Chapter 3
Hey, everyone. I'm back with another chapter. Now, before I get started, I wanna go ahead and thank you guys for all the support and kind words you guys have given me, as well as expressing concern about my mother's health. I can't tell you how much I really appreciate it. Just reading all those nice things you guys have said meant the world to me. So thank you all so much for bringing a smile to my face. Hopefully, this story will continue doing the same for you guys. Now, I should mention this next chapter is probably gonna be shorter than the previous one, and that's because I don't have a lot planned for this one. So I apologize in advance if you're disappointed, but hopefully, you'll continue to enjoy the story nonetheless. Anyway, without further ado, let's continue on.
Disclaimer: I own nothing from The Loud House.
The night dragged on as you would expect. The girls all had a hard time falling asleep, as they were concerned for their missing brother; and hoping he was at least somewhere safe. At the same time, they were anticipating going back out there and searching for him, hopefully with better luck this time. Eventually, the girls did fall asleep one by one, only to wake up a few hours later to find the morning sun shining into the house. Despite their tiredness, the girls were determined to go back outside to find their lost brother, and hopefully make things right with him. But first, they had to get ready.
The girls all got out of bed and made their way downstairs to the kitchen. Though none of them were willing to wait for their parents (or at least their dad) to wake up and make them breakfast, so they all settled for bowls of cereal. After finishing their breakfast, the girls all went upstairs to the bathroom to get themselves ready. Just like the previous night, the girls were either brushing their teeth or brushing their hair. Though this time, none of them were wasting a single second as they knew the sooner they were out the door, the better their chances were. The girls quickly changed into their usual attire soon after they finished up in the bathroom. And just like that, they were ready to get out the door and continue their search. All they had to do was wait for their parents to get themselves ready.
The previous night
After having a lengthy conversation with their daughters, Rita and Lynn Sr. entered their rooms to discuss the girls' punishment. Though they had a lot to discuss over, not just because of what the girls did to their brother the previous day, but because of what they did the previous year as well. Just like what they told the girls, Rita and Lynn Sr. were both shocked by what Lincoln told them the first time this Sister Fight Protocol incident occurred. And as shocked as they were, anger would have summed it up nicely as well. Just like they said, Rita and Lynn Sr. were planning to punish the girls that day after everything calmed down. But of course, that took more time than they thought it would, and it ended up slipping their minds. As a result, the girls never got to learn their lessons from that day, which is why they must've thought they were gonna get away with it again. They started to feel ashamed of themselves for forgetting to punish the girls, since it could've prevented the incident from happening again. And more importantly; it possibly would've prevented Lincoln from ever running away. But they remembered a little something they learned when first becoming parents: it's never too late to punish your kids for doing something bad, no matter how long ago it was.
Present day
After agreeing on a punishment, the two parents finally went to sleep. The next morning, they woke up and exited their bedroom, only to find the girls already in their usual attire and standing by the door.
"Girls, what are you doing?" asked Lynn Sr.
"Duh, we're waiting for you guys." Lori said in a sassy tone.
"Yeah, hurry and get dressed so we can go find Lincoln." Luan said.
"Girls, I know you're eager to go back out and continue searching, but you're father and I still have to eat breakfast and get ourselves ready to go." Rita responded. The girls collectively let out a groan.
"Well, can you please make it snappy? The sooner we're out the door, the better." Lisa said.
"Just give us a few minutes, okay girls?" Lynn Sr. said.
The girls once again groaned as the two parents went into the kitchen to fix themselves breakfast. After finishing their bowls of cereal, they went into their converted bathroom to brush their teeth and get dressed in their usual attire, as well as some last-minute touches. The girls patiently waited for their parents to come out of their bedroom. Minutes were passing by ever so slowly, as it felt like they were taking forever to get dressed. Eventually, Rita and Lynn Sr. stepped out of their bedroom, ready to go.
"Alright, is everyone here?" Rita said. Everyone gave their collective calls, confirming their presence.
