"So this is why you dragged us here? An old pile of rocks?" an unimpressed Lynn lamented with folded arms as she observed what was left of an old, crumbled building covered in moss and weeds.

It was located in the middle of an island of trees within a traffic circle near their neighborhood, and Lucy had led them there.

"That`s not what I wanted to show Ryan." the goth explained simply. "There's something hidden within it."

"I always was a sucker for surprises." Ryan shrugged.

"I think you'll like it, now I just need to find the entrance." Lucy pondered. "It's been a while since I've last been here." she explained before stretching her arm up.

Quickly, Fang flew in and perched on her hand. "But he`ll show me the way. You just wait here." she told the others as she entered the ruins.

Once she was gone Lynn sighed exasperatedly and glared at Ryan.

"Why did you agree to this again?" she asked him tiredly.

"Cuz...it sounded interesting." Ryan shrugged.

"You have no clue what it is?" Lynn pointed out.

"Eh, if it's located in the middle of a spooky forest it's gotta a be at least a little interesting." Ryan reasoned casually. "Besides, I...kinda wanted to make the little squirt happy."

Lynn sneered. "And since when did you care about cheering up little kids?"

Ryan shrugged again. "Never, of course. But Lucy seems like an interesting gal, a far cry from most snot-nosed brats her age. You don't see a lot of them with such...macabre interests."

Judging from the tone of his voice, he meant that odd remark as high praise for Lucy, which irked Lynn. First with Luan, now he was getting chummy with Lucy? Lynn really missed the days when Ryan was simply indifferent about them.

"Sounds like someone`s jealous. First Luan steals him away and now he`s paying more attention to your ankle-bitting weirdo roommate than to you. He must be getting bored with old sports girl Lynn..."

"Shut up!" Lynn snapped at herself. She wasn't jealous and there was no way Ryan would rather be with those two whackjobs than with her.

"Sometimes, I really don't get you, Ryan." Lynn rolled her eyes.

"I`m a multi-layered guy." Ryan smirked and gestured at himself.

Lynn huffed. "If you're talking about being full of several layers of crap, then I suppose so." she replied passive-aggressively.

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Lynn, I know you don't like this, but no one forced you to come along, y`know."

"What`s that supposed to mean?" she raised her voice and faced him. "That you don't want me around?"

"Easy there, tiger." Ryan replied coolly. "I never said that, but it's clear you ain't keen on doing whatever Lucy wants us to do, so why did you insist to come along when you had other options?"

Lynn turned silent, contemplating. Why did she lose her temper? Why did she insist to come along in the first place knowing Lucy would be there? She honestly didn't know, she just did it as a gut reaction.

"Duh, you wanted to be close to him. Cute company."

Lynn growled inwardly but had to respond quickly as Ryan stared at her oddly.

"I`m sorry..." she muttered begrudgingly "...I just...wanted to spend time with you."

Ryan`s face softened and his chill demeanor returned. "Well you got your wish, didn't ya?"

"I was hoping we could do something more fun..." Lynn grumbled in response.

"Who says this won't be? Exploring places is always fun-"

"I found it." Lucy suddenly appeared, startling them, before handing them both flashlights.

"You`ll need these, now follow me."

"And where exactly are we going?" Lynn asked curtly. "There isn`t a lot of light there, huh?"

"No." Lucy said with a small smile. "If you're afraid of the dark you can wait up here."

Lynn narrowed her eyes.

"Uhhhhh...a challenge of courage? Classic." Ryan quipped.

"I`m not scared of anything!" Lynn angrily exclaimed and stormed ahead. "Let's go!"

As they entered the ruins someone else peeked out from behind a row of trees, holding a baseball bat and grinning maliciously.

"The retards trapped themselves in the ruins for me, awesome!" Lyle grew excited and smiled wickedly.

"Alright boys, let's spring into action!" he addressed his goons. "It's time for payback! Those assholes are gonna rue humiliating me!"

Only two members of his gang had come along and they looked scared and shook nervously along with the bats they were holding.

"I don't know about this, Lyle..." one of them quivered. "This sounds like a bad idea. Those two are ruthless."

Lyle became agitated. "No, they`re not! They just got a few lucky shots!" he lashed out at them.

"Besides..." he smirked "...we`re armed this time, they aren't!" he elaborated while punching his palm with the bat."

"I`m not sure, those imbeciles might actually be on to something..." a monotonous female voice joined the party.

Maggie stepped out of the shadows. Her presence creeped the others out but Lyle scowled at her.

"Don't get sassy with me!" he scolded his cousin. "I`m the boss of this gang and we`re doing things my way!" he growled petulantly.

"You asked me to spy on them so you could know when those two would be alone again." Maggie replied indifferently. "I simply assumed that this gave me the right to express my opinion."

"And how`s this a bad plan?" Lyle responded curtly. "It`s three easy steps. First, we find them, then we corner them, then we bash their brains out! Revenge accomplished! Plain and simple!"

