Chapter 3: Surrender
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A man and woman sat in their living room, waiting for their son to leave the bathroom. He said he had a surprise for them when they got home and told them to wait in the living room.
The man had spikey black hair, his eyes were a bright hazel, he had a light tan on his skin from working out in the sun most days, and he wore a black short-sleeved shirt with a pair of dark gray jeans and a pair of brown boots. This was Walter Walker, the man who had adopted Lincoln.
Meanwhile, the woman, who was a Korean-American had long brown hair that was pulled back into a braided ponytail, her eyes were a dark blue, she wore a red tank-top, a pair of loose light blue jean shorts, thigh-high light brown heeled boots, and had a few tattoos of Asian culture on her arms, and a few that led to her back. This was Tasha Fisher, Walters at the time Fiancee.
"Are you ready?" Came the voice of their son from the bathroom
"Lincoln, come on, we've been sitting here waiting!" Tasha cried with excitement "we can't wait anymore!"
"Alright..."
From the bathroom, the door opened and out walked their son, who turned out to be a 13-year-old Lincoln Loud, though there was one change about him, one that surprised and shocked the two adults.
"Lincoln... Your hair..." Tasha said in shock
No longer was his hair white, instead, it was now dyed black. Lincoln looked bashfully at the two adults
"Is... Is it bad?" Lincoln asked shyly
"No," Said Walter, "I think it's great"
Walter then rushed up to Lincoln and pulled him into a hug, Lincoln was stunned by his action but then he felt another pair of arms wrapped around him and he saw that it was Tasha.
"I know it must have been hard Lincoln... And it's ok, it's ok to let go" Walter said softly "It's ok"
"Don't feel ashamed about this Lincoln" Tasha said softly "we understand"
It was at this point that Lincoln could no longer hold it in, he quickly wrapped his hand around them and hugged them back tightly as he softly cried into their chests.
Now, back in the present, Lincoln drove to his family's house, thinking it was the only safe place in the world right now. He drove away from his apartment and from the bigger part of the city, he drove as if he was running from the cops.
Eventually, after driving like a mad man he made an abrupt stop in front of a house within the suburbs. He got out of the car quickly and he looked to see that the lights were still on, he thanked whatever god or supernatural force that his parents were still up and he walked up to the front door and knocked hard on the door. He waited only a few seconds before the door opened quickly and His dad, Walter, looked at him with a surprised face.
"Lincoln? Do you have any idea what time it is?" Walter asked
"I know it's late but... Could I come in?" Lincoln asked, his tone sounded Shakey
Walter looked at his son with concern, "Is everything ok Linc?" Walter asked
"I just... I just really need to talk to you guys right now" Lincoln said, his tone sounding a lot more shakey
Inside the Walker household, Walter handed a bottle of beer to Lincoln as he say in the living room. Lincoln was sitting in a recliner while Walter sat on the couch
"So... They found you" Walter began "it was only a matter of time, Lincoln"
"I know, I know... I just... I just thought that I'd be ready to face them" Lincoln said before taking a swig of the beer
Walter took a sip of beer before looking at his son, "I don't think anyone's ready to face their past, but we have to face it when it comes" Walter said
"Can I?" Lincoln asked "I moved on, I did everything to try and move on from them and got better with my life... And I always thought I'd be able to face them, to say what I needed to say" Lincoln began "but now, I just don't think I'm strong enough" Lincoln finished with a sad chuckle
"Not alone you're not," Walter said "you're afraid of doing this alone as you've always been, but your not alone son, you have me and your mother as well as Marshal, we're here to help you through this... Just like we have always been"
Lincoln took a sip of beer before he looked to his dad with a soft smile, "thanks dad" Lincoln asked
Walter smiled, "of course" he replied, "So, what are you gonna do?"
Lincoln thought about it and he took another sip of beer before finally looking to his dad, "will you be there with me?" Lincoln asked
Walter nodded with a soft smile, "Every damn step of the way" Walter told Lincoln
Lincoln smiled softly and nodded, "then I think... It's time to face them"
Walter smiled at his son and felt a sense of pride in Lincoln. Walter and Lincoln toasted their beers together and Tasha just watched from afar and smiled at the moment between her husband and her son. She too took pride in Lincoln's actions and she would be with Lincoln every step of the way with what was about to happen...
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Lily was beyond frightened, she was utterly terrified. She currently stood in front of the Walker house and she stood alone. Her mind was racing with a million terrible thoughts that ate at her self-confidence, she tried to take a few deep breathes and tried to shake her mind of the bad thoughts as she stood at the door of the house. The house her brother grew up in.
