AN: So...it's been a while. How have you guys been? Haven't had the chance to catch up with all of you in quite some time and...well, I've got some bad news, some good news, some great news, and some amazing news to share. The bad news? I quit both of my old jobs since the stresses of having two of them had gotten to me. The good news is that I've got a new, much more lenient job as a motel housekeeper with fewer hours. The great news is that the job comes with a live-in, rent-free room, so I no longer have to work myself to death trying to make ends meet. And finally, the amazing news...well, with most of my concerns dealt with on keeping a roof over my head...I'm back to writing again. And this? Well, I said I was considering the idea of re-writing the story, didn't I? This is that rewrite, based on the episode 'Brawl In The Family' instead of 'No Such Luck'.
Why 'Brawl in the Family', you ask? Well, for one, there are WAY too many 'NSL' fics on the site. Like...a lot. Secondly, I have to admit that out of the two episodes, this one, in particular, pissed me off a hell of a lot more than NSL did. With NSL, you can at least use the excuse that Lincoln kinda brought the whole situation on himself by going along with Lynn's claims. The same can't be said for Brawl in the Family, because not only is the idea of the Sister Fight Protocol complete bullshit, but in this one, at least Lincoln was trying to do right by his sisters, even if he didn't do a good job at it. That's why I hate this episode more than NSL.
Now then, you may be asking why I'm doing this instead of continuing the original. Simple. With 'magicianofthecosmos' and 'DragonEmperor999' writing their own versions of the original story, it would, in my opinion, be in poor taste to just take the original back from them after putting it up for adoption. To both of you, keep it up, and don't let this stop you from writing. I'm curious to see what you do with your own versions of the original story. Heck, your versions could end up being better than the one I had worked on.
Anyway, enough jibber-jabber. Let's get things started with a disclaimer.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or the Loud House. Those properties belong to Nintendo/Game Freak and (regardless of what happened to him) Chris Savino/Nickelodeon respectively.
Note: Like before, this new version of the story will be based primarily on the anime with aspects of the games, the Adventures manga, and other stuff mixed in. Also, for the sake of convenience, I will be using the following text formats for these particular parts of the story:
Translated Pokémon Speech
Pokédex Entries/Rotom Phone Speech/Thoughts/Computerized Voices/Flashbacks
-=O=-
1216 Franklin Avenue. The most well-known home address in all of Royal Woods, Michigan, mainly due to one specific reason: the Loud family. This particular family was widely believed to be the largest known family in the entire city's history and with a household filled with ten daughters, one son, their parents, and a large number of pets packed into their residence like a can full of sardines, that particular belief was hard not to take seriously.
They were also well-known for being the most notorious family in Royal Woods as well since...well, their family's name of 'Loud' certainly fit how noisy and rambunctious they could be at times, both inside and outside of their home. Not only were they loud, but they were a rather...'colorful' bunch as well, which usually led to trouble every now and then.
Despite all of the mishaps and misadventures that the Louds had gotten themselves into over the years, however, one thing remained constant - they were still a very tight-knit family who wouldn't trade each other for the world. Still, even the closest of families had their moments where their familial bonds would become strained and the Louds were certainly no exception...
-=O=-
Location: Lincoln Loud's Room - The Loud Residence, Royal Woods, Michigan, United States
Time: 9:30 AM
Our story begins in the room of the middle child of the Loud family - one who is also, coincidentally enough, the only son as well.
Letting out a jaw-cracking yawn as he stretches his body, Lincoln mutters "I really hope that spending last night away from each other was enough for Lori and Leni to calm down. I don't know if I can deal with the Protocol for another..." before taking notice of the 'viewers' nearby, causing a friendly smile to appear on his face upon seeing them.
He honestly didn't know who these guys were or why they had been regularly observing him and his family, but they seemed to be harmless enough, being content with observing what he and the others do in the house. Because of the fact they seemed to be 'watching' the going-ons of the Loud House, he had coined the term 'viewers' as a way to refer to them.
At one point, he had tried to ask his younger sister Lisa about the 'viewers' and who they actually were, but the four-year-old just told him 'The less you know, the better' in an ominous tone before ending the discussion right then and there.
...Yeah, he wasn't going to push the issue after an answer like that.
Disturbing thought aside, he was actually quite glad to see the 'viewers' at that moment. Honestly, with everything that's been going on with his family as of late, any kind of friendly face was welcome.
