Chapter 1: Alice in Wonderland


Alice chased after the rabbit, wondering how such a thing could be dressed so sharply and why such a creature was in a hurry. She followed after the rabbit until she saw it stand on the edge of a cliff, She then saw the creature leap off without hesitation, and without even thinking, she ran and jumped after it...

But who's to say the Wonderland was at the bottom?


He looked to see Lori reaching out for him, a horrified expression graced her features and he saw all of his other sisters watching in horror.

Everything was moving so fast and yet, so slow.

Faces. Names. Places. Questions. Memories. Dreams. Nightmares. Goals. Failures. Successes. Fear. Happiness. Anger. Love. Pain.

In a single second, all of these things flowed through the only son of the loud children.

His life flashed before his eyes and there was one question in his mind that burned deep within him, one question that would stay with him.

He hit the water and he could feel pain all around him and yet, ever so slowly, he sank into the water as the question burned through his mind...

"Did I really live the life I wanted to live?"

It would keep repeating in his head.

Lincoln Loud was stuck in his own mind, he just found himself sitting in what felt like an empty classroom, and on a screen, he watched every memory play out like a movie on a projector screen. He just sat and watched seeing all the funny moments, the sad moments, the scary moments, and most of all, he saw the sacrifices he made for others, he saw the numerous amount of times he did for others and not for himself, and yet, it seemed that there were only a few brief moments where he lived for himself.

Where he did what he wanted to do, where he did things for himself.

Yet... he wasn't completely angry at this moment. He merely knew that those were his choices, choices he made because he cared for others because he loved to help people because he couldn't sit there and let the people he cared about be sad in any way shape, or form.

However, he wanted to live for himself, he wanted to live the life he always wanted.

But... what kind of life did he want to live?

He wasn't sure, but he was going to figure it out when he woke up. He was still 12, he had all the time to figure it out... right?

He could feel himself beginning to toss and turn and slowly he could feel his eyes opening, and at first, it was blurry but then everything became clear.

The first thing he saw when his eyes fully opened was the light of what could only be the moon shining through the window.

'My window isn't that big...' He thought.

Lincoln slowly sat up but felt extremely weak and he looked around to find himself not in his room but in a hospital room.

Lincoln then felt something against his back and he was a bit shaken at first but that's when he touched his hair and it had grown out. His snow-white hair now to his shoulders, which confused him because he didn't remember his hair being this long.

He looked out to the window and saw the full moon, shining brightly in the night sky.

Suddenly, he heard a gasp from behind him. Lincoln turned around only to see a familiar face... yet it was also slightly different.

Standing at his door and in a nurse's outfit was Dana Damer, a friend of his older sister Lori.

"Dana?" He asked. Lincoln then noticed his voice was slightly deeper than it had been before.

Dana continued to look at him with a shocked expression on her face as she looked at Lincoln and then she shook herself out of her shock. "W-Wait right there Lincoln, I need to go get a doctor!" She told him before walking away from his room.

Lincoln waited and questions flowed through his mind. Why was he in a hospital room? How long had he been in the hospital? Why was Dana a nurse? What was going on?

"Mr. Loud?"

Lincoln turned to see that Dana had come back with a Doctor like she had told him.

The Doctor approached him and looked at him with a small smile. "How are you feeling, Mr. Loud?" He asked.

Lincoln looked at the doctor, "I feel a little groggy but other than that, I'm fine," he told him.

The doctor nodded, "Good, good," He replied, "What about any pain anywhere?"

Lincoln shook his head, "No, no pain at all, just a slight tingle from my legs and arms," Lincoln said with a smile.

The Doctor gave him a smile, "That's good to hear," he told Lincoln. "Mr. Loud, do you remember what happened before you arrived here in the hospital?"

Lincoln tried to think of how he ended up at the hospital but nothing came to him, which felt wrong, he felt as if he should've known what happened to bring him here, but he had. Lincoln shook his head, "No, I don't," He replied.

The Doctor nodded, "That's fine, Mr. Loud," He replied, "Mr. Loud, what year is it?"

Lincoln was a little confused by the question but he answered, "2017," he replied

Hearing this the Doctor sighed, "It was 2017 when you arrived here, Mr. Loud, but four years have passed," The doctor told Lincoln.

Lincoln's face became a mix of confusion and fear when he was told that four years had passed.

