I do not own The Loud House. All rights belong to Nickelodeon.

Chapter 30

Lynn wept in Lincoln's bed while hugging Bun-Bun close to her. Lisa walked in, wanting to examine the rock that Lincoln mentioned, but stopped when she saw her. Then, slowly, the rest of the Loud sisters arrived at Lincoln's room. Nobody even had to ask. It was plain and clear that they all had nightmares – they all knew it.

Lori stepped on one of the broken pieces of the action figure, and her eyes widened when she saw the blood stains. The other sisters had the same reaction when they saw it, too. Lori bent down on her knee to examine it to be sure.

"This is blood. Is this Lincoln's?" Lori asked seriously.

"No . . . it's mine," Lynn spoke.

Lori stood up, "Your blood?"

Lori noticed the wall and walked over to it. Her expression was as pensive as Luna and Luan's.

"Can someone explain what happened?" Lori questioned.

"I know what happened," Lola answered, and everyone turned to her, "The receipt for Lincoln's bus ticket fell out of his pocket. Lynn and I went to confront Lincoln about it, and that's when we saw him with his backpack. I think . . . I think Lincoln got scared when Lynn demanded what was going on. So he . . . he hit Lynn in the face with one of his action figures and threw her to the wall. Then he jumped over me and kicked me into Lynn before running away. You know what happened after that."

Lynn rolled on her back and stared at her hands. Her eyes were red, puffy, and damp from her tears.

"Did you see the way he looked at me?" Lynn asked before covering her eyes with her hands.

Lori sat down on the bed. Everyone had a sad look of shame.

"Am I a monster?" Lynn asked.

Before they could answer that, Lucy said, "No, but you are capable of doing terrible things. We all are."

Lynn sighed, "Don't tell me you had nightmares. Why would you? Lincoln told you. He trusted you with his big secret. He didn't trust any of us because—"

"What makes you think I didn't have nightmares?" Lucy interrupted.

Everyone's eyes widened slightly.

"I dreamed that his visions came true. That you all were doing horrible things to him, and I was powerless to save him," Lucy said. She sniffed and sobbed softly, "I can still hear him screaming . . . I can still hear him crying."

Lucy hugged her arms as the tears came down her face. Leni and Luan hugged her in comfort, but it didn't make Lynn feel any better.

Lynn rolled on her side away from her sisters, "What if Lincoln's better off without us?"

Everyone's eyes widened at that with soft gasps.

"What if we should have let him run away to the Santiago's? We were supposed to protect him, and yet he could have been beaten to a pulp today just because he wanted his room back and access to the bathroom . . . and over a stupid dress. I would have turned everyone against over luck. We were supposed to protect him, but we can't even protect him from ourselves," Lynn stated.

Those words made their hearts sink deep inside, filling them with cold dread. However, Lori refused to fall into despair.

"Maybe Lincoln would be better—"

Lori grabbed Lynn's arm and turned her over to face her.

"No! That's quitter talk! And that bullshit doesn't fly here in the Loud family!" Lori declared fiercely.

Everyone gasped.

"Lori!" Leni exclaimed.

"You said a swear word!" Lola pointed.

"I know! And I don't care! You know what I do care about? This family. I care about all of you, and I care about Lincoln! I even care about you, Lynn. That's right. Despite you being the worst offender, you're still my sister. Let me ask you something. Do you care about him?" Lori asked.

Lynn's eyes widened, and she exclaimed, "Of course I do! Why do you think I'm so upset right now?! I'm terrified that I'll lose him forever."

"Then you shouldn't give up on him. The vision orb thingy, changed when you swore you would never let the bad events happen—the one where we're all protecting him from Mom and Dad. Lincoln said so himself that we're capable of change. If he's not giving up on us, then we're not either, and we're especially not giving up on him! So, quit this quitter talk and fight for what you love and believe in."

"Lori's right! We haven't lost him yet. We need to be better sisters. We need to be a better family; I think we have what it takes. It's not something that can happen overnight, but if we keep trying and keep at it, I believe we can be better," Leni stated.

"Amen to that. So, either put your rock on or bum out like a quitter, Lynn," Luna stated, looking her sister square in the eye.

Lynn was quiet for a moment, letting their words sink in. Then she wiped her tears and her nose, "You're right. We haven't lost him yet, and we won't. We have to fight for him, for what's right. I'm gonna protect him, no matter what!"

The girls did a quiet cheer in unison to not wake their parents.

"Including from our parents. Which, by the way, what was that? The vision of all of us protecting Lincoln from Mom and Dad – you guys remember?" Luan asked.