"Oh...morning, guys. It's good to see some friendly faces, especially with everything that's been happening here lately." greeted Lincoln with a small wave before his smile fades a bit. "You see, things have been rather...let's say 'tense' here in the Loud House. Yesterday, two of my older sisters - Lori and Leni - had gotten into a fight with each other that had led to something called the 'Sister Fight Protocol' being enforced throughout the house. And while I'm certain that most of you guys are probably aware of what the fight was about, there's nothing wrong with providing a reminder just in case. It all started yesterday afternoon..."
-=O=-
(Flashback)
Location: Living Room - The Loud Residence, Royal Woods, Michigan, United States
Time: 3:45 PM
Inside the Loud family's living room, all of the Loud sisters save for Lori and Leni are sitting on the couch, eagerly chattering with each other.
Suddenly, Lori steps into the room with several shopping bags in tow and excitedly squeals "Guys, guys, guys!" before taking an item out of one of the bags - a blue-colored dress. "Check out this dress I found at the mall! It's literally one-of-a-kind! Eeee!"
Upon seeing the dress, the others reply with "Ooh!" in unison, clearly impressed with their older sister's find. Even those who had no real interest in fashion had to admit that it was a very nice dress and was bound to look great on their older sister.
However, almost as if on cue to spoil both the moment and Lori's good mood...Leni sprints down the stairs, beaming while wearing a similar-looking dress.
"O-M-Gosh, you guys! Look at this dress I found at the mall!"
Upon seeing the two blondes with the same dress, the sisters let out a gasp while Lori narrows her eyes in anger, clearly annoyed with her roommate stealing her thunder.
Walking over to Lori, Leni looks her over for a moment before asking "Ooooh...when did we put a mirror in the living room?"
Throwing down her dress in anger, Lori snaps "That's not a mirror, that's me!" before pointing at the other blonde. "Now go take your dress back!"
With a glare of her own, Leni retorts "What? No! You take yours back!" before growling at her sister, who returns the gesture by growling back at her while the others whistle awkwardly while retreating back to their rooms, not wanting anything to do with their argument.
(Flashback End)
-=O=-
Location: Lincoln Loud's Room - The Loud Residence, Royal Woods, Michigan, United States
Time: 9:35 AM
"Yeah, that's a pretty stupid reason for a fight to start, isn't it? I mean...what's wrong with wearing identical clothes? Clyde and I did it once for one of our school's picture days and we never got into a fight over wearing the same thing." said Lincoln, addressing the 'viewers' once more. "Still, it was enough of a reason for my sisters to enforce the Sister Fight Protocol throughout the house. And because of the Protocol, I couldn't go into the kitchen to get myself a snack which led to me unknowingly eating a 'couch bagel', I had to use a bucket to...er, 'handle my business' if Lori or Leni were using the bathroom as a cool-off spot and I got beaten up by three of my sisters because I wanted to watch the 'Monster Madness' rally that I've been looking forward to all week."
Frowning, he adds "Even my parents aren't exempt from the Protocol's effects on the house since not only did they have to follow the same restrictions that are placed on me, but my Dad had to waste several days worth of groceries, cooking two separate dinners yesterday because Lori and Leni didn't want to sit at the dining table together."
"Anyway, after I learned about Lori and Leni's fight, I decided that the best way to help things go back to normal would be to help mediate things between them." continued the white-haired Loud before scratching the back of his head. "And admittedly...uh, I didn't exactly do a good job at it. In fact, I ended up making Lori and Leni angrier at me and each other afterward. After that, the rest of my sisters just told me to 'butt out', and eventually Lori and Leni would settle their fight on their own."
Giving the 'viewers' a knowing look, he adds "Now then, I know what some of you are thinking - why didn't I just follow the advice my sisters gave me? It couldn't have been that hard to stay out of their way, right? Well, I did try to do that, believe it or not. I figured that since they didn't want me to get involved with Lori and Leni's fight, I'd just stay in my room and read a few of my comic books until things calmed down and went back to normal. Heck, it would've worked out perfectly for me since I was behind on a few issues anyway, and staying in my room would give me the chance to catch up. Seemed simple enough to work, right?"
Suddenly, a scowl appears on the white-haired boy's face as he adds "Wrong." in a flat, annoyed tone. "Apparently, my sisters decided that my decision to stay out of their way by sticking to my room wasn't 'butting out' enough for them."
-=O=-
(Flashback)
Location: Lincoln Loud's Room - The Loud Residence, Royal Woods, Michigan, United States
Time: 5:45 PM
Within the confines of his room, Lincoln was on his bed, relaxing with one of his graphic novels in his hands, though the expression on his face clearly showed that he wasn't entirely focused on what he was reading.
