Sins in Twisters

by Blonkess

When Lincoln is destined to never have success like his family, after surviving the Royal Woods' Tornado, his future takes him on the path of becoming a renowned storm chaser. But as years pass since that day, his family tries to hold together after freak disasters put a halt to the sisters' lives when Lisa discovers a past family secret that tells Lincoln's time is running out.

4. Scars Heal, Pain Hides, Fear Grows

Sins in Twisters

Chapter 4: Scars Heal, Pain Hides, Fear Grows

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Log Entry Date: July 2nd, 2025

The following entry will be titled under the shared filename 'Second Storm' as the following is to explain why.

… In all honesty, this report is over a month late. A level of delinquency that I would find myself being punished for but, quite frankly, could care less after the amount of sleep I could recover from the past four days following recent events.

In all practical terms, our brother has become our hero once again. And I can say without a single molecule of doubt that our family would have smothered him with gratitude for days had he been present.

Upon our father's return later in the afternoon from his trip to the local bank to transfer the check to the family account, it was discovered that Valliza had broken down at the bank and required towing. Taking the extra time and first amount out of the money though only at a token's worth, but him returning with the same smile did paint a new picture over the gray canvas. With the newly acquired funding, our parents spent 17 hours, 38 minutes, and 60 dollars of the most robust coffee they could find in a town setting up appointments.

Lynn was already in the hospital and selected to be the first to undergo treatment. She predictably took up the bulk of the amount, but given my connections, we could move her surgery up to a closer date, and by the first day of June, she was discharged. She was predictably wheelchair-bound; however, I quickly began rectifying this issue.

Luan and Lori followed behind. This order of selection was mainly down to the fears of Luan's breathing possibly developing negatively for whatever reason. Her surgery was scheduled a day after Lynn's.

I do remember entering her room with the others, and her first joke with what was close to her normal voice was, "May surgeries lead to June recoveries." (I question if that was meant to be a joke or just an expression, but it did help the family to hear her laugh again.) She was expected to be released before the month was out. It was a positive sign.

It was a notable change for Lori after returning four days after surgery.

While the massive portion of the check was devoted to fast-tracking Lynn's recovery and the resources to build up what I could at home, Lori was the first to receive direct treatment from me. Not in the matter that 'she was the oldest, so she gets to go first' but that with our parents now running double time to get the situation under control, it was unanimously agreed that someone needed to be home to watch over the others.

With our parents moving back and forth between Lynn and Luan, she became our quote-unquote 'unofficial mother.'

Dare I say, but her behavior had seemed to transition from that of an older sibling to that of almost mother-like. This is observed between interacting with all siblings; even when talking with our mother, Lori seems to act as though she spoke of her children instead of sisters. (Though this has been noted to being a fluxing behavior between this and her 'usual' self.)

During this time, I could finally focus on my work. The treatment of Luna, Leni, and Lola being my prime patient.

The exclusion of Lana and Lucy can be noted from the following:

Lucy is still the closest to being 100% of us, as my treatment of her injuries has already proven successful. This method can now be increased and refined to allow use on others for faster recovery.

Lana's situation is further along in that the damage done requires time and medication to complete. I've already begun preparing a new order for more potent medicine to speed up the process and a new formula to increase her immune system to the strength that consuming uranium would not affect her.

(Personal note: consider possibly giving all family members this immunity boost in case future situations develop.)

Leni was the next simplest now that my workload had significantly decreased. Repairing ripped muscle had been immensely helped by the aid provided by the external supports. I've already set it and the spinal column aside to be refurbished for Lynn once she has recovered enough to be equipped.

Lola was best explained as an advanced form of my repair work on Lucy. Even with the broad scope of her injury, I elected to start small instead of going all in. The first week of treatment for her back was activated; four days later, the results were heavily promising, and I proceeded. By June 25th, her condition had significantly improved. With the gel becoming more refined to a liquid, the direct application was no longer needed and could be used as a bath mix.

(Note: while repeated use helps speed up recovery, I should point out that with Lola, Lori, Luan, Leni, and Lynn all using this, an unforeseen side effect has manifested in the form of leftover residue in the bathtub gradually accumulating to the point that Lola had become stuck in solidified gel mold that required three bodies to pull both her and it out of the tub and an entire afternoon extracting her. Recommend more thorough cleaning after each use.)

Luna, however, was a bit more challenging.

My original means to help counteract her bilateral sensorineural hearing loss was in the form of cochlear transplants. A procedure that, at best, would take a medical staff an estimated five hours to complete, with Luna being out within three days. She was slated to be next after Luan before I included her in my main list when the cost began to rise. A device was still needed in both her ears, though I elected to look back into some of my older projects to see what could possibly be recycled into aiding. My old nanobots became prime candidates in minimizing the needed surgery to be done and decreasing the time required for her recovery.

Of everyone, Luna was the one I worried the most about working with. Hearing is one of the fundamental senses for humans; a very delicate system provides the ability to receive and perceive sound; even hearing yourself think could be affected.

But… it was a risk to be taken and a risk to be seen.

After the operation (if you could even call it that), I had Luna remove the hearing device so that it would not cause damage to the repairs being undertaken. Not doing so would be similar to wearing a brace despite the limb being perfectly healthy and potentially losing its own strength. Though the healing rate was unknown, given that one ear was damaged less than the other, I had expected, at best, four weeks minimum.

Though only one week and two days in did, my family and I suddenly experience a blast of sound provided by an electric guitar at roughly 8 AM in the form of a popular McSwagger song. Hearing in her left side had reached nearly 40 percent above what she had before treatment, though the right had only achieved 15 percent repair. However, it was enough of a change that my third older sister unit could start properly hearing again. I had retooled the device to now work on her right side with the system reprogrammed to slowly tone out at a rate that her biological hearing was recovering. I estimate by mid-July, she will have achieved full recovery.

And since that day, the mood for this coming holiday weekend was reaching a fever pitch. In light of all our family returning back to their usual selves (though I estimated we are roughly 64% back to our usual sense of normal), our father was hosting a large party at his restaurant to celebrate the Fourth of July, Inviting friends, family, and neighbors around the region that was to take place in approximately 35 hours from the time of this writing. While I am not one to indulge in such activities even at my current age, it was a refreshing change. Achieved because of Lincoln not stopping to ensure we were taken care of. Thanks to him, the scars are healing.

But during the festivities… when Lincoln would be brought up in the topic of current conversations, I felt myself approaching close to a breakdown at what reality Lucy and I knew the most about that no one else did.

In the lead-up to his birthday on June 5th, the family had begun preparations for both a 'thank you for everything' and his 20th birthday. The latter of which held in a much higher degree, especially to our parents and older siblings, given that we had missed the chance to celebrate him reaching adulthood. Lori had taken charge of planning the event, though I had caught her on multiple occasions speaking of this as a way to say 'sorry' for past events.

The problem with communication was again the elephant in the room. A week before the day itself, we had once again attempted to contact our brother. The letter was seen as possible, but the return address only linked it to the Oklahoma City post office. Some of his old friends in Royal Woods were said to have been in contact, but that was too few and far between to be a solid line. His social media was too flooded with followers that, like before, I doubt any of our messages go through.

June 5th came and went. No word whatsoever from him. At best, a post on his Facebook stating it was his birthday was reacted by him when everyone responded to it.

Hoping where ever he was, he was in good health and spirits.

I knew where he 'was' that day, inside a tornado somewhere in rural Nebraska. And judging from all the photos of him celebrating at night with others, it was understandable that they were both celebrations for a good day and his birthday.

Unlike the others, I was able to dig further into his chase career and can honestly say I'm surprised by what he has accomplished. Even recently, having acquired a doppler radar truck that they have named the 'Sky Spy' to help their chase, that alone cost three times more than the money he sent to us. It seems that Clyde now runs the operation from this radar truck while Lincoln and another operate in his personal vehicle, an armored, 18,000-pound tornado intercept vehicle he calls 'Storm Shrieker' that he had built three years ago (upon finding out what he was building, I finally understood his interest in learning to engineer. See Notes for 'Thunderstorm' for more details.)

