The Loud family, it seems, was not meant to last.

It was their time, even if it came to soon.

A love that should not end
Has ceased to be
You're wrong, you're completely wrong,
My heart yells to me

Three days later...

Lincoln and Clyde walked together in the school hallway, life having to go back to normal as these things do. Many eyes were on the 11-year-old white-haired boy due to recent events, mostly out of pity. With his parents having been given the maximum sentence for second-degree child abuse due to the unstable behaviors of their daughters, the rest of his family feared that they would drift apart gradually. True, they'd probably all go their separate ways as adults, but this one incident revolving about bad luck made it feel like parting of the ways was already happening, and prematurely at that. Even a lot of girls felt sorry for Lincoln, seeing him look more empty than sad, so previous faults on his part such as the embarrassing video and being Girl Guru were better left forgotten. It didn't help that Lincoln felt like he didn't deserve this much attention.

"Lincoln," said Clyde. "You need to stop thinking that this is your fault. You know it's not. Your sister Leni made those calls and everything built up from there. Also, you couldn't just let your sisters get away with all those other things they did to you. I know they were unstable enough to try and stop you by making those dark threats, but..."

"Now you're saying I should have stopped them on Day 1?!" said a sour Lincoln. "Well, I didn't, okay? So it all built up to what's happening now, and... and..." His mood changed to sadness. "I've lost them forever..." he moaned, dropping to his knees and crying into his hands.

"Lincoln... buddy..." Clyde got on his knees and held Lincoln in a hug. Other students began to come to tears as well. "That's not true," Clyde reminded Lincoln.

I can't continue living by myself
Can I love someone again
How sad my heart is, words cannot describe

"Lincoln..." It was his little sister Lisa, standing side by side with a brown-haired girl about her age. Lincoln wiped his eyes and looked at them, still on his knees. "Things may just work out in the end," she said. "Maybe they won't be exactly like we hoped or envisioned, but we can still make the most of things as they are. Don't you remember? You believed the same thing." She then showed Lincoln a little bracelet around her green sleeve.

"Wh...what's that?" asked Lincoln.

"It's a friendship bracelet," said Lisa, smiling sincerely at Lincoln. "My new friend Darcy made it for me."

Leni was dropped off first, but to her surprise, it was a department store at the Royal Woods Mall, Reininger's. While normally the mall was like her schtick, as she loved to shop, she didn't think this would be the place to start from scratch, as the saying goes.

"Ms. Carmichael is the manager of Reininger's," said Officer Schoffner, allowing Leni to exit the police vehicle. "She has not only agreed to look after you, but we've made arrangements for you to do your community service here as well. She'll fill you in on the details." And just like that, Schoffner drove off, leaving Leni to approach the store. She went in and approached the cashier desk. The cashier had auburn hair and wore an orange shirt.

"Hi..." said Leni nervously. "I'm here to see Ms. Carmichael..."

"Of course," said the cashier. Soon, Ms. Carmichael approached Leni.

"Ah, you must be Leni Loud," she said. "I'm very pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," said Leni, a bit nervously, and they shook hands.

"The local police informed me of the situation and I heard that your kindness helped your little brother in the end. Starting tomorrow, you'll be working here and I believe your kindness and magnanimity will be a positive boon."

"Uh... what's... magnanimity?" Leni asked. Ms. Carmichael chuckled a bit.

"I did use a rather complicated word, didn't I?" she said. "It basically means generosity."

"Ohhh." Leni beamed.

"Ah, where did my son get to?" Ms. Carmichael suddenly asked herself. "Hey, it's time to go home!" A red-headed little boy suddenly jumped out from behind a sale rack.

"Are you a new friend?" he asked Leni. The ditzy blonde giggled.

"Oh, you're so cute," she said, patting him gently on the head.

"Now remember," said Ms. Carmichael. "You'll have a place to stay while under my roof, so do good!" The three left the department store together with Ms. Carmichael done with her shift for the day. Lucy was taken to a house that she seemed to recognize.

"Hey, this is..." She stepped out of the vehicle and saw Haiku come out of the house. She gave Lucy a small smile.

"Hi, Lucy," she said. "Wanna be roommates?" Lucy's frown turned upside-down. And finally, Lisa was dropped off at another family's house. Lisa had yet to make any real friends, so of course the house was unfamiliar to her.

"The Helmandollars have a young daughter about your age," said Schoffner as Lisa got out of the vehicle. "Go right in." Lisa approached the Helmandollar residence. She knocked on the door and a little brown-haired girl answered. Lisa was now swimming in uncharted waters entirely on her own.

"Uh... hi?" Lisa said, completely unsure of how to start things out. She then looked down at her feet, seeing that she was wearing LED light-up shoes. "Hey... I like your shoes." The brunette girl blushed.

