Later that evening…
"Let the grand celebration commence!"
Ryan opened the door to his living room and gestured for his guests to come in. Marceline was the first to enter, still bitter about failing to catch One Eye's winged stooge.
Lynn (who was wearing her beanie again), Lincoln and Lucy walked past him. They were followed by a despondent Lori, Lola, Luna, and a chipper Leni, the former two staggering, being badly bruised and burned out. Lola was wearing her tiara but had exchanged her usual dress for a simple, but still pink-colored tracksuit. No way was she going to soil her fine clothes again. Plus, the dress she wore today was beyond repair.
"Welcome to my humble abode, Louds." Ryan chuckled as he stepped in. "Half of you are guaranteed to cherish your stay. The other half? Not so much."
"Aww…you have such a nice home, Ryan!" Leni said in delight. "It could be the cover of a home improvement magazine!"
Ryan's mirth waned. "Make fun of me while you can, tutzy wutzy. Because tomorrow, you gals are gonna learn the true meaning of "loss"."
"As in "losing a game"… and "losing the will to live"." Lucy added ominously, enjoying her sisters' predicament far too much for Lincoln's liking.
Lincoln himself had nothing to say to them. What could he say? "Sorry that my teammates will abuse the hell out of you but I was overruled on the matter again"?
He was certainly happy that they had secured a way of keeping the sisters away from home on the big day, which was now on the horizon in the same way the morning sun was. Quite literally. Even after everything he endured over this short stretch of time, Lincoln hadn't forgotten the importance of keeping his sisters away from their home on this dreaded date. It was the foundation on which this entire crazy mission was based on, the reason he barreled onward despite all the obstacles, no matter how traumatic they got.
After everything he and his team had gone through to get here, they had certainly earned this victory. On the other hand, his teammates' desire to torture the others was not something he approved of, but it, unfortunately, came with the package. When he, Lynn, and Ryan set out to change the Loud family's future less than two weeks ago, he hadn't expected all the insanity that would lead them to this very moment. Zombies, man-eating wolves, roided-up bullies on rampages, teleportation, all-purpose robot assistants, ninja stealth missions, pain-filled family duels, teen angst-fueled conspiracies?
To say nothing off all the…moral compromises they had to make during this arduous journey, the most recent and most extreme of which was staring him right in the face.
"I got beat up sooo bad…and I was trying to help!" Lola was sobbing, still hoping against hope that someone would take pity on her. She and the others had the opportunity to shower and clean themselves up prior, but she could do nothing to hide the many bruises she had acquired today.
"Lola!" Lori hissed at her. "Nobody gives a crap about your owies! Can you at least let me suffer without making my ears bleed too!"
"Yeah, can't you blow out your voice again?" a downtrodden Luna added.
"Oh, do not fret, slaves." Ryan smirked at them. "You have our permission to vent out all your frustration on the little hellspawn while us winners party the night away. It's the least we can do."
"Emphasis on least." Lucy added, making Lori seethe. "Can we also use a bullwhip on them?"
The losers paled, while Ryan rubbed his chin. "Don't have one, but I'm pretty sure a jumping rope will work if you swing it right? Those plastic tips hurt like hell at high velocity!"
"Nobody is getting whipped, guys!" Lincoln stepped in. "Can't we talk about this? Work out something mutually agreeable?"
Ryan rolled his eyes. "You know democracy never works in your favor?"
"Yeah, and besides. Getting flogged can only improve her skin condition." Lynn quipped snidely while pointing at Lori. "Isn't that right, Pimperella?"
Lori boiled with rage and her blisters started itching again, forcing her to scratch herself madly.
"Someone's getting antsy again?" Ryan cooed, while Lynn and Lucy sniggered.
"Will you please hear me out?" Lincoln said firmly. "I have a hunch you're gonna like my proposition."
"Whatever!" Lori cut him off. "I'm not going to let you twerps talk down to me! I'm gonna face my defeat with grace and dignity!"
Everyone paused after that statement, before Ryan, Lynn and Lucy erupted with wild laughter and even Lincoln had to cover his mouth as he giggled against his will, while Lori pursed her lips and her nostrils flared.
"Well...I'm not." Luna whimpered and plopped on the couch, where she buried her head into a cushion and sobbed feebly. Lola just collapsed on her knees and did the same.
"Uhhh…what a pretty picture?" Leni pointed at a small, framed landscape painting on the wall.
"I've seen you attempting to do that before, Lori." Lucy told the eldest Loud smartly. "I don't think you know what those words mean?"
"Shut up, or I'll tie you-"
"Ah-ah-ah!" Ryan wagged his finger. "That ain't no way to talk to Master Lucy, slave girl. Know your place."
He walked closer to her, sporting the smuggest smile imaginable. "Or was that whole "facing defeat with grace and dignity" spiel just more hot air?"
"Is that even a question?" Lynn scoffed.
Lori clenched her teeth and twitched on the spot. The nerve! The audacity! She really, REALLY wanted to just go rabid and rip these miserable twerps to bits. But doing that would solidify her as the pathetic loser her enemies had been calling her all day. Keeping her cool was quite literally her only means to uphold a shred of dignity.
After a prolonged silence, Lynn sneered, "Typical poser."
"I knew you weren't gonna do shit." Ryan winked at Lori before turning to his team. "Well, Blondy, you might as well make yourself comfortable and cry about your loss with the rest of the losers, while us winners start preparing the party snacks? Shall we?"
"I'm down with that." Lynn laughed and was the first to head for the kitchen. "Last one there is a rotten egg-"
She jolted as she came face-to-face with Renee, who was still a mess and wearing the same clothes she did when she left the Louds' home. She also had faint claw marks etched across her face.
"Guys, step back. I think we found a banshee." Lucy spoke up, her tone sarcastic.
Lincoln was unnerved by her boldness but then remembered that Renee was still having a borderline catatonic existential crisis. Her blasé, despondent expression confirmed it.
"Fancy meeting you here? Looks like someone rose from her coffin?" Ryan greeted his sister. "Did your mattress finally get too lumpy for your liking?"
"Tea…" Renee said blandly while holding a steaming cup.
Lincoln looked back and forth between her and their soon-to-be servants, and asked gingerly, "Um…do you want us to explain what's going on?
"No, don't care." Renee replied and took a sip.
Lynn smirked. "Well, I'd hate to brag, but while you were wallowing in self-pity all day, me and my team went and did-"
"Ugh…what was the Cassagrandes' number again?!"
Showing just the tiniest hit of surprise, Renee looked past Lynn and saw Lola weeping on the floor, Luna lying on her belly on the couch, Leni observing the living room with a look of awe, and some other blonde trying to dial a number on the Taylors' landline phone.
"What are they doing here?" Renee asked, some human emotion, specifically shock, creeping back into her voice.
"I hope you don't mind, sis, but I've invited the Louds for a get-together." Ryan started nonchalantly.
Renee pushed past him and observed the unexpected visitors.
"See, it's a long story, but in nutshell, me and my pals made a bet with the bimbo squad, had a big game, we won, they lost and now they have to pay the price by being our slaves all day tomorrow. You cool with that?"