"If you say so." Maggie shrugged indifferently. "But I have a hunch that your revenge won't go according to plan."

"Oh, oh, ever the pessimist, aren't ya, Margaret?" Lyle snarked.

"It`s who I am." the emo replied plainly.

"Well, I`m going to prove you wrong right now!" Lyle pointed at the ruins before grinning. "You`ll see!"


Inside the ruins, Lucy led them to a crack in the wall, which as it turned out was the entrance to an underground cavern.

Already familiar with the place, Lucy flashed her light and easily navigated through the tight passage filled with bulging rocks everywhere which were hidden by the darkness.

Ryan and Lynn had a harder time moving through the dark, narrow and unfamiliar tunnel, not helped by their larger size.

"This is idiotic!" Lynn ranted behind Ryan, her voice bouncing off the rocky wall.

She struggled to squeeze herself between two rocks before following after him. "We`ll get lost and stuck in place!"

"You won't as long as you follow me." Lucy`s stoic voice echoed from far ahead, growing more distant.

Ryan placed his hand against a bulging boulder on the ceiling and moved below it. "She`s right, if you go exploring you need to have faith in your guide."

"Our "guide" just graduated first grade!" a surly Lynn retorted before bumping her head against the same boulder.

Ryan stopped and cringed before hurrying back to her. "You okay?"

"No!" she said curtly while rubbing her forehead.

Ryan directed his flashlight at her. "Ughhh...that`s gonna leave a mark."

"Not funny! And stop pointing that thing in my eyes!" Lynn pushed his flashlight away.

"Sorry, but when you explore dark caves you have to make sure what's in front of you." Ryan told her helpfully, bitting back a snicker.

"If you have trouble navigating, I can lead you just like in that underwater cavern." he offered her his hand.

Feeling mocked, Lynn pushed it away. "I`m doing fine on my own!" she huffed and pushed past him only to trip on a small rock.

She grabbed hold of Ryan`s shirt only to pull him with her. They fell and got stuck between various rocks, coughing as the dust cleared.

It was then that they realized that they were pressed uncomfortably close to each other, with Lynn holding on to Ryan. They both enjoyed the sensation for a moment before growing red and hastily trying to scoot away from each other, only to hit their heads and jab their backs against various boulders in the dark which pushed them back together, with their faces getting pressed against each other.

Lynn started sweating and panicking but Ryan composed himself enough and exclaimed, "Don't move!" and grabbed hold of one flashlight. Finally making out what was in front of him, Ryan slowly and carefully stood up and helped Lynn up.

Still blushing, Lynn fidgeted nervously. "Eh...maybe you should lead the way." she admitted shamefully and took his hand. The gesture made her feel nervous and uncomfortable.

If he hadn't been feeling flustered himself Ryan would have sent her a deadpan glare.

They soon spotted a glimpse of Lucy`s flashlight which led them to another crack in the rock.

They saw Lucy on the other side and squeezed their way in. The ground felt somewhat squishy and the place smelled weird, but on the plus side, it had a lot more space.

"You fell behind." the goth observed.

"Well excuse us for not being two and a half foot tall twerps who can slink through a narrow tunnel in pitch-black darkness!" Lynn snapped.

"Keep your voice down..." Lucy said in a hushed tone. Lynn started fuming while Ryan observed his surroundings and flashed his light at the ceiling.

"Incredible..." he mumbled in amazement as he realized where they were.

"I`m not gonna keep my voice down!" an irritated Lynn lashed out at Lucy. "I`ll be as loud as I please!" her voice echoed through the cavern.

It was immediately followed by a chorus of chirping, followed by hundreds of pairs of tiny, glowing eyes popping up above them.

Lynn`s jaw dropped in shock while Ryan looked at them in awe.

"There are hundreds of bats up there..." the boy spoke.

"Bats?" Lynn meeped.

"That`s Fang`s entire flock..." Lucy stated as her pet bat landed on her shoulder. "I sometimes visit them when I need a place of solace. They can be very noisy but not as long as you remain quiet and respect their daily slumber. I thought you`d like to see them." she whispered to Ryan.

Lynn was stunned with shock but Ryan was smiling and approached the goth.

"Wow. I always wanted to see a bat cave..." he whispered back, sounding uncharacteristically giddy.

"So you like the surprise?" Lucy asked hopefully.

Ryan chortled. "Like it? I-" he was cut off by a chorus of screeches as the bats suddenly swooped down upon them.

Lynn screamed in fright while Lucy and Ryan looked up in astonishment.

"Stretch your arms out!" Lucy told him hastily as she did it. Ryan did so as they were engulfed by the flock.

Lynn, however, fell to her knees and crouched to the ground while shielding her head as hundreds of tiny wings flapped above her.


"Lyle, you might want to check this out." Maggie had found the entrance to the cave while her cousin and his lackeys were aimlessly searching the ruins.

Hearing her, Lyle grunted in annoyance and joined her. "What is-" he stopped upon seeing what Maggie was pointing at.