Most of my gathered info was from a rather sensible but rather lacking source; in the form of his 'active' social media. My family apparently failed to notice that Lincoln mainly used accounts he had named 'Lightning Loud', where he posted most of his stories, photography, videos, and any personal updates. The account was said to be six years old, lining up with the time of his just starting this obsession with the weather. (To date, even with these photos showing what looked to be a large farmstead that Lincoln lives at and is based out of, even with today's tracking, I am still unable to pinpoint where this settlement is located. Known information puts the targeted area around a hundred-mile radius of Oklahoma City. One would think it would be easy to find a farm surrounded by fields until you realize you're looking at a region with more farms than there are towns.)

But as of June 19th, 2025, all forms of media from him have gone dark.

His last message, sent at 1:13 PM Central Time, read as "Season about to end with a bang! Heading to central Kansas for the best set up I've ever seen! Today's gonna be big and violent, stay weather savvy!" with the image of a cartoon styled 'gate to hell' falling apart attached to it. During the course of the day, numerous photos and videos were already being uploaded to the internet from various chasers. Aside from six photos sent afterward, nothing new has been posted that was not created by accounts' bots. Something that thousands on the internet picked up on and questioned.

…

…

I… remember starting that day feeling slightly confident but more nervous with each passing hour. I remember reading the forecast and watching hundreds to thousands of chaser icons mobilizing. News stations all over the state spoke of nothing but the weather that was coming…

Of all the times I had watched the weather, listened to radio transmissions, tracking every movement from people on the ground from live streams to news stations, it was like watching a horror movie progressively getting worse and worse, but I couldn't look away no matter how much I tried. It was an event that would go down in history. Joining the ranks of Bridge Creek, Joplin, El Reno 2013, Jarrell, and many others.

The Kingman, Kansas Super Tornado.

A storm that, at best, is comparable to what the worst-case scenario of the El Reno Tornado of May 31, 2013, could have been.

Though not as physically large, the vortex was confirmed to have been approximately 1.7 miles wide; the wind field, however, was what many attributed as the true killer of the storm. Previously, the known widest was the Mulhal, Oklahoma Tornado on May 3rd, 1999, measuring over 4.3 miles. Kingman, in comparison, achieved nearly 6 miles with 100+ mile per hour winds recorded 3 miles away from the core itself. Wind speeds inside the heart were confirmed to have peaked and sustained over 327 mph, a new world record itself.

Reports state that the situation was a case of "the outside was far worse than being inside" that had caused the bulk of fatalities and injuries. North Kingman itself had already been leveled even when the primary tornado was a mile away. This massive rotation had what caught chasers in during the first part of the storm's life; the winds were still contained closer to the tornado itself. Only after conditions intensified the storm changed from a large cone to multiple satellite tornadoes forming, with one being the new primary tornado. At this time, both the size and strength of the storm increased.

I remember watching hundreds of spotter icons go from being well within safe distance to being within range of the tornado itself.

I remember those six images posted by another chaser of Lincoln's vehicle driving past in a cloud of dust with the tornado out in the distance.

I remember seeing his icon travel on North Berry Avenue, getting ahead of it, and pausing. Most likely deploying for intercept.

I remember… the radio suddenly changed from excitement to what can only be described as terror. So many voices were shouting out so much that even I couldn't fully hear everything. But two things I did hear… two things that were the clearest on the radio. One was of Clyde in the radar truck, his voice of panic undeniable as he yelled for Lincoln to abort the intercept and run.

And Lincoln…

I watched his icon move. Head back down Berry Avenue towards town before turning east onto 20th Street. Getting a mile down the road before his icon stopped again.

And hearing his last transmission… His location becoming engulfed in the storm… his icon going offline… Clyde trying to call him with only static returns…

…

…

I… genuinely don't know what to think of this.

Since the event, I've spent over a week trying to get all the information I can regarding any storm chasers directly affected. To date, the death toll from the tornado has been confirmed at 67. 18 alone from inside vehicles caught in the storm. Five were storm chasers, all caught too close and tried to run…

Clyde's account was still active. Three days after the event, he posted a message about the day with photos showing the radar truck having taken damage along with other vehicles, damage to Kingman itself, and… a partially destroyed Storm Shrieker. Sitting on a flatbed, still covered in dirt with bits of debris still stuck on various surfaces, with a tarp being pulled over the roof.

…Over a crumpled driver-side door with the armor shredded and frame dented inwards with no windows….

… and no mention of Lincoln.

I…

…

…

Apologies for the increased emotion. I had, unfortunately, let my mental state become briefly compromised.

But returning to current events…

I can't say with much certainty anymore if this was the curse being completed or not. The fact that Lincoln had (possibly) died only two weeks after reaching the age of 20 already changes what history has written and contradicts many of my theories. What he had accomplished followed true with the past; the sisters had become 'silenced' as his success grew. But what changed?

The world was different each time the curse's effects were felt. But something was different for us. Was it because of us? Was it because of Lincoln giving us that money that the curse reacted accordingly?

I… I don't know…

This was something the family needed to know.

But I didn't have the strength in me to tell them…

They aren't ready… they didn't have the mentality or emotional capacity even now, even remotely, to begin comprehending the magnitude of this information I possessed. This time three months ago, they were barely able to socialize with each other; Lincoln's letter had been that spark to reignite our family. Announcing to them their brother/son had died at a time when we were finally approaching the end of all this misfortune would destroy them, possibly far worse than they were before their accidents.

I barely held myself together. And to know how the others would react, I ran a test. This situation could very well be the curse at work, and being the only one to understand genuinely, I presented the info to Lucy.

And after doing so, her delay in reaction initially told me she was in a state of disbelief. She left a short time later with no further responses. I believed she was in the first stage of grief. A similar feeling we felt when Lincoln first left.

I didn't know if it was because of biological needs or the universe directing me, but after waiting, I went to the family bathroom and found Lucy…

I had to reevaluate our family's mental health after this.

At first, I thought Lynn would have developed these thoughts. Perhaps it was me being blind to the fact of how Lucy's mentality worked and that her emotional connection to Lincoln had possibly suffered the worst experience in her life. As we physically recover, I am undertaking a similar approach to my family, especially my sisters, in monitoring behavioral changes.

Now that his 20th birthday has passed, we are now entering very dark waters. Several elements are still unknown to confirm whether the curse has been fulfilled. If, in the slimmest chance, Lincoln is still alive, then we are now in a time when history will be decided for our family. I estimate we have, at best, less than ten months from now before events unknown to everyone will unfold. But I am only optimistic that something can be changed to slow down or outright prevent this curse from coming to fruition and see that our brother avoids death and lives on past his 21st birthday.

But we can't take any chances; time is running out if it hasn't already.

---

Summertime in Michigan is a time and place of the season, and land that, if you took away the brutal winters, would be a nice place to live from early spring to mid-fall. Rarely breaking over the 90s in the most extreme of conditions, a bit on the sticky side but surprisingly dry, and often having back-to-back days that you'd feel more comfortable sleeping in the back of a truck or on the porch, maybe by a bonfire while camping or just stepping outside to take in the fresh air.

For the residents of Royal Woods, this Fourth of July was shaping up to be promising. Shops all around were fully prepared for this Friday's celebrations. Fireworks, both simple and practically illegal, were swept off shelves like they would be gone forever by people wanting to make the night light up and go boom. Grills are being cleaned and fueled to make enough barbecue food to feed an army. Families run about, heading off to join others or to come to them and have a fun reunion. It was the kind of time that Royal Woods felt like it was glowing. It is a town where you could walk down any street, and even a grumpy old fart or slim shady wouldn't bother, greet your passing and return to their business.

Today was only Wednesday, the middle of the week, hump day when Monday still lingered, but Friday was closing in. It was roughly around 9 am that the family house on 1216 Franklin was nearing the end of their morning and starting their daily routines.

For one, Lynn Loud, this Wednesday had started as a rather nice day. The weather wasn't muggy; it wasn't scorching hot just yet; it was a bit of cool, dry air that, with no wind blowing, would be a perfect day to start morning activities, knowing that while the day will get hotter, it'll get better.

And it was the kind of weather that was perfect for a morning jog (or really power walking.) The kind of day that she didn't immediately jump out the front door and book it down the street like a criminal that was fleeing from a bank robbery. No, this was a day that she opened her window, took in a deep breath of Michigan summer air, and took her time preparing.

