Reversal of Fortune: Chapter 25: Love and War

(Time Skip: 8:45 PM, Royal Woods Hospital)

As the Louds walked into Royal Woods Hospital, Lori, who had just been texted Bobby's hospital room number by Whitney, flung the door open and beelined to Room 107. When Lori arrived there, she flung the door open, and much to her relief, she saw Bobby hooked up to a bunch of medical machines and wires. The jagged lines on the ECG monitor screen assured Lori that Bobby was still alive.

Lori immediately ran to Bobby's bedside and cried joyfully, "BOO-BOO BEAR!" When she arrived at Bobby's bedside, she gave him a bone-crushing hug before proceeding to cup his face and give him a deep French kiss that lasted at least a minute. Lori even went so far as to close her eyes and lift her foot off the ground while kissing him, letting out a couple of farts while doing so. She hoped that Bobby would wake up as a result of the deep kiss, as Lucy had promised her. Unfortunately, Bobby showed no signs of responding to Lori's kiss.

A little shocked and confused, Lori reasoned to herself, "Maybe my technique was wrong. Maybe I came on too strong."

She then started to caress Bobby's lips with a few big, juicy kisses that lasted about 20 seconds each, combined with a French kiss that lasted for about 15 seconds. When those didn't work, Lori grew more desperate and began to kiss Bobby all over his face before returning to his lips and giving him one more deep kiss. For good measure, Lori also kissed Bobby all over his hands. While all this was going on, Lori was still profusely farting. Unfortunately, after Lori's grand display of affection for Bobby, the young man still didn't wake up from his coma.

A shocked Lori gasped, cupped Bobby's face, and softly cried, "Boo-Boo Bear?" When Lori saw the same jagged lines on the ECG monitor, she said to herself, "Good. He's literally still alive." Lori then proceeded to sit in a chair at Bobby's bedside and alternated between kissing Bobby and monologuing to him about her feelings. While doing so, she continued to fart incessantly.

(Scene Change: Sweetwater Manor, Brian's Office)

Back in Brian's office, Melissa, Brian, Lincoln, and Ronnie Anne were busy mixing the lowlights reel that they would eventually release to help recruit other co-conspirators.

Melissa was compressing a clip of Lori and Leni making out with Marcus Quick, causing Brian to mutter, "I still can't believe Lori and Leni did... that... with Marcus."

Ronnie Anne growled at the clip and drew her finger across her throat, causing Melissa and Brian to turn to her. When they did, Ronnie Anne coughed before muttering under her breath, "Kill all Louds," before coughing again.

When Melissa and Brian stared at Ronnie Anne, she yelled at them, "Do you see this?! DO YOU SEE THIS?! LOOK AT LORI AND LENI'S FACES! WHY ARE WE EVEN WASTING OUR TIME WITH ALL OF THIS, LET'S GO KILL THEM RIGHT NOW! AND THEN WE SHOW THEM THE SECURITY FOOTAGE! Ooooh… I bet they took Lola to the hospital after that nasty fall. Where Bobby is! Ooh… I bet Lori's in there right now, thinking Lincoln's in the hospital and not even looking for him to spend time with her 'precious Boo-Boo Bear!' LET'S SEE HOW THEY LIKE LOBOTOMIES AND BADLY MISHANDLED OPEN-HEART AND OPEN-BRAIN SURGERIES!" Her face contorted into a furious expression as she let out a primal growl, clenched her fists, and stormed out of the room to look for the Louds at Royal Woods Hospital.

Lincoln tried to call after her, "Ronnie Anne, wait!", but Ronnie Anne was hearing none of it.

Melissa, Brian, and Lincoln exchanged worried looks before Lincoln assured the former two, "I'll talk to her." He then quickly pulled out his phone and speed-dialed Ronnie Anne's number.

When Ronnie Anne felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, she almost didn't check it, but felt in her gut that she wanted to. When she pulled out her phone, she saw "Lame-O ❤️", with Lincoln's picture flashing across the screen. She groaned as she inwardly debated whether to press the answer button. As she pressed it, she said, "Yo."

Lincoln blankly asked, "Ronnie Anne, what are you doing?"

After briefly reflecting on Lincoln's rhetorical question, she hung up, slowly turned back towards the office, and began walking back. As she did, she muttered to herself, "Stupid Lame-O. The things I do for love."