"Alright, let's go." Lynn Sr. said. Soon after, everyone all piled into Vanzilla to resume their search.
Just like yesterday, the Louds drove up and down the neighborhood while calling Lincoln's name. They of course drove by the McBride's house again just in case anybody came back home, only to find it completely void of cars. After that, they checked all of Lincoln's friends' houses, only to find them all empty once again. With the neighborhoods proven to be a lost cause, the Loud family decided to drive uptown to Royal Woods and check all the public places Lincoln could be. They checked all the comic book stores, Gus's Games n' Grub, the Burpin' Burger, Tall Timbers Park, the mall, etc. asking all the clerks and even random citizens nearby if they saw anyone matching Lincon's description; all to no avail. At this point, it was now 2 pm, and the Louds were worried sick.
"Daddy, I'm really worried." Lola said.
"What happens if we can't find Lincoln? What if we never see him again?" Lana asked with anxiety building up.
"Keep your chins up, girls." Lynn Sr. reassured, "We will find him. We just have to keep our eyes peeled."
"But father, we've been searching for our male sibling unit for approximately 6 hours now, and we haven't come close to finding him; not even a single clue as to where he might be." said Lisa.
"Lisa's right, He may have even skipped town already." Lori said.
"C'mon, girls; don't be like that. We're not giving up just yet, we can still find him." Rita reassured.
Her words gave the girls enough encouragement to keep their heads held high and believe they can find their brother/son. The Louds went back to driving around the small town and the neighborhoods while keeping their eyes peeled. With no luck, the Louds eventually found themselves in the neighboring cities like Hazeltucky and Beaverton, searching high and low; with all to no avail.
Hours passed, and there was still no sign of Lincoln. The sun had already set and it was just starting to get dark out. The Louds have exhausted all of their energy trying to find Lincoln. The only other stop they made was for gas at Flip's Food & Fuel. And even then, they still tried asking Flip if he's seen Lincoln, which was to no avail; mainly because he kept pressuring them to buy something. At this point, the Louds have given up hope.
"Pops, I'm really tired. Can we please go home now?" asked Luna. Soon after, the rest of the girls sounded off their agreement.
"Honey, we've been at this for hours. I think it's time we head back home and call the police." Rita said. Lynn Sr. let out a sad sigh.
"Okay, honey." Lynn Sr. replied.
The Louds made it back home, where Rita and Lynn Sr. got on the phone with 911 to report their son missing. Everyone was gathered around the living room, anxiously waiting for a police officer to show up. However, there was one person in the room who was seen to be taking the disappearance of his son noticeably harder. The patriarch of the family, Lynn Sr. was becoming overwhelmed with his emotions. The anxiety he was feeling finally became too much to stomach. And as you'd expect, he began to cry his eyes out. Rita and Lori did their best to comfort the emotional man until the police officer arrived.
The doorbell rings loudly throughout the house as the Loud parents are the first to open the door, where they're greeted by a police officer.
"Morning. My name is Sergeant Jericho. I was called about a missing child?" He asked.
"Yes, officer. Right this way." Rita greeted the police Sergeant. Everyone gathered around the dining room with a feeling of dread and nervousness. After taking a seat, Sergeant Jericho pulled out a notepad, getting ready to jot things down.
"To start off, what is your son's name?" Jericho asked.
"L-Lincoln Loud, s-sir." Lynn Sr. stuttered through his tears.
"Alright, can you tell me what he looks like?" asked the police Sergeant.
"Well, he's… he's eleven years old, has white hair, a chipped tooth, he wears an orange polo, and...and a pair of b-blue jeans. OH, I MISS HIM SO MUCH!" Lynn Sr. cried into his wife's shoulders as Rita did her best to comfort him.
"It's okay, honey. I'll take it from here." Rita said while rubbing her husband's back.
"Usually, it's the other way around." Jericho whispered to himself. "Anyway, is there a picture of your son I can look at?" Rita pulls out her purse and reaches for a small, yet sizable photo of Lincoln's recent school photo and hands it to the police Sergeant.