In recent years, given that the older siblings still lived in the house, changes in sleep schedules were bound to change for everyone. Even before their accidents, some would vary between rising up like a school day or not caring that it was already past noon. Lynn was a little near the middle though still found herself being one of the early risers. She was when she was a kid, a teen, and even an adult. A kind of habit that was cemented into her mind that would be a hard one to break.

Though a month ago, it was more or less trying to be put back together…

It took her some time. Getting used to robotic, external prosthetics. Just thinking of that 'prosthetics' made her imagine that both her legs had been cut off and replaced with plastic and metal. She couldn't feel the earth between her every time she moved forward.

A week after her third surgery and two days before her release, Lisa presented her with the parts that Lori and Leni had worn. They looked older but more superficial, like an old machine, having been refined down to the basics of what it needed to function but still be at maximum power. She vaguely remembered Lisa going down a smorgasbord of details that the now combined unit could help her with.

It was a brace, and its purpose of taking off the stress her body would force her to stay in bed or a wheelchair for months. Retooling her physical needs as a complete unit would allow her greater freedom of movement, which would take months of healing. She could jump, run, climb, and do several other activities; the brace helped her absorb that strain. But what she couldn't do was her passion. Some sports, maybe, but her whole family agreed that until Lisa and the doctors agreed she was 100% that she wouldn't be anywhere near such activities.

There was a bit of a loophole in this. As part of her 'physical therapy' to regain complete motor and reflex control, she could participate in some small-scale sports to help her body. Being stuck in a hospital bed, opened up three times, and pumped with a mix of medicine, she didn't bother remembering all the names, which takes a toll on your body. Being so tired and immobilized, what you could do for 4 hours nonstop and not break a sweat had turned into 30 minutes, and you were down trying to breathe.

When she got the brace first put on, it did feel weird, but she thought herself had her confidence building again as she walked out of the hospital, stepped into Vanzilla, and came home.

When the van pulled up the driveway, the house surrounded by cars, she had asked what the occasion was.

Turns out, she was the occasion.

Friends and family are all under one roof, celebrating her recovery and safe return. When her sisters, who she wondered why only her parents and Lisa were at the hospital, tackled her in an old-fashioned Loud House Family Hug, she usually could tank it. Wobble a little sure, but when all 9 of her sisters came at her this time, she went down with the rest. Crying, laughing, even begging for them not to let go. She tried to be the tough girl like she was, but in reality, her heart spoke the same, and she embraced the feeling.

On that day, at that very moment, the Loud House was whole.

Mostly…

When she stood back up and looked at the gathered crowd, she was happy to see everyone she knew there. It felt like she had been losing a race only to see the sheer amount of people that believed in her be the force to get to the finish. She was happy her high school and college friends spent the time of their summer coming over. Hell, even Pop-pop, despite already being within spitting distance of being 100, yet still moved like he was in his early 50s was here. But it was seeing her grandfather that had made her stop and look around.

To stop and really look around. Trying to find the other person who shared a mound of white hair on his head that stuck out of the crowd.

When she saw the date she was being released, she realized she had missed a crucial day. But when it became clear that while he didn't appear, there was hope that on this day, she wondered if Lincoln would pop out of nowhere and surprise her.

She could see it; him coming down the stairs or out from the kitchen with a shy look rubbing the back of his head or arm. Unable to speak, he was trying to come up with some apology or excuse for why he wasn't around. She would stare at him, charge at him like a raging bull, scoop him up in her arms, spin him around, and plant a big wet one on his li- the side of his cheek and cry into his chest. Not leaving his side one minute of the day.

That was her dream. Her hope. The chance to hear his heart beating beside her when held so close like old times.

But like a tall, bald purple alien once said, the reality is often disappointing.

The party was still a blast. One that reminded her of her early college days. They laughed, joked, ate, gamed, and talked. Checking up on events and planning ideas for the future. That night she remembered waking up, having not really fallen asleep due to the adrenaline still pumping through her.

She was happy her family was back to its old self. The way that it was meant to be. Sure, some would argue that it's not normal for a family of 13 to be still under one roof when the fifth oldest is over 20. That they all by now, should be out in the world doing who knows what. Living simple lives at home or being around the globe rich and famous.

This was their lives. Nothing is always easy in life. Sometimes God will look down at you, tending to a garden, and say let there be a bushfire, and like that, your house is gone. Maybe being an Olympic athlete is still achievable; many that followed that path suffered similar or worse fates than her and either powered on or found a new route. She was approaching that fork in the road, not there yet, but could see it.

And that went for all of her family. And everyone else in the world.

She got out of bed, wincing at each groan and creak the braces made when she moved, leaving the shared room containing her sleeping goth sister, and headed towards Lincoln's door.

Slowly turning the knob to reveal a barely moonlit converted closet that, once again, she had hoped to see an occupied bed. There was no sign of someone present, but there were signs of it being used.

Lincoln's room had changed in the ways she knew why. She knew what had happened in this room at night. On the nights, she slept with one eye open and alert if anything else happened to the others. She'd hear a door open, some shuffling, and another open and close. One would think it was just someone on a midnight bathroom run, only the bathroom was on the opposite side of the hallway.

It was their way of remembering. Being someplace familiar that just standing there made them think their brother was right there with them. Even now, crawling under the sheets despite the temperature, she could tell the others had been her many times. They wanted to be in the one spot they felt was as close as they could get to him anymore.

They made sure to keep it tidy and neat like it was before. Rarely undergoing a kind of cleaning that would purge the room of the last lingering effects it contained. They vacuumed, dusted, and straightened it up.

Ready for when their brother would come home…

But today, today was a day that Lynn felt would be one to continue this hope. Days since she came home, she made it part of her priorities was getting herself back into shape. She couldn't live with herself being compared to a bed slug that could still bench press more than what most people in the state could.

With the day still younger, she got herself ready. Spinning around and acquiring her choice of clothing; a dark blue sports shirt and a black pair of jogging pants. A little on the plus size to let the braces fit. However, the one downside was the choice of footwear. Because the braces went down under her heel to directly support her weight, regular shoes didn't work. Leni had given her an older pair she had made herself to solve this problem when it was her time.

They were bigger than she usually wore. Too much room made her feel like a toddler trying to wear their parent's shoes. They were a pain to even jog in. So power walking was the next best thing.

She didn't bother with her ordinary family routine of lining up for the bathroom. When most of the family is adults, it can take longer to do things. If she was going to work up a sweat (and hopefully not pass out early) and shower later, no point in wasting water and time for another shower. Making sure her shoes were as secure as possible, she grabbed her phone and a pair of earphones and headed out.

As far as she was aware, only she and Lisa were the only ones left in the house. Everyone else had gotten up early for a trip to the mall for supplies this weekend, her parents were checking up on some last-minute work before the holiday, and Lisa was in her room doing whatever she was doing.

Lynn was tempted to walk in and check on her; she heard talking and knew the 12-year-old was awake. Though when she heard her talking through the door about some report, a part about Luna being a challenge or something, she felt it was best to let the kid be left alone. She deserved some peace; with everything she did for her, Lynn was all too willing to let her have that peace.

If only she stayed just a minute longer…

But by that time, she was already strolling out the door. Selecting her jogging music, plugging in earphones and phone in her pocket, she headed down the street.

Passing through town, she had become so clouded by her thoughts, at most being focused enough to avoid obstacles in her path caught just within her vision that gave her the needed advance warning to act accordingly.

This wasn't her first morning walk through town, nor the time from before when she had just gotten out of school for the day and went about with her friends or just some 'me time' and took a stroll. But in all reality, she had only been gone from college, not even a full year. Lori was the one that got the chance to experience more than that, but like her, Lynn's reason for being there was because of the physical work that was involved. If it weren't for sports to have her be present during training or meetings, she wouldn't have minded doing online courses. It would have saved so much time having to run back and forth on public buses on the weekends to come home and check up on the family.

Don't get her wrong; the university was a nice place. Despite being an hour away, it wasn't as bad as Lori having to drive a three-hour one-way trip on the weekends when she did. But compared to coming out of the doors of an extended school day and just heading home on foot, nothing could beat the homey feeling that Royal Woods offered her that for the 20 years of her time being on Earth still couldn't match up. With everyone she knew still in the area, despite the occasional friend moving away to a new town or state and having to say goodbye, it made her feel safe and happy to know that when the day came that she would too leave town for the world outside it, that coming back would feel more like coming home than just a visit.

