Saturday Night Secrets
(Story Summary: Every Saturday night, for almost half a year; the girls see Lincoln leave the house for some sort of "outing" he has planned with his pals. Yet, whenever they ask him what he does; he gives the same answer..."it's a secret." One night, the Loud Sisters decide that enough is enough and they decide to follow Lincoln; in an attempt to learn what his "secret Saturday outings" are.
What is the secret Lincoln's keeping from them? Is it something distressing, sinister...or something too embarrassing to describe? Read on and you will see.)
(Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Dungeons & Dragons or The Loud House; anything affiliated with either one is under ownership of Wizards of the Coast, Nickelodeon, Hasbro and the late and great, Gary Gygax. I also do not claim ownership of the story's thumbnail image. All credit for the picture goes to DeviantArt user, Barrander. So, please...don't sue me.)
Summer nights in Royal Woods, Michigan; the air is hot and sticky yet tranquil, the crickets are heard sounding off their soft memories outdoors and the townspeople are abuzz with activity. For one family in particular in this town, this was no exception and passersby could hear all sorts of activity going on inside of their split-level house. Inside of this place, the Loud Family (or rather the ten Loud Sisters) were all in the midst of going about their usual business.
Beginning with the four eldest sisters; Lori was busy texting her boyfriend, Leni was showing off her latest "fashion creation" (which was actually just her usual dress but with a frilly sash around her midriff), Luna was lazily playing music on her guitar and Luan was practicing some new jokes with Mr. Coconuts. As for the youngest ones; Lucy was writing down some poetry in her diary, Lisa was in the midst of some form of experiment and the twins (Lana and Lola) were entertaining their baby sister, Lily. But after a while, everyone soon got bored with whatever they were doing and each let out a weary groan of boredom.
"This is literally the most boring night of my life" Lori droned dully, "it's Saturday and here I am babysitting the little ones...not to mention Boo-Boo Bear has yet to respond to any of my texts!" Upon hearing Lori's babysitting complaint, her fellow teen sisters argued back; proclaiming that they felt just as bad about being stuck at home. Before long, they were but seconds away from having one of their infamous feuds...until Lily suddenly let out a raspberry.
Upon getting her sisters' attention, the littlest Loud shook her head in disapproval and pointed towards a picture of their parents. This alone was enough to quickly snap Lori out of her rage and bring her back to reality. Moments before, the girls' parents said they would be going out for the night; thus making Lori the one in charge.
In addition to this, Lynn Sr. warned the girls to not get into any fighting while they were away...or else being put on Kitchen Duty at Lynn's Table for the rest of the summer. With all this in mind, Lori shook off any angry vibes she had and gave her sisters the same reminder; immediately silencing their quarrel. "Sorry about that, brah" Luna murmured "I'm just so bored, there's practically nothing to do here!"
Almost immediately, the rest of the Loud sisters sounded off in agreement; adding that Saturday nights during Summer Break were meant to be lively and full of fun. "I know, guys; trust me...I'm literally thinking the same thing" Lori stated, "but you know I just can't take you out without Mom or Dad's say so." While every other part of them wanted to cry out in protest, the other nine Loud Sisters all grumbled in defeat; realizing that she spoke the truth.
But just as they were about to sink even further into the pit of boredom, the girls suddenly noticed that something seemed to be missing...or rather, someone. "Something feels way off here, you guys" Luna murmured suspiciously, "anybody know where Lynn is and why she's not wallowing with the rest of us?" The instant this was brought up, the Loud Sisters shot up in their seats and started scanning about the room; hoping to find what they wanted.
Unfortunately, their quarry was nowhere to be found; which made them feel even more suspicious of their situation. Then, at that moment; everyone heard a door suddenly burst open from upstairs. Not long after that, Lynn came down the steps; punching her fists out like a boxer and sniffing the air around her.
Naturally, this behavior left everyone feeling rather confused and Lisa was eager to get to the bottom of it. "Dearest Elder Sister, might I inquire as to why you are sniffing about the air of our home's upper level like a bloodhound" inquired the wee genius dryly, "you look as though you are tracking something." Lynn smiled boldly at her little sister, let out a "playful" chuckle and said that her guess was "half-right;" adding that she was eager to get some sparring practice done.
