Author Notes - There's no way in heck that I'm getting close to the emotional impact of the original scene. Without 'Dos Oruguitas', I lose by default. But that's not to say that I didn't try, obviously. Just don't expect anything near to the same level as the beautiful scene from Encanto.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN - OF RITA AND LEIA

'Lincoln!'

'LINCOLN!'

'Where are you, Linky?'

The entire family had fanned out in search for the only Loud brother. Lisa and Lily, dubbed too young to search for him on their own, were to stay over at the McBrides' while the others scoured all of Royal Woods. It was not going nearly as well as they would hope.

'UGH, I'm so slow!' Lynn groaned. 'It feels like I broke a leg or something.'

'Luna, can you hear where Linky is?' Leni asked.

'No, I can't hear where he is!' Luna shouted. 'Everything seems way too quiet now! … Sorry, Len. I'm just really bloody stressed right now.'

Lola found herself unable to search after a short while, and she sat down on the curb. 'Oh… I just learnt how awesome my gift is, and I LOST IT!'

'Hops? El Diablo? … Echo?' Lana called. 'Com'on guys. You're meant to be my friends!'

They had forgotten how to function without their gifts, to say the least. Luan still struggled to recognise the form she was now stuck in. Lori hardly rested at all, wanting to prove that she was worth something despite not having a gift anymore. The family searched for hours, peeping through every place they expected to see the boy: Gus's Games and Grubs, Flip's, the Burpin' Burger, even his school, but they found no hind or white hair of him anywhere.

'They still haven't found him!' Clyde cried. 'And they've looked everywhere.'

Lisa sighed, barely keeping back her tears. 'I-I would use my tracking device… b-but it doesn't work without my gift!'

The job became extra difficult because Lincoln himself didn't quite know where he was.

The young boy left the moment everyone's eyes were off him, and he had simply walked and walked until his legs couldn't take it anymore. The only thing he cared about was getting away from everyone else. By the time his legs gave in, he had arrived at a pond he could not remember ever going to. It was a little dark and misty, but the happy croaking of the frogs kept him from panicking. Besides, even at night this pond could not compare to Lucy's old room. That thought made him wince; for all he knew, Lucy had fallen a victim to the collapsing house and his family was indeed down a sister.

He had been a fool, so certain that he had seen a positive vision that his own vision got cloudy.

'I should've known…' He murmured to himself. 'There was no way I would be able to fix the magic…'

He had no idea what to do now. There was no way he could just live here all his life, and the sun was already approaching the horizon. He knew he'd face to face his family sooner or later, but he wasn't sure if he could do it.

'Lincoln!'

His head perked up at the sound of his name. The sound of rustling bushes got closer and closer; someone had definitely found him. Part of him wanted to run away, but he stayed put. He recognised the voice, so it didn't surprise him when his mother was the one who stumbled out of the bushes. She stared for a few seconds in silence, while he stared back at her, before…

'Oh, Lincoln!' She said, tears coming to her eyes. 'Thank god I found you!'

'Mom?'

Lincoln had no time to react, for Rita brought him into a tight embrace immediately. She held him so tight it was as if she was trying to snap his spine, and he was too shocked to say anything. The hug was just too comforting to push away. She must've been hugging him for a few minutes straight before she finally had the courage to let go of him, and it took another minute or two for the air to return to his lungs.

'We've been looking everywhere for you!' Rita said, holding his hands. 'I only thought to look here because we had tried everything else. What on earth made you want to run away?'

Lincoln looked up at her, his own eyes beginning to sting. 'I… I screwed up. I-I was trying to stop the magic from disappearing. But I made Lori's gift fade, a-and Luan was losing hers too, and I thought I was helping out Lola by showing her all the stuff her gift could do, but it only made everything worse.'

'What? No!' Rita knelt down so she could look at her son eye-to-eye. 'You really did help out Lola. That was the happiest I've seen her in years! I never knew she could do any of the stuff she did because I never let her. If I had known what she could do, I…'

She sighed. The misty pond had a moss-covered dock, and although the boards creaked under her feet, she walked until the end and sat on the edge. Not knowing what else to do, Lincoln joined and sat right next to her. It was just a little scary to be sitting on such a rickety dock, but it seemed to be supporting their weight just fine.

