Act III
During the half-hour break from the sibling trial, Lincoln went snooping around in Lisa's room, looking for anything that could potentially serve as evidence for disproving Lana's guilt.
"Come on, Lincoln, you've got to find something!" he frantically said to himself as he rummaged through Lisa's stuff.
Suddenly, he turned around and noticed Todd in the corner of the room. He awkwardly muttered the words "Uh oh" in response.
"What are you doing here?" Todd asked.
"I believe Lisa is responsible for Lola's stolen trophy! I'm sorry, Todd, but I can't let you stop me from…" but before Lincoln could even finish his sentence, Todd interrupted him…
"It wasn't Lana." he outright confirmed.
"Wait, what?!" Lincoln said in shock. "Then why did you say it was?"
"Lisa threatened to deactivate me for a week if I didn't support her claim."
"And why is she so determined to prove Lana is guilty, anyway? Tell me that."
"I've already said too much."
"No, Todd. If you know the truth, I need you to tell me… and so do the others!" Lincoln stated.
"I will confirm the truth… under one condition."
"Which is?" Lincoln then began to negotiate.
The siblings soon returned to Leni's room and resumed the trial. Lisa believed the outcome was already set in stone, little did she know that her brother was one step ahead of her.
It was time for the closing statements of both Lisa and Lincoln on behalf of their "clients".
"It's time to end this. Lola, Lisa… do you have anything left to add?" Leni asked the prosecution.
Lisa cleared her throat before replying "I believe the evidence provided thus far is more than enough to conclude Lana's guilt. That is all."
It appeared Lisa was overwhelmingly confident that the verdict would go in their favour, so much so that she hadn't even bothered to prepare a proper closing argument.
"Okay. Lincoln, Lana… is there anything else you would like to say before the jury makes up their minds?" Leni then said to the defense.
Lincoln stood before the Loud sisters one last time. But he turned specifically to face Lola, who was still sitting judgementally in her chair. He then faced the rest of the sisters and began his speech…
"I know some of you are already convinced Lana did it, but I have to ask you… is that really the Lana Loud we all know and love?" he said, and just like that, a few of the sisters had already begun to rethink their stances. "I, of all people, know what it's like to have everyone against you, accusing you of things that you didn't even do, and I know what it's like to be outnumbered… and it's not nice. But I compel you to see reason. Is Lana really a no-good thief?" he continued, earning him a dismissive scoff from Lisa, but he didn't care.
"Lana may be a dirty, gross, disgusting kid…" he then continued, earning him an annoyed "Hey!" from the girl he was supposed to be defending, but he didn't let that distract him. "…but she's also a kind, honest, and humble person. When I suggested we cheat during the soapbox derby, Lana wouldn't have any of it! She wanted to play fair and square, even if it meant losing the competition. When we were trapped, freezing our butts off in the Burpin' Burger, Lana sacrificed the winning wrapper to be a member of Bobbie Fletcher's pit crew, just so that we'd be okay. When Lana screwed up my video game, sure I was mad at her, but I also appreciate that she did everything in her power to put things right! She wouldn't just do one of us dirty and then leave it at that. She's better than that!"
His words touched the hearts of most of his sisters, including Lana herself, who began to emit a soft, warm smile in appreciation of her brother's compelling defense of her person.
His speech was even so convincing that Lola herself was beginning to doubt if she was really in the right to place so much blame against her twin sister. As her facial expression became more unsure and doubtful, this began to worry her "attorney", Lisa.
Lincoln finally turned back to Lola and said "And even if you still believe she stole it, Lola, I ask you… is some trophy worth falling out with your own twin sister? A twin sister who is also your best friend? Think about that, Lola."
Lola began to feel sad, and even a tad guilty, about the whole trial ordeal. Quick to reassure her, Lisa said "He's just talking pure hokum because his case is a lost cause. Don't worry about it."
"Is that so, Lisa?" Lincoln then said. "Well, if you're so convinced that you've won, then maybe you won't mind a slight bending of the rules."
"What is it?" Leni asked.
"The thing is, I would like to call one final witness to speak before everyone!" he then announced.
