The Code names are, in fact, based on the movie and og show "Mr. Peabody and Sherman"
Also, here are the ages of the entire Loud family. They were an extra three years older at the beginning of chapter 1, and after the 2-year time skip, these are their final ages for now.
Lori - 20 + 2 = 22
Leni - 19 + 2 = 21
Luna - 18 + 2 = 20
Luan - 17 + 2 = 19
Lynn - 16 + 2 = 18
Lincoln - 14 + 2 = 16
Lucy - 11 + 2 = 13
Lana & Lola - 9 + 2 = 11
Lisa - 7 + 2 = 9 (Well, 10 now, it was her birthday)
Lily - 4 + 2 = 6
It has been a solid two years since the disappearance and "suicide" of Lincoln Loud and Ronnie Anne. No one truly knows what happened to either of them.
Many residents of Royal Woods still couldn't believe the news. Both kids were so miserable in their families that it led them to take their own lives.
Rumors quickly spread amongst the small town, that the Loud sisters had killed their brother and his girlfriend for a pity reason or whatever.
Hearing this rumor, many of the girls were quick to shoot them down when confronted at the idea in public by some reporter, while Luna was even quicker to knock some teeth loose at the same time.
It was a… Mess, to say the least… A very bloody mess.
Luna had only seen red the entire time she threw punches at the accusing reporter, teeth clenched and knuckles becoming bloody.
"We loved him you FUCK!" Luna had screamed while pounding her fists into their face, "WE WOULD NEVER KILL HIM!" She had emphasized this fact by nearly killing the person in her blind rage and she would've, had it not been for her all her sisters pulling her off.
The outburst had sent her to a year in a correctional facility and she was currently doing community service to get the record expunged.
"A crime committed in the stress of her community accusing her and her sisters of the death of her siblings… I understand the circumstances quite well… I will put this into consideration but know that this will be the only time mercy will be shown to you. Be better, sisters…" The judge had reasoned before giving Luna her rather lenient punishment.
Naturally, the stress of the assault and battery trial weighed even harder on the Louds, having already to deal with the death and the recent disappearance of two more of their children…
The police had come up with the idea that no way a 6 year Lisa would decide to run away with Lynn willingly, so Lynn was being charged with possible kidnapping until she came forward to clear the air but that didn't look like a possibility any time soon.
But you all probably want a clearer picture of everything that's been happening to our grieving family, so let's focus on them, and go down a small list to help you better understand their dire straits in the two years since Lincoln's death.
The eldest of them all, Lori Loud, seeing her family falling apart at the seams, couldn't take it anymore. The stress getting to her, she decided to move on from Royal Woods, living with Bobby whom she was now "happily" married to.
At the same time, she distanced herself from her sisters, wanting nothing more than to forget about everything that's happened to them and live her nice happy life, but it was hard to live a happy life when your husband's little sister was also a part of this tragedy you're trying to get away from.
In some of the rarer bad fights that they had, Bobby would often accuse Lincoln of being the cause of Ronnie's death, probably convincing her to come along with him to the other side. Lori was not going to take this accusation lightly either, often screaming back that that knife was clearly Ronnie's, and that maybe, just maybe, she killed Linc and then herself in some twisted murder-suicide.
Things would only get worse for wear from there, it came to a new level when Bobby took up drinking in the highest point of his grief.
"Like father, like son…" He often told himself in his drunken state. To stave away the stress of it all, Lori often threw herself into her work, commenting that she needed the extra hours to pay off her car or that something important was broken that needed to be fixed…
"At least when I'm working, I can help others find their family…" She often told herself, while she fixed the detective badge on her shirt. It was an amazing achievement to make Detective this early in her career, but solving many missing children cases often pushed you forward in the eyes of the department.
Those who knew Lori personally knew exactly why she was doing this. So that no sister, brother, mother, or father would find their son dead and bleeding in an alley…
Recently, Lori has been piecing together a string of runaways who've all ended up dead in various parts of not only the country but the world, it was an overarching mystery that she would solve at all cost… Before it was too late…
Moving forward, Leni was still living in the Loud house with her family and parents, not finding the energy or heart to leave home just yet and just wanting to help wherever she could.
In many senses, Leni has become almost a second mother to the younger of them all, often helping their grieving mother around the house by cooking, cleaning, and picking them up from school.
She's become so enamored in her new life as a pseudo-mother, her passion for fashion has taken a backseat, it only came up when someone outgrew their clothes and she needed to fashion them a new set of clothes for an event or something like that.
When asked why she was suddenly so helpful, Leni would often say, "Linky was always so helpful and always made us breakfast and sometimes dinner… Guess I'm just trying to be as useful as he was…"
Of course, Leni taking over the house duties left Rita in a spot of having nothing to distract herself from the death of her only son, followed by the disappearance of two of her daughters, so she fell into quite the depressive state. Most days she simply laid in bed and tears as she looked through family photo albums.
Leni would try to reach out to her mother, all the sisters would, but they just couldn't break through her walls… So they just brought her food and clean clothes whenever they could, using it as an excuse to check in on her constantly and whenever they could.
Lynn Sr. would never be home, now needing to work double-time to cover his wife's depression and to provide the many expenses of having a large family, of girls no less. He missed his son dearly and always felt as if he may have had a hand in his demise, never helping him out or being there for his only son in a house of all women… He must've felt so alone in his own home…
Now he made sure that everyone was happy at the cost of his time and energy. He wouldn't, couldn't let anyone in this house feel like they were alone, no matter what, he'd be there for his family…
Moreover, whenever our lovely Luna wasn't doing required community service, she and Sam would write songs based on both of them, Ronnie and Lincoln, trying to keep the memory of them alive while at the same time writing songs about the families' happier memories together, trying their hardest to keep everyone that was left together.
It was more often than not that Luna wouldn't be able to perform one of these songs in front of her sisters and parents, as the emotional toll of missing three members of her audience usually got under her skin quickly.
"I just miss them so much…" She often said in tears whenever she thought of Lincoln, Lynn, and Lisa, she could only pray that they were safe wherever they were.
Her better half, Luan, couldn't find the humor in life anymore.
Quickly losing the urge to make puns, jokes, or anything of the sort. Not even April fools, her usual favorite chaos-fueled day of the year was devoid of enjoyment. She had attempted to pull pranks but the atmosphere was off, especially when Lincoln, Lisa, and Lynn never activated their pranks that day because of obvious reasons.
The one thing she did find enjoyment in anymore was acting, with Benny Stein, boyfriend of the last four years that's been helping her with the tragic loss of her brother and sisters… She was so lucky to have him and she felt like she was making good progress in moving on from the tragedy… But was her family? Would they ever be?
"I just want things to be back to normal… I just want to laugh again…" She often said to herself while crying into Benny's shirt while he ran a hand through her hair to comfort her.
The darkest among them, Lucy Loud, debatably took the death of her older brother the hardest.
While yes, she was dark by nature and always loved the occult, with the passing of her beloved brother she learned that she didn't want to be anywhere near ghosts, death, or darkness, not anymore… Everything seemed to circle back to Lincoln and even Ronnie.
Probably taking the most drastic change of them all as well, Lucy had stopped dying her hair entirely black. Instead, she let it grow back to her natural hair color of chestnut brown, trimming away the black hair whenever she could. Even styling it in such a way that it reminded her of Lynn. Even trimming away the bangs, revealing the amazing brown eyes that were hidden beneath.
Even her clothing had changed, wearing normal jeans and simple T-shirts and occasionally Lynn's old sports jerseys.