"Where's Stinkoln at, it's his turn to be my sparring partner" she said while performing some grapples on a throw pillow, "unless...one of you wishes to sub for him." The girls each let out a groan of both annoyance and mild pain, mentally lamenting all the times they "volunteered" to "help" Lynn with her sparring. Of course, whenever this happened; the end result was always the same...with Lynn emerging victorious and the other Loud Sisters (except for Lily) nursing sore limbs for the next day or so.
The only ones exempt from this were Lily, Lisa, Lola and Lana; all of whom were far too young to do any kind of wrestling Lynn indulged in (in spite of all the fighting they've been able to do over the years.) Of course, the elder sisters and Lincoln often found this all unfair but whenever they tried to complain; their father's response remained the same; that Lynn's training was a "necessary evil" they had to endure.
As Lynn Sr. told them; while it was true that she had dialed back on her need to play sports since starting the new school year...Junior still needed to be in top shape for the things she was involved in...like wrestling. For about five months, this was the siblings' collective lives almost every Saturday night and they pitied whoever would be Lynn's next "victim." Then, as if on cue; another door suddenly slammed open and everyone could hear footsteps running seconds later.
That's when the girls saw their brother, Lincoln racing down the steps slightly; lugging atop his back a rather large bag of some kind. "Ah! There you are, dude" Lynn chirped gleefully, "it's Saturday...ready to get destroyed?!" While doing his absolute best to keep his bag steady and his facial expressions calm, Lincoln smiled sheepishly and shook his head in refusal.
"Sorry, Lynn; I can't spar with you tonight like we 'planned'" he murmured softly, "I've uh...I've already made plans to hang out with Clyde." At first, the Sisters found Lincoln's statement to be truthful; even if some of them found it "unfair" he could leave home and they had to stay behind. But there was something about his expression and the heavy load in their brother's bag that made them think otherwise.
"If you are, indeed off to see your bestie; as you so claim...answer us this, dearest Brother" Lisa inquired, "why on Earth would you have so many things stuffed inside of it for a simple overnight stay?" The instant this was brought up, the other Loud Sisters grew even more suspicious than they were earlier. While they didn't know exactly what he was carrying, they could tell that Lincoln's supplies could've been for more than just an overnight stay with friends.
For one thing; the bag looked as though it contained more than just his sleeping bag, toothbrush, loofah and PJs. Meanwhile, the boy in question was already starting to sweat; as if he expected that his sisters would find his words suspicious. He had to think up an good white lie/explanation right quick, one that even his genius of a sister would be able to believe.
"Um, well...you see...there are also some...really heavy books in my bag along with my other stuff" explained Lincoln, "see, Principal Ramirez gave us a writing assignment to do over the summer and it requires a lot of material to work with." Finally, Lynn raised a hand and brought up the fact that having that many supplies for one book report seemed (in her words) "pretty overkill" for a summer assignment.
"These other supplies aren't just for me, to be fair" Lincoln retorted kindly, "I've got more for Clyde and everyone else to use up at the McBrides' place." Following this; he added that each one would browse through each of the titles Ramirez recommended, read it and take notes on what happened in the book so far. At first, none of his sisters chose to make a reply and the room was so quiet; you could practically hear Lincoln's knees buckling out of fear.
Then, came the final and (to the likes of Lori and Lola) most important question on the Loud Sisters' minds about all this; were their parents aware of what was going on? "Of course they do; in fact, they're waiting outside to give me and some of my friends a lift right now" Lincoln stated, "I was just about to head out to Vanzilla...when you suddenly stopped me in my tracks." By the end of the story, the poor boy appeared so sweaty and nervous that he looked ready to fall over in exhaustion; while his sisters simply stared at him suspicious looks in their eyes.
Then, without warning; the front door suddenly burst open from the outside and the Loud Parents stepped in. "C'mon, Son; we don't have all night" Lynn Sr. stated, "we gotta get the van moving if we're gonna beat the late night traffic." Not needing to be told twice, Lincoln hoisted up his bag once more and rushed outside towards the van; all while waving goodbye to his sisters.
While still feeling confused about the situation, the Loud Sisters still did the respectable thing and waved back to their brother. Afterward, Lori walked up and closed the door shut; all while watching Vanzilla take off down the street. Once it disappeared from view, all was quiet in the living room once again (save for the soft sounds of Luna drumming her fingers or Leni tapping her toes.)
Finally, after only two whole minutes of silence; Lola stood up from her spot and spoke up. "Okay, girls...I'm sure we're all thinking the same thing here; so, I may as well say it" she said bluntly, "anyone else but me think that Lincoln was acting...a little suspicious just now?" Without so much as a second thought or the slightest delay, all the Loud Sisters suddenly broke out in a feverish discussion over what they had just witness.
