Hey, I'm back with another rewrite episode of the Loud House. This time, it's "Scales of Justice". Idea given to me by Aartman7141999.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Loud House
Enjoy!
Early in the morning at the Loud house, Lana woke up bright and early at the sunrise with a yawn. "Today's the day! Today's the day! Let's go Hops!" Lana called to her froggy pet as the latter jumped onto Lana's head.
After a quick teeth brushing, change of clothes, and breakfast, Lana had said goodbye to her parents and went out to Tall Timbers park.
Once she got there, Lana went to the pond and saw two orange fish; one male and one female; waiting for her. "Hey Mr. and Mrs. Fishman."
They greeted her back by swimming playfully. "Mrs. Fishman, we talk about staying off your fins until the babies are born. I highly recommend you relax on your new kelp bed." Lana told the female fish. "Now how many babies are you having again?"
Lana held her breath and dove down briefly. She looked into a cove full of fish eggs and counted with her finger.
"Uh, let's round it to 100. Time to update the sign." Lana briefly stepped out of the pond to write mud on the sign to 102. "There, now it's 102! Royal woods is an awesome place for big families. You guys are gonna be happy for sure." Lana said proudly.
But their fun time had just come to an end when a huge yellow bulldozer appeared right in front of Lana and splashed her in mud. Worried for her friends' home, Lana confronted the bulky driver/worker. "Hey! What are you doing here?!"
Sadly, the driver could care less. "Scram, kid! This place got sold to the mustard warehouse."
"You've got no right to tear it down! This is the Fishmans' home!" Lana fought back.
"They got a problem? They can call a lawyer!" The worker countered.
"They can't use the phone!" Lana said as she pointed to the fish.
Seeing the fish was enough to make the worker laugh mockingly at her. "You can't be serious! Nobody cares about some fishies! Place them in a tank and problem solved!"
Lana was getting fumed. "If the parents move, so will the eggs! They could die!"
"There's plenty of fish in the sea! Now move it!" The worker got back inside the bulldozer and started the engine.
Lana started to panic until she had an idea…
"Wait pal! Your shoe's untied!"
The worker looked down at his untied shoe. "Oh," and started to tie it up. "Right there…Mr. Bunny goes into the hole…"
With the worker distracted, Lana and Hops got to work. "Quick! Now's our chance! Bolt removal!" She told the frog.
Hops nodded and used his sticky tongue to grab said bolts. the mechanic twin and frog high fived with hand and tongue, respectively.
The worker finished tying his shoe and got back in the bulldozer. However when he started it up, it began to break down. "What the?!" Soon enough the whole thing collapsed. "Grr! I'll deal with this tomorrow!" Frustrated and angry, the worker left the park.
The mechanic twin and frog high fived with hand and tongue, respectively. "Good job Hops!"
However, Lana still needed a plan in case the worker comes back. "That should keep him away until we come up with a plan to keep the Fishmans here."
Just then, Hops burped some of the bolts from the bulldozer. "Hops! Diesel breath!" Lana complained picking up the smell.
Lana, all muddy, walked back home into the house to find her parents in the kitchen. Rita and Lynn Sr. hear and see her come in all muddy, much to their displeasure.
"Lana! Muddy shoes!" Rita scolded.
"And pants and shirt and hat!" Lynn Sr. followed up.
"No time to change! I've got a crisis on my hands!" Lana cried.
Still not wanting mud in their house, the parents grabbed oven mitts, picked up their muddy daughter, and placed her in a trash bag as Lana explained the situation.
"The Fishmans are getting kicked out of their home!"
"Have they tried calling a lawyer?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"They're fish! And they live in a pond at Tall Timbers park! But now some jerks are gonna take it down and-"
"Put up a parking lot?" Luna asked, walking into the scene.
"No, a mustard warehouse."
"Well, the mustard warehouse probably will have a parking lot."
Lana simply rolled her eyes as Luna left and continued talking to the parents.
"What do I do?! I can't sit back and watch this happen?!" Lana cried for help.
"Honey, I think we got a little activist standing her ground." Rita said cutely.
"You know, we might be able to help. Your mother and I were activists ourselves back in the day." Said Lynn Sr.
Lana's eyes glimmered with hope. "Really?"
"Yep! I supported equal pay for women, reduction in carbon emissions." Rita recalled.
"The right to wear puka shells in the workplace, you know, the big stuff." Lynn Sr. followed with his own activist memories.
The encouragement gave Lana a boost of confidence. "Great! So what do I need to do?"
Rita had an idea. "I think in this particular situation, you'll need a petition."
"Cool!" Lana cheered but then realized she had no idea what her parents were talking about. "What's a petition?"
Lynn Sr. started the explanation. "Well, you'll need to go door to door, collecting signatures from at least half of the people in town."
"How many do I need?"
"Well, half of this town would be…" Rita did a little mental calculation, "Ten thousand signatures."
