As Lincoln had disappeared into the forest, Ronnie Anne had just about had it with Mollie. With tears in her angry eyes, she approaches her.
Ronnie Anne:"What is wrong with you!? It's thanks to you, Lincoln is out somewhere in the woods, hurt and sad!"
Mollie:"Don't you put this on me! Lincoln's the one who messed up!"
Ronnie Anne:"You've lost your mind!"
Mollie:"Are you calling me a liar?"
Ronnie Anne:"I'm calling you insane!"
Mollie:"Well, if the shoe fits!"
Ronnie Anne:"What's that supposed to mean?!"
Mollie:"You're just as insane as I am!"
Ronnie Anne:"Say that again, I dare you."
Mollie:"You're...insane!"
And that's when Ronnie Anne snapped and tackled Mollie. She then tried to punch Mollie in the face, but Mollie would push her away before tackling her herself. But before she could reach Ronnie Anne, NJ got in between the two of them, keeping their fight from going any further.
NJ:"That is enough. (to Mollie) You! You're aggressive and violent behavior is driving a wedge in between our team! (to Ronnie Anne) And you! You're acting no better than she is! Fighting isn't gonna get us anywhere!"
Ronnie Anne:"She started it!"
NJ:"I don't care! You two need to stop killing each other before things get any worse!"
Ronnie Anne:"I can do that! I'm not sure Mollie can though! She had to act all mean!"
Paige:"Oh, you're one to talk, Ronnie Anne."
Ronnie Anne:"Huh?"
Paige:"You often picked on him! Bullied him, embarrassed him, scolded him for breaking a stupid egg! Lincoln was already hurt by his family, he doesn't need anyone else hurting him!"
Ronnie Anne:"Oh yeah? Well what's you excuse! You never even batted him an eye the day he might you! (to Stella) And you! You acted like a player and decided to hang out with all of Lincoln's friends!"
Stella:"Oh yeah? Well...(to Jordan) At least I never humiliated him at a party of mine!"
Jordan:"That wasn't even my fault!"
Stella:"The pictures and films people took say otherwise!"
Jordan:"You wanna go there? (to Christina) Well, at least I never transferred classes because someone had feelings for me!"
Christina:"I...I wasn't prepared for how he felt about me!"
Jordan:"So you had to just...run away from the problem?"
Christina:"Are you call me a coward?"
Jordan:"You bet I am!"
Each and everyone of them were guilty of something that hurt Lincoln in a different way. But the fact that they tried to pin the blame on each other was what got them all angry. Christina punching Jordan in the face and knocking her down with a black eye was proof of that.
All:"(to each other) YOU'RE THE WORST FRIEND TO LINCOLN EVER!"
At first, they were shocked to hear that from each other...before they started to turn red with anger, and that's when things got more out of hand. They began to beat up each other, with Stella wresting Paige to the ground while she tries to punch Stella in the back. Jordan had Christina in a double-arm headlock, strangling her while Christina tried to elbow her in the gut. Mollie then went in and body-slammed Stella off of Paige, who then caught the attention of Ronnie Anne, as they both grabbed each other by the heads, clutching the sides in an attempt to pull their heads off.
Raine:"Okay. This is going too far. BETH!"
Stomping her foot into the ground, the giantess managed to get the girls to stop fighting, and even bounce them off their feet as they turned to see Beth towering over them.
Raine:"You all are acting crazy! Lincoln would not want you all to kill each other! You should all be ashamed of yourselves for the way you acted!"
Seeing that he was right, the girls drooped their heads down, shamefully.
Beth:"Make up to him by helping to find him."
Melody:"You all need to apologize."
Ronnie Anne:"...You're right. Lincoln needs us...Let's go."
And with that, they headed into the direction where Lincoln ran. Ronnie Anne, Beth, Jordan and Christina were calling out the boy's name, hoping that he would come to them, but to no avail.
Ronnie Anne:"Lincoln?!"
Beth:"Where are you?!"
Jordan:"Lincoln! It's okay!"
