Chapter 4: Life Lessons.

So, in this chapter, Lincoln learns more about his new friend and his location. This is the final chapter of setup. After this, the story will focus more on the reactions of the other characters and the aftermath of Lincoln leaving the Loud House and finding a sense of belonging elsewhere. The central plot has been established, as have the emotions and motivations of the protagonist. Finally, all that is left is to expand on the friendship created between Lincoln and Viribus in chapter 3 and also introduce the other antagonists of the story. Other youthful characters Viribus has been able to influence throughout his few years of activity. Let's get on with the end of the beginning…

Lincoln and Jake returned to the latter's stronghold. Appearing as an average house via its exterior, it was actually a delusion. The house interior barely contained enough furniture for proper living conditions. It's as if just enough effort was put into making the furniture set appear genuine, but that's all. Just a small couch, old fashioned TV, an oven, and a refrigerator. Lincoln quickly realised there was more to his new friend's place than meets the eye. There was a staircase, like with all houses, but this one led downwards, not up. Lincoln followed Jake underground, to a dark yet sophisticated, mildly metallic, dimly lit environment.

Jake: "This… is where we hang out. Make yourself at home, Lincoln Loud."

Lincoln didn't know what to make of the place. It was of strong contrast to his usual surroundings. It was basically a basement converted into an entire house. Multiple rooms existed in this underground hideout. A living room, a kitchen, a leisure room, several bedrooms. Lincoln actually thought it looked pretty cool. Even if it was very dark in its colour scheme, had dimly lit lighting, and almost reminded him of one of those night clubs he had seen in one of his sister's movies. After a brief view of the place, Lincoln came to accept it as his new home.

Lincoln: "…Cool…" he said in awe.

At that moment, Jake took off his black, concealing hoodie to reveal an exercise shirt, which was dark green with white highlights and features. He also, underneath his jeans, happened to be wearing a pair of MMA style combat shorts. Black and white and with various words, such as blood, rage, pain and punch written on them.

Lincoln: "Hey, why are you wearing that stuff?"

Jake: "This is the gear I will be wearing when I engage in my daily training. You see, we have to ensure we are strong, capable and invulnerable when up against the various threats posed by the outside world."

Lincoln: "Wow, and I thought only my sporty sister Lynn trained that much."

Jake: "What we do is NOT a sport. What we do is a way of life. We train to become dominant beings in society, strong creatures above the rest who cannot be dominated, defeated, enforced against their will or placed into submission. We train because that is what we must do to make sure we are not pushovers in life. So that nobody will ever take advantage of our weak wills ever again!"

Initially, Lincoln was rather shocked and even taken aback by the words of his new ally. This was not the kind of talk, nor philosophical thought, which he was used to. Most of the time, when conversing with his sisters or friends, they would be discussing something so-so, every day, mundane, typical. Topics like where they should spend the day, or who had a crush of whoever else, or how to get out of gym class. But Jake was talking about becoming a 'dominant being' as he put it. About dedicating one's life to being a powerful force to be reckoned with. Someone who was above and beyond the petty squabbles of society. Needless to say, Lincoln found himself out of his element. But then he realised something…

Lincoln: "You know what? That's sounds really cool. I could learn to stand up for myself more, too. To stop being such a pushover who's incapable of saying NO to people when I have to!"

Jake: "You do need to, don't you?" he asked, detecting a hint of sincerity in Lincoln's statement, knowing full well that part of the boy's problem was his inability to combat the united force of all 10 of his sisters.

Jake: "Tell you what, training can wait a little longer. I've been so rude. I barely know anything about you, yet I've invited you into my home and expected you to just take to all our ways of living and behaving around here. Tell me more about your home life and why you've been driven to the point of needing to get out of there!" he requested as he sat down alongside the boy, intending for the projected concern and effort of taking an interest in his life problems to result in Lincoln's trust levels towards him rising.

Lincoln Loud had found a new friend in Jake, or as he liked to be called, Viribus. Lincoln was caught at a point in which he felt he didn't belong anywhere, where he believed he was an outcast to his own family. This new friend shown an interest in helping him to improve his life, and enable him to become a stronger person, capable of standing up for himself. Lincoln told Viribus of his many tales. Of all the times he was wronged. Of all the character flaws which had plagued his life in the Loud House. Lincoln was a number of things. He admitted he was no saint. He was selfish at times, and scheming when it came to getting what he wanted. He could be deceptive and even mean-spirited when he put his mind to it. But for the most part, he was a kind and loving person. He was thick-skinned and could take a lot of physical, verbal and mental punishment, and not particularly sensitive, able to withstand a lot of frequent antagonism in his daily life.