"Uh... thanks?" she said, also finding things a bit awkward, but she did smile at Lisa and welcome her into her house.

"I wasn't prepared for this," Lisa muttered. "I didn't study, make observations, take notes, or anything. I just have to wing it." The two little girls sat at a small table together. Lisa still looked bummed out over recent events and sighed. "Bad luck... No scientific research can cover that. It's just something that happens... by chance. And I could have told my sister..."

"You seem sad," said the girl. "Are you okay?" As embarrassing as Lisa believed things would be for not being able to save face, she could no longer hide her feelings.

"I... I'm not!" Lisa burst into tears and the girl instantly felt sorry for her. She held a cookie up to Lisa and she stopped crying.

"Would you like a cookie?" the girl asked. "You must be lonely. Can we be friends?" A few seconds of silence followed before Lisa took the cookie. She then broke it in half and gave one half back to the girl, who smiled. "I'm Darcy," she said.

"I'm Lisa," said Lisa, smiling back. "Lisa Loud." They ate their halves of the cookie.

"We can play together," Darcy offered. "You and me... and Rafo!" She showed Lisa her own stuffed animal, a giraffe. Lisa was reminded of Lincoln and Bun-Bun, and she remembered that in a way, her big brother Lincoln would always be with her. She wiped a tear away and smiled again.

"Yes," she said. "We're friends." They shared a cute hug together.

"Hi, Lincoln," said Darcy. "I really like your sister Lisa. She told me about you. I'm really sorry for what happened." She looked down to the floor for a second and then resumed eye contact with the sad white-haired boy. "M-may I... walk you to class?" Lincoln showed a small smile and wiped away another tear as Darcy took him by the hand and they headed for Mrs. Johnson's classroom, Clyde and Lisa at their sides. Other students were genuinely touched, seeing this.

You're telling me your lies
Yet I understand your excuses
The dream of the time of when I could accomplish nothing is already gone
It's not because of who you are
But because I feel so insignificant
How terrifying that is, words cannot describe

At Royal Woods High School, Luan, Luna, and Lori had returned after serving their time at Juvenile Hall and it would not be easy trying to get their lives back on track. They were actually surprised that they were even allowed to return to school to begin with. Most other students had nothing but apathy towards the sisters, which was almost worse than despising them over their involvement in their little brother's bad luck incident. At her locker, Luan was so depressed, she couldn't even use Mr. Coconuts, her marionette, to talk for her. The once comedic girl felt like crying and if she didn't feel bad enough already, she noticed Benny, a boy student she had a crush on, walk past her on his way to class. Now she believed she'd never get the chance to share any chemistry with him. Later on, she sat on a bench outside the school with no one else but Mr. Coconuts... until another marionette was placed beside him. There he was - Benny, with his own marionette, Mrs. Appleblossom. Poor Luan had no idea how to react or take this in.

"Hey," said Benny. "Luan, right?" Luan nodded sadly. "I... noticed you've been feeling sad, and... you're all by yourself." Benny sat down on the bench, their dolls between them. Now it would be all too embarrassing if he knew that she had only just got out of juvie and he was trying to strike up a conversation with her. "So... uh..." Benny seemed a bit nervous, not knowing what to say to a... sad clown, but just then, his stomach grumbled, causing him to blush, but it made Luna show a small smile.

"Here," said Luan, pulling a banana out of her bag. "Your stomach might find this ap-peel-ing." Benny chuckled a bit.

"Thanks a bunch," he said, making Luan giggle a bit.

"Good one," she said. Mom and Dad wouldn't want me to just be miserable for the rest of my life, she thought to herself. Maybe... I can spend some time with Benny after all. The two of them smiled at each other. While this was going on, Luna met up with Mazzy and Sully in the hallways. They didn't seem to have the words to say to each other, as it seemed to be more awkward than a meeting with no mutual feelings. After a few seconds, Mazzy and Sully walked off without a word to Luna and joined up with another girl, whom Luna recognized as Sam Sharp, her crush. Luna was greatly saddened, believing that she'd never be able to get her attention after all that had happened, but then, Sam suddenly looked her way, surprising her. Sam then said something to Mazzy and Sully, which looked like they were advising her not to go near Luna, and from that interpretation, Luna looked down at the floor. Sam looked at her again and said more things to Mazzy and Sully before... coming over to Luna, which got the rocker girl's attention.

"Hey," said Sam. Luna did not know what to say. "I... I don't think you're a menace," Sam said to her.

"Oh, is that what Mazzy and Sully are calling me?" asked Luna. "Can't say I'm surprised. Maybe they'll never get over it. They threw me off their band."

"They did?"

"They didn't tell you?"

"Well... they said I was replacing their lead vocalist... Was that you?"

"Yeah, bruh," said Luna, looking down. "You must have heard all about me and the things I did." Sam also looked down. For some reason, she didn't want to just walk away and leave Luna with nothing.

