Siege of Hearts

by D4rK Sid3

It all began with an innocent look that soared the sporty girl and the man with the plan down a path not meant for them to take together, searing their hearts under siege. LynnColn

14. Besieged

A/N: I apologize for the lengthy waiting time. I had been extremely busy, rewriting the fic, correcting any orthographic mistake and writing future scenes for the fic, plus doing my investigation of some subjects related for it as well. To compensate I managed to scramble the longest chapter so far but hopefully it will be as enjoyable as any. Please enjoy and don't forget to review! As always, PM me if you want to ask me something, I am always open.

Disclaimer: The Loud House belongs to Nickelodeon and I do not make any money writing this fic.

Summary: It all began with an innocent look that soared the sporty girl and the man with the plan down a path not meant for them to take together, searing their hearts under siege. LynnColn

Siege of Hearts

Chapter 14

Besieged.

November 16th.

Two luminescent blue eyes opened as they sun rays peeked over the horizon illuminating the room of a teenager girl through the circular window, blinking with appease and a small smile tugging at her features. Lily Loud as was her routine, looked at the picture pinned at her pink dresser, the very same picture where Lincoln took first before trying to 'fix' the family as a gift to their parents. Everyone in disarray, mud thrown by the fight that broke out between the twins, pets running around and the smiles and laughter of everyone while he screamed in desperation for everyone to stop while she herself was reaching to the sky naked as the day she was born. It was a family picture and with happy reminisces she observed herself with some amusement. But then reality hit her in the face and her smile fell immediately, tapping the floor with her sock covered feet.

With a sigh, she rubbed the last of her tiredness off her system and she started to get dressed for the day. Her attire consisted of a light purple dress with black shoulder pads, long purple socks and a pair polished black shoes. She picked up her golden locks in a bun that curved up and admired herself in her mirror liking what she saw. Starting the day, she made her way downstairs, not hearing the usual clings and clanks of utensils, quickly being reminded that Saturday was the day where most of the Louds were doing something else entirely but staying home. Lana was perhaps exploring the woods as always with her friends or Lisa and in the complete opposite spectrum Lola was perhaps in a pageant training session with her mother who usually now took Saturdays off but unfortunately her dad worked and she didn't expect to see him until later that day…and she dreaded it. Lynn and Lynn Sr. occasionally arrived at the same time and every time they did so, both ignored each presence that immediately seeped the youngest Loud with a wave of depression.

Lily quickly remembered that Luan was in her new job at the video store while her roommate Luna promised that she would be there tomorrow after her concert in a city that she could never remember.

Lucy…she was a mystery. The girl usually disappeared through most of the day with minimum conversation and forced greetings though for the youngest one, she usually directed a phrase before making her exit. Even if she now lived with Leni, she never started a conversation to Leni's great depression, over the years she accepted that Lucy was a hull of what she used to be, cementing the pain that Leni felt in her heart.

Lori whereabouts was now ever changing. Since her graduation with honors, she was hired by an international business consulting firm and she was always on the move from country to country, often with Bobby in tow.

The smartest one of the family, Lisa, usually holed in her laboratory was now in scientific convention or so she said, reviewing her latest discoveries and would not be back until tomorrow, she was only allowed to go whenever she wished because she had the USA government protection with armed escorts.

She looked at the cat clock on the wall before making her way downstairs; encountering Leni as usual staring at the TV watching re-runs of her favorite series with a boring expression. As soon as her blue eyes locked with hers, her gloomy expression seemed to disappear, patting the space next to her. Smiling herself even though her discomfort was gnawing at her, she did as silently asked, sitting down beside her older sister, sighing as the blonde hugged her close and she could never say no to Leni who nowadays was confined to the house with her usual visits to the mall and reviewing her options to the fashion academies around the world, of which she had many.

Lincoln's departure and the disintegration of her family had not stop her love for designing and producing the most beautiful garments that she had ever seen and was even wearing it right now but her cheerful persona, had diminished over the years.

"Hey brat." Leni greeted her sweetly. "Watcha up to today?"

She smiled. "Nothing much…just…resting."'

Lily never said much. Over the years she had turned into a very shy person and not many could usually take more conversation out of her besides what she was comfortable in saying, while innocent, Lily possessed an almost supernatural of the world around her, a trait that was shared by Leni herself.

Opting to hum in response rather than answering, Leni continued to watch The Simpsons re-runs, laughing occasionally while Lily did her best to share her sentiment, but her heart wasn't in the right place. It was difficult to mull these feelings into word and actions and she found at a loss of how to identify what she was feeling. Was she depressed? It wouldn't be unusual, more than half the family was living as they could, with a fake persona on the streets but when they were home, if it could even be called that, they showed who they really were.

In her young life Lily could only rely on Leni, Luan and Lynn, when she was home. Luan had become sort of their care taker as Luna spend less and less at home, doing her best to stay away from the house and coming only after their mom had begged her again and again to come back, if only to preserve their love for each other, if there was ever any left. It felt odd at times, the adults like Mr. Grouche talked of a better time, a time that she wished she would remember, where everyone was unified with love, with their large and numerous family joined by the hip but then Lincoln left. Or did she? The younger ones like her and the twins had asked but the answer was almost always the same. Their parents blatantly refused to even acknowledge her question and she was not the only one, sometimes she had asked her older sisters but they only looked aside completely uncomfortable. The only vague thing that Lola managed to caught on is that Lincoln had done something bad with Lynn and Luna was the cause for him to leave the household.

Her thoughts returned to the sporty girl. She didn't knew what to think of her sister Lynn. She acted sweet enough with her, but when alone, she just pulled into herself into her own world, often exercising and jabbing her old box bag to smithereens, crying when she thought that she was alone. But Lily knew, perhaps it was the irony of it all that she had a trait of every one of her sisters and Lucy's stealth was one that she shared with the Goth. She didn't know how to make Lynn happy and now that they lived apart from many hours away, the mystery still eluded her.

The feud that the twins had against the musician was cemented with deep hatred.

They had never forgiven her and from what she could gather, Lynn's own hatred for her ran as deep as the core of the Earth, always remembering the moments that they almost came to fist fights and were only stopped by the screams of her mother while Lynn Sr. looking on with disinterest.

Lily was sick of the secrets, sick of the silence, sick of living with detached people that should act like family. In an act that surprised Leni herself, her small hand caught the remote resting at her thighs, turning off the TV. Blinking in confusion, Leni turned to her, gasping with a shudder. The face of pure animosity that was present in Lily was alien and Leni immediately got worried, trembling under her own skin, trying to understand her odd change of behavior.

"I am tired." Lily said suddenly, her eyes got smaller like slits, eyebrows shrinking in anger.

"But…you…just woke up." Leni stammered, not understanding where her rage was coming from.

Snarling, the young blonde threw the TV remote across the room, hitting the front entrance smashing it into little pieces. Leni gasped, now suddenly feeling terrified of her actions.

"Lily, what…what do you do that for?" Leni asked trying to stand up, but was stopped by a palm that pressed her on the couch.

"I am sick." Lily said, her lips trembling under her own rage. "I am sick of the…the…masks…I am sick and tired of the pain…and the secrets."

The last part brought some recognition in the older blonde and slowly the cogs inside her head started with a kick, immediately seeking out her own conclusion.

"Lily…" Leni said with remorse but Lily wasn't having it, shaking her head violently, lowering her head and trembling, her fingers squeezing Leni's shirt with renovated fury.

"You must tell me." Lily lifted her head, her blue eyes were wide with agonizing pain, tears streaming down her cheeks, her small pink lips were trembling and gasping in the agony that she felt in her heart and immediately, Leni couldn't help but tear up herself, her arms hugging her tightly, hands running down her back in a comforting manner.

"I…I cannot." Leni said, burying her face in the locks of the younger blonde but she was immediately pushed back to the couch once more.

"Why not?" Lily demanded with a snarl that seemed to belong to Lola.

