"LOLA, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Lynn wanted to give her what for, while she helped Luna up.
Lana whimpered heavily, being completely worried for the diva. "Sis, no!"
"It seems you chose who takes the beating here. Very well," they said, now circling around Lola.
"Lana- Guys, I'm- I'm really sorry," Lola blurted out. "Whatever happens... I love-" She was jerked into the air, frantically moving her legs. "Lan- Lana!"
"Goodbye."
The diva then took on a dusty form, being blown away into the breeze as she screamed. Lana, Luan and Luna shrieked to the max. "NO, NOT LOLA!" Lynn screeched. The teenager's clothes hit the center along with the specs of dust that stuck to them.
"Lola! Lola!" Lana forced through her breaking voice.
"Please, no!" Luan screamed.
Lynn was lifted into the air, taking a spot right next to Lincoln. "You two are why we're here."
"Lincoln!" Lynn grunted and shook about. "Oh, God!" She succumbed to fear of the unknown that had her and her brother's name written on it. "You're gonna kill us, too!"
The others behind her grew quietly concerned, but did make tiny puppy yelps.
"To kill you would be easy. No, this is worse than death, because it'll always be with you until death." With that having been said, one of the silverheads lifted its hands to both of their heads. "It is time..." It then transported them to a different location.
"L-Linc? Linc!" Lynn was kept afloat high in the air. The silverhead let Lincoln go, and pointed behind itself. "LINC, IT'S OUR HOUSE!"
"This is where everything wrong went. Have you ever thought why what happened happened?"
Lincoln flexed his muscles and looked past the alien. The house was somehow standing, even after they blew it up once and for all. "Who fixed it? What the hell is this?"
"Welcome to your past, Lincoln and Lynn Loud."
"P-past?! What- Past as in our-"
Charles and Cliff galloped their way from behind the house, serving as a hell of a shock to the two. "C-Charles?! Charles!" They greeted Lincoln with warm licks and head brushing. "T-they can see me?!"
"Yes, it is at that. But don't mistake the reason you're here."
"You gonna make me relive some sort of happy memory? That sounds like it, and-" The silverhead snapped, and in that instance, Lincoln found himself in the familiar living room. It was empty, however, and the quiet steadiness told him the young siblings were in their rooms. "What am I doing here?"
"Lynn Loud shall be spectating from outside. She is able to see what I see while you carry out a specific act."
"Carry out- I don't understand..."
The eleven year old Lincoln came down running for a snack. "Hey, Linc! Fetch me a pop-tart, too!" That was the teenage Lynn's voice calling from the hall. This instantly answered when exactly Lincoln was.
"No, no, you didn't- This is it. This is the day of the fire..."
"Yes..."
"And you brought me here to relive it..."
"Not to relive it... A gray lighter formed in its hand, and floated its way to Lincoln. "Set it off, Lincoln Loud."
Lynn was screaming from outside, once piecing together what the silverhead intended Lincoln to do. "NO, DON'T DO IT! LINCOLN, DON'T!"
Lincoln held and stared at the lighter, and was then no longer lost by what he had to do. His eyes widened with shock and horror. "No, this isn't real- I can't do this."
"That is unfortunate for you, for what's at stake is quick annihilation, and failure to set off events that had already happened will cause a new rip in the timestream. Are you sure you wanna break the rules again?"
He stammered about, actually shaking the lighter. "I-it was me, wasn't it? This me?!"
"If only it were easy to avoid this so none of this can happen, but it is all fated. And this is your punishment, too. You've earned this, Lincoln Loud."
"LINCOLN!" Everything was completely surreal to the sporty sister, there was no way this was really happening. Unlike the simulation, the familiar negative adrenaline rushed through her, the same one she had only felt only a few times before. "DON'T!"
Once, they survived the terrible tragedy, and that was different. Sure, maybe some of the siblings wanted to know how and why it happened, when they were going on about it logically, and not godly.
Lincoln sparked up the lighter. "This... Of all the things I've ever done..."
"The term here would be... Poetic. The very thing that haunts you the most, was meant to be played by your hand, all along. Go on, drop it, and let the kingdom fall."
"M-mom... Dad..." Lincoln's voice went unsteady, whole body shaking with such tense. "N-n-n... Lily..."
"Just let it go, Lincoln, like you should have let your anger go from the beginning."
"I- No, I can't do this!"
"Oh, but you can."
The white haired man with the atrocious dilemma fell to his knees. "Anything. I'll do anything but that. P-please have mercy!"
"LINCOLN, DON'T!" Lynn's screaming was aching her throat, so she stopped there. Don't drop it, please.
"L-Lynn... I- I dd this already... I dropped this already..."
"Yes, you have."