"Feel free to keep that. We have tons of those where that came from." Rita said.
"Perfect." Sergeant Jericho accepted. "Anyway, can you tell me what led up to your son running away?"
"Actually, I'm gonna let the girls answer that question." Rita said as she gestured her hand at the girls. The police officer focused his attention at the Loud Sisters, who equally looked just as nervous.
"You see," Lori started out, "my boyfriend gave me a pair of acid-washed Bermuda shorts for my birthday one year. And a few months ago, I told my sister Leni, *gesturing towards her* that she could have them if she did something for me."
"Which was?" Jericho asked. "It doesn't matter now. It was a while ago." Lori replied. "Okay, go on." The policeman said. "So a couple days ago, I told Leni that I wanted those shorts back, but she refused. So we got into this serious fight, which got so bad that we couldn't stand being in the same room together. So our sisters were doing whatever they could to keep us separated until we cooled off."
"We call it the 'Sister Fight Protocol', sir." Luan said.
"Okay, but what did your brother have to do with it?" Sergeant Jericho asked. The girls looked at each other with sorrowful looks, with some narrowing their eyes in shame.
"The thing is, officer;" Luna began, "We didn't give our little brother a proper role in this protocol. Instead, we forced him to make sacrifices against his will."
"Like what?" the officer said.
"For starters, we forced him to give up his room whenever we needed to hide either Lori or Leni in there." Luna answered. The officer didn't say anything in response. He just let out a hum as he was taking a mental note.
"We also banned him from the kitchen, the bathroom, and even from watching TV. We also used his blanket and bed sheets as a divider without telling him." Luna continued.
"And after all of that, yesterday became the final straw for him. He packed up his things, jumped out his window, and rode his bike away from the house." Luan said.
"Okay, let me see if I got this right," Sergeant Jericho began: "your older sisters got into a big fight, that left them refusing to be in the same room, *sisters nod* then you guys kicked your brother out of his own room to hide either sister in there,"
"A few times, actually." Luan interrupted.
"Hmmm." Jericho took another mental note. "Anyway, you also banned him from going into the kitchen, and going to the bathroom,"
"Mainly because either Lori or Leni were cooling off in there, but yeah." Lynn interrupted.
"Right. You also refused to let him watch TV, and you stole his blankets and bedsheets; is that correct?"
"Affirmative. Though not exactly in that correct order, but close enough." Lisa replied.
"Mmm hmm." The police Sergeant jotted those things down on his notepad "Now, is this the first time something like this has happened?"
"Um… actually, no." Luna answered, "The very same incident happened a year ago. Though it was much worse last year."
"How so?" Jericho asked. "If I may," Lori gestured to her sisters before turning her attention to the police officer. "Just like the other day, Leni and I got into a huge argument, and we both needed our space to cool off afterwards."
"So how is this any different?" Sergeant Jericho asked.
"At some point, Lincoln tried to help us resolve our issue, but he accidentally made it worse instead." Lori answered.
"Did your brother try to help you guys out this time?" Jericho asked.
"No." Lori answered, "He actually tried to stay out of it this time."
"W-w-wait, Lincoln never got involved?" Lola asked.
"No." Lori answered, "Did you guys not notice that?" She then asked. The girls (sans Leni) exchanged looks of both confusion and shock. The fact that Lincoln never got himself involved this time, really put things in perspective for the other Loud sisters.
"Anyway," Lori continued; "After Leni and I had another major spat, we both felt like we couldn't sleep in the same room anymore, so Lincoln came up with the idea to have me and Leni switch roommates with Luna and Luan."
"And?" Jericho asked.
"Unfortunately, that plan didn't work out so well, because it resulted in our sisters taking sides, which sparked a major fight between them. And before we knew it, the rest of our sisters started fighting."
"Interesting," Sergeant Jericho responded, "And did Lincoln run away from home during that time?"
"Not exactly," Luan answered, "He didn't technically run away from home, but things did get so bad that Lincoln needed to stay somewhere else for the night. So he stayed at a friend's house."