"It could be any number of things. It could be a possible future of them finding out about Lincoln's powers, and we didn't tell them, or we did tell them, and they get upset about it, or it could be something else entirely," Lori said.

"What else would make them do that? What do they do or say that makes Lincoln so upset and us angry?" Lola asked.

"Whatever it is, they must have done something that really upset Lincoln because we all looked so mad at Mom and Dad, especially me, Lori, and Lynn," Luna said.

Lucy hummed, and then a thought came in and softly gasped. Everyone turned to her.

"What would make us that angry? What if they were going to send Lincoln away?" Lucy questioned.

Everyone's eyes widened, "What?!"

"Think about it. Is there anything else that would make us that furious? What if they find out about Lincoln's powers and think it's too much for them to handle? So they send him away?" Lucy theorized.

Lana nodded, "That would make me pretty mad."

"We don't know for certain. That is a possibility, but we need to gather more information before drawing a conclusion. I wish to study Lincoln's powers to learn how they work and see if I can do something about his head pains. For that, I need to examine the rock he talked about. So, if you'll excuse me," Lisa stated before digging underneath Lincoln's bed, "Shoebox, shoebox, shoebox, where are you? Ah, here we go."

Lisa pulled the shoebox Lincoln said the rock was in and rested it on the bed. Inside the box was mainly junk and personal items. Then Lisa found the stone. It was a round, smooth, and shiny rock. It was green with a deep blue swirl in its center, almost like a galaxy. There were sparkly crystals all over it, looking like little stars. Lisa put on some gloves and picked it up with a pair of tongs. The sisters looked at it with awe and amazement.

"That's the rock Lincoln touched and gave him superpowers?" Luan asked.

"According to Lincoln, yes. This is fascinating," Lisa said before putting it in a container.

"Wait, Lincoln gets new visions of the future in his sleep, in his dreams, right?" Lana questioned.

"They usually come to him in his sleep, yes. It's harder for him to unlock visions of the future while he's awake. The more he unlocks, the more it takes its toll on Lincoln and hurts his head," Lucy explained.

"So, we should wait until Lincoln's healed before he tries to unlock the vision about Mom and Dad, right?"

"Correct," Lisa answered.

"Alright, everyone. Let's all go back to sleep . . . or at least try to anyway," Lori said.

Everyone went back to their beds except Lynn. She stayed in Lincoln's bed while hugging Bun-Bun.

"I'll never let you go, Lincoln. I'll never stop loving you," Lynn said to herself as she closed her tearful eyes, "Why? Why would I do such a horrible thing? Why am I such a sore loser? Why is it whenever I lose I—"

Lynn opened her eyes in realization and slowly lifted her head.

"Of course. I see . . . that's why. I know what I gotta say to him," Lynn said.

Watching from afar was Future Lincoln, "Now you girls know, and your consciences have flooded your minds with guilt. Let's see how far you'll go for little me."

Later

The Loud sisters went to school, but none of them wanted to. They wanted to go straight to the hospital to see their brother. It's funny and ironic how when you want something to last, it goes by quickly, and vice versa; when you want something to end quickly, it seems to last almost forever. That's what it felt like for the Loud sisters. School dragged on a lot longer than they wanted it to, and to make things worse, they had to deal with one thing after another. Teachers having a word about schoolwork or homework, friends talking about stuff or upcoming events, etc. The cloudy and rainy weather didn't help with their depressing mood either.

Finally, at the end of the day, the Loud sisters got home and drove in Vanzilla to the hospital. The parents wanted to go but had to deal with something with the restaurant. Lisa brought a suitcase that had a machine to scan Lincoln's brain and body while using his powers. She also brought a serum that she had finished and perfected to heal the pain in his brain. Once at the hospital, Lynn, of course, was the first out of the van. She couldn't even wait for the elevator and ran up the stairs to the floor Lincoln's room was on. However, he wasn't there.

Lynn was panting as she searched the room, even the bathroom. Then she asked a nearby nurse.

"Excuse me, where's Lincoln Loud? The patient in this room?" Lynn asked.

"He went to the courtyard ground level that way. It's where patients go to get some fresh air," the nurse answered.

"Thanks," Lynn replied.

By the time she got to the stairs, the elevator opened with the rest of her sisters there. Lynn got in and pressed the first-floor level button, "Lincoln's not in his room. He's in the courtyard."

Once at ground level, Lynn ran following the signs to where the courtyard was and found it. It was big, with a fountain in the middle, several bushes, and lovely flowers. The rain died down to a sprinkle, and the sun was out. Lynn ran around searching for the white-haired boy. Then she found him. He stepped out from under a tree to let some of the rain get his face wet while relishing the warm sunlight.