"Lynn, I'm s-s-"
"LINCOLN FUCKING LOUD, YOU LISTEN TO ME!"
"S-s-sorry..." Lincoln walked to the curtains... "I'm so s-sorry..."
He didn't expect to see Lily there in the fast food place, while he was on his trip with Clyde back to one of his safehouses. She grew up to be big and strong, but wasn't in his level. She was ecstatic to see him; someone else other than Luan, who kept things from Lily, to call a sibling.
His rage, hatred of everything that was had blinded him, and he recklessly had placed too many of his sisters in mortal danger countless times. Even Lily was caught in an explosion, acting to save her brother who she didn't want to lose as fast has he came back to her.
Leni died on them twice, something that Lincoln held himself accountable for. Lucy, Lori, and now Lola have ended up dying. Them, and who else? Did he fail? Was everything his fault, in a sense?
Even if it wasn't, it sure as hell was now. The curtains were set ablaze, and Lincoln dropped the lighter. "Forgive me..."
The ghosts of Lori, Leni, Lola and their parents might as well have been breathing down his neck and berating him via cold chills right about now.
"NOOOO!" Lynn was lowered back to the ground, crying harshly. "LINC!"
He and the silverhead watched the fire begin to consume its way to the entire house. "No..."
"It's time to head back now..."
Luna and Luan tended to the clones, who have been let out of their paralysis. All but Lupa and Linka were huddled, mourning away for Lola. Luna had picked up the diva's clothes and folded them like it was fresh laundry. One by one, they all placed a hand over the clothes to pay their respects.
Lacy and Liby egged Lupa to pay them herself when Lynn and Lincoln dropped back down to the desert.
"Guys!" Luan and Luna made their leap of joy at the two. "You're alive!"
Lincoln's eyes ascended to a lifeless level, only seeing right through Luna. "Linc?"
Lynn curled herself into a ball and slammed her hands onto the sand. "Fff... Ffff..." Her speaking attempts were futile, mere gibberish through her stutters. "Luhh..."
"What happens from here on out will be your own journey, Lincoln Loud. As for you, Lynn Loud..." The silverhead held a glowing green ball in its hand. "You shall have the dead speedster's gift, which for you shall be a curse. This will replace your current abilities as well."
"Uhhh... God..." The green object disintegrated into a misty form, blowing over to Lynn's face.
"All the debts have been paid, Loud family. Until we meet again..." The way they left wasn't how they came; they became transparent until none of the silverheads were visible.
"Lynn? Lynn, what happened? Lynn?"
Lincoln let gravity put him down on his back, unable to accept the most horrifying thing he had ever done. "Linc?" Luan leaned forward, but Lynn turned back up to deny her.
"No, don't. Let him- Let him be..." Lynn then tugged Luna's arm, moving them away from Lincoln. "We'll... We'll talk at home. I'll..." She sniffed lightly, "I'll fill you all in, okay? Just... Give me time."
"Dude?" Lynn's tears told the others she and Lincoln had witnessed or done something traumatizing. It was Lincoln's expression that made them realize it was very, very deep. "What happened?"
"Please, let's just-" Lynn stumbled up to Lana. "I don't wanna be here anymore..."
Luna faced the wreckage of the unnamed city that had just been destroyed. "I can't hear anything. No heartbeats, nothing..."
"Are we going to leave it like that?" Luan asked.
"We have no choice. NASA's probably gonna pick up on it soon, and we'd best leave before they do. Let's just hope they don't get wise or jump to conclusions..." He shrugged, shaking his head. "Help me up..."
Linka and Lupa moved to Lincoln's side, giving off glum-like looks down at him. "Did you kill kids or something? Or did they make you blow up-"
"Shut the fuck up, Lupa!" Linka punched the goth right in the stomach.
"Agh! You hit hard, girlie," Lupa laughed.
"Lincoln, what'd ya see?" Linka waved a hand over his face. "It's that bad, isn't it?"
"Didn't think Lola would give herself up like that," Lupa noted. "Poor Lana."
"Poor us, boo-hoo. We can't fucking get a break," Linka hissed. "Well, I think we're done here."
They all left the hot area with no rush. Lana was no longer worried about getting sick anymore, so she took them all back home. It turned out they were in a Nevada area, and the city that somehow ended up there was Hong Kong.
All the news stations were covering it, while the same question on the event was frequently asked; How does a city end up halfway around a world? All but Lupa, Linka and Lincoln were stuck in the news, hoping nothing could get pinned to them, or in the least, the phenos.
"Not us, we've gone unnoticed for months," Luna exclaimed. "We haven't been active at all, so we should be in the clear. Still, we should be in hiding nonetheless."