"Our male sibling did return to the premises the very next day, only to find out that all of us had resolved our previous conflicts." Lisa said.
"Okay." Sergeant Jericho taking a literal note. "Now, forgive me for asking this, but does this family have any history with any sort of abuse or something, that could've been another leading factor to your son and brother running away?" The police sergeant asked a bold question.
"No, officer." Rita answered calmly, "We've never hit any of our kids before. I mean, we do yell at them sometimes when they do something bad, but we've never even spanked our kids before." The girls nodded their heads in confirmation.
"What about your daughters?" Jericho asked as he turned his attention back to the girls.
"No, sir. We don't really abuse each other a lot, nor do we abuse Lincoln. I mean yeah, we do get into fights with each other sometimes, and Lincoln's no exception. But at the end of the day, we still love each other very much, especially our brother." Lori lets out a brief sigh, "We've just been really stupid lately, and we did some really bad things. I think that's why Lincoln ran off." Lori's voice trailed off a little bit near the end as she was once again regretting what she did.
"Hmmmm." The police officer hummed in confusion as he jotted some things down. His looks of confusion didn't go unnoticed, however.
"Uhh… is there something wrong, officer?" Rita asked.
"I can't help but find it odd that your son would run away after only two incidents like this. I mean, if this was a daily, or a weekly, or even a monthly thing, I would understand. But from what I'm hearing, this only happened twice in a span of two years, correct?" Sergeant Jericho stated.
"Technically a year and a half, but yes." Lisa corrected.
"Right." The police officer turned his attention back to the parents. "If I may ask, has your son ever shown any signs of depression, or feelings of insecurities, or anything of that nature?" The parents exchanged looks for a few seconds.
"No, not that we know of." Rita answered, "Lincoln's always been a happy go-lucky kid who's willing to help anybody in need. With all do-respect, but why do you ask?"
"Because in my 10 years as a police officer, I've dealt with many kids running away from home. And half of them who ran away claim they felt overshadowed and were not getting enough attention from their family members, especially with siblings around. In a way, they felt like they were invisible. Does that make sense?" Officer Jericho explained.
"Oh dear." Rita exclaimed. She felt her heart break after hearing what the police officer had dealt with. "Well, I don't think Lincoln's ever shown any signs of depression or anything. And believe me, my husband and I give our kids as much attention as they need."
"I believe what you're saying, Mrs. Loud." Officer Jericho replied, "But I should tell you that from personal experience, many people I've seen with depression tend to hide their feelings from their loved ones for various reasons. Whether if they're trying to protect their loved ones, or out of fear of being treated like less of a human being. Of course, I'm no therapist, this is just from my personal experience."
The parents both expressed shocked faces. "Wait, *sniff* you really think our son might be feeling depressed?" Lynn Sr. tearfully asked.
"Again, that's just my guess, Mr. Loud. I'm just trying to find some answers." Sergeant Jericho assured. As soon as he finished his sentence, Jericho unintentionally laid his eyes on the Loud family trophy case. Within doing so, Jericho quickly noticed that every spot in that trophy case was filled with trophies, all except for one.
"Hey, is that your guys' trophy case?" He asked while pointing behind the parents' shoulders. The two parents looked behind them.
"Yeah. Why?" Rita asked, confusingly.
"Do you mind if I take a look at it?" Sergeant Jericho asked.
"Sure, be my guest." Rita answered. Jericho went over to the trophy case. From there, he noticed that the one spot with hardly any trophies was in fact Lincoln's spot. However, it did have one small trophy in there.
"'Most Improved Brother?' What's that about?" Jericho asked.
"Oh, we gave him that trophy, sir." Lori answered.
"What for?" Officer Jericho turned his attention to the sisters.
"Well, it's kind of a long story." Lori started. "To make it short; Lincoln purposely did something humiliating to us in order to try and win some contest his school did a couple years ago. Of course, that made us all really mad at him. So in order to get back to our good side, he did something humiliating to himself so he'd be even with us. Unfortunately, Lincoln didn't win the trophy his school was giving out, so we gave him that one to show how much we appreciated what he did."
