No Such Duel

Chapter 12: Richly Deserved Punishments

Meanwhile, at the Juvenile Facility,

The armored truck carrying Lori, Luan, Lynn Jr. Lola, and Lisa was driving for a long time, before it finally reached it's destination. After a few more minutes, the truck finally stopped. The doors opened up, with the guards standing outside, "Alright, everyone out!" one of them yelled. One by one, the passengers in the back of the truck filed out, "Lori, Luan, Lynn Jr., Lola, and Lisa Loud, you're staying the entire summer for charges of willingly being accomplices to the crime of child abuse, several counts contempt of court, and many other charges. Heh, I guess the five of you don't feel too lucky now, huh?" the guard asked unsympathetically.

"Don't get used to us being here! We're just going to try and escape," Lynn declared.

"And where exactly would you go? Something you should know about the Juvenile Facility is that it's situated on an island, just off the shore of Lake Michigan. The only way to get back to dry land is across the bridge, and we have a drawbridge at least half a mile long, and we pull it back up so no unauthorized vehicles can get in and no inmates can get out. Besides, you wouldn't be able to get to the gates leading to bridge anyhow, since the gates are carefully monitored 24/7," the guard explained the layout of the Facility.

"Don't waste your breath on these five, Perkins. They're parents raised them to be lost causes. With the cells each of them are getting, escape is nothing more than a pipe dream," the guard's partner said.

"True. Alright, get moving!" Perkins said, as the Loud Sisters, along with the rest of the new inmates, were all ushered into the building. The Loud Sisters saw some sort of line, leading into a room, where the other new inmates were being ushered into. Soon, it was their turn. They went in one at a time, first with Lori, who was strapped to a chair, restraining her arms, legs, and head, to keep her from moving. A machine was brought down towards her.

"What is that?" Lori asked, a bit nervously, as the machine sprayed some kind of yellow stuff on her cheek.

"Alright, you're done. Go get fitted for a prison jumpsuit," the guards said, pushing the eldest Loud sister out of the room, through a second door in the back. Lori hen saw her reflection in the glass, leading to the office she was to receive her jumpsuit, and was horrified to see a yellow mark.

"NO!" she screamed in horror.

"Get used to it, newbie. Every inmate gets marked when they get sent here. Be fortunate that the mark isn't permanently staying on you," one of the guards said harshly, as the rest of Lori's sisters were ushered in, each with their own yellow marks on their faces. The five of them were fitted for their jumpsuits, and were guided by the guards to a big courtyard, where Warden Venomous and Lila were on a big stage, looking out at the massive crowd of inmates.

"Alright, listen up! For those of you who don't know who we are, I am Warden Alastor Venomous, and this is my lovely wife, Lila. We run things here in the Michigan Juvenile Facility. On the outside world, you all may have had names that made you famous in some fashion or another, for better or for worse, but in here, you all are nothing special! You've all had a hand in committing serious crimes in some fashion or another, and have been brought here so that we can reform your behavior, using any and all methods necessary. And if any of you has any ideas about escaping here, then forget it! Every wall in the entire Facility is made of reinforced steel, so tunneling out is out of the question. And all the air vents can only be accessed through certain areas that none of you will be allowed access to. And even if someone did manage to escape, the marks you received upon arrival here will immediately notify the guard room, dispatching a squad to come and bring you back in. If you fail to cooperate and try to resist capture, then Lila and I have full authority to make your stay here even longer as we see fit!" Alastor explained.

"Given that there are boys and girls among all of you, the Facility is divided into two sections. Alastor keeps watch on the west side of the Facility, where all the boys are held, while I handle things on the east side, which is where all the girls will be held. Because of this divide, interactions between boy and girl inmates are strictly limited. Furthermore, any unruly behavior by ANY inmate will be punished with time in the Box!" Lila said.

"You all will assigned a cell as soon as you're divided. The guards will escort each of you to your respective sides," Alastor said, as the speech concluded. The five Loud Sisters were ushered along with the rest of the female inmates.

"This is ridiculous! We did nothing wrong, and now we're paying for Stinkcoln's mistakes yet again!" Lynn seethed. Despite everything that's been happening to her and the rest of the family, she still believed herself to be in the right.

"Just keep quiet Lynn! Maybe we'll get let out early if we behave," Luan said.

"Wishful thinking, Luan, but I highly doubt they'll be willing to treat us that nicely," Lisa replied, as it was finally their turn to get their cells.

"Alright, Lori Loud, you'll be in Cell 5, Luan is to be assigned to Cell 7. Lynn Jr. will be assigned to *chuckle* Cell 13. Lola will be in Cell 18, and Lisa will be in Cell 24," the guard said, listing off the sister's assigned Cells.

