The ride back home was just as silent as it was driving back to the hotel from the studio. The difference was that Lincoln's sisters didn't yell at him halfway there this time around. Lincoln slouched in the front seat of Vanzilla. Although sleeping with his parents had done him good, he was still very much on shaky grounds. He was too afraid to look behind him, fearing his sisters were just giving him the evil eye from the back seats. A few times during the drive, Rita would occasionally caress her son to try and ease his worries, but even she and her husband couldn't help but worry, knowing that due to the number of times they failed to take charge, their daughters were all but unstable and anything could happen. For all they knew, the girls could easily be plotting behind their backs.
When Vanzilla reached the Loud residence after a long drive, it was Lucy who broke the silence.
"Dad?" said the little goth girl.
"Lucy?" said Lynn Sr., a little surprised.
"...I'm sorry." That was all she said, but it at least gave her parents a flavor of how she was feeling in all this. So if anything, maybe they would talk to Lucy separately from her other sisters. Once the front door was unlocked, Lincoln bolted from the vehicle and without even looking back, he made a break for his room, slammed the door and locked it. Fortunately, his parents had fixed the lock shortly after the incident at the con in light of the bullying he suffered from at school, knowing he'd seriously need the privacy more than ever.
"WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?!" Lola bellowed to Lucy as the rest of the family made their way to the house.
"That twerp literally destroyed our lives!" Lori cursed.
"He played dirty!" screamed Lana.
"No one's gonna see us on the big screen because of him!" said Luna.
"We have a T.V.," said Leni, causing the others to cringe.
"Now what will people think of us?" said Luan.
"Oh, it's not US people will be after," sneered Lola. "But if they won't point fingers at Lincoln, we will!"
"And he's a snitch!" snarled Lynn Jr., cracking her knuckles.
"If you have to ask who's side I'm on... it's not yours," Lucy answered, which stunned her sisters. "I hope we all get punished. We deserve it." And without another word, she went into her room, which she shared with Lynn Jr.
"Okay, girls," said Lynn Sr. firmly. "We need to talk."
"I knew it!" barked Lola. "Lincoln, that snitch!"
"So it's true, then," said the Loud father, crossing his arms. "All of it." Lola's eyes widened. She and the others could have at least tried to talk their way out by telling their dad that Lincoln was lying, but he definitely wasn't stupid. When Lola threw up her arms an announced that Lincoln snitched on them, which could be considered hypocritical coming from the six-year-old tattletale, that told Lynn Sr. all he needed to know. His daughters knew what they were doing to Lincoln the whole time and no matter how many incidents they did were wrong, they did them anyway. He sighed. "Go to your rooms. Your mother and I will give you ten minutes to relax, and then you need to meet us in the living room." The girls were visibly flustered and frustrated, but did as they were told. The parents then went to their own master bedroom to unwind a little.
"Honey, Lincoln hasn't been feeling well," Rita said to her husband.
"I know, dear," said Lynn Sr. "Any ideas?" Just then, Rita's phone rang, so she answered it.
"Hello? ... ... Oh, hi, Agnes. ... ... Yes... ... ... Mm-hmm... ... ... Oh, have you? ... ... Right..."
Meanwhile, Lincoln lay on his bed in his room, hugging his precious stuffed rabbit Bun-Bun. The bullying at school, his decision to revoke the Loud House Gang from the Ace Savvy series, and his sisters likely in the mood to bury him alive had taken a toll on him, leaving him mentally drained and physically exhausted. He didn't feel like the man with a plan then and there, being too sad and too scared to do pretty much anything. He prayed that the new locking mechanism on his door would hold strong and keep his sisters out. But one of them needed to reach him. A gentle knock was heard and Lincoln gasped.
"Lincoln?" It was Lucy's voice. "It's me, Lucy. Please let me talk to you."
"Lucy?" Lincoln knew that of his younger sisters, he was the closest to Lucy. He at least appreciated her for who she was and tolerated her personality, which made her happy. Perhaps she felt ashamed in stealing Lincoln's limelight or just didn't want him to be so sad.