"Hmmm." Officer Jericho let out a hum before turning back to the trophy case. "Forgive me for asking a stupid question, but has Lincoln won any other contests?"
"No, I don't think so." Luan answered after giving a brief thought.
"Actually, there was one contest he won." Luna suddenly remembered. "A while back, there was an Ace Savvy contest that required him to make his own Ace Savvy comic that would get turned into a real one if Lincoln won it. Of course, Lincoln's comic did win and his comic was published by the creator of the series, but Lincoln has it framed in his room."
"But is that the only contest Lincoln won?" Jericho said as he turned his attention back to the sisters.
"I believe so." Luna answered.
"Hmmm." Sergeant Jericho observed the trophy case for a few more seconds before returning to his seat.
"Uh, officer; what are you getting at?" Rita nervously asked.
"Well, like I mentioned before, half the kids who ran away from home I've dealt with felt like they were being overshadowed and ignored by their family members. But what I didn't mention was that some of those kids have also felt like genetic mistakes." Jericho explained.
"Genetic mistake?" Rita asked.
"Yeah. Like they don't feel like they belong in the family, especially when it's a boy with only sisters, or vice versa. As well as when that kid is growing up with siblings who have so many talented skills while he/she has yet to find their true calling." Sergeant Jericho explained. "And judging by the clues I have, this may be another case of that."
"Wait a second, are you saying that our boy, Lincoln…" RIta struggled to finish the question.
"Again, this is pure speculation, ma'am. But my guess is that your son may have been dealing with depression for quite some time. And I'm not trying to blame nobody here, but it's possible that your son may have been feeling overshadowed, and may be feeling like he's not truly part of the family. And the recent incident with this "SIster Fight Protocol" may have been the tip of the iceberg."
It took a little while for everything the police officer said to fully register with everyone. But once it did, every single Loud had a look of uneasiness and shock. The thought of their brother/son possibly feeling depressed and inferior to his sisters for who knows how long, and even feeling like he may not be part of the family. It felt like a huge punch in the gut as the family in the room all felt their stomachs tie into knots.
"Well, I think I have all the information I need." Officer Jericho began, "We'll get the word out to everyone in the city immediately, and I'll even contact the neighboring cities in hopes they'll help find your missing boy. In the meantime, I recommend posting fliers all over the town and contacting some friends and family to help find the kid, got it?"
The family immediately snapped out of their senses. "Y-yes, officer. Thanks for coming by." Rita said, still in her uneasy state.
"No problem. We'll begin the search right away." Sergeant Jericho said. Soon after, he let himself out, and the family would soon disperse.
A few hours have passed since the meeting with the police officer. Everyone was off doing their own thing. Luan was the only one in the living room, watching TV. Meanwhile, her roommate, Luna, was in their shared bedroom, trying to play her guitar. Since Luna wasn't in the mood to play rock music, she settled on her acoustic guitar. However, Luna struggles playing a simple chord, due to having a hard time concentrating. Her brain was already too fixated on something else.
No matter how hard she tried, Luna couldn't stop thinking about what the police officer said about Lincoln. She kept wondering if what he said about Lincoln were true. Was Lincoln really depressed? Was the pressure of being the only boy in the house getting to him? Did he really believe he wasn't part of the family? Those questions were constantly racing in Luna's mind. Eventually, she gave up trying to play her guitar. So she set it aside, and just sat there in silence, thinking to herself.
The whole time Luna sat there, she kept asking herself if her bro really was feeling depressed. Lincoln's never been the one to show any signs of depression, or anything similar. He's always been a happy-go-lucky spirit, and always trying to live his life the best way he could. Whether he was with his family, his friends, or by himself. It seemed like he was always in a good mood.