"Wait, we aren't being assigned the same cell?" Lori asked.

"Nope. Policy of the Juvenile Facility. Family members are rarely given the same cell, and you five are no exception," Lila stated coldly.

"Now get moving!" one of the guards said, as five of them took the sisters to their respective cells.

"No way! I'm not going anywhere near anything with the number 13!" Lynn said, refusing to get into her cell, holding onto the door frames. This forced the guard to use a stun gun to get her loose her grip, and was forced inside.

"Well, lookie and what we got here!" one of the Cell 13 inmates said, as she and the other Cell Mates eyed Lynn like vultures, "The Lucky, Lynn Loud Jr.!" she said. There were about 7 other girls in the cell with Lynn.

"Careful Stacy! You don't want to try boosting her ego any more. It's already stuffy in here with only one window, we don't need anymore hot air," another inmate said.

"There's no harm in calling her 'lucky'. After all, that's all she is! All luck, no skill!" the rest of the Cell 13 girls laughed, as Lynn got back onto her feet.

"Dang it, I didn't want to get stuck in here!" Lynn complained.

"Well you're not the only one, Loud. We don't want to be in the Facility anymore than you or your sister do, but this is the fate that befalls anyone who breaks major laws," the first inmate said.

"It's not the Facility I'm worried about. It this cell! It's number 13! That's the unluckiest number in the world!" Lynn exclaimed.

"Well girls, I think it's high time we taught newbie here a little lesson!" the first girl said, as two of the other Cell 13 girls held down Lynn.

"Hey, let me go!" Lynn exclaimed, trying to break free, but the two girls proved far stronger than Lynn, which was something the sporty sister was unable to fathom. A punch to her gut broke her thoughts, as the other inmates in the room began beating her up.

"Here's how things work around here, Loud. For the first week, all newbies are forced to sleep on the floor, instead of their bunk! Secondly, the one who's been here longest gets to make all the calls. Thirdly, don't even think of trying to assert yourself while you're here," the lead cellmate said, as Lynn was thrown onto the floor.

"Man, I bet the others are faring better than we are," Lynn said, holding her stomach.

At the Royal Woods Boot Camp,

Luna and Lana, having just had their heads shaven to have buzz-cuts and got fitted for their military uniforms, were standing at attention, side-by-side with other kids who were also standing at attention, as some military personnel, including their Aunt Rhonda, marched in front of them, "Attention!" one of the Boot Camp officers bellowed.

"I AM SERGEANT HENRY VENOMOUS, YOUR DRILL INSTRUCTOR FOR THE DURATION OF THE SUMMER! YOU ALL HAVE TESTED AND TRIED THE PATIENCE OF YOUR PARENTS OR SOME OTHER FORM OF AUTHORITY TO THE POINT WHERE THEY HAD NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO SEND YOU TO US TO WHIP SOME DISCIPLINE INTO EACH OF YOUR SCRAWNY, UNDISCPILINED BODIES! FROM NOW ON, WHEN I OR ANY OTHER OFFICIAL GIVES YOU AN ORDER, YOU ARE EXPECTED TO FOLLOW THAT ORDER RIGHT DOWN TO THE LETTER! YOU WILL ONLY SPEAK WHEN SPOKEN TO, AND THE FIRST AND LAST WORDS OUT OF YOUR UGLY, FILTHY PIE-HOLES WILL BE EITHER 'SIR' OR 'MA'AM'! DO YOU MAGGOTS UNDERSTAND!" the Drill Sergeant yelled.

"SIR, YES, SIR!" all the kids, including Luna and Lana, bellowed.

"GOOD! NOW WE WILL BEGIN YOUR REHABILITION TRAINING AT 10 HUNDRED HOURS, AT THE OBSTACLE COURSE! UNTIL THEN, YOU ARE DISMISSED TO GET SETTLED INTO YOUR BARRACKS!" Sergeant Venomous yelled, dismissing the group. Fortunately for the two sisters, they were in the same barracks, but the other kids that shared the barracks with them steered clear of them, having heard what they did.

"Luna, what should we do?" Lana asked quietly.

"I don't know, but we just have to do whatever they say. Aunt Rhonda may put in a good word for us to be released early if we behave ourselves," Luna replied quietly.

"I heard that, young lady, and you can forget it!" Rhonda said, appearing from in front of the barracks, "We have a court order to keep you two here for the entire summer to rehabilitate the bad behavior in BOTH of you!" Rhonda said.