In Lily's case, however; her contribution to said discussion was either a few small words or unintelligible blathering but she was still able to get her own point across. "Linc and I go to the same school and before Break started, I don't recall anybody saying something about a 'Summer Reading Assignment'" Lynn said doubtfully, "especially not from Principal Ramirez." After saying this, the girls started scratching their chins in deep thought; each one of them believing their brother might be up to something.
Then, Leni raised her hand and proclaimed she saw something "weird" sticking out from Lincoln's bag; just as he rushed out the door. "Now, everybody...I'm totes not 100% on this" she assured, "but from what I saw, it looked like a piece of fabric...and a rather tacky one at that." While one part of them knew that this info wasn't all that groundbreaking or important; at the moment, the other Loud Sisters believed it was better than nothing.
"If I may add a little something to the pot here" Lori interjected, "as I was watching Vanzilla drive off, it looked like they were going down the edge of the lane...and Clyde only lives two houses down from here." That did it; with that additional reveal, it was clear that Lincoln and their parents were hiding something from them...and the girls planned on finding out what it was, one way or another. That is, most of the girls appeared ready to do that...except for Leni and Lily.
"I dunno, you guys; should we really do this" inquired the blonde teen, "I mean...you know how much Linky doesn't like it when we metal in his business, imagine how sore our parents will be about us doing that to them." After taking a moment to remind her elder sister of her grammatical error; Lisa added that as sisters, it was their "duty" to meddle in their brother's affairs "when the occasion called for it." "That's right, who knows what sort of nasty funny business Lincoln's got himself into" Luna murmured worriedly, "and not the good kind either."
With all this out in the open, the Loud Sisters eventually came to an agreement; whatever was going on with their other family members, they had to find out what it was. On that note, they decided to try and tail Vanzilla to wherever it was headed...somehow. "There's just one rather big flaw in this plan" Lucy muttered stoically, "how do we plan on following Vanzilla?"
Upon hearing of this "little hiccup," the Sisters tried their best on thinking of the best way to go about their plan. Their first option was to, perhaps use Lori's car to trail the van. "No way, girls; I've worked long and hard ride-sharing Mr. Grouse everywhere to get that car and I don't plan on wrecking it...ever" Lori said firmly, "besides, it's not big enough to fit us all in; even if I wanted to drive us."
With that idea a bust, Luna thought up a new one; give her roadie, Chunk a call. "He's always shuttling me and the Moon Goats around" she stated, "no doubt he'd do the same for the fam in a time like this." With great enthusiasm, the other Loud Sisters cheered with approval and urged Luna to make the call. But once she made the request to Chunk; his immediate response was "sorry, luv; got me hands full tonight...maybe next time."
With yet another idea flushed down the drain, the elder Loud Sisters then considered giving their significant others a call and ask if any one of them could help their family out. With renewed hope in their hearts; Lori, Leni, Luna and Luan each pulled out their phones and dialed up/texted their lovers as quickly as they could. But then, much like Chunk had done to Luna; each one of them got the near exact same reply back.
Chaz: "So sorry, sweetie; Dana's stuck babysitting me while the 'rents are out tonight...maybe next time."
Sam: "Wish I could help, Looney Tunes...but I'm stuck and have to watch over him until ten. I promise to make it up to you, I swear. Kisses from your Lil' Samurai!"
Benny: "Sorry, Luan; I'm busy rehearsing for something important and I need to keep at it for another hour. I can't afford to lose my mojo now."
"I promise to make it up to you as soon as I can, after this. Love, your sweet Benny-Boo."
Bobby: "So sorry, babe...but Mom, Abuela and Tia Frida want me to look after the boys tonight. I promise I'll make it up to you tomorrow morning, I swear."
Truthfully, to say that the four elder Louds felt displeased by this sudden turn of events would be a gross understatement. In Lori's case; she felt annoyed, angry and even slightly "hurt" by the fact that Bobby "ignored" her message. She was so displeased by it all that her phone almost shattered within her tight grip.
Finally, after taking in a deep breath; Lori turned towards her sisters with a rather annoyed look in her eyes. "This is literally getting on my last nerve, ladies" she stated, "not only are our parents and brother acting 'weird' but so is nearly everyone else we know in town!" This coupled with the fact that every friend they knew appeared M.I.A. made the other Loud Sisters shout out loud in full agreement with Lori.
