December 7th, 2026 - Undisclosed Location
"It's skeptical to me. I do believe you know the whereabouts of Lincoln. From what we've gathered so far, he's not himself. Is that right?"
Lynn opened the cup she formed with her hands, and then closed them shut. "Yeah, that's what I'm saying. There's a cure for it. I don't know- Look, I don't know where it is, but it exists. Please, he's not the monster you see him as-"
"We have a stack of paperwork that says differently. We're aware of his past actions for over the past five years. We know of his Freight activities, and what came after. For the sake of the people, you must give us his location."
"Well..."
December 4th, 2026
"HCK!" Luna made the wrong move, dodging what she thought was a punch, diving underneath. Lincoln opened his fist, grabbing Luna's throat and squeezed mercilessly. "Lihhhh..." The end of her tail dove up to strike him in the chin, the desperate counterattack that might've just saved her life.
He made a kick as he tumbled backwards from Luna's hit, knocking her off balance. They both fell, leaving Lynn to act. "LINCOLN, STOP!"
The rogue brother just growled violently at them, as Lynn pulled Luna back up. "K... K..."
Luan and Lana interrupted the group of its fun acitivites, pointing down. "Guys, it's Lincoln! He's not well!"
The clones were the first of the bunch to head out immediately. Lily also followed, but was stopped by Luan. "You stay here with him, okay? It's more safe here."
Lily nodded, remaining put with the kid.
Lupa and Linka dropped to the developing fight, circling around Lincoln. "Hell's going on? What are you doing, Linc?"
Liby and Lacy peered through the window, observing from the safe spot.
"Be careful, you two!" Lynn warned.
Lincoln glanced behind, still carrying on the savage will to fight. However, upon seeing Linka, his angry expression reversed. "L... Luhh..." He fell on one knee, holding out a hand to Linka.
"Huh?" She, as were the others, grew suspiciously confused at this.
"Go on, Linka. I'll cover you." Lupa moved carefully behind Linka, ready to attack him if he were to try anything.
Linka wasn't even considering to make a move if he lunged at her by surprise. She assumed she was safe from him, noticing his tranquility spike up when he eyed her. Good for them, because it meant he was still in there, somewhere past the Medi-Sin.
"Linc," the clone whispered, gradually making the steady paces towards him. "What happened, Linc? T- Talk to me... Talk to Bun-Bun..."
He was drooling from the corner of his lip, now looking like he was about to doze off. "Lihhh... Buhhhn-" He snorted and coughed, and then followed her lead. Linka stopped halfway, letting Lincoln stumble the rest of the way to reach her.
Lupa's arms were both raised behind Linka, and Lynn and Luna were silently tiptoeing their way behind Lincoln.
"Kahhh..." Whatever the list of side effects to this serum was, it was clear as daylight that the loss of intelligence was one of them. But the memories didn't seem to have been wiped at all. It seemed he was being calmed by the clone. "Lihnkuh!"
"Yeah, yeah, easy, Lincoln- Erm, father..." The right term to call to him wasn't fully clear anymore. Not long ago, she completely reverted and just called him by his name. Of course, her innocence was retained, but was still calling him Lincoln. Maybe she had to acknowledge what wasn't really. "Dad..."
She'd know it wasn't really like that, but there was no one to call a father. Him, he was the closest thing. What was never clear was that Lori was a mother figure, who gave Lincoln the mantle of daddy. Sure, he wasn't the best figure in the world, but she was still alive. And she did love him as much as she did with herself. She loved him, and she needed him, as much as he did her.
She wrapped herself around him, rubbing her head against him like a cat would with its owner. "I'm here, dad. Sit..." She pulled him to the porch, with Lupa still keeping herself out of view behind Linka.
She moved around them, joining up with the other two. "What's the plan?"
Luna gulped, "We just knock him out. Or, we'll try, I guess, and hope we get lucky. We'll think of what do to afterwards..."
The three of them moved quickly behind him. Linka was unaware of their strategy, taking her time moving him down. "We won't hurt you, Linc. We just need to know how to fix-" She looked into his eyes, a somewhat scary sight to behold. In his eyes, were mere white fillings, save for some red veins still visible around.
Lincoln carelessly let himself down, as did Linka. She had both of her hands occupying his own, further pushing back the inner hostility he had just been experiencing moments ago. The three girls still advanced, still on the defensive. Linka shook her head at them.
"No, no. Stand down, move out of sight," she instructed, as if she truly knew what and how Lincoln was thinking. No, it was almost like it. Luna was the one who received the bad end of Lincoln's attacks as of yet. Maybe it was actually all based on their current relations.
