Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Loud House or other franchises you might recognize.

After much deliberation, Linka decided to begin. Composing herself, she started her tale.

"I don't really know what happened when we were born, but all I know is that we were sent to different orphanages, and I was adopted by this man named Owen Lancaster, and he was a widower with an adult son who visited us sometimes, and I was his daughter until I was seven, and so – "

"Linka, slow down."

"And so life was really good. But then we got into a car accident and…" the young girl was shuddering. Lincoln was about to say something, but she composed herself and continued.

"So he… he… he died! He died and my leg had to be amputated and my arm was in a sling for a few months and I was sent to the orphanage. I was really sad. I got put in a room with a girl named Olivia. Olivia and I got along great. She was the one who fixed my leg when a screw came loose or something. Anyways, I got along really well with her. It was the other girls who were the problem. They always were bullying me because I had a disability, and because I was new and I was shy. They were friends with Olivia so they never bullied me in front of her."

"What did they do to you?"

"Well, I upset Amanda for waking her up early, so she threw my paintings in the fire. I accidently sat in Bessie's seat at the canteen so she shoved my face in my soup. I spent too long in the bathroom so Clarisse punched me when I came out. I asked Devon where she put my clothes and she threw my leg across the room and broke it. If I asked for help with my homework, Eve and Fiona called me an idiot. If I helped someone with homework, Grace and Holly called me a nerd. I guess I deserved it, though. I mean I did -" Linka was cut short by a very engaged Lincoln.

"Linka, never say this was your fault. You didn't deserve any of this. All of these things happened from accidents. It wasn't your fault at all."

Linka began to cry silently, and she just hugged her brother all the more tightly. By the times she had composed herself, she already felt much better. She thanked him and went back to sleep, a lot calmer. The emotional release had helped her tremendously.

…

Linka's nightmares had completely disappeared that weekend. It seemed talking about her problems had helped a little. Or it could be that being away from the outside world had left her less scared of being bullied. That weekend, though Luna, Luan, Lynn and Lucy were all out of the house at various overnight camps (Apparently a junior Goths camp ran for children all over the US), Linka had a good time with the remaining girls. She spent quite a bit of time with the younger twins. Lincoln hadn't yet observed how his twin was the only one who got the younger twins to stop fighting every hour, though he suspected it was due to Linka's novelty. Once they got used to her, she wouldn't be so cool anymore, and the fights would continue.

That Monday, with firm resolve Linka and Lincoln headed back to camp. They had, at home, showed their unfinished strips to the older and younger sisters, who offered feedback and all on how they could improve. Anything for the big day, when the Royal Woods civil war happened, when the underdog of the 5th grade class revolted against his masters and demanded fair treatment.

The divided 5th grade class had more than its fair share of incidents that week. Charlie, Chandler's partner for the competition, had been tripped a fair few times by zealous Loudists. Linka's friend Maggie Lark had gotten one of the "popularites" kicked out of the camp after he had punched her.

In the morning of the day devoted to that Norse deity Thor, Lincoln's spies had informed him that Chandler and his popularites were having a meeting in the Royal Woods Sewage Treatment Facility. Lincoln had several spies performing espionage in the enemy side. That evening, his spy Mark had texted him after the event. Lincoln scurried downstairs and shook his sister who was on the couch with her new laptop playing Civilization.

"Aah!" Linka jumped, luckily retaining her grip on her computer.

"Linka! We have a problem!"

"Yes?"

"My spies have just informed me that Chandler has a plan to sabotage us tomorrow! He plans on distracting both of us, so that Andrew can steal our comics and replace them with poorly drawn and written strips."

"Oh no! What are we gonna do?"

"I'm the Man with the Plan, aren't I? Don't worry sis, I've got this. We're going to out-distract him. We'll get distracted but we'll get someone else to make sure he doesn't steal and replace."

"Couldn't we just tell someone? Like Joey or Carol or someone? Doesn't that make more sense than- "

"No, this will work. Trust me."

...

"Hey Loser Larry and Lame Linka! Scared? Scared you're gonna be my slave? Just think of all of the fun things I can do to you. I could make you stuff your heads in the toilet, or I could have you carry our bags or I could - " Chandler was cut off by a scream. He jumped up to find the source of the noise, but quickly found the need to do so diminishing. Andrew was running to the lunch area screaming his head off, his hand stuck in a spring mousetrap.

...

That Friday afternoon, everyone crowded once again in the auditorium. Parents and siblings crowded the bleachers, while the floor was teeming with campers. Lincoln and Linka were sitting together, nervous. They could see Mr. Loud surrounded on either side by Lana and Lola, sitting on the laps of the exhausted Luna and Luan respectively. The teenagers were back from their overnight camps only that morning, but still decided to come and support their younger siblings.

Humphrey was back, center stage. He was projecting enlarged versions of the projects and videos as a showcase. The other grades' showcases could not have passed slower if it was the offspring of a tortoise and a snail. Finally, it was their turn.

"The winners for the 4th grade are…" Lincoln had forgotten that 4 came after 3. A near eternity later, it was the moment of truth.

"In 3rd place, we have… Chandler Daniels and Charlie Evans! Here, take a look!" They played the music video. Chandler had directed the video and created the art, while Charlie sang and did the music. For 5th grade, it was indeed rather remarkable. Even Lincoln and Linka were impressed by the amount of effort that went into the egotistical jerks' masterpiece.

"In 2nd place, we have…" Lincoln could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Linka looked like she was going to be sick.

"Lincoln and Linka Loud! Here, take a look at some of their comics!" The crowd went ballistic. The entire 5th grade, Lincoln and Linka included, stood up. Linka and Lincoln were ecstatically hugging each other and everyone else. Chandler growled at them, and Linka stuck her tongue out at him. Linka and Lincoln ran up at the end to collect their trophy and medals to deafening applause and cheer. The jubilation was felt in the very bones of all those gathered there.

They ran into the bleachers after camp was dismissed. Lana jumped off of Luna's lap and hugged her big brother, Luna joining in after a few seconds. Likewise, Linka found herself near tackled by Luan and Lola. During their embrace, Lola was asking nigh a question a second, giving no time between questions for Linka to answer. Eventually, Luan had to shut the little girl up, but still during the car ride she continued to answer questions, albeit less frequently. Lana really wanted to hold the trophy, as Lola wouldn't ever let her touch any of hers.

Their excitement lasted well throughout the night. Lincoln and Linka could not have been any happier. They arrived home to find all of the Loud siblings eagerly waiting for them. The siblings oohed and aahed as Lynn set the trophy in the case. Lincoln and Linka found themselves enveloped in a hug of all of the Loud siblings. They told stories of their victory until it was 6:30, and Mr. Loud summoned them for dinner. Their feast was made of all of Lincoln and Linka's favorite dishes. Their excitement was overcome only by their exhaustion, and the two fell asleep near immediately upon reaching their beds.

Their jubilation carried well throughout the summer. Linka had almost no nightmares until there was but a week left till school.

I apologize for the time it took in getting this chapter out. I have listened to the advice from Omega Ultra and the like and I shall use it in the future, but this chapter I couldn't make too many such edits. I simply was too busy. Starting with the next chapter such changes as the ones suggested by Omega Ultra shall be implemented to some extent, whether partially or fully.