"I just want to change…" She told herself, staring into the mirror, "I don't want to be reminded how much it hurts whenever I look at myself…"
Even if she tried to move on like Luan was doing, she could never just sit around and watch things happen... If her sister, Lynn, taught her anything, it was that life wasn't going by any quicker so you might as well do something to kill the time.
Which led her to her current activities.
The "Where are my sisters?" initiative.
Well, a private one anyways.
For the last year, since a rather quiet Christmas, she began using everything in her power to look for her missing sisters. There was no reason at all that they'd just randomly run away like that, something was wrong and it made no sense and she needed to get to the bottom of it.
Whenever everyone in their house slept, she would sneak up to the attic and continue her investigation. A lot of post-it notes and papers were strewn about the space, as well as several finished rituals she did in an attempt to see if any ghost knew anything.
To say that she hasn't gotten much sleep would be an understatement.
"I'll find them… I'll keep looking for them… Every day…" She told herself as she scoured the internet for clues with her tired eyes, "No matter what…"
Moving on once again, the twins were handling this tragedy the best they could or trying their hardest at the very least.
Lana denied the possibility that Lincoln was gone for good, often saying that she swore he would be back one day and that they would go out and hunt for critters like they used to. So she smiled and laughed, still playing with her pets and in the mud like usual… but behind all the dirt, animal fur, and feathers, she laid in her bed hugging herself and wishing for her brother to be home, so that she didn't have to act so strong…
"Being wild is no fun without Linky to play with… Please… I miss you Lincoln… Come home..." She often said this to herself as she cried herself to sleep.
And while Lana had denied Lincoln's death entirely, Lola was quick to accept the truth and for a while, that did her good. Often she said that she was entirely fine, things like this happened but she was a child with no grip on her emotions after all, so it didn't take long for cracks in her deception to be found.
It was during her first pageant in three months since Lincoln's death that it first happened.
She was about to win, about to solidify in her mind that she could get past it all… When one of the other contestants had begun to mock her for the loss of her brother…
Lola had tried to simply act mature, saying that stooping to such a level to attack her was very unladylike but she wasn't the person that she wanted to be, cause the very next thing that that girl saw was Lola's fist in her jaw.
Instantly, it became a beatdown, it would be too generous to call it a fight.
Lola had begun punching the poor girl over and over, crying and shouting at her for saying such things about her brother at all. It took nearly four adults and an on-sight police officer to contain her in a pair of zip-tie handcuffs.
It was an entire situation that Leni had to come down to deal with.
After settling everything, Lola decided that she liked fighting more than she did pageants now.
Finding comfort and relief in boxing, surprisingly. When asked why she decided to change course in such a drastic manner, she would say the same thing.
"I just… I helped start the fight that made Lincoln run away and… I just… This feels like the only thing I can think of doing to help me relieve the stress… I just wish I could punch the hurt away…"
Lola would go on to make several wins in the sport, her opponents would often hear that they'd be fighting "Lawless Lola" and forfeit, knowing that she had a track record of absolutely rendering her opponents unconscious with emotion-filled ruthlessness and rage and those who braved the challenge would often come to regret it.
And finally, the flower and youngest of the family.
Lily Loud.
The young Loud was about 4 years old at the time when her older brother left them behind, followed directly by the disappearance of her older sisters, Lynn and Lisa…
Lily probably loved her sisters the most, never being able to find any way to hate any of them for that fateful fight two years ago, she just wanted to make them all happy… So she did the only thing she could think of. Try to keep their missing sisters and brothers alive.
Learning how to think critically and assess situations, no problem would be too big for her to handle, remembering the few times Lincoln would get them out of bad situations with his tactical genius and his willingness to be courageous nature. She also studied hard, learning all she could from Lisa's books and the left behind experiments, she was often given accolades in school for her diligent studies and amazing grades. She also decided to try to figure out Lisa's tech that was left behind, much of it she didn't try to mess with, wondering what half of it even was. Finally, she pushed her limits to the best of her ability, being very young after all, in sports and athleticism. Gaining Lynn's competitive nature to be the best on the field.
Lily remembered how Lynn always told her that life was hard, but if she was strong, she could fight it just as hard and do anything… Her bigger brother always told her that she was going to be the best of them all, "the Last Loud Sister" he used to call her… And she would take that advice to heart.
That was her goal.
To be the very best Loud sister her family could ask for, she'd help her sad Mom, and family, she'd do anything for them…
But when she wasn't doing sports, planning raids in the candy shop with her friends, or testing some of Lisa's chemicals, she found herself in front of a canvass, painting beautiful landscapes and portraits of her brother… Or… What he thought he looked like… She was so young and her mom had taken down all the pictures of Lincoln or that contained him… It made her sad to not be able to remember Lincoln's face… But that wouldn't stop her.
"I have to keep them all in my mind…" She often told herself, "Linky would've wanted me to be strong and keep going, so I will… I'll remember them all so everyone else can be happy again… I'll make them happy again…"
From the Loud parents to the youngest sister, they were all heavily affected by the tragedy of Lincoln Loud and the damn near instant runaway of Lynn and Lisa.
Everyone copes in their own way, truly, but maybe… They wouldn't have to cope anymore… For like a dove carrying a fern back to the hands of Noah, a letter of hope would soon be delivered to them.
Lynn Loud, the current most wanted person in the world by Python, was dressed in a royal woods post-office worker's uniform. It was honestly such a shock and foreign feeling to finally be back in her hometown.
Not much has changed in two years, thankfully, but she still had to be very careful.
She and Lisa didn't know who Python had in their pockets, their reach was much farther than they had originally thought. Quickly learning that they could no longer move about as normal people, but rather as vampires.
In the night, and unseen to the waking world, sticking to the shadows and making sure no one would remember them. Lisa covered that with some handy tech.
To know that they existed would mean all the risks in the world for that person, and they could risk that at all.
And if they did need to move during the day, Lisa would stay in one of their safe house and Lynn would go out for whatever they needed to do. Thus, explaining the post worker's disguise she currently had on.
Hiding in plain sight, as no one would give her more than a passing glance at any given time.
Still, Lynn hated the uniform.
"Seriously, Peabody…" Lynn whispered into her commlink, "Are you sure this is the only way to get the letters to them? Weren't you going to tap our TV?" She asked.
Lynn's commlink buzzed and came to life, and Lisa's voice came through.
"We can't risk that a Python operative is working in the post office, screening all the letters to our home, Sherman…" Lisa said, "And that's the second part of the plan, the first part, requires a letter."
Lynn sighed but nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, yeah you're right…" She said, looking into her mailbag, she had to actually deliver mail to her entire cul de sac as well, to avoid suspicion from anyone. This job was so mind-numbingly dull, she wondered how anyone could do this for years on end without getting tired of it.
Thankfully, the Loud House was next … She wouldn't have to do this for much longer.
Lynn made sure that her uniform hat was straight, making sure that the post office peaked cap was covering most of her face and hiding most of her easily identifiable Auburn hair. She also hoped that no one would notice that her uniform was about… 10 years out of date, especially the hat.
"But seriously Mr. Peabody, we couldn't find a uniform from this year?" Lynn asked, "What uniform has white gloves anymore?"
"They cover your prosthetic, and we couldn't approach anyone from the Royal Woods post office without being instantly recognized, you know this." Lisa reminded her.
"Yeah, but seriously?" She asked, "A peaked cap, too? When was the last time a mailman wore one of these?"
"If they ask, say you like the classic uniforms more."
Lynn exhaled through her nose but continued to deliver mail like this was her job and not, in fact, her cover.