"Mr. Loud, what I'm going to say is going to be hard to hear, but you've been in a coma for 4 years," The Doctor told him, "The year is 2021 and you are no longer a 12-year-old boy, you're now 16,"

Hearing this, time seemed to freeze for the now teen boy and he was slowly processing everything.

Seeing this, the doctor looked at the boy with an expression of pity, "I'll... let you process everything, and tomorrow I'll give your parents a call and tell them that you're awake, which I know they'll be happy to hear, and if you need anything, Ms. Damer will be right here," he told Lincoln.

The doctor left the room and Dana got closer to him and she saw the look on the young boy's face and saw the mix of emotions and she couldn't help but feel sorry for the boy, yet, she was going to try and cheer up the boy.

"Your family came to visit you every day they could," She told Lincoln.

That seemed to take the Loud boy out of his thoughts and he looked at Dana, "Really?" he asked.

She gave him a smile and nodded, "Yeah, even some of your friends stop by from time to time, you're friend Clyde most of all," She told him.

Lincoln was glad to hear that, a smile gracing his lips, "That's good to hear," He told Dana, "So... what have I missed while I've been... you know," he said.

Dana took a seat next to him and still held a smile on her face. "Not much has changed about the town, a few new stores, and other places but that's about it, as for you're family, there have been a lot of changes,"

Lincoln looked at her, "Like what?" he asked with concern.

"Well, Lori came back after college like me and she's a lawyer now, and I think the best news is that she and Bobby are set to get married next year," Dana said.

Lincoln smiled brightly, hearing the news "That's great!" He said, 'I wonder how Ronnie Ann is doing?' He thought.

"Leni's the manager at one of the new clothing stores and she seems pretty happy," Dana said. "Luna and Sam have been working at The Spin Cycle for a while now and they seem to really love the job, and even doing a few gigs here in town,"

Lincoln smiled, hearing that they were also happy and enjoying their lives.

"Luan's become a bit of an internet sensation and is attending college right now, and Lynn... well I think it's better if your parents told you about her," Dana told him, her tone laced with sorrow.

Lincoln was a little confused and a bit worried as he felt like something terrible happened with Lynn.

However, Dana continued telling him about his family, telling him that his younger sisters were still in school, and also telling him about some of the things she and Lori have done on their days off as well as a few amazing things that happened in town as well as some things that happened around the world. Lincoln was glad to be caught up in a way, but he himself felt... out of place.

So many things have changed around him and yet... he felt the same as he did four years ago, and that scared him.


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The Next day, Lincoln was allowed to get out of the hospital bed with the help of Dana, Lincoln was allowed to get up and use the bathroom and get food, he had the catheter removed, which was the worst pain Lincoln had ever felt and he hoped he would never feel such pain again. After that, they ran him through a couple of tests and saw that there wasn't any lasting damage from whatever had caused him to enter into a Coma. Later, he took a shower and had to wear the hospital gown since the clothes he wore when he got here no longer fit him, but thankfully, Dana found some clothes that appeared to be able to fit him.

His clothes consisted of a pair of light blue jeans, a white shirt, a pair of black socks, and a pair of white slippers. Not really his color pallet but he went with it, he changed in the bathroom, and when he came out Dana told him that his parents were on the way, and hearing that, he was happy but also frightened.

After all, what did his parents look like now, it's only been four years but a lot can and had happened in four years. Were they different than he remembered? Had they changed too much?

What about him? He grew taller and his hair was a lot longer than it had been before, even his voice had slightly changed.

Everything had changed.

For everyone, it was a slow change but for Lincoln, it felt like one day he was a 12-year-old, and by the next day, he was a full-blown teenage boy who should be in high school, having a part-time job, and driving. The more Lincoln thought about how fast everything had changed for him, the more scared of everything he became.

He looked out the window of his hospital room and he saw the town below, he saw people walking down the sidewalks, cars driving down the street, some new stores, some old ones, new billboards that weren't there 4 years ago, movies that he had no idea were being made.

Everything... changed.

"Did I really live the life I wanted to live?"

The question popped into his head and he couldn't help but think about it more, but now, another question replaced it.

'What kind of life do I want to live?' Lincoln asked himself. 'Four years of my life are gone, just like that... do I just go back to how things were? Or do I... do I try and take a different path?'

"Lincoln...?"

