"Cherry?...Cherry."
Cherry said nothing.
"Come on. Can't you at least talk to me?"
Cherry looks Greg's way for a slight moment before looking away again...
"You know that I'm always gonna be there for you, Cherry.", Greg said. "I have your back and you have mine. You know that."
"...You could've stopped me. You could've stopped all of it.", Cherry finally said.
"That was just poor timing, I know that.", Greg confessed. "Please understand, it was nothing personal. Cherry, please. Just look st me for a second."
She did just that...then looked away again...
Greg then sighed, saying, "We've been dealing with our own demons for a while now-"
"One year and 182 days, to be exact.", mentioned Cherry.
"Then you know that's how long we've been together.", Greg explained. "I'm not gonna leave you, not after all this."
Hearing all this made Cherry finally decide to look his way without turning back again. She could see Greg holding her hand...
"We're gonna get through this. No matter what we deal with, we having each other.", Greg said. "I'll be there for you."
All that he said had put a smile on her face. It was a good memory...one she was...literally stabbing into. Cherry had impaled a picture of Greg with Naginata before beginning to cry her eyes out. She was torn between anger and sadness..
"Be there for me, huh? I'm all alone now...There's no one who can help me now...Except him."
Looking over at a picture of Lincoln, she wipes her eyes and grabs her Naginata again...
"He...might be my last chance for comfort. My only hope left...I will find him...He'll be mine."
Turning over to where Parvana and Lincoln are, they were walking down the sidewalk after spending sometime together. Lincoln helped out Parvana with sewing her hijabs, and then they watched a little bit of "Dream Boat", debating on who Karen is gonna go with to be her 'First Mate'...
Lincoln:"My sisters always argue on who Karen is gonna be with."
Parvana:"Well, personally, I think Brock would be a great choice for her."
Lincoln:"Seriously?"
Parvana:"Would you pick any of the other boys?"
Lincoln:"Well, maybe. There's...yeah, I'm going with Brock."
Parvana:"(giggles) I thought so. Also, I'd like to thank you for your help."
Lincoln:"What? You mean your hijabs? It was nothing, really."
Parvana:"You did excellent work on them. I didn't know you can sew so beautifully."
Lincoln:"Hanging around Leni had its benefits."
Parvana:"It sure did."
As they continued to walk, they were heading towards the club, where a few of their friends were waiting. Heading inside, they saw Carol, Sam, Mazzy, Sully and some guy in a brown hoodie standing by the buffet. Carol comes over to come an great them...
"Hey, you two!", Carol said to them. "How was it being with Parvana, Lincoln?"
Lincoln:"It was calming. I helped her out a little with her hijabs and we watched a little of Dream Boat."
"That's nice.", Carol said. "I think Bryant might be the guy for Karen."
"Oh, please.", Parvana said unexpectedly. "Brock is far more considerable."
"To each their own.", Carol replied."
Parvana nodded in agreement as then, Chaz and Shannon began to show up. As before, Chaz got stuck through the door, and Shannon, looking like she's had enough, manages to blast him through with one kick. They were both looking peeved at each other...
"I'm never staying with you again!", yelled out Chaz.
"Promise?!", replied Shannon said in frustration.
Carol asked them, "What's going with you two?"
Shannon replied, "Oh, it's just this giant sack of rancid pudding over here, being the most inconsiderate person I've ever met!"
"Hey, I treated you fairly, didn't I?!", Chaz asked her.
"Fair?!", Shannon asked back. "How is cleaning out my fridge with your bottomless stomach fair, hippo?!"
"Hey, hey, hey!", Parvana interfered. "Calm down for a second, Shannon. Was living with Chaz really that bad?"
Shannon replied, "I envy you, Parvana. You got the easy job looking after Lincoln, while Carol suggested me looking after a 300 pound pushover."
"Hey, don't turn this towards me!", Carol shouted. "How is it even my-? ...Okay, nevermind."
Lincoln then asked, "How'd you guys even start fighting?"
"Well, it started yesterday...", Shannon began to explain.