He wasn't particularly worried about her opinion, knowing she currently lacked the incentive to do anything about it.
Renee's gaze was fixated on the sisters when Lynn approached her and put her hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry." She patted her shoulder patronizingly. "I'll be more than happy to tell you the whole story during our victory party, especially my glorious victories. Not like a sad sack like you has anything better than do, right?"
"Lynn…" Lincoln started cautiously. "What did we say about poking the bull?"
"Relax, Lincoln." Lucy assured him. "We all know she's too consumed by her emotional turmoil to do anything about our endeavors."
"Oh, hey, Renee!" Leni noticed her and waved. "It's totes awesome to see ya again!"
"Renee?" Lola snapped out of her crying fit and looked up.
"RENEE?!" she bolted and hid behind Leni, quivering with fear. Luna also sat up with a start.
"I swear! I was forced to come here by your stupid brother! It wasn't my choice!" Lola cried pleadingly. "Mercy! Please, mercy!"
"Yes! Yes! We ain't loitering or anything!" Luna flinched. "Just don't hurt us!"
"Yes, I got beat up so much today!" Lola pointed at her two shiners and many other bruises frantically. "I'll break apart if-"
"Chill out, dummies!" Lynn scoffed at them. "She's harmless. She had her widdle feewings hurt and is an emotional wreck now, remember? She won't hurt us! Watch!"
To prove her point, Lynn pulled out a straw and shot a round of spitballs, which bounced off Renee's shocked face, but the latter didn't even register it.
"What are you doing here, did Ryan invite you to his slumber party too?" Leni clapped her hands exuberantly.
"She's his sister, you dunderhead!" the trembling Lola told her in aggravation.
"Oh? But what does that have to do with my question?" Leni asked.
"Will you pipe down!" a livid Lori yelled at them, sitting on a stool next to the landline phone and dialing a number.
"I know tomorrow is going to be a living hell for me, so-"
"Oh, you bet, butter buns." Lynn laughed cruelly. "You better brace yourself. Payback's gonna be so sweet!"
Lori's face scrunched up but she ignored her comment.
"Whatever! I want to enjoy what little freedom I have left by complaining about my day to Bobby until the cow's come home!" she continued. "So all of you twerps stay out of the living room!"
"You have no power over me until the crack of dawn! So you better-"
POW!
"Agh!?" Lori gasped while everyone else jolted as they saw Renee holding the former's neck in a crushing grip, throttling her.
"No!" Renee barked. "I may be a failure of a governess and a disappointment to my parents, but you miscreants will NOT defile their home or raise their phone bill under my watch! Do you understand!"
"You're choking me!?" Lori croaked in a high, raspy voice, unable to break free of Renee's vice-like grip.
Renee pulled her closer, allowing Lori to see the fiery inferno in her eyes.
"I'm the head of this household! And you Louds will follow my rules!" she growled, while the terrified Lori's face was starting to turn blue.
Lynn, Lincoln, and Lucy gawked at her, stupefied, while Luna joined Lola in hiding behind a still-clueless Leni.
"Alright!" Ryan laughed with surprise. "Welcome back to the world of the living, sis! Can't believe I'm saying this…but I kinda missed ya?"
Renee threw Lori against the floor and erected herself as she gave a sweeping glare to everyone present, not caring to check if Lori was still moving or not.
"Ryan!" she yelled at her brother. "You're going to explain to me what's going on here in thorough detail, have I made myself clear!"
"Sure, no prob." The boy shrugged. "But I think Lynn over there will do a better job speechifying our epic victory."
Lynn smiled at him but then shifted her gaze at the newly revived Renee, briefly exchanging a look of contempt with the teen. It sure was fun while it lasted, not having to deal with her.
Noticing her disappointed look, Lincoln whispered to her, "Look on the bright side? Maybe having Renee will help us keep the girls in line better?"
"But at what price?" Lucy worried, scooting closer to her brother, while Lori pushed herself up to her knees, coughed, and rubbed her throat.
"Sure, sure, whatever keeps you within the ballpark of being happy, Renny….oh, and Blondy?"
Ryan crossed his arms, looking directly at Lori. "We'll have power over you by midnight!" he pointed at the wall clock, which showed that it was 9.30 p.m.
"Explain! Now!" his sister's voice diverted his attention back to her, and he and his team saw that she had managed to lash Leni, Luna, and Lola together with a single rope as she just finished tying up Leni's wrists.
"Uhhh…you're making friendship bracelets already!" Leni beamed as she looked at her bound hands. "Aww…you shouldn't have!"
"Come back here, you bob-cutted barbarian! This is against the law! You are literally violating our rights! Hello!" Lori lamented as she and her team had their hands tied to the railings at the bottom of the stairs, but her complaints fell on deaf ears. A given, since four out of the five other people present couldn't give a rat's ass about her well-being. Five, if you counted Marceline, who was currently resting on her bed in the corner and growled and covered her head in irritation as Lori's whining denied her a well-earned catnap.
"Please, don't provoke her." Luna begged Lori. "She's mental."
Lincoln, Lynn, Lucy, and Ryan were sitting on the couch, trying to explain things to Renee, who was sitting on the armchair and listening attentively.
"So let me get this straight?" she asked. "You miscreants had a family tournament between two teams, and those idiots were you opponents?" she pointed at their captives, earning enraged glares from Lori and Lola. "And they lost the tournament, and the penalty for losing is being your servants for the next 24 hours?"
"That's about the size of it." Lincoln nodded.
"And it was organized by that air-headed trust fund baby, who authorized cheating as part of the final challenge?" Renee grimaced, the mere thought of that rich girl making her sick to her stomach.
"Oh, yes." Lynn smirked. "It just goes to show you that cheaters never prosper. No amount of cheating can hold a candle to real skills."
"My mad sabotaging skills being a prime example." Ryan pointed at himself with an air of smugness.
Renee glowered at her brother. "And just what gave you the idea that I would be fine with you inviting the entire Loud family to our home?"
"It's not the whole family." Ryan pointed out snidely. "Luan, Lana, and Lizzie stayed back home?"
Renee replied with an impatient grunt, making Ryan roll his eyes.
"Because, if I had asked you, I'm pretty sure the only answer I would have gotten would have been…" he adopted a dopey face and pouted his lips, while drawling, "Meeh…"
"Renee, I think both of us can work with this?" Lincoln said quickly, making the teen shift her gaze towards him.
"I mean…my sisters are honor-bound as Louds to obey our every whim?" He continued. "They won't have any time to cause trouble. But if any of them do get the idea, you'll be there to stop them, won't you? You had no trouble keeping them in line at our place?"
"Until you dropped the ball with Kathleen that is." Lynn couldn't help but bring it up, much to Renee's ire.
"The pipsqueak's right." Ryan reclined. "Just look at this as… your chance to atone for your grade-A screw-up while serving as their babysitter?"
Renee's eye twitched after being reminded of that, but she didn't snap at them. She was mulling over her options.