'It isn't your fault, Lincoln.' Rita said. 'I-I know that I've been blaming you for so much, but I was so worried about the magic. And after you didn't get your gift, I thought that you could be responsible for whatever happened. And when Lucy ran away…' She winced. 'Oh god, Lucy…'

'I-I thought we didn't talk about her.' Lincoln said, unsure if he should've been saying anything. 'Cos of the visions and stuff.'

The mother sighed. 'Well, seeing as everything has gone wrong, I think it's about time that I admit why we even have that stupid rule in the first place. Your father came up with it because he was so heartbroken to lose a daughter that he didn't want to think about her ever again.'

'That's why we had that rule?! That's… oh.'

'It was the first loss your father ever had to deal with. Well, he lost some pets before, and they were certainly family too, but nothing like his own child. And we both know how emotional he can be. It took weeks before he'd stop putting food at her doorstep. Obviously, it wasn't the right way to deal with it, and I don't think it helped. I told you all not to mention her name because it would upset your father. Then everyone else twisted it to be about her 'scary' visions, and…' She sighed again. 'I should've done something.'

They both went quiet, for there wasn't really much else to say after a revelation such as that. Despite the mist and dim lightning, the frogs and ducks provided a relaxing atmosphere with their cries and splashing in the water. It was oddly relieving, and it relaxed Lincoln enough that he dared to ask his next question.

'I… I don't know if this is too personal…' He said. 'But you said it was the first loss Dad ever had. Did you, um…?'

Though he wasn't able to bring himself to finish it, Rita knew exactly what he was asking.

'Like I said, everything's gone wrong anyway.' She replied. 'And we're already getting personal. You… you may have heard me calling Ruidosa 'Leia' a few times.'

'I-I have.' He said. 'I was going to ask you about that, but it seemed like you wanted to keep that to yourself, so…'

'You see, Ruidosa is just a nickname for our house. The Santiagos suggested it; it's the Spanish word for 'noisy', and it sounded so nice. It took me a while to find out that the house's actual name was 'Leia'. And I only know this because…' She took a moment to gather herself. 'Leia was my big sister. She… she was a lovely woman, always taking care of me when I needed help. Never failing to keep me safe. And she never got to see any of her nieces or her nephew be born…'

Lincoln had been focusing on a frog, but now he stared at his mother with his jaw hanging and eyes wide open.

'Wait!' He yelled, spreading his arms out. 'Does that mean that Ruidosa is actually your…?'

'I'm still not ready to go into the details…' Rita said. 'But I lost my sister just a few months before Lori was born. And then, in my darkest moment, the house came to live and grew. Your dad was blessed with the gift to heal people with food, and I was granted ownership of the magic candle. When Lori got her gift of super strength at the age of five, it started a tradition with us Louds. But I never got a gift either, Lincoln, because giving me a gift would be like giving a band conductor an instrument.'

'That's why you were so concerned about keeping the magic, wasn't it?' He cringed. 'And now Rui- Leia is gone… I'm sorry.'

Rita, without a warning, grabbed Lincoln by the shoulders and twisted him around so they were face-to-face. He flinched, waiting for a proper scolding, only to be met with his mother's terrified eyes.

'Lincoln!' She said. 'Don't you ever think that you need to apologise for this. Ever. This is not your fault. I don't know why you didn't get a gift, but that is no excuse for me to ignore you and tell you to step aside. You were so close to fixing everything, before I stepped in and failed to stop your sisters from fighting. I was so focused on keeping Leia and the magic alive that I… that I ended up losing her again anyway.'

'I-I know,' Lincoln said. 'B-But after so long, I-I still feel like I'm… I'm…'

Rita gave him a smile. 'Look, we've both been through a lot, especially today. I think we're both in need of a good cry. What do you think?'

Lincoln tried to smile too. 'Y-Yeah. That sounds good.'

The boy rested his head on his mother's chest, and both members of the Loud family began to weep. Despite the many tears trickling down their cheeks, they smiled. It felt good to let it all out after so much struggle and torment. Tucked into this embrace, neither really thought about the destroyed house or the disappearing magic. All that mattered was a genuine hug that had been needed years ago, with nothing but the calming ambience of the pond to listen to.

It took a while - they didn't know how long - before their good ol' cry came to an end. They needed an extra minute or two to gather themselves and dry the last few remaining tears, hugging each other the whole time.

'That… that feels a lot better.' Lincoln said.

'It's good to get it all out.' Rita said. 'You know, now that I've finally told someone why I was so worried about the magic, it feels… relieving.'

The boy frowned. 'It doesn't really fix anything though, does it?'