Shannon was at her dining room table, on her computer, when Chaz came barging in with a huge load of food, having a mixture of meat, sugars and fats in it, enough to fill a fridge, some cooked, some not. He lays all the food done on the table, making it a giant, sloppy, mess which he licked his lips at...
"Chaz, what the heck?!", yelled Shannon."
Chaz replied, "What? I was hungry!"
"Uh-huh, sure you were!", Shannon said sarcastically. "Wait...is all this from my fridge?!"
"Yep.", Chaz said as began to dig in. "You said it needed to be cleaned out."
Shannon told him, "That's because some of the food may have been spoiled by now!"
Chaz shrugged as he continued to eat semi-frozen food.
"All of this is what my fridge mostly has!", Shannon cried out. "What the heck am I gonna eat?!"
Chaz replied, "I left you the fruits and vegetables in there."
"Of course you did. That would've been the only two things you left out.", remarked Shannon.
"What's that supposed to mean?", asked Chaz."
"You know exactly what that's supposed to mean, Chaz!", yelled Shannon. "When I allowed you to stay here, I was kinda hoping for a little more respe-"
Before she could finish, Chaz shoved his fat finger in her face, waving it "no" as he continued to stuff his face. But Shannon didn't like that, pushing Chaz's finger away, letting her face turn bright red until she tackles Chaz, and begins to beat him off-screen. After five minutes, everything calmed down and the two of them were sitting on the floor, covered in what's left of the food. Taking some heavy breathes, Shannon felt like her old self again and saw Chaz on the ground with her, looking pretty beaten...
"Ouch.", said Shannon, sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Chaz."
"It's okay.", Chaz replied, painfully. "If I had known taking all the food would make you do that, I would've waited a little longer and respected your boundaries."
"Yeah, well...you should've thought about that earlier.", Shannon remarked, as she helped Chaz up.
As she lifted a beaten Chaz to his feet, he then noticed something outside in Shannon's back yard...
Her asked her, "Hey, what's that?"
Heading outside, they see that it's a tree house that looks like it's seen better days. But, other than that, it seemed to be in a functional condition.
"Oh, that's just my brother's old tree house.", Shannon answered. "He kept his collection of action figures in there."
"You never told me you had a brother.", said Chaz.
"I don't talk about him too much.", replied Shannon. "We used to play in there all the time and he always liked how curly and long usually my hair is."
Chaz then asked, "Where is he now?"
"Boarding school.", Shannon replied.
"Oh. Well, it's nice of you to talk about your brother like that. ", said Chaz. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna have a look inside."
Shannon soon told him, "Chaz, no. I don't think that's a good id-"
But, before she could finish, Chaz was already trying to force his way inside through the door and, by no surprise at all, he gets himself stuck...
"Uh...Shannon?", he calls out.
Facepalming at this, Shannon groaned as she was already ahead of him, beginning to push him through with her arm and shoulder...
"This is what happens when you eat way too much, Chaz!". Shannon yelled out!
"I can't help it!", replied Chaz. "I got cravings!"
Shannon then said, "That's no excuse to at least try and stop gaining weight!"
"It's just who I am!", yelled Chaz.
"Well, maybe it's time for that change!", scream Shannon.
Chaz asked her, "How?!"
Beginning to use her back, Shannon roared, "START. WORKING. OUT!"
"And after I de-wedged him from the door, I told him about personal space and that how he shouldn't be doing stupid stuff like that."
"Wow. That must've been a pretty small door.", Parvana said.
Shannon replied, "Oh, it was. like just only over 2 feet tall."
"Then how is it that you two are angry at each other now?", asked Lincoln.
"Because, before we got here, he tried going back inside the tree house and he ended BREAKING DOWN THE DOOR!", answered Shannon furiously.
Overhearing that, Chaz walks away from the buffet table with a handful of food and a grumpy look on his face...
"So, do you really have a brother?", asked Carlota.
"I do.", replied Shannon, bringing out her phone and showing a picture of herself, hugging and kissing her little brother on the cheek, who wore an orange sweater, glasses, had light brown hair and grey cargo shorts, and he looked to have been 6 years old in the picture. He also seemed to be a little on the pudgy side himself...