Which made her wonder how Lincoln was doing. Three years and she still couldn't wrap her mind around him moving a thousand miles away to a place that was home to fields and tumbleweeds. She knew he would prefer staying in Royal Woods more than someplace where he didn't know about where all his friends and memories were.

Though if she was being truthful with herself, she did expect him to come home that summer. Seeing this as just him being like Lori and going off to his own college far away for some time and coming home once the school year is out. Be with family for the summer and holidays and then later on the go back. But that just wasn't the case; he truly did leave them at a time they were all pretty much living the high life. Royal Woods didn't offer much of what he was after, so he went there looking for it. And she knew he definitely found it.

How he managed to finish high school like that still boggled her mind…

Coming to a crosswalk that had her path currently blocked by flowing traffic, Lynn went and spun around, leaning up against the pole, taking in deep breaths. Checking her watch, she was satisfied that she was already past her the halfway point in her morning goals today. Day by day, they were slowly growing back up, not near her usual numbers, but it was given how much further she had gone now; it didn't surprise her when she felt that twisting feeling within her gut. Being for a substance to cure its pain of emptiness.

Maybe a small snack and water would do her good before she got home for a late breakfast.

Looking around the area for any place that could satisfy her workout hunger, her eyes scanned over the signs of the shops along the street till a familiar establishment backlit by the early sun shined upon her answer like it was a sign from God.

Philp's Food and Fuel.

A place that one would say was visited by the Loud Siblings more than their father's own restaurant. Initially owned by one Philip 'Flip', it was a place that while was known for being notoriously overpriced, lackluster product quality, or downright incredible to stay in business at times even after a health inspector had to be taken out in a stretcher multiple times from heart attacks was a place to grab a quick bite or drink when in a rush or see if he had some oddball thing someone needed.

Though back then it was called 'Flip's Food and Fuel', the change was mainly in that poor Flip really should have watched how far you can cut corners before you start to bleed so much you can't stop it. And the state health department was all for shutting it down till a new owner could take over. It was ironic enough when someone also named Philip bought the place, leveled the old building to the ground, and built a new establishment.

Now it was a place that looked like the 70s had merged with the 21st century. Probably a little too much when they had to drag their grandpa Leonard out in rope when he first discovered the place and had too much fun. But it was a place that, when you walked in, didn't feel like the walls were about to come alive.

The place was more extensive, the front with more windows circling the building with signs advertising deals and specials in sharp LEDs. The pump station had been moved to the side and increased where several morning commuters were already fueling up to prepare for the day. The place was a vibrant white brick with a red lining, mixed in with some blues, greens, and yellows to make it pop out as something to catch the eyes when approaching.

Sure enough, it had caught her attention, and, at a more leisurely speed, dashed across the street to the place. Passing between a pair of parked cars, one with a mess of antennas on it that made her look up momentarily and question if they got every radio station from her to Nashville.

Yet, in her passing gaze of the elements on the roof, she had failed to notice a faded logo on the side of the door. Chipped, scratched, and missing some pieces, yet boldly displaying a twister on top of a shield with a knight in armor standing behind it.

Entering through the front door, blasted by one of those annoying electric doorbells and a face full of AC that managed to send a shiver down her back, Lynn didn't hesitate in the direction that held her quarrel. Passing by the wall of coolers, pulling open the one containing bottles of generic water, snatching a bottle, and spinning away as the door closed on its own. Moving down the snack alley, at least one other person was browsing the delectables. She couldn't see who it was, given they had their back to her, but no biggie. It wasn't her place to judge or ask.

Lynn pulled her headphones free to let them dangle over her chest and looked over her choices. There was all your typical gas station snack food, hell she could smell mini personal pizzas being cooked somewhere, but she was happy to see more healthy options presented. It wasn't like she swore off junk food, oh no, far from it. Her appetite had definitely grown as she did, and out of everyone in the family, she ate so much that someone seeing her could argue she was pregnant and eating for two. Though it was all because of how fast she burned all those calories and fat, they had little time to stick to her form. Late high school and college were the same way but with how the times were, she dialed it back.

But if offered a five-minute chocolate cake to a lifetime supply of energy bars, you best not blink cause that cake would be gone in only five seconds. Maybe just a treat for today would be-

'No, brain. No chocolate till later.' She told herself.

She needed to focus on healing. That was a top priority for her physically. She could indulge in all the slack and sweets later for when the situation presented itself but for now she-

"Oh, Hey, Lynn."

She felt herself snap out of her mental debate and back to reality. Shaking her head to clear her mind at what she heard. "Huh?"

She heard a man's voice speak from her right, looking to see who had spoken when she heard a faint "Oh shit" and saw the person previously in the alley with her trying to escape her line of sight. They were moving fast, but she could see what looked like a trimmed afro passing over the top of the shelves.

"Hey, wait a minute!"

With a boost and a kick, she 'ran' after the person. People don't say your name out like that, suddenly regret it, and try to run away if they didn't even mean to meet you in the first place; unleashing something bad was the reason. She rounded the corner and saw her target making a beeline for the exit. One hand in their pants pocket, trying to probably pull out their car keys if the jingling metal was any clue.

"Hold on a second there, mister!" She half shouted/demanded. Pointed the finger at the man like it was a magic wand that held the power to do as she commanded. She heard a faint 'shit' be muttered when the person stopped mid-step with their arm hovering over the door handle.

Turning around, Lynn watched the mound of black hair slowly rotate to reveal a face sporting a pair of thick-rimmed glasses with greenish-brown eyes staring back at her. Eye to eye, Lynn was probably only three inches shorter than the man; his hair alone gave him a six-inch advantage over anyone, really. Body lean, but not precisely noodle limbs.

But that face. It had not been seen for three years. Despite any changes that would form something new, was still molded in the shape, with their nervous expression being the piece in the puzzle that would let her know what the image was; Lynn felt her mind go blank for a moment before the single word it could focus on erupted from her mouth.

"CLYDE?!"

---

The Royal Woods Mall, one place that, even after three years of economic hell, was still a flourishing establishment that provided the town a business that could feel more like a typical day community to shop, eat, meet up with friends, and have fun despite being the kind of place that was a dying breed.

It was a place that the Loud Family visited frequently. A place where if it had some housing that didn't make you look homeless, everyone was pretty sure Leni would have jumped at the chance never to want to leave. And it is the Fourth of July weekend, and just like many in town, the mall was loaded with red, white, and blue decorations. Stores were offering up deals on everything from shoes and cosmetics to random 'new' cars parked in the middle of the walkway being fingerprint magnets.

Walking down between the shops, if you didn't know who they were, one could have mistaken them as a group of friends, with three being mothers when interacting with the younger siblings.

For the oldest four, one could have easily thought that Lori was a mother to the twins that ran about teasing, insulting, or yelling back at each other. And in this situation, she might as well have started having them call her 'mom' with how she dealt with them and the others. She was happy that Lily was at best distracted from something new being seen when passing the open doors of a shop, frustrated when Leni did the same except be like a train on rails and guide herself right into the establishment to see what had gotten her interest.

She had to admit she was thankful Lynn wasn't here, possibly running around trying to do something crazy. It was something that she was all too used to having to drag Leni out when she wanted to buy half the place.

It was hard enough dealing with everything with a spinal injury and everyone else basically broken. Though if she had to choose between being the sagging caretaker of the 'Sad House' to dealing with the insane hyper-energy that the Loud House was known for…

"Leni, NO! You've already been into that place three times!" Lori cried out, trying to check up on her sister. Grabbing onto the back of her shirt just before they passed the threshold. Having to drag her and the nearly dozen bags in her hands back to a laughing group.

… if it meant going to bed and waking up the next day to see a smile on everyone's faces, she wouldn't dare trade it in for anything.

Don't get her wrong; there was still a future out there calling her name. One that she had a kind of rough sample in college that was still cooking behind the scenes. It was like how her father described trying to come up with something new; you had a rough idea of what it'll turn out to be, it was a matter of working out the pieces to get there.

She had a car, a job, a roof over her head, and a loving family. It wasn't exactly everything she had done on her own as she thought about doing when she first started college. She wanted to be famous, have the golf world have her name in gold, settle down and have a big family like her mother, grow old, and pass on knowing she had lived life to the fullest she had ever dreamed up. She was 26, a little late on some fronts, but she still had her life ahead of her.