Christina:"You have to come back!"
They reach a fork in the path, which Beth bends down and lowers her chin, just about their heads to see herself.
Raine:"We'll have to split up. There's ten of us, so we'll do groups of three and two."
He went with Jordan, while the others had Christina, NJ, and Melody in one group, Beth and Paige in another, and the last and most reluctant group was Ronnie Anne, Mollie, and Stella. When they all went in their respective groups, Ronnie Anne, Mollie, and Stella began to call out to Lincoln, but still had no sign of him.
Mollie:"Lincoln?! Lincoln!"
Ronnie Anne:"Where could he be?"
Stella:"Mollie, you better apologize to Lincoln for what you did?"
Mollie:"Shouldn't you apologize as well?"
Ronnie Anne:"For what?!"
Mollie:"You're bullying and Stella playing with his feelings?"
Ronnie Anne:"I already made up for what I did!"
Stella:"That was a long time ago. You better shut up for trying to turn the blame on us."
While she was angry at their 'excuses', Mollie couldn't complain as she and the other two heard someone crying softly.
Stella:"You guys hear that too?"
Mollie:"Yeah?"
Ronnie Anne:"Big time."
After going little further, they see Lincoln sitting against the other side of a large tree. He was crying into his hands. Saddened by the boy's state, the girls slowly approached their friend. Lincoln must've taken notice, since he said to them...
Ronnie Anne:"Lincoln..."
He raises his head to meet her eyes, showing the blood staining the side of his head and his right eye still blackened.
Lincoln:"Haven't I hurt you guys enough?"
That part made the girls deeply saddened by how hurt he was. Sighing, Ronnie Anne sat by Lincoln's left side, Stella sat by his right side. Mollie was a little hesitant, but she found herself sitting beside Stella. They weren't sure how to start talking to him. Saying one wrong thing would screw everything up.
Ronnie Anne:"Lincoln...everyone makes mistakes at some point."
Lincoln:"But is that any excuse...TO GET PUNCHED IN THE FACE?"
And...that was the wrong thing to say, as the girls winced at what Lincoln said.
Stella:"Mollie was just...exhausted and frustrated. She wasn't thinking straight, Lincoln. None of what happened was your fault."
That did Lincoln feel a little better. And while she didn't say anything, Mollie didn't deny that what she did was wrong. As of now, she was starting to feel guilty for what she did to Lincoln as she kept her head down, avoiding eye-contact.
Lincoln:"It feels like Mollie wouldn't forgive me."
Ronnie Anne:"If it's any consolation, we did our best to defend you."
Lincoln:"...You guys would really do that for me?"
Ronnie Anne:"Always."
Lincoln:"Don't you guys hate me for the way I am."
Stella:"No. Of course not, Lincoln. You're perfect just the way you are."
That did make Lincoln feel happy. Yet, there was still something else they needed to do, as Stella elbows Mollie and gestures her to go apologize to Lincoln, giving her a stern face. Sighing, Mollie moves over to face Lincoln, looking at the boy, straight in the eye.
Mollie:"...L-L-L-Lincoln...I-I-I'm sorry...okay?"
Lincoln just looked at her, emotionless while Ronnie Anne and Stella glared at Mollie, showing her that her apology was horribly.
Stella:"(whispers) Do better."
Mollie:"(sighs)...L-Lincoln...I-I really am sorry for what I did back there. I was- ...I have no excuse."
Lincoln:"...You know, Mollie...no matter how tough you've acted...I've always liked you."
She was surprised to hear that and even blushed a little. Ronnie Anne and Stella smile at this.
Ronnie Anne:"You know, Lincoln...even though there have been some...complications in our relationships...we've always liked you."
Stella:"Definitely."
That was enough to make Lincoln have tears in his eyes as he then pulls both girls into a hug. Both of him pat him on the back in order to calm him down.
Stella:"Shh, shh. Everything's alright now Lincoln."
Mollie:"Glad to see he's happy again."