"Because you wouldn't understand." Leni said, staying quiet after, feeling she probably had said too much. The face of Lily scrunched in anger again before her tears exploded against her cheeks, burying her face on her bosom and wailing in agony. Leni didn't know what to do so she held on knowing too well the pain she felt deep inside of her. Leni wasn't very smart, but she didn't need smarts to understand where her pain was coming from. The last years had been so hard on her as well with only a handful of people to talk to and just a few of her sisters. The pain of losing Lincoln and the results from that loss had never healed. Leni was always reminded of that agony every time that Lynn visited the household, looking as detached as the last time she saw Lincoln.

She never told anyone that she knew but Lynn at the end of it all and she felt guilty about not being able to do anything as Lynn and Lincoln were roughly separated, seeing Lincoln once more after he graduated from that hideous academy, with the coldest expression that she had ever seen in her life, walking with the eyes of the death, just greeting her before walking out again to a war that she could not understand. But most of all, she felt for Lynn but in her own ignorance, Leni was often living in the clouds, with her thoughts presenting far more happier than her current reality. It's not that she didn't try to relate to the other members of her family, is that she didn't knew how, at least not anymore.

Leni was just living in the moment and Lily in just a single minute she awoke to the fact that she was not the only one affected deeply by Lincoln's departure. Lily had just been a little girl, no older than four when it happened and perhaps this existential pain was the one that shaped into the reserved and shy girl that she was today, almost like a reflection of Lucy.

"I want to understand." Lily said through her sobs. "Nobody tells me anything."

Leni smiled with the irony of it all.

"But I think I can make you understand, wait here." The blonde told her going upstairs to her room. Digging through her mattress, she pulled a thick but thin steel box with a heart shaped lock. Digging into her hair, she pulled a key, inserting into the lock and twisting it, the lock falling off into her hand, her fingers digging in. Her fingers made contact with many pictures but she found the one she was looking for, closing and locking the steel box before putting it back into its hidden place. Making her way downstairs, she found Lily staring at the wall of memories of the stairs and on the walls, reminiscent of happier times that she could not even remember feeling.

Slowly approaching the couch, she sat down with a single picture in her hands, offering it to Lily.

Curiously and cautiously her small hand took the offered picture, trying to absorb what she was actually seeing.

In the picture Lincoln and Lynn were in an state of undress, covered with bloodied bandages. What caught her attention is how they really looked like…close, far too close. She did not miss the hand of Lincoln reaching under her thigh or the way that Lynn had her legs possessively tangled with his. The picture looked intimate and suddenly she felt her cheeks burning with heat, turning away so Leni could stop looking at her.

"This happened after Lynn was…beaten by two bullies and Lincoln saved her, both got wounded very badly and they had to tend them at the hospital. It's where Lincoln had his scar on his eyebrow, the one you liked to trace because you always said that he looked like Scar from The Lion King and perhaps he was evil because he never had anyone that loved him."

Lily still with her head turned to the other side, made an effort to look at Leni before stopping.

"I don't remember that."

"You were probably still too young." Leni smiled at the memories that surged through her mind.

Still with the picture in her hand she stared at it. The longer she stared, the more it was revealed to her.

"Lincoln and Lynn, did…they loved each other very much?" Lily suddenly asked, half turning to face Leni, only looking at her blue eyes widening slightly, expectant of an answer, an answer that Leni was currently trying to answer.

Leni found herself nodding.

"Yes, very much." Leni confirmed.

Lily hummed.

"I see…but…shouldn't all siblings love each other like this?" She asked, never knowing the closeness that a family group was supposed to have, the family forever tainted by an unvoiced grief.

Leni nodded. "But they loved each other" She struggled to find a word. "…differently."

"H-h-how so? Like…a lot?" Lily pressed on, now turning fully to her, her eyes widening at the answers coming from her older sister.

Leni's face suddenly scrunched in agony, her eyes watering instantly attacked by a somber look that haunted the younger Loud, pushing Lily away so she could stand up before the young blonde could ever comfort her older sister.

"I need to start lunch Lily; the others will be here soon." As soon as she said that, she retired to the kitchen leaving Lily feeling extremely confused and self-conscious not daring to follow her, staring once more at the picture in her hands, trying to decipher its mysteries to her young mind.

But if there was only a thing that she could feel from this picture is that they looked just like mom and dad when they cuddled together in their room and that thought immediately left her feel tangled over at her own feelings, not knowing what to think.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"That'll be 5.35 sir." A female brunette cashier said at a cashier stand in the library, receiving six dollars and giving him change. Her name tag read Lynn Loud and her shift was almost ending.

Scholarships could only take you that far, the rest of her money had to be earned for other necessities, the university did its best to provide her with whatever she might need for class, but her world was more than a classroom and happily, she accepted a non-permanent half time position in the university's library and school supplier. For the next semester, she would be rotated somewhere else and another student would take her place. It was a good system and she was happy to have extra money in her pocket, how she could've afforded the bus ticket back to Royal Woods otherwise? Silently she counted the minutes remaining for her shift to be over finding happiness that at least today, Luna wouldn't be in the residence until tomorrow at the evening and that immediately lifted her spirits.

Lynn didn't need to be reminded of her mother's disappointment to stop fighting with her sister but it could not be avoided, years of hatred and animosity had been cemented between them, her nosy and holier-than-thou attitude was what got her and her entire family in this mess in the first place and she could never let go of her loathing against the musician, wishing nothing more than using her as a boxing bag until her head went flying to the moon after tearing Lincoln away from her. Shaking her head, her ears peeked at a co-worker and roommate, a girl named Stephanie. They were on friendly terms and other than greetings and talks, they occasionally hung out in their room or around the city to have a drink, but it never went beyond that and she was a happy distraction from her life.

"I swear that if I have to get another punk to ask my number so he can buy this crap I'm gonna lose it." Her black haired roommate said with a glare at the back of a young man who was ogling her behind the snack section. Lynn put her sport magazine down and scowled immediately at the nerdy looking young man, as soon as he noticed her glare; he put down whatever he was browsing and quickly exited the store.

Stephanie blinked and then busted out laughing.

Those who knew Lynn Loud on her bad side quickly got to know her fists intimately, it seemed that her fiery and nasty hook followed her everywhere she went and this university wouldn't do any different. Guys who quickly were immediately to hit on her were ignored and the very few who put a finger on her had the bruises of their bones ragging in their skin to an almost breaking point. In the very first two weeks since Lynn was enrolled had gained a reputation as the walking death and quickly men stayed away from her. Certainly this was no high school, they were thousands attending WMU and the experience was fulfilling enough to cool her anger to an extent, but just a tad.

The red head chuckled, placing a friendly hand on her shoulder.

"That was hardcore." She said grinning and Lynn grinned back having a last laugh before she clocked out of her shift.

Her living quarters in campus was special and not your usual university life style crowded dorm, thanks to her grands. It felt like a small apartment, including a small kitchen with dark wood cabinets, a stove, washing machine and dryer, a small fridge with a microwave on top and a kitchen table in their limited space, followed by a small living room where two black couch were situated facing a flat screen TV. The rooms were next to the entrance, separated by the hallway that led to the living room. It wasn't as small as the others rooms that Lynn had seen and for that she was grateful that her efforts were the ones that led her here, even though the agony of what suffered through.

Sighing, as she opened the door to her dorm building and the usual ruckus that never seemed to stop, with students having their apartment doors open and talking and drinking in the hallway, nothing out of the norm. Nobody got in her way and for that, she was grateful because if any person tried to express a single negativity against her, she would bust their teeth down their throat and most likely lose her bus ticket, her reputation followed her anywhere she went like a double edge sword, but this was just a mere fraction of her life, she was no alone per se, she had some friends and sparring buddies at the university gym, but nothing serious and nobody to talk about her real issues but Ronnie Anne, even if it was behind a computer screen, quickly reminding herself that she should plan a meeting trip with her, they hadn't seen each other face to face in a while. The agony of the solitude sometimes got to her, gnawing her insides until she couldn't concentrate, she didn't even need her mom's insistence to come back to her, feeling welcome to bury herself with the members of her family who appreciated who she was, the only people she could trust her life to but a part of her wondered about if they knew the real reason for their family breaking apart and what would they do or say if they ever found out…only Lucy and Lori knew and the Goth hated her, even if she hadn't said otherwise, Lucy refused to even look at her.