"He also liked to have eaten a little.", explained Shannon. "But definitely not as much as Chaz, and we still loved him no matter what."
Everyone felt touched after hearing that...
Lincoln then asked, "What's his name anyway?"
"Trevor.", answered Shannon. "And as I said, he always liked my hair for how long and curly it is. Like one time..."
One time, Shannon was sitting on the floor, reading on of her favorite plays when she felt a little bit of force right behind her. Turning around, she found her brother sleeping on her hair. She was so overjoyed that she began to cuddle her little brother as he slept...
"Awww!", everybody went.
Shannon replied, "Yeah, and like another time."
Another time, Shannon's brother was making a sandwich. And when she showed up and leaned on the table, right in front of the sandwich. The moment she felt the bun get put down, her brother had already taken a bite...
"Eewww.", everybody said, feeling disgusted.
Shannon laughed a little a their reaction.
"So, anyway, we need to start moving quickly. Lincoln's sisters now know where to find him.", said Carol.
"They do?", asked Lincoln, sounding surprised."
"Yeah, Carol told them.", Mazzy said. "She said they forced the truth out of her."
"Well, way to throw me under that bus, Mazzy.", Carol remarked. "But, believe me, Lincoln. We couldn't keep it a secret anymore. Not with they danger you are in."
Lincoln then asked. "What do you mean 'danger'?"
"You still haven't told him?", asked Sam.
"Better now than never.", Carlota said.
"Fine.", said Carol. "But this is gonna be a lot to comprehend."
As they told Lincoln everything, the guy in the grey hoodie couldn't help but turn his head over to him whenever he heard something that caught his attention. When it was all said and done, Lincoln was left speechless...
"Lincoln?", said Parvana.
Carol said to her, "Give him a minute. It's a lot to take in, knowing that you're being hunted down.
"I...I just can't believe this.", Lincoln finally said. "All this is so that you guys can protect me from some crazy Cherry girl?"
"Yep.", said Carol.
"Pretty much.", said Mazzy.
"We're not proud of it.", said Carlota.
"All we must do now is make sure that Lincoln is kept safe until Cherry has been apprehended.", said Shannon.
"Cherry? As in Cherry Willis?"
Everyone turned to the guy in the brown, who looked like he hasn't slept too good in a while...
"Yeah.", said Carol. "Why? Do you know about her too?"
"Oh, I very much do.", said the guy, almost creepily.
Carol then asked, "Where have I heard that voice before?"
"Cherry used to be an old friend of mine.", the guy said. "But I failed her. And now she's lost herself."
"What's you name?", asked Lincoln.
"Greg?", said Carol, having everyone turn their heads towards her. "Greg Jones?"
"...Hello, Carol.", said Greg. "I guess I got some explaining to do, don't I?"
Carlota replied, "Yeah, you kinda do. What exactly is going on here?"
"Very well.", said Greg. "I'll explain everything..."
"Me and Cherry were two of the kinds of people who were on the brink of losing their sanity. I felt like I was gonna burst into a spiraling depression, but Cherry...she was different. There was a rage building up inside her. She had a very violent nature..."
Memories of Cherry's streak of violence and anger started entering Greg's mind. Everything he saw seemed to be worse than the last. Even the girls began to remember how Cherry took a snake by the neck and ripped off it's head with her bare hands, then stomped on its head to it looked like an empty green sausage. Then there was the time she almost pushed another kid, someone she really hated for picking on her friends, off the roof of a school...then there was the time she set the school courtyard on fired. Back then, they excepted that she really was a psychopath and there was no point in them helping her...Greg didn't think the same though...
"I was the only one who was there for her. 'The only one who was nice to me.', she said while she beat a guy half to death in front of me. I never left her side...I lover her too much, as family, to ever leave her...But then I failed. I did everything, everything I could in my power to keep her safe, to her demons locked up, to make sure she wasn't lost...she snapped at me."
The last memory of Cherry that Greg was her picking her by the collar, let her anger out on him until they heard what sounded like a knife being drawn...
"Give me all your money.", said a crook, who wasn't prepared for what he got himself into. Cherry was killed a man right there, taking his knife and leaving her friend scarred for life...
