Chapter 5

Dedication

Night fell upon the Loud house harshly. Dinner disappeared without a notice, as all the members of the household could think of were those phone records showing that unknown number, watching and listening intently while they went about their normal lives. No one uttered a word, both at a sibling and the two agents swearing to protect them at all costs. Even in the brightly-lit dining room, everything felt far more darker than usual.

Luna didn't come back down from the room, choosing instead to cry to herself throughout the rest of the day. Rita's fist tightened as she watched how miserable the evening had come. She stared at Doug and Michelle, and though her husband was kind enough to give them some of his trademark Italian pasta, she didn't return the gesture, and quickly snatched their plates up. The lady seemed particularly offended. "W-What? What's wrong? Is it healthy? Oh, I forgot the handkerchief around the neck, right?"

Perhaps she truly meant her questions, or maybe she just wanted to lighten the mood. Either way, Rita wasn't buying it. Her frown was enough to slaughter even the sturdiest of men. "Why haven't you even bothered talking with your little project?"

Doug winced at that nickname, and quickly folded his arms. "What the hell does that mean? I hope you're not implying I don't view Luna as human!"

"Who's implying anything? All I'm saying is ever since you invaded our lives, I haven't see her smile once in this house!"

Two hard hands slammed the table. Doug tried to keep his cool, but his breaking point was reached long ago. "I'm helping her so that in case anything like that Mountain happens again, she won't be caught off-guard! You can think whatever, but I'm doing what I can to make sure she's safe!"

If the man wasn't army-trained, Rita may have attempted a slap across the face. "Help? You call sending her upstairs crying help? And what for? You take her three days a week to, what, train, for something you guys should be handling instead?"

This was getting ugly. Even her daughters that agreed with everything their mother said quickly retreated to the back of the room. Michelle, unfortunate to be caught up in it all, quickly stood and held her hands out. "Okay, okay, let's just take a moment to breathe. This pasta is really good, by the way, and-"

"You shut your mouth!"

Michelle fled right with the other siblings; surprisingly, they accepted her as Doug and Rita got closer, shooting lasers at one another with their unbridled anger. "You... You don't yell at my partner!" He shouted to her.

"Oh? If I remember, your partner and you nearly destroyed her life multiple times! First with her music, now with all this! You're honestly disgusting!"

"At least I'm making sure she'll be all right, dammit! Do you even care that she nearly died that day? Do you?"

"You're one to talk! All you've been doing is scaring my family!"

This went on-and-on, both forgetting the main fact of actually checking up on Luna. As everyone felt hesitant, one soul clearly made themselves feel known. His throat grew dry and his eyes grew teary, matching the paleness of his face that complimented his white hair quite nicely. Lincoln stood tall, looking like a zombie towards the arguing adults.

"Just... just stop!" He shouted, before storming out of the room. Everyone tried to stop him, but one angry scowl he gave before ascending the stairs put a dent into that plan. He charged his way down to his room, noticing that his older sister didn't even bother locking the door. She really did want somebody to talk to; made him feel worse for thinking otherwise.

Without a knock, he quickly swung his way in, looking at his sister staring up at the ceiling. Arms folded, with her make-up running down against her cheeks, she looked like a truly broken human. It was enough to make his heart tremble, and quickly took a seat beside her.

"L-Luna?"

"They arguing down there?" She questioned, eyes still staring up at the ceiling.

Lincoln sighed, noticing Luna made enough room for him to lie down. He did just that, choosing to look up at a lone crack staring back down. "Yeah... it got pretty heated. I guess everyone's, y'know, scared..."

Luna closed her eyes. Of course they were. Why wouldn't they be? She was practically traumatized hearing it, and knowing that she survived a hellish ordeal already, what hope did all of them have? Their whole family was seemingly endangered, should those records mean anything, and in some regard, a wave of guilt came crashing down. A wave that Lincoln felt all the same, and he stared at his sister in disgust.

"Don't tell me you're blaming yourself or anything! You aren't, right?"

Luna brought her hands up to her face, hoping to mask away the tears. "What am I supposed to think, brah? If I'm not to blame for this stupid thing, then I'm to blame for what's happening down there now!"

Lincoln did something he never thought he'd do, especially to the sister that saved his life: a firm smack went across her face. She stared at him dumbfounded, seeing how horrified he was in doing that. "I'm... I'm sorry, it's just... I never want to hear you say something like that again."

Luna looked down at the carpet. Tear stains were everywhere; how long had she been crying? With a sigh, she turned around and embraced her brother. "I'm sorry, brah. Just can't, y'know, shake that feeling. Dang, that stupid place... it won't leave me alone."

"I know what you mean. Heck, and please don't slap me for this, but I can't help blaming myself either! I mean, Abraham wanted me. I have a real bad feeling someone else wants the same thing! I... maybe I should leave you guys. You have no reason to leave, Luna, but me..."

He expected his own pain across the face, but Luna abided by his demand first. She hugged him even tighter. "If you go anywhere, I'm going with. The last thing I want is either you or the rest getting dragged into this nightmare again." She looked down at him with determined eyes. "If leaving now would keep them save, and me being with you will let me take these guys down, then I'll do it."

Lincoln's eyes grew wide. "W-Wait, are you actually gonna go with them? I mean, I don't know..."

"Don't trust those guys yet?"

He sighed. "Well, if you of all people do, I guess I should, but still!"

She nestled her head into his hair. "They saved us. I trust them. I won't force you to do anything you don't want, Linky, but I'm not putting any of ya in any more danger. That ain't happening, so if the only way to stop that is to go... then I know what to do."

He hugged her tighter himself. "Then I'm going with you!"

"L-Linc..."

"I... it's hard living without you, you know? After that... that place, I don't want you to just up and leave. I trust you, okay? If you leave me behind, I'll... I'll...," he was nearly on the verge of tears himself.

His sister was there to calm him down. "I dig what you're saying. Well, I won't stop you. Who knows? Maybe this is nothing, but...," she looked at him with that same warm smile she gave back at the hospital, "... no matter what, I'll be there for you. No one's taking you again, you hear?"

Lincoln smiled warmly back. "I definitely do..."

They hugged for what felt like hours, but both didn't want to leave that embrace. Ever since that night, they hated being separated, finding true peace when they stuck by one another. No matter what hell was coming for them, they had each other.

No matter what. No matter what...

FROM: Unknown

"They're home. All of them."

"And the targets?"

"Together. What are the orders?"

"Wait for the lights to dim. Stay in the snow until they are asleep. No sudden actions."

"And if they resist?"

"Then drug them. Don't let a single one die now. We need them alive."

"Heh... I can't believe we're finally doing this..."

"The time is nigh. We shall succeed tonight!"