Chapter 2

Dipper's, Pacifica's, and Madison's eyes all snapped open when delicious smells filled their room. They wandered trancelike into the kitchen, where a fully dressed Mabel was preparing eggs, bacon, and stacks of Stan-cakes (so called because they were Grunkle Stan's recipe). She saw them and grinned.

"Mornin', sleepyheads! I woke up early, so I decided to unpack the cooking stuff. A big day needs a big breakfast!" she said and followed them out to the living room coffee table with three steaming mugs. "Here's black coffee for Dipper, coffee with cream and sugar for Pacifica, and hot chocolate for Madison."

"T-thank you, Aunt Mabel," the girl peeped. At ten years old, she was small for her age with a somewhat mousey appearance that included twiglike limbs sticking out from her bony torso. Despite the horrors she'd gone through early in life, her brilliant green eyes sparkled.

"No problem-o, buttercup. Stand by for Stan-cakes!" Mabel said, rushing back to the kitchen before carrying the plates out like a professional waitress (as a matter of fact, her first job was in Lazy Susan's diner). Pacifica's portion was the largest, since she was quite literally eating for two. "I also got the water heater up and running, so feel free to shower or shave or whatever you need to do."

"I think I'll take up your offer on that. Thanks, Mabel," said Dipper. Upon finishing breakfast, he showered, shaved his face but left his goatee intact, and dressed in a reddish-brown sleeveless T-shirt tucked into a fresh pair of jeans and his boots from the day before. His belt had a large metal buckle shaped like a deer skull complete with antlers, and similar to Mabel, black tattoos resembling crop circles covered his left arm from shoulder to wrist (a trip to the tattoo parlor had been the twins' eighteenth birthday present from Grunkle Stan; go figure).

Madison and Pacifica had only just finished getting dressed themselves when the doorbell rang. Dipper opened the door to see Lincoln standing on the step, with Lily clinging to his shoulders piggyback-style. Lincoln's appearance had also changed over the years: he'd grown out his white hair and wore it in a short ponytail; he was a head shorter than Dipper with a wiry physique devoid of any fat; he wore a red vest with the Ace Savvy logo stitched on the back, an orange tank top tucked into khaki cargo pants, a brown leather belt with a square buckle, and red high-top sneakers; and a silver anti-theft chain hung at his side, connecting one of his belt loops to the wallet in his back pocket. Lily's pale blond hair was pulled into a "turkey tail" that fanned out at the back of her head, and she wore a short-sleeved lavender dress and purple leggings.

"Good morning, Mr. Pines. I'm Lincoln and this is my sister Lily; we're your neighbors across the street."

"Mr. Pines is my father. Call me 'Dipper,'" Dipper said and shook Lincoln's hand. "The wife and I talked it over and decided that you folks are welcome to help us move in."

"Awesome! Lemme round up the rest of my family, and we'll be right over."

"How many of you are there, anyway?"

"There's the two of us and our parents, and our other sisters Lynn, Lucy, Lana, Lola, and Lisa. We have four more sisters, but they all moved away."

Dipper whistled. "That's a lively household if I ever saw one!"

"You have no idea. 'Loud' is our reputation as well as our name!"

"Thanks for the lasagna, by the way. It was delicious!"

"You're welcome, glad you liked it. And before you ask, this is my natural hair color." Lincoln and Lily ran off to fetch the rest of their family, and Dipper walked across the yard with his keys to unlock the back of the U-Haul truck. Moments after the other three members of the Pines household stepped outside into the fresh June air, Lincoln and Lily returned with their parents and five sisters, whose appearances had remained relatively unchanged with the exception of Lisa. Though significantly shorter than Lincoln, she had a very similar physique, wearing a white lab coat over a green V-neck shirt and skinny jeans. "Dipper, these are my parents, Lynn Senior and Rita, and my sisters, Lynn Junior, Lucy, Lana, Lola, and...Lisa?" Lincoln asked in confusion. Lisa was staring at Dipper with her mouth agape. When Lincoln snapped his fingers under her nose, she gave a very uncharacteristic squeal, rushed forward, and wrapped her arms around Dipper's waist.

"You have no idea what it means to me to finally meet you, Dr. Pines!" she shouted.

"What does she mean, and how does she know me?" Dipper asked while trying to pry Lisa off.

"Judging by her fangirl squeal and the fact that she's a child prodigy, you recently made a significant contribution to science, didn't you?" Lincoln asked. Dipper nodded while Lisa spouted nonstop about how his research completely changed her views on the paranormal. Lily climbed down from her perch on Lincoln's back, walked over to Lisa, and tweaked her nose, snapping her back to reality.

Lisa turned bright red and quickly let go of Dipper, saying, "My apologies. That was unprofessional of me."

"Apology accepted. Anyway, I'm Dipper, this is my wife Pacifica, my sister Mabel, and my daughter Madison," Dipper said, introducing himself and his family to the rest of the Louds. In a burst of shyness, Madison attempted to hide behind Pacifica. "Right. So, the biggest thing we need help with right now is the furniture and bedframes. The sooner we get those done, the more time we'll have to get acquainted."

"Oh yeah! Heavy lifting, baby!" Lynn Jr. exclaimed, making Dipper wince.

"Love the enthusiasm, but can you tone it down? Maddie's pretty easily spooked," he asked. To prove his point, the girl was visibly shivering as she peeked out from behind Pacifica. The look on her face was one Lincoln was no stranger to, having given four of his sisters sanctuary from thunderstorms, nightmares, and the occasional closet monster. He walked over to Madison, knelt down to her level, and extended his hand, palm turned upward.

"Hello, Maddie. It's nice to meet you. Don't let my sister bother you; she's mostly bark and hardly any bite." When Madison hesitantly reached out to touch his hand, her eyes inevitably drifted upwards to his snowy locks.

"Y-you're like me!" she exclaimed, unconsciously running a hand through her own silver hair.

Lincoln smiled and said, "We do look alike, don't we? Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get to work helping your dad."

"I wanna help, too, but these two won't let me," Pacifica said, gesturing to Dipper and Mabel.

"You're five months pregnant, Paz. Get used to it!" Mabel called on her way to the truck.

"Lily?" Lincoln called and crooked his finger at his youngest sister. He stood and moved away from Madison before Lily ran up to him. "I have a mission for you of the utmost importance. Should you accept it, you will be rewarded with the whereabouts of my leftover Easter candy." Lily snapped to attention with a salute. Lincoln gestured to Madison. "This girl is in unfamiliar territory and needs friendly support. Your mission is to make friends with her and make sure she feels welcome. Find common interests. Be eager, but not too eager. Can you do that?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Lily announced in her adorably squeaky voice. She loved making new friends, and not even Mr. Grouse was immune to her bubbly personality.

"That's what I like to hear. Move out, soldier!" Lily ran off to complete her task, and Lincoln joined his other sisters in unpacking the truck.