"At that moment...I realized that everything that Cherry was before...had now faded...into a memory."
Everyone was just about speechless after hearing that. They were beginning to shed tears, now knowing the truth about Cherry and Greg's past; a truly sad story indeed...
"That's such a sad story.", said Carol, wiping tears from her eyes.
Lincoln grabbed a tissue, saying, "I was not expecting that. So sad."
"I can't believe you had to go through all that.", Shannon said, feeling bad for Greg.
"Me neither.", Carol said, fighting back the tears in her eyes...
Greg, looking at Carlota, had then replied, "...I see Carlota has put on a little weight since I last saw her."
And at that moment, the empathy she felt for Greg was gone, as everyone then turned their attention over to her, now beginning to hold in some laughter. As she turned red, she looked over to Greg, who was looking like he was smirking...
"Don't change the subject.", she said while grinding her teeth.
"Just saying.", Greg remarked.
Meanwhile, Chaz was next to the door, eating a piece of vanilla cake with strawberry frosting, when he turned his attention towards the door and his eyes went wide as he saw Vanzilla right outside the club...
"Hey! The Louds are here! They're right outside!", Chaz said with cake in his mouth.
"What?!", yelled Lincoln and Carol.
But then, Carol then asked him, "Wait, where did you get that cake?"
"Um...", said Chaz, feeling sheepish.
She then yelled out, "We were saving that for later!"
"Forget about the cake!", Shannon interrupted. "We need to get Lincoln out of here before the Louds see him!"
"Right.", agreed Carol. "There's another exit we can use. Shannon, Carlota, Sully, I leave it up to you three to get Lincoln out of here!"
With that said, the four of them head upstairs to use the emergency exit Carol was talking about. The only way upstairs was up a latter, which the teen allowed Lincoln to go first, then Sully, then Carlota, who was a little slower than the others, and Shannon complained about it...
"Can you be any slower, Carlota?", Shannon asked her.
Carlota replied, "Would you relax? We still have some time."
"Actually, no we don't!", Shannon yelled out. "Now move it!"
Then, out of some leftover anger, Shannon begins to shove Carlota up the latter with some force. By the time they were on the second floor, the two glared at each other as Carlota rubbed at her backside, while Lincoln and Sully watch awkwardly...
"You know, I'd kinda pat to watch this.", said Sully.
"Oh, shut up!", yelled Carlota.
Meanwhile, Ronnie Anne, Lori, Luna, Leni and Lana have already barged in, looking not at all happy as everyone now had a nervous smile on their face...
Carol started of by going, "Heeeeeyy..."
"Where's Lincoln?", Lori soon demanded.
"Lincoln?", said Parvana. "We haven't seen him around here."
"Don't play dumb with us!", said Ronnie Anne.
"We've been searching for Lincoln all-around Royal Woods.", Leni said. "And then we find out that you guys have been hiding him from us! Why?"
"We were trying to protect him!", Carol tried to explain.
Back to where Lincoln's group was at, they were busy trying to find the way out of here. But then Shannon noticed the windows at the end of the room...
"Hey, what about through the window?", she asked.
"That...could work.", Sully replied.
Lincoln then asked, "Is it safe?"
"I'm sure it is.", said Carlota. "It would lead outside. Plus, we're running low on options."
"I'll go first to see if it's safe.", said Sully, heading for the window. The opening was now higher than Lincoln's chin, providing only a bit of room to climb through. As Sully made it through, he now found himself on a platform on the other side...
"Okay, guys. It's safe out here.", he told them.
"I'll go next.", Shannon said.
After Shannon goes through the window, next was Carlota, but there was bit of a problem. She got stuck through the window, due to her waist. Lincoln didn't realize she was stuck as he run towards the window and accidentally bumped into her butt.
"Ow!", Carlota said.
Lincoln replied, "Sorry about that."
Everyone just couldn't believe
"Unbelievable.", said Lincoln.
"Are you kidding me right now?, Shannon said angrily. "Even you, Carlota?"
"I'm sorry!", Carlota said. "I swear, this has never happened to me before."