When Ronnie Anne opened the door to Brian's office, she saw Melissa, Brian, and Lincoln staring at her with their arms crossed.

Brian asked first, "Ronnie Anne, just what did you think you were doing?"

Ronnie Anne quickly said, "Just taking a walk."

When Ronnie Anne caught the unbelieving looks in her friends' eyes, she groaned before admitting, "I maybe would have bought a saca tripas knife, headed over to the hospital, & slashed them. Ooh… I wanna stab them from the inside so bad."

Melissa, Brian, and Lincoln gasped before Brian sternly told Ronnie Anne, "You will do no such thing."

Ronnie Anne yelled back, "WHY? THEY…"

Melissa interrupted her, "We know. Remember, our vengeance is supposed to be harsh, not sadistic. Like we told you… we have to play the long game here, or else we're putting ourselves at serious risk!"

Ronnie Anne asked, "Serious risk?! Listen to yourselves! You killed the Loud pets! If that's good enough for you, then why don't you just let me handle the Louds, and then release the video afterwards to show that we did it in self-defense?"

An exasperated Lincoln stood up and growled, "Ronnie Anne… do you even know what you're talking about?"

Ronnie Anne challenged, "I'd ask the same thing of you, Lame-O. You know… now I know why your sisters kicked you out. You were too much of a pussy to stand up to them."

Melissa and Brian gasped before Lincoln venomously whispered, "What?"

Ronnie Anne smirked, "You heard me. You're a pussy. I'll bet you any money that… no… you didn't even have to fight your sisters. If you just stood up to them whenever they gave you shit, or if you had the balls to not pussyfoot around them and told them exactly what you wanted, and not care about their feelings like I do, we wouldn't be here right now."

Lincoln growled at Ronnie Anne once more before Ronnie Anne added, "Oh, wait, that's why you're too scared to do what needs to be done. Got it from your parents. You know, maybe if they were disciplined enough to keep their kids in line, maybe you'd be disciplined enough to keep the bullies in your life in line."

Lincoln hissed at Ronnie Anne, "It's. Not. That. Simple."

Ronnie Anne disputed Lincoln's claims, "Really? Have you ever tried just doing what you want and not caring what other people think? Seems to work really well for me."

Lincoln seethed, "Like you should talk."

Ronnie Anne hissed, "What?"

Lincoln explained, "You kept pranking me when you had a crush on me because you wanted to keep your reputation, right? The 'toughest girl in school.' Who loves no one, and fears no one. Turns out you're as big of a softie, if not more so, than the rest of us."

Ronnie Anne stammered through a blush, "I-I-I," before Lincoln interrupted her, "Save it, Ronnie Anne. You know what strong people do? They're not afraid of their emotions. They embrace them. They might not give in, but at least they acknowledge their feelings, and still try to do what's right. You, on the other hand? By hiding your feelings, all you're doing is making them stronger. Because you have to think about hiding them. And as for Paige, that girl stood up for me when even you didn't. She was the one who told you about what happened to me."

Ronnie Anne argued, "Oh, perfect Paige. You mean the same girl that threw pies at you during the Girl Guru incident and made fun of you with the rest of the crowd! Paige isn't going to be around to fight all your battles for you, you know. That is, if she even cares about you in the first place."

At that, Melissa and Brian harshly glared at Ronnie Anne. Meanwhile, Lincoln felt so enraged by Ronnie Anne's words that he slapped Ronnie Anne across the cheek, causing Melissa and Brian to yell, "WHOA!"

Lincoln seethed, "Keep Paige's name out your fuckin' mouth, Santiago."

Ronnie Anne challenged, "What? You're in love with her just because you thought she was cute with her Dance Battle moves? I can dance, too! Matter of fact, I'll text her right now. We're going to play DDR together at Gus' Games & Grub tomorrow night, and whoever gets the highest score gets you."

Lincoln yelled, "WHAT! NO!", before groaning to himself, "Why am I even letting you stay?!"

Ronnie Anne joked back with a devilish smile, "Because you love me, Lame-O, and you know it."

Lincoln smiled back at Ronnie Anne, playfully punched her in the arm, and told her, "Shut up, loser."

Ronnie Anne snarked back while playfully punching Lincoln in the arm, "Try making me, Lame-O."