Finally, she reached the Loud House. She stepped up to the front steps and looked up at the bright red door.
"1216 Franklin Avenue…" She said to herself, reminding herself of the address that was burned into her head, the gods themselves couldn't make her forget it, "Alright, Lynn… Just slide the letters into the mailslot, hit the doorbell, and be on your way back to Lisa…"
Lynn took a deep breath and quickly climbed the stairs and came up the door, going through her mailbag once again and pulling out the many letters. All were addressed to the Loud family from Project Viper.
"All right… Step one of Project Viper starts now…" She whispered, sliding the many letters into the mailslot, she looked at the door and took a deep breath, turning away quickly and beginning to descend the stairs.
When suddenly, a door was heard opening quickly behind her.
"WAIT!" A voice suddenly shouted at Lynn.
Lynn would recognize that high-pitched voice anywhere…
"Lily…" Lynn said grimly with clenched teeth, "God give me a break…"
"Mr. Mailman! Mr. Mailman! Wait!" Lily shouted, "I- I've been waiting for a box of paint and plutonium for my big sister's fabricator machine thingy!"
"She's messing with my experiments?" Lisa's voice rung out over Lynn's ear, "I wonder if she got anything working…? No matter, Sherman, don't let Penny see your face at any cost. If anything goes wrong, use the neuralyzer."
"I'm not mind wiping our sister…" Lynn whispered before clearing her throat and turning to face Lily, clearing her throat and tilting her head downwards, using the brim of her peaked cap to better block her face, "S- sorry little girl, no packages, just a bunch of letters…"
Lily seemed visibly saddened at the fact that she hadn't received any hazardous materials.
"Aww, man…" She whispered, "Well… Do you know when it'll come?" She asked hopefully.
"Tell her that plutonium is delivered by the U.S. Nuclear Commission on Tuesdays by 9 pm, that's what it was like for me…" Lisa said, looking for a way out.
Lynn smiled a bit and checked her digital watch.
"Well… It's Tuesday, Lily, so you should expect that plutonium by 9 pm tonight, but I'll take a guess that you'll be in bed by then, right?" She asked with a laugh, remembering that their parents always had the younger among them in bed by 8 pm.
Lily pouted, crossing her arms with a grumble.
"Yeah… Leni always puts me in bed by… Hey wait, how did you know my name?" She asked with narrowed eyes, taking a few steps back into the house.
Lynn felt alarms go through her head, she smacked her forehead.
"God damn it…" She whispered to herself.
"Lily! Who's at the door?" Another voice shouted from inside the house, followed by quick footsteps.
"Luna…" Lynn quickly realized, before clearing her throat, looking at Lily who looked more and more suspicious of the mailman by the minute, "W- well I need to get back to my route and-"
Then, tires were heard pulling up to the driveway, and Vanzilla was seen coming to a stop. At first glance, it was Leni driving, looks like she finally got her license... She was picking up the Twins, with Luan in the front seat, and a recognized girl with brown hair…
"Lucy…?" She said to herself in realization, not remembering when was the last time she's seen her old roommate with her natural brown hair.
"How do you know my little sister's names, creep?" Luna suddenly said, having reached the door to see what Lily was doing, looking back towards them, Lily was now hiding behind the tall rocker, who was sliding a pair of brass knuckles on her fingers, "And I better not hate the answer…" Luna said threateningly.
"This situation is quickly getting out of hand, Peabody, I suggest avoiding an altercation with our family… The neuralyzer is primed, just squeeze your palm and your thumb should flash them of the last ten minutes." Lisa said with urgency, "Do it now before you burn this experience in their brains…"
Lynn remembered that Lisa told her that if an experience or memory was too embedded or burned into someone's brain, it would be too hard to erase and that's a risk they couldn't take in all honesty.
"I'm not going to mind wipe our sisters…" She whispered into her mic again.
"I'm talking to you, creep!" Luna yelled, stepping onto the porch, "Who are you? Another reporter, I bet! Probably looking for another story on the "Tragedy of the Loud Family"? Huh?" She asked, clearly angry, stepping down the stairs and approaching Lynn, she must've not recognized her sister yet, as evident by the threatening way she cracked her brass-covered knuckles.
"T- that's not what's happening here…" Lynn said, disguising her voice a bit so hopefully Luna wouldn't catch on.
"What's going on?" Leni suddenly asked, finally stepping out of Vanzilla, being followed by the rest of her sisters.
Luna stepped closer to Lynn.
"A creep, reporter, or whatever knows our sister's names…" She said, "And they're acting real nervous about it…" Luna then turned back to Lynn, "But I'll be beating the answers out of them, real soon…"
"Lynn, the neuralyzer! Use it now!" Lisa shouted at her over the earpiece, dropping the code names to get her to understand that this was serious, "It's too early for them to be this close to everything!"
But Lynn ignored her, instead deciding to try to defuse the situation.
"L- Listen, Louds," Lynn said, still disguising her voice to the best of her abilities, but some were very suspicious… Like Lucy, who was now putting her sneaking abilities to use.
"It's clear that there's been… A grave misunderstanding and all we need to do is calm down and-" She was interrupted by the sudden pull of her hat, revealing her face and auburn hair, which was put up in a ponytail.
Lucy gasped, dropping the hat in shock and wide eyes.
"L- Lynn!?" She asked, stepping back, not believing what her eyes were telling her, "I- I- I… What the heck…"
The sisters were all equally confused and in equal amounts of shock.
"God… I'm on my way, Peabody, quick extraction back to base. Be ready." Lisa said before cutting communication.
"L- Lynn…" Luna whispered, "Where have you… Where were…" She couldn't even get the question out, tears beginning to spill from her eyes at the sight of her sister.
"WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN!?" Leni was first to shout, coming up to Lynn, her face having a fury that reminded Lynn of an upset and angry Rita, their mother, "Do- Do you know how WORRIED we've been since you left!? And- And- where the HELL is Lisa!?"
'Gosh, an angry Leni is so scary…' Lynn thought, looking between all her sisters, they all were either in equal shock, were in tears or some looked happy, like-
"BIG SIS!" Lily shouted, suddenly pouncing and tackling Lynn into a tight hug.
Lynn, knowing that her cover was blown, couldn't help but smile at Lily, leaning down and picking up the girl and returning the hug.
"I missed you, too, Lily…" She said softly before turning to her sisters, "I'm sorry guys… I really am… But I can't stay…" She said, shocking them all, "N- Not yet, it's not safe yet… It won't be for a long time… I… I love you guys so much and-"
"Wait Wait Wait-" Luna said, stepping forward, "You're leaving again!? You- You can't just leave after popping back into our lives, in a disguise, not wanting to be recognized! You need to stay and explain yourself!" She said, taking Lily and giving her to Leni.
Lynn stepped back.
"Luna, I understand how you feel but you guys are in real danger if I stay here for too long…" She said, hearing the distant humming of a helicopter, just a bit longer.
"What are you talking about? Did something happen?" Leni asked next.
"Whatever happened that made you and Lisa run away, you can tell us, Lynn!" Lucy said next.
"Yeah, dude, let us help!" Luna urged.
Lynn took a few more steps back, now in the street, looking at the sky and spotting a blip in the distance.
"Guys…" She whispered in tears, "I… I love you guys so much but I really need to get going…"
Luna closed the distance and grabbed the sleeve of Lynn's uniform, clutching it tightly.
"You aren't going anywhere!" She said firmly, "No more miss nice rockstar, you are coming inside and you're going to answer our questions!"
