Ronnie Anne woke up slowly; yesterday's events played in her mind until Lincoln and Lori's reunion. She remembered how Lincoln immediately tried leaving, saying he couldn't do this and wasn't ready for this. Lori begged him not to leave, but he couldn't stay. Luckily Bobby walked in, stopping him; knowing he was still suffering from what happened before his apparent death, he convinced Lincoln to stay in his old room to rest more while he and Lori stayed in Carlota's old room. Lincoln reluctantly agreed and returned to the room to rest while Bobby took a sad Lori across the hall. Ronnie Anne then got into a brief argument with her mother, reminding her how she warned her not to tell Lori yet before going to bed herself. Her mother tried to defend herself, claiming that his family had a right to know, and as Lori is part of their family, that meant Maria had a right to tell her. Ronnie Anne countered by saying her mother knew how the Louds had treated Lincoln, and she had no right to 'decide' that he had to welcome them back into his life. Others agreed with her, making Maria wonder if perhaps she had jumped the gun on this.

Leaving her room, Ronnie Anne headed to the living room to see everyone having breakfast, this time joined by Lori and Bobby. Lori, however, didn't eat; all she could do was look at her food while Bobby encouraged her to eat.

"C'mon babe, please eat."

"He still hates me, bobby," Lori cried.

"Babe?"

"That look he gave me last night was the same look he gave us the last time I saw him. A look that said, 'traitor."

Seeing Lori's hurt expression made Ronnie Anne regret ever wanting to see it, but another question came. "Hey, where's Lincoln?"

"He's on the roof training; he asked to be left alone," Bobby answered.

Ronnie Anne returned to her room, climbing out the window onto the fire escape. Ronnie Anne rushed up to the roof finding Lincoln doing vertical pushups.

"997, 998, 999, and 1000," he said in between breaths.

"Lincoln," called Ronnie Anne.

Noticing Ronnie Anne, Lincoln stood up before sitting with his legs crossed. Ronnie Anne sat next to him; nothing was said for a moment until Ronnie Anne spoke.

"Look, Linc, I'm sorry my mom put you in this situation."

"Ronnie Anne, I appreciate your mom patching me up; but I wish she would've asked before calling Lori; now she's down there wanting to talk, but my blood boils when I'm near her."

"Yeah, I told her off for that. I think sometimes she forgets that not every family works as ours does. So what are you going to do?"

"If I have to do this, I'm only doing this once."

Lincoln then got up and headed to the stairs while Ronnie Anne went back down the fire escape.

Upon returning to her room, Ronnie Anne returned to the living room just as Lincoln walked back into the apartment. Lori kept her head down, knowing Lincoln didn't want to talk to her, so Bobby stepped in.

"Lincoln, I know you're mad, but-"

"Bobby, stop right there. I still have some respect for you, don't ruin that by trying to tell me what to feel right now." Lincoln cut him off.

Bobby closed his mouth and looked worried, like if he breathed the wrong way, Lincoln would declare him an enemy.

"You want to know how I feel? Yes, I'm angry; of course, I am. Who in their right mind wouldn't be if they were me? Ronnie Anne knows the whole story, so you and your family can't say you don't either. You know what happened to me and what she and the others did about it. I shouldn't have to explain or justify myself right now, and frankly, I'm not going to because some people in this house can't be trusted to respect my wishes."

Ronnie Anne saw her mother look ashamed at hearing that.

"I'm heading back to Royal Woods this afternoon, but no promises past that. So, Lori, I suggest you make phone calls and call the rest of your family, but leave Sam out! If anyone doesn't show up, that's your problem to deal with, not mine."

Lori only nodded before leaving the table, wanting to get ready, with everyone following her. Lincoln went to get cleaned up. Lincoln immediately removes his clothes and starts his shower after heading into the bathroom. As Lincoln cleaned himself, his mind was focused on what he'd face this afternoon; he knew a lot of baggage was about to be unloaded. Lincoln was so focused he failed to notice that he didn't close the bathroom door all the way. It was cracked enough for someone to see him naked in the mirror. Ronnie Anne was that someone; returning to the apartment after everyone settled across the hall, she saw the bathroom door cracked; seeing through the mirror, she saw Lincoln in all his naked glory. Ronnie Anne wanted to look away, her mind said to do it, but her body wouldn't listen. To make matters worse, she liked what she saw from Lincoln's well-fitted body, his battle scar-covered six-pack, but the most that stuck out was his manhood.

"Chiwawa, he's a stallion!" she thought.

