luna's cringing that they were talking about him.

Keep it cool, he thought, glancing down at his little sister. Do it for Lisa. She needs you now more than ever.

He didn't dare abandon Lisa now - he could feel her palms growing sweaty. The stairs - previously tucked away into a ramp by Ruidosa, so no one could get up there early - popped out and revealed themselves to the Louds, and they embarked up the staircase. Lincoln looked down at Lisa again; the poor thing was shaking now, just a little. She hardly ever seemed nervous, so it hit a little harder when she did.

As they approached the top of the stairs, another sound could be heard - light thundering coming from Lola's cloud, that suited that nervous-as-heck look on her face. She was biting down on her finger, and the resulting pain only made the cloud thunder more.

'Lola!' Rita said, in the loudest whisper possible. 'Clear skies!'

The princess Loud took a deep breath, and adopted a grin that didn't look real in the slightest. Her cloud lightened to white and stopped emitting thundery sounds, though it did not go away. The other Loud sisters didn't seem any less nervous, though Lori was recording the whole thing on her phone. She had done so ever since Luna's ceremony, though she had deleted Lincoln's for obvious reasons.

'Now it is time,' Rita said, continuing with the storyteller's voice. 'For Lisa to receive her gift. To become a true Loud and help out our fair town.'

Lincoln said nothing, but those words rubbed him all sorts of the wrong way. 'Become a true Loud'... Did she even understand the implications behind such a statement? Or was it all just for the bit? He chose to ignore it, for the sake of Lisa and her nerves.

'Go on, Lisa.' Rita said, as the candle glowed brighter. 'Touch the doorknob, and Ruidosa will bless you with a wonderful gift.'

Lisa gulped, and willfully let go of Lincoln's hand; gift retrieval was exclusively a solo mission. It didn't make watching it any easier for Lincoln, though. With a shaky hand, she reached out and touched the doorknob of the glowing door. As he watched her, Lincoln couldn't help but remember his own gift ceremony.

He touched the doorknob.

The door stopped glowing, and disappeared.

He looked up at his mother, confused.

'Mommy, where's my gift?'

She wasn't any less shocked.

'Lincoln, you… what has happened to the magic?'

She went to consult Lu… the one who can't be named.

The one who can't be named was never seen again.

The door didn't vanish, which was a good sign. Lisa could feel some odd yet not unpleasant tingling sensation travelling through her body, from her hands all the way to her feet. And - as per tradition - the door did not reveal its true design just yet.

'So, did Lisa get her gift?' Leni asked.

'I hope so…' Lola muttered. 'Or everyone's gonna be swept away in a hurricane.'

'Come on, come on!' Lynn Sr cried, ready to break down. 'Let my little sweetie find out what her gift is!'

It so happened that Lori was so on edge about what her little sister's gift was, that her hands inadvertently clenched. While her phone was still in her grasp. The moment she heard the 'crunch' of plastic and glass, she flinched and dropped the wreckage of her phone onto the floor.

'AH!' She yelped, before she stamped the floor in frustration, leaving a noticeable dent that Ruidosa had to fix itself. 'Dang it! That's literally the fifth phone I've gone through this month.'

'You really phone it in when it comes to phone care,' Luan said with a laugh, morphing into her eldest sister. 'Don't you, Lori!'

The eldest sister groaned. 'Luan, I can't help it. It isn't an easy gift to control! And don't give me that look. We both know that I could literally throw you so hard that you loop around the whole world. Twice.'

Luan flashed her a nervous grin and shifted back into her regular form, stepping away from the sister blessed with super strength.

'Well, that sucks.' Lynn remarked. 'Want me to rush it down to the phone shop to get you a new one? You know you get a special 'Lori Loud' discount, right?'

Lori groaned. 'No, it's fine. Let's just… let's just see what Lisa's gift is.'

For reasons even Lisa herself couldn't explain, she felt herself drawn to that destroyed phone. Which was odd, seeing as she was never one to use a smartphone, though she understood the benefits. Following up on this instinct, assuming it was gift-related, she walked up to the destroyed phone and picked it up. The moment she touched it, it began to glow.

'Wait!' Lynn Sr yelled. 'I think it's happening!'

The glow vanished in only a couple of seconds, and before everyone's eyes was a perfectly repaired phone, looking as though it had never been crushed in the first place. In fact, it looked as though it was straight-up out of the box, perfectly polished for a presentation! Everyone else gasped.

'Guys,' Lana said. 'I think we've found out what Lisa's gift is!'

But it did not stop there. The newly-repaired phone emitted a series of happy-sounding beeps, which prompted Lisa to giggle. Yes, giggle. Don't tell Lisa that she giggled, or she'll be mad.

