Sins in Twisters

Chapter 2: Loud No More

For the rest of the Louds, everyone mainly stayed locked in their rooms, trying to find something to give them that spark again. Yet hisses of pain, groans from lack of strength, and even some sobbing was the only sound from the second floor anymore.

For now, 55-year-old Lynn Loud Sr., it might as well just be the house being haunted by the broken spirits of his family. When his children first returned home in 2020, he understood it was because of the world at large that was affecting them all. Yet despite that, he welcomed them home with full loving arms. Happy they were together and yet still saw light in the future.

But when Lincoln moved out, he felt a heavy fog forming over their home.

Sure, he believed in otherworldly forces (especially since Scotland but not to Lucy's caliber) and that things happen for a reason. Everything was full of light when Luan started getting more active in branching out her passion, and Lynn was on track to be picked up for a vast sports degree. Lincoln had found his passion, and while he disagreed with his son's activity being deemed the deadliest out of all of the siblings (even if Lisa's experiments blew up less and less frequently).

When he gave him Vanzilla, he was happy to pass on part of his family legacy. When Lincoln returned, got a new vehicle, and handed Lynn the van back, he was sad but understanding. What Lincoln did require was a car that could get him where he needed to be fast and reliably. Vanzilla was a bit of both, but there was only so far you could keep something that old running. And with half the family still living with them, the van was still needed in their lives.

But that day, when Lincoln left, he had hoped it was temporary. Stay down there for a time, then come back up for the holidays. But that didn't happen. Even for birthdays, they got a few calls from him and some extra money, but those calls soon faded to the wayside. Now the only thing they got from their son was a check.

To this day, Lynn couldn't get back on his feet like he did before the world went down the toilet. Sure, his restaurant was back to booming business after years of financial strain making it a bit less of a dream and more of a chore. The money coming in was enough to keep the place running each month, but what was left at the end was scraps of what his family needed.

Yet for five years straight, Lincoln was the 'breadwinner' of the family. His royalty checks kept coming and slowly increasing to where Lynn felt he could relax a bit more. Despite being a thousand-plus miles away, his son never stopped making sure his family was happy. It brought the oldest Loud to tears at times, thinking of how just a simple check each month was doing so much for the family.

But when he left, Lynn didn't think of the growing fog around them.

And then, two years ago… it felt like his worst nightmares were coming to life.

He felt himself crumbling each time he saw one of his babies in the hospital. Unable to hug him, speak to him, see him, even hold his hand or hear his voice. He knew Rita was probably worse off than himself. When what happened with Lucy a year ago was seen as their children's future destroyed, it took so much of his power to help her escape the abyss that was consuming their family.

Yet a week since they got the call about Junior, he felt himself losing his strength.

Dinner for the past months didn't have the heart anymore; he tried to make every day feel special, but that could only last for so long. Even his food reflected it when they started lacking that pizazz that he thought made prison food look superior despite everyone reassuring him it was still some of the best food ever.

But this week, he felt more drained than ever. He didn't have that spark to cook tonight, ordered a few large pizzas that could hopefully last them three days before he had to come up with something for dinner by then. Waiting on the delivery, he set the table alone.

Placing down 12 plates- 10, he reminded himself. Moving them around to cover the given seating for tonight.

Three seats remained empty.

One for two years remained vacant. It took him weeks to mentally adapt to the change and again when the girls returned. But tonight, they were down two more…

Lynn Jr wasn't always home. But despite tending to college, weekends were the days she would take a bus home to help out. Since all this, she was the most assertive sibling who did everything she could to keep them from falling further into the abyss. Lincoln had done it for them countless times no matter what, and now it was their turn to take up that mantle.

But now… Senior could only wince at how his daughter felt now. She had the most spirit left in the family, and now that spirit was undoubtedly destroyed.

And with her empty seat was the one beside him. Rita had chosen to stay with Junior at the hospital by living out of the hotel across from the building. It wasn't the greatest and was pricey, but right now, it was the best they could do. Junior needed someone by her side, and the others needed someone to keep them going home.

When the doorbell rang and a cry from someone probably getting an unexpected electrical shock, Lynn moved from the dining room to the front door. Turning to the stairs and yelling out, "Girls! Pizzas here!"

Of all the rooms in the house, the twins' room undoubtedly took the reward for the most 'empty.' For what was once a complete polar opposite, the room looked and felt more like someone else had replaced the other and moved in with a roommate with only different tastes in colored bed sheets.

One half that used to look like the bedroom for a young boy with toys and dirty clothes strewn about, the carpet a bit ingrained with years of dirt, and a plethora of tanks that held so many kinds of animals an exotic pet shop would be envious. Now devoid of pets, the floor a cream color and looking like it was brand new, toys stuffed away under the bed and clothes in a hamper in the far corner.

The other was once a room 'fit for a growing princess' that dawned in the pinkest things in the house. A pink bed with a matching canopy around the top, an army of stuffed animals, and a little tea set nestled to the side. The closest dresser to either side was filled to capacity with sparking dresses and gowns that had given many a taste of the rising beauty queen. Now practically empty save for a few articles of clothes that, at best, could be considered handy downs given their oversized nature. It looked like some of the older sisters would casually wear something on a lazy day and not what the acclaimed princess would dare even be caught dead in.

For the oldest twin Loud, sitting on her bed staring up at the ceiling, the clean feeling surrounding her still felt alien after so many years in the dirt. She was used to the grit, the roughness, the stink, the sludge, and the dust. It defied her as much as she wasn't afraid to be handsy with anything involving construction. She was the Queen of Plumber and Risks for a reason.

But in recent times, she felt those titles didn't hold the same kind of honor as before…

When her older sisters had their accidents, she was among those to help. She helped build the things needed to help them try to make their lives easier. Yet after the second and third accidents, it became clearer that the family's troubles were just getting started. Like Vanzilla after spending days fixing something only to see a dozen other things on the verge of falling apart or already there.

Everyone had to cut away something to support the family. For Lana, it was the reality that it was costly to keep many pets fed and maintained. Sacrifices have to be made. She never thought in all her life she would have to say so many goodbyes…

But it was here that for the family, the subsequent accident would happen and change the eldest twin. Everyone who knew Lana knew she wasn't one to turn away from a dirty or dangerous challenge. To where Lynn was the daredevil of the sports world, Lana was to nature.

'Well… Lincoln had her beat on that...'

Perhaps there is a limit to what one would think were just 'everyday' risks…

But it was in this regard that years and years of rolling in the mud finally caught up to her.

She wasn't one to worry about the effects of playing in the mud. She had done it more times than she remembered bathing. It was part of life! That summer had been wetter than usual, which meant more and more mud everywhere!