Lost in the moment, Ronnie Anne began rubbing her thighs together while her nipples were hardening. Suddenly she felt someone tapping on her shoulder, making her jump; thankfully, Lincoln didn't hear her. Turning around, she saw Carlota standing behind her, wearing a grin; Ronnie Anne quickly forced Carlota into her room, locking the door behind her.

"How long were you standing there?"

"Long enough to see you trying to start a fire between your legs."

"Carlota, it's not what it looks like."

"Really? Cause to me, it looks like my prima is a little thirsty." she teased.

"What? I am not thirsty!"

"Ronnie Anne, I just caught you peeping on him; what would you call that? Checking his health?"

Ronnie Anne could only rub her arm, knowing Carlota was right and hated to admit it.

"Okay fine, maybe I do want his attention; ever since I saw him, I've felt drawn to him. He's become so cool, but he's still the same dork I know," said Ronnie Anne blushing.

"Eeeee, I'm happy you're finally taking an interest in boys; I thought you would let your looks go to waste."

"Woah, hold on, prima, I like him, but I don't want him thinking I'm just trying to get into his pants; after what he's been through, I doubt he's interested in a relationship."

"He needs to work through his traumas, and I'm sure once he does, he'll be dying to date you," Carlota assured.

"Really?" Ronnie Anne asked, unable to suppress how hopeful she sounded.

Carlota chuckled. "In the meantime, you should know how to keep those eyes only on you so that when he is ready, he's already thirsty for you and won't want to look at other girls."

By the afternoon, everyone was ready to go. Bobby offered to give Lincoln and Ronnie Anne a lift in their car Eliza.

"No thanks, I got my own ride."

Lincoln stuck out his hand, and it began to glow with mana; suddenly, a magic ring made of unknown runes appeared. Expanding, everyone watched in wonder as something rose within it, revealing itself as an orange car with black stripes. After the magic disappeared. Everyone was shocked, especially Lori, who was still a little in the dark about Lincoln's powers.

"Hey, is that a Trion Nemesis RR supercar with 2000hp?" asked CJ, to everyone's shock. "What? I like cars."

"Lincoln, where did you get a car like this?" asked Bobby.

"I didn't get it; I built it; I call this one Ace #1," he replied.

"you built it?" Everyone replied.

"I built many things in my time in the other world; it helped me deal with being alone in the other world."

"Would you build me a car?'' asked Carl.

"Sure, when you're old enough to drive; I'm a little surprised you didn't ask for a train."

"Wait, you can build that too? I changed my mind. I want a train."

"Too late. You're getting a car."

"dang it," replied Carl.

Ronnie Anne laughed at the trick Lincoln played on Carl, but soon it was time to go. Climbing into Ace #1, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne took off, with Bobby and Lori following in Eliza. Lincoln drove fast while Ronnie Anne enjoyed the ride.

"This is awesome." she cheered.

"Ronnie Anne, I meant to ask you."

"What's up?"

"I get that it's the start of summer, but That's a pretty bold look."

Ronnie Anne was wearing a short backless halter dress, which clung to her body like a second skin, and the skirt barely passed her thighs.

"What? You don't think I can pull it off?" she said, perking out her chest.

"No, you can; it just doesn't seem like your style," he said, blushing.

"A girl's style can change. Besides, once I said I needed to change my look, I unleashed Carlota on myself."

"Yikes."

"if you think this is a bold look, she almost made me wear a crop top with booty shorts,"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, She's always trying to get me to dress more "sexy," saying I shouldn't let my looks and figure go to waste, but c'mon, booty shorts, not even she can wear them, those things are like thongs to girls like us can you imagine. Laughed Ronnie Anne.

Lincoln nodded before blushing a little as he was imagining it, this turned out to be part of a strategy that Carlota told Ronnie Anne by putting naughty thoughts of herself in his head; he'd be interested in dating her first. Ronnie Anne's plan seem to be working well. However, she remembered something that Lincoln had said.

"Lincoln, I was thinking about what you said about being alone."

"yeah, it was pretty lonely."

"I thought you said The Asur raised you?"

"They did, and they didn't."

"huh?"

"I'm grateful to The Asur for saving me and training me, but that's all they did; they taught me how to survive and master my skills, heck the queen taught me how to amplify my bio-electric energy,"

"bio-electric?"

"I can turn myself into a living taser."

"Really?"