But he also had limits to just how much he was willing to stand his ground, especially when so vastly outnumbered. While perfectly willing to speak his mind from time to time and tell his sisters when he finds something wrong, he could only do so much when it came down to influencing decisions in the house or even just fending for himself when under attack. Lincoln certainly was not considered to be physically adept by any stretch of the imagination, being weaker than most kids at school and even many of his siblings (including the younger ones). Thus, he could do little about it when threatened into a submissive state via a violent gesture from any of his siblings. He told his new friend all of this, and the difficulties that come with the situation it creates. The response was as follows…

Jake/Viribus: "So, your main concern is the fact that you have little ability to influence the behaviour of your family for the better, even when their actions are despicable?"

Lincoln: "Well, that's a little harshly put, but yes." He said as he tried to defend his sisters, only to surrender to the apparent validity of his friend's claims.

Jake/Viribus: "Nope. I'm not going to beat around the bush here. You've come back to my hideou… er, house, so you obviously seek guidance and assistance from me. In any case, I'm going to give you that guidance that it sounds like you desperately need."

Lincoln adopted a confused and curious, yet hopeful and intrigued look on his face…

Jake/Viribus: "You know what I think, little Lincoln? I think you're too much of a pushover. For all your kindness, sacrificing and laying over to make your sisters happy, you've crippled your own sense of freedom, your independence, and your ability to say no when things aren't right."

Viribus then stood up from his chair where he was sitting while discussing matters with Lincoln, and then proceeded to continue with his speech…

Viribus: "All the times your family treated you like garbage, and you did nothing! All the times others took advantage of your nice and forgiving nature! The truth is, you need to take a stand against all of that, and make sure people get the message that you are not to be messed with!"

The man then adopted a physically imposing stance as he began to justify his argument further…

Viribus: "Do you know why I chose the name Viribus, boy? Because I wanted to make sure everyone understood that I meant business, that I was an imposing, strong and powerful being who would not take it from anybody! Nobody messes with me! Anyone mistreats me, bullies or attempts to subdue my will in any way, and I will dismantle them! Like it or not, kid, that's the way you gotta be in this world if you're going to be taken seriously! If you're going to make sure no one ever walks all over you ever again! I learned the hard way that passiveness, kindness and compromise do not work when it comes to living a happy and prosperous life! When I was a young boy like you, I had similar problems. People always abused me, took me for granted, looked down on me and gave me grief! Well, that doesn't happen anymore! I made sure of it!"

He then sat back down and put his hand on Lincoln's shoulder, abandoning his tough, angry and imposing manner and utilising a more comforting tone of voice and expression of body language, with the intention of appealing to Lincoln's desires as well as intimidations…

Viribus: "And I want to help you do the same, kid." He stated, with a lot more quietness and softness in his voice than what he had just used previously.

Lincoln: "Gee, thanks. You really want to help me that much?"

Viribus: "From what I can tell, you and I are a lot alike. You seem like a good natured, smart and well meaning young boy with a lot of potential in his life. I don't want to see that squandered by a selfish and merciless society that takes him from granted and treats him like garbage."

Lincoln then began to smile, believing what sounded to be sincere and genuine claims from his newfound ally. He was so unsure and in need of advice and assistance at that moment, given what he had been through recently, and the words of his new friend were captivating his mind and appealing to his inner desires.

Viribus: "Lincoln, stand up and follow me. I want you to meet some of my, or should I say some of our friends."

Lincoln then followed Viribus to where a small group of teenagers were 'playing' sparring with each other…

Eddie: "Hey, Master Viribus. Where have you been? Training started half an hour ago. We made a start without you."

Viribus: "Excellent. You know what to do when I'm not around. Anyway, I was helping recruit a new member into our ranks. Meet Lincoln Loud. A young boy from the Royal Woods Neighbourhood. He comes from a rather large family, so he's used to living with several other kids."

Lincoln then stood and looked at his new so-called 'friends' who he had just met. They all looked a little rough, as well as roughed-up. They were all wearing fairly dark clothing that was suited for combat. They also all wore a matching shirt, almost as if that functioned as a uniform to them, he figured. Each uniform consisted of the word 'Melior' written in bold, white text on their black shirts. Each of them were fairly slim in physical build but with a slight amount of lean muscle mass, as a result of their activities.

All of them were of different ages. The first, Sid, looked about Lincoln's age and size, was a brunette and had a few freckles of his face.

The second, Eddie, appeared to be about Lynn's age. He had a very cocky and smug, as well as aggressive, expression on his face. He had really dark, black short hair and a tooth missing, potentially from a scrap he had in the past.