Melissa then wisecracked, "Now that you two lovebirds are done kissing and making up, can we please get back to focusing on these videos?"

Lincoln and Ronnie Anne blushed before quickly nodding, "Yup."

As Lincoln and Ronnie Anne got ready to sit down and continue helping Melissa and Brian edit the Louds' lowlight reels, they heard a knocking on the door.

Brian called out, "It's open!", and when the door opened, Linda, Becky, Paige, and Lindsay stormed through the door.

As they did, Lindsay fumed, "Stupid Louds… stupid pageant… not giving me a trophy after my hard work! Said 'they had to vacate it.' I WON THAT PAGEANT FAIR & SQUARE!"

Linda insisted, "Now, Lindsay…", before Lindsay interrupted, "Save it Mom! I deserved those trophies, and you know it!"

Becky sighed, "We all do. But that's not helping us right now. Come on, let's go help Melissa, Dad, Ronnie Anne, and Linky out."

Lindsay sighed, "Fine," before pointing out, "You know, if we can get the Louds banned from beauty pageants, maybe this might be a little easier than we think."

Lincoln, remembering the video the Sweetwater girls sent her, mused, "Oh yeah," before asking, "Wait, what do you mean?"

Lindsay explained, "If beauty pageants can ban the Louds, so can, say, grocery stores," causing Lincoln to shudder as he remembered the "Zombie Bran" incident. Lindsay then beamed, "Oh! I've got it, Daddy! Maybe you and Mommy can get them fired."

Melissa mused, "Financially cutting off the Louds' resources," before smiling proudly, "Lindsay, I like your thinking."

Lincoln gasped, "What? How are you guys even going to get them fired? They didn't get fired after 'Take Your Daughter to Work Day'!"

Paige backed Lincoln up, "You know, Lincoln's right. In order to truly prove the Loud parents are worth firing, we need some iron-clad evidence that the Louds are beyond saving."

Melissa asked Paige, "Explain."

Paige explained, "Alright. Somebody's going to need to go into that house and see what life is like in there now."

The rest of the room gasped before Becky fretted, "Are you nuts?! Between Lori BrownPants and what Lola just went through with her beauty pageant, not to mention the deaths of the pets, that place might be a warzone right now!"

Paige sighed, "I know, but somebody's going to have to take that risk. Who's doing it?"

Linda proudly said, "I'll do it."

The rest of the room gasped once more before Brian begged Linda, "Are you crazy?! Honey, you might get killed!"

Linda sighed, "I know. But I'm just a reporter at the end of the day. Lincoln needs you much more than he needs me."

Lincoln cried, "Mrs. Sweetwater," before Linda interrupted him, "Please, call me Linda, or Mom."

Lincoln continued, "Erm… Linda, don't say that! You cook unbelievable egg sandwiches, you always know the best spots for food, and you helped me unpack when I got out of the hospital! I need you! We all do!"

The rest of the room gushed, "AWW!" at Lincoln's words before Brian added, "Lincoln's right. What will we do without you? What will I do without you?"

Linda chuckled, "You'll be fine, Bri. This is my way of helping you guys out. I have to do what I have to do."

Brian sighed, "Alright," before pulling Linda into a tight hug. He then asked, "What are you going to do?"

Linda then explained, "Tomorrow morning, I'm going to head over there to see what life at the Loud House is like. I'm going to record it, get Rita to tell me how she really feels about the place, and see if I can get anything for us to work with."

Brian then pulled Linda into another tight hug before telling her, "Alright, honey. I hope you know what you're doing."

Linda smirked, "Sweetie, you've known me for 25 years. You really think I'd go into something like this unprepared? Come on, now."

Brian chuckled, "Yeah, you're right."

Linda joked back, "You know I'm right," before Becky asked, "So, what are you going to do, Mom?"

Melissa concurred, "Yeah, you're going to need a plan. And a good one at that."

Linda smiled, "Never underestimate an investigative journalist." She then began to explain, "Now, here's what I'm going to do."