With all that in mind, one thing was clear; if no one could help them...they would have to trail Vanzilla on their own. "On that note, dear family; we are left with only two choices" Lisa said suddenly, "we must either trail Vanzilla on foot...or we procure our old bicycles (if they haven't already been sold after the last Yard Sale) and ride after it." After taking them into "careful consideration;" nearly half of the other sisters cried out in annoyance, proclaiming that both of Lisa's ideas were terrible.
"I mean...I may love a good run as much as any other athlete but Vanzilla's probably miles away, by now" Lynn said matter-of-factly, "ain't no way we'll be able to catch up to it on foot!" Almost immediately, Leni sided with her younger sister on her complaints; reminding everyone how she lacked any kind of footwear meant for long travel. "As for our bikes, not one of us has literally ridden any of them in years" Lori proclaimed while gesturing at herself and her fellow elder sisters, "think of all the ridicule we'll get, if the neighborhood sees us on them!"
After all that was said, the girls plopped themselves on the couch and slumped down low in defeat; thinking there was no other plan left to turn to. Just then, an idea began to form in Lana's mind; which in turn caused her to break out into a full-faced grin. "I think I've got one last idea, ladies" she announced, "that is...if she'll be willing to help us out here."
After that, she cast a slight glance over towards Lola's modestly-sized "Princess Car;" which appeared to be parked out on the front lawn. When Lola finally put together what her twin's plan involved, she quickly leapt off the couch and placed herself up against the front door; making a small yet pitiful blockade against her sisters. "If you think I'm gonna try and cram all of you in my baby, you're nuts" she shrieked in protest, "have you forgotten about the 'Clown Car' incident Luan caused on my last birthday?"
(A quick flash appears and a memory shows a younger Luan and her party clown posse trying to fit themselves inside of Lola's Princess Car. As a result, the group's combined weight caused the car to strain until it finally broke down; much to the birthday girl's displeasure)
Back at the present, Luan is seen frowning with shame and hanging her head low in regret; remembering how much money she had to use from gig payments to pay for repairs. "And I really needed that money too, back then" she whined, "there was a prototype Confetti Cannon I found online and I thought it could really help with my performances." After a quick yet sharp rebuttal of "too bad, missy;" Lola crossed her arms and refused to lend her car to anyone from that point on.
"Just for the record, Sis; nobody's saying we should all try to cram inside all at once" Lana retorted, "but could you at least use it to help pull us along while we're all on our bikes?" Upon hearing this suggestion, a look of pure outrage appeared on the young pageant princess' face; one that looked even angrier than it did from the Clown Car idea. But after she took in a deep breath to calm her nerves; Lola's face now showed a more annoyed expression, instead.
"Even if I wanted to go with that plan...which I don't, my car isn't strong enough to pull all nine of you" she explained realistically, "especially since Lynn's been dipping into one too many subs lately." As expected; the minute she head her sisters comments, the family's resident sports star let out a growl and was prepared to wallop the "little princess." But before either of the two could get up into each other's faces, Lori quickly intervened and pushed them as far back away as she could.
"This is no time to be arguing, girls; our family members could possibly be in danger, right now" she said firmly, "we've gotta get to wherever Vanzilla went and help them." For a moment, this seemed like more than enough to get her sisters up and running...but Lori decided to add something that might "sweeten the pot." With a small yet still quite devious smile on her face, Lori told Lola that their brother could be "mixed up in some tattletale worthy business."
The others all gasped loudly in disgust at their sister's tactics, all while reminding Lori just how much Lola had been trying to forsake her old Tattletale habits. This eventually led to them falling into a full-on bickering session; a far less violent one than their usual fare, mind you...but still quite heated. Then, almost six second later; the house phone started ringing and the Loud Sisters' fight came to an immediate halt.
Afterwards, Lori took a moment to dust herself clean before making her way towards the phone and answering it. After she gave a soft yet friendly "hello" into the receiver, the poor girl's ears rang loudly with the sounds of a familiar old man's ranting and raving. In spite of it all, however; Lori did her absolute best to answer the caller as friendly as possible.
"Yes...Yes, Mr. Grouse; I know we promised to keep our behavior down to a respectable noise level while our parents are away" she murmured, "see, my sisters and I were...having a bit of a debate hat got a little out of hand."