Then again, anyone in his position would be annoyed, especially after missing out on watching the monster truck rally he had been looking forward to all week, being told that he can't go into the kitchen to get a snack since Lori was in there, and having to 'do his business' in Lana's smelly poop bucket because Leni wanted to use the bathroom as a cool-off spot.
Still, maybe his sisters were right that things would settle themselves if he stayed out of the way, which is why he was currently in his room right now, reading. And after upsetting Lori and Leni earlier, it was probably safer for him to keep his distance. Lori was bad enough when she was angry, but Leni? He didn't want to think about how she would be when she was really mad.
Besides, he had a few unopened comics to read in here in order to wait things out anyway, so staying in his room instead of watching the monster truck rally he had been looking forward to all week wasn't really that big of a loss.
"Might not be the Monster Madness Rally, but there's nothing wrong with a little manga," murmured Lincoln to himself as he lounged on his bed, eyes locked onto the graphic novel in his hands. "Yep. Just me and my…"
Suddenly, the door bursts open as Luna and Luan, both wearing yellow safety vests and headphones with microphones attached, pop into his room, startling their white-haired brother.
"Scram, dude. We need your room."
"What? Why?"
"Lori's approaching the sector and we can't risk a run-in with Leni," replied Luan, eyes darting towards the hallway.
"Why can't you use your room? Or somewhere else?" complained Lincoln, only for Luna to grab his arm and pull him out of bed.
"No time to argue with you about this, little bro. Out. Now." answered the purple-clad rocker as she shoved Lincoln out into the hallway while Luan led Leni into his bedroom.
Once Leni was inside, Luna says "Coast is clear, brah." into her microphone before slamming the door shut, leaving Lincoln standing out in the hallway, clearly annoyed.
As Lori came up the stairs and headed down the hallway, Lincoln heard his bedroom door opening again, followed by Luna and Luan escorting Leni out of his room.
The sight of his older sister using traffic control wands to lead Leni out of his room would've been amusing if it wasn't for the fact she had kicked him out of said room just a few moments ago.
"All clear, bro." said Luna with a satisfied smile, causing her brother to roll his eyes before heading back into his room and getting back onto his bed to continue reading his manga…only for his door to burst open a few seconds later as Luna and Luan came into his room again, this time with Lori in tow."Are you kidding me? Again!?"
"Lincoln, make like a drum and beat it!" replied Luan as she thumbed towards the hallway before letting out a few chuckles. "Get it? But seriously, out."
And just like that, almost as soon as he had returned back to his room, he was booted - literally this time - out of his room again.
After watching Leni head into her room and close the door, Lincoln lets out a sigh.
"Dang it."
(Flashback End)
-=O=-
"Twice. They kicked me out of my own room, twice. Again, I'd like to establish that I was TRYING to stay out of the way by keeping to my room. Those two could've easily just used one of the other bedrooms to prevent Lori and Leni from running into each other since the odds of those two wandering into the same room, especially with the others keeping in communication with each other, would've been incredibly low at best," said Lincoln before slamming his fist on his bed in anger. "But no, apparently Luan and Luna decided that my room - MY ROOM of all places - was the perfect place to prevent Lori and Leni from running into each other! How hard could it have been for them to use one of the other rooms? There were plenty of options available!"
Calming down again, he adds "And if you think that's all my sisters had done, then you're sadly mistaken. Not only did Luna and Luan kick me out of my room twice, but Lana went and took my sheets and blanket without asking just so she could make a divider for my older sisters." while gesturing towards his bedroom door. "That was the last straw for me, so after that, I got involved again, this time by suggesting that Lori and Leni sleep in different rooms. Hopefully, separating those two from each other will get things to calm back down again so everything can go back to normal."
Cupping his ear with a content smile on his face, the white-haired boy remarks "You hear that? Silence. Sounds like good ol' Lincoln saved the day."
Unfortunately for the sole son of the Loud family, he would be quickly proven wrong a few moments later as the sound of two voices arguing with each other rang out from the hallway.
"Just admit you're wrong!"
"You're wrong, dude!"
Sighing, Lincoln mutters "...Or not. Dang it." before quickly realizing something. "...Wait a minute. That didn't sound like Lori and Leni."
Peeking out of his room, the white-haired Loud saw something that caused him to wince: the sight of Luna and Luan in the hallway, arguing with each other.