Lynn tsked.
"Luna, I wish I could tell you guys more… But everything is going to be explained soon, just- just read the letters! Please, they'll give you the answers you're looking for," She said.
"Lynn, I'm not asking anymore, you're staying and that's-"
Her voice was drowned out by the sound of a chopping noise and the heavy blowing of the wind, the family looked up and saw a helicopter land in their cul de sac, being manned by Lisa. The young genius waved at them.
"Oh look," Lynn said, "My ride is here…"
Luna's eyes were wide in even more confusion than before.
"L- LISA!?" She shouted before turning to Lynn, "Where'd you get a helicopter!?"
"S- stole it…" Lynn said, "I really gotta go, sis," She urged.
"N- No! Not even if I have to knock you out and drag Lisa out that bird!" She pointed at the helicopter, "You guys are staying and explaining yourselves!"
Lynn pulled on her sleeve.
"I'm really sorry about this, Sis…" She said with a whisper before Lynn pulled out a knife and cut the sleeve of her uniform off, getting free and revealing her robotic prosthetic arm to her family. It looked so futuristic, not at all like the Python cybernetics that was almost indistinguishable from real-life arms and legs.
"Y- your arm!" Lucy yelled in surprise, "What happened!?"
"A lot! A lot happened!" Lynn shouted, running and jumping into the helicopter and taking the controls from Lisa, "Read the letters! We love you!" Lynn reaffirmed, pulling the joystick back on the mini-helicopter, waving at her family with a smile.
"Lynn!" Leni shouted, "Wait!"
"Don't leave us again!" The Twins shouted in unison, trying to catch up to the helicopter.
"Sis!" Lily screamed, tears flowing down her eyes.
It broke Lynn and Lisa's hearts to see their hurting family in such a manner, they weren't even supposed to come into contact with each other, had it not been for Lynn's slip of the tongue and Lily's unseen intrusion.
This only solidified in their hearts what they were doing was the right thing, because if they wanted their family to be whole again, they needed to stay away, and hopefully, they'd understand everything soon enough…
Lynn looked forward and tilted the helicopter and just as fast as they came, they were gone.
The sisters were in a true state of shock.
Many thoughts went through their heads but all seemed to come to the same conclusion; 1: Where in god's name did Lynn get a helicopter/learn how to fly it? And 2: What the hell was happening…?
"The letters…" Lily said first, alerting them all, "I saw Lynn dropping letters into the slot!" She said quickly.
Without a word, they all rushed into the house and crowded the mail slot but it was Leni who had beaten them all there.
"Alright! Alright! Calm down!" Leni shouted, "I'm calling Lori and we're going to wait for her to get here before we tear into these!" She yelled, holding up the letters high above her head. The only one tall enough to reach for them was Luna but she was in agreement with her older sister.
"Yeah! Relax everybody! We all got a letter addressed to us!" Luna confirmed, counting the number of letters in Leni's hand quickly, "Probably even Mom and Dad got one…"
"You- you can't just expect us to wait!" Lola shouted.
"Yeah!" Lana agreed, "We haven't seen Lynn or Lisa for like, two years now, and then when we do-"
Lola continued.
"Lynn has a robot arm, Lisa is driving a helicopter, and Lynn is telling us that she loves us but can't come back yet!"
Lucy stepped forward next.
"Leni, Luna, please give us those letters! We have to know!"
Leni stomped her foot, getting their attention.
"I said to wait and that's final!" She yelled at them, "Everyone who isn't Luna or Luan, go to your rooms and do your homework!"
"You can't just-" Lucy tried to argue but Leni gave them all a look that could freeze over hell.
"I said now…" Leni repeated before holding the letters in both hands, "Or I'll rip these and no one will ever read them…"
The young Louds were rendered silent, surely, Leni was bluffing.
"Y- you can't be serious…" Lucy whispered first.
"Oh, oops… My hands are slipping…" She said, forming a small tear in the middle of the letters, sending alarms in everyone's heads.
"Alright! Alright!" Luan said, turning to the younger Loud sisters, "Let's get going guys…" She whispered, ushering them all towards and up the stairs, acting like the big sister she was. Luna following to provide support.
Once everyone was gone, Leni sighed, rubbing her forehead, a small headache forming.
"I hate yelling at everyone…" She said as she went to the kitchen and grabbed the wall phone, dialing Lori's cell, she wedged the phone between her ear and shoulder, looking over the letters, reading the names as Lori's cell rang.
"Lori… Me… Luna and Luan… Lucy, Lola, and Lana… Lily… Mom, Dad, and…" She paused, "Bobby, too…?" She asked confused, "Why does Bobby have a letter…?" She asked before looking closer, expecting to read "from Lynn and Lisa" but no… rather, It said, "From Project Viper…"
"Project Viper…?" She asked herself before hearing the phone stop ringing.
"H- Hello?" A tired voice asked on the other end.
"Lori!" Leni said excitedly, "I'm glad you answered, I got some important news!" Leni said.
Lori groaned on her end, rubbing her eyes.
"Leni, I told you that an event of our sisters isn't important enough for me to drop work…" She said with a loud yawn, "Seriously, these kids won't find themselves…"
Leni pouted.
"You know that us being too late to find Linc wasn't your fault, right?" She asked, "You can't keep blaming yourself over this."
Lori clenched her teeth.
"Well, it was someone's fault, what do you want? I need to get back to work."
Leni sighed.
"Well, you'll never guess who showed up after two years?" Leni said, her bubbly attitude coming up, never being able to truly hide it from her big sister as much as she did to the younger Louds.
Lori took a minute to respond before her eyes widened.
"L- Lynn!? D- Did she have Lisa with her? Are they home?" She asked, full of energy once again at the mention of her sisters.
Leni smiled.
"Yeah! She did have Lisa with her! But… Things got a bit out of hand, you can say…"
"What… Do you mean by that?" Leni asked, a bit concerned.
Leni sighed.
"It's complicated… Can you make your way down here? It's going to be hard to explain everything over the phone, and bring Bobby with you too if he's not… You know…"
Lori sighed, rubbing her eyes.
"He's probably still sleeping on the couch… He had one of those nights last night… I'll bring him down, see you in like an hour." She said, "Love you, Sis," She said.
Leni smiled brightly on her end.
"Love you too, sis, drive safe." She said, wishing for Lori's safety before hanging up the phone and looking over the letters once again, humming in thought.
Leni might've not been the smartest or sharpest tool in the shed, but these last two years have given her enough experience and skill to acquire common sense in some things, only enough so that she could be a mother to the younger Louds.
Leni often wondered what it would've been like if she had left like Lori… Followed her dreams instead of focusing on her hurting family… She shook her head of those thoughts and entered the kitchen, putting an apron on.
"I can't think like that, it's family before me…" She whispered to herself, steeling her resolve, "Dad's going to be home in an hour and so is Lori… I should start cooking and when everyone gets here, we can read the letters together…"
Leni turned the stove on and looked at the flames, staring at them for a bit longer than normal. She took a deep breath and remembered something, it was a week after the coroner had done an autopsy on Lincoln and Ronnie…
She looked into the living room, seeing the urn with Lincoln's name on it, next to it was a slightly smaller urn with Ronnie's ashes, to keep them together.
His ashes…
There had been a mistake in the police morgue, their bodies had been slated for cremation, robbing the Loud and Santiago family a chance to even give their departed family a proper goodbye in the form of a funeral.
Royal Woods had given both families a healthy check as compensation for this loss, however, but the amount of money on those checks was… Suspicious, to say the least…
Like, there were parts of Royal Woods that needed desperate repairs and work done, but those repairs were never made on time or even at all. So where did the city get the money to pay them…?
