The best Stewart could find for her on short notice while not straying too far from her summer home was this dingy room with air-conditioning and two double beds. The mere sight of it made her sick and she made sure to express her displeasure to her valet.

But Kathleen managed to stomach it for one night, as the prospect of a quick victory (and much more) kept her mind distracted from the substandard living conditions. From the motel room, she gazed through the window with her hands behind her back, observing the great lake as it reflected the rising moon.

"How should I acquire you, my little ticket to success?" Kathleen contemplated when she heard a knock on the door, making her growl in annoyance.

"M-miss Katheen?" came Stewart's timid voice as he opened the door. He was bruised, sported a black eye, a head bandage, a nose cast, and his left arm was in a sling. "Your friends are here…"

"Let them in." Kathleen grunted absentmindedly as she turned back to the window. Amber was the first to enter, followed by Jenny, who spared the valet a quick glance.

"Glad I ain't you." Jenny quipped while Stewart quickly closed the door, eager to get out of the danger zone.

Once they were alone with Kathleen, the two girls grew uneasy, not knowing what was in store for them. Jenny guessed that, if anything, Kathleen needed an audience to gloat to, and her current posture and quiet demeanor implied she was plotting something.

"You wanted to see us?" Amber gingerly asked.

"Yes, because you are more bearable than that incompetent idiot, Lyle." Was Kathleen's disgusted response, still not facing them.

"So…did you fire him?" Jenny asked.

"Oh, no. After much deliberation, I decided to give that cretin a second chance." Kathleen finally looked at them with a disdainful sneer. "He might still prove useful, and I even provided him with accommodations as a show of goodwill."


At the sandy banks of the lake, Lyle was shivering while lying under a crudely-built stick tent with a small log for a pillow and a raggedy, hole-ridden blanket.

"Stupid skank…" he grumbled while tossing and turning. "Reward for job well done my ass."

Hearing eerie cries and howls, he quivered and pulled the blanket over his nose, looking left and right fearfully, expecting some kind of monster to jump him.


From a desk, Kathleen picked up the crushed spy eye that used to belong to Fenton. She kept it inside an evidence bag and held it up to Jenny and Amber.

"But never mind that oaf. Tell me something, girls. Do you know what you're looking at?" she asked coyly. Predictably, the two dumb-dumbs looked confused.

"Um…a tacky earring one of the Louds dropped?" Amber answered, while Jenny kept her mouth shut.

Kathleen sent the blonde a glare that made the latter fear Kathleen would smack her, but instead, Kathleen chortled with amusement.

"Figures this marvel of surveillance would be too much for your pea brains to comprehend." She said while marveling at the object.

"My sources tell me that this device is a high-tech mobile spy cam, and I have a hunch that it's only a small part of little Lisa's repertoire of scientific achievements. Imagine what one could do if they had a limitless supply of these?"

"You mean like…eh hidden cameras?" Jenny dared to ask. "Don't you have the money to buy plenty of those on the fly-"

"Tisk. Tisk. So little perspective." Kathleen gave her a patronizing look. "Any idiot with half a brain will be wary of surveillance cameras, especially at someplace as high-class as my own. Hidden cameras are at their most useful when they remain hidden, both from your enemy's sight, and more importantly, their mind."

She knew there was no point in installing any in her summer home. Lynn and Lincoln's little gang were paranoid enough to search every nook and cranny in there, Luan even more so. If they found any and showed them to Mr. and Mrs. Loud, her charade would go up in smokes. She knew the parents were unsure about her at best.

She gestured at the crushed cam. "But this little beauty is built to remain undetected, it can even shift its position at will! If I had a slew of mobile cams such as this one, I could spy on anyone I wish!"

She grew giddy at the thought. "Everyone's deepest, most shameful secrets would be mine and they would be none the wiser until it was too late. I wouldn't need to rely on ugly gossiping or bribes to gather intel ever again."

Jenny and Amber exchanged glances. "So you want to revolutionize gossiping with the little science girl's help?" the black girl tried to rationalize what her boss was getting at.

