Act I
Within the walls of Cesar Chavez Academy, it was a typical school day lunch period when Ronnie Anne came bursting through the doors out of the cafeteria in tears. She was frantically running down the hallway to a more private place, desperately in a rush to get away from all the other students.
She eventually chose to go into the computer room, where the only student present at that time of the day was Laird. He noticed an upset Ronnie Anne run into the corner and sit down on one of the chairs, before hanging her head down in sadness.
"Ronnie Anne, what's wrong?" he asked her.
Initially, he didn't get a response, as the girl was too upset to answer him. He then told her "Come on, we're friends. You can tell me."
As she struggled to hold back her tears, Ronnie Anne finally mustered enough will power to speak. "It's... it's Becky."
"Why? What has she done?"
"She... she..."
Moments earlier, Ronnie Anne was standing in line for lunch in the cafeteria, behind Sid and Nikki but in front of Casey and Sameer. "Aw man, I'm starving! I'm so glad it's finally time for lunch." she said.
Just then, Becky, Dodge and Artemis busted their way into the room to gather everyone's attention. "HEY, EVERYONE!" Becky shouted.
"Uh oh." a nervous Sid muttered as she knew this trio most likely meant trouble.
"Remember when Ronnie Anne had a crush on Artemis here?" Dodge then reminded them.
"Well, we just found out that he's not the only one she has the hots for in this school! It turns out she also has a thing for..." Becky then went to say.
"No, Becky! Please don't!" Ronnie Anne pleaded, but to no avail.
As Becky then pointed at the teacher walking along at the back of the room and shouted his name. "MR SULLIVAN!"
The tall and scrawny yet somewhat handsome looking young teacher did his best to remain his composure in front of all those kids, but he was a little surprised to find out that a student actually had a little bit of a crush on him, which could be seen from his confused facial expression.
For Ronnie Anne, the level of humiliation was through the roof. She could only stand there and mentally absorb all the laughter and finger pointing that was being hurled her way. Every other student in that room, barring her immediate friend group, was partaking in mockery against her as a result of this surprising news.
"Ronnie and teacher, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Becky then began chanting with such juvenile harshness, with Artemis and Dodge quick to join in. After a few seconds, all the other students also began chanting with them, adding to the cruelty of the moment for Ronnie Anne.
"Ronnie Anne, is that true?" Sid asked.
"No way, she's gotta be lying... right?" Casey then followed.
But the girl didn't answer. All she could do was feel the weight of the embarrassment now that her little secret had been put out there by the blonde haired bully. "Why did you tell them that?" she asked her tormentor.
But Becky didn't bother with a response. She just relished in the laughter that she had made erupt along with Artemis and Dodge. Ronnie Anne just couldn't understand why she was so hell bent on tormenting and humiliating her like this.
Finally, unable to handle the situation any longer, she began to cry as she sprinted for it and rushed for the doors. She did not wish to face the other students and their laughing faces for another single second.
After she finished explaining what had happened to Laird, he commented "That's awful! Why would she do that?"
"Because she's a jerk!" Ronnie Anne replied as she sniffed. "This isn't the first time she's been a jerk, either! She did the same thing when she found out I had a dream about marrying Artemis!"
"I don't get what her problem is. She's like a little Napoleon or something, always acting so mean and aggressive all the time." Laird said.
"Yeah, like the time me and Sid tried the wrestling club, and she took it extra harsh on Sid for her own amusement." Ronnie Anne then recalled as her sadness began to transform into anger.
"Or the time she creamed us all at dodgeball just to satisfy her competitive urges!" Laird then remembered. "I still have aches from that game." he remarked.
"Not to mention, her dog, who looks exactly like Lalo, but he's totally violent and mean! I should've guessed he was Becky's dog sooner! Of course she'd be the one behind his rough attitude!"
"What weirds me out is how she sometimes acts like a jerk to us, but other times she just walks over and talks to us like she's our friend." Laird then pointed out.
"That just makes it worse!" Ronnie Anne argued. "That just makes it feel like she doesn't even know or care about all the guff she puts us through!"
"Someone should stand up to that little meanie and put her in her place!" Laird said, which made Ronnie Anne think to herself for a second.
Later that afternoon, Ronnie Anne and Sid were speaking as they made their way outside the school, ready to head home for the weekend. Ronnie Anne was actually using the hood on her hoodie for once as she didn't wish to face the other students, some of which were still mocking her for the news that Becky had revealed earlier that day.
"I still don't see how Becky could have found that out about you." Sid said. "I just want to go on record and say that it wasn't me."
"Of course not, Sid. I wouldn't think that. It was probably by her spying on me or something."
"You didn't send Mr Sullivan any love letters or anything, did you?"