The money was accepted of course and put in a savings account that only Leni, Luna, and the Parents had access to. It was for the family, of course, and only for emergencies or if something was needed to be bought, like Lola's new obsession for boxing. It got unnecessarily pricey at times…
Leni hadn't even thought of touching that money for herself, either, using it only to buy fabric to repair and/or fix her sister's clothing. Being their mother was a full-time job, she barely found time for herself…
She turned away from the living room, putting the many letters on the table and beginning to wash her hands and the things she'd use to prepare their lunch, she fell into her thoughts once again.
Where had Lynn and Lisa been? Why had they left together and why did Lynn have such an advanced prosthetic? She may not have been a genius like Lisa or as tactical as her dearly departed brother, but even she had an idea of prosthetics not being as advanced as an almost fully functional human arm.
"It's so weird…" She said to herself, turning off the water and grabbing a rag, drying her hands as she turned back around, "I wonder where-" She paused, as she came face to face with her younger sisters in a… Compromising position, to say the least.
They had formed an upside-down human ladder of sorts, descending from the vent above the kitchen table, Lucy in the vent holding the legs of Lola, who held Lana's legs and then held Lily's legs, Lily was tasked with trying to reach the letters.
She had gotten so close too…
"LILY!" Leni shouted, quickly turning the stove off, throwing the rag behind her, and catching them all off guard, she stomped over to the table and snatched the stack of letters, "Get out of the vents, all of you, now!" She shouted at them all before grabbing Lily and setting her down, helping them all down and lining them all up in front of her in the kitchen.
"I told you guys already! No one was reading the letters until Lori gets here and Dad gets home!" She scolded, "And all four of you were in the vents!?" She said incredulously, "You guys aren't little kids anymore! You could've bent the vents out of shape and gotten hurt! What were you guys thinking!?" She yelled.
Lucy stepped forward first, she had probably changed the most of all them, appearance-wise anyways, styling her hair to look similar to her better half, Lynn.
"We were trying to find out why Lynn and Lisa had left behind those letters!" She said first, "We are worried about our sisters!" She yelled.
"And you think I'm not!?" Leni shouted back at her, "You think I wanted to see them jump into a helicopter of all things and fly off to god know's where!?"
Lola was next.
"All you seem to care about is this power trip!"
Leni was shocked.
"E- excuse me!?"
"Yeah! Ever since Mom stopped coming out of her room, you've been acting all high and mighty, just because you're older than us!" Lola accused, pointing at her.
Leni clenched her teeth.
"You don't know what you're talking about, Lola…" Leni said, crossing her arms.
"Don't we?" Lana continued, "You boss us around, tell us what to do all the time, you're no fun anymore!"
Lily didn't participate in this, stepping back from the quickly forming conflict.
"G- guys…T- this wasn't the plan…" She whispered lowly, feeling a wave of emotions rising in her.
"Ever since Linc died and Lynn and Lisa ran away, you've been telling us what to do and now that we have a chance of finding out what happened to them, you won't let us! Why!?"
"You can't just keep acting like you're our mom!" Lola screamed at her.
This seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back, the shock from this confrontation turning into anger in Leni's heart.
"First of all, this isn't a power trip, it's me taking responsibility and making sure that you are all fed, healthy, clean, and a least a little bit happy!" She shouted at them, some went to respond but Leni shut them down, "NOT A WORD!" She yelled, shocking them at how loud she could be.
The girls' confrontational attitudes quickly left them.
"You don't know the work I have to do for all of you! Lori moved out, Luna is rarely ever here and Luan is busy with school! Leaving me, the oldest, to drive you all to and from school, cook, attend all of your events, clean, and you know why!?" She asked but wasn't waiting for an answer, "Because Mom is too depressed at the fact that we drove Lincy to run away and take his own life, and two of her children to disappear off the face of the earth for two years too! And Dad drove himself into work so he wouldn't have to face this entire situation!" She yelled.
Leni took a deep breath, trying to calm herself but it didn't work. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears. All the emotions were spilling out without a filter.
"Y- you four needed a Mom who wasn't going to break under the pressure and look at that, you got me, I may not be the smartest Loud but I care the most! I- I- I should be back in college right now, designing clothes and making a name for myself! But no, I had to drop out! Because I need to help you through puberty-" She pointed at Lucy, embarrassing her greatly, "And you two, who are still going through Lincoln's death!" She pointed at the twins, who refused to meet Leni's eyes.
How could any of them with how efficiently Leni was dismantling any reasons they should be angry?
"I sacrificed my entire life so that you guys wouldn't have to struggle so much and now you want to call it a POWER TRIP!? AND THAT I'M NOT YOUR MOTHER WHEN THAT'S ALL I'VE BEEN DOING!?"
She stomped her foot down and pointed at the stairs.
"Go to your rooms and I better not see you four down here again until lunch OR I'LL REALY RIP UP ALL THE LETTERS!"
The four were practically shaking in their boots, they tried to speak, to apologize but Leni was still very much in her emotions.
"TO! YOUR! ROOMS!" Leni shouted at them with clenched teeth, trying her best not to break down in front of them.
The girls shut their mouths, taking a few steps back before they all quickly left, running up the stairs and entering their rooms.
Leni clenched her teeth, taking deep breaths before she threw down the letters onto the kitchen table and sat down, rubbing her temple, feeling a headache coming on.
"Leni?"
"I SAID-" She stood and turned to shout but realized that it was just Luna and Luan, she sighed and sat back down, "S- sorry guys…" She said with a sigh.
Luna exhaled and came over Leni, pulling up a chair to Leni and sitting down next to her, Luan coming up from behind, they both placed their hands on Leni's shoulders.
"Dude, you know that we appreciate everything you've done for everyone…" Luna said softly, squeezing her shoulder, "You put your life on pause for everyone, they may not appreciate what you're doing right now but you're the best of all us…"
"Yeah, Leni, you are an amazing second Mom to all of us…" Luan confirmed, leaning down and hugging Leni, "But if you need a break, you can just tell us… We're all still hurting after Lincoln, you know… There's no reason that you have to suffer this alone…"
Leni held her face in hand, hiding her eyes behind her hands as she felt tears beginning to leak.
"I just… I just don't know what to do anymore…" She whispered, "Seeing Lynn and Lisa and then watching them leave just…" She groaned, leaning back in the chair, "I just want everyone back… I miss Lincoln…"
Luna and Luan gave hurt faces and both sighed.
"Yeah, we miss him too…" Luna said, "He was the glue that held us all together, but we need to keep going, for him."
Luan smiled, nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, he would've wanted to 'link' together in these trying times!" She punned, chuckling a bit.
Leni smiled and chuckled lightly.
"A pun? I thought I would've never heard another one again…" Luna commented.
Luan scratched her neck.
"Well… Knowing that two of our sisters are alive and OK, I'm feeling a bit happier…" She said before sighing.
Leni wiped the tears away and stood up from the chair, taking a few deep breaths.
"A- alright, I'm… I'm alright now…"
Luan and Luna gave her shocked looks.
"Are you sure?" Luna asked first, "You were about to break down a few seconds ago." She said, watching as Leni took the letters and went over to a kitchen drawer. Leni dropped them in and shut it, before turning to her sisters.
"Being sad isn't going to get lunch ready." She said with a bright, somewhat sad smile, "You guys can help me get things ready if you want?"