'Oh no...' thought Lincoln to himself as he watched the fight unfold.
Pointing at one of the many doors in the hallway, Luna said "Lori had the dress first! She told me the whole story last night!"
"Well, Leni told me her side and she clearly had the dress first!" countered Luan, jabbing a thumb at herself.
"Ha! That's funnier than most of your lame jokes!" retorted Luna, jabbing a finger in her sister's face.
Swatting the finger away, Luan snaps "Oh I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you! I've gone partially deaf from your horrible guitar playing!"
'I better break this up before things get worse...' thought Lincoln before running over and quickly stepping between the two quarreling sisters, causing them to give him a narrow-eyed look of annoyance. "Guys, guys..."
Both growl at him, causing the other sisters to suddenly appear in the hallway.
Taking out a megaphone, Lynn shouts "SISTER FIGHT PROTOCOL! DIVIDE AND ISOLATE!", prompting Lola to drive by in her princess car and force Luna into the back before driving down the stairs.
Glaring at her brother while shaking her fist, Lola shouts "Y-you're paying f-for new s-shocks, L-Lincoln!" in an angry, wavering voice as her car heads downstairs.
Before Lincoln could retort to his younger sister's words, Luan had already lifted him off the ground by his pajamas with a furious expression on her face, only for the other twin to pull her away with a lasso.
"This room is now off-limits!" stated Lana as she pulled the hogtied Luan into Lincoln's room before slamming the now sign-covered door.
"Aw, c'mon! Why is it always my room!?" complained Lincoln, irritated.
"Congratulations, elder brother. Thanks to you, the threat level is now at 'Stampeding T-Rex'." said Lisa in an annoyed tone while the others glared at their brother, feeling that it was his fault that things had escalated further.
"Stampeding T-Rex?!" screamed their father and mother's voices from downstairs before the sound of rapid hammering rang out, coming from their bedroom.
-=O=-
Location: Rita and Lynn's Room - The Loud Residence, Royal Woods, Michigan, United States
Time: 9:50 AM
While her husband continued to nail planks of wood across the doorway, Rita looked down at her youngest and smiled weakly, saying "Well...this is an 'interesting' start for our morning, huh Lily?"
Turning her attention to a rather...unpleasant-smelling bucket in the corner, she adds "At least we didn't forget the bucket, because I really don't want to go out there again until it's safe."
"Yeah, me too. I really don't want to go out and face the girls while they're at 'Rampaging T-Rex' level, honey." said Lynn Sr., nailing more boards to the doorway. "At least we'll be safe and sound in here."
"Yes, we should be...wait, what about Lincoln?! Are we really just going to leave him by himself? Against that?" asked Rita, concerned.
"As much as I'd like for us to take these boards down and bring him in here with us...he'll have to fend for himself on this one, honey. We're already hunkered down in here and I don't know if I'll get another chance to board up the room, especially since the fight's gotten to 'Rampaging T-Rex' level, Rita! Rampaging T-Rex!"
"...You're right. We just can't risk taking those boards down when the girls are this riled up. I just hope he'll be alright out there."
Hammering in another nail, Lynn says "He'll be fine, Rita. Our son's resourceful - he'll figure something out for himself."
"I know our son can handle himself, but I'm more worried that he'll try to 'help' the girls out even more and make things worse." said Rita, causing her husband to pale before shouting up at the ceiling.
"Lincoln, if you can hear me, find somewhere to hide until things blow over! Or go stay with one of your friends!"
Chiming in with her own shout, Rita yells "And for the love of God, don't try to help with settling their fight anymore! Just stay out of your sisters' way and let them deal with themselves!"
"Listen to your mother, son! Just leave the girls alone! And if you don't listen, then you're on your own because we're hunkered down in here and won't be able to bail you out!"
-=O=-
Location: Hallway - The Loud Residence, Royal Woods, Michigan, United States
Time: 10:00 AM
Having heard what his mother and father had shouted to him, Lincoln scowls and grumbles "Oh, for crying out loud! And I thought they were supposed to be the ones in charge of the house!" in disgust, clearly unhappy with the fact that not only were his parents not going to do anything about the situation at hand, but they had chosen to let him fend for himself while they hid away in their room.
Granted, they did give him some good advice, but seriously, what kind of parents would act like this?
...Well, he wasn't going to be getting back into his room anytime soon and the sooner he distanced himself from the rest of his sisters, the better. So with that train of thought in mind, the white-haired boy just heads downstairs, grumbling all the while about how his morning couldn't get any worse.