"Lincoln... please..." Before the boy knew what he was doing, he went and unlocked the door, letting Lucy in before closing it and locking it again. The two sat on his bed, but Lincoln said nothing at first. This made Lucy afraid, but Lincoln was just out of words. He really didn't know what he should say. All Lucy could see in his eyes was that her big brother was afraid. "Lincoln..." she murmured, no longer being monotone, but a bit choked. She held Lincoln's hands, surprising him. "Please... s-say something..."
"I..." Lincoln started. "I'm scared..."
"I don't blame you," said Lucy, trying to massage Lincoln's hands with her fingers. "But I want to be here for you."
"Huh?"
"I told our parents... that you don't deserve what you've been going through. Lincoln... I'm sorry. I-I'm so sorry..." Tears trickled beneath her bangs and Lincoln could tell she meant it, the same way he and his parents opened up to each other last night. "Oh, Lincoln..." Lucy cried. "How could I have been so selfish? Can you ever forgive me?" Lincoln gave her a small smile and tenderly brushed her cheek with his hand, wiping away some of her tears. "Gasp..." she said softly.
"Lucy..." murmured Lincoln. "Thank you... Thanks for coming to see me. I-I forgive you." Lucy showed a small smile of her own.
"I love you, big brother." She hugged him. Lincoln hugged her back.
"I love you too... Lucy," he whispered. He then started to cry again.
"Oh, Linc... no..." Lucy murmured, though she began to cry herself. "D-don't cry, big brother... Don't cry..." The brother and sister held each other, almost for dear life, but after about five minutes of being wrapped in each other's arms, they felt better. "I'd better go," said Lucy. "Our parents are gonna talk with all the girls... including me."
"Lucy..."
"It's okay, Linc..." Lucy smiled. "It's okay... really..." She got off her brother's bed, but when she opened the door to leave his room, seven other sisters grabbed the door and flung it all the way open. Lynn Jr. grabbed Lucy by her arm and shoved her aside. Lincoln's face went pale.
Back in the master bedroom, Rita and Lynn Sr. had finished making arrangements for Lincoln. His teacher had called them to provide them information about a professional child care institute and the parents reluctantly agreed to check their son in. Because of the number of times they failed to be parents effectively, they did think it best that it would take child care services to help with Lincoln's mental health.
"So it's tomorrow morning, then?" asked Lynn Sr.
"Yep," said Rita. "We'll drop Lincoln off and then... see how things go from there. I only hope that when we talk to our daughters first that they'll-" A piercing shriek from the second floor suddenly cut them off, followed by some rumbling sounds.
"LINCOLN!" both parents shouted with concern.
"Dang it!" cursed Lynn Sr. "I thought he locked himself in!" The parents scrambled upstairs, ran to the room that was a former closet and saw seven of their daughters beating Lincoln with Lucy and Leni trying to stop them. Rita and Lynn Sr.'s hands turned into fists and they finally did what proper parents would do. They burst in and tore each sister off one by one.
"YOU GIRLS GET OFF OF MY BABY BOY RIGHT NOW!" Rita roared like a mama bear protecting her cubs. Lori was the last one to be pried off, but she still had to open her big mouth as her angry mother dragged her out of Lincoln's room.
"You're useless!" Lori shouted to her now bruised brother. Rita gasped. "That's all you'll ever be, you little twerp! All you do is literally get in our way!"
"LORI!" Rita lightly slapped her eldest daughter in the face, which finally stunned her enough to stand to reason. Lincoln lay face-down on his bed, crying loudly both in physical pain and mental anguish. He was coated in bruises, but since the sisters who beat him up were likely in an exhausted state, it could have been so much worse for him.
"We tried to stop them, Daddy!" sobbed Leni, her father holding her. "Honest!"
"I...I know..." said Lynn Sr., at a loss for words. After the sisters were forced out, Rita closed the door and locked herself and her son in. Before examining his wounds, she threw her arms around him as he continued to sob into his bedsheets.