And she probably set a new world record for most mud puddles visited within a single day at the same park. She remembered having the time of her life racing and barrel-rolling through each one as the rain fell. When it was time to roll, she dunked herself into a giant puddle that cars on the road kept spraying up every time they drove through it. But it wasn't just one day; no, dozens had come before and followed right after when she wasn't tending to other matters.

But by the end of summer, something felt different.

Then the itch came. At first, just the occasional spot here and there, nothing unusual.

Yet it never went away. No amount of scratching with her hands, someone else's hands, or anything she could get her hands on would be remotely enough. It came to the point that when she started becoming redder and redder all over, her mother got her the most potent anti-itching cream in Michigan.

It helped in the very, very short term.

When it seemed like she was out of the woods and in the clear, she felt that compared to her sisters, she had the best luck.

But as the saying went… out of the frying pan, into the fire.

First, it started with the rashes and itches, but that was manageable. Then came whenever one of her favorite past times of trash diving for leftover goodies became the next sign. She knew to look for stuff that wouldn't outright poison her, her sense of taste and smell was much higher than most, but even when just eating regular stuff, she felt something was wrong.

She felt more nausea than usual. As she had just gotten off the most extreme pig riding event back to back, she chalked it up as her body having probably begun puberty. Changes like that were bound to happen.

But then came the pains, the feeling like a gas bomb was always building within her. She wailed in agony whenever she tried holding down any meal she could stomach for more than 4 hours. The thought that maybe it was just some bad reaction to the itch and the cream was causing her to become sick was what she had hoped, and tried to minimize what her usual routine was. Then the blood… it was just never-ending. Sure, she would spend a lot of time in the bathroom trying to fix something, but that had reversed to figuring out what was wrong with her.

2 months of this. Nonstop. Trying whatever ways they could fight off whatever sickness this was. But after so much with the blood, her mother demanded she sees a medical professional. With their budget problem growing, when Lisa was able to properly run a complete and thorough (though questionable) diagnostic of her sister, the family would receive the news that didn't think was something they ever would have thought about.

Parasites.

Or Necator americanus, as Lisa called its scientific name. Or more understandably called 'New World Hookworm.' And 13-year-old Lana Loud was home to hundreds of them.

It was the day that arguably jumpstarted Lisa's mission to cure her family. And it was the day that Lana realized that sometimes rolling around in every mud puddle could become far more than just an enjoyable time.

But no, parasites were what they did know about. It was the damage they didn't.

Lisa had proscribed her with a mix of benzimidazole, albendazole, and mebendazole to fight off the worms. Literal chemical warfare against the invaders from within. She didn't remember how long it took or how many checkups Lisa had done while adjusting the doses. In the fall, she had barely seen the outdoors, never going barefoot again whenever she did go out. Even her carpet was steam cleaned and bleached so much that it had lost all its brown colors.

By October, she was declared 'clean.' But the aftermath of her little war was something that, to this day, made her feel conflicted about the outside now. And glancing at the mess of medicine that sat on the table where one of her atriums used to be, it would probably be a long, long time till she felt let herself again.

Lana was lucky; unlike Lori, Luna, or Leni at the time, she was more directly treatable and deemed the 'highest priority.' When a 13-year-old loses that much blood and weight and no one thinks to act fully on that, they were a blind idiot. She was lucky that, in time, the medicine would help. Like Lynn at the time, she was the two that could still keep the house up with their parents. And even now, she felt a little pain here, and now was okay so long as they could hold together.

Yet in this world, Lana and the family didn't have to look far to know what they thought could have been the worst they had seen.

But in her nature of proving they hadn't seen anything yet, Lola managed to outdo them all at the time.

And in 2023, a fall pageant had been going on, and like any other time, Lola was dominating the entire house. The whole summer was a big success, so why would she stop? When they say, "you're on fire!" it's usually meant as a saying to the person having big nonstop success. And truth be told, when she heard her family yell it out, she embraced it like always.

But then you feel it getting a little hot… Starting to sweat more than someone should be… and you hear your family crying out in panic, "you're on fire!" while you watch your parents run towards the stage…

And the burning… it didn't feel like burning in the beginning. It was more like the feeling of having some hot liquid poured on her body, but instead of it rising and falling, it just kept rising. Then she felt her hair burn, her tiara melting, her dress becoming one with flame as from what everyone said, it took merely under 10 seconds for her to become that actual Human Torch (she had to Google that, later on, to understand what they meant.)

They tried putting her out, patting her down with their hands, clothes, anything. But each hit merely felt like fists were smacking her of lava. And it was only when Luan came and went somewhere to acquire the prop spray bottle she used for gags she could be free of the fire.

Luan saved her that day, and Lola always thanked her whenever she was alone with the semi-mute comedian. But that was also the day that Luan would lose one of her own biggest traits; sure, she wasn't disfigured and got the better end of the situation. It still hurt the family to have to bring in two of their kids into the emergency room that day.

Hurt. Oh, the hurt she felt when she woke up.

From what she remembered, she had passed out after the fire was put out from the shock. And in all honestly, she wishes she didn't wake up.

Eight days later, when she did, she felt numb, like she was just body slammed by Lynn everywhere while having the worse sunburn imaginable. But when she asked how bad it was, she should have known that the moment everyone went quiet, smiles dropped, and eyes full of concern and regret, she should have seen the signs before Leni handed her the mirror.

She… didn't see Lola Loud anymore. Her beautiful blonde hair, years of hard work maintaining, was replaced by a charred bald dome. Her beautiful face was now a half mix of ugly red, pale white, and even purple scarring, and that was pretty much the least amount of damage she had.

They said that reconstructive surgery was an option later down the line once most of her body had healed. But how could you reconstruct something that looked more like it belonged in a horror show. It took days before she could move her arms enough to do anything as far as hold and drink a cup of water. A month before she could walk and sit down properly without feeling like she sat on hot coals.

And yet, during the whole time… she blamed Lincoln for this.

Everyone was confused by when she said this, unsure if it was something that was from a memory or if she did believe that. She said it was both, that he should have known which of her dresses was combustible and helped ensure that some random stage lights she passed would be hot enough to spark it.

The day Lola returned home, she marched straight up the stairs toward Lincoln's room. Preparing to unleash her own hellfire upon him, letting her wear something so combustible and ruining her career forever.

When she slammed the door open, fully expecting to see him on his bed, either reading a comic book or fiddling with his camera, it took her a solid minute to feel reality settle in when she looked around his room. There was no Lincoln, none of his old toys, posters, clothes, anything. All there was to be was the dresser and bed with a fine layer of dust over them, abandoned for some time now.

And like a loose wire reconnecting, she felt herself fall onto the bed and weep.

Since that day, her bedroom had become the only place she felt that stopped the world from seeing a monster. It had been over a year now, and some areas had recovered. But of all the sisters in the house, she was the one that needed the most surgery (well, that title was probably with Lynn now) to help her try to become normal again. Lisa had whipped up some cocktail that she had used on Lucy to help fix her hands be used to help her. As far as she knew, it was meant to help speed up the process, not finish it in one go.