Ronnie Anne:"(grabs Mollie) Come here, girl."
Getting pulled into the hug, Mollie didn't resist as she enjoys it herself.
Lincoln:"...I love you girls."
Girls:"We love you too."
Lincoln:"Mmm...you all feel so warm."
They giggle after hearing him say that.
Ronnie Anne:"We should head back now. Can you walk, Lincoln."
Lincoln:"I still feel...a little weird."
Stella:"Not a problem."
Next thing he knew, Lincoln had Ronnie Anne and Stella take both of his arms as they support him on their shoulders. He was also leaning his head against Ronnie Anne's shoulder. As they continued to walk, Raine and Jordan were the first ones they spotted, the latter of the two being overjoyed the moment she saw her favorite white-haired boy.
Jordan:"Lincoln!"
Then she runs over and tackles him into a hug...while also falling to the ground.
Jordan:"I was so worried about you! You have no idea how happy I am to see you! (angry) Scare us like that, and I'll put you in the hospital for a week! (goes back to hugging) I love you so much!"
Lincoln:"(blushes) Kinda getting mixed messages here."
What surprised Lincoln was that suddenly, Jordan went in, grabbing Lincoln by the sides of his head and landed a strong kiss on his lips. This shocked the other girls, who were growing jealous that Jordan got to kiss Lincoln first. Deciding to break it up, Ronnie Anne grabbed Jordan by the waist and managed to pry her off of the boy.
Ronnie Anne:"Jordan, don't you think you're overreacting a bit?"
Jordan:"The boy just went through a lot. I'm just showing him comfort."
Ronnie Anne was still a bit jealous, but shook it off when others were coming by. Specifically, Beth and Paige. The giantess excitingly headed over to where Lincoln was, causing some small tremors from her movements as she scoped him up and hugged him tightly close to her chest.
Beth:"I'm so glad you're okay, Lincoln."
Lincoln:"Thanks, Beth, but I...can't...breathe."
Beth:"Whoops. Sorry."
She then hugs him against her cheek in a softer way. Feeling good from Beth's hug now, Lincoln would then give Beth a kiss on the cheek. Beth does the same, although it covers Lincoln's entire face. Lincoln blushes like crazy after that kiss. After Beth puts him down, Paige goes over and hugs the boy herself.
Paige:"Good to see you again, Lincoln."
Lincoln:"You too, Paige."
Next came NJ, Melody and Christina. Christina immediately runs over to Lincoln and hugs him like every other girl.
Christina:"I'm so happy to see you're okay, Lincoln."
Her curly hair brushes the side of his face. Feeling its softness gave him the courage to return the hug himself.
Lincoln:"Yeah, I...missed seeing you."
Melody:"Are you alright, Lincoln?"
Lincoln:"I'll be fine. I just need some more rest."
Raine:"Let's head somewhere safe then."
Christina:"My cabin should be close by around here."
With Ronnie Anne and Stella continuing to support Lincoln, they head back to Christina's cabin. They all went in, but unfortunately, Beth didn't learn her lesson about the last time they were here when she tried to enter through the doorway, as once again, she got stuck midway as her legs stood on their knees as she tried to pull herself out. To no avail, her legs then flopped down as she practically laid on her stomach while she was stuck there.
Beth:"Not again."
Mollie:"Smooth move, Beth. We told you that you were too big to fight through."
Beth:"Yeah, yeah. Shut it."
15 minutes later, they were all inside the living room of the Christina's cabin, with Beth resting her head over her arms. Meanwhile, Lincoln was sitting in between Stella, Jordan and Christina as he was looking a little down as the girls looked at him with concern.
Lincoln:"Stella, I...I'm really sorry for not staying behind. For going against what you wanted me to do and tried to help out."
Stella:"It's okay, Lincoln. I know you just wanted to help."
But Lincoln says nothing as he leans his head on her shoulder still feeling bad for what he did. Stella puts her arm over his should in the means of comforting him. Ronnie Anne then walks over and sees Lincoln was still looking down.