"Luna, move away! Lupa, Lynn, don't worry a thing!" Linka was stroking Lincoln's head, while Luna scattered to the side.
"Is he really still mad at her? Is that why he attacked her?" Lupa lowered her arms, putting her secret trust in Linka. "Then, if whatever is amped in his system is re-igniting his anger-"
"-Then he'll want to kill not only Luna, but-" Lynn then gasped at what it truly meant. "Stop him!"
Lupa yanked him out from Linka's arms, making them both cry out in anger.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" Linka got up, fuming.
"I really hate to do this! Ugh, set him down!" Lynn turned and sped away.
Lupa made the white-haired beast crash hard into the ground. "He's gonna hate us all, isn't he? I'm almost sorry for this, Linc..."
The monster within him had wasted no time in getting back up. Before he even let out his battle cry, Lynn's fist had shut his yapper, and the punch did beyond its work, sending him right through the left side of her house. "Damn you, Linc!"
The spectators had moved out of the way just in time. Lacy and Lana joined the fighters, while the remaining ones stayed put inside. Lily thought it safer to stick around them, and with Lucky did she race to the safety of Lynn and Lupa, which made Liby and Luan finally join up.
"What the hell? We don't need this!" Lynn looked around, relieved that the street was empty. But it wouldn't be for long. "We... Oh, my fucking God. No, this-" She angrily yelled, making a childish stomp in the process.
Luna peered through the hole Lincoln's body made. "I don't hear anything. You punched him too hard!"
"I don't have that much experience with this!" Lynn protested, still waving around her good arm. "Lana wouldn't help me out!"
"I told you to never run! It'll make you sick!" Lana spat out.
Luna was already moving further into the hole. "Lynn, let's go! We gotta get after him!"
"Right!" Lynn took Lupa by her arm. "You're coming with us."
Linka moved in front of them, eyeing Lynn with clear hostility. "I'm coming to. He's my-"
"No, you can get hurt! Besides, they need to get out of here," Lynn jerked her head to the side, referring to the others. "We'll get him back, okay?"
Luna followed footsteps that were formed on the beach. "Hey, guys, look! He came this way!" Luna followed the trail up until it was met with the waves of the ocean. "No, no, no, dudes! The ocean!" Luna ran into the water, taking a dive under the blue.
"Can you move the water?!" Lynn shook Lupa, who snapped back with her shoulders.
"Don't touch me! And no, I can't. But I can probably walk in without getting wet." Lupa was about to try, when Luna swam back up.
"Well?!" Lynn asked with worry in her system. "Is he-"
"I didn't see him, anywhere! He's... He's long gone! I can't fucking get a smell!" Luna was swimming back to shore, much to Lynn's dismay. "I'm sorry, dude..."
Damn it... Why did I have to punch him too hard?! Lynn inhaled deeply, aggravated at the situation. "How the fuck can you not sniff him out?!"
"I don't know, dude! I never had this problem before!" She and Lynn both took a look around both ends of the beach. "Damn it!"
"Should I fly up and see if I can spot him?" Lupa asked.
"No, that's risky," Luna thought. "But we have to do something. Who knows what he is able to do if..."
"Ugh, silly me. I keep forgetting-" Lynn's speeding off left a sandy mess in her wake, in which Luna shielded her eyes away from.
"A little more warning, dude!"
The area around was composed of land than city. Lynn took to the woods around, racing around in her desperate search for the rage-drunk brother. Linc, don't do this to me... Where are you? She wasn't just worried, but also afraid. Where was he? And more importantly, was he going somewhere?
She was both worried for him and for what he was able to do in his current form. Wherever you are, please don't do anything stupid.
Lynn was zigzagging all around, rendering herself out of breath. She had not thought it possible to get tired this fast. No, this was never something she had ever experienced in full. She stopped to catch her breath after more laps, slumping to the ground. Damn it...
Was this it? Was this how it felt to lose? Was this how it felt to not be able to do much? Was this... Was this how Lincoln felt?
The silence of the environment was realized, with only the birds playing their natural melody around. Lynn finally let the failure catch up to her. What am I gonna do now?
Luna and Lupa kept wait of Lynn, kicking mindlessly away at the sand. "She's taking forever, Lunes."
"She'll find him, we just have to wait!"