'You're welcome.' She said, to the phone. 'It would be a shame if you remained broken, wouldn't it?'

'WAIT!' Lori yelled. 'Did you just repair my phone with a simple touch, and then talk to it?!'

Lisa nodded. 'It would appear so. I normally would not want to jump to conclusions, but it is safe to say that my gift may involve not just being able to repair machinery, but also communicate with it too.' She looked back at the screen. 'And possibly more than that, since I may have convinced it to keep filming this ceremony. Which is enough, I think. You should return to Lori now.'

The phone flew out of her hand and bounced around until it jumped directly into Lori's grasp again, returning to a regular phone at once. Except, of course, it was still filming the ceremony despite the damage it had received. Before anyone had the time to celebrate, the glow from the door faded. In its place was a gorgeous wooden carving of Lisa herself, surrounded by all sorts of electronically-charged devices - computers, phones, ovens, lightbulbs… even a hair dryer! When Lisa saw this door's design, she gasped and unleashed a series of adorable squeals.

'My gift is related to technology!' She said, squealing some more. 'That's perfect!'

All of the Louds, even Lincoln, and the crowd below clapped and cheered for the little Loud and her brand-new gift. Fireworks illuminated the skies and house with all the colours of the rainbow as Lisa danced around like your typical happy five-year-old, acting her age for the first time in a while. Lincoln smiled, hardly able to handle the cuteness assault upon his heart.

'We have to see my room!' Lisa declared, to which Ruidosa responded by swinging her door wide open.

The little Loud dashed inside so quickly that she almost put Lynn to shame, and found her jaw on the floor at the sight. Just like all the other Loud sisters, it was no ordinary bedroom. For Lisa, it was like a massive science lab, much like those she could only dream about going to before. Shiny white panels, 500ml beakers on a bunch of organised desks, bookshelves full of big thick books, a cloning pod or two, and - of course - a big green bed on a presentation stage… it was just like the room of her dreams!

'EEEEEEEEE!' She squealed, running inside. 'I LOVE IT!'

The other Louds rushed into the room, followed by the rest of the party's guests. Lincoln tried to follow after Lisa immediately, but Luna rushed past him before he could. When he tried to go in after her, he had to jump back from all the guests charging in. Ruidosa even moved the tiles a little to make sure he wasn't in the way of the crowd.

'Thanks for that, Ruidosa…' He said, wiping his brow. 'But next time, can you get me in before the townspeople?'

The tiles flapped at him angrily. Yes, you read that sentence correctly.

'Hey, I do think the townspeople are cool!' Lincoln replied, apparently understanding that. 'But my family let them in before me.'

The tiles flapped again.

'Oh, right, I should get going!'

Lincoln rushed into the room as quickly as he could, even though he knew that Ruidosa would never lock him out of a room that he wanted to go into (unless it was an occupied bathroom or something). Once inside, he too was stunned at the sheer size of Lisa's personal science lab - it was exactly the kind of room he wanted her to have.

'Ruidosa…' He murmured. 'You really went all out with this one, didn't you?'

The door swung about in a manner that could only be described as excitedly. If you can't buy the house being alive yet, you are not going to make it through this story. Lincoln looked around everywhere at all the little details that Ruidosa poured into this room: even the periodic table was correct down to the tiniest dots, colour-coded to look like a rainbow only because it looked nice.

'Alright everyone!' He heard his mother say. 'Let's all get together in a photo to celebrate this occasion!'

Lincoln gasped - his family was in the middle of the glorious science lab, right in front of an expansive desk with Lisa's name literally on it. Clyde and his fathers had the camera set up, ready to take a picture of everyone in the Loud family.

Except for the only son.

'Wait!' Lincoln yelled. 'It's a family photo, remember?'

He ran across the room, but it was a lot bigger than it may have seemed from the outside, just like everyone else's magical bedrooms. The others were already striking a pose, showing off their wondrous gifts. Lori was holding up a desk. Leni was sprouting flowers all over her beautiful hair. Luna had her hand to her ear, to really take in the cheers. Luan looked mostly the same, but had changed her hair to look like Lisa's. Lynn stayed in a mid-run pose. Lana had multiple frogs and Wendy by her side. Lola had created a wonderful little rainbow. Lynn Sr held a spatula, while Rita held Lily. And, of course, Lisa was in the middle, being elevated by a new pod-like invention her gift had allowed her to build in seconds.

'Say 'Ruidosa'!' Clyde said.

'RUIDOSA!'

'WAIT!'

The flash already went off. Lincoln had to cover his eyes, and when he looked back he saw his entire family surrounded by the massive crowd. He had to climb up onto another desk - being careful not to spill the chemicals - to get a chance to see them over all the people.

'So Lisa,' Lynn Sr said, as everyone stopped striking poses. 'How do you feel about your gift?'