The third, Wayne, looked about as old as Lori and Bobby and not too much younger than Jake himself. He was a blonde haired kid, tall and lean, and his hair was spiked up.

Finally, a young girl Lucy's age was also with them, a girl named Hilary. She had ginger hair that was held in a ponytail, similar to Luan, Lynn and Ronnie Anne. She had freckles and a deadpan and almost stoic expression on her face, similar to Lucy or Lisa. Though also like them, she wasn't above showing her emotions sometimes.

Viribus then left the child to mix in with these other characters…

Wayne: "So, what's your deal? Why did our master take you in?"

Lincoln: "Well, I was on my way to my friends house after I'd just left my home, and he came across me. He asked me how I was doing and it led to me revealing what had happened. Basically, my sisters drove me out of the house!"

Sid: "How did they do that?"

Lincoln: "They're always outnumbering me when it comes to anything, and I'm always the one who has to suffer in the house because of them. Plus, they're always fighting and causing chaos. I just… needed a break from it, I guess."

Eddie: "Aw, the little kid is running away from a bunch of girly sisters because he's a little wuss who can't handle a bit of roughness!" he said as he playfully gave Lincoln a nuggie.

Lincoln: "Knock it off!" he said as he threw Eddie's hand away.

Eddie: "Don't worry. Viribus will knock all that weakness right out of you. You won't be such a weak, skinny, passive, sensitive little wuss when we're all done with you! You'll be marching back to that house and showing them all who's boss!"

Lincoln: "Can I ask, why is he called Viribus? I thought his name was Jake, so what's the deal? Is Viribus like a nickname or something?"

Sid: "It's a name he gave himself. We all have nicknames like that. Jake is called Viribus because it means 'strength' in Latin. But we all got given them. Mine is Potens, which means powerful."

Eddie: "Mine is Nocere, meaning hurt. Which is fitting, since I enjoy hurting people."

Wayne: "And mine is Punire, which translates to punish. Seems appropriate, since we are preparing ourselves to go out there and punish those who deserve it!"

Hilary: "And while my name is Hilary, I also have a Latin nickname, that being Defendere. Surprisingly enough, it means defend. I find that quite an appropriate nickname, to be honest. When Master Viribus took me in, I was a frequent victim of bullying by everyone in school. Then my parents were arrested after a drink driving incident and instead of being put into care, I ran away and came across him. Just a couple of years ago, this was. He took me in and through his teachings, and hanging out with these guys, I became stronger, tougher, better."

Wayne: "Even our shirts, which say 'Melior' means better. Because as Master Viribus says, we're going to be stronger, faster, better than everybody else, and we won't be pushed around by them anymore!"

Lincoln: "Wow, this is all just so unreal to me! I did not wake up this morning expecting all of this."

Eddie: "Don't worry, kid. You'll get used to all this. In fact, we count on making you just like us."

Hilary: "Yes. Soon, you won't need to worry about people walking all over you anymore."

This was understandably a lot for Lincoln to take in. This new group of friends he just met seemed to be like a cult, a group of people felt wronged by the world who were working towards making their lives better by force. All of it seemed far-fetched, even crazy to him at that moment. But considering the thoughts going through his own head at the time, about his home life, about all the problems he was dealing with, it was hard not to give into the temptation of following their advice and beliefs. Despite the seemingly surreal claims of these people, Lincoln did wholeheartedly agree with one thing they were saying: he did need to become a stronger person, otherwise he would continue to be a pushover who got the short end of the stick.

Lincoln: "Alright guys, let's do this!"

Hope you enjoyed this chapter that provided a little more insight on the types of people Lincoln's new friends are. Now that Lincoln has settled into his new home, the next part of the story will be about Lincoln's family reacting to him leaving and his absence in the household. On a side note, this story is not a dark fic, btw. I mention this because some of the responses to my fanfiction on consist of people stating how Viribus is a radical terrorist (which you could argue based on his actions, intentions and beliefs) and how they believe he is going to kill some of Lincoln's sisters. Honestly, the themes revolving around the antagonist and what he says and does are probably the darkest elements to be included in this fic. I do not intend on making this a story that involves murders and more mature themes and concepts. Think of this story as one that is designed as if it could be an extended episode or special for the show. Perhaps darker and edgier than the show's usual standard, but not so much so that it couldn't pass the radar. Just for those fearing this story is going to go down that path. I haven't included anything in this story that couldn't potentially feature in an episode of the series. Anyway, the next chapter will come up in about a week or so, so until then, enjoy yourselves.