"Atone?" she said while contemplating. That very word made her shudder. When did she ever have to "atone" for anything? She always did whatever task was requested of her perfectly? But not this time.
"So do we have a deal?" Ryan pressed his fingers together.
"Fine. We have a deal." Renee said as she stood up. "I have no issue with you putting your temporary slaves to work, but if they or you cause any problems-"
"We won't. You have our word." Lincoln nodded nervously.
"Your word means nothing to me, Loud." Renee replied coldly.
"I thought the deal was that you would keep them in line?" Lynn said smartly, much to Renee's chagrin.
"Yes…" she said begrudgingly. "But you are not going to make any request that could result in collateral damage or disturbing the peace or breaking the law-"
"Oh, we won't be doing that. Where's the fun in that?" Lynn folded her arms. "We have more…run-of-the-mill "master and servant" games in mind. Serving food, fanning us, using them as footstools, we haven't figured everything out yet?"
"I'm going to make one of them feed my leech farm." Lucy smiled eerily while holding up a glass jar, which was filled with water and housing leeches.
Renee said nothing to that. It was disturbing but technically harmless. To the Taylors and the neighbors at least. She couldn't deny that she took a small amount of joy knowing that this time, she was not legally obliged to care about the Loud girls' well-being.
"Atoning for my mistake while watching those that were complicit in it suffer? Not an awful deal, all things considered?" she thought, slowly getting more on board with the idea.
"I say you give Lori that honor?" Lynn elbowed the goth. "There's lotsa Lori to feed on."
Suddenly, Renee got up and walked up to their captives. The others tensed up, especially Lincoln, fearing Renee that still planned to settle some old scores.
Lori shuddered at the sight of her, while Lola and Luna shrank with fear, as they were met with Renee's steely gaze. Lola froze with utter terror as Renee's gaze became fixated on her and the latter narrowed her eyes.
"You're lucky that sparing your miserable life is in my best interest, you insipid little wretch." She told Lola, her tone laced with venom.
Lola swallowed a lump. Clearly, Renee had not forgotten the whole "pushing her out of a second-story window" incident.
"Listen here, you!" Lori spoke up.
"Then it's settled, Ryan." Renee turned back to her brother, ignoring Lori. "You four are staying upstairs. No running around the house at nighttime. So go and grab all your inane party supplies right now."
"Fine, party pooper." Ryan scoffed. "But just for that, you ain't invited."
"And keep the music down." Renee warned them before turning to the captives and untying the rope. "As for you four. I'd advise you to go to sleep immediately, for you're going to have a busy day tomorrow."
Before any of them could say a word, Renee pulled Lori, Leni, Luna, and Lola along like cattle, while the others followed them.
"Oh, are we going to get our own suite like at Kathleen's hotel?" Leni beamed.
"No." Renee said flatly.
"Where are you taking them?" a worried Lincoln asked.
"Somewhere dingy and unpleasant, I'm sure." Lynn smiled.
"To their sleeping quarters." Renee replied.
"Do you have enough rooms to fit all of us?" Lucy asked.
"No. Since you're Ryan's associates, you can reside with him." Renee said stiffly as she grabbed a door handle.
Lori, Luna, and Lola widened their eyes as Renee opened the door and revealed that it was the door to the basement.
"I can't see much?" Leni squinted. "I think you need to change the lightbulb?"
"The basement?" Lori blurted and glowered at Renee. "Are you out of your gourd?"
"Don't get sassy with me, kid!" Lori winced as Renee got all up in her face and held up a familiar piece of paper. "According to your own treaty, you and your team have your human right revoked for the ensuing 24 hours, meaning I'm not obliged to offer you proper accommodations."
"But don't you have a guestroom?" Lincoln asked her.
"Yup, but too bad the bimbos don't count as guests?" Ryan shrugged. "They're just property that needs to be stored somewhere for the night."
"Exactly. Now get in." Renee grabbed Lori by the wrist and glared her in the eye. "And don't you even think about trying to escape. If you think being at Ryan's mercy is bad, you haven't seen anything yet!"
"I believe ya! I believe ya!" Luna and Lola nodded frantically and rushed in, pulling Lori and Leni along, which inevitably caused the four to trip over and fall into a pile on the cold, hard floor.
Renee grew a small smile. "It's so cathartic when they learn to cooperate."
"No, wait!" Lori cried. "You can't leave us here!"
"Goodnight." Renee closed the door and locked it before dusting her hands.
"You're leaving them to sleep in the basement?!" Lincoln blurted.
"What should you care? I don't prop up pillows for my belonging while traveling?" Renee told him.
"But you didn't even give them pillows, or blankets or sleeping bag-"
"Again, I fail to see why that should concern your property." Renee strolled past them. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find a comb and make up for a lot of postponed maintenance."
Lincoln was left dumbstruck and looked back at the locked door, before sending a glare aimed at Ryan.
"Did you know she would do this?"
"Don't go all conspiracy theorist on me?" Ryan quipped. "I expected Renee to interfere with our plans about as much as that lamp?" he pointed over his shoulder at a table lamp.
"He's right, Linc." Lynn shrugged. "Plus, we have a victory party to attend, so it's better if we don't provoke Renee. Otherwise, she's gonna be one major party pooper."
"You're not seriously all okay with just leaving them there for the whole night?" Lincoln asked incredulously and gestured at the door.
"I'm cool with it." Lucy shrugged.
"Ditto." Lynn agreed. "What reason do we have to take pity on them?"
"Do I even need to answer?" Ryan smirked at Lincoln.
"Besides, it's better if they learn to rough it sooner than later." Lynn added. "Especially Lori and her teenybop buddies?"
"W-what do you mean?" an unnerved Lincoln asked. "You can't just abuse them without any-"
"Oh, no. Lynn's talking about where they're gonna spend the summer." Ryan explained.
"Didn't dad tell ya?" Lynn shrugged. "They are getting summer jobs. And the others are going to summer camp. He and Pop-Pop are all for it."
"Summer jobs? Summer camps?"
"Yes." Ryan pointed at himself. "That was my ingenious idea by the by. We didn't tell you because we knew you'd be too soft-"
"No!" Lincoln cut him off before growing an incredulous smile. Experiencing two breakthroughs in one day? Two victories in one day? That mere notion was foreign to him. And yet somehow, tonight was the exception?
"That's a brilliant idea, Ryan!"
"Preachy boy scout say what now?" Ryan was befuddled, as were Lincoln's sisters.
"That's not cruel, that's fair?" Lincoln let out a breathy laugh. "Too fair in fact… the summer camps at least..."
"Ryan did suggest military school too?" Lucy piped in, causing Lincoln's smile to falter. "Maybe Lisa can hack into-"
"No, that is cruel, but not summer jobs. Lori, Leni, and Luna need to learn responsibility somehow…"
"And dealing with adults who are in no way inclined to put up with, let alone enable their foolishness is the perfect way to do it." Lucy smiled with satisfaction. The idea of spending a whole summer with most of her sisters out of her life was an tempting idea. She would miss Luan, sure, but the good far outweighed the bad.