Hearing his name called and recognizing the voice, he was taken out of his thoughts and slowly turned around to see both of his parents. Both looked a bit older, with both of them having a few grey hairs, and his mother now wearing a pair of glasses. Their clothes looked the same, just slightly darker and worn out.

Lincoln couldn't help but feel awkward, to him he had just seen them yesterday, but for them, he had been gone for four years. But he pushed through the awkwardness and gave them a big smile, "Uh... Hi Dad... Mom..." he said.

Both didn't say a word as they simply just rushed to their son and brought him in a tight embrace, he was shocked for a bit but he hugged them back just as tightly. Lincoln could hear their sobs and he felt terrible, he couldn't imagine all the pain they had been through, how they just come and visited for four years, each time hoping he would wake up.

After what felt like hours, the hug was broken and both of his parents looked at him, oddly enough, he was at their eye level, which felt weird to all three of them.

Lynn Sr. looked at his son and smiled, tears still in his eyes, "You got big," he told his son.

"Or you got small," Lincoln joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Lynn couldn't help but chuckle at his joke, as did Rita.

Rita slowly stopped and looked at her only son, "How are you feeling?" She asked.

Lincoln shrugged, "Besides the fact that I suddenly woke up 4 years in the future? I'm okay," he told her, smiling.

Rita nodded slowly, her lip quivered as she looked at her son. "I... missed you so much," She said.

"I... I know..." Lincoln replied, feeling extremely awkward.

Noticing his expression, Lynn looked at his son with a raised brow, "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I Just... don't take this the wrong way but, I didn't miss you," He said, "I-I know that you guys are super happy and relieved that I'm awake now but for you, I mean I was in a coma for four years but to me... I felt like only a day," Lincoln finished sadly.

Lynn realized just how jarring this was to his son, he was right, for them, years have passed, but to him, it was like falling asleep in your bed one day and waking up in some strang place the next.

"Ah Good! You're both here," Came the voice of the doctor.

They all turned to see the Doctor with Dana next to him, the doctor looked at both of the loud parents with a smile. "I don't mean to ruin the moment, but there are some things I'd like to speak to one of you about," He told them.

"I'll go," Lynn told the Doctor, he then looked back at his wife, "I'm sure Lincoln could use the fill-in on what he's missed out," He said.

Rita smiled softly and nodded and Lynn Sr left with the Doctor and Dana outside of the hospital room as Rita and Lincoln sat and talked.

Once outside of the room and the door closed, The Doctor looked at Lynn with a bit of a serious expression and Lynn looked at him the same way.

"So, what's the deal Doc, when can Lincoln come home?" he asked.

"he could leave today," He told Lynn, "But there are a few things I should tell you, Mr. Loud,"

Lynn nodded, "Lay 'em on me," he replied.

"Mr. Loud, your son doesn't remember the events that led to his coma, he may remember in time but do not try to force it, it will come naturally," The Doctor told Lynn, "You're son will also need to seek therapy as soon as possible, he needs time to adjust and expresses himself about everything that has changed in the last four years, he'll feel out of place and alone, so he needs help,"

Lynn nodded, "We can do that, We want to help him get back to normal,"

The Doctor sighed, "Normal is something that is no longer possible for your son, Mr. Loud," he told the father.

Lynn looked at him with a raised brow, "What do you mean?" Lynn replied.

"Mr. Loud, you're son has lost four years of his life and in that time, the people and things he knew have changed," The Doctor replied. "You've changed, your wife has changed-"

"That thing with Lynn Jr," Dana cut in.

Hearing that, Lynn Sr. let out a heavy sigh, "I almost forgot about what happened to Junior..." He said.

The Doctor nodded, "Everything has changed and for you're son, it's a sudden and jarring change," He said, "Your son will need help, and while he may adjust and progress, he too will change, maybe for the worse but hopefully for the better,"

Lynn nodded, "I understand Doc... thank you," He told the Doctor, "I'll let my wife know when we get back home, for now, can I check out my son?"

The Doctor nodded, "Of course," he said.

Lynn then looked at Dana with a smile, "Thank you for your help, Dana," he told her.

Dana smiled at him with a nod, "Of course, Mr. Loud," she replied as she followed the Doctor.


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Wow... this is gonna be one hell of a story huh?

How did Lincoln end up in a Coma? Will Lincoln live the life he wants to live? How will he handle the changes of the last four years? What has changed in the last four years? Most importantly, what happened with Lynn Jr.?