"What? No way! I'm not stupid!" Ronnie Anne defensively argued. "Although... I think I did write a little note or two in the corner of one of the pages in my notebook for science class." she then awkwardly revealed.
"Ooh... I think we know how she found out, then." Sid said. "Becky or one of her friends must have went snooping through your stuff."
"You know what?! Who cares how she found out?! What matters is that she made fun of me in front of everyone and that she needs to get a taste of her own medicine!" Ronnie angrily stated.
"Well, why don't you give her that? I mean, weren't you supposed to be the toughest girl in school back when you were in Royal Woods?" Sid questioned.
"Yeah, but... *Sigh* I'm not sure I've got that in me anymore." Ronnie Anne admitted.
"Oh, right. Now I remember." Sid replied. "You grew out of that phase, huh?"
"Well, if my mom going from being a school bully herself to a nurse who helps people get better is any indication, I'd say it's a natural thing for us Santiago ladies to soften up a little as we get older." Ronnie Anne claimed. "Besides, the last thing I want is to become some kind of irritable bully again. I'd hate to act that way towards you or the others." she said.
"I know. It's just that..." Sid then went to say.
"What?"
"Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if you tapped back into that aggression of yours one more time, just to show Becky who's boss!"
"Part of me wants to!" Ronnie Anne angrily stated, though this was coupled with a sense of insecurity and uncertainity. "But I don't even know if I could. Sure, I can be pretty tough when I want to be, but let's not forget how tough Becky is, either."
"Well, that's true. She's a destroyer in the wrestling ring and on the basketball court." Sid said as she uncomfortably remembered all the times she fell victim to Becky's rough ways. "I'm not saying you couldn't beat her, but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable watching you try." she then stated nervously, almost as if she was picturing in her head a scenario in which her bestie challenged her bully to a duel and was severely pummelled for her efforts.
"Yeah, she's a tough cookie. But there must be some way of dealing with her!" a determined Ronnie Anne stated as she smashed her fist into the palm of her other hand. She knew overcoming Becky's antagonistic ways was no easy challenge, but she was committed to seeing it through... somehow.
Later that evening, Ronnie Anne was in her bedroom speaking to Lincoln via her laptop webcam.
"So, that's basically what happened." she said as she finished explaining the whole incident to her friend.
"Wow! That Becky sure is a jerk!" Lincoln commented.
"Yeah, and the worst thing is, she doesn't even feel the slightest bit guilty for any of it! Sometimes, she does stuff like this to me and my friends, like the time she ratted out my secret about having a crush on this boy to everyone at school, or the times when she terrorised us at dodgeball or wrestling. But then other times, she just walks up to us and acts all friendly like she's never done anything wrong!"
"Wait, so this is something that's been going on for a while?" Lincoln asked her.
"Yeah. Not long after I settled in the city and made friends with Sid, we first met her at a wrestling club, where she proceeded to knock Sid around for fun. At first, I thought she just saved all her aggression for the ring, but then she started acting like a violent bully everywhere else, too. I've been on the receiving end of her mean ways quite a few times now." Ronnie Anne revealed.
"That's awful!"
"Boy, I bet you're having a little fun hearing this, huh? After all, I used to behave like that towards you back when I lived in Royal Woods." the girl then joked.
"Ronnie Anne, that was a long time ago! Besides, do you really think I'm that petty to enjoy it when you're being bullied?" he asked her with a slightly hurt tone of voice.
Ronnie Anne then sighed and replied "No, of course I don't. You're honestly one of the nicest people I know."
"What I don't get is why you're letting this Becky girl walk all over you. Back in Royal Woods, you were the toughest girl in school! You took no guff from anybody! Why don't you show her a thing or two?" Lincoln then curiously brought up.
"Honestly, I'm not really like that anymore. I mean, I wouldn't exactly call myself a wimp or anything. I still practice wrestling sometimes, and I still like to pull the occassional prank..."
"Yeah, don't I know it." Lincoln humourously interrupted. "That skunk in the box last week caught me off guard, by the way. Fair play. I'll get you back for it, though." he then promised her.
"Heh, you'll try." she replied as they briefly exchanged banter, before she carried on with her elaboration. "But the thing is I'm not really driven by this urge to respond to everything with a tough and violent front anymore. I guess living in the city and being around lots of friends and familia has made me a lot happier, and because of that, I don't really feel the need to lash out and get all sour with everybody. I don't go trying to pick fights or throw my weight around, anymore. I only fight when I really have to." she explained. "Besides, if all this Becky stuff has taught me anything, it's that the last thing I want to do is become a bully again."
"Fair enough." Lincoln replied. "But I think there's a world of difference between just standing up for yourself and being a bully." he followed. "I know I'm not the best example, since I don't really respond to many situations with violence, but I..."