How could someone deal with something like this? The sportsgirl tried to place herself in the musician shoes but like always, the disgust that seeped through her was enough to open wounds that would never heal, the events of that day fresh as the day it happened. The life that Luna Loud had led since Lincoln's forced departure had gone through good to bad, to incredible bad. She was steering down a path that she didn't wish in her worse enemy, the vice that had attached to Luna like an incurable virus had done numbers on her sister. She was on the gaunt side and pale, falling from grace ever since that day. She was the one that tipped the house of cards and now the worse to deal with the fall was her. The isolation that Lynn had gone through had devastated her with nobody to turn to but in Luna's case, it seemed that she found a companion in drugs and alcohol, a vice that no doubt filled the void, no doubt from her fane and that douchebag of her boyfriend, perhaps as a way to lash out against the struggle with the torn home of the Loud residence and played with her gang in whatever places she could to feed herself, and Lynn was certain that her parents and many of their family members didn't knew about her vice. Eventually she moved out with a band to God knows where until one day she found a sponsor for a band derived from Chunk former band mates, The Louders—ironically a name that Lincoln came with—in Detroit of all places, a city torn by the frayed decay of humanity and a ghost city habituated by people that didn't knew where else to go, where crime, drugs, rape and other unmentionables ran amok; they might call Alaska the last frontier, but Detroit? Detroit was the last stop of sin.

Lori…was another case altogether.

The oldest Loud sibling didn't hate her but pitied her but admonished them both for being so selfish. She still remembered the part that she played as she held her, hand extended towards a disappearing car in the darkness that carried Lincoln and her happiness down a spiral, bloodied and muddied. Lori struggled to understand as the oldest, it was her duty to carry out the family in her shoulders and help her family members, but the bombshell that broke their entire family over a forbidden romance with the only male sibling in their big family, was something else as soon as she learned the scope of their relationship and everything that carried with it.

Lynn might have brawns and brains, but Lori outclassed her with the tenacity of her spirit, which broke as soon as Lincoln was out of their lives, living the agony that his absence brought to their family, if it could still be called a family but she forced herself to move on, at the end of the day Lori told her between her tears as she held her, rocking her back and forth all those years back that the only way to fix this would be with Lincoln back…but it was so hard. She had never seen Lori so depressed and broke down, not even after Bobby moved out to another city, it was like if what made Lori herself had been burned out, leaving a breathing husk, only Bobby and Ronnie Anne had pulled her off the abysm and while Lynn's relationship lessened with Lori's significant other, she cemented her agony, her sorrow and hatred into the young Latina, finding instead a friend that had carried her on all of these years…even if she felt bad at burdening her with her problems, at least Ronnie Anne saw the whole picture.

The family initially demanded answers between the screaming, threatening, slammed doors and burst of fury that seemed to submerge the Loud household into a battlefield but their parents always denied answers and eventually the pain and ache was pulled over a dull discomfort until the masks were fabricated and molded for every family member to live on, forever stepping on egg shells.

Eventually nobody could help her find Lincoln, not even in his darkest times was ever a hand of clemency came to help him and that tore her apart as she dealt with the painful loss of her soul mate and her younger brother, not even Lisa stepped on to help, claiming that was building a future for all humanity and didn't have the time to resolve their issues, which hurt her intellect, but deep down Lynn knew that for all her IQ and intelligence, the young scientist couldn't deal with the agony of what they've done.

Lynn was forced to concentrate in her life and another candle was extinguished into nothingness, forcing herself to focus in her present and not in the past, never filling the void that was carved away cruelly from her life, holding into her degree like security blanked, hoping if she held on she would never fall into the dark abysm that was eagerly waiting for her with nobody to save her from it.

An hour later she was being ferried to Royal Woods by a Greyhound, arriving at the bus station three hours later. Like usual, she took a cab that deposited her in the street of her childhood home and as soon as her eyes saw the main entrance, Lynn had never felt so alone in her entire life.

With a sigh, she pressed the door bell and a few seconds later the tall blonde opened the door. With a big smile, Lynn went in between the warm hug of her old sister and once more, the agony couldn't reach her…at least for the remaining of the weekend.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"And a one and a two and a three!"

Roxanne and Lola Loud twirled dressed with tight clothing of cowgirls, fake guns strapped to their hips. The next completion to qualifications of the Miss Michigan was looming in the distance and at 14 years old, Lola had flourished into a beautiful woman, even with the so many problems in the household, Lola did not let it divert from her objective, moving in the ladder of her passion. Strangely as Lincoln called it 'her sunshine' she never saw it that way, believing in the past that her attributes were solidified but after his forced removal, she possessed a new found humility and a new way to see the world for what it really was. The pain was there, she could still remember one of the last talks with her brother before that depressing day and since then, she had lived as Lincoln would want her to be and had taken her into a road that she was sure she would never encounter.

But her attitude was as nasty and manipulative as ever if you ever got into her bad side. Her inner fire was stronger than ever and per every whirl, per every step of her way, she was honoring her brother, wherever he was, she was sure than one day he would return and he would be proud of who she had become through the effort and the sweat of her brow.

Her mother was present in the practice, but she looked out of it like usual. Rita Loud always was the one that ferried her from practice to practice and pageant to pageant, being there for her physically was an achievement of its own, the vast majority of the week, their mother was like one of Lisa's robots, going through the motions and the routine and nothing else; in the rare moments where she was alone, Lola and the rest would see her sitting around reading books, going off the house in dates with dad or just sitting twirling a glass of wine that was always turned into four or more. And as Lola and her friend finished their mother with a slight clap from the practice trainer, Rita slowly turned her attention from her cellphone to show Lola a tiny smile before returning to her cellphone. Lola frowned, never seeing her to watch her practice, with a sigh she looked at her friend, offering her a grin.

"Not bad for such squared feet."

"I am more impressed that your giant man nose let you move as you did."

Both friends giggled in jest, hugging each other. Roxanne mom, a woman in her early 40s with sun kissed skin and brown hair approached them.

"Good practice hun! I am so proud of you two!" She cheered.

Rita put down her cellphone and approached the scenario, not bothering to climb the ladder into it. She hummed with approval, tilting her head into a nod into Roxanne's direction.

"Good job." Her voice didn't match the fake smile plastered into her face and Lola could tell, being an expert into treachery herself, but for sake of the act that nowadays everyone lived through, she threw a fake smile and with a wink she took her fake revolver and twirled it into her hands, blowing on the barrel.

"We're on fire." With an expert twirl that would receive the approval of a gunslinger she slipped it back into its holster. Roxanne and her mom laughed at her antics, only Rita looked aside as if remembering something before shaking her head.

"Well! I was thinking of going into Dine N' Dance to celebrate! Certainly these two girls deserve something good after this helluva practice! My treat! Can't wait to see them in the real thing!" Roxanne's mom voice carried on with enthusiasm to which Rita denied politely with her head.

"I am sorry Josefina, but I must decline. My daughters are visiting this weekend and I must prepare, though I thank you for invitation, perhaps for the next time and it would be my treat." Her voice carried softly, her eyes half lidded and unawake. Lola could never stomach the way Roxanne and her mom expression fell with every rejection that her mom had said, one of the tad many but she was always glad that they never surrendered in carrying out the best way they could to help them feel welcome, everyone in town knew about their problems, it was unavoidable that the information slipped in such a small town and while the pity gnawed at her stomach, the guilt that she was associated with was stronger and that was enough to let it go, knowing that once more her nerves would be frayed by Lynn's and Luna's visit, the exact moment where her mom would start drinking when she thought that nobody was looking.

With a sigh, she offered Josefina and Roxanne a smile that carried many meanings and she was glad that they returned the same smile.

"Maybe later sis." Lola told the young Latina, who she considered a sister and not just a friend. Josefina blew her and a kiss and with a wave she was gone.

Rita saw them leave with a slight frown, but lighted up as soon as she felt Lola's gaze on her.

"Shall we go for ice cream then?"

Lola growled, crossing her arms.

"Why do you always do that?"

Rita blinked in confusion. "Do what?"