Once they were certain that Lincoln was out of the way, several of the sisters start directing their quarreling siblings throughout the hallway, with Lisa leading Lori into the bathroom while Lucy escorts Leni out of Luna and Luan's room. Things seem to be going smoothly...until Lola and Lana, both directing Luna and Luan respectively, run into each other at the bottom of the stairs.
"Lola, what are you doing? This is the red zone! The door is red!" stated Lana, only for Lola to point at the carpet.
"Uh, hello! The carpet is green!"
This causes the twins to start arguing, while Luna and Luan, still angry with each other from earlier, go right back to shouting.
-=O=-
Location: Rita and Lynn's Room - The Loud Residence, Royal Woods, Michigan, United States
Time: 10:05 AM
"Oh no, I can hear the twins arguing this time..." murmured Rita, having heard the familiar sound of her twin daughters bickering with each other. "...And it sounds like Luan and Luna are arguing too. This is getting out of hand."
"Let's just hope that it doesn't get any worse from here, honey." replied her husband before hearing knocking at the window and smelling the faint aroma of freshly-baked pizza. "Rita, the pizza's here!"
Standing at the window was Lori's boyfriend Bobby, clad in a pizza delivery uniform and holding several boxes of pizza.
Passing over the boxes to Rita, Bobby says "Here you go, Mrs. Loud.", causing the blonde to nod before paying him for the food.
"Thanks, Bobby. Just the large pepperoni for us, you can deliver the rest to the front door."
Looking nervously at the boarded-up door, Bobby asks "...Do I really have to? Lori told me the threat level is at 'Stampeding T-Rex'."
"Just ring the doorbell and run, Bobby." said Lynn Sr. before shutting the window and closing the curtain, causing Bobby to nod before doing as he was told.
As her husband closed the window, Rita realized something that sounded off - since when did Bobby know about the Protocol? That question caused so many others to pop into her mind: why did Lori tell him about it, but not Lincoln? How many others knew about the Protocol outside of the family?
"Lynn, you heard that, right?" asked the blonde, causing Lynn to look at her with a mouthful of pizza, confused.
"Heard what?"
"Bobby's words earlier. He said that Lori told him about the Protocol's threat level. That means she probably told him about it." said Rita, frowning. "So why tell him, but neglect to tell Lincoln about it? All of this mess could've been avoided in the first place if Lincoln had known about the Protocol sooner. And not only that but..."
"But?"
"...How many others did the girls tell about the Protocol, but neglected to give him a heads-up? Did they even bother to? If this is meant to be a matter between them and them alone, then other people outside of the family SHOULDN'T know about what's going on."
Frowning at his wife's logic, Lynn replies "That's...actually a good question. We'll see about having a word with them once this whole mess blows over and give them a chance to explain themselves."
-=O=-
Location: Living Room - The Loud Residence, Royal Woods, Michigan, United States
Time: 10:15 AM
Meanwhile, Lucy was at the bottom of the staircase, looking over a clipboard while using the microphone on her headset to speak, saying "Okay, first seating will be Leni, Luan, and Lana."
"Roger. Copy that." replied Lisa's voice through the headset before cutting off, causing Lucy to sigh in exhaustion.
"We would've already been eating pizza by now if it wasn't for Lincoln trying to 'fix' things between Leni and Lori." muttered the raven-haired girl darkly before heading into the dining room, only to find her sister/roommate sitting at the table, snacking away at some of the pizza that Bobby delivered.
"What are you doing? You're supposed to be watching Lori, Luna, and Lola." questioned Lucy, frowning.
Turning to face her sister with a raised eyebrow, Lynn asked "Can't I have a break? I've been working for nine hours."
"So have I, and you don't see me complaining."
"Oh yeah, 'cause you're always such a ray of sunshine."
Feeling her temper flaring up from both exhaustion at trying to keep things in order and her own irritation at everything that's happened lately, Lucy snarls "At least I don't smell like crusty athletic socks."
Getting out of her chair with a scowl of her own, Lynn retorts "Please! Like Eau De Death is better!", causing the rest of the sisters to enter the dining room while the two begin arguing with each other.
Taking out her chart upon seeing the two girls bickering, Lisa says "Oh boy, here we go. We are now at Erupting Volcano, people!" before Lana snatches the chart out of her hands. "What the-?"