Luna wanted to say something, maybe tell Leni that she needed to relax and let them do the cooking… But she knew that once Leni got an idea in her head, there was no convincing her otherwise. She exhaled and stood, going over and grabbing an apron that had guitars on it, putting it on, Luan following her lead.
"Fine, we'll help you out, but just promise that you'll take things easy afterward, alright?" Luna said.
"Yeah, wouldn't want you to pass out or anything," Luan said, tying an apron that had smiley faces on it.
Leni smiled and giggled and turned back to the stove, turning it on and putting a few pots down.
"No promises…" She whispered.
And so, the Older sisters got to work, deciding to make a meal big enough to feed everyone two times over.
That check did help sometimes…
-W- Across the world -W-
Lincoln looked at himself in the mirror.
He was dressed in a new uniform, it was the same black and yellow color scheme he was used to while in Python's "care", but now his new rank of C-1 was embroidered into the shirt and he was given a proper privates hat to further solidify his promotion.
"You look like Maddison, now," Ronnie commented, coming out of the shower, dressed, and drying her hair.
A familiar scene…
Lincoln sighed and removed the hat, looking at it in his hands.
"Ronnie… Do you ever wonder… That we have what it takes?" He asked.
Ronnie gave him a curious look.
"What do you mean?" She asked verbally before beginning to sign at him, "Getting cold feet about breaking out of here?"
They learned quickly that if they were going to discuss breaking out of here, they needed to do it silently. Python was kind enough to teach them a way to converse in silence in one of their lessons.
Lincoln took a deep breath and signed back at her.
"It's not that, it just that… Python is connected all over the world… All of our families become targets in their crusade to take us down, no matter where they hide or go…" Lincoln signed at her quickly, "We'd become international fugitives overnight…"
Ronnie gave him a curious look before stepping up to him, kissing him on the lips, and signing at him once again.
"Listen, Lame-o, we're getting out of here and we're going to take Python down for not only what they did to us, but because what they can keep doing to others... We can't let them keep going, we have to do something, if we don't, more kids like us will suffer like we did… All in the name of Uroborous' sick experiments…"
Lincoln exhaled and held her hands, squeezing them.
"But what if… What if something goes wrong…" He said verbally whispering into her ear, "We could lose everything… Our family, friends… You…"
Ronnie went on her tiptoes and leaned up, whispering back into his ear.
"That's just something we're going to need to risk, then…" She whispered, lacing her fingers with his, "I'd rather die doing something than live, knowing that we did nothing to help…"
Lincoln looked down at her, saddened by her words but smiled, small tears escaping his eyes as he nodded at her words.
"You're right…" He whispered back, leaning down and kissing her again, "I'm so happy that I have you here with me… I would've cracked months ago without you; I love you, Ronnie…"
Ronnie's eyes widened in surprise, blushing brightly as she looked away.
"Aw Linc…" She whispered with an intense blush.
Lincoln gave her an amused look.
"I've seen you naked in bed but me saying that I love you is what gets you blushing like a schoolgirl?" He asked, shaking his head and laughing.
Ronnie blushed brighter and punched his arm.
"Shut up!" She said, "D- don't you have somewhere to be, anyway?" She asked.
Lincoln looked at his palm, a digital hologram of a watch appearing and telling him the time.
"Hm… You're right…" He said before looking back at her, "Me and the others get to choose our mods first," He said before smiling, "Hehe, you guys get to pick second."
Ronnie rolled her eyes.
"Just pick something useful, yeah?" She asked, leaning up and giving him another kiss on the cheek, she suddenly took the hat out of his hands and firmly placed it on his head, "Now, off with you, Commander 1st class." She said, mockingly saluting to him.
Lincoln fixed his hat and turned to face the door when Ronnie suddenly wrapped her arms around his back.
"Come back soon, though, I wanted to celebrate with you~," She whispered into his ear.
Lincoln blushed and cleared his throat.
"I- I'll try to be fast, then," He said with a smile.
Ronnie smiled and released him.
"Knock 'em dead, lover boy~," She said.
Lincoln took a deep breath and exited his shared room, quickly moving into the main hallway, soon enough, his pale face was no longer blushing as he made his way to where General O'Reilly, Sensei Kyoshi, and Doctor Uroborous had told them to go, or the three pillars as they liked to be called.
"Such a dumb title…" Lincoln said, shaking his head with a sigh.
They referred to themselves as such because, in their own words, they were the three pillars that held the entirety of Python up.
Dr. Uroborous made them into powerful operatives with unlimited potential, General O'Reilly strengthened and disciplined them, and Sensei Kyoshi made them into perfect and precise killing machines.
It made him sick to think about it…
"Oye, Castor,"
Lincoln turned to face the french girl, Adalene, she was dressed in the same uniform. She was just leaving her room.
"Did you just call me a beaver in french, Ada?" Lincoln asked with a raised brow, stopping to let her catch up to him before they began to walk together.
"Maybe I did…" She said with a hum, "Excited to get our mods, Castor?" She asked.
Lincoln gave a hum at the question, shaking his head.
"I can't say I am… Nervous is more like it… I just know that if I pick the wrong one, I'll live to regret it, honestly, I wanted something like metal manipulation but Maddison said that too many people already have that one. It sucks." He said with a shrug, "What are you planning on getting if they have it?"
Adalene hummed at the thought but shook her head.
"I can't just tell you that kind of intel, Castor," She said with a smirk, "That'll give you an upper hand in our next confrontation, I'd rather let you be surprised. Now let's get going. Everyone's probably already there and waiting!"
With that, Adalene grabbed Lincoln's wrist and began to run, dragging him along behind her.
After moments of dragging him around, Lincoln and Adalene reached the room. It was currently being guarded by both O'Reilly and Kyoshi, who were also privately discussing things amongst themselves.
The General looked at Lincoln and Adalene.
"Bout damn time you both got here, everyone else is here, get in here before I make you run laps around Mother Base," O'Reilly said as Kyoshi opened the door for them.
"The Doctor will instruct you on what you will be doing… Good luck, Mr. Loud, Ms. Lavigne," Kyoshi said with a polite bow, now that they were commanders, they seemed to have earned the slight respect of those above them.
The pair quickly entered an octagonal-like room, being met with Gawain, Tenjin, and Mateo. All, of course, in their proper uniforms.
"Took you guys long enough, where were you?" Tenjin asked, adjusting his glasses.
"Aye, you two took your time getting here…" Gawain said, biting into a chocolate bar. Python issued of course.
"At the same time, no less… Something going on, behind the scenes perhaps?" Mateo asked, stroking his chin with a hum.
"Oh? Too busy sucking lip to get here on time?" Tenjin asked with a laugh.
Adalene blushed brightly at the proposition that she and Lincoln were messing around, thus, making them late.
"Attention à ce que tu dis!" She shouted at them, essentially saying, bite your tongue, "M- me and Lincoln were not messing around!"
Lincoln stepped up next, face just as red.
"And besides, I'm already in a relationship here, you guys know this." He said seriously, he seriously didn't need a rumor like this arising again…
"What in the blazes are you children talking about now?" A voice cut through the teasing.
Instantly, the five C-1's became silent, falling into a straight and orderly line and at attention as the good Doctor entered in from the other door. Wearing his goggles and always bloodied lab coat, his brown hair was messier than normal. Must've been too busy committing every crime imaginable to keep it straight and neat.