Even if it meant waiting for when she got the chance to see those dreams come true, she would settle with the old wagon, a stable job at her father's restaurant, sharing a room with Leni, and acting as the 'mother' to the younger kids to make sure that they were ready when they reached her age.

"But Lorrriiiii…. There's a 30 percent discount on Sun Side Sandals!"

"You were already in there the first time we came through. And you already bought a pair for each color."

"But the sign says seven colors! I only got five!"

"You don't need a pair of sandals for each day of the week! And you already got 15 bags of stuff from everywhere else."

Confused, Leni looked down at her hands to see if what Lori said was true. One hand held eight bags, the other seven and a small gift bag, all loaded with what amounted to a new wardrobe's worth of clothing. While it was a rainbow of colors, a noticeably unhealthy amount of orange stood out among them. Ranging from sundresses, a roll of cloth for future projects, a pair of shoes, shirts, and even an underwear set that Leni had unfortunately placed on top of the items in its respective bag that anyone walking past would quickly notice.

Lori hadn't noticed it until they stopped for a quick drink at the food court, and Leni began digging them out and comparing them. She… really didn't want to ask why Leni had switched from her usual seafoam green to this. She didn't want to risk getting a headache this early in the day.

One might ask, "It's July, a bit late for summer shopping?" That would be true. But with everything going on, they didn't expect to be up and about actually to enjoy part of the summer. They had changed over the winter, as it was expected, but none of them experienced any huge weight gain thanks to her pushing her focus on eating healthier foods. Not even gaining at least another five pounds from lack of mobility did any harm to her figure.

If anything, it helped fill in other places. From what she saw in the old photo albums that their parents had before her birth or even them getting married, she was well on her way to being the spitting image of her mother in her youth.

Leni wasn't far behind. Her bounce-back was probably the fastest out of everyone. Wake up one morning to see her so full of energy again, it put a smile on everyone to see her smile again.

"Like, seriously, sis. You totes got enough orange in there. Lincoln would think you're stealing his style." Luna joked. Being rewarded by a 'ha!' from Luan.

"I… just want a color change is all!" And that was part of the truth. "And I have a lot of work to make up for!" That was also part of the truth.

The announcement that Leni was once again taking commissions had seen a surge in orders for her online shop that she had been practically burning through whatever she had on hand at home that sat for months collecting dust. She was making bank again, and that money went to getting more material to keep that money flowing.

On the first trip to the mall in months, she had already burned through most of what she had available to spend.

"And I get that, Leni," Lori assured her. She let go of her shirt and started back on their way toward the exit. "But you gotta try and not be so crazy with spending your money like that."

Luan piped up, "But what about you buying that-" If looks could kill, Lori had just turned Luan into a fine red mist from a while away. "I retract my question."

Satisfied, Lori said, "I know those royalty checks are helping again, but we need to start thinking of what we're going to do for your future."

Lola waved it off, "I don't see what's the problem here. I think it's been working out pretty well so far."

"That's cuz we're still in middle school…." Lana rebutted. She was a bit peeved that her twin would have preferred to burn more of their brother's money than actually work for it. At least she actually helped keep things functioning around the house and even back in school.

"Case in point." Lori sternly let out. Sensing a possible fight in the near future and smashing its flame before it could take hold, "Mom and Dad aren't getting any younger, and the house isn't getting any bigger."

"I can fix tha-"

"Not what I meant, Lana. *sigh* Look, what I mean is we really need to start looking into branching out. We can't stay at home forever."

"What, you want to bail out on us again?"

Lori turned to see Luna sending her a dirty look. "Again? What-NO!" So much for no headaches. "That's not what I mean! Like, look at what Lincoln did! He went out there despite all the crap he had to deal with us for years, and he found his gold. And I'm happy for him for that! (Though a bit saddened.) He helped us get back on our feet, but we shouldn't rely on him constantly sending us money. Sure, it's a nice fallback, but heck, I'm almost 30, and Lucy is already out of high school. By the time Lily is going to be out of high school, I doubt Mom and Dad will be able even to support half of us. We need to start supporting ourselves, you understand?"

...

"Leni?" She looked back at the strangely quiet girl. Only to see that the second had completely stopped walking while they went on.

Noticing her standing so unmoving made some girls worry a little. This wasn't the kind of reaction Leni had when passing by stores earlier; she stopped, gasped, and ran inside. She was standing there like a character from a horror movie who had spotted something, got separated from the oblivious friend group, investigated, and either died or disappeared.

Concern spread through the group, looking to one another for some answer.

*thump*

They jumped when the bags in her hands slipped free. Falling to the ground and spilling some of their contents on the ground. Leni would never let such new clothes be ruined like this, and the thought she could be suffering from something like that after her accident made them rush over to her side.

"Leni!" Lori called out, grabbing onto the blonde's shoulder. Shaking a little to get her attention to no effect. "Leni, you alright?"

The blonde didn't respond. Too deep in the trance that had overtaken her. Even Luan waving her hand or snapping fingers in front of her face did nothing, even to make her feel like a machine slowly turning on; the arm of her empty hand slowly rose up. Fingers curled back as she pointed straight ahead of them towards the entrance, "Lincoln?"

With the action and spoken name, everyone's heads snapped toward the mall doors. Thoughts and images of their brother possibly strolling through those glass portals and none of them but Leni being the one to notice it before anyone else was flying through their minds. They all looked, heads turning and eyes darting over everyone between them and the doors. The thoughts of what clothing he wore were irrelevant; they looked to see if they could see but a glimpse of platinum hair among the crowd that would be the landmark feature.

But to their great displeasure, they saw no one that fit the bill.

"Are you sure you're not just hallucinating?" Lola remarked, feeling that they were being toyed with.

"Or perhaps you are experiencing some kind of past memory of events?" Lucy added.

"No, look!" She pointed straight ahead again, "It's Lincoln! And Clyde! And Ronnie Anne!"

Confused at what exactly she was losing her mind over, Lori couldn't help but roll her eyes a little. Maybe Lucy was right; it wouldn't have been unusual for them to see their brother and his friends running around town during the summer. Them popping into the mall at the same time they were shopping or leaving was just another time to add to the long list.

But oh, did she feel like cussing out Leni for that stunt. Had it been Luan, she probably would have gotten a slap upside the head. She didn't know why. When Leni made it out like he was right there that age, she felt her heart jump up in her throat, and both panic and joy filled her brain.

If anyone could tell (hell, if Lisa was here should have outright stated it) what the look on her face and in her eyes spoke of, it was like the times when she was still in high school and had just started to feel her crush on Bobby start growing further than just a crush.

But… Why did she do that when Leni called out Lincoln…?

When Lori zoned out, it was Luna's turn to wonder what the hell was going on with her sisters.

"Yo, earth to sis, you there? Come on, don't go fading out on us." Try as she may, Luna's words fell on mostly deaf ears as she failed to see Lori slowly reach a hand up to her.

Luna only stopped speaking when she felt her sis's hand clamp around her chin, making it harder to talk. Mumbling, 'What are you doing?' before she felt her head forcibly be turned back into the direction Leni had pointed in. Confused, she searched for whatever the reason her biggest sis was now acting wonky. She looked over every detail in the hallway before her; benches, an outlet to bathrooms, a closed store with its gate down, a giant assortment of plants, an advertisement stand just before the doors, and the sunny outside world with whatever people were present.

She started to grow annoyed at her sisters when she stared at everything. Trying to see precisely what was… hold on a second…

It… it was Lincoln.

…in a display case.

Not like he was trapped and on display for the public to wonder why he was behind the glass, but in the form of being on a sizable movie-sized advertisement poster.

Confirming that two out of three were not crazy as expected, they slowly moved their way down the hall toward the sign. Weaving around to form a semi-circle around the case so that they had a clear view. The poster was mainly a mix of gray and black and took up most of the colors, with what they could see was the shape of a tornado taking up most of the image with lightning bolts and damage on either side. Standing in the foreground, looking forward, either at the camera or into their very eyes, the face of someone unfazed by the danger before them with even a smirk visible. His white hair appeared reflective and a mess, like it was being blown in the wind. His orange polo was gone in the form of a hoodie flapping in the breeze with a red and black shirt and jeans with a large video camera held in his hands.