Lynn skidded on the concrete floor to a stop while panting to catch her breath. Lincoln turned around to see her. Lincoln had a bandage wrapped around his head from the head injury and had a cane in one hand. He was wearing a blue hospital-patient shirt and pant scrubs. His eyes widened when he saw Lynn and the rest of his sisters weren't far behind.

"Lynn? What are you—?"

Before he could finish his question, Lynn dashed over and squeezed him a hug. Lincoln almost lost his balance as he embraced his athletic sister in his arms as he was in hers. Then she began to cry as she held her brother. The other sisters arrived and didn't know what to do as they watched Lynn cry.

"Lynn? What's wrong?" Lincoln questioned.

"I figured out. I know why," Lynn answered.

"Why what?"

"Why I would do such a horrible thing. Why I would blame you and be such a sore loser."

This got everyone's attention as Lynn eased up to look her brother in the eye while holding his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Lincoln. I'm sorry I pushed you, mocked you, belittled you, bullied you, and said awful things to you. Every time I pushed you was because I believed in you," Lynn started.

Lincoln's eyes slowly widened as she continued. The other sisters glanced back and forth at each other.

Lynn gently held Lincoln's face, "You have great potential. Your spirit is strong, and your heart is pure. It makes me and our sisters so happy and proud that you didn't give up on us. That's why you were willing to go the distance to save Leni, Lana, and Luna from danger, and I know you'd go the distance for the rest of us because that's who Lincoln Loud is!"

The Loud sisters' eyes widened with amazement at Lynn's words.

"I can't believe it took me so long to realize that I shouldn't have pushed you to make you strong. You didn't need me to spark that fire in you. You had that fire all along! All those I roughhoused you, called you Stinkin, and belittled you; it was because I was scared."

"Scared?! Scared of what?!" Lincoln asked in an alarmed tone.

"That I could never live up to be your sister. That I could never measure up to you. That I could never be strong and great like you. That I could never stand by you and call you my brother. And say with all my heart that I . . . that I love you!" Lynn exclaimed with her heart.

Lincoln uttered softly and blinked with tears rolling down his cheek. Lynn's tears burst from her eyes before she squeezed her brother a hug, and he hugged her back.

"I love you, Lincoln! I love you so much!" Lynn cried.

Lincoln kissed her head, "I love you too, Lynn."

The rest of the sisters wept. Lori, Leni, Luan, and Lola covered their mouths, and the rest wiped their eyes, but it was useless. The tears were streaming down their faces. They embraced each other in a group hug. The rain still came down but in a light sprinkle. The sun escaped the dark clouds, and the warm golden sunlight blinded the Louds.

They stayed in a group hug for the longest time until they finally eased up. Lynn and Lincoln looked at each other while their arms wrapped around each other. Lincoln gave her a gentle smile as he wiped the tears from her eyes and planted a kind kiss on her face. Lynn returned the same with a dozen all over his face.

"You, one. Me, several. I win," Lynn grinned.

Lincoln raised his eyebrow while still smiling while the rest of their sisters gave Lynn this look – some even placed their hands on their hips.

"Sorry, old habits," Lynn shrugged.

"I counted ten. I can kiss more than that!" Luna stated before smothering Lincoln's face with kisses.

"Oh yeah? I totes can do better! Come here, Lincoln!" Leni challenged before giving Lincoln dozens of kisses.

"Guys! It's not a contest. We all love Lincoln equally . . . even though I've been kissing him since the day he was born, so I beat you all anyway, but who's counting?" Lori added with a smirk.

"Let's get out of this rain and head back to my room," Lincoln suggested.

They stepped out of the rain. The twins hugged Lincoln while looking up at him while resting their chins on his torso.

"So, does this mean you don't hate us?" Lola asked.

"Of course not," Lincoln said sincerely, "Why would you ask that?"

"We all had some horrible dreams last night, and I mean really, REALLY bad dreams," Lana explained.

Lucy hugged Lincoln from the side, "Right now, our biggest fear is losing you, Lincoln. We need you to know how much we love you. We need you to know how sorry we are for all the bad things we did and would have done to you. We need you to know that we will change to be better sisters."

Lincoln hugged them back, "I love you guys too."

Luan hugged Lincoln from behind while sobbing.

"Luan?" Lincoln spoke.

"I'm sorry, Lincoln. Actually, I owe all of you an apology . . . for all the April Fool's pranks," Luan said.

She let go of Lincoln to wipe her eyes, and so Lincoln could turn around and face her.

"All those pranks I did . . . I was the only one laughing – no one else. A good prank, a good joke, and especially a good comedian makes other people laugh. I kept getting so over the top with the pranks that I didn't pay attention to whether or not someone was getting hurt. Every year, you guys are afraid of me because of my stupid pranks. If I make my own family scared of me, then I'm doing something really wrong," Luan explained.