"They must have gone down there." the indifferent emo concluded. Lyle squinted his eyes in confusion.

"Why the hell would they go down that hole?!"

"I honestly don't know." the aloof Maggie shrugged her shoulders.

"Eh, who cares! Revenge time!" Lyle took several steps down the cavern. "Show yourself, you cowards!" he shouted. No response.

Lyle growled. "Come up here or I`ll come down! Come and face me! Mano a mano!"

This time he got a response, in the form of screeching.

"What the?" a confused Lyle blurted before he and Maggie were suddenly assaulted by a flying black mass.

Lyle screamed and dropped his own bat as dozens of tiny feet latched on to his hair and shirt. His two lackeys reacted the same way as the huge flock descended upon them and they made like the wind.

"MAGGIE! DO SOMETHING! GET THEM OFF! DON`T LET THEM BITE MY NECK!" Lyle screamed like a little girl as he flailed his arms wildly and ran away from the ruins as fast as his legs could carry him.

An unfazed Maggie remained where she stood as the last of the bats cleared and sighed and shook her head.

"Told him it was a bad idea." she said droningly.


Lynn cowered and shielded herself as multiple bats still soared above her. A strong odor attacked her senses and she felt how squishy yet dry the ground beneath her knees and elbows was, like it was covered in a layer of cheese puffs.

Beyond the endless chirping, she heard another bizarre sound. Ryan giggling childishly like he was on the receiving end of a tickle attack.

She dared to look up and gasped. Ryan and Lucy stood next to her, their arms stretched out with numerous bats crawling all over them like bees on a honeycomb.

"It tickles, it tickles..." Ryan giggled in a high-pitched voice as bats hung from his sleeves, climbed up his arms and shirt and some were nuzzling his neck and nibbling his ears.

Lynn was modified but her friend was acting as if he was being licked and cuddled by a pack of cute puppies.

"Affectionate fellows, aren't they?" he said exuberantly. "How did you teach them to be comfortable with this?" he asked Lucy.

"Didn't really do anything..." she responded between giggles "...they just started doing this over the years."

Lynn panted heavily and kneeled up. "Ryan?! What are you doing?!" she blurted worriedly.

Remaining still in his scarecrow pose, the smiling Ryan rotated his head in her direction. "Lynn? You gotta try it! You have no idea how soft these little fuzzballs are!"

"Have you gone mad?!" she replied hysterically, ducking as some of Ryan`s bats swooped down and flew past her.

"Lynn, lower... your volume. You're... scaring them." Ryan told her between giggles.

"Scaring them?!" the unnerved Lynn blurted, shielding her head as more bats flew over her. She was sweating with anxiety and her heart was skipping beats.

"Lynn, you shouldn't stay so close to the ground..." Lucy told her with a hint of amusement in her voice "...it's covered in bat guano."

Lynn`s pupils shrank with horror and she jumped up whipping her clothes. "Ew! Gross! Ew! Gross!"

"Don`t worry, Lynn." Ryan shrugged. "Animal crap is relatively bacteria free. It's nature`s fertilizer and now you smell like mother nature!"

Lucy snickered while Lynn glared at them both, feeling demeaned and embarrassed.

"I want to get out of this shit-hole! NOW!" she lamented with a mixture of fear and anger. The former was noticed and came as a surprise to Ryan.

"Why? I`m making lots of new friends with these little, flying gremlins." he protested half-seriously.

"Lynn, if you're by any chance scared by this..." Lucy spoke up, sounding more and more taunting with every word "...well...you have your flashlight and you know the way out."

Lynn glared at her. The little brat was challenging her and enjoying her misery. Lynn couldn't deny it, Fang and his small flock that visited their home creeped her out enough, but a whole armada of these small winged creatures was a whole different story.

"I`m not scared!" she yelled, more with defiant despair than with rage. Her demeanor wasn't fooling either of her companions.

"You don't give off that vibe to me. I know fear when I see it." Lucy grew a small smirk.

Ryan noticed it. The timid little girl had at least a small sadistic streak, everyone had it as far as Ryan was concerned.

He felt a sense of pride and admiration seeing her unwind a bit. On the other hand, while he felt tempted to crack another joke or two at Lynn`s expense, seeing her quiver and squirm with fear was not a pleasant sight to him.

"Lynn, you're actually scared by these little critters?" he asked curiously.

"No, I`m not..." Lynn said definitely but ducked fearfully as more bats swooped over her head.

"Well, if you aren't scared you won't mind staying here longer." Lucy stated with a smile.

Lynn grew tenser, her pride wouldn't allow her to look like a scaredy cat in front of them, but the longer she stayed here the more she felt like she was going to experience an anxiety attack.

Ryan jumped up and the bats flew off him. Dusting himself off, he approached his friend, sporting a sympathetic look.

"Lynn, if this is making you feel uncomfortable we`ll leave now."

"I`m not scared!" she denied it while growing out of breath. "I`m...just..." her voice trailed off as she kept sweating bullets.