Kathleen rolled her eyes. "You think I would stop there? Puh-leeze! That would merely be scratching the surface. If Lola is to be believed, Lisa has so much more to offer me, and I doubt Lola even knows the full extent of her sister's scientific achievements. All those wonderful toys that I could be using for my own gain, that are instead collecting dust in Lisa's personal storage, all because that brat suddenly got overcautious due to a few minor mishaps."

Her mirth waned and her expression morphed into a dark scowl. "Time is running out, girls, and so is my patience. Those freaks are on to me, they know I'm not…how shall I say, very genuine with my philanthropy?"

Jenny chuckled nervously, seeing an opening to brownnose. "I doubt that. You're a brilliant actress and not once did you slip up in front of the Louds, no matter how much they pushed your buttons. And besides, even if they did find some dirt on you, who would believe those social rejects?"

Kathleen smirked. Even an idiot like Jenny could have a fleeting moment of intelligence.

"Indeed, I am a master actress. And you are right, I was counting on their pitiful social status to keep them from being any sort of hindrance."

Her smirk dropped. "But their parents still trust them, that's the problem…not that they liked me much, to begin with. And they have already planted seeds of doubt with the other sisters, half of them are now listening to their insidious slander."

"Ughh!" Jenny and Amber flinched as Kathleen slammed her fist against the desk, her blood boiling.

"You'd think a spineless simp and an overworked and overweight crone longing for a vacation would be easy to manipulate? Most of their spawn sure were, but not Lynn and Lincoln. They and their over-attached friend continue breathing down my neck, and they ain't pushovers like Tin Teeth. I know I'm losing sway with the rest of the family, and I can't rely on any of the sisters for support, Lola is the only one who is truly loyal to me."

Kathleen became thoughtful and turned back to the window, touching the glass as she made out a small speck in the distance that was her summer home. Genuine sorrow and empathy seemed to cross her features.

"Poor Lola. The kid has so much potential, but she's so naïve, inexperienced, and stuck in the same pigpen as those simple-minded peons." She shook her head and then rubbed her chin. "I really want to help her out. But unfortunately for me and her, she's cursed to be held back by her heritage. Kept from achieving her true potential."

"Then why don't you take her in?" Amber suggested innocently. Jenny tried to shush her when Kathleen sent them a sharp glare, spooking them both. But to their relief, the latter chuckled pleasantly.

"Oh, I've entertained the idea. She's not just a promising protégé, she's like the little sister I never realized I needed so much. It gets very tiresome being surrounded by witless sycophants like the two of you. Looking at her is almost like looking at myself when I was little."

"But alas, she's tied to those degenerates by blood, and they are alive and well." She paced past the saddened Jenny and Amber. "Plus, how can I truly help that poor mistreated child while my own hands are tied! At this point, Lisa is the only one who could help me pull myself out of my current predicament."

"Your current predicament?" Jenny asked. "But isn't that like because of…"

"Because of daddy?" Kathleen grimaced at Jenny, her tone venomous. Hearing a voice in her head, the rich girl faced away from her lackeys as a horrid memory flashed before her blue eyes, freezing her in her tracks.

She saw a chibi version of herself cowering under a spotlight in the middle of a black void, looking up with big, pleading eyes as a huge, shadowy figure loomed over her.

Outside of her head, an awkward silence ensued, prompting Amber to draw a breath but she was shushed by Jenny as Kathleen stood there, unmoving and facing away from them, staring at the wall.

"Kathleen Juliette Tisdale!" the figure roared in a bass voice, as his hand entered the light and pointed down at Kathleen, looking and sounding like an all-powerful deity chastising a simple mortal. "Words cannot describe how disappointed I am in you! I cannot believe my own flesh and blood would do this!"

"But, daddy?" little Kathleen sniffed. "I was just messing around? The prank I pulled on that boy just got out of hand?"

"Silence! Your excuses will not work on me this time, young lady!" her father's voice echoed, his accusing finger coming closer, making Kathleen literally shrink further.

"So help me, you are going to learn your lesson, by any means necessary. No daughter of mine is going to run around acting like a spoiled, self-entitled hooligan! I know just the people who can help straighten you out, and I want to see everyone you've wronged publicly accept your apology, including this classmate of yours that you seem to have chosen as your favorite target!"