"Couldn't have said it better myself, Spooky." Ryan smiled back. He too very much liked the idea of his girlfriend's annoying family being MIA for the next two months.
"Yes, yes, yes….and besides…" Lincoln fell into a shell-shocked daze as he started pacing around. "If we continue babysitting them for the whole summer…"
"…we'll probably end up getting ourselves killed?" Lynn said frankly. "The thought had crossed my mind."
"If the bimbos don't drive us nuts first?" Ryan snorted.
Lincoln looked at them grimly before deflating. "Yeah…there's that." He sighed and straightened himself. "We just got rid of Lyle and One Eye. But with our luck…"
"…our next opposition will probably be a psycho serial killer that escaped from a funny farm and a rabid grizzly bear?" Ryan shrugged.
"It sounds hyperbolic, but by all accounts, that is an accurate prediction. After the flu-zombie thing, I'm not discounting anything as unlikely." Lincoln nodded.
"But besides that, I would greatly prefer them learning responsibility through personal experience, instead of us having to keep doing amoral actions just to keep them under control." He added while glaring at Ryan in particular.
"Come now, "amoral" is just a matter of perspective." Ryan huffed but was ignored.
"I don't want to undermine our…unorthodox way of spending quality time together…" Lincoln turned to Lucy and Lynn "…but I cannot take all these underhanded tactics, physical abuse, and compromising of my own moral principles any longer. We're all just kids, kids with limits…"
"No, no. I agree with you." Lynn smiled sympathetically. "No rush of adrenaline is worth all the crap we had to go through. We all deserve a break from this. I think I had enough excitement for one summer."
"Yes, all this madness has to come to an end somehow, and your plan sounds like the right way to take this mission to the next level. Without putting ourselves in danger." Lincoln continued.
"So you agree that tonight really is cause for celebration, huh?" Lynn elbowed him playfully.
"Actually, yes… it is." Lincoln grew a lopsided smile. "I'm not a "ends justify the means" kind of guy, but I really think we succeeded in our mission tonight."
"Then it's settled. We're shipping off your good-for-nothing sisters as fast as possible." Ryan clapped his hands. "But right now, it's party time!"
"But shouldn't we get the girls food and sleeping bags, if nothing else?" Lincoln asked, making the other three roll their eyes.
"I'm just saying, it's basic decency-hey?" Lincoln stopped his moral lecture as he was led away by Lynn and Ryan towards the kitchen, with Lucy following them.
"Yeah, sure…decency and all that jazz." Ryan nodded halfheartedly. "But let's focus on the chip and dip…"
"Careful, careful…" Lori sweated until the binds around her hands finally fell off and she sighed in relief.
"You almost cut him, you klutz!" she chastised the rocker.
"It's not my fault there are no lightbulbs here." Luna replied in annoyance as she put the Swiss army knife back in its chest. The last thing she needed was one of her sisters getting hold of a sharp object...while in the dark.
Lori rubbed her wrists. The horrendous chaffing was over but that was the only positive thing about their current situation. They had pretty much sunk as low as they could.
"Guys, I don't think this place is a suite?" Leni wondered while roaming around in the darkness, their only source of light being the small skylight, which they quickly found out was locked. Needles to say, she kept bumping into things.
"Leni…" Luna hissed through clenched teeth. "Will ya stop fumbling around in the dark, or you'll-"
Leni yelped as she stumbled over a suitcase and grabbed hold of a dusty shelf, causing it to clonk her on the head before breaking apart.
"…hurt yourself." Luna groaned in defeat. There was no point in trying to stop the inevitable, was there?
"Twinkle twinkle… little star…" Leni drawled as she was seeing stars, buried under the dismembered parts of the shelf, before losing consciousness.
None of her sisters made a move to assist her and it was Lola, of all people, who eventually asked, "Eh…should we help her?"
"What's the point! You can't stop natural selection!" Lori threw her arms up and sat down on a chest, where she leaned on her hands. "At least this way we'll have some goddamn peace and quiet."
"That's the smartest thing you said in a long time, bra." Luna told her.
"Excuse me?" Lori glared daggers at her, though it was hard to make out in the dark. "You mind repeating that?"
But this time, Luna wasn't intimidated and just gave her a nasty frown. "You heard me right. I said that this was the smartest thing that came out of your kisser in a long, long, LONG time."
Lola couldn't believe the rocker's sudden brazenness while Lori was seeing red. "How dare you talk to me like that!" she yelled and held her fists up.
"Or what?" Luna shot back. "You gonna beat me up for it? Oh, I'm so scared! Come at me! Go for it! What do I have to lose! It's the perfect way to cap off this shitty day!"
Lori was stumped by her response. Her idle threat didn't work. Her younger sister was totally unfazed by it. Now what was she supposed to do? She was already badly bruised from her many wipeouts and could barely move her limbs.
"What crawled up your butt crack?" Lola glowered at her. Suffice to say, it was a very stupid question.
"You pulling my leg, or are you just that daft?" Luna asked incredulously.
"For one, I had a big argument with my best friend, I missed the chance to see SMOOCH, I got held captive by a maniac pretending to be a babysitter, I got locked up for who knows how long in a bunker with that blabbermouth…" she pointed at the unconscious Leni.
"And just what is the deal with you and Sam?" Lori raised an eyebrow.
"None of your beeswax!" Luna snapped. "That's between me and her. Not like you give a bloody damn about my personal life anyway!"
Lola scoffed. "She's got you there."
"Oh, but that's just the beginning!" Luna continued. "I also got punished by my own parents for doing absolutely nothing, and today, I got blackmailed into assisting you wankers, I got trounced around by an elk and smashed into a tree, I got tied up, got pissed on by a dog, and I almost got three of my siblings killed, including you, Lori, all because of Lola's…" she glared at the princess "…hair-brained ideas to win that freaking race! And to top it all off, I got thrown right back into the clutches of the same deranged babysitter who just locked me up in her basement with you sods! Does that sound like enough of a reason to be royally pissed off? Because it sure as hell does to me!"
Lori and Lola were left speechless while Luna hyperventilated and clutched her hair in anger, a wave of newfound lucidity flooding through her mind. "Just what the hell was I thinking working with you idiots!?"
"Who are you calling an idiot!" Lola and Lori yelled in perfect synch.
"You two!" Luna snarled at the blondes. "Just what's wrong with me? I was ready to agree with you to fake my own disappearance? How was that supposed to help our situation? That would have only made things worse! What was Kathleen thinking?"
Lola gasped. "How dare you question her-"
"Hey! Nobody pressured you into it!" Lori snapped back at the rocker. "You agreed to it!"
Luna wanted to argue, to say that Lori had scared her into cooperating with her, which certainly wasn't untrue, to say nothing of Lola's blackmailing, but part of her knew that it was still her own fault.
"Yes, I did! And I'm regretting it right now!" she raved in response. "To think that I could have gone back to Sam and tried to make amends instead of wasting my time making a fool out of myself with you morons!"