However, Luna then remembered what Sergeant Jericho said: about how "people going through depression tend to hide their feelings for various reasons". And that was what scared her the most. She began to realize that maybe it was truly possible her little bro could've been feeling depressed, and was just hiding it from his family. But how is it even possible? Yeah, the sisters may have done some stupid things with the Sister Fight Protocol, but they've always treated Lincoln with the most love and care in the world. They've always been good to him. He shouldn't be having those thoughts in his head.
Just then, Luna's brain shifted into auto-pilot. Before she knew it, her brain was beginning to flood with memories of her, her sisters, and Lincoln. Unfortunately, these weren't good memories. Her brain began to remind her of all the bad things she and the girls did to their sole brother. It started with the time Luna and the girls laughed and made fun of Lincoln for his interest in Ace Savvy, which quickly turned to them accusing Lincoln for clogging the toilet without any proof.
Then she thought about the time she and the girls fought Lincoln over money. Okay, to be fair, the girls were fighting each other mostly. But there were times where they all teamed up against Lincoln during that whole debacle. Then there was the time, everyone made fun of Lincoln's coffee mug he made for their parents' anniversary, just to name a few.
There were a ton more memories she thought of that were similar to the aforementioned, but then, Luna's memories started getting worse. She remembered the time both she and Luan got into an argument over Luan's puppet getting damaged, and Luna remembered she threatened Lincoln with her fist when he was about to take Luan's side. This was something Luna forgot she ever did. But now that the memory came back, it was enough to make her stomach churn.
There was also that time where everyone blamed Lincoln when Lisa decided to act like an "average kid", which looking back; it really wasn't fair doing that, since none of the girls ever heard his side of the story. Then there was that time of the library contest, when Lola refused to read a book, which cost the family an entire night at Spunk E. Pigeons. Luna remembered how everyone got mad at Lincoln for not getting Lola to read a book in time. And that was before he took the blame. Everyone was so quick to blame Lincoln before he even said a word. No one ever got mad at Lola, even when she took the blame. There's not much else Luna remembers from that night. However, she's positive no one ever told Lincoln they were sorry for blowing up at him. If they did, well; let's just say Luna was sorry for never getting the chance to do what her family did.
Luna's brain shifted to more bad memories between her and Lincoln. From the whole "Sweet Spot" incident, to the grocery store incident, destroying his science project, and all the times she and the girls laughed at him for countless things.
And then, there it was. The memory that has haunted her and her family for almost two whole years. A memory they've all been trying so hard to forget, and even swore to never bring it up again. The Bad Luck incident. It's only been a year and a half, but Luna still remembers the incident like it was yesterday. Beginning with Lincoln being forced to go to Lynn's softball game. A game that would just so happen to hand Lynn and her team their first loss of the season. This, of course, would result in Lynn declaring Lincoln "bad luck". The rockstar sister remembered Lynn spreading that rumor all throughout the Loud House, even telling Luna herself that their little brother was a bad luck charm. Of course, Luna's biggest regret was listening to her, because not only did she and the other girls ban Lincoln from their events, but they would eventually ban him from all family activities, including going to the movies. And as if leaving their only male sibling out of all the fun wasn't bad enough, the family would even kick Lincoln out of the house, sell all of his furniture, and even tell him to stay far away from their house. Luna even remembered the night she saw her brother sleeping outside in the backyard. She didn't feel anything back then, as she thought it was best for the entire family. But now, that mental image was like a huge punch to the gut, as it did nothing but remind her how the family threw their brother out like yesterday's trash.
And worst of all; even after the family apologized, they still continued believing that Lincoln was bad luck. Either that, or they suddenly began thinking the squirrel suit Lincoln wore to prove them wrong was a good luck charm. Either way, it resulted in the family forcing Lincoln to wear that heavy mascot suit to all their events and activities for good luck. Lincoln was constantly tortured and humiliated at all the places he had to be. Everywhere he went, there were people laughing at him, throwing things at him, poking him, and even beating him. This also included the beach. Yes, Lincoln was even forced to wear that squirrel suit at the beach.