"F-favorite target?" Kathleen tried to play dumb. "But I don't have a favorite target? I know a LOT of people. Everyone I've…eh… disagreed with was just a one-time deal."

"Really now? All these online videos would suggest otherwise!" her father's other hand came into view, holding up a phone which showed a compilation video with two million views. Kathleen paled.

"This is just the most popular one!" The title of the video was "Thirty Reasons Why Luan "Tin Teeth" Loud Should Kill Herself!" Each "reason" in question was one of the, to put it mildly, extremely dehumanizing pranks Kathleen pulled on Luan at school.

Sweating, Kathleen chuckled. "Oh, you mean that favorite target? But that video is ancient history, it's all water under the bridge between us-"

"If she and her family share your sentiment, then I'm sure they will be more than happy to voice it publicly, as well as everyone else you've "disagreed with". Then perhaps I will be inclined to believe that you're sincere, otherwise, you'll be in so much more trouble!"

Kathleen let out a low growl as she came back to her senses. Jenny and Amber had waited patiently while their boss had spaced out.

"Can you imagine that?!" Kathleen was outraged. "What sort of cruel, thoughtless parent can't accept their own child for who they are, and forces them to be something else! Something that goes against their very nature!"

"Eh…yes, I can't believe he would do that?" an unsure Jenny played along.

"And worst of all, I complied." Kathleen ranted while gesturing at herself. "I've worked myself to death trying to meet his insane demands! Most of these idiots I've slighted were more than happy to "forgive and forget" after I offered them their dream gift, maybe some of them demanded an extra wad of cash to exchange hands, but they all complied in the end!"

Her face darkened and she balled her fists. "But not Tin Teeth! Oh, no! That buck-toothed bitch had to be so stubborn! She wouldn't budge no matter what, even after I gave her family everything their hearts desired, showered them with luxury, and even offered her a chance to enroll in clown college, freaking clown college! But she didn't even stay to hear my proposal, that self-serving wretch!"

Jenny and Amber cowered, seeing Kathleen get worked up. They were surely in for a world of hurt. They winced as Kathleen straightened herself but didn't attack. Instead, she held her hand up in a dramatic "milking cow" gesture.

Her pupils expanded and her long brown hair bristled as she grew a psychotic grin. "But perhaps me sucking up to that wretched skank and her family was a blessing in disguise, as it led me to discover little Lisa Loud! A brilliant mind but also small, vulnerable, and ripe for picking!"

She clutched her raised fist. "Once she's in my grasp, that soft-headed idiot of a father won't be stringing me along like a puppet for much longer!"

"What do you mean?" Amber asked. "And what does Lisa have to do with your dad?"

"Think!" Kathleen lashed out at her. "If she built a hypno ray once, she can build it again. Or why repeat that? She could engineer a tiny mind-control chip that I can plant in daddy's brain, whatever she deems the most practical."

She continued, "And why stop at daddy? With my own personal science flunky, the world will be my oyster! I'll be free to do whatever I want! No one will stand in my way, least of all that pack of freaks!"

As she cackled with unbridled glee, Jenny and Amber were deeply unnerved. They didn't know if Kathleen was being hyperbolic or not, but this was certainly a notch above her usual power fantasy ramblings.

"Eh…Kathleen?" Jenny dared to ask. "The way you're talking….you're making it sound like you want to do some…very messed-up things to your dad, and exploit Lisa?"

"And your point?" Kathleen asked rhetorically, calming down. Jenny swallowed a lump, getting the implication.

"But…what if Lisa doesn't want to work with you?" Amber inquired. "She seems pretty tight with-"

Kathleen gave her a simple smirk. "You silly simpleton. When did I ever insinuate that she had a choice in the matter?"


"Are you sure you don't want to sleep in a real bed? Lisa and Lola still have a spare one in their room?" Lucy asked. "I don't see how anyone is benefiting from this."

Luan, still in her mime getup, just folded her arms and shook her head, sitting in the middle of the dusty old cellar, surrounded on both sides by empty wine barrels.