"Ah, at ease, commanders," He said, but no one could truly ever be "at ease" in this masochists' presence. It was just… The aura that Uronorous gave off was… Almost unfathomable… It was curious, but not the innocent kind, more like, "How far can a human run if threatened with its death?" kind of curious. The "Can I make a pair of Siamese twins through forced surgery?" kind of sick curiosity. A truly evil mind, as well as a… Strong presence… It was hard to explain…
All that Lincoln knew, was that Uroborous was in charge of Project Python for a reason. He recalled when he attacked him two years ago, was General O'Reilly protecting the Doctor from Lincoln… Or Lincoln from the Doctor…?
The thought would always play on repeat in Lincoln's brain… But that wasn't important right now, the good Doctor was speaking.
"Today is a monumental day for all of you, I'll be giving the same speech to your subordinates tomorrow, but you all must hear it first and understand it better than they will…" He said with a smile, taking off his goggles with a sigh, "Today… You all become honored members of Project: Python…"
He was pacing up and down the line of nervous C-1's.
"This means a lot of things… But it means that you all will be enforcing the will of Python over the entire world. Lift your right wrist."
The commanders all looked confused at the request but they all did as they were told, lifting their wrist in the way he told them. Uroborous smiled and snapped his fingers. Instantly, they all felt a searing pain in their entire arm.
Looking, they all saw a small black tattoo of a Python snaking on its way up their arms, it slithered up their arm. The sensation was horrible… Finally, the Python wrapped around their wrist and suddenly, bit into its tail, ceasing its movement entirely.
Lincoln's eyes widened in realization.
"An Ouroboros cycle…" He whispered silently.
Dr. Uroborous smiled and nodded.
"That is right, Mr. Loud. The Ouroboros Cycle, ye olde infinity symbol, and the word my lovely family name is derived from. But here, the Ouroboros Cycle means one thing to Python members and its Operatives…" He lifted his sleeve, revealing his own version of the tattoo, although, his was much bigger and more complicated and detailed, and reached up well past his sleeve, "It means utter and unwavering loyalty to Python and its goals…We control the world from behind the curtains of the governments… We orchestrate the wars and conflicts… We keep the people separated and scared, alive and with a false sense of freedom…"
Suddenly, a screen lit up from behind him, revealing all the leaders of the world. The images flashed and the commanders were in shock at the truth that was revealed to them, everyone, at their wrist… They all had an Uroborous Cycle around their wrist…
"Oh… My god…" Lincoln whispered, everyone around him sharing his equal shock and fear.
"That is the goal of Project Python," Uroborous said, "To ensure my complete and utter control of the world at large, of every corner of the earth, or every single human on this planet… They will be under my control and you, the commanders under me, will make sure that that long-term plan goes off without problem… There will be a place for all who play their part… Do we understand?" He asked.
They all knew that Python had control but… To this extent? At this level? How could anyone compete against a foe that could start a war at a flick of their finger, or replace you at the drop of a hat…
Lincoln felt as if he was now fighting against a god that refused to be talked back to by a lowly mortal that wasn't even worth its time…
For the first time, Lincoln understood the task ahead of him… An impossible task with a nearly impossible enemy, one that wrapped around the entirety of the world and bit its own tail… But… Could he just stand idly by? Be complacent and watch the world become Slaves to Python and its goals of utter control?
No… He couldn't…
Freedom… That's what he wanted and that's what he needed to provide for the world, at all cost, he would achieve this goal…
Lincoln took a deep breath.
He stood up straighter and saluted with hardened eyes.
"Yes sir, I understand, I will play my part to further reach Python's goals," He said with a firm conviction in his voice, "And I'll make sure that those under me understand that as well."
The other four commanders nodded in unison, saluting as well.
"Yes, Python will be the only superpower left in the world," Gawain said, loyally.
"No one will stop us, Doctor, I'll personally see to it," Tenjin said with pride.
"The world will know our name soon enough…" Adalene whispered, glancing at Lincoln, unsure at his attitude…
"I'll stomp any who dare tread in our path," Mateo said with a hidden clenched fist.
Uroborous smiled and laughed madly, turning and snapping his fingers again, the screen turning off.
"Good Good… Now… One more thing, before you all go back to your rooms…" He snapped his fingers once more and several doors slid open in the octagon-shaped room, "Choose a room and choose a mod… This addition will be permanent… Some of you will get luckier with your selection than others but… I believe that you all will find what you need in your own rooms…"
With that, Uroborous turned and left the room, shoes clacking against the white linoleum floors.
Once he was gone completely, the five all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Finally…" Lincoln whispered with a breath he was holding in.
"I thought I was going to pass out…" Tenjin said next, fixing his glasses once more.
"Honestly…" Adalene agreed before turning to the doors, "Now… What do we choose…?"
They all fell silent. This was an important choice, after all, as the good Doctor implied, they would be gambling with their choice of mods here…
"Well, the Doctor did say our own rooms." Lincoln stated, "I think that means we all have to choose a door of our own…" He said.
"Yeah, but what door do we each choose…?" Gawain asked, looking between all the doors.
Lincoln hummed at the question, when, suddenly, he felt a tug in his chest… He looked up at stared at the door all the way in front of him.
"I think… We should go where we feel the same pull…" He suggested.
Adalene looked to Lincoln, shock prevalent on her face.
"You feel that too?"
Lincoln nodded, walking towards the door.
"Yeah… I do…" He stopped his stride and looked at everyone else, they all had followed their "hearts". It was more like their cores, as the good Doctor had replaced their hearts long ago, none the less, they all now stood in front of different doors.
"Ready?" Lincoln asked first.
"Ready as we'll ever be…" Mateo said with a sigh.
"Please don't be a trap…" Gawain said, rubbing his forearms.
The commanders all took a deep breath and almost in unison, they all took the first step into their chosen rooms. Instantly, the doors behind them all closed, separating them all from each other.
Lincoln looked around, slightly confused.
It was… Pitch black in here…
"What the hell…?" He asked.
"Hello, Lincoln."
"AHHH!" Lincoln screamed in surprise and nearly jumped out of his skin, until a light was turned on, revealing that it was Maddison, "O- Oh, shit, Maddison… Wait, why are you-"
"No talking," Maddison said suddenly, placing her hand over his mouth, "I turned off all the security to this room and the others as well, we only have two minutes before the system reboots. Take off your shirt." She said seriously.
Lincoln blushed brightly.
"M- Maddison, I don't know if we'd have enough time to even do something like that, and besides, I'm in a dedicated relationship and-"
She suddenly smacked him upside the head, silencing him.
"No not for that, idiot, take off your shirt. You're getting an upgrade." She said quickly, showing him a suitcase.
Lincoln didn't say anything else and did as told, removing his hat and shirt, leaving him shirtless.
"N- now what?" He asked.
Maddison didn't say anything but rather placed a hand on his chest and pressed down on it a certain way, his eyes widened as a panel opened down the middle of his chest and revealed his internals but most importantly, the yellow spinning core that spun in the center of his chest, powering his entire cybernetic body and keeping him alive. It resembled a large glowing yellow gem with many rings that spun around it, producing unknown energy.
Maddison continued not to speak but suddenly clutched his Core, forcing it to stop spinning.
It seemed to actively fight against her hold.
Several hundred alarms suddenly rung out in his mind, quite literally. His vision then displayed a warning message to stop what she was doing before it led to his permanent shut down. This got Lincoln a bit jumpy, to say the least.
"Woah! Woah! Woah!" He said, reaching up and grabbing her wrist tightly, "W- What do you think you're doing!?"
"Giving you an upgrade," She repeated, "I don't have time to explain, you're just going to have to trust me, Lincoln… You're so close to getting out of here… Project Viper is about to start, once your sisters open the letters, a catalyst of change will begin…"
Lincoln stopped.