"But... you love him... right?" asked Sam.

"Huh?" said Luna. "Who?"

"Your little brother."

"Oh. Y...yeah. I do. He's done everything for us... and my sisters and I used him as a stepping stone. Some family, huh?" Luna and Sam went a little silent for a few seconds.

"Does he have his own dreams to follow?" Sam asked Luna.

"I'm sure he does," replied Luna. "And maybe he's feelin' awful that he... threw away ours."

"I'll bet he wouldn't want that."

"Huh?"

"It's not too late to turn your life around. Want my help?"

"You'd do that?" said a surprised Luna and Sam nodded.

"Whaddya say, Lunes? ...Oh, is it okay if I called you that?" she said, suddenly blushing. Luna also blushed.

"S..sure," she said, a bit jittery, but took a deep breath. Sam held out her hand and Luna took it. Three new beautiful friendships had bloomed, two of them possibly beginning to blossom into something more. It seemed that the lives of Lisa, Luan, and Luna would begin to mend first. But then, a few days later, a bombshell was dropped that would threaten to pull apart the Loud family permanently.

When I can meet with you it'll be truly great
My happiness, my happiness, words cannot describe

Lynn Loud Sr., the patriarch, had suffered a crippling illness. A deal had been made and reached by Judge Rex Wonklin to send him to a federal prison where it would be safer, despite that Lynn Sr. had only broken state laws and the length of his sentence was more for state prison, but the reason was because Lynn Sr. had overall not been physically violent regarding his acts of abuse and neglect towards Lincoln. They were more like ignoring his health and welfare, which had been established several times over. When Lynn Sr. had resisted up to four police officers, he had not physically harmed a single one. However, one of them - a tall, burly man with a golden badge, handcuffs on his belt, a brown mustache, and black aviators - took it far too personally and secretly saw to it that the poor Loud father would be put in a state prison surrounded by dirty inmates on purpose. Consequently, Lynn Sr. got so sick that he had to be moved out of prison altogether and confined to a sickbed at an infirmary. And being crippled, it seemed impossible for him to serve his sentence properly. The best way to compensate for what had happened was to provide necessary treatments to keep Lynn Sr. alive and from getting any sicker, but the biggest blow to the rest of the family was when they were told that because he had been crippled, he was to be confined to his sickbed for presumably the rest of his life.

Whether or not the police officer with a grudge intended for Lynn Sr. to get terribly ill was unknown and he would likely carry his answer to the grave, but the local police did trace the grievous act back to him and he was not only fired from his duties, but was also arrested and held in contempt. Of course, the damage had already been done and was irreversible, so it was arranged for the Loud family to pay a visit to the infirmary, including Lynn Jr. and Rita before they would resume their sentences. The Loud family had been brought together much sooner than perhaps 10 to 12 years, but this was obviously not the way they wanted to have a reunion. The infirmary workers could not predict Lynn Sr.'s remaining lifespan, which is why they allowed the whole family to come sooner rather than later. He was alive, but it was still a very sad day for the Louds.

"Lily!" Rita got to reunite with her baby girl as Myrtle handed her over.

"This just keeps getting worse all the time!" cried Lola, nearly throwing a tantrum that for once would feel warranted. "First we ended up torturing Linky, then our parents get busted, and now this!"

"We have the worst luck ever!" said Lana.

"Puh-lease," groaned Lynn Jr. unhappily. "I don't want to hear the word 'luck' for a very long time. There's no way some squirrel suit could have saved us from this!" The doctor who tended to Lynn Sr. soon approached the family. He had long, pale brown hair that fell a little ways past his shoulders.

"Hello, Louds," he said. "I'm Dr. Saavino. I've been tending to Mr. Lynn Loud Sr."

"...Please tell us that Pops can get better," said a tearful Luna.

"It's really hard to say," said Dr. Saavino. "We operated on him and finished just before you all got here... and... well... we did save him from certain death. He's alive." A few sighs of relief came from the Louds. "The thing is... his body is in a heavy state of paralysis."

"Did you literally have to rush a miracle or something?" asked Lori.

"You wish," Saavino answered. "We just did everything we could. He's still very much ill, but he's at least able to eat, drink, breathe, sleep, and talk on his own. And he's definitely not contagious as of now. Does that help?" The family looked among themselves and a few reluctantly nodded their heads. "He just can't leave his bed," said the doctor.

"Did his crime sentence have to be lifted?" asked Lisa.

"Pretty much. He couldn't even make it through one week with the condition he was in when he was brought here. The only way to make up for that is to keep him here until when he would have been done serving his sentence. After that, we can move him to a hospital."

"Why can't you just move him to a hospital now?" asked Lincoln.