Ryan`s trademark smirk returned. "You're a terrible liar, y`know that?" he stated simply.

Lynn deflated and hugged him for comfort. Ryan returned the favor.

It felt embarrassing, but being in his embrace had a surprisingly soothing and calming effect on her as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"You`ll never let me hear the end of it, are ya?" she grumbled.

"I`m not that cruel. Besides, everyone has their weaksauce fears. Remember, I don't like doctors and clinics."

Lynn grew a cheeky smile. "Oh yeah, you do tend to be a big baby around hospitals."

Although she started to feel better it didn't occur to her to stop hugging Ryan, not that he minded the gesture.

Somewhat disappointed by the outcome, Lucy frowned at the sight in front of her with dread.

"Sigh. I have the foreboding feeling that something super icky is going to happen."

To her relief, Ryan and Lynn let go of each other, and they approached her.

"Okay, Spooky, we had our fun. It's time to scram." Ryan told her nicely, though he was just as disappointed by their early departure as her.

"Sigh, okay..." she replied dejectedly.

"Don`t be so glum, kid. Didn't you have some other activities planned?"

Lucy smiled. "Actually, I did."

Lynn exhaled exasperatedly. At least they were leaving this place.


Lincoln supposed that changing the future obviously wouldn't be easy, or particularly pleasant.

But at this point, as he was laboriously carrying what was probably the last of a dozen or so boxes up the stairs and into the attic, he was really wishing that he could finally do something that didn't involve cleaning the house for the third time in a row.

Tired and worn out, he barely managed to climb up the ladder and dropped the box in the attic before kneeling down and leaning against it, panting heavily.

It really was getting aggravatingly boring and tedious at this point and Lincoln wanted a task that was at least a little more exciting.

"It`s the small deeds that matter, you are making a difference by relieving mom and dad of their stressful duties as much as possible. Every deed counts." he told himself, trying not to lose sight of the big picture.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Lincoln went back down the stairs. "But still, why does Taylor get to go to an amusement park while I`m stuck being the housemaid?" he thought enviously as he reached the lower floor.

He knew Ryan would just keep weaseling his way out of any of the more tedious tasks as much as possible, and he would milk the excuse of "oh, you need to stay close to your family cuz you understand them, while I work on the outside" to no ends.

Frustratingly, Lincoln knew that was true. Ryan`s actions in the park showcased perfectly how he would handle the girls, and Lynn wasn't far behind in that mentality.

Lincoln wasn't one to advocate handling problems with violence, intimidation and swagger, but to his dismay that appeared to be the only effective tactic against his crazy sisters.

Lincoln just hoped that this would only be a temporary solution. He didn't want to have more injured sisters on his conscience. At least with Lisa, it was an accident and arguably karma for using her hypno ray on her siblings. With Leni less so. She hadn't even attacked him.

As he stepped out of the house he came across Charles who was wagging his tail upon seeing him.

Smiling softly, Lincoln kneeled down to pet him. The bull terrier had been watching his only two male masters clean the garage all day, and Lincoln was happy to see his dog acting normal despite his recent near-death experience.

"Charles, are you enjoying the sunny day? I`m sure you're happy about not having to help us clean the garage, huh?" Lincoln asked him.

Charles looked at him while panting with his tongue sticking out, before suddenly trying to nibble his itching, bandaged leg, only to be hindered by his cone.

He whimpered with irritation and discomfort. Lincoln patted his back comfortingly. "Don't worry, buddy. You'll have that funnel of your head soon enough."

Noting that, Lincoln started reconsidering his earlier complaint.

Staying at home and doing menial labor trumped meeting One Eye once again by a mile. Both his sister and Ryan treated surviving another run-in with him like something worth bragging about, but to Lincoln the mere idea of seeing that wolf again was horrifying itself.

He was beyond thankful that this inexplicable jump back in time meant that his sisters carried no recollection, and no battle scars, from that horrible camping trip.

But he did carry the former, and it still haunted the back of his mind. That camping trip was the single most terrifying experience he and his family ever had. And now Charles had gone through the same burden.

"You were very brave, Charles." he spoke intuitively as he stood up.

"I know it must have been terrifying for you, but you showed lots of courage defending Lynn despite the odds being against you. We`re both proud of you."

Lincoln knew that the dog probably didn't understand a single word he was saying but he had to say it, Charles` brief but daring act of courage was nothing to sneeze at as far as Lincoln was concerned. A reminder of who man`s best friend was.

Suddenly, he heard a noise from the garage and rushed towards it, followed by Charles.

Once there, Lincoln saw his father arm sticking out of a pile of collapsed cardboard boxes and other junk.

"Eh...a little help...please..." Lynn spoke up in a muffled and clearly embarrassed tone. Lincoln moved trough the collapsed junk and helped pull his father up.

With a crazy and disorganized family of twelve, the garage and other storage places would quickly accumulate with tons of stuff and needed to be cleaned regularly. What you might find there each time could keep even the savviest person guessing.