They couldn't make out much more detail; the image itself had the sharp contrast that with the dark storm around the back, the foreground behind Lincoln was illuminated by almost a wall of light by what looked like a vehicle of some its headlights shining brightly on either side of him with the top portion mixed with yellow making his torso almost glow.

To his left, wet brown skin shone in the high beams, big-rimmed glasses filled with a green light from a laptop in hand, looking over to Lincoln with an expression of shock like he was trying to say something.

She was sure the others were thinking about how much Clyde had changed. Lori was amazed at how much he seemed to have grown out like her brother had, from being a noodle to having some bulk though not to the same degree. She remembered finding some old photos of the two boys spending time together, even some online; from what she could see were out on the grounds exploring the country.

But what did surprise her more was who was to the right of her brother; her ex's little sister Ronnie Anne Santiago.

She didn't expect to see it, but one that looked over didn't surprise her. If she remembered from all her social media photos, Ronnie was probably as tall as Luan now, sporting a purple jacket with black diagonal stripes coming up the bottom sides towards the zipper. Her hair was shorter than Lori remembered it being the ponytail, only reaching just to her shoulders. While she couldn't see it, Luna could roughly see the top logo of a SMOOCH shirt under her hoodie (earning a nod of approval) with what looked almost like gray cargo shorts with knee pads.

She wasn't directly looking at the camera like Lincoln was or like Clyde, who was slightly there; she was more or less looking at whatever was above the focus with a wide grin on her face and sharp eyes like someone that was just ready to jump into a fight even if it didn't involve her was asking for her to leap in and go out fists flying.

At the bottom of the poster, in bold letters that looked like it was heavily scarred chrome,

Storm Chasers

New Season This October

"Lincoln is on TV?" Lily asked curiously, staring up at her 'brother.'

"I… I guess he is…." Luan tried answering herself.

Sure, it wasn't the first time they had seen him on TV (or any of themselves, depending on whether it was a big victory or a disaster), and the brief time they almost got to star in a movie. But to actually have a full-on TV show be made with one of them as the face of it was still a big surprise.

"OH MY GOSH!" They all snapped toward Leni, who had the biggest smile they hadn't seen in a very long time. "WE GET TO SEE LINCY ON TV! *Gasp* OH, WE CAN HAVE A BIG MOVIE NIGHT TONIGHT!"

As much as she loved her enthusiasm, Luna had to emphasize the obvious, "Leni; it's July. That show isn't coming out for another, like, four months."

Leni felt her joy of the moment visibly deflate. A little 'ahhh…' with arms and eyes lowered. However, it wasn't like she was the only one. Lily was just surprised to know that she would soon see her brother on TV. Lola felt a twinge of jealousy at the thought that she got on a local magazine cover despite years of showing the world what she had at best. Lana and Luna were the two who undoubtedly felt more proud about it.

Here their brother was, facing down danger and not giving a damn about it. Looking as prideful to feel the wind in his face and not shy away. Lana felt it as more of her adventurous side was excited, though Luna had a mix of pride with a hint of envy. Mentally rebuilding the image to be her in his place, headlights replaced by stage lights, her band around her playing it hard with a cheering crowd.

It was still a dream… but this poster oddly gave her some hope for that dream.

Despite what the family went through, she felt that spark of pride within her burn out those little strains of negative thoughts. Thoughts of all the things she has to see her little brother achieve and him being there for some of her big moments put a warmth in her heart that made her shiver like ice was quickly melting away that she didn't know was there.

Though some thoughts started drifting away to more relatable topics… who did his soundtrack?

Lori felt herself become a bit worried. Well, 'a bit' would be in of itself a bit of an understatement. She remembered finding some videos showing Lincoln out there chasing; more often, it was him driving or standing out on the side of the road filming. She knew he had big success but she didn't think it would have been this big to make it to national, possibly international, television. Either what he did was so incredible that people wanted to see more of it, or it was so dangerous people couldn't get enough of it.

But out of everyone, Lucy was visibly the most distressed.

She… she felt herself going on the edge of becoming lightheaded. She stepped back from the sign as if it was a sleeping demon she dared not awaken. Even through her hair, her eyes widened to dinner plates that, gave a brief glimpse of the fear in her eyes.

She… she was…

She felt a hand settle on her shoulder, "Hey, you okay there?" She turned to see Luan looking down with worry in her eyes.

The goth felt her throat go dry. She was still someone that the family knew had more secrets than they let on (except Lisa, but they worried what could explode if they found out) and often than not, knew how to keep it locked down. It's why Lisa had disclosed so much about Lincoln's career and the curse for the past years, and the scientist knew that her emotional state operated differently.

But finding out what Lisa had done toward her only not even a month ago made her blood run a degree of cold that she felt would never go away until she knew the truth. Staring up at the poster, into her brother's unmoving pixelated blue eyes, she felt… fear.

The advertisement labeled this as a reality show. No matter what, it's edited as a show like this has things that really happened. She had seen all the different kinds of photos and videos other people and her brother had posted over the years where he was part of the event in its heart.

But that transmission has left her begging for some reassurance. Something to tell her that what she heard wasn't the end. Lisa had said that the storm season this year had basically ended, and that event was basically the end of it.

If this show was about what happened this year… she felt her fear grow just thinking about what the end of the show could mean for his fate…

**BZZZZ**

What could be thought of as a swarm of bees suddenly appearing snapped the girls' attention away from the poster to their pockets. All at once, they felt their phones vibrate with notifications. It was a group chat the sisters used to keep in contact directly. It was much easier than trying to keep track of dozens of contacts they all had across each other, that having it all be in one made life easier.

Opening the app, they were all greeted by a new message sent by Lynn just moments ago. Her red message board read in bold letters: [Lynn: EMERGENCY SIBLING MEETING! CODE SNOWY MOUNTAIN]

"..."

"..."

"WHAT?!" Lola screamed out. Almost every head in the vicinity of the group turns around and looks at what happened.

But it was a scream with the same thought behind it, just more vocalized, of what the others were thinking.

They had come up with many code names for things, kinda like how Lincoln named all his schemes 'operations', with their defunct sister fight protocol being a prime example. Once things started going down the toilet, they had to find an easier way to trade information.

Anything that referred to something involving Lincoln was based on things involving snow but was barely used. 'Winter is coming' was one that meant that Lincoln was on his way home, 'Thunder Snow' was one that he was in the area, and 'Snow Cone' was about some little bit of new information someone found.

'Snowy Mountain' meant someone just discovered something MASSIVE related to their brother. And given that phrase hadn't been used at all since they told Lynn about the letter, her sending it to all of them out of the blue like this was enough of a kick in the pants for them to realize they were missing something vital.

"TO THE VAN! NOW!" Lori commanded, pointing back towards the way they entered the building. Scrambling to gather their items, they ran through the crowds like a group of shoplifters. Shouting for people to get out of the way and saying it was an emergency.

Almost breaking down the door, it wasn't hard to see where old Vanzilla was parted on the semi-sparse lots this early in the day. Lori ripped the side door open, throwing her items onto the back seat before jumping into the driver's seat. Starting the engine up as the others followed the same. When the engine did sputter to life, with the empty parking spot in front of them, Lori shifted into drive and floored it.

The Fungi machine leaped from its state of rest faster than anyone had any real time to finish buckling in. Luan just barely got launched out of the open side as she yanked the door closed, and the van sped off.

---

Back at Casa Loud, Lynn sat on top of a box of old clothes, her leg bouncing impatiently. Sweat still dripped off her frame, and her hand tightly clenched a water bottle. She had run home, full sprint, for the first time in weeks and felt sorer now than she ever felt before.

She felt everything ache. Everything.

Her feet hurt from running with huge shoes that constantly shifted. Her thighs were on fire from suddenly moving more than they were ready for. Her back hurt to even sit upright after all the twists and turns she had to perform to get back home as fast as possible. Even her arms ached from the number of boxes she had to move around her to make some space for once the others got here and to make herself a little 'throne' to collapse on and wait.

She wasn't up in Lori's room like they used to hold meetings anymore. Even if it did, she still followed the rule of not going in there without permission despite them both being adults. The garage, on the other hand, was chosen mainly due to one reason: space.