"ENOUGH WITH YOUR DUMB CHART!" snarled the cap-wearing twin before taking a big bite out of the chart, causing Lisa to glare at her heatedly.
"How would you like to eat that hat!?"
This causes Lana and Lisa to start arguing now, adding to the cacophony of arguing voices coming from all the sisters in the room at the moment. After a few more moments of shouting, swearing, and bickering, the nine girls finally lose their tempers and break out into a violent brawl.
-=O=-
Location: Kitchen - The Loud Residence, Royal Woods, Michigan, United States
Time: 10:25 AM
Trying to ignore the sound of nine voices getting into an argument with each other coming from the living room, he growls "And now they've gotten the others involved in their petty little fight, too! Just wonderful! If I had known that the other girls would start taking sides on the matter, I wouldn't have suggested the idea of those two sleeping in different rooms in the first place! And I wouldn't have made that suggestion to begin with if they had just left me, my room, and my stuff alone!"
Letting out an exasperated groan, the white-haired Loud muttered "And all of this happened because Lori and Leni just had to fight over who bought their dress first. Why couldn't the girls just check the receipts to solve the problem instead of using that stupid protocol?"
Upon finishing that statement, Lincoln's eyes widened in realization at what he had just said.
"...The receipts! Of course! How could I have missed such an obvious answer?" asked the eleven-year-old to himself as he palmed his forehead. "If I can just get the girls to look at the receipts for the dresses and compare their times of purchase, then that'll certainly help settle things between Lori and Leni and everything can go back to normal!"
His breakfast now forgotten in light of this new revelation, Lincoln hurries towards the living room to share his newfound idea with his sisters, only to stop upon seeing all of his sisters, minus Lily, brawling with each other in the dining room.
Lincoln starts to open his mouth to speak to them, but upon seeing his sisters beating the living crap out of each other...he wisely decided that discretion was the better part of valor at that moment and kept his words to himself.
Wincing at the sound of the vicious blows, insults, and swears that were coming from the fight cloud, the white-haired boy quietly steps around them, trying to remain unnoticed as he heads over to the stairs leading to the second floor.
As he started up the stairs, the fight cloud surges out of the dining room and into the living room, barely missing him as he took the first step upstairs.
'T-that was a close one...' thought Lincoln to himself, sweating at seeing just how close the fight cloud had gotten as it passed by. Once the coast was clear, he hurries up to his room and rushes inside, trying to ignore the sounds of the fight, which was now joined by the sounds of shattering glass and other things being broken.
After slamming the door shut, the white-haired Loud quickly shoves some of his furniture over to barricade it, hopefully blocking anyone from getting inside.
With his door secured for the moment, Lincoln slumps onto his bed with a sigh, saying "...The girls are out of control, Mom and Dad aren't doing anything to stop them and if I stay here, I run the risk of my sisters getting angry enough to hurt me for 'making things worse'." before wincing at the sounds of violence from downstairs growing louder. "And they sound mad enough to do it. It's not safe for me here. I need to get out...at least until things calm down and I'm no longer at risk of getting beaten up."
However, that train of thought presented Lincoln with a new problem - who would he stay with until things calmed down again? Mom and Dad's room was definitely out of the question since they had it boarded up tight. And he couldn't just hole up in his room since not only would he need to leave in order to eat or use the bathroom, but he knew that somehow, his sisters would find a way to barge into his room.
He could sneak out and stay with one of his friends, but...
'Knowing Clyde, he'd try and come over here in order to 'comfort' Lori and that would put him at risk with some of the others. And if I stayed with Ronnie and her family, there's a chance that Lori can stop by to see Bobby and...no, I don't even want to think about it. Those two are out of the question. And the others live too far away for me to walk.'
Sighing as he realizes that his friends are out of the question, Lincoln mutters "...Dang it. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. If only Pop-Pop were here...he'd know what to..." before his eyes widened in realization. "Pop-Pop! He can help me!"
Rushing over to his duck-shaped phone, Lincoln quickly dials in the number to his grandfather's room at the Sunset Canyon Retirement Center, silently pleading that the older man wasn't busy at the moment...
-=O=-
Location: Albert's Room - Sunset Canyon Retirement Home, Royal Woods, Michigan, United States
Time: 10:35 AM
While Lincoln was frantically trying to get in contact with his grandfather, the man in question was relaxing by himself in his room at the retirement home. In his hand was an aged photograph encased in a well-worn picture frame - a picture of himself as a young man, standing beside another man in a lab coat with short, spiked brownish-gray hair in front of a rustic-looking building with a large windmill in the background. Both men had grins on their faces as they draped their arms over each others' shoulders, almost as if they were close friends.