Lynn clumsily staggered out of the pile, with an old guitar strapped around him, his left arm was stuck halfway into the tire of a unicycle and he had a cooler over his head.

"I can't see?!" the man panicked in a muffled voice.

"Just stay still, dad." Lincoln told him calmingly while pulling the unicycle off his arm. Next, he urged his father to bend down.

"Lemme get that cooler off your head." Lincoln did so and Lynn stood up, only to reveal that he had something else on his head, an old Halloween mask.

Lincoln flinched a bit. It was a werewolf mask.

"Thanks, son..." Lynn could finally see the boy but quickly noticed that he was seeing him through eye holes "...wait? There`s something else on my head?"

He turned about, feeling the rubber and fake fur, and saw Charles. The dog yelped in fear and scampered away to hide in his dog house.

"What`s gotten into him?" Lynn stopped as he saw his reflection in an old wall mirror sticking out of the pile.

The man screeched and jolted back in terror, accidentally stepping on a skateboard and crashing back into the pile again.

Lincoln cringed before sighing and rolling his eyes. His father`s fear of anything Halloween-related was pretty sad. Lincoln didn't peg himself as being brave, but even he had learned not to be scared of cheap Halloween props three years ago.

"Are you okay, dad?" he asked with concern while pulling the mask of Lynn`s head.

Lynn shook his head before smiling sheepishly. "A-okay, son." he said hastily as he stood up straightening his back. "Just a little bruised."

"Yeah..." Lincoln replied exasperatedly while looking around the mess his father made"...and...eh...I guess we have some more cleaning up to do?"

An embarrassed Lynn swallowed and rubbed his neck. "It seems so...eh my bad."

Lincoln sighed. "Let's get it over."

At least this would give him some more time to start talking with his dad.


"I`m never gonna live this down..." Lynn muttered to herself, sitting under a tree and resting her head and arms on her knees.

Her stint in the bat-infested cavern had really stung her pride.

She had lost her cool and acted like a total girl, scared and hapless, and needed Ryan to comfort her and "protect" her from something neither he or her freaking 7-year old baby sister were even remotely fazed at!

It was beyond humiliating to her, showing such weakness would have hurt her pride under any circumstances but doing so in front of him felt exceptionally embarrassing.

Lynn currently wanted to be swallowed by the earth and just die, which was fitting since she was sitting at the outskirts of the local graveyard.

It was late afternoon and more and more fog started coming in around the place from...somewhere? Apparently, graveyards are just fog magnets?

Lynn looked up to see if she could spot her friend anywhere, but he and Lucy had disappeared like ghosts within the foggy cemetery.

Lynn still couldn't believe that Ryan agreed to do what Lucy had suggested, but considering he had just willingly let himself be swarmed by bats she supposed he was a junkie for the bizarre and macabre as much as she was one for sports.

It was a stupid idea as far as Lynn was concerned and she sighed and buried her head in her knees, still feeling like a sissy wimp for her reaction to the bat cave.

"Oh stop being a drama queen for Pete`s sake!" she scolded herself. "It`s not like he made fun of you for it! He understood." she reassured herself. He was her friend and friends shouldn't feel embarrassed in front of each other over such things.

"Besides, you enjoyed being comforted by him. It felt good..." some part of her mind told her, making her growl, stand up and kick the ground in frustration as her cheeks flushed red.

Suddenly, she spotted a small group of kids entering the graveyard from a distance. They looked about Lucy`s age and quickly disappeared within the fog.

Lynn rolled her eyes and sat back down. At least this idiotic escapade was about to be wrapped up.


"Guys, this place is creeping me out..." one of the kids quivered as they approached a tombstone.

"Stop being a baby!" another one told him curtly and handed him a camera. "We made a bet and we have to do it, otherwise well be a laughing stock at school!"

"Alright, be sure to capture my good side!" the young boy told his friends as he leaned against the tombstone.

The camera quivering in his hands, the terrified kid tried to take a snapshot when a tall figure suddenly appeared from the fog.

He dropped the camera and along with the others froze with fear, a few of them whimpering or chattering their teeth, with one pointing at the figure.

"What?" the confused boy asked the group when he heard creepy breathing coming from behind him.

He felt a chill run down his spine before a pale, bloody hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

The boy squeaked in terror as he saw a pair of glowing red eyes, belonging to the Grim Reaper.

"Wretched mortals! You`ve defiled the sacred resting grounds of the departed! Now you`ll join them for all eternity!"

Screams of utter terror echoed through the cemetery as the horrified children fleed in all directions, except for the poor brat that was struggling in the Reaper`s grip.

He glared down at his petrified victim, tears of blood dripping from his glowing sockets.

"And guess who`ll be the first one to be dragged down to the infernal pits of hades!" the collector of the deceased told the boy, which he followed up with a maniacal cackle.

Oddly, the Reaper sounded like he hadn't hit puberty yet.