"Well, it was wishful thinking," Luna mumbled.

"What was that?" Rhonda asked.

"Ma'am, I said it was wishful thinking, ma'am!" Luna said louder.

"Uh-huh, well you keep your wishful thinking to yourself! And be ready to report to the obstacle course at 10 Hundred hours, both of you!" Rhonda yelled.

"Ma'am, why do we need to wait ten-hundred hours for exercises, ma'am?" Lana asked.

"10 Hundred Hours is 10 AM. It's military talk!" Rhonda replied, as she marched off.

"This is going to be a long summer," Lana commented.

At the Royal Woods Mental Institute,

"Alright Leni, we're going to be doing some tests on your judgment calls. You just answer each question truthfully and to the best of your abilities, alright?" a doctor asked the second oldest Loud child, who had some kind of device attached to her head.

"Ok," Leni replied.

"Good. Now then, first question; You find that one of your younger siblings got a paper-cut. Most of your family says that it's not their problem, and that particular sibling should 'suck it up', as the phrase goes. What do you do?" the doctor asked.

"I would totes help them clean and dress the wound," Leni replied.

"Hmm, good response. Next question; One of your younger siblings has had a nightmare, but their other older siblings refuse to let them sleep with them. Do you allow them to sleep with your for comfort?" the doctor asked.

"Definitely," Leni replied.

"Hmm, another good response," the doctor commented, before thinking of something, "Leni, are you answering these questions truthfully, or are you just giving me the answers that you think are what I want to hear?" he asked.

"I think I'm answering them right," Leni replied. The doctor could tell by Leni's simple minded, child-like innocence that she didn't have any dishonesty in her words.

"Hmm, in that case, onto a question that may truly test you," the doctor said.

"This is one test that I'm glad I'm acing that I didn't study for!" Leni commented.

"Yes... well any how, here's my third question; you sibling becomes frightened by a lint ball that looks and moves like a spider, what do you do?" the doctor asked. Leni's response at the mention of spiders was just to run around, screaming about spiders, "Hmm, looks like she has a case of arachnophobia. Perhaps I should avoid causing her any panic attacks at the mention of spiders," the doctor commented, as some nurses came in and restrained Leni, "Leni, I was only talking about spiders figuratively, as in, I wanted you to imagine a scenario like I had described," the doctor said, calming down the dimmer Loud sister.

"Oh, ok," Leni replied.

"Now then, I want to ask you something about the trouble your family got into with your brother. What made you go along with it?" the doctor asked.

"Well, when Lynn warned me about not bringing Lincoln to my fashion show and when he said that he was bad luck, I thought it was really true, especially when everyone else believed it to be true. Although, some of the things we did to him I thought were a bit mean. I mean, most of my sisters do a lot of mean things, especially to Linky, but this seemed cruel, even for them," Leni replied.

"And you never once thought to voice your concerns?" the doctor asked.

"I did once, but the rest of the family said that we were doing the right thing by kicking Lincoln out. I guess it really was stupid of me to go along with them, right?" Leni asked.

"Hmm, I would phrase it more a result of a lack of common sense that you allowed the voice of your entire family to be the voice of reason, simply because you believed what they were telling you to be true," the doctor replied.

"Right, because Dad always said that that's how you decide who's right and who's wrong," Leni replied.

"While that is technically true if all the facts are there, it doesn't mean that it's always going to be right," the doctor replied.

"So I shouldn't believe things are true just because lots of others say it's true?" Leni asked.

"Not necessarily. If there's enough evidence to back up those claims, then it is ok to believe others, but if there's not enough facts, then you need to steer clear of letting yourself believe others. They'll see it as an opportunity to manipulate you to act and do as they do," the doctor explained.

"Hmm, I think I understand," Leni replied.

"Another way of thinking about what I'm saying is to put yourself in your brother's place during this whole Bad Luck fiasco," the doctor explained.

"You mean like living in the linen closet and reading more comics?" Leni asked.

"Eh... not quite where I was going with this. What I'm saying is that you should try thinking about how your brother felt when your family locked him out and banished him from your home. Would you like to have been unjustly labeled as 'Bad Luck', all because one of your siblings declares you to be?" the doctor asked.

"Now that you mention it, no, I wouldn't," Leni replied, now realizing how bad Lincoln must've felt during the whole mess.

"Good. Now that you know a bit of empathy, our work on helping you develop better common sense will proceed much more smoothly," the doctor said, as some of the nursing staff came in to escort Leni back to her living quarters. "Hopefully, Lucy will be willing to be more open about her depression," the doctor muttered to himself, as he made his way to where Lucy was at.