'No, but we're not going to be able to fix anything if we're all upset. Even if we've lost the magic, there's one miracle that I still have.' She gave Lincoln another quick hug. 'And that miracle is you and your sisters.' She gasped. 'Your sisters are worried sick about you! We need to get going.'

She rushed down the dock, but didn't get far before she realised that Lincoln was not following her. He stayed sitting on the edge, sighing into the cold air.

'Lincoln? What are you doing?' Rita demanded. 'Your sisters and father are looking for you!'

'They'll be mad at me.' He said. 'I was the one who started the fight, cos I helped out Lola. I… I think I should wait until the heat dies down.'

'What? No, they're worried about you. We all are! They've hardly rested looking for you. I don't think Lori has rested at all. And when Lisa learnt that her tracking devices don't work without her gift, she…' She took a deep breath. 'You have got to come back, Lincoln. They'll be overjoyed to see you.'

Lincoln got to his feet, but he was still rubbing his elbow. 'I dunno… if they see me again, they might-'

The sound of rustling bushes returned. Rita's hand went straight for her son's, and they inched towards the bushes slowly and surely. Lincoln's heart rate went up; for all he knew, they were about to be mauled by a wild bear, and without his sisters and their gifts to protect him…

Rita peered into the darkness. 'Wait, is that… a swarm of bats?'

'Bats?!' Lincoln repeated, before he smiled. 'Wait, then it could be-'

A shadowy figure emerged from the forest, being carried by a small swarm of bats. Once she was flown into the light, as dim as it was, her identity became clear - long black bangs and pale skin meant it could've been no one else other than…

'Lucy!' Lincoln cried. 'You… you survived!'

He couldn't help but to run forward and give her a big hug. She winced in his tight grasp, feeling the most uncomfortable she had in years. Still, she allowed him to hang on because she didn't want to upset him. Until he squeezed her so tight that she couldn't feel her lungs, so she gently pushed him off.

'Of course I did.' She said. 'You don't live inside the walls for years and never learn how to escape them. I was going to let you know that I was okay, but the whole family was there, and… and I didn't want anyone to see me. Especially not… her…'

Lucy wasn't sure how to react to seeing her mother here. The last time she had seen that face, she was demanded to look into the future. After a good year of being treated like the Devil himself. And here she was, seeing that same face again after seven years of hearing all those awful rumours about herself.

'L… Lucy…?' Rita said, rubbing her eyes. 'Is that really you?'

'Listen, Mom.' Lucy said, her voice somewhat urgent for her standards. 'Don't blame Lincoln for destroying Leia. I was the one who gave him the vision to give Lola a hug. I told him to go, and he did. For once, I should be blamed for this. I just wanted to make sure that-'

She couldn't speak any further, because she found herself in the middle of another tight embrace. This time, it was Rita who wrapped her arms around her. It left Lucy speechless; after so long, after all the things she had done, she had received a hug?

'Uh…' She said, after a few seconds. 'Did I miss something important?'

'Your childhood, Lucy…' Rita said, on the verge of tears again. 'And I missed you. I don't know what we did to make you think that disappearing was the right thing to do, and I'm so, so happy to finally see you here again at last. We thought we lost you.'

'You… missed me?'

Rita broke up the hug to look her in the eye, or where she guessed the eyes were. 'Of course, Lucy! You're my daughter. Oh god, I made you think that I didn't love you… were you really in those walls for all those years?'

'... Y-Yes.'

'Oh, Lucy! You know what? I'm changing the rule. We don't talk about the 'we don't talk about Lucy' rule. Your father had good intentions and his heart was broken, but it only made it worse.' She stood up straight once again. 'Kids, we're going right back home this instant!'

She yanked her son's hand and charged for the bushes, dragging him behind her. She didn't get very far, however, before she realised that Lucy was not following behind them. The gothic girl remained in place, looking as stoic as ever, so still it was like she was a statue.

'Come on, Lucy!' Lincoln said. 'Don't you wanna come back home? Uh, what's left of it, anyway.'

Lucy didn't reply, and simply turned away from them. She stared at the pond, and yet at nothing in particular, in silence. Even for someone like her, this silence didn't seem right. Lincoln slipped out of his mother's grasp and approached his sister slowly and quietly.

'Aren't you coming, Lucy?' He asked.

'Sigh…' She murmured. 'No.'

'Why not? You're a Loud, just like the rest of us.'