"Ha…" Lola laughed. "So it's really about that Sam girl then, huh? How is it our fault she got mad at you? We didn't even talk to her! For all we know, she just got tired of you!" A small smirk crossed her face, from the fleeting feeling of having the upper hand again. "Who can blame her?"
Luna flared her nostrils but before she could retort, Lori chimed in
"The brat's got a point? Not to mention, you can't blame me for being on the losing side. I did my best to win! I gave it 110%! It's Lola who is really to blame, she blackmailed you into working with us and she was totally useless during the challenges!"
"Me!" Lola was livid. "You were our leader, Lori! It was your pathetic leadership that cost us our victory! You couldn't even lead an old lady across the street!"
"Oh, yeah!" Lori shot back. "And you call yourself a saboteur?! If you had actually done your job, we would have won! But you literally couldn't even pour freaking itching powder on someone's clothes while they weren't looking!"
"What?!" Lola was beyond furious and pointed at all her bruises. "I've worked harder today than any of you! I almost got myself killed for our team, so don't you dare-"
"SHUT UP!" Luna screamed, silencing the two. "Just shut up! Shut up! Shut the hell up! I can't take your shrill stupidity any longer!"
Burned out from her outburst, Luna panted but continued glaring at the two.
"You're both right, because both of you are at fault! Both of you! That's why we lost the duel! We lost it because our leader is an ego-driven, sanctimonious idiot, our "saboteur" is a vindictive, incompetent brat and our other teammate was nothing more than dead weight!" she gave an aside glare to Leni. Ironically, Leni hadn't actually done anything to hinder their performance, though she hadn't contributed anything either.
"And I never should have been a part of any of this lunacy!"
She was so furious, she started banging on her own head in anger. "I should have just sucked it up and accepted whatever meager punishment mom and dad dished out! It would have been a major bummer, but it would have been a thousand times better than making an arse out of myself like I did! Now, not only am I servant to a bunch of sadists, but I'm their servant with Renee Freaking Taylor as my prison guard!"
A flustered Lola retorted with, "So… what? What are you getting at? You saying you would rather have sided with Lincoln and be a parent's pet? Is that what you're-"
"Why not!" Luna snapped at her. "What would I have to lose at this point? I don't know what his deal is or why he's sucking up to mom and dad all of a sudden, but at least Lincoln thinks things through, cuz he thinks with his brain and not with his bloated but oh-so fragile ego!"
"Ego? I…I cannot believe what I'm hearing!" Lori growled. "So you're saying you would rather turn over and show your belly to our parents, let them control you, and take away our right to-" she ducked in fear as a raggedy medical kit was thrown at her.
"Do NOT start that again!" Luna warned her dangerously, sounding like she was ready to brawl. "Listening to that bullshit is what got me into this mess in the first place! And to answer your question, why the hell not? If mom and dad want to be controlling buzzkills, might as well try and make the best of it! It ain't stellar, but they sure as hell are a lot more reasonable and bearable than you or that little monster over there! They ain't threatening me with violence at every turn, over every minor tidbit!"
"How dare…you have some nerve, you miserable ingrate!" Lori snapped. "You would be nothing without me! Nothing! I did all of this to help you guys! I tried to help you and-"
"Screw you!" Luna cut her off. "Go screw yourself and then some! You take me for a blinking idiot? I know you couldn't care less about us! You were just scared of losing your own privileges and you needed lackeys who would kowtow to you and help you with your idiotic cause! I know that, because….because that's the same reason I helped you in the first place! Because I too was scared of losing my sway at home but now I see that doing that has only exacerbated the situation!"
"What are you trying to say!"
"I'm saying that today is the last time I will EVER listen to your crap or Lola's!" Luna growled. "If you dipshits want to screw yourselves over with your mind-numbing stupidity, you do as you please, but I'm not gonna be a part of it any longer! You ain't taking me down with you!"
With that, Luna turned her back on them and walked away in a huff, leaving her sisters dumbfounded, before sitting behind a large chest and wrapping her arms over her knees.
She could do nothing now but wallow in her own sorry thoughts until the dreaded day came. She made her bed and now she had to sleep in it. If there was anything to look forward to, it was that she was only indebted to Team Lynn for 24 hours. After that, she was free. Free to attend to more important matters. Like restoring her friendship with Sam, even if it was just a friendship and nothing more. She would have to be a complete dumbass to squander that, for Sam was more of a sister to her than any of her actual sisters ever were.
Lola blinked before fuming with unbridled rage. "Fine! Who needs ya! If you want to be a miserable doormat, have at it! We don't need you!"
"We?" Lori gave her a sharp glare. "What do you mean with "we"?"
Lola gave her a befuddled look. "What are you talking about?" she asked as fear slowly crept into her voice. "We gotta stick together! You're gonna need my help if you want to escape from here-"
"Your help!" Lori barked a bitter laugh.
"You've tried "helping" us all day and look where that has gotten us!" she threw her arms up, gesturing at the dimly lit basement. "I'm threw making deals with brats who don't even reach my knees!"
Lola narrowed her eyes. "So what? You're gonna walk out on me too? You think you can escape without my-"
"Who said anything about trying to escape!" Lori yelled at her, making her wilt. "You really think I'm planning to escape?!"
"But…I…you…"
"You really are as stupid as you look!" Lori said scathingly. "Trying to escape this craphole is a pipe dream! Besides those demented Taylors likely watching us right now and waiting for an excuse to attack or spring a trap on us, do you think I will give the twerps the satisfaction of being unable to face my punishment and trying to escape? You think I'll sink so low as to try and slink away from paying the price for losing the duel like a freaking spineless coward?!"
Lola didn't know what to say to that. She herself had only really thought about escaping her current predicament. She hadn't considered any greater implications, and her lack of a response only riled Lori up more.
"But you are? Aren't you? You really are THAT pathetic, you worthless little prima donna?" she let out a cruel chuckle. "You don't even have the guts for that?"
"I am not pathetic!" Lola snapped, hot tears forming in her eyes.
Lori didn't think she could find any source of entertainment in this dingy dump, but long and behold, she had found some.
"Oh, contraire ma soeur. You are the very definition of "pathetic"! You're shrill, you're needy, you're arrogant, you bitch and moan nonstop, you throw a fit over everything, and yet you have no discernible skills, you can't do anything right, nobody likes you and when it all blows up in your face, all you can do is bitch and moan some more, as if making lotsa annoying noises is gonna make the world suddenly give a shit about your pathetic little existence? No, sirree. Here's a tip, ear torture tends to have the opposite effect on people-"
"Shut up! Shut up! You're wrong!" Lola lost it, as tears were pouring down her face. "Kathleen likes me!"
"Pffftt…she probably just feels sorry for you." Lori scoffed. "Doing charity is her game after all."
"No! You're wrong!" Lola cried.
"Oh, I don't think so." Lori sneered and stood up. "Nobody could like a miserable little twerp like you! Even someone as generous as Kathleen. She's just humoring you and she'll probably ditch you once her next charity case shows up! I know all of us would gladly do that if given the chance."
Luna scoffed from the side. "Wow, saying two smart things in one night? You're on a roll, Lori."