Sighing at the predicament, Lincoln looks out the window, and could see what was happening back downstairs as his sisters were already inside the club, questioning the others. Growing to be in a state of panic, Lincoln saw no other option but push Carlota through the window...even if that meant touching her butt with his hands...
"Eep!", Carlota went.
"Try to pull her through.", Sully said, as the two grab her arms and begin to try to pull her out of the window.
"The size of my hips always cause problems for me, but nothing ever like this!", Carlota explained to them.
"Is that why you never wear pants?", Shannon asked her.
"Sort of.", Carlota answered.
Back downstairs, the Louds could swear they were hearing some strange noise coming from somewhere above them. Thinking fast so that they wouldn't get on their trail, Carol soon changed the subject...
"You know, it doesn't even matter if you're looking for Lincoln here. 'Cause he's already gone."
"Really?", asked Leni
"Yeah. He left...about an hour ago.", Parvana said.
"Then what's that sound we keep hearing?", Lori asked them.
Carol answered, "It's just the windows. The can be a little squeaky sometimes."
"Right.", Lana said specifically.
"Our point is that you're not gonna find Lincoln anywhere here right now.", said Carol.
Lori replied, "You got some nerve keeping my own brother from me."
"Trust me, Lori. You will see him again soon, I swear.", Carol explained. "For now, it's best if he stays away for now. You'll appreciate this someday."
With that said, Lori glares at Carol, who stands her ground as the whole club grows silent...
"...We'll be back.", Lori said, almost growling.
And so, the Louds and Ronnie Anne leave the club, giving the group a chance to feel relieved after having to deal with that...
Carol had said, "That was a close one."
"Indeed.", Parvana agreed. "You think Lincoln's group may have left by now?"
"I'll go check right now.", Carol said.
Back to Lincoln's group, they still couldn't get Carlota free from the window, now catching their breath from all that pushing...
"This isn't going well.", Sully exhaustively said.
"Really?!", Carlota yelled out.
"Lincoln? How are you doing back there?", Shannon asked the boy on the other side.
"I'm good. Just hold on, I got an idea."
From what they saw, Lincoln was starting to back up a few feet. Carlota was left confused but the other two had a pretty good idea what he was gonna do...
Carlota asked, "Um, what is he planning?"
"Oh, I have a pretty good idea what he's gonna do.", said Sully.
"You might want to brace yourself.", said Shannon.
"For what?", Carlota asked.
Without warning, Lincoln began to charge at Carlota's behind, then leap with both hands straight ahead. Soon enough, Carlota felt some pressure beginning to blast her through, popping her through the window and making her fall to the surface of the platform.
"Ow."
"You okay, Carlota?", asked Sully.
"Yeah, I just had the time of my life!", Carlota yelled sarcastically.
"Maybe, we should find another escape route next time.", Shannon suggested.
"Or maybe, let there not be a next time.", Carlota said angrily.
"Sorry about that.", Lincoln said as he crawled to the other side.
Soon enough, Carol showed up and checked up on the three, who were already on the other side.
"You guys okay?", she asked them.
"Yeah, we're all good now.", Sully answered. "We'll be heading down now."
"Okay, but be careful.", Carol explained. "Lincoln's sisters may have left already, but keep a look out in case you-know-who's around."
"I think it'd be best if someone watches over Lincoln again.", Shannon said. "I'd be willing to do it. Hopefully, it'll be easier than taking care of Chaz."
"Heh. Don't worry, it probably will be.", said Lincoln, feeling touched as he surprises Shannon with a hug.
"Alright. Good luck, you guys.", Carol said as she heads back down.
And so, the team heads down a flight of stairs and heads towards the woods. As they move on, something else is on Shannon's mind...
"Um, Carlota? Does your waist really get in the way so much?"
"...I'm not even gonna answer that.", Carlota said, sounding almost annoyed.
Lincoln then said to Shannon, "I hope to have a good time with Shannon."
"And with you as well.", Shannon replied. "With any luck, my brother might come back from boarding school this weekend."
And with that, they all head into the woods. But they were not alone, as not far from where they were, someone was stalking, breathing heavily and gripping a weapon tightly in their hands...