Her hair did start to grow back. Surprisingly quick, given how bad the skin was on the back, she could grow it enough that, in some styles, she could pull off, making it seem like she went with a shorter cut. Her twin said something made her look more 'hardcore' with her scars.

Since that day, she never dared to put on another dress. Fireproof or not, she cleaned out her whole closet. An act that did help in the long run was a few extra funds to pay for her treatment. Nowadays, she wears an oversized pink shirt that reaches to her knees and navy blue sweatpants that are as loose as hell. Made by Leni as a way to prevent her still 'new' skin from being rubbed away.

But despite the pain, the nightmares… Lana was always by her side. Even while trying to recover from her own, she stood by her side. And Lola stood by hers.

While she was a bit happy that Lana now saw things from a… 'cleaner' point of view, Lola wished that she would never have to change for her.

For the pair that arguably had the most vocal personalities of the family, the room that was the domain of the Rocker and the Comedian was one of the quietest places in the house. While one side of the room was occupied with musical instruments and speakers, a trunk full of gag props, and an old puppet all collecting dust, on the other with a bunk bed, the sound of soft breathing, fingers typing in keyboards and music barely audible enough to say that it was playing at all.

Up top closest to the ceiling, for Luna, silence had become her best friend.

Her phone was held by her hands, the wire leading to the end of an earbud on her left side, and a face that felt like life had become meaningless. And for the Luna, it might as well have been.

As one of the few ways for her to think back to having any, she tried to listen to what inspired her from the past. On her phone was a documentary, on Rock of course, but instead of hearing the brief sounds of the sweet decades before her time, even with her single earbud's volume cranked up to almost max power, she had to live with just reading the subtitles.

She had seen many of them before, countless times to think back on all those that rocked before her, listening to them so many times at night when she didn't just outright listen to music while sleeping that she could still feel the sounds of each song that was played in the video. Instinctively her hand moved to increase the volume so that she could hear them at full power. But every time she pressed to increase, 'Max Volume' would be the result; each time she could barely hear any of her favorite songs, it made her realize how much everything could change. Like legends before her in history, some go out with a bang and slowly move to the sidelines to let the next big shot come on stage; other times, they go out with a puff of smoke and are often remembered for things near the end that tainted them forever.

She loved playing it loud. If she lived up to her name, she would make sure everyone around the world heard it all the way up to the moon. Her voice, and her music, go down in history with so many other rock legends that 50 years from now, her music will still be blasting across the airwaves with her pumping out hit after hit.

It was her ultimate goal in life.

Sure a few years ago, when she got out of high school, the world was a mess, and her career took a hit that could have been the end. But a global disease didn't stop her from planning for the future. She had so much free time that she could expand her inspiration to new heights that when she did hit the road, all of it came to bear the fruit of labor. Her band was a hit and growing its name, her music was on the airwaves, and she could see her name beginning to be carved into the stone of history.

Though something started to bug her, the kind of feeling that made you pause, look around and clear out your ear to make sure that you heard something correctly. Sometimes feeling like you miss something briefly that needs a repeat here or there. But it didn't bother her that much. She played it louder if it got in the way of her jam. And she felt the rush come right on back. When others heard, they felt the shockwaves her guitar unleashed be the loudest they had ever experienced. Her fans, her band, they all felt and agreed that somehow she had tapped into a whole new source of power.

But something was still off…

Every time it got louder, it got… quieter.

Was she losing her touch? Her mind playing tricks on a level Luan would be begging to know its power?

No, it wasn't any of that she was losing. But if she meant her mind as her mentality, she didn't know it, but that crazy train she was already on was pulling into Panic Station. It didn't come as a boom, blast, pow, or explosion. It didn't even come with a whisper.

One night during what was undoubtedly her biggest concert ever, she remembered passing out in a hotel room. The cheering of the crowd ringing her to sleep… and then the violent shove forcing her out of bed. She remembered face-planting and getting a mouthful of carpet, feeling her mind trying to register her surroundings still, she saw Sam in the corner of her eye. She saw her looking very angry; all dressed up with a bag sitting on the bed, ranting about something that she couldn't hear at all. Sam was in a full-on rant, mouth in motion and arms moving around to convey her message.

But Luna heard nothing. She thought it was on the point of feeling some kind of hangover that made her not think straight. Sam seemed to think the same when she tossed her a towel and pointed towards the door. A glance at the clock told her enough that she was running late after a quick shower got dressed and packed up in time to meet her group already heading out the hotel door.

But yet this feeling didn't leave her. She didn't hear the shower running, didn't know the elevator had arrived till she was spooked by the doors opening, and even saw her bandmates chatting and laughing at something she completely missed.

When she got with them and headed out, she had asked what she missed, Sam explained something, but every word she said was more like a Mime pretending to talk. She tried to listen as they approached a crosswalk and started crossing the road…

…only for her to get yanked back by Sam just in time before a Buick took her out. She thought she heard the horn for a brief second, but it was so quiet despite passing 3 feet in front of her.

She felt scared, of course, as someone would from nearly getting flattened. But confused when she spun around and Sam seemed to be berating her again. But after trying to focus, she couldn't hear anything; her friends must have noticed when she was struggling to answer anything, they asked her. Nothing came through, it was like she was practically deaf.

They got an Uber to the nearest medical center. Missing their flight to St. Louis for them to find out what the hell was wrong with her. It took about three days, but the results came back.

To this day, she doesn't know how hard she cried when they had to write it out for her to know. She felt it but couldn't even hear herself cry.

Diagnosis: Sensorineural hearing loss.

She literally was deaf.

The right ear was utterly plugged up, the left barely functioning enough to hear faint muffling even if the speaker was inches away shouting. She remembered Lynn or Lola screaming into both her ears with the intent of waking her up one day, but at best, it was just like that morning with Sam.

She was there when Lori returned home; she had promised to help cover some of the costs to help her big sis be back on her feet in no time.

Now here she was, the next Loud to be silenced. Though she could fully talk despite having to be careful at the volume she did it, for her, it was like forever ripping away the only way she could experience her music. Sure, musicians in the past were deaf and created masterpieces, but in the world of rock, it was all about feeling the power.

Sensorineural hearing loss was said to be permanent; to a degree, if the complete loss wasn't present, then some treatment could mitigate its effects. With Lori being her main focus, Lisa took this as merely a second challenge to her mind. It would take time, a long time, effort, money, blood, sweat, and maybe tears, but she was determined to help her older sisters. Months after coming home, Lisa presented her with a gift.

It looked like an old earphone that was popular in the 2000s for business people. But she explained it worked more as a supercharged hearing aid. Made for her still functioning ear, when she could hear her family again, even as a whisper, she could hear herself cry again that day.

