Chapter 01:
He Is Not Lincoln!

"Lincoln?! Is you?! Please say it's you, Lincoln!"

The fog partially obscures Lola Loud's vision, and although the day's penumbra lends dark tones to green of the valley, it's possible to see that white wool on top of the head of the mysterious figure who has his back to the girl, contemplating the horizon of a endless plain.

"Yes, Lara," He turns his face slowly. "It's me."

He wears the most serene countenance in the universe, as if he has never experienced so much pain in his life and especially in his last few weeks on Earth.

"Oh Lincoln!"

The two brothers hug each other tightly.

"Oops. Allow me."

He snaps his fingers and a white robe materializes on his half-naked body.

"That's much better, right? You always hated to see me in underwear."

"Oh, Linc, I don't care anymore," she smiles.

"Why did you come here?"

"I followed the instructions in the game and arrived at this valley. I knew I'd find you here, Linc."

"For what? You know you can't get me out of here."

"It doesn't matter. I had to meet you again, even just once. It's so good to have you with me."

"Well, you've already had enough chances to tell me that," he crosses his arms.

Lola, embarrassed, falls to her knees on the floor and covers her face with her hands.

"I'm sorry, Lara, I don't have the right," he apologizes, but without showing regret.

"Yes, you have every right!" Lola cries, grabs Lincoln's right hand and kisses it twice. "I was the most horrible sister you could have had!" She rubs his hand over her face. "I should die in your place!"

"It's two phrases that eight more women would surely repeat in your shoes," he snorts. "What's the use? What was supposed to happen happened."

"We've always been blind to you, Linc," she admits, looking straight at him as her tears flow. "You've always been the hero of the family. You were, you are, and you will be."

"Perhaps. But that's enough," Lincoln helps Lola to her feet. "If you can't refine the past, it's your duty not to degenerate the future."

"Now you talk like Lucy," Lola tries to smile but fails.

"Don't make the same mistakes with Baby Lali as you did with me."

"I will not. We will not go!" Lola clasps her own hands to show her firmness.

"Never make her interrupt her dreams because of you. Never hit her. Never lie to her. Never put her in a trap in your place. Never ridicule her. Never think that she brings bad luck to the family."

"Never! Never!" Lola keeps repeating, her fists clenched.

"But most of all…" He smiles cynically. "...Never make her wear a squirrel costume!"

"I sign with my blood!" Lola holds up her right palm. "Wow, now I'm the one who turned Lucy. By the way, we burned the costume."

"Well, now bye," Lincoln announces.

"What? Are you leaving yet?" Lola find strange.

"No. I'm still here. You are the one going."

"No, not yet."

"I think you want this," he gives her one last hug, which fills her with warmth.

"Oh Linc, Linc..."

"Come home."

"No, Linc," An aura of light traps Lola.

"And keep your word!"

"LIIIINNN..."

"Lincoln…" Lola murmurs, in her bed.

She doesn't even bother to rub her eyes or get up. Nothing else matters. Even if it's been months since it all happened.

Some days she leaps out of bed and walks down the hall, full of stacks to burn. In others, she barely wants to get out of the sheets. Everything that happened was so confusing that even she doesn't know for sure what she became.

This Sunday, she shows no desire to get up.

But everything changes when Lana turns on the bedroom light.

"This is where you will stay, Lincoln. In my room."
"LINCOLN?!" Lola gets up from the bed and has a huge smile on her face.
A smile that she soon turns to horror.

"I'm your Mommy and this is your Aunt Lola. Greet her."
Lana, already dressed in her blue overalls and red cap, puts her new pet down and lets him climb onto Lola's bed.
"Lana! What animal is that?!" Lola asks, pale as she is sniffed by the new member of the house.

"Good morning, Lola!" Lana salutes her. "This is Lincoln, an albino skunk I found lost in the woods. He is like the other skunks, only completely white. Isn't he cute?"

Lola is filled with rage!