On an unseasonably warm, spring day, there was nothing better than having a fun day at the beach. To swim in the cool lake, build sandcastles, bounce around a beach ball, etc. Much like a normal family, all of that was paradise to the Louds. However, Lincoln wasn't allowed to have any of that. Out of fear of the suit getting ruined, Lincoln was forced to stand in the middle of the hot sun (almost succumbing to the elements), and watch while his sisters got to have a fun day at the beach. Everytime Luna thought about that day at the beach, it would always make her sad. She would always think about how she would've felt if she was in that squirrel suit. No doubt she would've felt sad, alone, neglected, unloved, and would even feel like a freak. And if she would've felt all those things, most likely her little bro did as well. And everytime she thought that, it would always make her want to cry.
And there everything came. Luna felt all the weight of the world falling on her shoulders. To say Luna felt bad about that day, and that whole incident entirely, would be a major understatement. Everytime that incident would come to mind, it would feel like someone reached in, pulled her heart out of her chest, and stomped on it. That's how she felt: completely heartless.
Luna didn't want to believe it, but she's now realized that what Officer Jericho said about Lincoln may be true. All this time, Lincoln put on this happy and carefree attitude. But deep down, he felt completely inferior to his sisters. Most likely being the only boy in the house, coupled with the fact that he has yet to find his true talent unlike his sisters, it served as a heavy dumbbell, sitting on his chest, and weighing him down. And all those bad memories just piled on top of his lingering depression. And now, the recent events of the last few days, may have just been the final nail in the coffin.
All of that guilt, all of those thoughts, all of that regret, and all of that weight, Luna couldn't take it anymore. She was finally ready to let it all out. And that's what she did. Luna sat on that bunk bed, and began to cry. Soon enough, those cries quickly turned to sobs. Luna felt her entire world falling apart. The rockstar always thought she was a good sister to every one of her siblings, even if she did make some mistakes. She always tried to be the best sister she could, especially to her brother. The person she felt she had a close bond with, due to their shared love of music. But now, looking back on all those bad things, as harsh as it sounded; Luna felt like one big giant failure.
Meanwhile; downstairs in the living room, we find Luan still sitting on the couch, watching TV. Whatever she was watching wasn't anything special, just an episode of a favorite show of hers. No doubt trying to distract herself from the ongoing circumstances that were happening. However, no matter how hard she tried, she knew Lincoln's disappearance was still sitting in the back of her mind.
After her TV show finally ended, Luan decided to call it a night. After turning off the TV, she heads upstairs to her room. Though, before she could open the door, she heard the sound of crying coming from the other side. It didn't take long for her to recognize the voice of her older sister, Luna. No doubt her rockstar sister was taking this situation just as hard as Luan was, if not harder.
Slowly opening the door, Luan saw her older sister balled up on her bed, and crying into her knees. It was a sight Luan did not like to see. Somehow, she knew she had to do something, to at least help her sister feel a little better. She slowly walks closer to Luna.
"Luna? W-what's wrong?" Luan asked. At first, Luna didn't answer right away. She just continued crying her tears away. Luan just stood there, staring at her distressed sister. Wondering if she should ask the question again, or sit down with her, or just leave her alone. Eventually, Luna choked up a few of her sobs in an attempt to calm herself down.
"Luna?" Once again, Luna didn't say anything. She kept her head buried into her knees while choking up her sobs. Luan eventually decided to give her sister some privacy. So she turns around to leave the room. But before she could go any further;
"We're terrible sisters." Luan looked back at Luna, and noticed her head was slightly raised. She wasn't looking back at Luan, but rather was staring at nothing.
"Huh?" Luan asked.
"We're terrible sisters! *sniff*" Luna said between sobs.
"Luna," Luan said, turning back to Luna's direction, "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying we're terrible sisters to our bro!" Luna replied. Luan couldn't believe what Luna was saying. It was heart-breaking to hear that come out of her sister.
"Luna, we're not terrible sisters." Luan tried to assure her.
"Yes, we are." Luna said with her broken voice.
"No, we're not." Luan said again.
"Yes we are." Luna replied.
"No we're not. Please stop saying that." Luan begged, stepping a little closer.