Screaming for his mother, the boy finally squeezed his arm free thanks to the slippery fake blood. He fell on his back and the Grim Reaper awkwardly staggered closer until he was looming over him.

He uttered a flat "Boo" and the boy scrambled to his feet screaming and ran away, tripping and getting back up several time over.

Once he was gone, two different sets of laughter emitted from the costume.

"Well, well..." Ryan peeled back the black robe to properly see the fleeing dope "...I guess your schoolmates will think twice now about your warnings that the Grim Reaper will get them if they don't stop picking on you, huh?"

"That felt good, finally getting payback..." Lucy said behind the skull mask as she turned her red flashlight off.

"Of course it does, kiddo. There's nothing more fulfilling than revenge." Ryan agreed. "And mentally scaring bratty ankle-bitters for life, of course." he added cheekily.

He paused and looked at the audience. "Don't judge me!" he placed his hands on his hips before smiling smarmily. "The best way to assure that kids have learned a lesson is to scare it into them!"

"Thanks, Ryan. For helping me..." Lucy told him humbly.

"Any time, Spooky." Ryan chuckled. "I never could turn down a chance to be... theatrical!" he added dramatically.


"First some creepy old ruins, now the graveyard?! What the hell`s wrong with those freaks?" a scratched up Lyle grumbled while grasping his bat with both hands and surveying the foggy area from a row of trees.

"From what I could gather the little girl has a strong fascination with everything gothic and morbid, probably her idea." Maggie shrugged apathetically.

"In that case I`ll be doing her a favor if I knock some sense into that midget freakshow as well." Lyle proclaimed gleefully.

"Sounds like a bad idea, you saw first hand how protective that sports girl is of her siblings." Maggie advised him.

"I doubt that will be a problem if I break her legs first." Lyle clutched his weapon.

"And what makes you think you'll get a chance to do that?"

Lyle`s annoyed face snapped towards her.

"Oh, Margaret. Did you already forget that conversation we just had about you not asking stupid questions unless I ask for it!" he warned her passive-aggressively.

"Sorry." the emo replied indifferently.

Lyle smiled. "Good. Now stay quiet and don't spoil my ambush. I got the element of surprise!" he grinned deviously and swiftly snuck into the cemetery.

"Go get them." Maggie "cheered" him on without an ounce of enthusiasm.

"Ughhh...this place gives me the creeps!" Lyle shuddered as he got himself lost and disoriented in the foggy maze of tombstones.

"They have to be here somewhere!" he quickly grew frustrated as he looked around.

Suddenly he spotted a shadowy figure moving through the fog and out of the graveyard. Lyle`s eyes widened and he grinned ear to ear with glee.

"Got them!" he ran around the figure to intercept it. He hid behind a rotting tree as the figure turned around and moved in his direction.

Without a second thought, he jumped in its way yielding his bat up.

"HA!" he roared triumphantly, only to freeze stiff and drop his weapon upon coming face to face with a towering, cloaked figure with a skull for a face, who's sockets started glowing with a hellish red light.

The stunned Lyle blinked before screeching with unimaginable terror while his brown hair turned white and he bolted away like the speed of light, leaving a dust trail in his wake.

"Lyle?" Ryan blurted as he peeked out from his costume.

"Who?" the head asked him in confusion, but Ryan didn't hear her as a rectus grin crept onto his face and he laughed involuntarily.

"Oh this is too good to be true!" he hollered while clutching his gut.

"Guys!" Lynn rushed to them. "Was that Lyle?" she asked worriedly.

"Yep. But he left just as quickly as he came!" Ryan quipped in response.

"Who was that guy with the unibrow?" Lucy asked them.

Ryan and Lynn looked at each other. The former nodded to the latter before picking Lucy off his shoulders and gently placed her down.

"Oh, nobody important." Ryan said nonchalantly as he took his robes off and rolled them up. "Just some jerk me and Lynn know."

"Yeah, he likes to...eh...skulk around and scare people, but I guess you turned the tables on him." Lynn added.

Lucy took her mask off and shrugged. "Hmmm...an unexpected bonus I guess..."

Lynn sighed inwardly before sending Ryan a subtle glare.

"Alright! You and Lucy had your spooky jollies! Now you owe me some quality time, Ryan!" she told him firmly.

"Clingy, aren't you..." Lucy commented snidely.

Lynn quickly regretted wording it like that. "I mean...I had it tagging along!" she hastily corrected herself.

"If I don't engage in some sort of competitive physical activity within the next five minutes someone`s gonna get it!"

"No need to fight over me, girls." Ryan smirked. "There's plenty of me for everyone!"

"I mean it!" Lynn got up in his face and Ryan took a step back.

"Fair enough." he shrugged. "I traumatized enough people for one week, what would you fancy doing?"

Lynn brightened up. "Oh, I have a few ideas..." she patted her duffel bag "...and I packed the essentials for it."

"Oh, I know that look." Ryan remarked. "You want me to try a new, more brutal sport."

"You know me well." Lynn smirked. With Ryan being her sparring partner she could finally do some stuff she wasn't able to do in a while.