(Scene Change: Royal Woods Hospital, 10:00 PM)

When the doctors finished examining Lola after her pageant accident, they found numerous injuries all over her face and body. For one, what was left of her hair only exhibited in patches, with other patches being completely shaved off. Going down to her face, Lola had two black eyes, her nose was broken and swollen, and although her lips had stopped bleeding, the cuts were still evident. Beyond that, there were bruises and bumps all over her face. Lola's face was smeared with the makeup and eyeshadow she prepared for that night like a Cubist art work. Even if Lola was allowed to participate in beauty pageants, her face was mangled enough that she wouldn't have had a chance at winning them for at least a few weeks.

Lola's body also had numerous dull scars, bruises, and marks from her fights with her siblings over the years. The doctors took note of this, having observed similar scars, bruises, and marks on her brother, Lincoln. Dr. Harris, one of the doctors treating Lola, tried to ask her, "Alright, Lola, so all of these scars and bruises… all over your arms, legs, and stomach, those are deeply concerning. Do you want to talk about it?"

Lola grumbled ferociously, "Just fix my hair and give my face the stitches it needs, doctor. You worry about your job, and I'll worry about mine."

Dr. Harris raised his hands defensively as he replied, "Alright, alright… jeez! I'll get in touch with the receptionist, and we'll see if we have a spare room for you."

Lola yelled at the doctor, "You'd BETTER have a spare room for me, OR ELSE!", causing Dr. Harris to grumble in exasperation.

After Dr. Harris left the room, Rita approached Lola and asked her, "Hey honey, how's it going?"

Lola growled, "How's it going?"

Rita tenderly replied, "Mm-hmm."

Lola then yelled, "HOW'S IT GOING?!"

Rita tried to calm down her daughter, "Sweetie, I…", before Lola interrupted her, "My pageant career is OVER! OVER! I'VE LOST MY BEAUTIFUL FACE! I CAN'T EVER DO BEAUTY PAGEANTS IN THIS STATE AGAIN! ALL BECAUSE OF THAT STUPID LINDSAY SWEETWATER! AND YOU'RE ASKING ME IF I'M OK?"

Lynn Sr. tried to assure Lola, "Sweetie, you have tons of…"

Lola snapped back, "STOP IT, DAD! BEING BEAUTIFUL WAS THE BEST THING I HAD!"

Lisa snarked under her breath, "Pity. And here I was thinking it was her patience," causing Lola to glare and growl at Lisa before viciously muttering, "One more word out of you and I leak your entire experiment history to every doctor in this state."

Lisa responded by immediately drawing her finger across her lips to mime zipping them shut.

When Lola saw Lisa do this, she huffed, "Thank you," before continuing, "Anyway, I've been banned based on LIES! And I'm going to have to enter pageants in Ohio! OHIO! That is, if they even let me in!"

Lynn Sr., Rita, Lynn Jr., and Lori shuddered at the mention of Ohio while Luan punned, "Well, Oh-hi-yo, to you, too! Hahahaha, get it?", causing the rest of her family to groan and glare at her.

Rita scolded, "Not now, Luan," before trying to encourage Lola, "Honey… Toledo's only a 70-mile drive. You should be…", when Lola interrupted her, "70 miles? 70 MILES?! Face it, Mom… it's over."

Rita sighed before trying to encourage Lola, "That's OK, honey. That just means you can put more effort into getting good grades!"

Lynn Jr. suggested, "And sports!"

Luna added, "And music!"

Luan contributed, "And comedy!"

Leni then said, "And fashion!", causing the rest of the Louds to give her weird looks and Lola to glare at her. When they did, Leni asked, "What? Just because Lola can't do pageants doesn't mean she can't do fashion!"

Lola and the rest of the Louds groaned while facepalming at Leni.

At that moment, Dr. Harris walked back into the room and informed Lola, "Alright… get ready to head to Room 504. Your surgery's about to begin."

With that, Lola and the rest of the Louds followed Dr. Harris to Room 504 for her surgery.

(Time Skip: 11:30 PM)

After Lola woke up from her successful surgery, Rita approached her first and asked her, "Honey, how do you feel?"

Lola replied, "OK, I guess. Not like it matters."

Rita and Lynn Sr. started to feel sorry for their daughter, as did Lola's sisters. While much of the bleeding had stopped and the black eye's swelling had gone down, Lola's face and forehead were still significantly scarred, and she was still missing nearly three-quarters of her hair. After a few minutes of hugging and most of the sisters and the Loud parents telling Lola, "Don't worry, you're beautiful just the way you are," Dr. Harris came in and informed the family, "Alright, I've got Lola's treatment plan ready to go."