"Blow everyone that tries to get close to us…you know that Roxanne and her mom are wonderful people yet you deny them."

The Matriarch of her family laughed, brushing her locks roughly earning a hiss from Lola.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do!" Her outburst earned them a few odd looks between the other girls that were preparing for their practice, but most of all, the soft and concerned of the trainer, the mother of Winston. With a sigh as she felt the air shift suddenly into one of pure melancholy, she took Rita's, dragging her off to the parking lot, roughly yanking her hand away and looking aside so she wouldn't be able to see the tears that streamed down her cheeks, ruining her makeup on their way to the car.

Sighing Rita saw her go.

"Isn't that Rita Loud?"

A voice of a woman resounded from the entrance and she didn't bother to turn around knowing too well what would follow.

"They said they killed their son and buried his corpse in the woods, God knows what happens in that crazy house." She told her companion and that's when she started to walk on her high heels on the way to the car, already finding Lola strapped to the passenger seat on her old Toyota, looking out of the window, like usual. Wordlessly the older blonde got into the car, strapped herself and started the car. For a long moment, they don't say anything to each other; the car running is the only background noise. Slowly the slender hand of The Matriarch wrap itself around Lola's arm, squeezing slightly. Lola was shaken out of her stupor as she felt her mom taking a hold of her arm, her thumb tracing circles on her skin. Rita's gaze stayed to the front, occasionally blinking, staring at something in the distance.

"Mom?" Lola turned fully to her, concerned, regardless of all their problems and actions through the years, she was still her mother and she loved her.

"I am a bad mother, am I?" Her eyes pooled with tears, a pained wheeze exiting her throat, her fingers clenching around the steering wheel and around Lola's arm; with a hiss, Lola cringed but finally understood why her mom was breaking down. In the distance at the main adjacent road for the highway was a new billboard.

'For our Nation, for us All. United States Marine Corp, the few, the proud.'

It was as a way to advertise the recruitment of new troops for the ongoing war, the war where Lincoln was currently fighting.

It was a mystery that she could never solve and the one that brought her pain was that the family that she supposed to confide in, instead shunned the ones that wanted to know. Was his sin that great that he deserved his fate? The answers was always a strong NO, even as everything felt apart around them, Lola always felt horrible when her mother displayed her raw agony like this. It began three years after Lincoln's departure, in the military graduation of his Military Academy, the day that he rejected being welcomed into their family by her mom and his dad, the moment he decided to go to war and enlist in the Military instead.

She would never forget the way that his cold dead blue eyes snapped into attention when they called his name, his gaze hidden beneath his white military cap and gray uniform, standing tall and strong. The way he marched in that military drill and the moment where Lynn tried to drag him back to them before he exited the doors back into the academy, blocked by two men holding bayonetted rifles, forever disappearing from their lives; she was there on the final phone call that her parents and Lincoln exchanged, the day he threw it all to hell and enlisted and that was the day where all hope was lost.

Three months later, their parents came from California in order to see Lincoln out of recruit training, now being a fully blooded Marine and ready for war. Her dad was almost unresponsive, deciding to cater his needs for his job and his favorite activities rather than spend time with them but Lily and her mom took to drinking, leaving her favorite activities to rest.

What could she say to avoid her mother to stop looking like a walking corpse? Slowly she took her into her arms and she broke down.

"I-M SORRY!" Her mom screamed into her arms, saying it over and over again. With the sadness creeping, Lola could only hold her tighter, running a hand beneath her back wishing that everything was back before this living hell started.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A big line of white powder was grounded by two slender hands, blue painted nails reflected on the fluorescent lights of a night club. Benjamin Franklin in bill form was twisted into a rolled and tight form, placed at the beginning of the line.

"No way she could fucking do it." A voice laughed at the left a young woman with brown hair with a pink stream down the middle, dressed in torn jeans vest, a long skirt and combat boots. Her voice broke into an amused grin before she started snorting the line of coke to the amusement of the nine people on the table, never stopping until the two feet of coke was gone into her nose. With a snarl she screamed into the high winds as the cheer of the occupants of the table screamed, clicking their drinks together.

"Fuck! Goddamn it Bruno, you know how to piek 'em" The same voice said with a amusement.

A young man with dirty blonde hair appeared next to the woman's side, caressing her shoulders in not a subtle manner and the woman leaned into his touch, gasping as his lips kissed a sensitive part of her neck.

"Luna you're the best, I am the only one for you."

"Your hand is the only one for you" Luna sneered and the entire table broke into hysterics.

"One more round!" Bruno smiled and motioned to a waitress around the club dressed in scantiest clothing.

As the alcohol burned her system in and out, Luna groaned, appreciating the fine taste of the good life had provided for her, rum and coke mixed with more…coke always put her in the right spirit for some good fucking and today was not going to be the difference, especially since she was the girlfriend of Bruno, the younger brother of their sponsor. Amusedly, she took her boyfriend by the loose tie he wore around his neck, dragging him into standing. Cheers ran amok the club as Bruno waved back to the table, entering of the private rooms of their club. The dance of their tongues mixed with the taste of alcohol, the remnants of cocaine in their systems and the ecstasy pills that her boyfriend feed into her mouth with their rough tryst was always welcome, washed into her throat with a mix of whisky, knocking various bottles as her ass took a beating by the hips of Bruno, snarling into excitement as her orgasm reached her peek Luna hollered into a mix of excitement and adrenaline as he finished with a hiss next to her ear into the condom. Withdrawing from her, they held into each other, the room still twirling into funny colors, the best trip so far after the success of another profitable concert and her other activities, it would carry on her way of life for a long time before then next one.

As she rested nuzzled into his naked chest, Luna sighed suddenly being reminded of what started her on this path and she wished she had more cocaine in her system to forget why she was here in the first place but she knew that she was past her limit so the only thing she could do was to think, staring at the wall of the room.

Did Lincoln deserve his fate? A part of her would always say yes! It was hard to discern into the duality of the memories that always assaulted her. Lincoln and Lynn brought this into themselves for doing what they did; it was their fault that the family had broken like they were. It wasn't her…she only tried to do her best to protect her family from such a disgusting sin. The thought immediately turned sour as she came from her high, leaving a dull ache in her stomach. Did she forgot to eat again? It didn't matter much anyway.

Luna thought she did her best in order to resolve this situation but would never understand the way her parents lashed out at Lincoln and Lynn, wanting nothing more than to kick them out both into the cold streets, she realized her mistake too late but in reality, nobody could deal with the repercussion of their union; her parents took it the worse and was initially glad that her mom convinced her father to send him instead to a military academy, to curve the crazy of that boy into a normal person again and back into the sibling that she loved and respected and not of that freak that defended his romance with his own sister, finding in her heart that her hatred towards him was carved into her heart next to Lynn. Hating how he betrayed them, hated him for daring to do that to them, hating him for staining their family with that disgusting sin.

Three years later, the separation took its hold into the family for the worse and the solution quickly became into the poison that broke down their family, jagged pieces murdering their resolve, their family unit and being seek out by the small city habitants to try to heal them, but the pain was just too great, the river of agony ran to deep to put a stop to it. Whatever dam that held down her tears broke down after seeing a shadow of Lincoln dressed into a military uniform in the academy; his eyes were completely dead inside, completely disconnected to the world around him. His voice and attitude was like if his humanity was beaten out of him, shaping him into a disgusted empty shell of a young man crafted into a toy soldier, molded to the academy's needs.

That Lincoln had the same white hair, the same blue eyes and even though he was far taller than her now and was muscled, he wasn't her brother. His responses were cocky, sarcastic and filled with an animosity that even Luna herself was stunned into silence and immediately she realized that she had turned into that same person, especially against Lynn who she carried nothing more than hatred at being one of the reasons why they were in this mess. She used their shifty meetings to every time to mock her and try to smoother her with the same agony that she carried into her heart, so when she saw her running towards a retreating Lincoln with tears streaming down her cheeks she couldn't help but to laugh into hysterics, especially after those two stoic looking uniformed men blocked her entry into the door that Lincoln had disappeared into.