"No, I see your point. It's just..." she began to say as she sighed. "...I don't think I have that fire in me anymore."
Lincoln then had a eureka moment and issued a question to his friend. "Tell you what, are you doing anything this weekend?"
"No, not particularly. Why?" she asked.
"Get someone to drive you down to my house Saturday morning. I'm thinking maybe there's some way I can help make this better for you." he proposed.
"How?"
"Just... come down. Trust me." he assured her.
"Okay."
"Also, just before I sign off, I have to ask one last thing about that little story you just told me..." Lincoln then brought up.
"What?" Ronnie Anne curiously asked.
"Do you really have a crush on a teacher?" he teasingly asked her.
"Erm..." she blurted out in surprise. "I just thought he was a little bit... um..."
"Dreamy?" he further teased.
"Hey, don't get all chesty with me, lame-o." she responded humourously. "Besides, I heard that YOU once had a crush on a substitute teacher, too." she then pointed out.
"Yeah, but everyone in my class had a crush on Ms. DiMartino, so she doesn't count." he defensively insisted.
"If you say so." she smugly said back.
And so, Ronnie Anne did exactly as Lincoln said. She was driven down to Royal Woods on Saturday morning to the Loud House, where Lincoln greeted her at the front door.
"Hey, long time no see." Lincoln said.
"Sup, Lincoln."
The two friends then walked inside and discussed their plan of action. Ronnie Anne asked what it was that he had in mind.
"So, what's the plan exactly? I mean, no offence, but I'll be sceptical if it's just you trying to teach me how to fight or something. You're not exactly Rip Hardcore, after all."
"Don't worry, I know exactly what we need to do so you can get even with this Becky."
"And that is?"
"We're going to ask for help from the strongest, toughest, most macho person I know!" the boy confidently declared.
One moment later, the pair were standing in the upstairs hallway, where Lincoln knocked on the door of his sister's bedroom.
"Sup, bro?" Lynn answered. "Oh, hey Ronnie Anne." she then said as she noticed her standing behind her brother.
"Lynn, we need your help." Lincoln told her.
"What is it? You guys need me to open a pickle jar or something?"
"Actually, it's a little more than that." Ronnie Anne stated.
"I thought it would be best to come to someone with all the strength and toughness we need for the trouble we're dealing with." Lincoln claimed.
"Oh ho ho, so you finally wanna toughen up, huh Lincoln? Well, I'm glad you came to me."
"Not me! Ronnie Anne!" he said.
"Huh? But I thought you said Ronnie Anne was the toughest girl back in your old school? I mean, Elementary is nothing compared to the jungle that is Middle school, but I'd have thought she could at least handle herself in a fight." Lynn questioned. "Heck, didn't we even wrestle it out back in the Astonishing Quest? Yeah, we did actually. So I can say from personal experience that you're no wimp!" she then recollected. "So why do you need me?"
"Yeah, well, the thing is... I've kinda lost my mojo." the other girl awkwardly admitted.
"That's why she's here. We're going to try and get that tough side of hers to come out again. She's dealing with a bully problem, and she needs to find it in her to fight back." Lincoln explained.
"Well, say no more, bro. As luck would have it, my weekend soccer and football games are cancelled this weekend because both rival teams have too many injuries." Lynn informed them.
"No need to guess who caused them." Lincoln then jokingly told Ronnie Anne in response.
"So, that means I'm free to help you get your spunk back, Ronnie Anne." Lynn said.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ronnie Anne said in kindness and gratitude. "Uh, I mean... thanks." she then said with a much tougher and gruffer tone of voice, as if to show that she was already working on it.
Lincoln and Lynn held in their laughter in response, but the next two days would be all serious business as Ronnie Anne prepared to train under the guidance of Lincoln's toughest sister.
Author's Footnote:
I thought out of the three story ideas I pitched at the end of Dark Days, I'd get this one out of the way first. The reason being that it's a short and relatively simplistic story about helping Ronnie Anne reawaken her rough side. The other two stories, Inside the Louds and The Legion of Destruction (still draft titles that I'm working on for now) will be longer. Probably about 10 to 12 chapters each in length. They will be structured a little bit more like the Quest for Glory was, which still had a tone befitting of the show's canon, but was written to resemble something more like a movie or a mini-series rather than just a single episode.
As such, this will be the last of my three-act stories for the time being, so enjoy. Please let me know your thoughts on it so far, and expect the next chapter within the next 5-10 days (depending on the rate of progress I am able to make).
Also, the image manager on this website doesn't seem to be working today, hence why this story doesn't have a cover image yet. Hopefully that will get fixed soon.