(Quick Cutaway to Mr. Grouse's Home)
Across the street, the Louds' elderly neighbor is seen dressing himself in his outdoor evening wear; while also talking on the phone. "Well, could you make your discussions less heated" Mr. Grouse grumbled, "some people are trying to relax and enjoy their Saturday night in peace." With a heavy sigh, the man then mumbled how thankful he was that he would be enjoying a nice night out away from the Louds' chaos.
This soft yet noticeable reveal suddenly piqued Lori's interest on the other line and she asked what it was that Mr. Grouse was up to. Despite every elderly instinct telling him otherwise, Grouse's only reply was that he was off to enjoy a game night out of town. "Oh, you're going out tonight; that's so great to hear" Lori said with a sincerely gleeful tone, "are you visiting your family or just going for a drive?" While Mr. Grouse felt like he wasn't inclined to divulge his own personal business with his neighbors; he did however, reiterate that he was going out for a game night with some friends.
"A game night, huh...sounds like a great way for somebody to spend their Saturday night" Lori's voice stated, "hope you and your pals will have fun and...sorry again about the noise."
(Cut Back to the Loud House)
After she said her goodbyes and hung up the phone, Lori let out a heavy sigh before falling back on the couch and running her hand through her blonde locks in bewilderment. Tonight just seemed to be throwing one strange circumstance after another at her family, to say the least...and it wasn't even 8 o'clock yet.
First Lincoln and her parents suddenly leave the house; then, Bobby and some of her sisters' own lovers claimed to all be busy and now, Mr. Grouse seemed to have plans tonight. "This is just too freaky, ladies" Lynn cried in exasperation, "how could almost everyone we know possibly all be busy on the same night?!" The other seven sisters couldn't help but agree with her, some of whom appeared to be feeling rather afraid by what was going on.
However, one of them didn't seem entirely convinced that what was happening was anything to be gravely concerned about; namely Lisa. "With all due respect, Sister Units; your collective fears could very well be unfounded" she said dryly, "for all we know, this could all be nothing more than a mere coincidence." Despite however logical her statement was, the girls overall strong sense of curiosity seemed to have majority rule in the house.
"We need to find out what everybody's doing out there" Lola chuckled crazily, "we must know, do you hear...WE MUST KNOW!" Despite their overall nervousness towards her outburst and show of behavior, the girls couldn't help but agree with their young sister. Whatever may be going on; considering that their parents and brother were at the center of it all, the Loud Sisters felt like they had to learn what it was...one way or another.
But after dismissing so many of their earlier travel/escort ideas, the only option they had left was their bikes. "I guess...in the end, we literally have no other choice" Lori thought dejectedly, "I just hope no one we know will see us on our old bikes." With that in mind, everyone rushed to the garage and collected all their old bikes; even the one hand-me-down that was given to Lincoln so long ago.
After taking their seats and putting on their safety gear, the Loud Sisters raced off as fast as they could towards the McBride House. Thankfully, Lori spotted Vanzilla parked on the driveway; which meant she may have been mistaken when she thought it went further down the lane. "Good, everyone's still here" Lori whispered, "let's find cover somewhere and watch to see what happens next."
After this command was given, the girls hid their bikes in some bushes for safety before taking shelter themselves; anxious to see what might be going on at the McBrides' place. Just then, the front door opened and everyone saw their parents and Lincoln stepping out with Clyde and his dads following behind them. After the two gents hugged their son goodbye and waved to the Louds, Lori saw that the latter group was heading right for Vanzilla.
The moment the van's engine started revving up, the other Loud Sisters suddenly snapped out of whatever dreamlike daze they were all in and saw their three family members driving away. "Hurry, girls; the van's on the move again" Lynn ordered, "we better get movin' or else they'll be too far away to catch up!" While some of the girls groaned bitterly at the idea of having to pedal again, they realized there wasn't any other way to do the job and begrudgingly got back on their bikes.
"Let's just get this over with" groaned Lola, "I just hope Dad won't be making too many stops along the way."
(Line Break)
Moments later, Vanzilla appeared to be still on the move with all ten Loud Sisters still keeping up in their pursuit (but just barely.) As they continued to follow their family van, the girls all appeared to be on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion; even Lynn (despite her every claim she wasn't tired.) Along the way; the girls had, unfortunately discovered that Clyde's house wasn't the only stop their parents were making.