Months later, she caught her way into Chunk's band as one of the guitarist and singer and her explosive persona had let her to achieve in the scene something that she been wanting since she started in her passion. Using the fury and the pain of being carved out by a knife called life, Luna quickly rose to fame and suddenly everyone wanted to see her. Chunk was forced off the front man, instead playing the bass until he felt that his presence was no longer needed and he quit the band that he started and The Louders was born and suddenly every club and pub were tearing each other to pieces in order to have them to play for them. The cash flow and her fame was enough to push them to play off State and one night they met John Shea, the owner of several clubs in the Detroit area. He offered the band a serious amount of cash and connections to record their first album that was into its final stages of production; she met his younger brother, Bruno Shea and the rest was history.

Her dealings with the Shea clubs was not the only thing that she did for her boss, besides music, she had some side businesses that were more profitable, wanting more than to spread the euphoria that always felt as she snorted a big line of cocaine and so far, everyone had been happy. With a sigh, after lying hours awake, she nudged her boyfriend awake.

With a grunt, his blue eyes focused on hers, burying his face on her naked bosom.

"Bloody hell 'una. Let a man sleep would ya?"

She laughed loving his Irish accent, nudging him once more.

"We can't sleep that late today. We gotta be in the road tomorrow."

He sighed. "Yeah, yeah, to visit your family, bet that cunt of your sister will be there too." He said referring to Lynn. Luna rolled her eyes but nodded.

"Who isn't a cunt for you? But it isn't your problem. I'll deal with the bitch myself." Her face twisted into an angry visage before it softened. "A line would probably help me sleep better."

Bruno grunted. "You know that my brother doesn't want to see you pumped full of drugs. He pays our bills".

"Awww, yer afraid of ol' John dude?"

The young man snorted. "Ya know he hates when you imitate that type of thing…but you know what…one for the road wouldn't hurt." He said as he started to look through the drawer, seeking the angel dust.

Luna laughed. "That's my jam!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tokyo, Japan. November 17th 2004.

Lori Loud and Bobby laid together watching the beautiful landscape that was Tokyo at night. They resided in a beautiful hotel overlooking the horizon as the sun peeked from the skies at the other side of the world, tinting the buildings in a mix of blues, oranges and yellows. Their hands grasped together and both smiled.

It hadn't been the first time that she had been in Japan, but this was Bobby's first time.

Today marked their anniversary and after a successful deal, what was the best way to celebrate than to watch the beautiful sunset together after a night of slow and passionate love making and room service with exquisite delicacies? Her world was perfect, or it would be perfect if she knew what was transpiring to her brother, who had always been in her mind.

Her happy smile soon slipped into a frown, looking at the distance. Bobby as if sensing her sad demeanor, was quickly to rub her shoulders.

"You're thinking of him, aren't you?"

Without looking at her boyfriend, she nodded, nuzzling her cheek against his.

"Do you hate Lincoln, Bobby? Knowing what he did?"

It wasn't a secret between them per se. Bobby had been there with Lori the very night it happened, waiting for her in his car as she chased after Lynn who had in turn chased the car that was taken Lincoln away from them. And he was there to transport a bloodied Lynn, Lori and his young sister Ronnie Anne back to the house.

He knew.

But he had never been asked if he ever did.

Hate seemed like a strong word that wasn't in his vocabulary. Bobby Santiago had always been taught to be compassionate, always caring about the wellbeing of others and looking down at the malice that many people possessed, but what could he said about Lincoln and Lynn? The discovery shocked him to the core and he was repulsed beyond belief but never to hate the white haired man. Lincoln was like a little brother to him who he thought to be as a kind soul, just like him and while he didn't particularly disliked the sports crazy and crass Lynn Loud, he couldn't really understand what took them to take their relationship like they did.

Lincoln was a man that many women would love to get to meet. He was compassionate, well mannered, compassionate, smart and his skills were unparalleled at his young age, so when he took this road with his sister, he was so…disappointed and saddened and even more as he saw the Loud family crumbling. He wasn't one to question the odd friendship that Ron-Ron has with Lynn, but it concerned him at first that Lynn would take her down a bad path, yet his worries were unplaced and was perhaps the only friendship that mattered to his sister and the same could be said about the sportsgirl. To Lori's great shame, she could not be in Lincoln's graduation from that military academy but he was glad. The things he had heard from the younger Loud siblings was terrifying to look at. He couldn't imagine the horrible changes that Lincoln suffered in that academy, but the most shocking thing was that he enlisted in the Marine Corp as soon as he graduated, rejecting the acceptance back into the family, marching off to war.

A part of him respected him, understanding that no man wants to be cast aside and torn only then to be asked to return where they casted out him in the first place but another part of him called him selfish for leaving the destroyed family behind to fend for themselves. The changes that Bobby had saw in that family were horrified and he soon understood why Lori tried to stay as far away as she could in these business trips. Either it was the fact that she saw herself as a failure as the big sister and couldn't bear to see the fruits of her failure or it was because she couldn't deal with the fact that her dysfunctional family didn't knew how to even know how to live with themselves; but most of all, Lynn was one Lori's sins, she had told him as such. She truly believed that she could've done something to avoid them committing that mistake and marring to a life of suffering.

"No Lori, I could never hate the little dude." He told her truthfully. "I know he screwed up but I don't want to see him getting hurt." He said as he caressed her hair. "I pity them both."

And he did.

Lynn was shunned completely by her parents the same way that Lincoln would have been if he had remained in the household, writing her off their lives. The crushed expression of her face it's a memory that would forever haunt him. To see such a prideful girl destroyed like that was so depressing. It took months for Lori to get off her depression and when she did, he couldn't find in his heart to dislike Lynn, nodding off to his sister to provide her comfort in these dark times.

Normalcy nowadays was such a nonexistent word.

"Lynn is still taking pretty badly eh?"

"It has been four long years." Lori answered with a twitch of her lips. "I know that Lincoln said that he did what he did to give her the normal life that he couldn't give her…but Lynn needs to move on with her life, get someone else and be happy. The next time I see her, I am going to talk to her, sister to sister. I want her to put this…fiasco to rest." She sighed. "If only to give Lincoln peace whenever he is, though I bet with that war that is raging, he won't know any peace, but at least his wish would come true…he would want for her to be happy" Her eyes blinked away the tears that were surely coming, once more being smothered by her boyfriend.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A pale hand took hold of a camera that sat on a glass counter.

Lucy Loud twirled to look at the camera offered by the sales person, no other than her sister Luan Loud who had been working for 'Memories Forever' video store, a store completely dedicated for the art of videography and photography with plenty of equipment. Luan was dressed in a white chemise shirt with her nametag and black dress pants.

"The Sony Mini DVD Camcorder DCR-DVD201. This baby can burn content into a cd for comfort of use, with a video quality of 1 megapixel and able to record even in low light conditions…it is an entry level camera but I am probably sure that it would work for…what was it again?"

The Goth was silent for a few seconds before she slowly tilted her head upwards, revealing a single amethyst eye.

"Record my sessions of cooking desserts for the show Dessert Storm…" Her monotone voice went silent as a tomb at the end making Luan to sigh rather than cringe in revulsion, like Lucy expected her to do. The comedian had been hit hard as much as everyone else with Lincoln's departure, but nobody had seen as much change as her young sister Lucy. If only, she was more reclusive and antisocial than ever.

"I guess that could work…I could probably ask my boss for an employee discount on this one and offer monthly payments. Anyway….where are you even getting the money for this?"

At that the Goth grunted in annoyance.

"Library." Was the only thing she said before she placed the full amount roughly on the counter. Blinking, Luan pocketed the money into the cash register and gave her a receipt. Taking the box she intended to walk off the store without a word before she was stopped by Luan calling after her.

"Hey wait…my shift is over soon, do you want to catch a cup of coffee? Black and sugary, my treat."

Turning around slowly, Lucy shrugged her shoulders and nodded, exiting the store and sitting down on close to the fountain of the mall, where Luan worked.

Half an hour later they sat on a coffee shop, the Goth drank from her cup wordlessly as she ate from the croissant platter that Luan had also provided, drawing a napkin across her lips, all the while Luan observed her, twirling her thumbs nervously on her lap.