"I can't believe you named that disgusting animal after our late brother Lincoln!"
"Well, come on, Lola. I don't think Lincoln would be offended."

Lola grabs the skunk and climbs out of bed, wearing her pink nightgown.
"Excuse me."
"Where are you going?"
"Give him back to nature!"

Lola, still barefoot, opens the bedroom door and crosses the hall, with the animal in her arms.

"Come back here, Lola!" Lana leaves after her, being watched by Luna and Luan, in the background.
"Get off my back, Lana!" Lola demands, heading downstairs. "No skunk is going to climb into my bed and fill my room with stench!"
"Lincoln is mine!"
"And he's not Lincoln!"

Opening the front door, Lola drops the skunk to the ground and nudges him with her foot.
"Get out!"
Without a second order, the animal bolts.

Lola closes the door.

And right after that, she is grabbed by Lana!
"You pay me!" Lana clenches her right fist.
"You are the one who will regret this clowning!" Lola return.

The two start hitting each other!

"Stop, girls!" Rita Loud screams from the kitchen, wearing an apron. "Can there not be just one day without a fight in this house?!"

Fights were never uncommon in Loud Family, but since Lincoln's death, all the sisters' tempers had been shaken and violence had become more constant within the household.

The twins roll around on the floor until Lola gets up and hits her head on a small wooden round table.
"OUCH!"

A vase of flowers overbalances, rolling off the table...
...until it crashes to the ground!

CRASH!

Lola and Lana shock, ending the fight immediately.

"MY NEW VASE!" Rita is horrified. "I got it this week from my work colleagues!"
"Mom, we…we…" Lola starts.
"We're so sorry," Lana adds.

Rita is filled with rage.
"ENOUGH! GET OUT!"

Lola and Lana are kicked out of the house, and the front door is locked!
"OPEN THIS DOOR!" Lana pulls the handle several times.
Someone punch on the door from the inside.
Lana gives up and sits down in front of the door, next to Lola.

It's a beautiful Sunday morning, but the sisters barely appreciate the beauty of the sky, the trees and the birds.
They stay there, sitting on the floor, silent, absorbing all the events of the day that brought them there.

After a few minutes, Lana breaks the silence.
"Do you remember what we did to Lincoln when we thought he was bad luck?"
"I remember," Lola replies. "We kicked him out of the house."
"I think I only now understand how he felt."
"And me too."

Suddenly, the door opens.
Lola and Lana rejoice.
But one hand just deposits a bowl of cereal with two spoons.
And the door locks again.
Lola and Lana swallow hard.
Calmly, they take the bowl and start sharing it.

Gradually, the tears flow.

"Forgive me, Lana?"
"For what?"
"For hitting you and kicking your pet out of the house."
"I also apologize for punching you."

The two put down the bowl and embrace, crying into each other's shoulders.

"You know what, Lana? I hate fighting with you."
"And me too."
"And do you know why?"
"I think I know, but speak up."
"For two reasons: first, because I love you very much, even though you are so different from me."
"I love you very much too, Lola, even though you are so annoying."
"As you wish. And the second reason..."
"...it's Lincoln."
"Yeah. Every time we fight, I remember Lincoln."
"And me too. He always knew how to solve our problems."
"Exactly. But he's gone. And he can no longer help us."
"He was always the hero of the family."
"And we always step on him."

They hug and cry again.

Suddenly, something catches their attention.

Charles Schulz, the family dog, is eating the cereal from the bowl, without asking permission.

Lola and Lana are outraged!

"I wasn't even hungry."

"And me neither."

Hand in hand, the twins, calmer now, walk to the garden of house, followed by Charles Schulz.

There's the tree sapling that Lincoln and Lana planted a few days before he died.

"It's still in its infancy, but with my love and care, it will one day grow to be a very big and strong tree," Lana assures, holding her arms out to the sky.

"With our love," Lola complements, as she waters the seedling.

The twins spend some time holding each other, contemplating their wonder of nature.

This is the Lincoln Legacy.

To Be Continued...