Lana fell asleep teary-eyed in Luna's arms. Liby and Lacy took young Lucky away to sleep when Lynn was ready to share what she had seen. As much as she didn't want to recap it, it had to be shared to everyone. She waited until everyone who planned to listen had taken a seat around.
In Lynn's room, Lincoln and the white-haired girls were taking up the only bed in the room. "You ready to talk?"
"It's not gonna do anything. What's done is done..."
Linka cracked her knuckles. "Yeah, but what was it? What did you do? What'd they make you do?"
"How about a smoke?" Lupa offered. "I think congratulations are in order, cause the twins saved the world."
"No... No smoke this time." Lincoln placed a hand on his head."Ugh, fucking hell... The fire... I-"
"Fire? What about the-" Lupa was tugged by her sweater right to Lincoln's face. He whispered onto her something dreaded that made her skin go further pale. Her mouth gaped open, surprised at what she learned. "No, they didn't!"
"They f-fucking did... I had no choice..."
"That's fucking bullshit!" Lupa immediately rushed out for a smoke, slamming the door violently behind her.
"What, Lincoln? Let it out!" Linka crossed her arms, expecting to be told.
"No, Linka. You don't deserve to know..."
"Hmmm, I can take it, you know!" Linka grew a little hostile, eager to force it out of him. "You still look at me like-"
"LINKA, YOU'RE STILL A KID! DON'T THINK YOU CAN SKIP THE CHILDHOOD YEARS YOU HAVE LEFT! I WANTED-" Lincoln let his fists fly into the wall behind him, making a few cracks. He calmed a little, enough to lower his shouting voice. "I did wrong, didn't I? I did wrong with you..."
"Don't- Don't go there..."
"Linka-" He grabbed her hand, puling her closer. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry you've had to be a witness and victim to our many dangers. I've... I've never told you-"
"Lincoln- D- F..."
"You remind me so much of who I once was. You remind me what it's like to be-"
"Lincoln, I swear to fucking God."
"-To be myself, before all the bad shit."
"Linc..." Linka had been emotionally penetrated. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"M-m-my Bun-Bun." The next thing they knew, Linka was cradled onto him, crying on his chest. He held her tightly, not thinking about letting go. "I love you," he said silently.
After years of finally barricading himself with layers of thick metal walls, they had finally come down. Underneath that angry, violent personality was a scarred little boy who wanted to have his family back, and would have traded whatever he was able to milk out of life for it.
There it was now. Not as a full deal, but he had to accept it. He had to accept what he had now, and not try to regain it completely. It was his mission to rescue Linka and Lucy from their first demise, but it only half worked. As for the innocent, sweet Leni, he failed her, and there was no apologizing to her.
Grasp. He had to grasp what there was now, and not lose it. It was time to settle now. Settle for a new life. A new life with him and the remainder of the Loud family. No more dying, no more tears. No more. It was time to head into the light. The light at the end of the tunnel.
AN: Freaking phew. All's well that ends well, am I right? Jk.
Happy thanksgiving!
Okay, yeah, poor Lana, now being no longer a twin. RIP Lola Loud. Yes, Lincoln is the one who started the fire in the first place. Surprise, surprise. I know it's a gruesome thing he had done and will live with. So, yeah its safe to say its shared among mostly everyone. I almost want to apologize for making it happen but, my god, was this a hell of a turn. Now you know where Lynn gets her speed abilities from.
Okay, so now that this has successfully concluded, we move on to the final arc, and I'm aiming for the ending, despite all the many cruel acts bestowed upon the Louds, to be beautifully sad.
December, my peeps.
Epilogue;
"Of course, where I'm from, I didn't deal with a speedster doppelganger, or any, for that matter. Pass me that Medi-Sin vial you've got." Liberty was holding a metallic capsule in her hand, open for a forming contingency plan.
"Here you are," DEREK whirred and clanked when handing a green colored vial to her. "What is it you're planning to do with this? I do believe you already stated we can eliminate the Loud family as we have been briefed."
"Oh, yeah, we've got this. I know where they are, and where they're going to be. But..." The last day she saw her brothers again was the day she was sent to this earth to relive her trauma, which rendered her insane in due time. Yes, this very well could happen to the Louds of this world, meaning Liberty and company could actually end up failing. "There's a very small chance we won't win. So this-" She filled up the capsule with the green chemical, and closed it. "This is going to guarantee success. But this takes time to dissolve. I'd say months, but thank God for Compound C, right, scrap metal?"
"And what are you going to do with that?"
The maniacal Liberty Loud gave a dark, but triumphant smile, already knowing where and to whom she'd place it into; Lincoln Loud. And her opportunity came when she toyed with him the day they moved forward with their plan.