"And leave the others to fend for themselves? We're the last line of defense. I don't know about you, but I'm leaving-"
Luna tugged Lupa closer, aggravated. "Lynn needs our help on this-"
"And so do they! Let go of me!" Lupa tried to push the rocker away, but wasn't budged away from her grip. "What are you doing?! Did you forget the mission?!"
"We need to help Lynn!"
"Lynn can take of it herself. Put your trust and faith in her, why don't you?" Lupa released Luna's tight squeeze on her, plummeting her back down on the sand. "Do it yourself, I'll watch over them!" The goth rose into the air, floating away back towards the house.
Luna didn't even bother to pick herself up. She broke into small tears, not even wailing this time. "Why, why, why?!"
Linka was the only one who remained at the wrecked house, while the gang were already leaving away from it. Lupa appeared over the house, making a soft landing in front of Linka.
"He's long gone," Lupa reported. "Wherever Lynn punched him, he landed very far."
"Where's Lynn and Luna?"
"They're... Moping. I think they're gonna keep trying though."
This made Linka head towards the beach, but Lupa grabbed the girl's shoulder. "And where do you think you're going?"
"I'm doing what you're clearly not." Linka formed a fist, hidden on her side. "I've gotta help them..."
"No, Lynn has this. Come on, Linka, we need to-"
A convoy of black vans came screeching down the street, stopping right beside them. A well formed line of armed men centered onto them, guns held high and ready to fire. Linka and Lupa both raised their hands in the air, surprised and freaked out. "What the fuck is this?"
A gloomy Luna was making her way back to the family, letting Lynn keep up in her search by herself. She expected someone to check up on her, popping up with some news. Maybe Luan or Lily would be waiting for them, or maybe even the whole family, still by the house solely for whoever was coming. And she was now. The question was, were they waiting?
Sam... Sam...
She pictured it. She pictured them being together again. Kissing, cuddling in some nice, warm bed. It was all she knew she wanted. And it was what she knew would ever be again.
My Sam...
She stopped momentarily, getting lost in the flooding feelings and images of her dead lover. Comfort. Comfort from her lover is what she so heavily desired. And did so more than ever. "S-..."
That moment, just like Sam's life, was taken away from her in the form of armed men dressed entirely in black. They circled her, petrifying the rocker. "Who are you?!"
Her claws and tail went on standby mode. "Come on!" Luna growled, doing a turn.
"No need to be alarmed, miss," a voice spoke from the outer circle. "We're not the bad guys here. But we need you to come with us."
The weapons were still pointed on her, which didn't make her desire a surrender right there. "Who are you?"
The man the voice belonged to tapped the shoulders of two of the armed men, which was code to make way. He faced her, and Luna saw his face clear as day. "Y-you! You're-?!"
None of them had ever really seen their nameless advisor since their cutting away from the Agency. It was assumed that every member was history, ever since Lisa flipped over the card she had placed upside down upon being captured. "I am alive and well." As of now, he added sunglasses to the mix, but retained his nice business suit get-up still. "I hope you can trust me with this, Ms. Loud. We're not fully up-to-date on all your adventures since we last saw each other, so it's mandatory you come with us." He extended his hand out, still having Luna stare with wide eyes at him.
"We... Go where? There's-" What would it mean to tell Mr. Nobody of what was going on with Lincoln at the moment? For starters, she knew they'd definitely go after him, but would it be a capture or kill order? No, they didn't need to know about him. Not yet at least. This was seriously horrible timing on her part. "What do you- How did you find us?"
"I'll give you the necessary debriefing once we get back. Is there anyone else out there?"
Luna opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Lynn was probably not coming back with them. She took a sniff, and caught no Lynn scent apart from the multiple aromas that now clouded the air. "No, it's just me, and-"
"And the others back there, I know. Let's go."
Luna was escorted back to their convoy, entering the third van. There, Linka and Lupa were both already inside, silent and still. "Lynn's on her own," she whispered to them. "We can only hope she stops him..."
"Are... Are we being arrested?" Linka looked to the front as the van started up again. "They didn't tell us anything. You?"
"Not too much," Luna answered. "I wouldn't worry actually. But I'm curious what this is about, actually..." She was already wondering if this was possibly the long awaited response from the higher-ups. How inconvenient it was for the Louds that this was happening. "They were definitely watching us, that's for sure." It sure seemed like it was true, for they came right outside the house.
"Watching us? Is that so?" Linka wondered.
"Then they're not with the higher-ups, or they would've already taken us long ago. Right?" Lupa unzipped her black sweater upon growing uncomfortably hot, revealing a gray shirt underneath. "How long's this taking?"