"If you wish to talk, you may, I will sit here and listen." Lucy broke down the difficult silence by adding to its awkwardness.

"It's not me you should listen; I want to heard what do you want to say."

"There is nothing for me to say." Lucy added as she drank another sip of her hot beverage. Luan threw her hands in the air.

"I might not be the smartest, but I know you."

"Do you? It's a funny joke after all, perhaps the only one that had made me laugh." She added with a quick quirk of her lips.

Luan almost slapped her, quickly reminding herself why nobody talked to her in the house.

"I think it's enough with the bullshit." The comedian told her in a low tone with an added snarl, the Goth was intimated by the display of anger reflected in her tone, ready to jump at her. Looking at the exit of the coffee, the Goth was inclined to leave but her hand snatched hers before she could ever make a motion. Looking at her fingers snared against her, Luan saw an expression across her face, the very first in years.

Fear.

And she went in for the kill.

"I think it's time for you to deal with it."

"Deal with what?"

"Lincoln and Lynn."

The Goth groaned.

"You are talking about something even you, Miss Private Surveillance don't know anything about. It seems to be the only interest that peeks at you is to observe other people lives because you lack one of your own."

With a snarl her hand went flying, slapping the Goth across the face, her head being thrown to the side from the strength, almost making the Goth to be thrown to the floor. Lucy trembled in agony, nursing her tender cheek, a thin linr of blood left her nostrils. At that moment their waitress came to the table, observing the display of violence that had a few patrons of the coffee to look at them in shock.

"Miss, it's everything alright?"

Luan was more than ready to cleave her face in two, swallowing her sarcasm; she slammed a ten bill on the table making her jump.

"Should be enough for the table and tip. We're leaving." Forcefully, she took her sister by the hand and yanked her to her feet, exiting the coffee feeling dozens of gazes burning a hole in their backs.

They walked in silence, occasionally she heard the sniff of the Goth as she silently cried, letting herself to be dragged into the nearest fire exits where they could have some privacy. Lucy sat down in the steps of the stairs, her trembling hands caressing her tender cheek, the 16 years old sniffed, brushing a thin line of blood from her nostrils, sniffling and looking at the wall.

Sighing, Luan crawled her face into her hands. It never got easy, didn't it?

"Don't act like you didn't deserve that one." The Comedian told her with a snarl, pearly whites showing, shuddering in anger. "It's been a while Lucy, but since nobody is doing anything about your situation, I am stepping in."

"Uninvited I might add." Lucy added, looking at the floor.

"Perhaps." She shrugged. "But I had it with this bullshit. It's not just you, it's everyone and it's driving me cuckoo. There's nothing that we can do now…we were too cowardly to do what was right…and you think that you know more than I do, remember who I am. Of course I know everything, I knew from a very long time, even before Luna spilled the beans."

Lucy's head snapped so fast to her that Luan took a step back, Lucy's amethyst eyes were glistening with tears, her lips trembling.

"Why you didn't say anything?"

"What was I supposed to do?" She sighed, turning around. "How can I tell my family that my brother and my sister were screwing around behind everyone backs? It's just…they were not harming anybody. I knew that eventually they would get burnt off that kind of relationship, break it off and treasure it while they went off with other people. I just…I…didn't knew that this would happen…but you knew didn't you? You knew from the very beginning."

Lucy's silence was her confirmation.

"I didn't even need to have cameras to observe as you talked with Lynn time and time again."

"They were not supposed to be found out…I thought I had it under control, I told them to be careful but they didn't listen…they decided to be selfish and be…in love."

Luan bit her lip. "I didn't knew that they were so far into that."

"You don't even know half of it." Lucy said, sniffing. "They…they wanted to run away."

Luan blinked, turning to her fully. "They did?"

"Lynn told me in one of her talks…weeks before the incident happened. That the only way that they would accept them would be to run away to live in a town or city that had never seen them, to be strangers, just a couple in love but I guess it didn't work out that way then."

"I guess not." Luan shuddered but her eyes hardened. "I want you to stop shunning off Lynn."

The Goth hissed. "You may threaten and hit me all you want, but that is something that I cannot do…she is one of the guilty ones for what happened to the family…Lincoln and Lynn deserve everything they got due their holy union."

Luan chuckled, slapping her mouth as her giggles threatened to break out.

"You-are-not-a-very-good-liaaaaar" She told her in a sing-song voice. "If you are not being honest with yourself, I'll complete your own puzzle…you are as broken as we are all. At this time, I would take Lincoln and Lynn as they were before this started, or did you already forgot that Lynn tried to kill herself?"

Lucy said nothing, her eyes once more glued to the floor.

"And our disgusting parents didn't say shit…I had to found out through Leni. As for my brother…I rather see him well than in a wooden casket. You think that hiding yourself like an ostrich with her head in the dirt would avoid that the war wouldn't touch you? Look around you Luce, the morbid loss that you so relish in it's everywhere. You know how many cameras I sell for people who want to share their last moments with their parents, sons or daughters before they ship out to combat? Do you really hate them both so much? Or perhaps it is the excuse that you use to keep going with your little thing you call life?"

The Goth looked at her before she looked aside.

"I didn't knew you were so…psychological."

Luan chuckled. "You are not the only good one with observational skills."

"I miss our old life…it's all…this…this isn't what was supposed to happen."

Luan nodded, sitting next to her and putting a hand over her shoulder. "Not at all, but you know what? I think that this has been going on for far too long, the root of this problem was not what Lincoln and Lynn did…its mom and dad…they rather jumped the gun instead of talking with them, to rationalize this and to see what could've done about it and deal with it like a family should have…and not what happened, Luna freaking out also didn't help matters…even though dad that we would never abandoned one of our own…they did for those two and we didn't do a goddamn thing about it."

The Comedian buried her face into her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks, sulking as the Goth did.

"We are terrible sisters but we can still do something. We need to get all together…even Luna and Lori"

The Goth placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Even if we wanted to, what do you think that we could do? Lincoln is in a war and we don't know when he will return…and Lynn…do you think that the way I…we've treated her would be solved in a single day?"

"No." Luan conceded her that point. "But it is a start…as for Lincoln…Lisa could pinpoint him and give us some insight of how to contact him."

Lucy nodded no. "She doesn't wants to help anybody but herself…when was the last time she was even home?"

The Comedian smirked. "As you said…I am Miss Surveillance and trust me…I can find dirt on her faster than the FBI can dig out Watergate leaks."

"I like the way you think." The Goth told her approvingly and that was enough Lucy to guffaw in laughter.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Gettings thish samples gits harder and harder…why wouldn't I be provided enough budget for tish?" A bespectacled brunette said, digging through the forest soil with a thick short shovel where a purplish flower resided into a cast of ice, while being ignored by six men wearing long black coats and sunglasses.

A young blonde girl next to her rolled her eyes, slamming her camping tent pole as hard as she could in the soil to no veil. By November the frost was seeping into the State, making outdoors camping more of a hassle that it had to be. Annoyingly she hissed, looking at one of the Secret Service.

"Well?" She asked the nearest man, who tilted an eyebrow off his sunglasses in confusion.

Hissing in annoyance, the 14 years old stood standing next to him with crossed arms.

"Are you gonna be useful? Or you're gonna stand there and look useless Agent Smith."

"My name is n-"

"Dunno, don't care. Make yourself useful." Lana told him extending one of the tent poles as he huffed, taking it into his gloved hands.

"Fine…"He told her, kneeling in the selected spot. Snarling he brought it as far as he could but the pole refused to dig in properly and he tried again and again, his lips twisting in a grimace by every failed attempt, Lana's grin getting bigger and bigger and she was not the only one, with amusement she watched as the stoic agent faces twisted into smiles of amusement.

So they were human after all.

This hadn't been the first time that Lana had taken into camping with Lisa, it seemed to be an out of place relationship, but both seek nature for their own reasons. Lisa because the Royal Wood forest provided her with many samples for her work and Lana because she loved camping out, the fact that their parents couldn't say no because they were completely protected by the US Government…it was a plus.