With age and everyone sizing up, the bedroom wasn't suitable to fit the ten of them anymore. The garage wouldn't have been the most fantastic option either. Between the accumulation of items the family acquired and cycled out for later, the garage had turned from a place that could house band practice and workouts into a glorified storage unit packed to the ceiling.

But they needed space and privacy. Some things they talked about just weren't meant for their parents to stumble upon or required that extra legroom. The attic was proposed, but itself was too loaded with everything that was originally in the garage now taking up space.

And on the current plus side, a breeze was beginning to blow through the place with the door wide open. A nice cool blanket that, despite the high level of anticipation and adrenaline flowing through her veins, Lynn allowed her mind to ease up on the throttle. Taking, in slower steady breaths, a quick gulp of water and leaned back against whatever stack of boxes was behind her. Closing her eyes to try and calm down.

But for the love of everything, how could she? She woke up today thinking that it'll be a nice day to relax and heal more. Not run into Clyde and get a bombshell like the one he dropped. It made her conflicted. Part of her wanted to either hug the nerd for giving her the best news in a long time or punch him so hard his glasses became contact lenses for what he said afterward.

They needed to find him again. She felt it in her spirit and heart that he was hiding something. He said about being up here for the weekend; they had, at best, three days to find him. They could try his old house, but they knew the McBrides had moved from where the Louds were used to. Where they went in Royal Woods, if it was still even in Royal Woods, was unknown though Lisa could probably find them in five minutes.

And that truck. She walked into that store, and that strange truck was there. Walking out after Clyde left, and the truck was gone. If they found that truck and Clyde, maybe they could- she heard footsteps approaching from outside.

Lifting her head up, she didn't see anyone in the driveway. Vanzilla wasn't precisely the quietest car in the world, or she would have heard it. No one else was around the house, though she wondered what was taking-

"Apologies for my tardiness, older sister. But my sleep cycle has been undergoing a rather sporadic change in orientation that has felt me a bit more… unbalanced." Lisa rounded the corner of the garage door. Carrying a silver laptop and a cup of what Lynn assumed was coffee as she tried to suppress a yawn. Taking a long sip of the brew that she could see a column of steam rising from.

She was down half the cup before she paused and lifted it away. Licking her lips with a satisfying 'Ah', she looked up to the athlete awaiting any remark.

Lynn wondered if her sister had been experimenting on herself again, "Isn't that hot?"

"I had recalibrated our new coffee maker some time ago to generate a coffee up to 210 degrees Fahrenheit without risking the grains becoming too burnt to allow proper brewing with a unique mix comprising of mainly sumatran beans and a little creamer. In other words, extremely." She took another sip.

Lynn… wasn't expecting that. Though with Lisa, she should have expected something like that yet her she thought she was the one that liked things hot. "Surprised it took you this long to get here."

Moving towards a single box sitting off to the side, Lisa set her coffee on the ground and plopped herself down. "When I had gotten you're notification, I was… busy." Her voice became uneasy, "Given it was a Code Snowy Mountain, I believe you have discovered something that I have not."

Heh, guess she did, didn't she? Lynn Loud, knowing something that the Nobel prize-winning Lisa Loud didn't.

Glancing at her watch, Lisa reached down for her coffee, "And in the time between its deliver, I estimate we have 71 seconds before our siblings-"

Came to a scratching halt. Before the van even had a chance to jolt back on its parking brake, the doors all flew open as the eight siblings piled out and ran for the garage like an angry mob.

"-arrive." Tapping her watch and wondering how her sense of time had been off by such, Lisa felt it was better to deal with that later when she was more awake and informed. Opting to lean back and take another drink, the horde raced up to the surprised athlete.

Lynn barely had time even to attempt to stand up from her seat when the sudden presence of her sisters suddenly be in her personal bubble nearly made her fall over. Her ears were assaulted from all sides by voices of panic and desperation.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" Being the primary phrase repeated like a broken record. "WHAT DID YOU FIND?!" "DID YOU FIND LINCOLN?!" "DID-"

"GUYS! GUYS!" Getting to her feet, Lynn roared out, "GUYS! SHUT UP AND LET ME SPEAK!" They all closed their mouths without much else, but the desperation still screamed from them. Pleading for anything they could get.

"OKAY! Look," Lynn took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "This whole thing is a bit wonky, okay? It starts when I meet Clyde-"

"Wait, Clyde's back in town?!" Lori exclaimed.

Lynn nodded, "Yeah, I accidentally 'ran into' him at Philp's during my morning jog and-"

"AND WHAT?!" They shouted in unison again.

Trying to think, her teeth gritting as she tried to come up with how she wanted to say this, she felt a headache brewing up a storm and made her groan out. "Rrrrrr… OKAY! No one talks till I finish, or you get punched, got it?"

Looking around, the sisters glanced back and forth before nodding. "Okay… so this is what I got…"

---

Earlier...

"CLYDE?!"

She felt her mind briefly go through a full forced shutdown and reboot. Her eyes felt like they had just read something so incomprehensible that, in all honestly, made her literally short-circuit.

It had been what, three years since she saw him? Maybe four since she even heard him speak? She remembered hearing about him going down to Oklahoma with her brother, but that was as far as they knew. They were all away or busy most of the time and probably wouldn't have noticed if he came back or not. Without Lincoln home, Clyde really didn't have much of a motive to visit the house.

But it was still a surprise to know he was even back at all, and… was Lincoln with him?

That question, that one question that was eating at her brain like a monstrous swarm of hungry locusts to a cornfield, was overtaking her thought-

"No." She snapped back when she heard Clyde speak again. "I've seen that look before, Lynn. You'd be surprised how often I've seen people freeze up and ask me that question whenever I come home."

"How'd you know I was gonna-"

"Ask if Lincoln was with me? Come on, Lynn. I've been around your family long enough to know how to read some of you guys. And out of everyone, your family would be like sharks to seals at the chance to ask that."

Well, he's not wrong. "So why are you back?"

"I'm actually visiting this time. Our season kinda wrapped up two weeks ago, so I thought about coming up for the holiday. I had actually gotten back to dropping Ronnie Anne off over in Great Lakes before coming here for the weekend."

"Wait, Ronnie, Bobby's little sister, was down in Oklahoma with you guys?"

He nodded, "Yep. Our original team had Lincoln as our captain, I navigated, and she was our driver for the past two years. Though… I don't think she'll be coming back down again."

His voice fell. He didn't try to hide it, and she saw it ultimately. She knew Ronnie Anne was a tough girl like her that didn't back down from a challenge. She would grab life by the balls and spit in its face before using it like a fallen tree to cross a stream. The three of them Lynn knew could be an unstoppable force. But the way Clyde spoke made her blood start running cold.

She knew chasing twisters was dangerous, of course, but if after two years someone like Ronnie, who was practically Lincoln's girlfriend who he would probably keep extra safe, was remotely scared to go back out there with them… something big must have happened.

"What's… her reason for that?" She really didn't want to butt into Ronnie's side of life. But she was getting info from basically Lincoln's right-hand man.

"It…" His words drifted away. His eyes looked around at everything but her, trying to come up with what to say.

"It's why our season ended early this year. Our last chase… it…it…" his breathing started to pick up. Almost like he was starting to have a panic attack, his eyes zone out, his hands start to shake, and even his body begins to sway from side to side.

Lynn moved fast, holding onto his arms to keep him from falling down. "Clyde! Clyde! Look at me!"

His head tilted down towards her. Eyes struggling to stay focused on hers, "Just breathe! Calm down and breathe!"

Doing as told, McBride and Loud stood in the middle of the convenience store. Lynn's grip had not loosened one bit as the man tried to focus his mind away from the abyss. It nearly fell down to the athlete's eyes. After a dozen deep but slowing breaths, Clyde's features began to relax.

Offering her water without hesitation, the man ripped the cap off and began chugging down its contents without pause at a speed that, in a normal situation, Lynn would see as a potential future challenge. But she banished those thoughts; this wasn't the time for that. A childhood friend was a second away from going into a full-on panic attack right before her.

Something like that wasn't too unusual for her to see it. In the sports world, it was far from uncommon. But Clyde was talking about Ronnie. If she was back in Great Lakes City with her family, they might try calling or go visit her to get her side of the story, but how Clyde didn't even begin describing what happened made the ice harden.