"Don't you at least want a blanket and-"

The mime shook her head again and made a shooing gesture.

"Sigh. If that's what you want." Lucy gave up trying to reason. "At least your convictions remain firm."

Luan nodded before pretending to pull a blanket over herself and lied down, only to hit her head on the hard floor and rub it while pursing her black-tinged lips.

"Goodnight…" Lucy walked up the stairs and out of the cellar, just as the rest of the family was getting ready to hit the hey. The goth had eaten very little and quietly left the table without anyone noticing, determined to talk her sister out of going through with this absurd protest of hers, but to no avail.

As Lucy walked upstairs, Rita searched the fridge while her husband and Luna were preoccupied cleaning the table and dishes. Lori had excused herself the moment the word "dishes" was thrown out.

Still frustrated, Rita chugged down a bottle of vodka, shuddering afterward and wiping her mouth. She should have known better than to let this relatively peaceful day lull her into a false sense of security, and now her father had paid the price for it.

"Honey…a little help?" she saw Charles running around a nervous Lynn Sr., who was carrying a stack of dirty dishes to the sink, almost tripping him over. Rita remembered that nobody fed their pets today.

"Leni…" she turned to her only other remaining daughter, just as she was about to clean the inside of a blender with a rag, with her other hand holding it in place, being dangerously close to the on/off switch.

"Could you please give Charles and Cliff food and water before going to bed?"

"Of course, mom." The blonde smiled, quickly forgetting the blender that she accidentally turned on. "No trouble at all!"

Rita winced a bit from her daughter's lack of an indoor voice, and once Leni was gone, she took the blender and hid it in one of the cabinets.

"Mom…" she heard her son's voice as he approached her, still a bit dizzy. Rita couldn't believe he was still roaming about.

"Lincoln, I thought I told you to go to bed." She scolded him, frustration evident in her tone.

"I know, I will…" He sighed, not knowing what else to say "…but I just wanted to check on you …"

Rita lightened up a bit, "Son, between this and you getting burned yesterday, I'm starting to think you lack any self-preservation instincts. Go to sleep, now. I'll be fine…"

Lincoln eyed the object in her hand, making Rita rub her forehead and put the bottle on the counter. "You know what happened. You can't expect me to ease up any other way, can you?" was her frank response. She refrained from adding that her son's refusal to lie down and rest didn't help matters.

Lincoln didn't argue with her. He reluctantly consented that his mother needed something to ease her nerves. A good night's rest was the only other thing that could alleviate her stress following Albert's accident, and the same applied to Lincoln.

Gazing at the living room, Lincoln saw that his grandfather had already fallen asleep on the couch, snoring loudly and with his feet dangling. He would be in for a painful surprise once he woke up and inevitably forgot about his back injury, only to be swiftly reminded of it once he tried to get up.

"And you're going straight to bed?" he looked his mother in the eye.

"I will…" Rita exhaled and held her hand up "…you have my word."

"Okay, see you in the morning… goodnight..." Lincoln told her and headed upstairs, now aiming to intercept his youngest sister before she went to bed.

Lisa had been trying to help their grandfather and cater to him following supper, despite his protests that he didn't need help, but must have gone upstairs a while ago.

Knowing that the margin for unforeseen chaos was small now that most of her kids had retreated to their quarters, Rita herself soon followed Lincoln, while giving her sleeping father one last look. She really envied him for his uncanny ability to keep a positive attitude during the worst of times, something she clearly did not inherit.

After hearing the unmistakable sound of plastic bowls being placed on the floor, Charles stopped pestering Lynn Sr., much to the latter's relief as he started washing the dishes, and rushed to the bowl filled with kibble. He really earned this meal as far as he was concerned, too hungry to realize he was actually chowing down on cat food.

"Meooow!" Cliff was freaking out and desperately trying to escape Leni's grasp as she carried him into the kitchen and patted his back.

"There, there, I know you're hungry." She said cheerfully and placed him next to Charles and pushed the cat's bowl towards him.

Free now, Cliff's first insist was to run back and hide under the furniture, but despite his fears, his growling stomach convinced him to stay in the open long enough to satiate his hunger.