Ronnie Anne:"Lincoln...We all appreciate what you've done to help us. But you don't have to stress yourself."
Lincoln:"(smiles) ...You guys are the best."
And with that, they all gave him a group hug.
Lincoln:"I think its time I finally got some rest."
Mollie:"I'll go take him to one of the beds."
Beth:"Hey, I'm willing to be one of his babysitters."
Lincoln embarrassingly blushed when Beth said that.
Christina:"You can't really do that, wedged into the door like that."
Beth:"Oh yeah. Good point."
Taking one of his arms and pulling it over her shoulder, Mollie starts carrying him over to the rooms.
Mollie:"Lincoln, I...I'm very sorry you had to go through all this."
Lincoln:"It's...okay..."
Suddenly, Lincoln passed out, nearly making Mollie drop him before she caught just in time, but was getting scared by him losing consciousness.
Mollie:"Lincoln? (gently shakes him) Lincoln?! Guys! Lincoln passed out!"
That was enough to make everyone run over to Lincoln's condition. Well, almost everyone, as Beth tried to move forward, but she couldn't without pulling out the wall, which creaked and cracked at her struggles.
Beth:"Dang it."
As they rest of them head over to see what happened, NJ was the one to check on the unconscious Lincoln, and gave a sigh of relieve.
NJ:"He's fine. He just finally collapsed from exhaustion. We should get him in bed now."
Ronnie Anne:"Are you sure?"
Jordan:"As is he really gonna be okay?"
NJ:"Yes. Just get him into bed."
With that said, Mollie brings Lincoln into one of the bedrooms. She carries him bridal style, sets him down in a bed, letting him sleep on his back before tucking the cover over him.
Mollie:"Sweet dreams, Lincoln."
And then, secretly, she pecks him on the cheek before leaving the boy to rest. Rejoining the others, the talk about what they're gonna do next, as that is preparing for their retaliation against Andreas.
Raine:"We should recover and repair the vehicle we set up before moving out on Andreas again."
Beth:"We're gonna have to get more metal then."
NJ:"Which means, another trip to the junkyard."
Raine:"Alright. In the meantime, we're gonna need to get more ammunition."
Melody:"Raine and I will head back to the cavern to recover some more of that liquid."
Mollie:"Count me in on that."
Melody:"But it won't do much good if we can't rebuild the entire mechanism we had for the tank."
NJ:"All the materials we need should be located at the junkyard. We just need a few big hands."
Ronnie Anne:"Me and Jordan would be willing to head over there ourselves."
Raine:"Not alone, you too. Since NJ has a point on needing some big hands, Beth is going with you."
Beth:"Aw. But I wanted to look after Lincoln."
Ronnie Anne:"He'll be fine as long as he stays here."
Christina:"Me, Stella and Paige are willing to stay behind in order to look after him."
Raine:"Alright. Now that we have all cover, we should move out. Now."
Beth:"Alright. Give me a sec."
Bracing her arms against the floor, Beth begins to push herself out as she crawls backwards and out of the doorway. Cracks can be heard from frame as she manages to get pushes herself out and sits on her knees. Later on, she was towering over trees, having her hand over her eyebrows as she looked around in search of any enemies near by.
Beth:"All clear."
Ronnie Anne and Jordan got out from the woods and headed into the junkyard. All the while, Raine's group were heading over to the sinkhole.
Melody:"You think we'll be able to do a good job this time?"
Raine:"I'm certain of it."
They had to stop at the edge of the forest when they saw some of Andreas' robots up ahead, protecting it. There were at least two that they could spot.
Mollie:"Great, how are we supposed to get past THEM?"
Raine:"Leave it to me."
Acting fast, he blasted the robots with his wind powers, sending them down into the sinkhole, where they crashed into pieces. Later, they climbed down themselves and headed into the cavern where they first gathered the Radi-X liquid, and wasted no time collecting it.
Mollie:"How come Andreas had his robots guarding this place anyway?"