Lynn Sr. said, "OK, sure, doc."

Dr. Harris then asked, "Listen, you mind stepping outside and helping me bring it in? We don't want to crowd Lola."

While the Louds looked concerned, Lynn Sr. said, "Oh, OK. See ya, Lols."

Every member of the family followed the doctor except one followed Dr. Harris out of Lola's hospital room. Lana, who had felt the most sorry for her sister, decided to stay by her sister's side. Rita turned back, saw Lana standing still in the hospital room, and asked, "Lana, what are you doing?"

Lana assured everyone, "Don't worry, I got this."

Despite initially wanting Lana to come with her, Rita saw the pained look on Lana's face and realized she wasn't going to do anything to hurt Lola. So, she steeled herself and told Lana, "OK. But stay safe, honey!"

Lana reassured Rita, "I will! See ya Mom, I got this!"

Rita and Lynn Sr. chuckled before Rita said, "We're sure you do, honey."

Dr. Harris then quickly urged the Loud parents, "Come on," and with that, he led Rita, Lynn Sr., and the rest of the Loud siblings out of the hospital room.

After the door closed on them, Lana walked up to her bedside and begged her, "Lols."

Initially, Lola refused to look at Lana, so Lana said, this time a little more firmly, "Lola."

That was enough to make Lola turn to look at Lana. When Lana saw the defeated look on Lola's face, she sighed in heartbreak, "This is not the Lola Loud I know," causing Lola's eyes to widen.

Lola grumbled, "The Lola Loud you know is gone forever. Gone the moment Lindsay Sweetwater decided to strip me of being pageant princess. And there's nothing I can do about it"

Lana tried to encourage Lola, "The Lola Loud I know wouldn't give up this easily."

Lola deadpanned, "I'm banned from pageants in the entire state of Michigan, Lana. I've never made it past the Royal Woods circuit. How the heck am I supposed to compete? For all the times I said I wanted to get out of this podunk town, I'm really regretting it now."

Lana confessed, "True," before trying to motivate Lola by explaining, "But the Lola Loud I know wouldn't let that stop her. Lola Loud finds a way. It scares me sometimes how you do it, but you find a way, sis. You always do. I mean, who else would convince their entire family that they did mob-type stuff to their toys just to get Lincoln to put his noise-canceling earbuds away? Who else could force their entire family to stop doing their annoying habits…", before Lola interrupted by yelling, "HEY!"

Lana sheepishly said, "Sorry," before continuing, "And who else would be able to scare every single beauty pageant girl in Royal Woods into not giving up secrets on her except for Lindsay? Who else would be able to scare us into doing whatever they want, even Lori, Lynn, Mom, AND Dad, despite being a little 6-year-old girl? Who challenges me, a girl who fights 200-pound alligators, to fights every hour of every day, and wins?"

Lola reflected on everything Lana told her, and told her skeptically, a bit of her old attitude coming back, "Go on."

Lana continued, "I've seen those girls you compete against. You don't just win against them… you destroy them. Remember, Lincoln made me sub in for you at that beauty pageant one time to get free Dairyland tickets?"

Lola scoffed, "Don't remind me."

Lana cried, "But that's what I'm saying!" She then admitted, "I never told you this, but those girls you compete against? They're fierce, and when I was up on that stage, even looking at them scared me? Do you know how hard it was for me to do my 'armpit farts' act in front of them? I was worried they'd never let me hear the end of it… even when I got old like Pop-Pop!"

Lola then remembered, "A-a-a-nd… I told them… if they ever messed with you, they mess with me. And they should know what happens when they make Lola mad!"

Seeing the spark of determination come back to her sister's eyes, Lana encouraged, "Mirror, mirror on the wall: who's the fairest sister of them all?"

Lola said, "I am."

Lana continued, "Mirror, mirror on the wall: who's the most beautiful sister of them all?"

Lola said, this time a little more confidently, "I am."

Lana then said, "Mirror, mirror on the wall: who's the fiercest sister of them all?"

Lola exclaimed, "I am!"

Lana finally concluded, "Mirror, mirror on the wall: who's the best twin sister of them all?"