A few more squeals escaped Lisa's mouth. 'I love it! With a gift like this, I can invent machines faster than ever before! Like this cryogenic pod. I'll never have to worry about warm juice boxes again!'

'And imagine how many people you can help!' Rita said. 'It doesn't seem like anything you create or fix needs to be plugged in, so you'll be a great help if the power ever goes out.'

Lisa's smile faded, for just a moment. 'Yes, that sounds wonderful…'

'Lori!' Luna said. 'Get the piano again. I think we need a little bit of music for the party!'

Lori emitted a slight groan. 'On it.'

The eldest sister ran right by her only brother, and came back in less than a minute with the piano in her hands. The crowd, despite having seen this feat for years now, still couldn't help but to 'ooh' at the sight. She placed it down right next to her family, dusting her hands off.

'Thanks, brah!' Luna said.

She played an excited dance tune on the piano, able to hear every single nuance in every single key to make her music sound as good as it possibly could. Through just a single instrument, she encouraged everyone to start dancing rather awkwardly but still enjoyably.

'Oh, Leni!' Rita said, pulling said daughter aside. 'Look over there. It's Bobby!'

Rita pointed over to the clumsy boy in question, who was pouring a drink for his little sister before pouring a drink for himself. Upon seeing him, Leni laughed rather nervously.

'Yep, that's him!' She said. 'He's, uh… cute?'

'A perfect husband for a perfect girl!' Rita said, before walking away to dance with her own husband.

Leni waved at Bobby, still smiling nervously, and Bobby just casually waved back as though he saw herself as nothing more than a friend. No one noticed Lori gritting her teeth or clenching her fists… once again destroying her own phone.

'Dang it!' She yelled. 'LISA!'

Lincoln watched all of this from afar, not at all wanting to speak up for he might ruin his sisters' night. He tried to smile, because it was truly a fantastic thing to celebrate. Lisa looked so happy with her new gift, though she looked just a little annoyed with already having to fix Lori's phone again. Lana howled alongside her wolf friend, and Luan shapeshifted into just about everyone at the party to make them laugh, and everyone else was simply happy to be there.

'Don't be upset, Lincoln…' The boy muttered to himself. 'Don't feel regret or sad at all…'

He didn't want to get mad at his family, for he knew it wasn't intentional. They would never exclude their brother on purpose. He didn't even blame them for it - how could they notice him when he was the only member of the family who didn't shine?

'I'm fine… I'm fine…'

It had happened for Lana and Lola's gift ceremony too. He was so young when it happened, but he could still remember it. His sisters and parents all danced together to celebrate the twins' new gifts and new room, but acted as though he wasn't even there. And the less said about his gift ceremony, the better.

With a sigh, he turned around and headed for the door.

'Admit it, Lincoln.' He said to himself. 'You're not fine. You can't move the mountains. You can't make the flowers bloom. You can't heal what's broken…'

Taking one last look at the celebrations, he stepped out the door. No need to drag everyone else's mood down, just because he was giftless. He approached the edge of the balcony and looked up at the window on the highest tower visible from the plaza. When Rita didn't need it for a gift ceremony, the candle would often rest right in that window, and Ruidosa would guard it with its 'life'. The most important thing in their lives, the Loud kids had been told.

He hung his head over the rails and sighed. 'I just don't understand… all my sisters got their gifts. And I'm happy for them. I really am! But why didn't I get a gift too? Am I not good enough for one?'

Any thoughts he had about his lack of a gift came to a stop when he noticed a single red shingle falling from one of Ruidosa's roofs. It slid off from its spot and plummeted to the floor, bouncing around until it landed in the middle of the plaza. Lincoln's attention fell upon this. Now, usually, falling shingles wouldn't be all that unusual. But this time, it was very strange for one reason and one reason only.

In his twelve years of living in Ruidosa, he could not recall a single time its shingles ever fell.

Author Notes - Coming up with new gifts for Lisa and Lynn was an experience. Lynn was easy: super speed is a common go-to superpower, and it suited her quite well. Lisa... wasn't so easy. I struggled to come up with something that suited her, until I found out that Encanto had a cut character whose gift was instantly repairing technology with a single touch. So Lisa's a technopath now.

Allocating the gifts in general was kinda fun. Some were obvious. Both Luan and Camilo are the jokesters, Lana and Antonio are both good with animals, yadda yadda. At one stage, Lynn had strength, Lori had the mood-controlled weathers, and Lola was Miss Flower Power. Then I realised I had nothing for Leni, and I gave Lori the strength instead... I've thought about this a lot, okay? I swear, I'm thinking about this.

Oh, and no, I don't ship Bobby/Leni or anything like that. It's part of the story, alright?