"Yup,"

"So, are you just gonna be one of those anime protagonists with a bunch of abilities that no one knows? But then pull one out of your ass for shock value in a dire situation?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"Maybe. But back on topic, I never really felt like a member of their village, sure I was allowed to train with the other kids, but they had families to go home to; I was left alone, and I had my own hut away from everyone else, I was basically a kid in a foster home. I had to hunt my own food and cook it. Within my first year, I learned to take care of myself. In a nutshell, all they really did was make sure I wasn't dead and that if I ever did die, it wouldn't be their fault." he said, becoming stoic.

Ronnie Anne was saddened for her friend; too many times, Lincoln was forced to grow up faster than he should've.

Back with Lori and Bobby, Lori sadly looked out the window while Bobby drove.

"so, how did your family react?"

"I didn't tell them; I just told everyone to come to the house. I have an emergency."

"Lori."

"What was I supposed to say? That Lincoln's not dead? He was just in another world all this time, and he still hates us?"

"babe, I know you're hurting, but this is still a blessing; this is your chance to talk things out with Lincoln. Give him your side."

"I hope so, booboo bear; I want my brother back; I lost him for six years. I can't lose him again."

"But it looks like he can lose you." Bobby couldn't help but point out.

Lori shed a few tears. "Yeah, I see that."

3 hours Later.

After traveling, they finally made it to Royal Woods. To Lincoln, the whole town looked so familiar but felt so different.

"It feels so weird to be back here."

Lincoln drove to town, getting the lay of the land; driving by, he noticed a few people who looked familiar but older. Lincoln wanted to greet everyone, but he knew this trip down memory lane would have to wait. He needed to be somewhere. Pulling up to 1216 Franklin Avenue, Lincoln parked between the house and 's while Bobby parked in the front. Bobby and Lori got out first, followed by Ronnie Anne, and Lincoln. Lincoln walked over to see Vanzilla sitting in the driveway, who hadn't changed, and gently placed his hand on the aged vehicle, hit with a strong sense of nostalgia.

"Hey girl, I see Lana's been keeping you up and running," he spoke as if he were speaking to an old friend or pet.

"Okay, I'll go in first. You hang back," said Lori.

"Fine by me." Replied Lincoln.

Lori walked to the door with Bobby following. Every step was nerve-wracking as she got closer to the door. Taking a second, Lori unlocked the door with Bobby, and the two walked in. The sight of her younger sisters, parents, and grandparents immediately greeted Lori, some of which had changed a lot and others a little. Leni, now 23 yrs old, didn't change much though she wore lipstick and was now the manager of her job. Luna, now 22 yrs old, was still dressed as a rocker though she traded her skirt for tight jeans that clung to her bubble butt and a purple crop top with a skull over her C-cups. Luan, now 21 yrs old, was taller and no longer had her braces; her outfit remained the same. Lynn Jr., now 20 yrs old, had a drastic change; while still the same sports-loving hyper-competitive person she had always been, she had gained a much more feminine figure and traded in her usual outfit for a red and white tracksuit and her ponytail for a horsetail. Lucy, now 15 yrs old, traded in her casual gothic style for a more romantic style, now wearing long black gowns that clung to her still-developing figure. Lana and Lola, now 13 yrs old, hadn't changed that much personality-wise; they were older, about the same height as Lincoln was at 12. Lola had moved past her princess faze but still dressed in pink and competed in pageants. Lana was still the house's animal lover and mechanic; she wore her same outfits but worked to remain cleaner. Lisa, 11 yrs old, didn't change her look, though she no longer needed a wig or dentures due to managing to regrow her natural brown hair and her new teeth. Lily changed the most; she was no longer the little toddler she used to be; now she was an 8 yr old little girl, her head covered in her blonde hair and now dressed in a light purple dress. Lynn Sr. and Rita hadn't changed much, though there were hints of gray. Albert and Myrtle hadn't changed much either, finally, their pets were still there, though older, healthy, and active. They all lived past life expectancy thanks to Lisa.

"What's wrong, Lori? You sounded frantic on the phone." as her father.

Lori took a deep breath. "Something huge has just come up, and this could literally either be the best thing or the worst thing to happen to us."

"What could possibly be worse than losing Lincoln and dealing with the other crap?" Luna replied, a bit of bitterness rising in her voice.

"Trust me, Luna, if even one of us does the wrong thing, this WILL be worse," Lori warned.

Everyone was more interested in what Lori had to say, but she felt it was better to show them. Lori nodded to Bobby before moving to stand with her family.

Bobby nodded in reply before opening. "You guys can come in now."

Ronnie Anne came in first, standing next to Bobby. Slowly Lincoln walked in with his hood up; everyone was confused about who this person could be. Until he revealed his white hair, everyone was stunned, until Lily approached him.