Melody:"Because this is the stuff that gave us our powers in the first place."
Raine:"It's his most powerful asset."
Mollie:"I see."
Back in the cabin, Christina was looking after Lincoln, changing the bandages in his head as she watches him steer in his sleep. She was growing concerned as to why he hasn't woken up yet. But, lo and behold, Lincoln began to regain consciousness there and then.
Lincoln:"Uggh..."
Christina:"Lincoln! Glad to see you're okay, but you shouldn't get up yet."
Lincoln:"But I just woke up..."
Christina:"Please, just stay in bed. I'll get you something to eat."
Lincoln:"Okay."
With Christina walking towards the main room, Stella was leaning against the wall, NJ had his nose in a book and Paige was laying on the couch. When Christina passed them to head towards the kitchen, Stella was the one to confront her.
Stella:"Whoa, whoa. Wait, Christina. How's Lincoln doing?"
Christina:"He's awake now. I'm was gonna get him some food."
Upon hearing that the boy awake startled the two girls as they headed over to the room he was in. Christina came along with with a bowl of chowder in hand. In the room, as Lincoln sat up from his bed, testing how he feels as he looked to see the three girls at the doorway, from left-to-right, Stella, Christina and Paige. All of them were coming in at the same time...leading to them getting stuck in the door.
Stella: Get out of the way!"
Paige:"Watch it!"
Christina:"Guys, be careful! I'm holding Lincoln's food here!"
Soon enough, they all popped out and fall on the floor. Christina was the first to bring herself back up as she heads over to Lincoln's bed and hands him the bowl.
Christina:"Here you go, Lincoln."
Lincoln:"Thanks. (takes bowl)"
Stella:"How are you feeling, Linc?"
Lincoln:"A little light-headed and sore. What happened while I was out?"
Paige:"A few of the others went out to get stuff to rebuild the tank."
Lincoln:"(sighs) If it wasn't for me, they wouldn't have to rebuild that thing."
Stella:"Will you stop beating yourself up over that? (hugs him) We're just glad you're okay."
Lincoln:"(returns the hug) I'll always be okay, no matter what the world throws at me."
Then suddenly, just as Christina and Paige were leaving the room, Lincoln gives Stella a soft kiss on the lips. She was stunned at first, but smiled happily before she left the room. Soon enough, Raine and Ronnie Anne's teams return from scavenging with Ronnie Anne and Jordan looking exhausted, as if they had to carry something heavy. Then, there was a knock on the door, and when NJ answers it, he is startled by a giant eye looking at him.
NJ:"Beth...don't do that."
Beth:"Sorry, but come outside. We gotta show you all the stuff we got."
They all went outside to see a dozen pounds of metal plating and the mechanisms needed to fix the tank, and three canisters of Radi-X for ammunition.
Paige:"How'd you carry all this?"
Ronnie Anne:"Beth carried most of it, but she insisted that we help out."
Jordan:"(cracks her back) Ugh. We should just let her carry it all next time."
Beth:"Heh...I don't mind."
Raine:"Well...let's not waste anymore time. Let's get this thing rebuilt."
One montage later, the tank was rebuilt and better than ever, no longer skeletal as it had armor plating protecting it. The cannon and catapult were now two separate components, able to work incompatibly now.
NJ:"Definitely and improvement."
Paige:"I don't think anything will get through that armor."
Mollie:"I declare that this thing now indestructible."
Lincoln:"How can you be sure?"
Mollie:"Well...(bangs on plating) It won't go down in just one explosion this time."
Raine:"Time to start hunting."
Ronnie Anne:"Me and Jordan are gonna stay behind with Lincoln. We need to regain our energy."
Stella:"Are you guys sure?"
Jordan:"Yeah."
Lincoln:"Are you sure, Ronnie Anne? They could use your toughness."
Ronnie Anne:"They'll be fine. And you need to be looked after."
Lincoln:"True enough. I could use a little toughness to protect me. Thanks, you guys."
Raine:"Alright then, let's move out."