Lola cheered, "I am!" She then pulled Lana in for a hug and told her, "Lana, I'm so sorry about everything I said. Thank you."

Lana chuckled, "You know it, sis."

Lola then said, "Since we're friends again, first order of business: the Sweetwaters. We're ending them. Not just Lindsay, but her entire family will go down in flames. And the rest of her stupid, dumb friends! They're going to regret the day they made Lola ma!."

Lana smirked while chuckling, "Alright! That's the Lola I like to see! But, I'm gonna ask you one favor."

Lola asked, "Sure, what's up?"

Lana told Lola, "We get Marcus Quick, and all his stupid friends, first."

Lola scoffed, "That's your problem, animal lover. You take care of them… I've got Lindsay. That cow is mine."

Lana smirked and chuckled, "Alright, alright, easy, tiger. Hey, what if we help each other out? One-time offer, Lols."

Lola briefly glanced upward before evilly smirking at Lana and shaking her hand, "Deal."

Lana then said with a matching evil smirk, "Alright, Lols. Welcome to the Loud Twins' Revenge Tour."

At that moment, Dr. Harris showed up and informed Lola, "Alright, so, you should be good to go with those stitches. Take some time off. With regards to the hair, just let it grow back naturally. It might be uneven in some places, but you can live with that for a while, can't you?"

Lola yelled at Dr. Harris, "Uneven? UNEVEN?! WHY, YOU LITTLE…", before Lana interrupted her and told Dr. Harris, "Lola's just excited to be back on her feet, that's all."

Dr. Harris chuckled, "Alright, alright. Like I was trying to say, remember to take it easy for the next month or so. I already told your mommy and daddy about your medications and your treatment plan. Ice and lots of rest. So just listen to them and you should be good to go."

Lola & Lana cheered, "We will! Thanks, doc!"

Dr. Harris chuckled, "Any time," before wrapping Lola in an arm cast. When he did, he told Lola, "Alright, now this is your arm cast, just to hold your muscles in place while you recover."

Lola muttered to Dr. Harris, "Guess I've got nothing better to do while being banned from all my pageants," before sighing, "OK."

Dr. Harris then said, "Oh, and one more thing," before handing Lola a pair of crutches.

Lola asked, "Crutches?"

Dr. Harris nodded before informing Lola, "You're going to need these for a while, given the injuries that you sustained. Again, plenty of rest."

Lola snorted, "OK, doc! I GET IT! Plenty of sleep! Just let me go home!"

Dr. Harris joked, "Looks like someone's enthusiastic!", before chuckling, "Alright, but just be sure to be careful and listen to everything Mommy & Daddy say, OK? They'll help you get all better as quickly as possible!"

Lola glared briefly at Dr. Harris before saying politely, "I will." She then flashed a gap-toothed smile as she grabbed her crutches and hobbled out of the hospital with Lana supporting her, "Bye, Dr. Harris!"

Dr. Harris waved her goodbye before closing the door on the Louds and waiting for his next patient.

As Lola hobbled out of the hospital, Lana teased, "Come on, race you to Vanzilla!"

With that, Lana ran off and laughed at Lola, who rolled her eyes in response. Then, Lisa stopped walking to let Lola catch up to her. As soon as Lola saw Lisa, she whispered, "Psst… Lisa?"

Lisa asked her, "What is it, Lols?"

Lola said, "Don't call me that," before asking her, "You're gonna cure all this for me, right?"

Lisa said, "Precisely. And I am interested in assisting you and your twin sister unit in your plot to avenge your injuries at the hands of the Sweetwaters. Perhaps legal redress might be the best course of action?"

Lola asked, "W-what?"

Lisa clarified, "Suing them."

Lola seethed, "No. I've got better ideas."

Lisa asked, "Anything I can be of assistance with?"

Lola evilly smirked, "Oh yeah."

Lisa replied, "Excellent," before telling Lola, "Now, come on. Our family units won't be waiting for you forever."

As Lola and Lisa walked to Vanzilla, Lola asked, "But what about Lori?"