Months after that, it was all she still had. Lisa did modify it to let her use it with headphones or earbuds, which she was grateful beyond belief for hearing music again; it wasn't a permanent fix. With the others, her problem was almost pushed to the wayside as Lucy's accident happened. What was supposed to be her ticket to victory was used to let her dark little sis still be even able to hold her hand.

Lisa confirmed that it was still a work in progress, but Luna knew that she told her it wasn't a rush anymore for her. Despite protests, she pressed on; she could see the determination in the 12-year-old's eyes, but most of all, when she heard it in her voice…

On the bunk below, the family comedian had her laptop out; a pillow pushed up to the wall between it and her back, surfing the web for anything that she could use as inspiration for the latest pranks, jokes, and events.

Compared to her immediate elder above her, even without a voice, Luan didn't give up trying to make sure those in the family still had a way of laughing and smiling. During the 'global sad years,' as she called the three years that everything felt dark and depressed, she made it her mission to give people a reason to stay positive any way she could. From when her gigs with Funny Business and event nights ended to a little weekly comedy podcast she did with some of her sisters and friends joining on here and there.

She didn't stop. She couldn't stop, and be damned if she would be willing to stop.

When Funny Business was back in business, she put more focus on seeing a more extensive crowd get to laugh at their lives. Entertaining kids, teens, and adults alike, every smile felt like she was fulfilling her part in making the world happier.

Then when Lori came home.

The news of her older sister's injuries had caused her to nearly faint at the idea that she could have her future end forever. But she knew deep down this wouldn't stop her. When she got home, Luan made sure that her time was stuck in bed so much wasn't entirely wasted. Even with some material she had to stay away from (especially college and back jokes), she felt herself shine as bright as the sun every time she got Lori to crack a smile and laugh. Helping someone in one of the worst situations of their lives to feel just a bit brighter.

But when Luna came home… she felt joy being hit with a brick wall.

If it was one thing the Luan knew that Lisa seemed to forget at times, it was to always test your material when you can. Every groan-given joke for the past decade had been her testing what she could make of the situation and seeing how she would either abandon or refine it.

But while she couldn't tell jokes like she was a master, it didn't mean it was her only way. Comedy came in different forms (like the letter E or a metal pipe) that could still speak the same language. The physical aspect was that one avenue she had been practicing for most of her life. Between all her skits to the experience of making April Fool's a holiday to always be ready for every day, getting a laugh from a sister that valued her soundwaves without speaking was a win that she hoped to continue.

She smiled at a memory, the day Lisa gave her the custom hearing aid, and the first joke she told Luna after months was one about Def Leppard that turned her cries of relief into cries of laughter.

With Lincoln gone- No, not gone. Just… absent at the moment, she knew it was up to her and her sisters to make the best of the situation that was handed to them.

God… what would she do to take back those words… Lucy… she… she had never seen the goth cry like that. So much red… No matter what one would see as Lucy dressed in anything but black, that day was the only day Luan saw her hurt sister redder than ever. She never wanted to see her crying mother holding her baby's hands like that again…

It was hard to remember the rest of that day. But when it was all said and done, she was there to make sure the little goth was as comfortable as possible. To her surprise, when her cameras picked up activity, it showed Lucy sneaking away from her and Lynn's room to Lincoln's. It almost broke her heart when she saw her curl up under the old sheet, cutting the blanket tightly like they all did when scared at night. Yet something made Luan curious; instead of claiming the whole bed like any of them would, she stayed dangerously close to the edge. Curled slightly so that there was soave between her and the wall for someone to fit in the middle despite the small mattress.

She wanted to joke that sleeping in his room was her trying to reach his spirit. But that died in her mind, for a lack of better words when she saw how peaceful Lucy had become. Rewinding the tapes, she saw it in all of her siblings.

As someone that could read emotions (well, aside from Lucy, but that was on a whole different spectrum), she could see the pain in their eyes. With the dying glow, the wheel slows down to a stop. It was her mission to make sure both that glow and wheel kept going, but that duty (hehe) extended to her siblings in rest and the siblings still in motion. She made sure she was there for events. Though that had fallen either Lynn's high school games, Lily's school events, or Lola's beauty pageants.

Though for the last of that trio, she didn't think that anything could remotely happen that would cause another 'incident'.

'Oh boy, talk about jinxing it…'

During the event, she was the only one with her family who would claim both her and Lana as luck's next victims. Sitting in the third row of the audience roughly past the halfway point on the stage, she had an almost perfect angle to see anyone coming down.

And the perfect angle to see the smoke rising.

There were cries of panic, shouts of disbelief, and yells of pain, but she didn't care if she knocked into a bunch of strangers just sitting there gawking. She was the one that day that leaped onto that runway first like a panther, taking a face full of flame and smoke, ignoring the pain in her hands and lungs as her instincts took over to save her younger sister.

She didn't regret it. Not one second.

She knew her little sister would cry at night whenever she tried to yell a joke and have it come out as a hoarse screech or something that sounded like a fantasy monster trying to laugh. It hurt inside (literally), but it hurt more seeing her hurt sister collapse in tears. When Luna was alright by herself, she made sure to head down the hall and check up on her.

When she did cry, Luan was there. Even without her voice, with a little notepad and pencil, she could still write her jokes for others to read. It helped cheer them up and gave her hope that she could still make people laugh even when she couldn't.

But that was something she accepted. And told herself if God suddenly sent her back in time to that day to choose a different outcome, she wouldn't hesitate to do her actions again. To lose the ability to speak and laugh was a small price to pay compared to losing a sister to ash. She could still make people laugh, but if she lost a sister…

When she heard her father call out for dinner, snapping her away from a possibly dark place she had already visited too many times now. Sighing, she shut her computer down and took off her headset to rest them on the side of the bed.

Reaching up with little difficulty, given her grown age to the old furniture, she knocked on the underside of the top bunk. Hearing some shuffling as she moved off her bed, Luna's head poked over the side with a questioning look. Holding her arm out like she was carrying a bowl, Luan mimicked like she was eating something. It was enough of a repeated action that Luna nodded and went out of view. Some aching bed springs and the rocker slowly climbed down from the top bunk heading to the door.

For the eldest, Lori, on the brink of coming to the age of 26, sitting on her shrinking bed that was reaching the point in its life she would soon need to get a bigger one; the past three years had made her hit the brakes and take a long look around her.

Sitting cross-legged on her bed, she wasn't off on her phone texting away to friends or blasting through pages of Facebook or Twitter. No, today she went a little old-fashioned, browsing through the numerous photo albums that the family had either been handed down from past members or the dozen that they had managed to fill up with a thirteenth already in progress since the day their parents got married.