"Ten thousand?!" Lana asked in disbelief. "Is that even a real number?" The parents nod. Lana relents and signs. "Okay, fine. Then the construction stops, right?"
"Oh no. The construction will just get delayed until a public hearing goes on." Lynn Sr. explained once again.
"Now at that hearing…" Rita followed up, but the dialogue was blurred with horn noises in Lana's ears.
Lana heads upstairs, still muddy, and wondering what to do about the construction.
"Ten thousand signatures? We better get going!"
Hops ribbited a suggestion to Lana.
"You're right. We should use the bathroom before we head out.
Inside the bathroom, Leni was doing her eyebrows. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she sees Lana, but not in the best fashion.
"AAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH! MONSTER!"
"Where?" Lana asked, not realizing Leni meant her.
Leni freaked out so bad, she ran into a couple of walls and fell down the stairs.
"I'm never using that bathroom again!"
Lana stepped inside, hopped onto a step stool and looked at her muddy reflection. That was when she had an idea.
"Hops, I think I have a better idea to save the Fishmans' home."
Hops ribbited again.
"You're right. We should still pee."
After their bathroom break, Lana and Hops grabbed some supplies; a helmet from the attic and a white sheet from Lisa's bedroom; and went to the park to meet up with all the other animals; raccoons, snakes, lizards, turtles, etc.; in the park.
"Okay, guys, when the worker comes, we scare him off!"
The animals nodded, then quickly noticed the worker.
"There he is! Quick, get in position!" Lana commanded the animals as she and them got dressed in mud.
The worker once again from yesterday started up the bulldozer when he saw the water bubbling. "What the?!"
All of the sudden, a giant mud monster with sharp teeth was coming right after him! It hopped onto his bulldozer and snarled at him.
"CHEESE AND RICE!" The worker freaked out, and took a picture with his phone. "They're never gonna believe this!" He ran out of the bulldozer and left the park.
Soon the 'monster' is revealed to be Lana and her animal friends.
"It worked! He's gone!" Lana cheered. The Fishmans swam to the surface and happily winked at their human friend.
After the success of scaring the worker, Lana and Hops started their journey home. However, when the duo headed to the house, they saw Lana's family in Vanzilla.
"Lana, there you are! Get inside Vanzilla now!" Lynn Sr. desperately told her.
"What's going on?" Lana asked in confusion.
"No time to explain! Get in!" Rita shouted in a panic.
Lana heeded to her mom's suggestion and got in. With everyone inside, Lynn Sr. started Vanzilla and drove off in a flash.
"Guys, I still don't get what's going on!" Lana tried to get some information regarding her parents' concerning tone.
"Don't worry! Mayor Davis will explain everything!" Lynn Sr. reassured.
"Mayor Davis?" Lana looked at Hops confused while the frog shrugged.
After a while, Vanzilla pulled up in front of Town Hall. From there, the Loud family gathered with a bunch of Royal Woods residents.
The local news reporter, Katherine Mulligan is up at front with her camera crew.
"I'm Katherine Mulligan, reporting to you live from Royal Woods Town Hall. There have been several reports of a monster located at Tall Timbers Park." Katherine reported with a hint of sinister suspense as she turned to the same worker from yesterday. "Mr. Worker, you saw the monster, what did it look like?"
The worker did his best to describe the 'monster'. "Well, it was about 15 feet tall, all brown with sharp teeth! It lunged at me!"
Katherine continued to report the situation. "There you have it folks. Now turning to Mayor Davis." The reporter turned to the important woman in her pink uniform. "Mayor Davis, what do you have to say about these reports?"
"Well, Katherine, I assure you that the monster will be rid of!" Mayor David said with passionate anger. "Royal Woods, grab your pitchforks and torches! We have a monster to vanquish at Tall Timbers Park!"
The residents cheered with said equipment.
Flip helped in his own way with a stand full of tools needed for the angry mob and a little cash for himself. "Come grab your pitchforks and torches for 15 each! Matches are half off!"
But little did anyone know, Lana and Hops slipped away from the crowd with total guilt and shame on their faces.
"Oh Hops, this is all my fault! What are we gonna do?! They'll trample and destroy the Fishmans' home looking for the monster we created!" Lana asked in despair and hopelessness.
Just as when Lana was about to give up, Hops ribbited to her one last attempt.
"Really? I mean, are you sure that's gonna work?"
Hops ribbited in conformation and passion. Understanding the frog, Lana's feeling of despair soon faded.
"You're right! We can't give up!" Lana puts her hand in. "For the Fishmans!" Hops puts his tongue on his owner's hand in determination.
It was early evening as Lana went back to the park to meet up with the animal gang once again.
"Okay, guys, they want the monster out of town, so here's what we'll do…We'll pretend to be the monster and fake leave town so that they don't have to be afraid anymore and leave the Fishmans alone." The animals agreed and nodded in conformation.
Meanwhile, the angry mob of people holding pitchforks and torches March around the streets looking for the monster. Then something caught Lynn Sr.'s eye near the tall trees.