Lisa checked her phone tracker, looked for Lori's data, and found a beeping light blue dot in another room of the hospital. Lisa sighed, "I hypothesize that she is visiting a person she carries deep affection for. Presumably Bobby Santiago, given her hysterical weeping for 'Boo-Boo Bear' in the waiting room when we arrived. Given our parent units' lack of urgency in retrieving our eldest sibling unit, I presume that Lori's grief at losing Bobby as a mate was a deciding factor in our parent units allowing Lori to stay. Another factor is that Lori is 17, near the legal age of majority in our state. Given these factors, I presume our parent units believe Lori can make her own decisions in this regard. I predict there's an 80% probability she returns home with the assistance of one of her friends."

Lola said, "Well, that's good to know," as the two sisters walked out of the hospital to join the rest of their family inside Vanzilla.

(Time Skip: Midnight, Bobby's Hospital Room)

While letting out another noxious fart right above a vent, Lori cried, "You remember that time, at the fair, when I literally thought you ditched me for Lincoln? How stupid I feel trying to pretend Clyde was my boyfriend because I was literally jealous! And all because… wait a minute… Lincoln! That's it! He'd literally know what to do! Sure, he's bad luck, and he literally makes bad plans, but at least he makes plans! Better than my sisters are doing right now, anyway." She then yelled, "I've got to find him! He's probably still here!" Lori then burst out of Room 107 and quickly moved her eyes from side-to-side between doors like a meerkat. She desperately darted to the peephole of each door, yelling, "LINCOLN! LINCOLN!", all while farting as she ran through the hallways.

Unfortunately for Lori, by the time she made her way back around to Room 107, she was met by a very angry Maria Santiago, who glared at her, stopping her dead in her tracks.

Lori gulped before stammering, "Uh… h-h-hi Mrs. Santiago! What are you doing here?"

Mrs. Santiago blankly said, "I work here."

Lori thought, "Oh yeah," before asking Mrs. Santiago, "Wait, this late at night?!"

Maria nodded before snarling, "Just what do you think you're doing?"

Lori said, "Looking for Lincoln," as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Maria scoffed before repeating herself, "No. What? Are? You? Doing?"

Lori repeated herself, "I'm looking for Lincoln, Mrs. Santiago. Did you literally not understand a word I said?"

Maria simply asked, "Why?"

Lori yelled, worried, "Why? WHY?! He's literally been missing since Sunday! I literally haven't heard a word of where he is, from my friends, from Bobby, from Ronnie Anne… from nobody! I literally need to find him so I can have good luck for my golf game tomorrow! And also so that Bobby can recover literally the next time I see him! And not just that… our house is literally falling apart at the seams! We need him! I need him! You've got to help me, Mrs. Santiago!"

As the two stared each other down, Maria facepalmed, "¡Ay dios mío, esos idiotas de la oficina nunca escuchan!" But just as Maria was about to scold Lori, she noticed a noxious smell coming from both the vents and the door of the room behind her. Maria groaned, "Ay dios mío, what is that smell?!"

She turned around to the source of the smell. As she opened the door to Bobby's room, the force of the smell hit Lori and Maria at full blast. Maria's eyes watered, she became lightheaded, and she felt like she was about to vomit and/or faint. Lori, having smelled the room for the first time since she left it to look for Lincoln, also took in how stinky the room smelled. Unlike Maria, she merely covered her nose with the collar of her shirt.

As Maria walked into Bobby's hospital room, she yelled, "¡Ay dios mío! ¡Aquí huele a huevos podridos! ¡Huele a cadáveres! ¡Como cadáveres en descomposición! ¡Como la muerte! ¡Es una abominación! Hijo mío... ¿quién te hizo esto? ¡Es peor que el basurero!"

Lori yelled, "IT WAS MY SHOE!", causing Maria to turn to her and glare at her. When she did, Lori sheepishly chuckled and blushed, causing Maria to glare even harder at her.

Having figured out that Lori caused the smell, Maria briefly glared at Lori before getting so overwhelmed by the smell that she quickly ran out of the room, causing Lori to chase after her while yelling, "Wait!"

When Maria looked into Lori's eyes, she shook her head and sighed, "Just go home, Lori."

Lori cried, "But… Bobby… Boo-Boo Bear."

Maria sighed, "Look, I know you're concerned about your Boo-Boo Bear. I know you still love him. But he needs to recover. And frankly, so do you."

Lori whimpered, "But… Boo-Boo Bear… L-Linky."