"Now you guys just need water." Leni remembered and blissfully grabbed the nearest bottle off the counter.

"Hmm…" she narrowed her eyes as she tried to read the label "…wooo…dddd…that says "water", right?"

Not giving it much more thought, she shrugged and refilled the pets' water bowls.


Upstairs, Lisa walked out of a bathroom, and noticed steam coming out from underneath the neighboring bathroom's door, meaning Lori was taking another extra-long shower.

Knowing her transformation was nigh, the soon-to-be-former genius breathed out as she headed towards her room, bracing herself for the inevitable, when she heard the last voice she wanted to hear right now.

"Hey, Lisa?"

"Confounded it all…" she balled her fists and held back tears, forcing a neutral expression as she turned around to face her brother, her mind racing. Lincoln's concerned expression conveyed that he wanted to ask questions she would rather not answer.

Her speech at supper did not help matters. Inwardly, she cursed at her emotions for making her take another counterintuitive course of action. She couldn't slip up now, the deed was almost done. All boxes were checked. She had to get away from Lincoln as fast as possible.

Lisa forced a big yawn and squinted her eyes. "What is it, brother? I really have to go to bed."

"Lisa…" he replied seriously "…is something troubling you? What was the deal with that big speech you gave at the table? You stopped everything to tell us how much you love us and-"

"I already explained how I spent all day trying to assist everyone in our family and make up for lost quality time." Lisa replied quickly.

"I know, but why-"

"I feared that my efforts might be perceived as insufficient by some, so I took the opportunity to reaffirm my intentions to everyone at the table…even if some ended up not being present or staying long enough to hear me." Lisa finished, somewhat dejectedly.

Lincoln studied her. "I get what you were trying to do…but this? It just seems so… random and abru-"

"Lincoln. I really don't have time for this." Lisa cut him off in a blustery manner, determined to not let him get another word in, and forced another yawn. "Look, I appreciate your concerns but they are unfounded, and you should understand that I'm thoroughly exhausted. I had a very busy day and if we indulge in idle chitchat any longer, I might drop from fatigue."

"But Lisa…" she ignored him, turned around, and walked away, trying very hard not to break down and cry.

"We can talk tomorrow, you yourself said that there is no need to rush things. Goodnight."

Lincoln watched her close the door to her and Lola's room, his worries not the least bit eased. If anything, he was more worried than ever. Something wasn't right with Lisa.

"Maybe I am being too paranoid? Maybe she really is just trying too hard? Who can blame her? We can talk tomorrow." he tried telling himself as he walked off. "But I can't shake off the feeling that something is wrong. She's been down in the dumps for a while, but there's something more going on? But what?"


His team's bedroom looked similar to the living room below, with wooden boards covering the walls and ceiling, and a brown ribbed carpet. It had two bunk beds, lined against the same wall with a nightstand in-between them. On the other side of the room was the aforementioned treadmill, along with another flatscreen tv, and it also had a balcony.

Lying in one of the lower bunks, Lana sulked and held her arms crossed, with her stomach growling. Lynn was sitting next to her. Like Lucy, the jock left the table relatively quickly with only a few bites to eat, as food really wasn't on her mind and she wanted to console Lana. Lisa's out-of-the-blue saccharine speech also prompted her to leave, less she regurgitated what little supper she had.

Lucy was lying on the top bunk above the tomboys. Gazing at the ceiling, she tried to doze off but wasn't feeling particularly tired, and continued listening to her sisters' conversation. Thoughts about Ryan's whereabouts also kept her awake.

"You could have brought some snacks up here, y'know?"

Lynn rolled her eyes. "Lana, I'm already on thin ice with mom, I can't risk getting caught smuggling goods to you."

Lana made a "humph" and looked away.

"Lana, I have to say it." Lynn continued hesitantly. "Maybe you shouldn't have taken Lola's stupid scarf. That…was kinda spiteful of you."

"So you're taking her side now?"

Lynn didn't flinch. She knew Lana didn't truly believe her own accusation; she was just being a brat.