Finally the first pole went in properly as the agent brushed the sweat off his brow.

"Done." He turned to Lisa who was still struggling with the frost herself. "Do you need any assistance, Miss Loud?"

"Do ash Lana asksh." The young scientist informed him and with a light scowl he turned back to the grinning Lana who had the nine remaining poles.

"Get digging." At that the other agents finally had it, laughing at his misfortune but one by one started helping as Lana started to light up their fireplace, the day finally starting to bleed into the night.

Two separate tents were set up around the camping place, one for the agents and a smaller one for the siblings. Lisa was too busy rummaging through the different vials of the samples collected as Lana hummed a song to herself, brushing her hair. To her annoyance she found a knot that she couldn't do, grunting as she tried again and again to untangle it. Frustrated she hissed throwing the hair brush aside, wanting nothing more than her brother to smoother it and put it into two pig tails like he used to do. With a sigh she looked aside dejectedly, suddenly feeling depressed at the thought, cursing herself to let it linger.

"Do you miss Lincoln?" Lana asked suddenly, those words were enough to give the super genius a pause, twirling fully at her sister.

" I do not have time forsh foolish sentimentalismsh." Lisa told her.

At that, Lana snarled ramming her against her sleeping bag and ramming the zipper home, dispelling the extensions of her short hair that used to cover her uneven hair.

"It isn't that…you jerk. I know that you miss him as much as you do Lis."

"Your hypotesish is flawed and needs tweaking." She told her coolly. Exasperated, Lana completely tore away her glasses which she didn't need so she could look at her directly.

"Look at me in the eye and say that you don't miss Lincoln."

Lisa opened her mouth but no sound came out of it. She sighed, slacking on her cottoned prison, blinking as if the realization that she couldn't hide behind her actions and words hit her.

"We all do." Lisa said with a sigh. "But I didn't knew what to do to help."

The eyes of Lana hardened in fury, pressing her palm against her neck in a threatening manner making the Scientific to let out a gasp of surprise.

"Course you did." Lana hissed. "Lynn asked you to find him in that nasty place…but you didn't. You preferred to hide like a coward."

Lisa closed her eyes, taking a breath that cut like glass.

"And…what wash I shoposshed to do? He wash gone to a private military szchool…we couldn't jush break him out."

The pigtailed teenager pressed at her neck harder.

"You have connections, you could've asked fer it…you could…but you didn't Lis." Lana closed her eyes releasing the neck of the Scientist. "And now that Lynn has been asking you over and over again to be in contact with him whenever he was, you have also denied her…no…denied us the right to know of him…how could you? Where's your humanity? Did you forgot they are family?"

Lisa hummed, her fingers poking from the other end of the sleepingbag and undid the zipper, Lana didn't do anything to stop her.

"Sho don't even know what they did."

"I know I ain't that smart but I know they were in the sack." Lana told her with a brutal honesty that shocked the young scientist. "Don't get me wrong, it's gross and icky, but they weren't hurting anybody and I…I didn't say anything. I don't think that even Blondie knows about it. At this time I'm not even sure who knows the truth."

"Izsh….difficult to comprehend what drove them like that…I was dizsgusted and angry at their immorality. The probabilitiesh weren't in their favor…but still they took the chance and thizh was the resulting product, but I never managed to take my own sadnessh and anger into account…I preferred to not deal with it behind my experimentsh and investigazion and for that I…I am sorry but I do not have the power to just go in and demand his return, he made hish choice and I can't say I do not undershztand it…why would a person that was brushezh ashide would come back?"

Lana sighed, sitting with her legs tugged under her, nodding and hugging herself, not holding it against Lisa anymore.

"We're freaking cowards."

"An accurate asseshsment." Lisa conceded her that point. "But…perhapsh it ish the moment to make amendsh, Lincoln isnt'hs going to be at war forever, he will come back to Camp Lejeune, where hish unit ish'tationated…it would be a start. The key ish if the whole family finally give Lincoln and Lynn the support they crave so we could be a finally be a family once more…especially our parental unitsh."

Lana sighed, drawing her sleeping bag close, looking at the tent wall.

"We don't even know where to begin." She lamented.

Lisa pursued her lips. "Perhapsh not…but Leni does."

The pigtailed teenager turned fully to her, propping her head against her palm.

"Leni?"

"Leave it to Leni." Lisa smiled, the very first genuine smile that the young teenager had seen on her face in a very long time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lincoln awoke from his nap way past the evening hours, cradling his face into his grimy hands as the tent around him billowed with the wind, he was not alone, his crew members were sound asleep, Dunkar was missing, perhaps taking another report to the higher ups.

The memories of the events of the battle had been burned into his memory. No matter the time, no matter what he was doing. The only thing that he could ever see in his dreams was the fluorescent reticle of his gunner sight, aiming at people and buildings. His fingers already were dry and his skin was busted from the many hours of holding his station joysticks, pressing the trigger over and over again. A part of him felt that ever since he entered that house, he gave away a piece of his anger away that he felt against the world and he had to thank Polly Pain, the only part of that type of world that managed to find him here, thousands of miles away from the US of A, expecting that the battle that would rage on as soon as he came back to Royal Woods would be as strong as this one but nevertheless, he wasn't ready to give up.

His mind snapped back to the memories of the complete shock of the crew as he came back full of blood and oh God…the smell of dried gore even made poor Ramirez to hurl. In the end, Dunkar forced their tank to safe ground in order for him to get changed, throwing his body armor on the turret until the only blood stained article on him was his helmet until he managed to clean it whole with wipes but at least the constant odor of the tank was still as disgusting but without the putrid smell of rotten flesh attached to him and they could finally return back to combat, the days were a blur of movement and the bright flashes of ordnance but slowly, the city was starting to cave away to their presence, the insurgents had taken to hide between the remains of houses and lied in wait, without food, shelter or spare ammo.

Lincoln could applaud their tenacity and fanatic fatalism.

He was roused from his stupor as he heard the approaching footsteps scrunching on the sand. Quickly taking his M4 by the barrel he prepared it against his chest just in case aiming straight at the tent entrance, the tales of infiltrators wearing Free Iraqi Army uniforms quickly came to mind. But who came to his tent wasn't the person that he expected, lowering his rife immediately. Polly Pain gasped in surprise throwing her hands in surrender and struggled to breathe in surprise as Lincoln aimed a rifle at her, finally able to breathe once more as soon as he lowered it.

"Jesus Christ Loud, what the fuck is your problem?" She hissed.

"Infiltrators." Swabble said from his sleeping post, drawing a hand against his sweaty face, Ramirez turned around so he could relax. "We had reports of terrorists infiltrating bases with Iraqi military vehicles wearing their uniforms just yesterday. I am surprised you didn't heard it."

Polly sighed. "I've been recording nonstop in Fallujah with my boss. He hadn't wanted to leave the site but I get it…that's how we make our money. But now…I got enough clearance to do something that I've been wanting to do since I came here."

Lincoln and Swabble looked at each other before the tall African American beat him to the punch.

"Get the fuck out?"

Polly snorted with amusement. "I wish, but no…an interview! With you!"

Lincoln blinked. "Me?"

"Not you numbnuts, all of you. See where you come from, the reason to join the Marines, what do you think about the war and so on. The people want to know about our Servicemen and Servicewomen back home. Not just see the visceral battle; I already spoke with your commanding officer and I got the green light." Her face turned serious, tugging at the pink laces of the roller skates around her neck. "And you need to behave."

"Fuck that." Said Ramirez from his sleeping post and they all but the reporter laughed. "I am here for is to kill ragheads with my bros, case closed."

Lincoln rolled his eyes in amusement as Polly tried her best to rationalize his grisly comment.

"Belay that. Dress clean, shave and let's give the TV our purtiest smile, Polly might not be Star and Stripes but if you want to show your face to our country this is the best way. I want you ready at…"He looked at his watch. "1700 hours (5PM), nice and shiny."