Having spent so much time looking through them, she was already flipping through the pages of book 12; it was of the time when the pandemic had just started to grind down on everyone's nerves. From everyone having to make sacrifices to stay safe, money becoming tighter, and the world going to hell, she still had her family. Her mother, father, sisters, and brother were by her side. Sure, for the two years she went, she did come home for the summers. It made her feel that the family felt more whole when every Loud was present. All the memories that suddenly came back when everyone was in a frame or followed close behind in the next.

But in the past week alone, it felt like her family was falling apart. Like the house, it was moments away from collapsing once everyone was inside when they least expected it. Yet the more she flipped through the books, seeing herself and everyone growing up made her feel that while the house physically probably could have collapsed at any moment, it felt like it had life in it.

Then when she came toward the end of the book. At a time when it was deemed sensible to start anew… There was a noticeable gap between when photos were taken, but when they did kick back up Lori saw exactly what was different. Of photos with the whole family where Lincoln should have been smiling along with them was the dead-eyed unchanged expression of the squirrel su-

No… the torture suit.

The thing that made them so blind to their daily success was that they were practically killing their own brother. Weeks of torture and agony that it took the reality of him almost being taken by a twister to make them open their eyes.

Flipping through at least three dozen more images that either had the suit or none at all she felt herself skipping pages as to end a horrific story that she couldn't bear reading through till she found the outcome of the end. The last photo of the book was of her brother, 11 years old and standing in front of a bonfire in the backyard, his orange polo and jeans almost blending in with dark grass and fire with his hair like it was part of the flame. Just past him inside the fire was the squirrel suit. Having turned mostly to ash when the photo was taken.

While things went about as normal for sometime, deep down Lori knew that was the moment Lincoln did change from the boy they all knew.

Closing the album she pushed it over to the edge of her bed joining the stack of others she had been through. Opening the new book, one that seemed to lack the creative cover seen on the past albums, Lori went back down memory lane.

Or really one she didn't have much part in…

Then once 2019 rolled in did the odd parts start showing up. Pictures of the sky during different times of the day and season. Fields of grass, a sunset over the state park they visited. Each one with a little 'Linc' scribbled in sharpie at the bottom corners with their date of being taken.

She had to be honest, at first she thought Lincoln had gone camera crazy like her back when she was younger. But the difference between the two stopped when looking between the two the obvious became clear.

Lincoln took his time with each photo. She remembered sometimes seeing him sitting in the same spot for hours before rapid-firing off photos. And some of them were actually beautiful. Seeing a side of nature that had so much variety, no wonder man can't compete. When it came to the pandemic years, they just kept coming. Yet at times broken for a series of new photos. Some of them, either simply sitting from a distance, actually posing or just in the moment.

It was the second one that really got her thinking. Looking through them all, he would ask them to be in some simple pose with an object and take several photos. Each one showed how much in three years they all had changed. How different Luan looked once her braces were gone, how Leni looked like a true queen on the night of high school prom, Lynn like she really did come out of a sports action movie. Hell, when it came to Lily it was like every day something new was caught that Lincoln could only truly see the details of.

It was ironic then, that in the beginning, she was the one that was missing from these photos. As time went on, she did come back, but the lack of her brother grew. Even in 'family photos' he would only take pictures of the family without himself given he became the designated camera man. Around the end was when he started posting more and more photos of storms; from a distance towering over the land to the time he took Vanvilla the first time he got to go storm chasing and took a selfie of him standing on the roof with a tornado in the distance. Smiling brightly while his wet hair fluttered in the breeze like he had the greatest day at a waterpark.

That was the last photo of him for a year. Up until the day…the day they lost him.

It was the day Lincoln left for his own adventure. One that promised him a bright future to continue on the path he was forging. That day was to be one of the most significant moments for their family. The moment the only son was to spread his wings and fly out into the world.

He was there for them, always there to cushion the blow or take the pain. He was there when Lori had her struggles adjusting to adulthood and its many challenges that made some wonder how mature he was for his age. Whenever the situation would start to overwhelming she saw him as the person everyone could turn to for help.

In turn, he looked up to her for guidance. Something that every time he came with such problems she had faced before trying to be the responsible one to all ten younger siblings he would be her counterpart to bridge down to the younger ones. Basically her second in command at times helped relieve the pressure off her. It made her proud of her brother almost like a mother to her son.

Yet… where did that lead to now?

Still broken, her dream crushed. Sure she finished her last year in college in person but where was the person that helped her through the turmoil that this cursed life was giving them?

Gone.

Kinda like how she imagined her life would have been by now.

Fresh out of college, arms locked with the love of her life, working a side job till they got enough to get a home of their own and grow into the world. But there was a difference that hurt her heart more than she thought it couldn't hurt anymore. While her family wished her goodbye and good luck, on returning they welcomed her back twice. When Luna started her touring, Leni started to expand out, Luan grew her name, and Lynn went off to start college; they were there to say goodbye and welcome back.

But on the one day that her little white-haired angel was to follow them…

She never got to say goodbye…

Of all the days that she should haven't been so engrossed with herself in trying to spend every penny he had willingly given for nothing in return but to see his sister happy without worry. Without wondering if she could live a life, she had derailed a few times, without fear that there wasn't anyone ready at a moment's notice to help her. He was there to welcome her home each time; he was there helping to finish college when she was forced out, he was there to help her get through the pain of having to go her separate ways with Bobby, he was there when she lost her only (and her father's) job. Always gave her his warm smile that made her feel so warm inside it was like he was giving her a blanket of the sun to keep the darkness away.

Despite what they did, despite the fights and teasing, he was always there.

And when the day came that she should have been by her brother's side as he took his next big step into the world as helped her, what did she do?

Go bloody shopping with the money that he was risking his life to get them. Shopping for what, possibly? Stuff to get her golf career back on track. A track that, if it weren't for Lincoln, she would have been going nowhere.

Well… maybe not nowhere. Her old job at her father's restaurant was still one to this day as he promised. Sure, she could cook okay; with more practice, maybe she could even work in the kitchen or, hell, one day, take over the place herself!

But that wasn't what it was to be. On that day, she should have been with her family, enjoying an excellent big home breakfast and giving Lincoln the biggest sisterly hug with tears as he was getting ready to get in his car, almost like a mirror of how it was seven years ago when she first left for college.

She didn't know that would be the last time she would see her little brother. Someone that had cemented a spot in her heart as the most caring man she ever had the honor of growing up with. Someone despite being a white hair goofball on the surface, his heart was undoubtedly one of gold for his family.

When she did finish college, having her GE with options, she felt a bit divided about her future. Some of the family said for her to follow her dreams. If it didn't go where she wanted, she had all the time in life and the resources to pursue a new path of her choice.

And here she was, sitting in bed for god knows the umpteenth time with a kind of robotic spine over her real one keeping her body from crumbling. She didn't know how to repay Lisa for helping her be even able to walk with only the stinging pain when bending or twisting. Taking painkillers daily wasn't a healthy lifestyle, but it was better than being paralyzed.