"Get real." Lynn scowled a bit. "All I'm saying is that if you hadn't done it, we probably wouldn't be here. You did yourself no favors by mocking her to her face. Mom was satisfied with your "apology", you could have left it there, but instead, you fanned the flames and instu…insta…ehh…"

"Instigated the fight." Lucy finished. "And you did needlessly exacerbate things by taunting Lola."

Lynn grumbled in annoyance. "Yeah…that's what I was saying."

"And you didn't exactly refrain from teasing her either, Lynn." Lucy was mindful to add.

"Anyway…" Lynn said tensely, trying to tune the goth out.

"But she deserves it. You know it!" Lana insisted.

"Not denying that….but sometimes…I dunno, you just have to let things go. Being spiteful towards someone always ends up badly for you, and everyone else involved. Just ask Linc and Pop-Pop."

Hearing those names, Lana shrunk a bit and Lynn patted her shoulder, before pulling her blanket over Lana.

"Just sleep on it, squirt. You'll feel better tomorrow and then you can eat as much as you like." The jock assured her. "Kathleen's credit card is paying for it."

Lana didn't retort, her eyelids were heavy and she rolled onto her side. Lynn and Lucy, meanwhile, heard the door handle twisting and saw Lincoln entering.

"You idiot, what are you doing still waltzing around?" Lynn scowled. "You need rest. I swear, you're as bad as Ryan with-"

"I'm fine, really." Lincoln insisted firmly, as firmly as a guy with a concussion could be. "But I don't think Lisa is."

"Tell me something I don't know." Lynn snarked. "Is the poindexter still moping-"

"Lynn, this is serious." Lincoln stated. "I'm worried. Something is not right with her."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

Not knowing where to start, Lincoln sat next to Lynn and recounted his previous conversation with Lisa, though he omitted some frank admissions from both parties. Lana had long since dozed off by the time he finished.

Lynn whistled. "She must have the mother of all guilty consciences if she's okay with being Lori and Lola's slave."

"I know, and it's not like I was all that surprised hearing that. I figured she would try to atone whichever way she could." Lincoln said.

That simple comment was enough to remind both Lynn and Lucy why Lisa would be in the state she was currently in, given her two recent screw-ups. It made Lynn think of her own conversation with Lisa.

"So…what's the problem then?" the jock wondered.

"I don't get why she tried doing all of this in one single day, not like any of us will be going anywhere this week. And the way she teared up all of a sudden? I thought our talk was going in a positive direction but then suddenly, she wanted to get away from me, like she was hiding something or…"

"Lincoln, maybe that's just your concussion talking?" Lynn suggested, making her brother roll his eyes.

"That's not all, you were there when she gave that speech at supper?"

"Oh, I remember that."

"What speech?" Lucy asked.

Lynn glanced at her, for once envying her for getting out while the going was good. Lynn was supposed to be the fast one.

"A long sappy one about us being family, and how much she appreciates and loves us and that kind of junk, it was pretty damn awkward. It was one of the reasons why I left and went to see Lana, hearing that that dribble killed my appetite." Lynn explained. Though, thinking about that speech in context with what Lincoln revealed to them, prompted the jock to have second thoughts about her brother's concerns.

"Huh…how peculiar?" Lucy noted. She too had been put off by the sudden flattery she had received from Lisa today, as well as the genius admitting that she willingly played servant to Lori. Lincoln's account gave it more context, and something about Lisa's actions sounded familiar to the goth.

Pensive, Lynn felt compelled to recount her own conversation with Lisa to the others. Lincoln listened attentively, looking for any clues that might explain Lisa's odd behavior.

"…and at the end, she said something about taking precautions to never repeat such mistakes again?"

Lincoln raised his brow, alarmed. "Did she say what it was?"

"No." Lynn shook her head, now feeling foolish for not asking anything. "I didn't give it much thought at the time. I dunno what she was getting at?"

"You know…if I didn't know any better, I'd say Lisa is planning to…" Lucy made a throat-slitting gesture "…herself."

Her siblings were caught off guard, resulting in total silence. Lincoln gawked at her as his pupils slowly shrank in horror. No, no, it couldn't be?

Lynn, slower on the uptake as usual, let out a curt, incredulous laugh.