"Don't fret, Lupes." Luna peered out the tiny windows of the back. It's all up to you, Lynn...
San Francisco
Lincoln crawled out of the ocean, gagging out the water he didn't mean to swallow when trying to catch breathe. The moist touch in his palms went away as he further dragged himself away from the tidal waves. The burning sensation was doing nothing to him, not even bothering him in the slightest.
On the beach, were several onlooking beach-goers who became alerted once they've noticed his face while spectating him emerge out of the blue. The many murmurs and cries confused the mindless beast of him. There, the running began, followed by inhuman screams.
Lynn wasn't too far away at the moment. She had gone lost enough to simply run away from the whole situation. No Lincoln, and the others, they would probably be long gone. Lynn Loud, left all alone like once before. She was racing through the freeway, passing by every car in sight, while doing so in her crying mode. Lynn wasn't paying attention to where she wanted to go, so she ended up sitting, after running upwards, on the edge of a building, high enough to overlook the city.
Lincy...
It was hopeless. She couldn't keep doing this forever. None of them could, or even would. Half of the family was gone, and where, just where would it end?
Why am I weak?
Who else had to die until it ended, if it would ever?
All those people below, living their lives. Driving to and from work. Nothing to worry about. No one to worry for. She could've been there. Her, and everyone else. Everyone she loved and cared for, alive and well.
I'm sorry, Lincoln. Please come back to me...
And in the coincidental turn of events, an explosion went off in the distance. The fire was barely visible in the distance, and it called for Lynn to investigate. She sniffed and wiped her eyes away, ready to find out what the ruckus was, which she hoped was Lincoln. And that was both good and bad, at the same time.
The white-haired beast was causing vandalism and carnage in the streets below. A burning truck was flipped over on the sidewalk, with him standing over it. Around the streets, several bodies were decorated around. Lynn came to the scene, carefully avoiding the civilians running for their lives. "LINCOLN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
He jumped down, walking straight for her.
"Linc?! Linc, it's me, Lynn!"
He then ran and went for a punch. Lynn stepped out of the way, pushing his swinging arm away.
"LINC, STOP! WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING ME?!"
He spun around, falling on his back. Lynn dragged him by his leg, giving him a fun ride up a building. "Lincy, I'm sorry for this-" Lynn swung him like a bat, sending him skidding along the rooftop.
"Guhhhh!" He growled, now limping back up.
"Oh, Lincoln, don't- Don't get up! Please!" Lynn was shaking her head, pleading to her brother hopelessly. "Linc, I'm serious! Don't make me hurt you! For God's sake..."
He kept moving, untouched by her words.
"Lincoln, I love you! I love you! Don't make me do this!"
"Duhhhh, hurrrr!" He came at her, but she ducked his hook maneuver again, and threw him down.
"WAKE UP, THIS ISN'T YOU!" She punched his face repeatedly, and then went on to slap. "LINC!"
He kicked at her feet, knocking her down right on top of him. "K- Luhh... Lynnnnn..."
"Yes, yes, it's me. It's me, Lincy. Stay with me... Stay-"
Lincoln placed his arms around her throat, squeezing tightly as he got up with her. "Luhhh... Wheeeek..."
Lynn choked intensely, trying to punch her way out. She then tried to budge his arms away from her. She felt her face getting hot and cramped up. Her eyes were going blurry, almost feeling like they'd pop out if Lincoln kept squeezing.
"No, not now! Not like this! Please!"
"Mmm! Mm-mmm!" Lynn used the last of her strength to keep forcing his hands away, but to no avail. She finally let her hands plummet to her side, and slumped her head back, giving out completely. It seemed that Lynn was dead. Lincoln let go of the body, silently growling.
Lynn had no choice but to pull possum on him. He turned his back to her, which was the window she definitely needed. "I'm sorry for this..." She spun around him, creating a strong wind current that lost its gravity within. He rose like an angel, going up high for Lynn to complete her move; she re-enacted her punch that sent him far away, but only this time, she made a harder hit, actually aiming to do more damage than knock him unconscious.
And that did it. She punched him in the face, and within the next three seconds, Lincoln was gone, flying to amothet part of the city. Not only was her hand hurting, but it was covered in enough blood to make Lynn believe he might've been killed on impact.
She didn't want to. She didn't want this to happen, but there was no other way. She didn't want to hurt- No, kill him. It didn't have to be this way. She coughed and wheezed, still feeling his hands on her.
What have I done? Linc... Linc, I'm- I'm so sorry... I love you...