"Can it, you freckle-faced freak!" Lori shot back before giving Lola a gleeful smile.
She honestly didn't know how Kathleen felt about Lola. She sure seemed fond of the little brat for some inexplicable reason, but Lori didn't care at the moment. All she cared about right now was to hurt Lola, to have the upper hand, to at least have this one tiny victory after her string of humiliating defeats. After her little sister failed to offer a comeback in time, Lori smiled with satisfaction.
"I think we're done here…" she said sardonically and walked off, trying to find some semi-comfortable spot to lie down and hopefully drift to sleep as fast as possible.
Lola drew a breath, trying to say something cruel and/or witty to Lori, but she couldn't think of an adequate response.
"Fine! Who needs you too!" she finally spoke before crossing her arms, a bitter frown plastered on her face. "I don't need any of you losers!"
But her "righteous" anger didn't last long as the princess felt her blood running cold. Even though it was June, she suddenly felt like she was standing in the middle of a snowstorm and shuddered, as the cold and terrifying reality of her current predicament dawned on her.
She had no one now. No one in her family to back her up in any way. Lori and Luna had walked out on her, while her other siblings had already made their disdain for her very clear. Besides Leni, but Leni was as useful as a store manikin, and about as smart as one. Lola was on her own now, for the first time ever. Not even the siblings who shared common goals with her were willing to assist her now. She had been kicked to the curb.
The last thing she needed for the upcoming day was to be on her own. Exposed and vulnerable, surrounded by people who had an ax to grind with her. A feeling of utter terror overwhelmed her as she stood in front of the skylight, being bathed in the moonlight which also made her cast a large shadow on the wall.
As she mulled over the gravity of her situation, Lola felt like she heard faint voices behind her, turned around, and saw something. Even though she was standing still, her shadow seemed to be moving.
Lola squinted and swallowed a lump as she saw her shadow morph into a transparent vision of Ryan, who was smirking at her and swinging her tiara on his finger.
"You've played your last card, Pinky." He said gleefully. "See ya in the morning." He crushed her tiara in his hand before morphing back into her shadow.
Lola took a step back and felt her stomach twisting. She hugged herself and whimpered. What was she going to do now? She had no friends but she had plenty of people who were itching to get payback. She was now at their mercy.
The one person who cared for her was back in her mansion and she had no means of contacting her?
A loud thud diverted the girls' attention to the skylight, just as a dizzy Leni lifted her head from the floor and rubbed it.
Lola, Luna, and Lori saw what looked like four rolled-up sleeping bags lying under the skylight, while simultaneously hearing a lock and seeing a pair of white sneakers on the law that just as soon walked off.
"Lincoln?" Luna said incredulously, while Lori and Lola both hissed that name with disdain.
Luna walked over to the pile and pulled out one sleeping bag, a small smile tugging on her lips. Her brother had taken pity on her, despite everything.
The rocker felt a sensation that she honestly couldn't recall ever feeling before in her young life; the sensation that she didn't deserve what she got. And yet Lincoln helped her anyway?
"You're not seriously going to take that?" She heard Lori asking in an indignant manner.
Hearing that, the flustered Lola joined in. "Yes, we are not taking pity gifts from the enemy. Do you have no shame?"
Luna had plenty of choice words for both of them but ultimately decided that they weren't worth any more profanity.
"Nope." She said firmly, not even bothering to look at them as she dragged her sleeping bag away to the other side of the basement. "Cuz I have no dignity left. I can only get it back by making some smart choices for once."
"There's the sleeping bags. I knew something was missing from this suite." Leni smiled as she went to grab her own sleeping bag, while Lori and Lola watched in stunned disbelief.
The two fumed, exchanged glances before huffing and turning their backs on each other. Luna and Leni might have been too weak-willed to resist the temptation but Lori and Lola had enough dignity not to eat up Lincoln's show of pity.
"Whatever!" Lori grumbled as she searched around and found a raggedy mattress. "You do as you please, you sad, simpering sell-outs. I feel nothing but sadness for you!"
But her bravado faltered as she saw that the mattress had many loose springs and cockroaches crawling on it.
"Ha! That's three smart things you said this night?" she heard Lola taunting her as the princess found a hole-ridden blanket and wrapped herself up in it as she lay down next to a big chest. "You really are on a roll. Enjoy it while it lasts."
"I hope the rats and roaches eat your ears and fingers while you sleep!" Lori shot back and smiled with glee as she heard an audible yelp and saw Lola concealing her face with the blanket, cocooning herself within it.
Yep, Lori had won this battle of wits. She turned back to the mattress, dreading having to sleep on it tonight. But she had to do it. Her dignity was at stake. She was not going to let Lincoln have the last laugh.
Speaking of which, the boy hadn't actually left and remained hidden behind the skylight the whole time, until he finally decided to take a cautious peek inside. And what he saw…was very predictable. Depressingly so.
He sighed in resignation as he saw Lori gingerly lie down on the raggedy mattress while Lola shook fearfully inside her makeshift cocoon, before straightening himself and shaking his head. Luna and Leni had taken the sleeping bags, but Lori and Lola were too stubborn to do it. He had hoped that they'd be, if nothing else, too tired and downtrodden to rebuff his act of kindness, but it seemed that he had underestimated their unrelenting pride.
"What am I gonna do with them?" he wondered despondently as he walked back to the front porch.
He could do nothing now but bring up his proposition to his team, which made him give the nearby tree a passing glance before entering the house.
As he opened the door to Ryan's room, he was met with party music. On the nearby desk table were several bowls of party snacks and several bottles of cola and root beer along with plastic cups.
Lincoln saw Lynn and Lucy, who were sitting on the bed, cheering Ryan on as the latter had his back turned to the wall while looking at a hand-held mirror and holding a dart. Behind him was a dartboard filled with several other darts. Their targets were crudely drawn head caricatures of Lyle, Kathleen, and One Eye, each one with a speech bubble saying something very unflattering (and very vulgar) about themselves.
Still looking into the mirror, Ryan promptly threw the last dart over his shoulder and hit One Eye in the forehead, whose bubble said "RAWR! I eat my own doo-doo!".
"Bullseye!" Ryan pumped his fist. "I hit the big one!"
"So what?" Lynn snorted while munching on some chips. "He's already dead. The "big one" should be Kathleen."
"Oh, all in due time. We'll whack her when the opportunity presents itself." Ryan said in a cocky manner.
Lynn noticed her brother. "About time you showed up?" she laughed. "Where were you? I didn't think you would risk getting mauled by that watchdog Ryan calls his "sister"?"
"I…I just had some stuff to do."
"What were you up to?" Lucy asked before taking a sip from her cup.
"Nothing. Just taking a stroll." Lincoln tried to lie but nobody was fooled.
"Lemme take a wild guess, Twinkle Toes?" Ryan rolled his eyes in jest. "You brought the bimbo squad some food and water, and sleeping bags?"
Lincoln's eyes widened. "Aww crud, I forgot the food and water?" he lamented before realizing he had spilled the beans.