She sighed before she raised her hand quickly and knocked rather quickly on the door. She did this in order to get the scary part over, like ripping a band-aid off. Lily then waited a few seconds before the door opened and in front of her stood a young man. The young man had black hair and a freckled face. He wore an orange long-sleeved t-shirt, with the sleeves being a white color, he also wore a pair of dark navy blue jeans and a pair of black and white converse shoes.
"Um... Hi, I'm Lily-"
However, she didn't get to finish her introduction as the young man kneeled and swept her up into a tight hug. Lily was surprised by the sudden but the Young man broke the hug and looked at her right in the eyes as he kneeled. Lily noticed that he had tears in his eyes but he smiled at her
"Hi Lily," he said with a sniffle "I know you don't recognize me, but that's because I dyed my hair... It's me, Lincoln"
Lily looked at him closer and then noticed that his hair was indeed dyed.
"I know that this is really strange, but I am-"
however, it was Lincoln's turn to not finish his sentence as Lily slammed her body right into his and she tightly wrapped her arms around his neck. Lincoln was not the one shocked but he heard Lily sniffle as she wrapped her arms around him tighter and Lincoln just smiled as tears fell and he hugged back.
They hugged for a good while before Lily broke the hug and Lincoln followed suit and the two long-lost siblings looked at each other with teary eyes and smiles.
"Why don't you come in, There are two very important people I want you to meet and I'm sure they are just as excited to meet you," Lincoln said
Lily just nodded and Lincoln led her inside the Walker house and closed the door behind them. Once she entered, she was already in the living room and she saw that it was empty.
"Mom! Dad!" Lincoln called "She's here" he announced
Lily then watched as two older adults walked out of another room, which looked like a kitchen, and stood right in front of her. "H-Hi! I'm Lily loud" Lily introduced herself quickly
Tasha and Walter smiled at the little girl before walking over to both her and Lincoln.
"It's ok to be nervous, Lily, we know this must be... well really awkward for you," Tasha said "But trust me when I say that you have nothing to be worried about"
Lily began to feel a lot calmer thanks to Tasha's words and smiled at the woman, Tasha smiled back and asked Lily to please sit down. Lily did so and sat on the couch next to Lincoln while Walter sat in a chair he brought in from the kitchen and Tasha sat in the recliner.
Lincoln looked to his sister, "Lily... how old are you now?" Lincoln asked
"I'm 14 now," Lily said with a smile
Lincoln smiled, "wow... 14 already," He said "I can still just remember you as a baby" He finished with a chuckle
Lily blushed out of embarrassment but smiled still, "And how old are you Lincoln?" Lily asked
Lincolns smiled, "I'm 23," Lincoln said
"So your still close to Lucy's age, huh"
Lincoln was a little stunned to hear that Lucy was in her early 20's but it wasn't unexpected, after all, even she had to grow up. He nodded and Lily, "Yeah, I guess I am" Lincoln replied, his voice sounding a bit sad. It was at this time that Lincoln knew it was time to confront the elephant in the room. "Lily, I think it's time that you told me how you found me," He said
"Um... well, Lisa was actually the first to find you," Lily said
Lincoln was shocked to hear this, "Lisa found me first?" Lincoln asked
"I was surprised as well... she hasn't told anyone else about you yet," Lily said "She's afraid that we'd come and uproot you from your new life"
'and once again, she proves to be the smart one' Lincoln thought with a smile, "Well, I guess I got to thank her for that" Lincoln said "Honestly, I don't think I'm ready to see everyone just yet" Lincoln told Lily
"that's another reason why I'm here," Lily said
"You came to bring me home... I'm not surprised" Lincoln said "But I can't go, Lily... I just can't go back to being a Loud"
"But Lincoln-"
"I know you really want me to come home, but this is my life now... this is who I am now," Lincoln told Lily "I can't just stop living this life and go back to my old one"
"THAT'S NOT IT!" Lily cried
Lincoln was taken aback by her sudden outburst as was Walter and Tasha
"I want you to come back and be my older brother more than anything... but I'm old enough to know that won't happen..." Lily said as tears formed in her eyes
"Lily..." Lincoln began
"The reason I'm here is that it was dads last wish"
Lincoln's eyes widened and he looked at his youngest sister and saw a few tears leave her eyes. Lincoln's mind was now a mix of emotions, there was a part of him that said "good riddance" while another part of him felt saddened by the news.
"Dad wanted us to try and find you one last time and bring you home after he passed..." Lily began as she wiped some tears away, "not everyone was on board with the idea, they either thought you were dead or just gave up hope... I sort of did too, but that was until Lisa told me that she had found you, I don't know how she found you, and really I don't care... I was just happy that I had the chance to know you were still around and that I could meet you" Lily told Lincoln
Lincoln still felt confused about all of this, he didn't know how to feel about all this sudden information that was just dumped on him.