"Lincoln?"

Lincoln nodded. "Hey guys, I'm…back," he replied nervously.

Everyone was stunned; Lucy lifted her bangs to ensure she was seeing correctly while Lisa checked her glasses. Lincoln kneeled, bringing himself closer to her.

"You got so big, Lily; well, you're still my baby sister," he said, petting her cheek.

With tears welling up, Lily jumped into Lincoln's arms, giving a big hug as she cried. Lucy, Lana, Lola, and Lisa all ran in, and they all piled on him, crying. Lincoln cried a little, too, happy to see his younger sisters. Leni wanted to join in, too, but Lori stopped her along with the others and her parents and told them to hang back. Ronnie Anne and Bobby were both moved; this was the happiest she had ever seen Lincoln; despite her feelings for his older sisters, Ronnie Anne hoped he could reconcile with his other sisters. Eventually, because she knew there was no way he was leaving this house tonight, all smiles and rainbows. Hell, she knew there was no way he wasn't leaving this house tonight in the first place.

"Lincoln, we're so glad to see you're alive and well. Where have you been all this time? Why didn't you come back sooner?" Rita asked.

Wanting to hear him, the sisters let him go.

"I can tell you, and I will," said Lincoln, getting to his feet.

Lincoln started revealing what happened to him after the last time they saw him, going into detail about the crash, waking up in the Asur village, and his time there. Showing off his new powers in the process. Lincoln then revealed what happened after he left the village and joined the hero's party, followed by their betrayal, and how he battled their army and found himself back. Finally, he spoke about the events that happened the last couple of nights, including his fight with the centipede demon and Leanne. By the end of his tale, everyone was filled with mixed emotions about Lincoln's hardships.

"You've been through a lot, son."

"I did, which is why I need to know something; I've needed to know since before I ended up in the other world."

"Of course. What do you want to know?" Lynn Sr. asked.

"Why did you choose Sam over me?"

Everyone was taken aback by Lincoln's direct question, though his older sisters and parents felt they had to answer.

"Son, we didn't choose Sam over you," replied Lynn Sr.

"Really, dad? The day Sam showed up with her family, and you all found that she was the one, you and mom were ready to call the police, then after they left, I heard you discussing with Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, and Lynn how you weren't going to press charges against Sam just because she was pregnant."

"Lincoln, it wasn't that simple; this was a very hard call we made," defended Rita.

"Would it have been a hard call if Benny did it to Luan or if Bobby did it to Lori and they ended up pregnant?"

"Hey, leave Benny/Bobby out of this," said Lori and Luan.

"Babe, it's fine. He's giving an example." Bobby assured.

"Well, would it?" Lincoln pressed.

Lynn Sr. and Rita only looked at each other, rubbing their arms but their expressions said it all.

"I thought so," he said coldly. "Then, to add insult to injury, I didn't get a say in this, then I found out Sam is now living here, thanks to you, Luna," he said, giving her an angry stare."

Luna looked down in shame, knowing most of Lincoln's anger was focused on her.

"Lincoln, I'm sorry."

"That's all you have to say, Luna?" he asked. "I'm sorry"? That doesn't change the fact you helped set this in motion, and it doesn't help make my scars fade, emotional or physical," he said, lifting his shirt to show all the scars he got over the years.

"Oh god," said Leni and Rita.

"All of this could've been avoided if you just listened to me; I would never hurt you like that; the only reason I ended up in that situation was because of you; I didn't care about my rep or getting back Stella, I wanted you to call me your brother again, I was so desperate I let myself fall into a trap. Whatever scars you got from this, at least yours are on the inside; I'm wearing mine on the inside and outside."

Seeing the battle damage Lincoln went through only made Luna's guilt more painful, and she felt responsible for each scar. Albert knew Lincoln was letting out his anger but wanted to set things straight.

"Lincoln, I know you're angry, but you still don't understand their side, right?" asked Albert.

"Their side Pop-pop?" Fine, Lori, tell me your side."

"We were only trying to help; every choice we made was for you." pleaded Lori.

"That's the problem; you all made the choices for me; no one ever actually asked me anything."

"Hey, it was your choice to leave us," argued Lynn.

"because it felt like the only choice I had!"

"Okay, Lincoln, tell us what you would have wanted. Did you want us to have Sam arrested? Asked Luan.

"yes...no...I don't know!"

"for the whole month until Sam came to our door and confessed to what happened, you shut yourself down. You wouldn't speak to any of us or tell us who it was."

"I was a kid, and someone I trusted did this to me. I was scared and confused."