When she got home after having the robot spine added on, her family was more supportive of her than ever. Helping every way they could to ease the pain that, in the beginning, got to point that she would fall crying in pain. When she felt a reassuring grasp, hug, or warmth, she was grateful that it was her family helping her through it. But each time she felt that first immediate spark, she always pictured her little bunny coming to her rescue…

And staring down at the last photo of him, she gently placed a hand above the edge, wincing a bit when she felt her shoulder twitch as her back flexed and looked at the empty space around him. Lincoln kneeled, holding on tightly to Lily, Lucy, and Lisa as his final gift for them.

She should have been there. Part of that embrace would show her love for how much she was proud of and thankful to him…

It took her a moment to wonder why the picture was becoming distorted, her eyes slowly filling with tears as they fell down her cheeks onto the book's pages. Feeling a surge of emotion rising up to the edge of the dam that was ready to open the spillway.

"Linc-"

"Girls! Pizzas here!" She heard her father's call from below. Breaking her focus from her thoughts as she closed the book. Wiping the tears on the back of her bed sheets, she took a deep breath. Trying to clear the haze in her mind of the past to look at the future.

While the robotic spine helped remove the pressure, it wasn't meant to be permanent. She needed surgery. Costly surgery… One that if nothing else had happened, she probably wouldn't have been dealing with this pain for over a year now. But life happens.

Even now, her family needs her more than ever as an adult and big sister.

She was the next closest person in the family, with the willpower to keep everyone up. With Lincoln gone, her parents losing steam, Lynn now out of commission, and Luan still standing some ground, Lily, she saw, was the one that gave her the power, along with everyone else, the need to ensure this house didn't fall on them.

Working up her courage, she looked over to her sister's bed and felt whatever she had already begun to fade. She used every ounce of whatever was left to turn around and stand in the gap between the beds and over Leni.

"Come on, sis." She moved to the side to carefully wrap her sister. "Let's get some food for you."

Taking extreme care in sliding her out of bed, Leni, with what motivation was being driven by her gut to acquire substance, helped take on the weight her sister was trying to handle. Wincing as her legs turned over to the side of the bed, aim straight at the wall. With a combined effort (mostly Lori), the two pushed herself onto her feet. Wobbling momentarily, Lori waited for her sister to catch her breath.

Leni… Leni didn't deserve this pain. Her innocent face didn't have the right to have such a tired and defeated look. 5 months since her accident, an act of God really, and did anyone in the house see the one person who rarely went without a smile now went with one? At first, she was strong, thinking that "oh well, sometimes accidents happen," and for 2 months was okay with keeping herself occupied with her fashion work.

But Lori knew her longer than anyone else, possibly longer than their mother; it didn't take long to see through the mask her sister was trying to put up to convince people her situation wasn't as bad as it could be. Between the two, she got what Lori could have gotten if her spine wasn't ruptured but more or less displaced with ripped-apart muscle.

Of the girls, she was one of the fastest to get a 'temporary brace' from Lisa. Apparently, the robotic back legs were initially intended for herself if the spine wasn't enough to allow her to walk. Given Leni had grown to be almost equal in size, modifications were done in hours, and she walked right out of the hospital with a smile.

After two months, it was almost like it was all normal to her. Wake up, mount braces, clean up, and prepare for the day. She had no real outside job she had to tend to, so she couldn't take Lori's replacement car and tend to clients. It even inspired her to make some rather interesting designs, but it made her feel like nothing in the world could stop her.

But in a single night, that flame just died. Why? No one could answer exactly. When Lisa gave her an examination, she felt she knew the answer: it was some kind of withdrawal from what exactly wasn't like a drug or obsession but one of just emptiness.

And by now, Lori knew full well what or, better yet, who that was. That morning when the warm fire had become a smoldering ash pit of its former self, she recalled Leni was still asleep past the point of waking up usually, even oversleeping. But trying to wake her up from a nightmare that couldn't break free, no matter what she did. When Lori grabbed her shoulder to awaken her, she nearly jumped out of her skin when her sister's bloodshot eyes flew open, lunging out of the bed and nearly taking out their vanity, drenched in sweat, screaming out like she had seen the greatest horror to mankind.

It took Lori almost the whole morning to calm her down enough to speak correctly. With her sisters by their side, she asked what she saw in her dreams. She didn't hesitate: It had Lincoln in it, all of them. In some dark wet place with the roar of hell all around them. He was trying to save them, and they to him. But he was flying. Being consumed. It became too much, and Leni saw herself feeling his hand be ripped away.

To this day, there wasn't any other 'nightmare' like that again. But that one did enough damage that Lori felt that if someone wasn't by Leni's side, God forbid what could genuinely happen.

As Lynn went about setting the pizza in place on the table, he heard the slow, heavy steps of the girls coming down the stairs.

Luan was the first to appear. Followed closely by Luna as she took her hand and helped her down the rest of the way. He was 89% sure that if Luan could speak it, she would have made a pun. Though if said to Luna, how can one who can't speak to someone who can't hear for but for neither to enjoy it?

He really could go for one of Luan's jokes right now. Even one of the bad ones would at least let him have a laugh that he felt would be what could wake him up from this nightmare.

Heavy footsteps came next; groans and hisses of displeasure mixed with soft words of comfort as Lori helped Leni down the stairs. The sight of her struggling made Lynn want to cringe, just thinking that given how hard it was for Leni to function even though she could still technically walk, just how much trouble it'll be when Junior came home. They couldn't afford a chair lift even if he asked Lisa and Lana to build one. Even going to the junkyard to scavenge one, restoration, and parts, let alone a limited monthly budget, restricted their trips in their gas guzzler of Vanzilla unless it was essential.

Behind the adults came the Young 5.

The twins emerged first; Lola steadily came down the stairs, taking awkward steps to keep her sweatpants from tripping her. Lana caught her from under her arms when she did miss-step, starting a chain reaction that could cause everyone to come down far faster. Causing the former princess to hiss sharply in pain from the tight contact on her skin. Senior would swear he saw tiny glimmers in her eyes from tears waiting to fall, but Lola showed them again how much tougher she was. Thanking her twin with a little nod, she held onto the railing the rest of the way down.

Followed by the twins was one child. A child, the father was beyond thankful that the pain and damage were healed more than most.

Lucy, his dark little angel, was probably the only one out of all the kids whose injuries had healed to the point that only emotional pain was left (with Lori's bad arm being the closest second and Lana being the third.) In truth, she was the only one that seemed to bounce back from her incident. But whenever he looked, not as a side glance or a fleeting moment, but just stared and watched… he could see her usual gloomy expression wasn't some kind of 'mood' but one of actual sadness. Something that took him years to finally read and understand what she was expressing.