Maria quickly pulled Lori into a hug and interrupted her, "I know. But you've got to get out of here. Your family's probably worried sick about you. And if Lincoln were still with your family, he would be, too. Now, come on. I'll talk to Karla and get some time off to drive you home."

Lori said through sniffles, "You'd literally do that for me?"

Maria assured Lori, "Yup. Sure, you and Bobby might have your… erm… differences. But at the end of the day, you have to ask yourself: do you love him?"

Lori sniffled before huffing, "Of course I do. What kind of question is that?"

Maria told Lori, "Then you have to learn to let him go."

Lori sniffled, "What? But isn't showing up at your soulmate's bedside literally the most romantic thing ever?"

Maria sighed, "It can be. But right now, all you're doing is stinking up the room Bobby's sleeping in, making it harder for him to recover. I'd get you an appointment myself, but it's getting late. So go home and sleep it off. You need it. can look for Lincoln again in the morning."

Lori realized the truth in Maria's statement and hugged her, "Thanks, Mrs. Santiago. You don't know how much this means to me."

Maria somberly said, "No problem. I know this week's been hard for you. Come on… follow me to the car."

Lori proceeded to follow Maria to her car. Maria held the shotgun door open for Lori before the two set course for the Loud House. As they took off, Maria made sure to roll the windows open in case Lori stunk up the car as well with her farts.

(Scene Change: Loud House, 10 minutes later)

When Lori and Maria arrived at the Loud House, Maria told Lori, "Alright, here we are."

Lori got out of the car and thanked Maria for the ride home, to which Maria responded, "You're welcome. Now go inside and get some rest."

That was the last thing Maria said before she drove off, leaving Lori to sneak back inside the Loud House. After tiptoeing up the steps to try to make as little noise as possible, she entered the keypad to her room, locked the door, and went to sleep, having avoided being busted by any of her siblings.

As Lori fell asleep, the last thing she thought to herself was, Please, Boo-Boo Bear, get better. And Lincoln… wherever you are… please be OK.

(Scene Change: Royal Woods Hospital, Room 106)

While Maria drove back to Royal Woods Hospital, in the room right next to Bobby's, an old lady lay on her hospital bed maskless, hooked up to an ECG monitor, among numerous other machines. This old lady's mobility scooter was parked by her bedside. After hours of inhaling noxious fumes from the vents, the lady began to struggle to get oxygen thanks to the combination of the overwhelming concentration of the smell permeating the room, a lack of ventilation caused by a closed window, closed door, and the nasty smells themselves coming from the vents. Despite the best efforts of the hospital's machines to provide oxygen to the lady's lungs, they were proving to be more and more futile as the noxious fumes gradually overwhelmed the room. As the old lady suffocated due to the smell that had completely taken over her hospital room, the last thing she thought was, "At least I won't have to deal with this hip anymore."

Within seconds of uttering these words to herself, Mabel Pass, better known to the world as "Scoots", suffocated due to a lack of oxygen in the room and died.

Closing A/N: As Lola goes home in stitches, R.I.P. Scoots. At least Lola and Lana have made up again… ish. And with Lori now concerned as to where Lincoln is, let's just say things are going to get interesting over the next few days.

A/N 2: Had to bring up the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.

A/N 3: In the previous chapter, a guest review is going to ask, "If the other Loud sisters were involved in Lola's cheating, why do they act as if they don't know anything in A Tattler's Tale? Why are they shocked?" Put it like this: they're not shocked because it happened. They're shocked because they got caught, and thought no one would ever see that.

A/N 4: To all those asking about which sisters will be saved, or what happens to Clyde, all I can say is stay tuned!

A/N 5: I decided to kill off Scoots because in the show, she's always been kind of a grousey douche. This fanfic is called "Reversal of Fortune" for a reason.

And now, for the best of the reviews:

- Guest6973: Just a reminder, I'm taking others' ideas for revenge. Just PM me if you have anything!
- yami15147, Ohma flame, davevad, wollyworld, Bolt, Saccharine Melody: Mwahaha.

Now that Lola's back home and all stitched up, how will she adjust to life after pageantry? And how will the rest of the Louds adjust to the most Machiavellian of the sisters being home full-time whenever she's not at school? Will anyone miss Scoots? And what do the Sweetwaters have planned for the Louds next? Find out next chapter on… REVERSAL! OF! FORTUNE!