"These were all common traits of a rape victim. We didn't want to stress you more, " said Myrtle.

"let me show you something," said Lori pulling up her sleeves, revealing the mark of a faded scar on her arm.

"what's that ?" mark?" Lincoln asked.

"you gave me this during one of your nightmares."

"I...did?"

"After you told us what happened every night, you would scream & thrash in your sleep; you even became violent in your sleep; this mark was from you biting me when I was holding you until it passed, mom, dad, Lynn. Luan, Leni, Pop-pop, and even Luna all took turns holding you to keep you calm while you slept; we didn't let Lucy and the others help because we were afraid you'd injure them, that's why mom and dad agreed to let you go see pop-pop's friend," explained Lori.

"I don't remember any of that."

"We all agreed not to tell you we didn't want to burden you. Lincoln, you think we didn't care, but we did and still do; you're our little brother; when you were born, we made a vow to protect you, and we failed." Said Lynn Jr.

"We hated Sam for what she did, hell Sam hated herself; she wanted to be punished, and her mom pleaded with us not to; after she revealed sam was pregnant, it wasn't so black and white then; there were so many factors, now we had you and Lina to consider," said Lynn Sr.

"If we pressed charges, we knew it would spread around town; we didn't want people giving you funny looks for the rest of your life, looking at you like you're always a victim, mocking you, or calling you a liar. And as for Lina, we didn't want her to be looked at like a monster. We should've asked you, and you were the victim, but don't ever think we didn't care. Do you have any idea how it felt the last six years, remembering the last thing you said to me was you hated us!?" cried Rita.

"no, mom, do you have any idea what it's like to feel your life never mattered as you bleed to death alone," he replied. "You guys still had each other; I had no family, and you all managed to move past all this and move forward with your lives; I haven't even started crossing that bridge."

"What makes you think we all crossed that bridge, Lincoln?" asked Luna.

Everyone turned to Luna, who had a solemn look on her face as she walked up to Lincoln about to talk.

"Lincoln, every waking moment since you were gone, I've had to live with the fact that none of this would have happened if it wasn't for me. I let my jealousy and paranoia get the best of me to the point that I set off this domino effect. If I hadn't started that stupid argument with Sam, she would never have run off and run into you. This whole thing was my fault. Sam trusted me with her past, and I rubbed it in her face. I gave Rusty the opportunity to take that photo. I was so caught up in playing the victim I couldn't see that I wasn't the victim; I was the cause. I was too stupid to see just how bad things had gotten for you have to happen between you and Sam. I thought everything would go back to normal after Lisa and Lynn exposed the photo as a fake, but I couldn't. It could never go back to normal. Luna cried. "by the time I finally realized this whole thing was my fault, it was too late; you were already gone."

Lincoln looked at Luna, who suddenly embraced him. To his surprise, his first instinct was to make her let go, but as Luna broke down and buried her face into her taller brother's chest, he couldn't.

"I'm so sorry; it's all my fault, not; Sam's, especially after she saved my life."

"Saved her life?" thought Ronnie Anne.

"What are you talking about?" Lincoln Asked.

Luna didn't answer; all she could do was cry into Lincoln, so Rita explained what she meant. Rita explained that Sam came to the house one day a month before Lina was born while everyone was out. She realized the door was open upon entering; she heard a noise. Investigating, Sam found Luna just about to hang herself. Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were shocked, as she didn't know about this. Rita went on to explain that Sam managed to stop Luna right before Rita came home, it was then the depth of Luna's guilt, and grief was revealed. Luna felt she had no right to live when it was her fault Lincoln was gone, and the only fair thing was to kill herself. Sam convinced her that killing herself wouldn't help anyone but only hurt her family more.

"That's why I asked mom and dad to let Sam stay when she didn't want to leave Lina; if it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't be here to see you again."

"That's why we agreed; we already lost you; we couldn't take losing another child," Lynn Sr. explained.

Rita walked over to Lincoln just as Luna finally let go with pleading eyes.

"I know, there's still a lot more to work out but please."

Lincoln only nodded before Rita embraced him, no longer being able to hold back as she cried, "my baby is home." Suddenly Lynn Sr. and the rest of the family formed a group hug around Lincoln, crying that he was back. To Lincoln, he knew his issues weren't over yet, but at this moment, he felt something he hadn't felt for six long years…family. Ronnie Anne only watched and smiled hopefully, she knew it would take time before he and his family fully reconciled, but it was a start but knew that Lincoln's still needed to confront Sam and meet Lina.

End Of Ch. 4