"And what am I supposed to do?" Lucy cut in.

"Cheer us on of course." Lynn sneered at her. Lucy frowned.

"Oh, don't worry, kid." Ryan reassured her. "I never throw a boring sleepover."

"Too bad that a sleepover is way past your curfew though." Lynn added snidely, smirking at the goth.

"I am in no need of sleep if I don't want to." Lucy retorted. Ryan patted her back.

"Speaking of which, it's about time you saw my humble home, we shouldn't stay out here past dark anyway. Not with all these weirdos lurking around." Ryan proclaimed while observing the trail Lyle had left.


Lincoln pushed the last box on the shelf. He exhaled and dusted himself off. "That's the last of them."

"Good job, son." his father congratulated him as he finished placing some brooms and rakes against another packed shelf.

"Sorry about causing that minor avalanche, but with your help we still cleaned this place up in half the time I would have on my own."

"It was nothing, dad. Glad to be of service." Lincoln replied simply.

A chipper Lynn dusted his hands before placing them on his hips. "Ah, it warms my heart to see things neat and orderly. I think you and me have earned a big glass of lemonade each, huh?"

"Sounds great, dad." Lincoln approached him while dusting his own hands. Lynn noticed the rather downbeat tone in his son`s voice.

"You okay, sport?" Lynn cocked an eyebrow.

Lincoln sighed. "I was thinking about mom. Remember what I`ve asked you earlier."

"Lincoln, I told you not to worry." his father lightened up. "Yes, your mother and I had a bit of an argument, but that's nothing new for an old married couple like us. After she sees how we`ve cleaned the garage she`ll be in a forgiving mood in no time, I guarantee you."

"And what if she won't be?"

Lynn paused and looked at his son oddly. "Why wouldn't she? Why'd you ask that?"

Lincoln took a deep breath, he had to choose his words carefully.

"Dad, I know you didn't sell us out to Luan when she did...you-know-what, but even after she herself told everyone the truth mom didn't seem to act any differently towards you than before. She still seemed mad."

His father`s expression grew more somber and he sighed. "I suppose that`s true." he scratched his neck.

"But I guess that was just one heck of a rotten coincidence on my part. I`m glad you have faith in me, but from their perspective, I did look pretty guilty in front of her and your sisters, regardless if I was or not."

Lincoln looked at him seriously. "But shouldn't a family have complete faith in each other? You know how me and Lynn went to a friend that day but when we came back we were also accused of selling ourselves out to Luan!"

"I know, Lincoln. I`m sorry about that, but..." Lynn gulped with uncertainty "...but you gotta see it from your sisters` perspective..."

"So the word of their own sibling and their own father is not good enough for them? Mom won't believe her own husband? Does that sound like a healthy family dynamic to you, dad?"

His father grew silent, not knowing how to respond. He thought about what his son had said.

The more he contemplated the more he couldn't think of an argument against it and grew worried. Did his own family really have so little trust in him?

"Dad..." Lincoln broke the silence and braced himself "...I`m worried. And it's not just about mom being mad at you over this one mishap."

Worried? That word caught Lynn off guard. More than that, his son`s demeanor conveyed that exact feeling.

The more Lynn thought about the way his son had been acting today-no, the way he had been acting for the last few days indicated that something was troubling him. Something more than not getting a comic book or failing to watch an episode of his favorite tv show.

"Lincoln..." he asked cautiously "...I told you if there's something on your mind you can tell me. Is something troubling you?"

Now was his chance. "Yes." he answered plainly. "But it's not bullies or anything you're probably thinking about. Actually, it's not about me as much as it's about our family."

Lynn was speechless. His son just read his mind and immediately denied his first assumptions. But if he wasn't dealing with some personal troubles then what?

Lincoln sighed before continuing. "I`ve noticed things. I`ve noticed how you and mom seem so stressed and overwhelmed lately..."

Lynn didn't understand where his son was heading. "Well...yes me and your mother do get stressed out sometimes, but that's completely normal for parents and grown-ups in general. It's not something you should get worried about, you're still a kid and you should enjoy yourself..." he tried to lighten the mood "...one day you'll have to face the same kind of responsibilities. And I`m not gonna lie to you, you're old enough to understand, they are sometimes overwhelming but we simply figure out a way to juggle them-"

"But you and mom don't have the same kind of responsibilities as other parents." Lincoln interjected.

"Excuse me?"

Lincoln carried a firm expression. "Most parents don't have to take care of ten kids at once who are loud, destructive and chaotic on a daily basis."

Lynn blinked.

"Don't lie to me, dad, I may be just ten but I`m not oblivious. I can see that you guys are overwhelmed because we are a massive burden to you."

"Lincoln?!" his father was taken aback. "Where on Earth did you get such a ludicrous idea?" he asked with a mixture of sternness and disbelief.

"You kids aren't a burden to us! What kind of a parent would think that way? We love every one of you equally and wouldn't trade you for anything."