"My… Sister's?" He asked, "You've been in contact with them?" He asked quickly.
"Only the two looking for you, right now… I can explain more if you'd let go of my wrist and let me finish the upgrade, we don't have much time…" She said.
Lincoln considered his options.
Don't trust Maddison, let her get caught by Python and ruin possible months of planning and a way out… Or trust her and risk dying because she is holding your heart in her hands, saying that she can give you an upgrade and a status update on his sisters… Well, the answer was clear wasn't it?
Lincoln released her wrist and nodded.
"Alright, do what you have to," He said, "I want to see my family…" He said, taking a deep breath, but finding it hard to do so with her holding his core.
"Good… Now… This… might hurt… A lot…"
"What?" Lincoln asked but was too late.
Maddison, without pause or mercy, pulled at his core. It began to flash yellow in warning to stop. There were many proper ways to remove an operatives core and this surely wasn't one of them.
Lincoln thought he knew pain before, but this certainly redefined the meaning to him tenfold. Someone was literally ripping out what was essentially his heart. This hurt… Like absolute hell but he clenched his teeth and held on to Maddison, knowing that he was going to be hurt more than this, especially if he was planning to save the world…
"This… FUCKING hurts, Maddison…" Lincoln said through clenched teeth.
"Don't worry, you'll be feeling fine soon enough," Maddison said before suddenly jerking her arm back, snapping the spinning Core out of his chest with a loud boom.
If Lincoln had to describe this feeling, it was like he now knew what it felt like to force shut down a computer. No, it was more like, yanking the power cord to the computer mid-operation.
Maddison held the core in her palm, well, not held, but rather, it hovered above her palm. The energy it produced kept it afloat.
"A Beta Core, the most common core that all Python operative's receive…" She whispered before crushing it in her hand, destroying it, "And the weakest…"
Lincoln stumbled a bit and held the wall, gasping loudly, his eyes were becoming dull and flickering between consciousness, he held on, however, feeling that if he passed out, he wasn't going to wake back up.
"M- Maddison, I think… I'm ready for that upgrade now…" He gasped out, "N- Now, would be preferable…"
Maddison quickly went over to him, carefully setting him down on the floor.
"Alright, Lincoln, stay with me, you're about to receive something that no one thinks is actually real…" She said, pulling the metal suitcase from earlier, "I stole this from the Good doctors lab… You don't know how hard it was to get… He's going to notice that it's missing eventually, though…"
Lincoln's eyes fluttered.
"P- Please just… Don't let me die here cause you wanted to give me exposition…" He said wearily.
"Right Right…" She said, focusing again.
Carefully, Maddison opened the suitcase and was met with a bright blue light, reaching in, she pulled out a new Core, but this one was bright and glowing a magnificent blue, it was spinning much faster than the old yellow core.
"An Alpha Core…" She whispered.
Without wasting a moment more, Maddison brought it to Lincoln's open chest cavity, slowly inching it closer and closer.
Suddenly and instantly, the Alpha Core flew out of her hands and into the open chest cavity before the panels to his internals closed and sealed themselves.
The Alpha core, detecting that Lincoln was dying, began to work overtime almost immediately. Lincoln felt a rush of energy, eyes transitioning from brown to a bright blue and blue lightning arching across his entire body.
"This… This feels good…" He said, feeling the energy coming back to him, he got back to his feet and felt his chest, "It feels like I can do everything…" He said, looking down at his hands and clenching his fist, his eyes slowly coming back to the normal brown color.
Maddison smiled and closed the suitcase.
"Good… I'll see you later Lincoln… Oh and, make sure you look really hard at the mods in front of you…"
Lincoln gave her a confused look.
"Wait, you're just going to rip out my heart, replace it and leave?" He asked, "I have questions!"
"I know and you'll get your answers at a later time, security's about to come back on, choose wisely," Maddison said, snapping her fingers and the lights turned off once again before coming back on, and just like that, she was gone.
"How does she do that…?" He asked before looking around the room, spotting the untouched table of computer chips, aka Mods that granted Python operatives special abilities.
There were many options here, they all looked pretty brand new, all were useful, too.
He saw one that was labeled, "telekinetics" and thought; "that one probably requires more brainpower than I have… Lisa would probably love it…" He moved on, looking at others.
He saw another, labeled "Pyrokenetics" but once again, something was telling him that that wasn't a good idea either. "I can control the flames, but I probably won't become immune to it…"
This went on for God knows how long, but finally, he found one that looked very different from all the others here.
It was an older chip, it must've been a mistake because it looked vastly different from the others, it was labeled "Absorption and Adaptation".
He then put the dots together.
"Oh, Maddison…" He whispered with a bright smile, picking it up and taking a deep breath, he brought it to his neck, instantly, a slot opened in his neck and he slid the chip into the slot.
Instantly, he felt a shock course through his entire body and he was brought to his knees, and just as fast, he felt like he was back to normal.
"Well… I don't feel too different…" He whispered, looking at his hands and over himself.
Suddenly, the door slid open once more and Adalene peaked her head into the room.
"Castor?" She asked, spotting Lincoln, "You sure took your time, let's go, the General and Kyoshi are getting impatient and…" She paused, suddenly blushing, "W- why are you shirtless…" She asked.
Lincoln's eyes widened and he looked down, seeing that he was, in fact, still without a shirt. He quickly swiped up his shirt from the floor and slipped it back on, as well as his hat.
He cleared his throat and walked past her.
"No one will ever believe you…" He said quickly.
Adalene stood there for a moment, blushing brightly before clenching her teeth.
"God… Damn it…" She whispered, quickly leaving the room behind as well.
-Later-
Lincoln was now laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, hands behind his head.
"And that's essentially what happened," He said, looking down at Ronnie, who was laying on his chest, the blanket covering the both of them after committing several illicit acts, "What do you think?"
"Were you thinking about that the entire time we were doing it?" She asked first.
"I mean…" Lincoln looked away from her, "Not the entire time…" He said sheepishly, wrapping his arms around her, "How could I be distracted from my smoking hot girlfriend and her steaming bod?" He asked.
Ronnie rolled her eyes and leaned up, kissing him on the cheek, before resting her head on his chest again to listen to his core whirl. She wished they still had hearts to hear them pump in their chests, it was such a good sign that they were still human… But now, it felt like they were robots, more than anything.
"You're right, Linc, your core is totally spinning faster than before…" She whispered, "Is that a good thing?" She asked.
Lincoln sighed.
"I hope so…" He said, "I feel like… I can think faster if that makes sense…"
"Like getting a new CPU for your computer?" She asked, "Or something… I'm still not sure how computers work…" She said.
"No, it's exactly like that," Lincoln said, "Feels like everything is becoming simpler and less complicated…" He closed his eyes with a hum, "Let's go to sleep for the night… I don't think I have much energy left after satisfying you…" He said with a chuckle.
Ronnie smiled at him.
"Yeah, like you weren't the wild one tonight," She said, suddenly straddling his lap, the blanket still wrapped around her securely, "That new power source of yours still got juice?"
Lincoln smiled and wrapped his hands around her hips, looking up at her with a smirk.
"Anything for you, Ronnie…" He said with a smile.
Ronnie smirked at him and leaned down, catching his lips in a kiss and giggling slightly.
"Lucky me~" She whispered, reaching over and flicking off the lights for the night.
Ahem, sorry for the longer than usual wait, production on the story will now continue, I promise, I just ask for your patience and understanding. As always, drop your reviews and I'll read them, of course.