And given the cost of antidepressants that shot up soon after, it wasn't hard to know why.

But behind her and the last two to follow were the 2 kids that hadn't been victimized by this life or had healed enough to where he felt his heart thump just a bit more with life.

Though for Lisa, one could say she suffered from dwarfism and was a woman in her 40s on the verge of going full greyhead with wrinkles around her eyes that told the story of God knows how many sleepless nights. Senior knew what days without any rest could do to a person (he did work in IT, after all), but for a child as young as Lisa, he knew full well that she was taking something to keep her energy up.

Yet… he lacked the willpower to confront her about it.

Sure, he's asked many times for her to rest. Many times take it slow and easy. But the answer he would get was an "I'll get to it when I finish 'X'" or "After I've run the tests to go to the next phase." or some other excuse from a long list.

He only remembered her falling asleep for more than 6 hours after her success with Lucy. It was something that she celebrated more than any of the rewards that old trophy case contained that had her name on it. But the day after that, he was expecting her to at least relax, but nope, she was already trying to find a way to repair the damage down to her sisters, and looked more like 6 hours might as well have been 6 minutes. He had complete confidence in her, she was as stubborn as a Loud, and she had done more incredible acts of science in a decade than it took most scientists their whole lifetime.

Everyone knew where the monthly checks went. Each month her work on projects jumped in completion depending on what was being worked on. The machine she used on Lucy had to be torn apart and rebuilt to help Junior, and there was still the process of helping the others. She said that at the rate her devices are going, she could heal Lola by the end of July and hopefully fix Luan's throat.

She was on a mission, one that he questioned when would be the time for him to tell her to stop. In truth, he had the aching feeling this was her little 'bad luck' as Junior had said they all had gotten here and there. That alone made Senior shiver in his seat, and this time he felt more to believe that than before. Maybe this 'bad luck' was different for them all. Maybe for Lisa, it was forcing her never to have rest, always working nonstop to the point of exhausting herself to collapse, or was it fate just waiting for the moment to have one of her projects blow up in her face and cause another casualty?

And Lily… By God, Lily… If there was ever someone out there that never gave up hope, never stopped believing in what she felt was right, never left someone's side in a dire time of need where no one else could answer the call, it was his youngest daughter.

Lori might have been the motivation, Lynn might have been the determination, but Lily was the family's heart. When asked how she could still be able to see the light, her answer almost always looped back to one thing: "It's what my big brother would do."

And once again, in his mind's eye, he hugged his son tightly. Thanking him over and over again that even when he's gone, even for years when he practically raised Lily himself as a second father, Lincoln's heart was the trait Lily took. He meant no ill will to his daughters, but having another comedian, sports fanatic, or scientist in the house he felt would have created an ungodly balance. Yet with what Lincoln had done for her, she had grown into someone that could walk up to you and make you feel the pain ease away.

It did make Senior wonder… Lincoln had matured a lot and had gotten a few dates before leaving. Who knows? Maybe down in Oklahoma, he had found his ultimate soul mate. Being gone for so long because he was still building his life.

'Hehe… I wonder what our grandkids would be like. He'd be a great father…'

It's what he hoped for his son. Even if their family was on the edge, he knew in his heart Lincoln would carry on. It was a hope that as soon as he sat down at the table, he hoped would one day bless every one of his children…

Each one of them helps the other adjust to their seats. Making sure there wasn't any discomfort or pain. Some act borderline like mothers to their children despite their age. Senior felt his previous thoughts about grandkids resurfacing. Just thinking of the future when his kids could move past all this and begin their lives without this suffering, in the arms of their loved ones and-

'No. Stop it, Lynn. Think of just getting through this first. Then the future.'

Before the food was distributed, the girls linked their hands together one by one. Grabbing on tightly like a chain, Senior stretched out his arms to hold onto Lana and Luan's arms that bridged over the gap of the empty seats. Slowly they all closed their eye, bowed their heads slightly forward, and prayed.

It was all they could do to keep some kind of hope. The world around them that wasn't within arms reach was beyond their control; all they could do was pray. Pray for the parents doing everything possible for their children's health. Pray for the children who have suffered in ways their souls shouldn't have to experience. Pray for the sisters who have the road to recovery before them, and pray for the brother they all wished was with them again.

No words were spoken. Just a minute of silence as all 10 of them recited the exact words that had been written into their minds for the past year.

When it was 'spoken,' they all opened their eyes, unclasped hands, and dug into their meals. The pizza wasn't anything with variety, just simple pepperonis. They couldn't afford to order the mess that each Loud preferred to have as toppings, but they didn't care at this point. It was a bigger treat nowadays than before, making them remember better times.

But even as they got their fill, Senior looked over each one. Lola just stared at her food; looking closely, you can see her trying to blow away the steam that rose up. Making little vortexes to cool it down as much as possible. On the other side, he saw Luan with a fork, knife, potato masher, and a LARGE cup of ice water. Cutting up the slices into smaller chunks and using the masher to turn them into a paste. Moved onto the other to let the slices cool down enough that, using her fork, she slowly chewed and swallowed with a big gulp from her glass.

Senior ate what he could. At best, he had three slices before he pushed his plate away, while the others managed similar or lower numbers. Not feeling his appetite all that much anymore.

The girls slowly dispersed from the table as they finished whatever they had. Lori took her, Leni's, and Luan's plates to the kitchen as the latter took a spot beside Leni to help her up and out of the chair. The eldest gave her nod of thanks to the silent comedian as she tended to the dishes. It was the least she could do to help since mom was gone for who knows how long.

One by one, Lynn watched from his seat at the end of the table. One by one, he saw his broken family return to their rooms to try to make some use of the day.

He leaned forward, resting his wrinkling face into his wrinkling hands, and sighed. Closing his eyes, and asked God why this? Why his family? Sure, he admits that raising 11 kids was one heck of a job that most parents would probably have gone entirely gray by the time they reached their 30s, but he stood his ground, and when the storm faded, he did get to see what his children could come for. He didn't want to let go; no parent does when their baby grows up before their eyes and becomes less of their kid and more like a guest that visits or calls now and then. The first time everyone returned, he felt this was just the universe telling him he had more to help them, even if they should be free birds. After that, he felt at peace.

A false peace. Like the hope that you're on a boat having just survived hellish seas and hurricane gale seeing sunlight after all the struggle only to realize you were in the eye of the storm now. You survived the first time; can you stay going through the second?

Speaking of storms… he wondered what his only son was up to, how he was fairing in these times. He knew from television and articles that when a creator of something dies and their work keeps going on to make money, some of that can still be given to whoever they allowed it to be passed on to. It had been months since the last phone call from him, and that was only him hearing it when Rita was on the line back when Leni's accident happened. After that, nothing.