"It's been a while since I've seen or even spoken to Samuel. Maybe next time the kids come to visit, I'll introduce them to him." mused Albert to himself with a nostalgic smile before turning his attention over to a well-worn, metallic-looking ball with a black line separating the two halves of the ball. The top half was a slightly-faded red, while the bottom half was a dull white that was starting to yellow with age. In the center of the ball was a white-colored button. "I might even introduce them to..."
Before he could finish, the sound of his phone ringing catches his attention, causing him to walk over and answer it.
"This is Albert speaking. Who is this?"
"Pop-Pop! Thank goodness you answered!" exclaimed his grandson's voice from the other end of the line. "I was starting to worry that you were too busy to answer me!"
"I've always got time to talk to my favorite grandson. So how are things?" replied Albert, smiling.
"They...could be better at the moment, honestly." said Lincoln's voice, hesitant. "A-anyway...I need to ask you for a favor."
"Anything, kiddo. What do you need?"
"If it's okay with you...I'd like to spend some time with you away from the house. Can you come and pick me up?"
"A visit? Lincoln, you don't need to call in a favor for that. I'm always happy to have you and the girls over for a visit." said Albert, a smile still on his face.
"Er...well, I meant just me this time, Pop-Pop. I don't have time to explain right now, but something serious is going down at the moment with the others and..." started Lincoln, only for a loud 'THUD' to ring out, followed by the sounds of things breaking, screaming, swearing, and fighting becoming louder. Another deafening 'THUD' rings out, causing a look of concern to appear on Albert's face.
"L-Lincoln? What was that? What's going on?"
"I-I can't go into details right now, Pop-Pop. I just need to get out of the house for a while, but I promise you that once we're back at the retirement home, I'll explain everything, okay? Just...can you come and pick me up, please?"
No longer smiling, Albert replies "I'll...see what I can do, kiddo. Just hold tight, okay?" before hanging up the phone. After looking at the receiver for a moment, he dials another number, calling his daughter's personal phone. "Maybe Rita can fill me in on what's going on here..."
-=O=-
Location: Rita and Lynn's Room - The Loud Residence, Royal Woods, Michigan, United States
Time: 10:50 AM
"There." said Lynn Sr. as he hammered in the last nail before nodding in satisfaction at his handiwork. "That oughta hold it until things calm down."
"I hope so, Lynn. I really do." said Rita, sighing as she fed Lily. "And I really hope that Lincoln's keeping out of their way."
Sitting down beside her and grabbing a slice of pizza from the box that Bobby had brought earlier, her husband replies "He's a smart boy. I think that after seeing the girls fighting like this, he'll keep his distance."
"Let's hope that's the case, Lynn." answered Rita, frowning. "I can tell you one thing for certain, though."
"What's that?"
"We are NEVER allowing the girls to use the Protocol again after today. Ever."
"Amen to that, honey. Do you have any idea how much groceries I've wasted on cooking two separate dinners because Lori and Leni didn't want to eat at the same table?" complained Lynn Sr., frowning. "I'm going to have to dip into our savings to buy replacements."
Turning to face the bucket in the room, he adds "And our room's going to be stinking like the inside of a construction site port-a-potty for days! I don't care what Lana says, being forced to use that bucket in order to 'take care of business' is not right!"
"And all this restricting access to the house because one of them needs a place to 'cool off'! Those girls need to learn that, aside from the bedrooms, this house is meant to be open to everyone!" added Rita, pointing in the direction of the living room. "So yes, once this is over, we're going to have a LONG talk with the girls about the Protocol. I still want answers from Lori about why she felt it necessary to tell Bobby about it, but not Lincoln."
"Well, we'll get those answers when this is all..." started Lynn Sr., only to stop upon hearing Rita's phone ringing. "...Honey? I think that's for you."
Taking her phone out of her pocket, Rita answers the call, asking "...Hello?"
"Rita, it's me." spoke the familiar voice of her father from the other end of the line, causing her to let out a sigh of relief. After the hectic morning that she and her husband had, it was a relief to hear her father's voice speaking to her.
"Hey, Dad. It's good to hear from you again."
"Good to hear from you too, Rita. How are things with you, Lynn and the kids?"
Wincing as the sounds of shouting and crashing rang out from the living room, Rita says "Things...could be better at the moment, admittedly."