For the last half hour; the van seemed to be making stops at the Spokes House, the Gurdles' House and even a quick stop at Liam's farm. The last stop was particularly strange because none of the girls recalled seeing their parents ever stopping there (except to maybe drop Lincoln off.) After seeing their parents make each of these stops, the Loud Sisters soon grew even more suspicious than they already were.
Why would they and Lincoln need to make so many different stops when he could simply just stay at one of his friends' houses for his alleged "book report?" At the end of the day, one thing was abundantly clear to the girls; something very fishy was going on and they were determined to find out what it was...even if it meant peddling to the point their legs or bikes would give out. But as they watched Vanzilla suddenly take off down the road, after Liam was picked up; the Loud Sisters all fell to the ground in tired heaps.
"That's it...I'm done, right here...right now" Luan heaved bitterly in exhaustion, "there's no way we'll be able to catch up to everyone at this rate!" On the one hand, the girls felt libel in challenging their sister's cry of defeat; reminding her of how far they had come. But on the other hand, as they saw the van fade away in the distance; they soon realized just how hopeless their situation was.
As everyone climbed off their bikes to take a breather, Lisa's mind was currently buzzing with thought; desperately trying to conceive a way out of their predicament. Then, like a sudden bolt of lightning from above; she was struck by inspiration. "I KNOW WHAT WE MUST DO, SISTERS" she exclaimed, "WE SHALL TRACK OUR FAMILY'S MOVEMENT...BY USING SCIENCE!"
Thinking quickly, the wee genius reached into her sweater and pulled out some sort of small gizmo; one that, according to her, was connected to a tracking device she made. As expected, the other Sisters believed Lisa was referring to the trackers she had somehow "placed" on each of them. But Lisa quickly assured everyone otherwise by insisting that, in accordance with her court probation, she had only placed a tracker on Vanzilla; in the event someone might steal her away.
"I don't know if Dad will approve of you chipping his van like that, Sis" Luna said warily, "but at least we've got a solid lead now." With that simple statement, the Loud Sisters suddenly felt a surge of determination shoot through their bodies; which gave them renewed stamina to continue riding on. After about another fifteen minutes of riding, they finally caught sight of Vanzilla; which appeared to be parked safe and sound in some sort of parking lot.
Furthermore, they caught sight of other familiar vehicles parked there; Sam's motorbike, Chunk's van, Benny's car (which had clownish polka dots painted on the hood,) Mr. Grouse's car, Chaz and Dana's family car and loads of others. But as strange as it was seeing so many familiar vehicles in one place, what was even stranger was where they had all parked at. Standing before them was what looked like a medieval castle...or rather, a small version of one.
"Okay, dudes...things are getting even weirder now" Luna murmured uneasily, "what is this place and why are so many people we know all parked out here?" Sadly, not one of the other Loud Sisters appeared to have an answer; even Lisa...no one had a clue as to what this all was. "Hey, guys; I think I have an idea" Leni chimed in suddenly, "since so many people we know are all here, we could go inside and ask one of them what's going on."
After taking a moment to let everything process, the girls didn't know what seemed stranger; this place, what Leni said or the fact that it was her who said it? But despite however sensible the plan seemed, Lori politely urged against it; saying that they couldn't afford to be spotted by anyone. That's when she noticed the windows and a new plan soon came into mind.
"If we can get close enough, keep quiet and peek inside for just a second; we can hopefully see what's going on" she explained, "any vol..." Before she had the chance to finish, Lori's ears suddenly echoed with the words "DIBS NOT" and she immediately noticed everyone touching their fingers to their noses; even Lily. That's when Lori realized...she was the odd one out, this time around; which was usually a spot "reserved" by Lincoln.
But then, thinking quickly; Leni said that none of them were brave enough (or tall enough) to perform the task without fail. "She's right, bra; you're the oldest one here" Luna whispered, "therefore...you should be the one to do the job." Lori, in that moment, was prepared to argue against this whole "plan;" insisting that as the eldest, she should be the one to decide who goes.
But she suddenly realized there was little time to goof around here and they needed to get to the bottom of this supposed "mystery." Therefore, Lori begrudgingly agreed to go investigate...but not before telling her sisters how much they owed her for this favor. Once that was all settled, she crept over towards the window; appearing eager to get to the bottom of whatever's going on.
"But just to be safe, I think I should just take a pick of the 'action'" she whispered softly, "this way, I can make a quick retreat back to the others." With that in mind, Lori resumed with her trek towards the building until she was practically kissing the wall. Afterwards, she reached into her pocket and drew out her phone before easing it up to the window ever so slowly.