What the hell happened out there?

What could have happened that Ronnie would basically abandon ship and cause Clyde to have a complete breakdown? And what happened to Lincoln…

She waited for him to relax more. Thinking over what she wanted to know and hopefully not set him off again. "You okay now?"

Clyde didn't say anything right away. Closing his eyes to keep bringing his breathing under control. After a few ins and outs, he took in one deep one and sighed. Nodded sluggishly as he looked back to her, "Yeah… yeah… I'm good. I'm good now. Sorry about your water."

He held up the bottle, which was practically dry at this point. Lynn shook her head, "It's fine. I can get another."

"…That… happen often?" She knew about past events, especially in regard to how he was if Lori was physically present. Still, since she went on to college, even when she came back, Clyde had steadily eased away from his unhealthy obsession with her as he matured. Something Lori was pleased about when they did bury that hatchet on the subject.

But this wasn't just some past habits resurfacing. This was fear. The fear that only an event of unholy proportions could inflict upon the mind. Her family had seen too much of it, and it was hurting to see someone she knew suffering something that could be a whole other caliber. Lucy and Lola especially had the worst back then, but over time, they overcame it.

He shook his head a bit too fast when he felt himself briefly get whiplash, "No. No that was… new…"

He tried to sound firm. She heard it cracking in his voice. She had experienced it before and knew that sometimes it was hard to try and stand when you wanted to fall. What happened to Clyde was recent. What happened back in June during this 'last chase' probably made Ronnie Ann so scared she didn't want to go back.

"Clyde…" just say it. Do it just like ripping off a bandaid, "What happened to Lincoln?"

If someone looked like they had been told someone close to them had died without knowing it, Clyde accurately fit the bill with the dread that filled his eyes. It was the same look that everyone had when they thought Lola had died from the fire.

The ice was reaching her heart. She felt it beating faster as a warrior backed into a corner surrounded on all sides, trying to fight off the enemy. Her mind was God trying to calm it down, but who was it fooling anyone when itself was starting to panic?

It was like a switch had been thrown. Clyde saw the fear growing in her eyes. The desperation that was being blasted from them was starting to make his inner turmoil resurface again at not knowing how to address the Loud without making her either so angry she'll destroy him where he stood or so heartbroken she goes into her own panic attack. And he wasn't at all prepared for either of them.

"He's…"

"IS HE OKAY!?" She shouted with tears threatening to break out.

"YES! YES, HE'S OKAY!" He shouted in panic. Not used at all seeing Lynn, of all people looking like this.

"He's been better; I should really say…."

"HEY! What's with all the yelling over here?" A voice from over by the front counter called out.

"It's nothing!" Lynn yelled back over. "We're just-" She looked back to Clyde.

And he was gone.

"What the-" The electric doorbell rang out.

As fast as she could, she ran for the door. Pushing it away so hard the hinges groaned in agony at being snapped apart from it, going further than designed. Her head snapped back and forth on a swivel, trying to locate the person that was standing in front of her seven seconds ago. If she weren't a mess right now, she'd either say he teleported like Lucy or was just that fast on his feet (if it was the latter, then mark herself down impressed by both his speed and stealth.) But that was overshadowed by her growing frustration at how fast she lost him.

Even with that speed, she would have seen him running down either direction of the street. He could have run around to hide behind the building, but too many windows meant she would have seen where he was going.

And… the parking spot she was standing in was empty.

There was a truck here when she entered the store. The one with all the antennas all over the roof. She was too distracted nor cared enough to give it a second glance; which way it was pointed, was turned on, was someone else even in there? She could see tire marks right there where it burned rubber racing out onto the street, but from there to the closest stop light, no vehicles matched the vague image of the truck.

Standing there, she felt like her brain was about to rip apart. She didn't know what to think now. Too overwhelmed by all this sudden new info, she just-

'The others!'

Whipping her phone out, she quickly punched in her password and went into the group chat her sisters used to keep in contact. It was much easier than trying to keep track of dozens of contacts they all had across each other, that having it all be in one made life easier.

As fast as her fingers moved and her phone struggled to update with each tap, Lynn sent out a single message to the others. Waiting with bated breath, she stared at the icons sitting on an older message from before, yet to move. As one, they did. Lori, Luna, Luan... Lisa was the last to pop up.

They had seen it. Good.

And with whatever speed she could muster, Lynn ran for home.

---

(Note: These AN notes are written before, during, and after hand to convey my thinking. Not based on what's changed, reviews, etc., and is borderline me ranting out loud my way of thought process.)

This chapter didn't evolve the way I wanted or thought it would. But that's expected of writing.

Initially, this would have been the point in most stories where one or more characters would breaking down and think, 'Oh my god, I'm in love,' I originally intended to do that with some here. The girls are supposed to stumble upon the TV show when Lisa finds it online with Lincoln doing an interview, but that got yeeted and changed. Originally this would be released as a 3-piece combo like the first chapters. But with it on the verge of breaking 20k words and not having any point that I felt was really suitable to chop the chapter in half (with the realization from later in this AN making me realize where I COULD chop it and continue for later), I decided to release it as a standalone (as it is noticeable in the Mall and first Lynn segment where the segment was more or less squeezed or sanded down to speed up to the main element.). This was originally Chapter 4, then 5, briefly 6, then back to 5 and 4. However, given I didn't want to sit on this, I thought, 'Screw it, here it is'. This chapter, the second half of Lisa's entry lodge, and the ending were all added so Chapters 6 and 7 wouldn't contain an equally massive word count and word gore on detail.

Chapters 6 and 7 especially would have followed my original 'Family reacts to' element where they watch the TV show's first, fifth, and eleventh episodes. The first chapter is about Lincoln's first season, a time retaining the letter and the Kingman Tornado. Though writing Lisa's lodge entry allowed me to spread out these details over more chapters, as the end segment of this chapter was originally the main starting point of the follow-up, doing it like they are just now starting to piece it together with what they know to build the bigger picture (along with details for future events and natural reactions) and some details wouldn't have to be repeated.

The topic between Lynn and Clyde is meant to help ignite the spark that this story is trying to burn with. Clyde acts more as the middle man to speak directly about things they have yet to discover but is soon to. While he is in the story to the end, he will be more of a background character but still have his moments. (Though personally, I don't like Clyde as a character as a whole, possibly from all the stuff I read for inspiration for this story, though I have come to realize he is that kind of 'brother from another mother' kind of person to Lincoln and will mainly focus on those elements.)

Right now, the focus could be said to be divided into three ways; Lori is trying to make up for time lost in the past. Lynn is trying to rebuild the present, and Lisa (by extension, Lucy) is trying to find the future. Lisa's 'Entry Lodges' will mainly serve as this story's means of time-skipping significant gaps. Knowing the character, she is writing down everything that happens.

As part of this, details on Lincoln's past three years are in the debate of how I will write it. Chapter 5 cycles back to a cornerstone element of this story (No Such Luck), with Chapters 6, 7, and 8 pushing through. Initially, 6 and 7 were to be the 'Family Reacts' chapters, but thinking now as given me ideas to mainly focus on the Kingman Tornado event for one and the other as an 'aftermath' chapter.

The Kingman Tornado is inspired by several different pieces, mainly with El Reno being the most prominent part. One might say, "Wait, I just used the 'Super Tornado' of the story already, and it was in the past." To a degree, yes, I did. I wanted to have part of the event talked about like it was a forgotten disaster. It's not the biggest tornado ever; bigger doesn't always mean stronger (as some stories often say, here's a 3-mile-wide EF6 with 350+ winds), and if you watch videos about tornadoes like El Reno, you would often see that in its early life, it looked smaller, but its reach was far broader. From a distance, you think you are safe when in reality, you are already inside the tornado and won't realize it till it's too late (an area often called the Bear's Cage.)

For those thinking it, no, Lincoln isn't dead. Though, as Clyde said, he could be a lot better right now.

(Note: These AN notes are written before, during, and after hand to convey my thinking. Not based on what's changed, reviews, etc., and is borderline me ranting out loud my way of thinking.)

Extra Note: Chapters are not on a release schedule. I could post one 3k chapter in five days or five 8k chapters at once by the end of the month. As stated before, I spent most of my free time at work for 8 hours a day thinking and writing what I can on my phone.