"I know this is unfair of me to ask... but please come back Lincoln... even if it's just for a few weeks please come back with me..." Lily begged
Lincoln looked at her and he could see the pain in her eyes as she begged. A part of him told him that going back was a big mistake, but yet another part of him told him that maybe it was truly time to go back, that it was time to face his past. Lily, meanwhile was scared, scared that he wouldn't come back home with her, that he'd refuse and this would be the last and only time she'd meet her brother face to face. She was scared of failing her dad's final wishes and she was scared of failing to bring back her brother home to her family, she was scared of failing to bring back her brother to her... she was scared of failing to finally have some sort of relationship with her older Brother...
"Lincoln?" Lily asked
Lincoln looked her in the eyes and knew what she meant by calling his name... she needed an answer... and Lincoln was going to give her one...
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Currently, within Royal words and more specifically, the Loud House, Rita Loud was cooking lunch for her family that remained home back after the funeral of their father. Luna and Sam, along with their son Lemmy were staying at the house. Lola, Lana, and Lisa were still home of course, and they waited for Lily to return home from whatever trip Lisa had sent them on.
Rita didn't know what Lisa and Lily were planning, but whatever it was, Rita didn't know how to feel about it.
As for the rest of her older daughters, they went back home and went to keep living their lives with their jobs and own families.
Currently, Luna was out for some reason while Sam was with Lemmy in the Living room. Lola and Lana were out of the house as well and with their friends. Rita didn't mind that as she felt that they needed to be out and with friends more than ever.
Just then, Lisa had entered the kitchen and looked at her mother, "Has Lily returned yet?" Lisa asked
"She said she was coming home soon" Rita replied "What is going on Lisa? why did you send your sister to lancing for a few days?"
Lisa looked at her mother and then pushed up her glasses, "You'll hopefully see why mother" Lisa said before walking out of the kitchen.
Rita returned to cooking, but just as she did, there was a knock at the door,
"I'll get it," Rita heard Sam say from the living room
Sam put Lemmy in his crib and then went to the door and opened it. Once she opened the door, she saw Lily standing at the doorway and next to her was a younger man, he wasn't alone as there was another younger man and an older adult couple at bottom of the steps
"Hey squirt" Sam greeted with a smile, "Who are these people with you?" Sam asked
"Sam? Sam Sharp?" The man asked
Same turned to him with a bit of a glare, "Yeah, That's me" Sam said "I'm the guitarist for-"
"I know who you are... I just can't believe how much you've changed!" The man said with a bit of a smile
"I'm sorry... But have we met before?" Sam asked him as she looked at Lily with a worried look, Sam even tried to step out and get in between Lily and this stranger
"Sam... Can you get Mom?" Lily asked "and any of my sisters if they're still here... this is someone who I think they should meet," Lily told her
Sam looked at her face and she looked at Lily again with a worried look, but Lily looked fine, Same felt uneasy, but she for some reason did as Lily said and went to go grab her in-Law's. Sam first walked into the kitchen to get Rita first of all people
"Hey, Rita, can you come here real quick," Sam told her
"What's wrong Sam?" Rita asked as she turned to her daughter-in-law
"Some guy and a few other people just came back with Lily and she said that it's someone you should meet," Sam told her
The matriarch of the Loud family looked confused as they weren't expecting anyone to come by, but worry began to form in her and she followed Sam to the front door and Rita was the first person to step in the front doorway and looked at her daughter and the man.
"Lily" Rita said
"Hey, Mom..." Lily began "there's someone I think you should meet," Lily said and then looked at the older man that was next to her
Rita followed her gaze and looked at the young man, he had black hair and a freckled face. He wore an orange long-sleeved t-shirt, with the sleeves being a white color, he also wore a pair of dark navy blue jeans and a pair of black and white converse shoes. She looked at his bright blue eyes, and she then got a closer look at his hair before realizing that it was dyed, she noticed how some of the roots in the front were... a white color. She looked at the young man's face again before she pulled back and gasped as she finally recognized who stood before her. Rita's heart almost stopped for the second time in her life, but this time... this time it was because of pure shock which was followed by joy
"L-Lincoln?" Rita asked as warm tears fell from her eyes
"Hello Rita" Lincoln replied
Rita, without a second thought, hugged her baby boy in her arms. Lincoln hugged back with caution and not as tight. There were still things that needed to be discussed...
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"If goodness is order, evil must be disorder, the straight path or the maze..." - Eugene Ionesco