'I heard the song, Lincoln. I know what they think of me. I ruined Lola's pageant. Killed Scoots' fish. Lost Lynn the game. Doomed Lori's love life. They're not going to be happy to see me.'

Lincoln chuckled. 'Oh really? Is that why Lynn gave you a big hug after she found you?'

A little bit of blush dotted Lucy's cheeks, especially visible through her pale skin. She must've noticed, since she turned away from him.

'Well, Lynn was always close to me.' She said. 'She… she let me stay in her stinky room before I got my own. The others won't be happy though. Lori was so upset with her vision that she didn't let me explain the rest of it. Sigh… Bobby was only 'betrothed' to another. And Lola's vision said that she would win in spite of the hurricane. And Dad-'

Lincoln smiled, widely. 'Then you've got a good excuse to meet your sisters again! So you can tell them how their visions ended. That oughta make them happy!'

He was lying right through his chipped teeth and he knew it. That wasn't what would make them happy to see her. But he needed to get her to come along, and he would take any opportunity he could.

'Alright.' Lucy said, still as stoic as always. 'I'll explain my visions to them. Maybe they'll accept me that way. If I just stay away from the town, I shouUUUULD-!'

She was not prepared for Lincoln to bring her into a right-hook hug, pressing his face uncomfortably close to hers. She wanted nothing more than for him to break it up and give her personal space, and yet… she kind of wanted him to stay.

'You're coming back, Lucy!' Lincoln declared. 'And so am I. We've got a lot of apologies to give and explaining to do, but all that matters is that we reunite with our family.'

'Come on, kids.' Rita said. 'You're not the only ones who need to apologise. Right now, we've all lost something dear to us.'

The trio charged through the bushes, followed by a swarm of bats, all the way back to whatever remained of their house.

Clyde gently closed the door to his bedroom, glancing at Lisa resting in his bed as he did so. The sun was setting, and no one had managed to find Lincoln yet. The Loud sisters bore witness to Clyde's inelegant breakdown that lasted about an hour, but now that it had ended he had focused on Lisa and Lily instead. Since his fathers were watching over Lily, trying to keep her happy with kitty cats, he had chosen to watch over Lisa. No matter how much the poor five-year-old had insisted she didn't need it.

He couldn't bear to look at the sad look in her eyes a moment longer. To receive a wonderful gift and lose it just two days later… he didn't want to think about that either.

'T-They'll find Lincoln…' He told himself, failing to be convincing. 'I-I'm sure of it!'

They were the same words he had been telling Lisa, while she exhausted herself trying to make a tracking device without her gift. It didn't take long until she needed another nap. His next session with Dr Lopez was sure to be an interesting one…

'Oh… what are we gonna do?'

'LINKY! LINKY!'

That perked him out. He could hear Lily's voice from the living room, all the way down the hall. And, surprisingly, she sounded happy as she called out her brother's name.

'Clyde!' His father Howard said, leaning into the hallway. 'You have to see this. Lincoln's on the news. They found him!'

Clyde could hardly believe his ears. 'Wait, what?!'

He dashed to the living room TV quick enough to make Lynn run for her money, and he saw Katherine Mulligan on the screen with Lincoln, Rita, and a little girl who he couldn't recognise. The blacked-haired girl didn't seem to like the light very much, and the family was walking right across the screen like the camera wasn't even there.

'I knew they'd be found.' Harold said. 'The Louds wouldn't disappear just like that.'

'... have the missing Louds right here!' Katherine said. 'Mrs Loud, do you care to tell us how you managed to find your missing son? Is that the infamous Lucy who reportedly killed Scoots's goldfish? And how are your daughters and husband coping with losing their gifts?'

Rita stopped just to glare at her. 'Mother instinct, maybe, and none of your business. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get my kids home.'

Clyde didn't wait a moment longer, and slammed the door to his bedroom wide open. The resulting sound yanked Lisa right out of her nap, and she glared at him like an angry cat.

'You better have a good reason for waking me up…' She muttered.

'YOUR BROTHER IS BACK!' Clyde yelled, close to spiralling again. 'He was on the news! HE'S RETURNING HOME RIGHT NOW!'

Lisa gasped. 'That's most certainly a good reason. Take me home at once!'

Author Notes - When I was first writing this, the idea was that Leia was actually Rita's first daughter, before Lori was born. But then I realised that the death of their child would probably screw up Lynn Sr WAAAY more, so I made Leia her sister instead.