"Oorah." Swabble said with a sarcastic smile that made the white haired Corporal to chuckle, sharing the exact sentiment. Ramirez didn't looked at all pleased by the order but nevertheless, he stood up to obey, walking wordlessly to the showers area and Lincoln understood perfectly. The stress of combat, death and bloodfields wasn't something to take lightly but he was certain that they could use the distraction rather than brooding about the battle. With a sigh he turned back to Polly who by now she looked quite unhappy about the sarcasm and unwelcoming comments that the other crew members had expressed.

"I am ready for my close up Mr. Demille." Lincoln cheeky grin brought a snort of laughter from the brunette, slapping his shoulder in good jest and suddenly, the world seemed not that grin for Lincoln anymore.

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It was past 11 o Clock in the morning and still Lynn hadn't woken up from her deep sleep, without the sudden need to wake up and it hadn't been the first time since she slacked down from her early morning riser persona into the laziness that seemed to creep into her every time she visited the household. After light night of talking, movie watching and smacking, the siblings were surprised to see their mother with wet cheeks, Lola trailing behind her. It took an effort from Lynn's part, but all of them managed to hug their mother as she cried in a loving circle of her daughters. It didn't need to be said what haunted her.

Lana and Lisa were deposited soon enough by a completely non suspicious donuts van and soon enough Lucy and Luan, finding the shock the sad display and were soon to join in, but most of all, the Matriarch buried her face on the chest of Lynn as she said sorry and sorry over again. It took the arrival of Lynn Sr. to break the reunion, his cold gaze dissipated as soon as he saw his wife crying face on the daughter he wished he didn't have, coolly pushing her away with his shoulder and carrying her upstairs. Nobody dared to move a muscle to stop them, even if Lynn felt like it was the beginning of something else but immediately, they let go to their own time; she didn't miss the furtive glances that every one of their sisters was given her and to her ever confusion, Lily was observing her with a gaze that made her tremble, it was like watching Lucy at work but she couldn't deny it, this was the beginning where the masks were starting to crack, finding in shock that Lucy seek her out to invite her to watch a movie with the rest, surprised that the Goth had started to talk to her rather than the cold shoulder that she had demonstrated for years…it was odd, but not unwelcome.

Lana was practically straddling her when she woke up, parting her hand from her forehead and sighing as she tried to blink the sleep away.

Downstairs in the basement a secret reunion was taking place.

Leni, Luan, Lisa, Lucy, Lola and Lily sat in a circle, each facing the thin window that faced the street. Soon per Lucy's predictions a dingy old black van pulled adjacent to their street blaring with heavy metal. At the passenger seat Luna exited the vehicle with a laugh, taking off the arm of that disgusting boyfriend of hers snared around her hips, taking her seatbelt with some difficulty. The man with the dirty blonde hair spat off the window, looking at his girlfriend through the rear view mirror as she rummaged through the contents of the van before pulling out her guitar case. She closed the side door and kissed him openly to the disgust of the sisters. Leni quickly put her hand on Lily's eyes so she couldn't bare the disgusting sight and without protest, Lily stayed there and when her gaze was uncovered, Luna was already walking to the house with her guitar strapped to her shoulder.

Lola nodded upwards and Leni and the comedian were quickly to lie in wait with the basement door. Soon the sound of keys jiggling and a lock opening was their signal to pounce. Before Luna could even step in the house, a pair of arms snared around her, her silent screams muffled by the hand that rammed on her face, roughly taking her down the basement, finding her sisters waiting for them. Unceremoniously Leni forced her into the group as Luan placed her guitar propped against the wall and sat down herself.

Finally Leni removed her hand and it was enough to send Luna into an angry frenzy.

"What the hell guys?" She exclaimed with a bewildered look.

"Comfy?" The snark that came from Luan surprised her into silence, her mouth bowing up and down.

"What did I do now?" Luna hissed trying to stand up but to her surprise it was Lucy who forced her down with brutal strength, revealing her amethyst eyes to her and it was enough to paralyze her. It had been a while since she saw her getting serious and she wasn't the only one. Sweet Lily who was always timid in her talks to her looked serious without an ounce of her shyness, looking straight through her and that made her shudder in distaste.

Lola looked at all the assembled members and nodded.

"Well, here we are, at least most of us. I declare this session to start. The first order of the day…rescue our family and get Lincoln and Lynn back."

Luna scowled. "That's funny, I didn't came here to get involved in this idiocy."

"You don't get a said in this matter." Lucy turned to her with anger in her visage. "Whatever you want it or not, you are part of the Loud family and you are part of the problem solving as well. We must do what is right and fix our family, starting with Lincoln and Lynn"

The musician laughed cruelly. "And now you all care?" Everyone jumped as if her words had burned them. "You've shunned Lynn as well. Don't you dare to blame me, I am not the one who…who." Her eyes softened looking at Lily as if she remembered that she was here in the first place.

"Should I acknowledge tshe elephant in tshe room?" Lisa asked.

Luan sighed looking at Lola who had her eyes fully opened, tilting her body towards them and fully attentive.

"Very well." The Comedian closed her eyes, gathering the courage for what she was about to say.

"Don't…" Luna warned her but it was too late to stop now.

"Lincoln and Lynn were…together." Her words carried a meaning that not all understood, locking her gaze with Lola and then with Lily whose eyes were widened. "As Lori and Bobby…or mom and dad."

Horrified, Lola brought her hands to her mouth, the tears flowing freely from her eyes. From her part, Lily was looking aside, her hands fully grasped on her lap as she processed the revelation.

"Most of us knew about it…we found out one way or another, before the incident or…after." The Comedian looked at the scientist who looked away. "But we need to put a stop to this. We need to bring our family together and they are the key."

Luna snorted with laughter, slapping her hands against her mouth, trembling with the hilarity of the situation.

"You…You're, Ha…you're insane if you think that I want to deal with those two freaks ever again. You think that I am just gonna go and hug it out and that's that?"

"You don't have to like Lynn." Leni spoke, with barely controlled anger. "But you need to do it for the family…stop provoking her…stop looking at her as if you wanted to kill her…I've seen you…I do." The blonde's fists scrunched in rage. "I am not that smart…but you always pick a fight with Lynn over the smallest of things…this has to stop…now."

"You don't get to tell me what to do." Luna's voice dropped a few degrees colder.

"Oh…but I do." Lisa smirked with superiority. "Don't shu worry about the band…I have an insightz where are you getting your esxtra money, it would be sadh if the polize learned about who carriesh your instruments from concert to concert….seemsh that Mr. Shea iszh paying you…handsomely."

Cold ice lodged in her stomach, her eyes widening the size of platters.

"How…wh…how…do you know that?"

With confusion, the sisters looked at the confrontation taking place, not understanding the exchange.

"Bad Moon Rising." Was the only thing that Lisa said before Luna stood up suddenly horrified before the strong grip of Leni held her down, Lucy clamping her hand down on her mouth to quieted her screams, her eyes frantically looking for any escape but there was none.

The Scientist stood up to passed around the circle of sisters, her hands firmly clasped behind her back.

"Since this re-affirmshs your cooperation, the plan is quite simple…we will not tell Lynn anything, we will behave, have big lunch with our parentz, which are the catalysth to make this move towards completion. Thish road is'ure treacheroushz but I think we can pull it off. Agreed?"

"Agreed!" The positive screams from her sisters resounded through the basement but Luna. Roughly, Lola smashed her elbow against her stomach, with a hiss she glared back but then sighed.

"Agreed…but don't expect me to lay my neck for any of you when this is done and over." She said standing up, roughly taking her guitar and made her way upstairs, slamming the door close; nobody stopped her. Lola broke down the uncomfortable silence.

"What a bitch." She growled.

Leni gasped wiggling her finger in reprimand.

"There's children here."

"I…I actually agree with that sentiment." The youngest said to the shock of everyone present, shrugging in response.

Luan sighed.

"Well girls, let's get to work."

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A/N: It took a while, but the plans of the girls will hopefully bear the fruits of their labor. Don't get me wrong, I do not hate Luna, she's a fantastic character, but I needed someone who would create animosity and separation between the family and she was the perfect candidate, leading the kind of life she wanted about the rockstar, it seemed to be a perfect fit for her. She is not a villain, but a mere victim of the circumstances surrounding the family. Until the next chapter!

D4rK.