"You're mind works in weird, twisted ways." She wasn't sure if she should be amused or disgusted. "Maybe Renee has a point about you being a little psycho."

"Lucy…" Lincoln said in a shaky voice "…why w-would you assume that?"

"Well…based on your accounts, Lisa seems to be going through all the expected stages? Extreme self-loathing, most often linked to a major screw-up, making you think the world would be better off without you, and especially your loved ones…"

Lincoln knew that was true, and so did Lynn. Ever since the near flu-zombie apocalypse, Lisa had been in a state of depression, further exacerbated by everyone's initial anger toward her. Those that didn't suffer amnesia anyway, but they included Lincoln, someone Lisa actually respected.

"…trying to part ways with them on a positive note…" Lucy counted off her fingers. Lincoln felt his stomach twisting, while Lynn's brow furrowed.

"…and of course, it's capped off with an emotional, out-of-nowhere speech to said loved ones, usually at the dinner table, about how you really feel about them, and usually, everyone fails to read the warning signs until it's too late."

Lincoln and Lynn didn't pause to wonder why their 7-year-old sister was so intimately familiar with the nuances of suicide, as a chill ran down both of their spines and they simultaneously jumped off the bed.

"Holy crap!" he cried in unison. "Why didn't we see this before!"

Lucy blinked behind her bags, before grasping her own conclusion.

"Oh, no…"

"We gotta stop her!" Lincoln said urgently.


Opening the door to the neighboring room, the trio walked in and found Lola peacefully slumbering. Looking at the bed next to hers, they saw that it was empty. They turned to the bed next to it and found someone lying in it. They noticed the messy brown hair.

Lincoln sighed with relief, but it didn't last long as he studied the unmoving form.

"It seems she's not ready to do the deed yet?" Lucy commented, much to Lynn's annoyance.

Lincoln walked toward the bed to get a better look at Lisa's sleeping form. His heart raced and beads of sweat formed on his face as he failed to hear any breathing.

"Lisa…" he gingerly placed his hand on her and tried to stir her awake. "Lisa?"

"Maybe she took pills?" Lucy suggested with grim intrigue, only for Lynn to slam her elbow into the goth's side.

"Lisa?" Lincoln couldn't take it anymore and tore the blanket off her…and was faced with a pile of clothes and a soccer ball with a brown wig on it, which rolled off the bed.

"She skedaddled!" Lynn's eyes widened as the ball rolled past her.

"Where is she?!" Lincoln panicked while his sisters hastily searched the room for any clues.

Lynn noticed that the window wasn't fully closed, so she pushed it open, and sure enough, she noticed a rope made out of clothes and bed sheets hanging from it.

"Guys? I think she ran off into the woods." She said in a worried tone as the others joined her and looked around, seeing no other sign of Lisa.

A lump formed in Lincoln's throat. How the hell were they supposed to track her down now?

"Wait? You guys hear that?" Lucy could have sworn that she heard the familiar sound of tiny jet engines.

Squinting her eyes, Lynn pointed at the night sky. "Look?"

She, Lincoln, and Lucy all made out a small, pointy-eared silhouette flying across the night sky and landing behind a line of conifers. It was carrying something that was emanating a light.

"Is that Fenton?" Lucy wondered.

The other two didn't need to think hard about it. Whatever she was doing, Lisa likely needed assistance, and that mindless machine was blindly obedient to her, to a fault.

"Grab whatever weapon you can find!" Lincoln blurted. "We have to stop this!"


It's been a while since my last update, again. Though this time, it wasn't creative block as much as me being preoccupied writing new chapters to another, long-neglected fic of mine, but also because we have now reached an important turning point in the story that will shake up my AU's status quo, which has been in effect since the beginning of A Second Chance.

This and the following chapter were originally written as one, but true to form, I ended up making it too long (what a shocker XD), so I split it up into two, as I think Kathleen's elaborate temper tantrum that showcases the true depth of her megalomania and childish delusions of grandeur, and the upcoming confrontation with One Eye are a bit too much for one chapter. On the upside, this means the next chapter will come very soon, within a few days at most.