"Ha! Too late, Lincoln. Once closing statements have been made, one cannot…" Lisa tried to dismiss him, but Lola then spoke up.
"Wait! I want to hear it."
"What?! Whose side are you on?!" Lisa nervously questioned her.
"This isn't about sides, Lisa! I'm interested in the truth."
"Good. Then you won't mind hearing a few more words from everyone's favourite resident robot… Todd!"
Sweat began to drip down Lisa's face as she saw her metal companion make his way back into the room. She knew she was in trouble now.
Lincoln then addressed Todd. "Todd, you previously claimed Lisa gave you the ability to see through walls. Is that really true or just a deception?"
Todd simply answered, "Actually, it is true."
"Okay. Does that mean you know who stole and ruined Lola's trophy?"
And once again, the answer was a resounding "Yes."
"Okay, Todd. Can you point to the TRUE culprit?"
All eyes were on the robot as the sisters looked to see who Todd would reveal was the thief.
But before Todd could expose his creator, Lisa sprung out of her chair and sprinted her way out of the room. Lola gasped in realisation of what this meant. "THAT DIRTY RAT!" she shouted furiously, before knocking over the table and racing after her little sister.
"Lola, no!" Leni shouted as she smacked her sandal down on the table again… but this time, Lola ignored it and continued running.
"Please…" Leni then softly muttered, but still to no avail.
"Uh oh." Lincoln responded as he and the others abandoned the trial and quickly followed the two girls.
Lisa ran into her room and bolted the door shut. However, the door wasn't enough to keep out an enraged Lola, who forced her way through it with absolute ease.
"LISA!" she yelled before frantically pouncing at the Poindexter, resulting in another fight cloud.
"Lynn!" Lincoln said as he pointed at the two girls, prompting Lynn to once again enter the cloud and pull out the two combatants.
"GRRR!" Lola continued to try and attack Lisa, though thankfully Lynn was strong enough to keep them apart.
After Lola had finally calmed down enough, Lynn let go of both her and Lisa.
"Lisa, why did you take Lola's trophy?" Lana asked her.
"Yeah, and why did you let Lana take the blame for it being ruined?" Lincoln also questioned.
Lisa, ashamed and exposed, finally admitted the truth. "Okay, you got me! When Lola said her trophy was made of an extremely rare metal, my scientific curiosity overwhelmed my instincts. I'm only human, after all."
"So, you took Lola's trophy for some little experiment?" Lincoln deduced.
"Precisely. I was trying to see what kind of materials could withstand my most corrosive chemicals, and Lola's prized possession appeared quite durable. So, I sneakily entered Lola's room last night while she was sleeping, and borrowed the trophy. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as resistant to the chemicals as I had hoped."
"So you melted Lola's trophy?" Lana said.
"Well, most of it." Lisa confirmed. "When the failed experiment was over, all that was left was a handle that I pulled out of the decayed remnants. Once the realisation kicked in that I had destroyed Lola's property, I panicked. After returning to the scene of the crime, I frantically ran around Lola's room, scrambling for a solution."
"And that's when you had the idea to frame Lana by leaving the handle next to her pillow?" Lynn said.
"That is correct." Lisa then shamefully admitted.
"So all along it was you?! You volunteered to be my prosecutor for this dumb trial, and all the time, you were the thief?!" Lola angrily berated her.
"It seemed like the perfect cover. If I acted as your attorney, it would divert the blame away from myself." she admitted. "And it would have worked if it wasn't for Lincoln's surprisingly acute deductions."
"Hey, I'm more than just a pretty face." Lincoln joked in response.
"I'm sorry for my deception, Lola." she then apologised. "I may have my genius intellect and advanced robotics… but none of that is a match for your wrath. I was terrified of how you would retaliate, and that is why I lied."
"And she's not the only one you owe an apology to, Lisa!" Lincoln then said.
Realising what he meant, Lisa humbly approached the other twin and said "Lana, I'm sorry for framing you. It is one of the actions in my life so far that I am less than proud of."
She was initially angry for a brief moment, but Lana wasn't the type of girl to hold a grudge. "Aw, it's cool, sis. I'm just glad that all this is finally over and I'm in the clear." she said happily, before turning to face her twin sister and saying, "It is over, right?"