She approached her brother and gently held his face.

"I shouldn't make my family afraid of me. I should be making them happy – making them laugh. I'm so sorry, Lincoln. I'm sorry, everyone," Luan said before kissing Lincoln's face and hugging him.

"It's okay, Luan," Lincoln said, hugging her back.

"I'm done with pranks forever."

"Whoa! Whoa! Luan, you don't have to quit comedy. Comedy is your bread and butter," Lincoln said.

"I'm not quitting comedy, just pranks. I'm going to focus on stuff that actually makes people laugh so that I'm not the only one laughing," Luan stated.

"We're all going to own up to things. We need to be better for you, little bro, and this family," Luna added.

Lincoln nodded, "We'll get through this together."

"Indeed so. I brought some equipment to scan your brain and body to better understand your powers, Lincoln. I also examined the rock you mentioned; the continents are fascinating. There are elements on it that aren't even on the Periodic Table of Elements. So, I am very keen on learning more about this," Lisa stated.

"First, let's go back to the room and let Lincoln rest a little bit," Luan said as she handed Lincoln his cane.

They walked back to the elevator to take Lincoln to his room. As they walked carefully, Lynn and Luna held his arms to keep him stable.

Lincoln felt like he was in a dream, or that one came true. Everything he wanted from his family was happening. All he wanted was love. He wanted his family to love him, and it was happening. He didn't have to fear the Bad Luck incident or the Sister Fight Protocol from happening. Lincoln knew at that moment that his sisters were willing to go the distance for him just as much as he was willing to go for them.

However, he feared the bad news that he would have to tell his sisters and later his parents. As they walked back to the hospital room, Lincoln thought carefully of how to tell them of his visitors. Lynn and Luna carefully laid Lincoln down on the bed. He let out a deep sigh as he relaxed.

"Guys, I need to tell you something," Lincoln said.

"What is it?" Lori asked.

"This morning, I had some visitors."

"What visitors?" Lola questioned.

Lincoln started, "Two people from the CPS—"

The older sisters and Lisa gasped with their eyes wide open. Leni and the younger sisters looked confused.

"Wait. What's CPS?" Leni asked.

"Child Protective Services," Luna answered.

"Who are they?" Lana asked.

"They're people in charge of making sure that kids are safe and live in safe home environments. If they deem the kid is not living in a safe and ideal environment, they call Social Services and remove the child from said home environment and place them either in foster care or an orphanage," Lisa explained.

Leni and the younger siblings gasped in shock.

"That's not all," Lincoln added.

The girls stared at him with pensive looks, waiting for his answer.

"There was a third person with them – an FBI agent."

All the sisters were so stunned they froze, and their pupils shrank.

"An FBI agent? What did they want?" Lori questioned with a very concerned expression.

Lincoln adjusted himself in his bed, "They asked very specific questions about me, my home, my family, our parents, my life. They said a certain viral video of me saving Lana from a gator while Dad did nothing caught their attention. Then, when they found out I was in the hospital, they became even more curious. So, they paid me a visit and asked me questions."

"What did you say to them?" Lynn asked.

"I told them the truth. I didn't say anything about my powers, but I was honest with how my life is, how home is, and how our parents are neglectful," Lincoln said.

"You told them about the Sister Fight Protocol?!" Lola asked.

"Of course I did! Why else would I try to run away from home," Lincoln replied.

"Oh my god," Lori breathed while pinching the bridge of her nose.

"And what did they say? Did you ask them why they're investigating?" Luna questioned.

"I asked them if anyone was in trouble," Lincoln answered.

"And?" Luan asked.

"They said, 'You young man, no. Your parents and your sisters, maybe.' Then I asked them if anyone was going to jail, and they said they will question you and our parents to get all the facts straight before drawing a conclusion. I clarified that you guys weren't directly abusive or meant to hurt me. I ran away because I was scared, and you guys chased after me because you care about me, but they said Mom and Dad still showed irresponsible parental behavior. That's when the FBI agent said they're on thin ice," Lincoln explained.

The sisters were silent as a chill ran up their spines, giving them goosebumps.

"Hey girls," Lincoln called, "They're investigating. Let's not jump to conclusions. That doesn't automatically mean that someone is going to jail. Even if they do, I'll use my future visions to see how we can either avoid or minimize the punishment. Best case scenario, our parents will be on probation while taking mandatory parenting classes."

Lori gently nodded, "Okay, you're right. Let's take this one step at a time. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Lisa, you wanted to analyze his brain or something, right?"

"Correct," Lisa replied.