Lincoln retained his steely expression. "You don't get it, dad. I know you and mom love us, I love you too and so do the girls, even if they don't show it. But it`s not love that's the problem. It's taking care of all ten of us that's the problem. It's that huge responsibility that's the burden which is driving you and mom of the edge."

Lynn turned silent once again, astounded by what he was hearing.

He almost couldn't recognize his own son. Standing in front of him wasn`t the same carefree child he knew but a boy who seemed a lot more world-weary, jaded and understanding of things most 10-year-olds would never think about, and he was completely convinced in every word he was saying.

But the most surprising and unsettling thing was just how dead on accurate Lincoln`s interpretation of his and his wife`s daily troubles was.

He understood that taking care of him and his sisters was a burdening task for Lynn and Rita, not because he thought his parents didn't love them but because he somehow understood how simply taking care of so many children and dealing with their daily and individual shenanigans was increasingly more and more overwhelming and stressful for them.

Where and how did he suddenly figure that out? Lynn always thought of his son as a bright boy, but he never took such an interest in his parents` personal problems any more than their daughters.

Seeing your child gain a perspective on your own adult life and its many difficulties out of nowhere was confusing and a lot to suddenly take in.

As his father didn't respond Lincoln worried that he said too much and/or came on too strong, but he had a backup plan in order to give some validity to his claim. He felt grateful at the moment that his mother was an aspiring writer.

"Lincoln...I..." his father looked stunned and didn't know what to say.

"Dad, I`m sorry if I was speaking out of line I just had to..."

"Son, where and how did you come to this conclusion?" his father asked with an air of bewilderment, not denying anything or scolding his son, just looking bewildered and curious.

Lincoln acted carefully, this was a crucial moment. A possible turning point. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small book.

His neck was sweating and his heart was pounding, knowing he would have to lie to his father and potentially get himself in trouble.

"Dad, you have to promise to keep this between us. It's something mom gave me and I`m not supposed to share this with anyone."

Lynn seemed to consider it, looking even more uncertain about his next action than his son.

"I eh...promise..." he finally answered "...what's that?"

"Mom has started writing another novel, this is it..." Lincoln said cautiously.

"...and...she asked you to give it a review?" Lynn concluded. That would be nothing new for his wife, though he and most of his kids would find her literally work a tedious chore to read trough. Not that anyone would actually tell her that.

"...yes." Lincoln reluctantly lied.


He had a flashback to just before lunch, where he snuck into his parents` room wearing a blue ski mask, trying to be sneaky and inconspicuous only to quickly trip over his own feet. He picked himself up and started searching through the drawer.

He suddenly heard his mother walking towards the room, started to panic and dove and squeezed himself under the bed but not quickly enough to avoid having his mother step on his hand. Lincoln teared up and clenched his teeth behind his mask trying his hardest not to make a sound and ignore the pain until Rita`s foot finally stepped off it.

Lincoln gripped his hand while his mother picked some stuff from the closet and left just as quickly. Lincoln pulled himself out, brushed the dust bunnies off him and resumed searching the drawer until he finally found what he was looking for. Then he heard footsteps again.

Lincoln ran towards the closet, tripped, stood up while clutching his aching knee and hid behind the coat hangers. He started sweating profusely as his mother looked into the closet mumbling to herself about being unable to find her favorite sweater.

Lincoln saw said sweater behind him, grabbed it and pushed it in front of him for his mother to grab. Luckily, once she pulled it out Rita smiled and walked away.

The clumsy burglar peeked to see her leaving and promptly rushed out towards his own room. He closed the door and pulled the sweat-soaked mask of his face before slowly sliding against the door to the floor.

"How does Taylor do this kind of stuff with ease?" he muttered to himself.


"Yes, she asked me to give my thoughts on it." Lincoln lied again.

"And it`s the stuff that I read here that got me worried about mom."

"Worried about her?...Why?" the confused Lynn asked him. Was the novel that boring?

"Lucy once told me that when someone writes a piece of literature they usually put a lot of themselves in it. Including expressing their own personal problems and turmoil through the fiction, and judging from what`ve read I think mom has some personal grievances that got me worried."

"And what did you read that got you worried?" Lynn was now seriously getting concerned. What grievances could his wife possibly have that got his son so worried and moody and thinking about stuff he had never paid much attention to before?

"I think you'll understand it better if you just read it yourself." Lincoln handed the novel to his father.

"And believe me, dad, I doubt you'll find it anything but boring. I`ll leave you to it. I`ll be in my room if you need me." Lincoln told him seriously and left the garage, leaving his father worried and confused, and even more worried.

Lynn looked at the book he was holding, a ton of questions were racing through his mind right now. For once he felt compelled to read one of his wife`s amateur novels, but for all the wrong reasons.


Whatever is going to read there will probably be not very flattering and unsubtly directed at him.

And this time around Lyle`s attempts to swing his bat at a Loud were foiled...by comedic interference. Looks like the timeline is slowly turning out to be a better one after all.