The others gave him unamused looks, though none of them were particularly surprised.
Lynn snapped her head back and let out an overdramatic groan. "Lincoln. Lincoln. Lincoln. Why the hell do you have to take pity on those chumps? You know they don't deserve it."
"Well, he didn't them offer food or water?" Lucy shrugged with a smile. "Or a latrine."
Ryan snickered crassly. "Well, that's good to hear. I few urinal swigs should help them pull through till dawn? That survival tactic has saved many lives."
Lynn and Lucy erupted with laughter, while Lincoln shuddered.
"Actually, keeping them fed, hydrated, and letting them have a good night's rest would be beneficial to us." He pointed out, which put the kibosh on the other's mirth. "A tired and malnourished slave is a useless slave."
He turned to Ryan. "Or how else to expect to get your sadistic jollies if they pass out on the spot?"
"Ah, chill out, Linc. I'm sure they won't worry about food or water." Lynn rationalized. "I reckon they've all dropped from exhaustion by now and are catching Zs, no matter how "comfy" their beds are. As for any bad backs…" she smirked snidely "…some morning exercise should take care of that."
"Actually, no." Lincoln shook his head. "They were arguing… a lot."
"Really? So lemme take a shot in the dark? Lori and Lola were trying to pin the blame for their epic fail on someone else? Or each other? Which one is it?" the jock asked sardonically.
"Both, actually…and Luna had some choice words for both of them, but I think some good came from it." Lincoln started explaining. "The good news is, I think Luna is finally fed up with Lori and Lola's attitude. But that's also the bad news, those two aren't budging. They didn't even take my sleeping bags. They are actually still gung-ho about "protesting" against us and mom and dad."
"Hardly surprising." Lucy said without an ounce of empathy. "Their hubris will be their undoing. It would almost be tragic if they didn't deserve all of it."
"For once, I agree with vampire girl." Lynn shrugged. "Let her future boss, whoever that might be, sort Lori out. As for Lola…I thought we agreed she's a lost cause?"
Lincoln paused, knowing he hadn't told the girls, but Ryan already knew. Unsurprisingly, the other boy couldn't keep his yap shut.
"Not all of us." Ryan said with a hint of annoyance. "As I just found out today, Linky is trying to play the long game with Pinky. He thinks that if she hits rock bottom, that will help the little hellspawn finally see the light."
"Get out of here?" Lynn asked her brother incredulously, who rolled his eyes. "You're not still trying to fix her?"
"It's worth a try? Isn't it?" Lincoln said evenly. "After all, you saw the light after you reached your lowest point."
His statement made Lynn feel flustered. This was a sore spot for her, talking about her past, but at the same time, she could see the logic behind Lincoln's plan. As well as the lack thereof.
"I'm not trying to put you down, Lynn. I'm just saying that we shouldn't give up on Lola until we know for sure there is no helping her."
"Yeah, but I didn't get beat down a gazillion times before I "saw the light"." Lynn retorted. "How much more misery can Lola take until she finally gets a clue? I would think you beating the daylights out of her would be-"
"There's still Kathleen, guys." Lincoln pointed out. "Kathleen's got her wrapped around her finger. Lola won't hit "rock bottom" until Kathleen's out of the picture."
This gave the others cause for pause. Lincoln elaborated, "Lola still thinks Kathleen will support her. As long as she's there enabling all her bad behavior, Lola won't be able to see the error of her ways. Same for Lori. But that's why we have Lana. She's probably telling mom and dad the truth about Kathleen as we speak. I'm confident that after that, our folks will be more than hesitant to allow any of us to hang around Kathleen."
The others exchanged looks. Lynn remembered how Kathleen had first barged into their lives following the Lisa-induced temporal reset button, and how she proved to be the most persistent wrinkle in their plans. It was incredibly frustrating to think that she and Ryan had almost thrown the rich bitch off their trail, if only Lynn's dumbass sisters hadn't arrived to spoil everything by telling Kathleen who they were. If that chance encounter hadn't happened, would the Louds have been off Kathleen's radar? At least until after the day of "the incident"?
Lynn was the first to speak. "Yeah, we told her to tell dad first? After all, he's in with us and Pop-Pop…more or less? How do you think he'll handle it?"
"Best case scenario? He'll freak out?" Ryan shrugged. "Worst case scenario, he'll need to resuscitate him?"
"Maybe we should have told Lana to tell mom first?" Lucy wondered.
"I don't know." Lincoln said with uncertainty and glanced down. "She's in a pretty bad place…then again? So is dad? But like Lynn said, he's in with us, so it's probably better for him to hear this first. Mom will learn about the girls' conspiracy soon after anyway."
"And remember…" he sighed and looked at the others. "When the word is out, we all need to support Lana."
"In more ways than one." Lynn added grimly.
"Yes, and Luan and Lisa will be on our side too. And Leni…doesn't have strong convictions one way or the other. We already have most of our family on our side and if my eyes didn't deceive me, Luna might join us too?"
"Luna? You mean Luna has finally snapped out of her delusions?" Lynn inquired, though she didn't sound all that surprised. Luna was nowhere near as out-of-touch or self-absorbed as Lola and Lori and after all the punishment she suffered this week, she could see Luna finally seeing reason.
"Yes, I really think she has? Or at least…she's on her way? She was lamenting about what happened today and said, in no uncertain terms, that she was "done" with Lola and Lori, and she even questioned Kathleen for a bit." Lincoln said hopefully. "Which is why I think we should go easy on her tomorrow, make her feel like she can trust us. That we won't use her like a tool, the way Lori did."
The others exchanged glances once more. None of them felt strong contempt for Luna. Sure, some of her behavior had riled them up, but nowhere near to the extent as Lori and Lola's. With Luna, there was always the sense that most of her actions were the result of ignorance and fear, and some manipulation, but hardly out of malice or arrogance.
"Alright, we'll go easy on her. If it means Luna will finally get off her high horse. Took her long enough." Lynn said begrudgingly. "If it means having to deal with one less pain in the ass moving forward, I'm all for it."
"Sight. Same here." Lucy nodded. "It would be unwise to squander this opportunity."
All eyes were on Ryan now. Though he didn't need to think much on the matter. He was pretty neutral on Luna one way or the other.
"Aright…I still get to abuse the real bad eggs anyway." he shrugged nonchalantly.
"I'm glad you agree." Lincoln smiled. "For one thing, we should use this opportunity to get her to realize that mom and dad really are in a bad place and that they don't wish to oppress us like Lori constantly claims they are. As well as Kathleen being bad news."
"The second one won't be easy." Lucy said without a shadow of a doubt. "Unlike Lynn, Luna doesn't have the benefit of hindsight to see past Kathleen's smokes and mirrors, let alone her fortune."
"What do you mean "unlike Lynn"?" the jock scowled.
"Lynn, Lucy. Now's not the time." Lincoln, as usual, played mitigator. "The point is, we need to act now that Luna's faith in Kathleen is shaken. While she's still lucid. We could also use this chance to mend her relationship with Luan, the person who knows about Kathleen most of all."