The checks kept coming, and when the slight increase happened, he wouldn't deny he panicked. Why? Because one of his biggest fears was that Lincoln could have suffered a worse fate than anyone present. He was chasing twisters, for God's sake… Not JUST twisters, he had to remind himself. He had seen what else Lincoln would go out to record and take photos (though some of the volcano ones, he'll admit, were stunning until you realized his son was standing well within the blast radius of the eruption) of more things that had killed hundreds to thousands a year.

For all he knew, Lincoln could have been dead for some time, and they didn't know, and all they got was an increase in royalty checks he had set up to come monthly. Thinking now, he glanced up at the calendar across the table, staring at him. The days marked off by someone as today remained clear. It'll be another week till that check came in, a week that they had to tread carefully to see what they could try to cover. Some would say follow gut instinct on getting something done immediately. Take that check and pump it into something to change the situation. Oh, Lynn would love to do that if he had 10 of them at once. That alone could let them cover most of the medical expenses and have something to build on. But then came the question: who do you pick? Junior would need triple, probably quadruple, for recovery. The surgery for Lori, Luna, Luan, Leni, and Lola would devour all of that for just two. And god forbid something happens to Lily or Lisa that could put Junior's situation to shame, and then the family would indeed be done for.

With a sigh, he figured, what the hell?

Not like he had much to do at all today. He hadn't felt like getting the mail all week now. Lord knows how much their mailbox was now doing a perfect impression of a Thanksgiving turkey.

Opening the front door, he slowly made his way outside. Stepping onto the porch as he felt his face be hit with the warm spring air that was soon to become that of summer. This time of year was well within the time they'd get storms over the next month or two. Kinda reminds him of a couple of years ago when…

…when what?

When the day a tornado could have leveled the neighborhood and right where he was standing was where his son stood when they locked him out? When he probably said enough and waited for God to take him when he approached the twister? Senior didn't realize that he was already past his mailbox in that single thought. He was now at the point where he remembered Lincoln standing in this very same spot in that video. Looking down, he could still see the scars on the road where it came from and stopped in front of him.

He shut his eyes and shook his head.

He… didn't need to remember those hard days when he felt like he genuinely failed as a father.

Grabbing the latch, he yanked the mailbox open and pulled out a thick block of envelopes and newspapers. The latter, he knew he could spend some time cutting all the coupons out to save some cash at the store for groceries. Moving to the envelopes as he moved back towards the house. Each one only furthers the pit in his stomach and wallet.

Bill, Bill, bill, a bill passed due warning, bill. Yet 80% of them were all medical. One he saw was a rejection letter for Lisa from the local university. For what she got rejected for, he didn't know nor care at the moment. Without looking, he spun around back to the house. Up the stairs and used his foot to kick the door closed, and stood at the entryway. Another bill, another bill… an all too familiar royalty check that he dropped onto the end table beside him. Making a mental note to run to the bank to deposit it as soon as possible. Another bill… huh.

He stopped roughly two-thirds of the way on the pile. Before him was a regular envelope with no logo or mark showing it was a bill or notice for something. Maybe it's a 'get well soon' card from a family member?

'Like a lot that would do.' He mentally spoke as he flipped it over to read the address. From the corner of his eye checked the stamp and saw it was- *gasp* Oklahoma?!

Not prepared to see that, he was even more so when the front of the envelope was addressed to "The Loud House. 1216 Franklin Avenue, Royal Woods, Michigan."

From sender "Lincoln Loud, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma"

'Lincoln?' He felt himself lock up. His eyes became glued to the paper that was held in his grasp. As if holding the winning lottery ticket or the letter saying he was drafted, his hold on all the other mail was let go to fall and scatter on the floor as he tried mentally bracing himself.

When Lori exited the kitchen after helping put the leftovers away, she saw her father standing there looking ready to buckle at the knees. Noting the mess on the floor and his shocked expression, she feared that what he held in his hand was bad news.

"Dad? What's wrong?" She felt herself go full adult mode.

"It's… a letter from Lincoln!" He said in a bit surprised voice, like he was trying to make something up. He was not used to getting something like this from his 'distant' son to send him mail, minus the one thing that was mainly paying the bills now.

In a storm of fury he hadn't heard in a long time, Lynn could feel the whole house shake as eight footsteps ran from the rooms and down the stairs like an avalanche. In but eight seconds of him speaking his son's name, all five of the youngest and four of the oldest stood before him with their eyes filled with surprise, desperation, and worry that was carried in the voice when they spoke as one.

"Lincoln?!"

This chapter is mainly to serve as the 'what happened and what are they doing now' along with setting up the first elements of the story. Several key spots in this also reference precisely what will happen later.

The choice and order of the given injuries was something that I started immediately for this story. Initially, ones like Lori's mainly involved severely damaging her arm, but then I thought of some of the worst possible injuries that can occur in golf. Given her power in golf, a ruptured disc in her back was seen as a more practical result that, depending on treatment, could take months to heal or become permanent properly.

The combination of Lola and Luan was after searching for what could cause the latter to lose her voice. And inhaling smoke laced with chemicals in making a dress was one way. Luna's is one that surprisingly fits the most; thunderous noise can eventually cause damage (and given her ever-present need to play it louder than ever for years and years, that was an eventual outcome.)

Lucy's injury is only mentioned and the only one fully healed mainly in the fact that it would be more of a 'this is just a state of how bad it can get' in that, like Luan's voice and Luna's hearing, Lucy's hands allow her to write her mind. Take that away; what can you do?

Lana and Leni are both in part to what their situations become of their person. Being distracted on the road, the latter not realizing why you shouldn't go into everything dirty (I had a bit of inspiration from the show Monsters Inside Me for this).

It was initially for Lynn to have this happen just before ending high school and onto her way to college, but the timeline wouldn't fit. Lisa's, I debated on a kind of experiment gone wrong, but given she's so devoted to trying to heal everyone, I was inspired by another Loud House story that had Lincoln be so overworked he died shortly after. Though Lisa isn't going to die (or is she?), the level of exhaustion can take a severe toll.

For Lily, her 'incident' ties with Lincoln later down the line. I chose not to depict what happened to Lucy suffering the aftermath of her incident and instead had it as a 'she was a lucky one' out of the family that has gotten out of the second half of the storm.

For the incidents in Order

Lori: Ruptured disc in back, muscle tearing

Luna: Sensorineural hearing loss

Lucy: Complete amputation of both hands at wrists

Lana: Parasites and organ damage

Leni: Partially paralyzed lower half

Lola: Severe 3rd-degree burns

Luan: Throat and lung damage

Lisa: Overwork and extreme exhaustion

Lynn: Cardiac arrest and spinal damage

Lily: Unknown

And to give an idea of how bad their 'financial situation' is, for Lola to be back to herself, her treatment alone is over 150,000 dollars based on what I could find about how to heal such injuries, as this is based on everything the others have.