"Rita...what in the world is going on? Lincoln called me earlier, asking me to come and get him away from the house." asked her father, sounding concerned.
"It's...nothing major, Dad. Just a...er, 'disagreement' between the girls that had gotten a little out of hand. You know how they are sometimes."
"Sounds more like they're tearing the place apart, from what I heard when Lincoln called. So what are they bickering over this time?"
'Oh god, Albert managed to hear the girls fighting with each other.' thought Lynn Sr. to himself, wincing. 'But at least Lincoln's not getting involved again this time.'
Scratching the back of her neck, Rita reluctantly replies "Er..they're fighting because Lori and Leni got into an argument over who had bought a particular dress first."
"A dress? They're fighting over a dress?" questioned Pop-Pop's voice, perplexed.
"I know, it's a ridiculous thing to fight over, but they're at each other's throats because of it."
"Well, did you have them check the receipts? That might help settle the matter." suggested Pop-Pop's voice, causing the blonde and her husband to stare at her phone in disbelief for a moment...before facepalming.
Groaning, Rita mutters "...I can't believe that I didn't think of that sooner. Why didn't I think of that?" while her husband was pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to ease off the headache that was starting to form.
It was such an easy and obvious solution...and the girls chose to use the Protocol instead of just comparing the receipts.
"I'm sure that you and Lynn were too preoccupied to think of doing that. I'm sure that it's a busy job, parenting eleven children."
"You have no idea..." said Rita, chuckling. "So why are you calling anyway?"
"Well, since I know what's going on now, I'd like to ask if you and Lynn are okay with Lincoln coming back with me to the retirement home. If things are as bad as he's claiming, then it might be a good idea to get him out of there, especially if the girls are fighting with each other like this."
"That...that's actually a great idea, Dad!" answered Rita, beaming. "Yes, you're more than welcome to come by and pick Lincoln up. Might even be good for him to get out of the house for a while, especially after this morning."
"Well, alright then. I'll be down there in about thirty minutes. Can you tell him to wait for me outside?"
"Will do, Dad. Thanks for calling - with the two of us going through such a stressful morning, it's honestly good to hear from you."
"Anytime, Rita. I'll be there soon. Bye." said Albert's voice before hanging up, causing the blonde to let out a sigh of relief.
"...At least we don't have to worry about Lincoln now, Lynn. Dad's going to look after him for a while."
"That's good! Great, even!" replied Lynn, beaming. "Not only will he be out of harm's way, but that'll make sure he doesn't try to 'help' the girls with their dispute again. Hopefully, things will be calm again by the time he comes back. But..."
"But?"
"I'm worried about what Lincoln's going to tell Albert about the whole Protocol situation. If he finds out we didn't do anything to settle the matter between Lori and Leni and just...went along with this whole mess while hiding away in our room..."
"It'll be fine, Lynn. When Dad brings Lincoln back, we'll ask him what our son told him and then smooth over any problems that come up." said Rita before dialing in the number to Lincoln's room phone. "Lincoln? Can you hear me?"
"What is it, Mom? I'm kinda busy at the moment."
"Pop-Pop called me just a few moments ago...he's on his way to come pick you up. Do you have a safe way out of the house?"
"I'll manage somehow. Thanks for the heads-up." replied Lincoln's voice before hanging up.
"Well...that's one concern taken care of. Now we just need to wait for the girls to settle down...whenever that happens." said Rita, putting her phone away. Upon hearing the fight in the living room again, as well as the sound of more stuff breaking, she adds "Doesn't seem like it'll anytime soon, though...oh god, I think they just broke the TV."
"Guess I'll have to dip a bit more into our savings for more than just groceries, eh honey?" replied Lynn Sr. with a wavering smile and a slight twitch in his eye.
...Yeah, they were going to have a LONG talk with the girls once this was over. A LONG TALK.
-=O=-
AN: And that's it for the first chapter of the rewrite. With the new circumstances regarding my work life, I'll hopefully be able to keep things updated more regularly than how things were before, with at least one new chapter every month, two if I'm feeling the creative flow coming on.
In any case...it's good to be back here on again and it's good to get back to writing again, especially after so long. I don't know if it'll stay that way, but I'll do my best to keep things updated regularly.
Now then, I do have ONE question to ask: should I go with Kanto like in the original story? Or should I try my luck with one of the other regions? I'm fine either way, but I'd like to hear your input. Might even do a poll on it, even.
Well...with that all done and out of the way, as always...I hope you enjoy the chapter and look forward to the next one.