The siblings remembered how Luan and Luna used to get along…by Loud sister standards. They were never particularly close, punctuated by Luna being utterly clueless about Luan's beef with Kathleen at middle school, and obviously fought and squabbled lots of time, but they were never as cold and hostile towards each other as they were now. Though the same could be said about the other sisters, whose relationship with the comedian was still frosty.
"You have a point." Ryan rubbed his chin. "I think Lu will be more than happy to forgive Moon Girl for her lack of support if Moon Girl becomes part of the Kathleen-Haters club?"
"But what about Luan, guys?" Lucy spoke up. "Most of the girls are still mad at her over the Prankmageddon?"
"Oh, man. I forgot about that." Lincoln looked down and contemplated.
"Sigh. I know most of them will never be fond of her, but can't we at least get them back to…I don't know, tolerating her again?"
"I think the best approach would be to just let things heal naturally." Lincoln told her. "After all, they'll be separated from each other for most of the summer, giving both sides enough space to cool down."
"Alright. I guess time heals all wounds." Lucy didn't press on, knowing this was the best they could do for Luan.
"Back to Luna then, we should go even further with trying to earn her trust." Lincoln elaborated. "What do you say about inviting a certain Sam Sharp for a visit, so her and Luna can talk things out, privately that is? Show Luna that we are willing to help her, unlike some people?"
"I don't know about that, Linc?" Lynn's brow furrowed. "Maybe Sam doesn't want to see her anymore? She ran off, remember?"
"And she obviously isn't into girls." Ryan snorted. "Her date with Hunky McDreamy rock an' roll guy proves that."
"It's worth a shot, guys." Lincoln's conviction didn't wane. "Sam seems like a nice person. I think she only ran off because she was caught off guard with Luna, um…confessing her feelings to her. And secondly, because the others were there watching them. I'm pretty sure Sam isn't blind to the fact her BF's sisters are…"
"Condescending and judgmental jerk with a penchant for ganging up on whoever doesn't fit their definition of "normal"?" Lucy said frankly, before sighing as she started to feel some pity for Luna's predicament. She could relate to that. "Yeah, that could be the real reason?"
"…yes." Lincoln admitted before turning to Ryan. "And I doubt it will matter all that much if Sam returns Luna's feelings. They've been friends for years, I'm sure that just restoring their friendship will be good enough for Luna, especially if she gains more perspective, which I think she just did."
"Okay, if it means getting rid of one more nuisance, it's a plan." Lynn agreed. "That just leaves the two worst seeds for last."
"Yes, but we'll focus on them in due time. For tomorrow, Luna is our top priority…as well as helping our folks deal with certain news." Lincoln pointed out before pulling out a blue piece of paper from his chest pocket. "But speaking of our servants, let's talk about my proposition."
He unfolded it and showed it to the others. It showed the blueprint for…
"A treehouse?" Ryan cocked an eyebrow.
"Yes, consider it a token of our appreciation for your help." Lincoln explained, bracing himself for what he was about to say next. "For better or worse, you were an invaluable member of this team. I'm saying that because I'm pretty sure that without your help, me or Lynn, or both of us, might have died during several of our escapades."
"Wow." Lynn whistled. "That's mighty big of you… admitting that, Lincoln?"
"I'm not Lori or Lola." Lincoln said plainly. "I can swallow my pride."
Ryan felt his skin crawling. Again, having Lincoln praise him in any capacity just felt wrong. At least, it would have been a lot more enjoyable if his praise came with a big admission of, "I know I'm a creampuff and my methods are useless. Thanks for doing all the grunt work." But that was a pipe dream.
"Oh, come on? You want to ruin the party mood by getting all sentimental?" Ryan made an exaggerated groan.
"I don't, that's why I'm proposing this?" Lincoln held up the paper. "Wouldn't you like to have your own private corner? Away from Renee's prying eyes? A place where you call the shots, where you can do whatever you want and can invite or throw out whoever you want?"
Ryan thought about it? It didn't sound like a bad idea. Especially the part about putting some space between him and his sister.
"Well, I like it." Lynn supported her brother's idea before turning to Ryan. "Our own pad where we're free from nosy and annoying relatives."
"Me too."
"In your dreams, Pasty." Lynn shot back at the goth. "The place will be off-limits to annoying little sisters ."
"That's not your choice to make, Lynn." Lucy told her.
"I gotta say, it's not too shoddy of an idea, but wait? You think those idiots can build a treehouse?" Ryan asked. "Cuz I'm pretty sure Blondy doesn't even know how to hold a hammer?"
"I think they can. They and dad built one before, right in our own backyard." Lincoln explained. "Back when I was only four."
Lucy blinked behind her bags. "But then why is there no treehouse there now?" she inquired. Lynn wasn't sure either, until Lincoln refreshed her memory.
"It didn't last long. It was well-built but it was destroyed after Lynn punted a-"
The jock swiftly covered his mouth with her hand. "It just fell apart. After…after a storm." She insisted.
Lincoln shoved her hand away and rolled his eyes. "Sure…" he humored her "…a storm did it."
"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle, but I think I'm liking Baron von Buzzkill's proposition." Ryan shrugged. "After all, what slave master didn't make his subjects build something in his honor?"
He gave Lynn a knowing smirk, making her blush. "I'll make a mental note to band any sports equipment from my new base of operation."
Once more, Lincoln felt like a huge weight was lifted off his chest. If he could keep his sisters busy building a treehouse, that would give less time for the others to lord their power over them. Though it quickly dawned on him that only really Lori and Luna could work on it, preferably with some supervision from him or Renee. No, definitely just him. Lola was too young and Leni was too…absent-minded.
It dampened his spirit knowing that but there was only so much he could do to help and he was doing everything in his power to mitigate any further, needless hostility or abuse. But by all accounts, the pros of today's outcome outweighed the cons. Lana was likely talking to their father right now and, hopefully, Kathleen would soon cease being a part of their life.
He shifted his glance to the dartboard. If everything worked out, soon, very soon, all three of the threats that have been haunting them throughout this difficult journey would be little more than a distant memory. The same would hopefully be true for his two most problematic sisters.
His other sisters had gradually come around. First was Luan, who had to be taught the hard way but without any lasting damage, then Lisa, even if it took a near zombie-apocalypse to do that, then Lana, who also came around without any needless complications, even if her relationship with her twin was in shambles, and now Luna was on her way, and Lincoln was optimistic that they were on the verge of a breakthrough with her. Their father was also a work-in-progress, but he was getting there, Pop-Pop's input and influence were sure to help.
But their mother still needed help, she needed to heal, and Lincoln understood that it would take time and effort. To say nothing of Lori and Lola.
Suffice to say, they were still as bad as ever, but Lincoln couldn't give up hope. They might have been the worst of the lot but he believed that they were not beyond redemption.
After all, not too long ago, he would have ranked Lynn herself in the same league as Lori and Lola, the worst of the worst, and yet here she was now, going above and beyond to do selfless things and to help him fix their family's future for the better.
Things were turning around…