Lola walked over and hugged her twin. "Of course. I'm so sorry for blaming you, Lana. I should've known you'd never do such a thing. I've been such a fool."
"Oh, it's okay, Lols. I'm just glad we can be best sibs again." Lana accepted as the two twins then finished their tender hug. The rest of the siblings looked on at their display of forgiveness and affection, feeling happy for them that their conflict was over and they could start getting along again.
Lisa, in admiration, turned to her brother and said "Lincoln, I must congratulate you. Not only did you hold your own in the trial against me, but you also managed to thwart my cleverly calculated deception. I have to admit, I might have severely underestimated your intelligence."
"Well, that's nice of you to say, Lisa." he thanked her.
"I also have to ask how you managed to convince my own creation to betray me like that."
"Oh, Todd wasn't too happy about you threatening to switch him off for a week if he didn't cover your butt. So, I promised him protection from the others if we won the trial. Turns out he's a gambling robot."
"Well, I'd definitely say you won the trial, dude." Luna said to her brother.
"Yeah, it's a good thing Lana had you to back her up." Luan also said as Lincoln and Lana smiled fondly at each other.
"Well, I'm just glad that all this fighting is finally over, and we can all move on." Leni said.
"Yes, and since I am the guilty party, I am prepared to accept responsibility and compensate both of you for any hardship or inconvenience this whole ordeal has caused, in any way you see fit." Lisa then told the twins.
Lola decided to have fun with this little negotiation. "Well, I think I might have a few ideas." She then whispered into Lana's ear, who whispered back into hers. Lisa was curious though also nervous about what the two twins were discussing.
"Lana may be the forgiving kind, but with me, it'll take some work." Lola claimed. "But I'm willing to slide this under the rug, under a few conditions."
"Which are?" Lisa asked.
"First, you got to help me with fixing cars for the next month!" Lana then told her.
"Also, you have to come to at least one tea party with me a week for the next six months!" Lola added.
"And you have to make a new trophy for Lola to replace the one you stole!" Lana continued.
"Okay, okay… fine. Those are actually rather reasonable demands, given the context. I guess it's the least I can do to redeem myself for my underhanded behaviour." Lisa accepted. "Your demands shall be met in full." she then added before deciding to leave the room.
But before she could exit, Lola cleared her throat, walked toward her, and said "One more thing…"
Lisa then waited anxiously for that sentence to finish as Lola leaned closer and quietly said "If you ever try to play me for a fool again, I'll…" and the rest of the sentence was whispered directly into Lisa's ear. The rest of the siblings couldn't quite hear what was being said, but one look at Lisa's face was enough to paint the picture.
With her pupils dilated, and her facial expression appearing as a mixture of shock and terror, it was clear that Lola had given her a chilling warning about crossing her again.
"And that's why you should never make Lola mad." Lana then remarked, seemingly knowing what Lola had said to her.
"What did she say?" Lincoln asked.
"You don't want to know."
Author's Footnote:
And so, that concludes yet another story of my B-Canon timeline. So just to recap, in chronological order, the B-Canon Timeline now consists of:
- The Quest for Glory
- A Rough Phase
- New Worlds and Old Soldiers
- Survival Instincts
- Double Trouble
- Double Date
- Family Feud
- Class or Crass
- Dark Days
- Leaf Our Town Alone
- Trial and Terror
- Ronnie and Tumble
- Inside the Loud House
- The Loud's Finest Hour
* "It's a Kid's World" exists in a separate universe/timeline, as previously established. My even older stories (Pushover or Payback, Two Peas in a Prison, and Game On) also exist in yet another alternate timeline/s.
Due to focusing on two consecutive stories back to back recently, I've not really spent much time on the Wiki, on DeviantArt, or on Reddit. Also, I need to get back to doing a few more reviews and/or discussions. So, I'll be shifting focus back to that for now, most probably.
In the meantime, let me know your thoughts on this story. If you liked it, please share it around with your friends and raise awareness for its existence within other corners of the fanbase. I would like to see my works increase in popularity, so let's see if we can do something about that.
Anyway, take care, guys.