"Well, we certainly can't move his sickbed as of now," said Saavino. "And... not gonna lie, but we have no idea if he'll even still be around after twelve years or so." This definitely got the Loud family sweating bullets. "You probably already know that we're not sure if we'll be able to pull off any more visiting hours for him after this." The family nodded despondently. Eventually they were cautiously led to Lynn Sr.'s sickbed and there he was, the part of the bed with the pillow on it propped up a bit so he could be lifted without his head leaving the pillow. Surprisingly, his skin didn't look the least bit pale. While recovery was possible, him being able to physically leave his sickbed was doubtful. It was a bit hard to explain his condition tactfully and not even Lisa was able to figure this one out. Seeing his family, Lynn Sr. pulled off a weak smile and was able to shakily raise a hand slightly off his bed to greet them. They still looked deeply worried of course.

"Son..." said Leonard, coming to the bed and holding Lynn Sr.'s hand.

"Dad..." he murmured. "... ...Are you... mad at me?"

"What?! No, of course not! Is it because of...? Oh... forget that, will ya? If anything, I should be saying sorry."

"Wh...what for?"

"Oh, you know why," said Leonard, getting emotional. "I played favorites, remember? Your brother..."

"Heh..." Lynn Sr. simply smiled and chuckled weakly. "I already... forgave you for that... Silly old man." This only made Leonard shed a few tears while Rita sobbed loudly. The rest of the family steadily gathered about the bed.

"Dad, I'm... I'm sorry," said Lincoln tearfully.

"You?" said Lynn Sr., touching Lincoln's cheek. "Don't be... At least... don't think... this is your fault... sport... I'm just glad... you're all here. Lily was put on the bed right at her father's pillow and Lisa crawled up on the other side. "Hey, girls..." Lily laid her head on Lynn Sr.'s shoulder.

"Father..." murmured Lisa. "I know what I should do. I should work on a cure. I've been blind to other people's feelings and I didn't realize that I hurt others around me. It's time I used my brains for something good rather than my own selfish breakthroughs. This way, I can... I can..."

"...Save me? Heh... Sweetheart... you know you already have."

"Huh?!"

"Yeah... all of you have... I...I feared the worst getting that awful sentence... and after I got sick... I didn't know... what was gonna happen... to me... Then I was told... I was gonna live... I may not be getting out of bed... anytime soon... but I got to see... all of you... again... Come on... how do you think that makes me feel?" The other family members couldn't help but smile despite tears in their eyes.

"You're right, Dad... Daddy," said Lori. "We're literally a family, and family supports each other no matter what!"

"Th...that's right... yeah..." said Lynn Sr. "Hey... Lincoln..."

"Dad?" said Lincoln.

"You know... you don't always have to... be there... for your sisters... to support them... You can always be with them... in their hearts... You taught me that."

"I... I did?"

"Yeah... Whew... I sure learned my lesson..."

"No, Daddy!" said Leni, raising her voice. "Don't say you earned this!"

"Yeah, not the way you are now!" said Luan.

"Okay, I won't say anything like that again... I promise," said Lynn Sr. sheepishly. "So... uh... What will you all do now?"

"Our family's splitting up for sure," said Rita. "All of my daughters are going to be raised by different families from here on out. I... still have to serve my time. I could get out early... if I'm lucky."

"But we'll all stay right here together," said Lincoln, patting his heart.

"That's the spirit, son!" said Lynn Sr. "I guess... maybe your mom and I... did bring you up right. Or... maybe you learned some things on your own... Keep that good heart of yours, will ya?" Lincoln sniffled.

"I will... Dad..." he said, choking a bit.

"Hey, hey... No matter what happens to me... it'll be alright..."

"I just won't have all the people I love surrounding me anymore."

"It's not goodbye forever, son..." Lynn Sr. assured. "And this isn't the end... It's only the beginning..." The bed half with the pillow raised up more so that Lincoln could hug his dad. "I love you, son."

"I love you too, Dad." Lincoln began to cry. "I... I... Y-you're my ace of spades, Dad!" The other family members came to tears, hearing that Lincoln was willingly bringing peace to his family despite his unfortunate incident born of neglect towards him.

"That's forever," said Lynn Sr. "Take care... sport..." Lincoln then handed him an ace of spades playing card, just as he left one with Judge Wonklin. To Lincoln, Lynn Sr. would always be his father and he knew it too. Rita also gave her husband something. It was her first love note she wrote for him from years and years ago. Lynn Sr. read it once more. "'Day after day... I hope and I pine... I'm too shy to come forward... but I wish... you were mine...'". He smiled as she then lifted Lily off the bed, as it would be time to go soon.

"I love you, Lynn," she said.

"Who wouldn't... Rita?" he said. "Who wouldn't?"

When I can meet with you

Words cannot describe
Now, I can meet you

"Kotoba ni Dekinai" performed by Off Course
Lyrics, composition, strings arrangement by Kazumasa Oda