When her lens finally got a clear enough view, Lori snapped a quick pick and made a beeline back to the others; who all appeared anxious to hear what she saw. "Give me just a sec, girls" she urged softly, "the picture is just literally coming up on my phone." After what felt like ages of waiting (which was only but a few short seconds,) the picture finally appeared and the Loud Sisters saw a sight that almost made their eyes pop out.
There on the cellphone screen was their younger brother, Lincoln; who appeared to be wearing body makeshift Dwarf body armor, a helmet that looked just a little too big for him and a full-faced red beard with braids. The instant their minds were able to register this, the Loud Sisters suddenly fell to the ground...and laughed uproariously. Of course, this laughter wasn't done out of teasing alone; rather...it was the strange irony of the situation.
Here the girls thought that Lincoln was getting himself involved with sinister people or dark hobbies; when, in reality...it looked as though he was just part of what they believed was a costume party. In any case, the girls soon realized that Lincoln was right; they did have a tendency to meddle (especially when certain situations didn't really involve them.) After having a bit more of a laugh at their situation; the Loud Sister picked themselves up, dusted each other off and decided to call it a night.
"C'mon, girls; let's load the bikes up in the van" Lori said with a light chuckle in her throat, "maybe Mom and Dad can give us a ride back after this is all done." The other Loud Sisters nodded in full agreement, collected their bikes and made their way towards Vanzilla; eager to head back home. But before Lori could so much as open the sliding door, she saw her sisters being surrounded by a group of what looked like armored warriors.
"HALT, INTRUDERS; thou art trespassing upon sacred ground" announced the "leader" warningly, "surrender peacefully and, perhaps...the Council may grant you lot a fair punishment!" The girls all blinked dumbly at the warriors before them, unsure if they should feel alarmed or confused by what was happening. Finally, Lola found enough nerve to speak up and ask "what the 'H' was going on" and who the warriors were.
"We can all see that you wenches lack a proper understanding of the Common Tongue" another of the warriors said with a chuckle, "to reiterate, what are you doing here?" Following this, "he" insisted that the Loud Sisters speak openly and honestly about their "intrusion;" lest they risk the point of their spears. That was when Lynn suddenly realized what was going on and soon; her usual bravado came back with a vengeance.
"Go back into your 'castle' and leave us alone, creeps" she said rudely, "we're not afraid of you or your fake weapons!" Offended by the young jock's behavior, the warriors gave her and her sisters one final warning; all while lightly jabbing their spears forwards. But this only seemed to make Lynn laugh even harder, thinking that they had no idea who they were messing with.
"Let me show you clods what you're up against" she challenged while assuming a battle pose, "who'd like the first shot?" Surprisingly, Lynn's words didn't seem to have the desired affect on the warriors that she wanted and decided to "properly" show them how tough she was. After taking a quick stretch, she leapt into the air and was ready to deliver a fine roundhouse kick to the leader's chest...only for her foot to be caught in his massive gloved hand.
"So be it...come with us to the Great Chamber" he murmured stoically, "the Council shall decide the fate most deserving of your crimes." With that, he gave his fellow warriors a gesture and they made their way towards the remaining nine Louds. At first; the likes of Lori, Luna, Luan, Lola and even Leni were prepared to defend themselves.
But after seeing their most athletic sister be taken down so swiftly and with relative ease, they realized how hopeless it all was and surrendered. Thus, with their heads hanging low in defeat; the ten of them were escorted inside of the strange castle building; unsure of whatever fate awaited them inside.
(First AN: And cue the dramatic music sting from Psycho here! I guess it's true what they say, curiosity can kill the cat...or at least, land them into trouble. What strange things await for the Loud Sisters in this place, who are these odd warriors and how were their parents and brother part of this?
Tune in next time, to find out)
(Second AN: Chronologically speaking, this fic takes place after the events of A Day in the Life of the Gal Pals. There are two big clues that hint at this within the story, the first one being the reference to the Loud Family's court probation. The second one, meanwhile...that is a surprise for later)
(Final AN: In a way, Lincoln's summer book report excuse is actually a real thing; in some places, teachers give their students the assignment to read a specific book and write a report on it. The first time I heard of this was in the Oddparents special, Shelf Life and I thought it was hugely unfair. Summer vacation is meant to be a time of rest and merriment, not schoolwork...but that's just me)