"Yeah we are," Luna said a little more firmly. "*sniff* You know we are."
"Luna, no we aren't. You need to stop saying that, because you know deep down that it's not true." Luan shot back with a more serious tone.
"Oh, really?" Luna said as she got up in Luan's face, "Do you not remember all the times we laughed at him, and made fun of him for the things he likes? Did you also forget about all the times we've beaten him up, or forced him to get involved in our petty arguments. Did you also forget how we treated Lincoln like dirt because of this stupid Sister Fight Protocol? As well as all the times we've gotten mad at him for things that were never his fault? Or even prevented him from getting things he wanted because of our selfish desires? *grabs Luan's shoulders* DID YOU EVEN FORGET that we KICKED OUR OWN BROTHER OUT OF THE HOUSE, AND FORCED HIM INTO A SQUIRREL SUIT?" Luan let out a gasp as soon as Luna mentioned the incident. Again, it's a memory that no one in The Loud House wants to remember. So for Luna to mention that right out of the blue sent shockwaves all over Luan's body.
Luna realized what she had been doing; taking all her emotions out on someone trying to help her. So she released her grip and tried to calm her anger. After doing that, Luna allowed more tears to flow.
"Just face it, sis." Luna continued, "We make his life miserable. Why else would he run away?" Once again, Luna found herself crying really hard, releasing the guilt that bubbled up inside her.
Luan was now on the verge of tears herself. Admittingly, Luan never thought twice about how she's treated Lincoln over the years. She just brushed it off as typical sibling teasing. But hearing Luna remind her about how awful they've been to Lincoln, as well as mentioning the incident that shall not be named, Luan herself was now having trouble pulling herself together. However, seeing her one year older sister still bawling her eyes out, Luan knew there was a more important thing she needed to do.
Luan laid a hand on Luna's shoulder, and slowly pulled her in for a hug. Luna's mood didn't improve immediately. She was still in sobbing mode as she buried her head in her comedic sister's shoulder.
"Shhh shhh, there there." Luan said while rubbing Luna's back. "It's okay, Luna. It's okay."
"I just want my baby brother back, sis. I really really miss him!" Luna spoke.
"So do I, Luna. So do I." Luan continued comforting her crying sister. "It's okay, Luna. We'll find him, and we'll bring him back home. I promise."
Luna lifted her head and separated a little bit to look at Luan's eyes. "B-but… he's not gonna wanna come back after the way we treated him."
"Yes he will." Luan reassured her sister. "Everyone deserves a second chance. And knowing Lincoln, I'm sure he'll give us another chance someday. If we show him how sorry we are, and go the extra mile to earn his trust, he will eventually come around."
"*sniff* Are you sure?" Luna asked.
"I promise." Luan said with an assuring smile. Luna's mood still didn't change. She was still very anxious, worried, guilty, and overall sad. However, Luan's words did give her some hope that their one and only brother will someday find it in his heart to forgive his 10 sisters. Luna didn't say another word. She just collapsed into her sister's shoulders once again, as the two embraced each other for the closing moments of the night.
A/N: Wow, I am a terrible writer. The way I was writing this chapter last year, I expected that I would finish before the year ended. But then, I take a one week break, but that turns into a couple of weeks, and that turns into a couple of months. Next thing I know, it's 2022, and it's been one full year since my last chapter. I can go on and give you guys so many excuses for taking so long, but it's not gonna take back the whole year you guys had to wait to get another chapter. I can even tell you guys how sorry I am, and it's still not gonna take everything back. I hope you guys understand that I did do my best to keep up, but eventually, life got in the way.
Again, I really appreciate all of you guys being so concerned about my mom's health after catching COVID, so I'm gonna provide a little update. It was a scary couple of weeks, but she eventually recovered fully from her symptoms, and soon after, she was back to work. She also got her COVID vaccines, as well as the booster, and the same goes with me and most of my family. So hopefully, we don't have to deal with that again.
Again, thank you all for the support you guys gave me. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all next year XD