"Hey over there!" The crowd followed Lynn and took a closer look at the ground. On the ground were sharp-toed looking footprints.
"Monster footprints, no doubt," said Rita.
The footprints lead to the Tall Timbers park sign.
"And they lead to Tall Timbers! Move out!" Lynn Sr. followed up and led the crowd to the very same pond Lana tried to protect.
The pond bubbled, catching the crowd's eyes, worrying the people.
"Something's moving!"
"Is it the monster?!"
"Make it go away!"
"Everyone stay quiet!" Lynn Sr. told them.
As scary, but expected, the mud 'monster' from before returned and growled at them, much to the people's terror.
"Oh my!"
"It's so terrifying!"
"My goodness!"
As scared as they were, Mayor Davis pushed through in front of the crowd a few steps in front of the Loud parents.
"Excuse me, coming through." The mayor cleared her throat before confronting the 'monster'. "As Mayor of this town, I demand you to leave immediately and never return!"
The 'monster' growled and hissed at the crowd. But the crowd wasn't backing down as they raised the pitchforks and torches.
"Go away!"
"Leave now!"
"Be gone!"
The 'monster' roared and started to walk away in the opposite direction.
"Yeah, go away!"
"We don't want you here!"
"Leave us alone!"
Inside the 'monster', Lana cheered quietly. "It's working! They're buying it!"
But just as things were going good, the 'monster' got caught on some tree roots.
"Oh no!" Lana panicked.
To make matters worse, the 'monster' tripped and out came Lana and the animals through the mouth.
"Lana?!" The parents were shocked to see their daughter. "What's going on, young lady?!" Rita asked very sternly.
With The muddy girl exposed and filled with extreme guilt, Lana told the truth.
"I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I created a fake monster to scare away the construction so they won't build the mustard warehouse. But I realized I made things worse," Lana then faced her parents. "I'm sorry Mom and Dad. I should've just listened to you."
At that moment, Lana started to cry. "I was just trying to protect the Fishmans so they could stay." Tears and sobs came out of Lana. The parents quickly dropped their stern expressions and went to hug her with comfort.
"Oh, honey." Rita gently spoke to her.
"You did everything you could, kiddo." Lynn Sr. added.
Lana sniffled and sobbed a little more. "No, I didn't! I didn't even try to do the petition like you suggested."
"But we're proud of your passion." Lynn Sr. spoke up and softly smiled as he rubbed her back.
Lana was surprised by the revelation. "Y-You are?"
"Yes. You're strong willed, and that alone was the spark you needed to try and save your friends." Rita added some encouragement and smiled at her daughter.
Lana felt a little better by the positive reinforcement and smiled a little. "Thanks, guys." Lana looked at the pond with the two fish looking at her with concern.
Lana's smile faded away briefly. "Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Fishman. I'll find another lake for you and your family. I promise to be extra careful moving the babies."
"Wait a proverbial ding dang moment!"
A voice attracted everyone's attention as Lisa stepped out of the crowd and made her way to Lana and the parents and pointed to the fish.
"Those two don't have to go anywhere at all."
This was news to Lana. "What do you mean, Lisa?"
Lisa started the explanation. "The Fishmans as you so charmingly refer to them, are actually Acipenser fulvenscens. Street name: lake sturgeon."
"The Fishmans are doctors?" Leni asked.
"Not 'surgeon', Leni, 'sturgeon'. These fish are federally protected."
Lana started to have hope for real this time. "Does this mean-"
"That no one can touch their habitat. It's a federal law." Lisa finished the explanation.
Lana smiled big and joyfully. "Yes! They can stay!"
"As you may recall…" Lisa started to explain once again, however, it bored Lana into thinking more horn sounds coming out of Lisa's mouth.
But that came to an end as Lisa started to notice. "Luna! I'm trying to speak here!" Lisa called her out in annoyance.
The crowd split apart, revealing Luna playing the trumpet. She awkwardly put the instrument down and chuckled just as awkward.
The next week went by, and at Tall Timbers, things were back to normal as Lana updated her sign to 'federally protected."
"'Federally protected'. See that, Fishmans. Now no one can mess with your home."
The Fishmans smiled happily as several baby fish swam up to the surface.
Lana and Hops welcomed them warmly. "Fish babies! Aunt Lana and Uncle Hops are here to play with you." Lana and Hops eagerly, but gently stepped in the pond to play.
Meanwhile, Leni and her friend Becky had just arrived by the same pond for a picnic. Although Becky was excited, Leni was kind of scared from all the events from yesterday.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Leni asked in hesitation.
Becky had full confidence. "Oh, Leni, come on. Katy-something from the news, hasn't reported a monster sighting in a week!"
"Okay, I guess so," Leni took her friend's word for it and began setting up the picnic.
But then, Lana, all covered in mud again, pops out of the pond, scaring the teens as they run off, leaving Lana and Hops confusedly looking at each other.
The End
