Dawn: Decimation

by Outsider316

Fourteen years after a fire destroys the Loud family, the children, now older, are reunited by a mysterious party that aims to stop a rising threat in the form of Lisa Loud, the genius behind a domestic science division, and are thrown into a world where all choices have consequences. Reiteration of the original 2026 trilogy.

1. Chapter 1

Introduction

Back in 2017, I pieced together an eighty-three chapter fic built with comic book structuring. And at the end of it, I did damn well, and that's how the sequel came to be; 2039, followed by Year Unknown. I wasn't planning on those, but when I began to create 2039, I noticed something about the timelines of where the first two fics take place.

There so happens to be a Timeline B, Timeline C, Timeline X, and Timeline D. But there was never to be an A, as these ones in existence correspond to a word. I.E., Before, Current, X variable-wise, and Destined.

The A fic, this is it. All about that one timeline I did not know could exist until I thought of it, and only after all of this. Lola, Lynn the Third, and what the Loudiverse really was, it all plays into it. I might have gone in circles with it, but I think this angle was done well for me. Those three fics, those are not of the original timeline of their world, as you've followed along. And neither were the other fics written within this Loudiverse. So...

2026, 2039, and Year Unknown are no longer fic-canon as of right this moment, but that's not to say you'll see some familiar scenes from all three. Of course, it will be all different, and that's an Outsider guarantee.

To any new readers who have never read these aforementioned works, you are not required to read them to know what is happening. I will do a recap in due time.

The A, or Dawn, the official title of the fic, is the one true masterpiece I can flesh out for its characters, plots, and events. That, and so much more. The brainstorming is nearly wrapped up, just a little bit more to put together.

This has been mentioned only a handful of times, so let me explain what this is; Dawn is what 2026 should have been, but as that was an all-out thing, I never fleshed it out in complete. And, I did not truly think to incorporate everyone back then. Or maybe I didn't have ideas. Well, that all will change.

I realize that this is confusing, and I try to simplify it to the best of my abilities. Honestly, I could have stopped at the first fic, but I just... Mmmmm! I wanted more! And I wanted to give more of that particular angle! Broken Louds! Damaged by some sort of tragedy, a painful event! The capability to do the heartless and deranged! That, but with more realism, which means it's all consequential and more.

This is not just a fic, but it's a whole universe put into one. Say, Linka is here, hanging with a canon character, while you have Gloom and Lemy meeting for the first time in another part of the world. Meanwhile, various others are having their own adventures, both fun and tragic. Nothing short of emotion around these here yonder parts. If anyone was able to make such a fic, it would have been done by now. I do hope I can inspire... And then some.

This is the true fic that happens before the 2026 trilogy, as it should be known. And we will get there.

---

Lyrics to Feed the Wolf, by Breaking Benjamin

---

I can feel the animal within

I chain the beast and crawl inside myself

I hear the call of violence

I sleep no more and I can't

I've lost it all

Carry me through this world alive

I feel no more, the suffering

Bury me in this cold lie

I feed the wolf, and shed my skin

I can see the Devil closing in

I choke the breath that dies to cry for help

I feel the pull of gravity

I bleed no more and rise again

I've lost it all

Carry me through this world alive

I feel no more, the suffering

Bury me in this cold lie

I feed the wolf and shed my skin

It is no longer a human!

It's a beast!

Unmerciful! Ferocious! Fearless...

You're a madman! Tampering with nature, every man's ambitions, and lust!

Carry me through this world alive

I feel no more, the suffering

Bury me in this cold lie

I feed the wolf and shed my skin

Fight the animal

---

2015

The White House was silent on the lovely weeknight, with both his Secret Service guards having been stationed just outside his office. He was looking over several different bills that had been placed onto him by some "friends" from the government branch. He had about three days to make a decision for each of them before turning them over and making them either official or not at all.

Jordan Leak was in his thirties, being a bald man with a chubby build and slight muscle, constructed with a near stone-hearted attitude that had only room for the work laid out in front of him. He did his duty as an American, and was doing more than his fair share of it. The same could not be said for much of the world, and especially not for the individual who had come to visit as part of an unscheduled appointment.

He had the bills all spread out on his desk when he heard the off-putting creaking noise that came from the closet. He stared down its way, thinking nothing of it at first. None of the windows had been opened, so it wasn't a breeze that caused it.

Not minding it the first time, he looked back down to his current objective. He began reading softly, "Now, let's see... More suitable action against-"

The closet door opened widely this time, and as he looked up to it, he could have sworn he had seen a flash of bright blue light. "What on earth?"

Leak waltzed his way to the closet and studied the hinges. It wasn't broken nor loose, and had never done such a thing before. He was sure it was closed the last time he used it, but maybe it was just him in his old age that played into hearing sounds that weren't caused by anything. Yeah, for sure. Had to be it. He left it at that and firmly closed the door.

"There we go," he genuinely commented, feeling pleased. "That ought to hold you down!"

The uninvited guest had next appeared behind him, after another bright blue flash. Leak took notice and turned around. "Don't worry, it will," the guest noted before engaging the president in an unfair fight.

Leak went down with a nasty headbutt, sprawling on the floor with such surprise that he was too stunned to call for his guards. Surely, they must have heard him fall hard, but only they didn't, due to the soft carpet layout around the room that was just too soft to let a sound be made.

The guest himself had a black backpack that he so carefully put down at President Leak's feet before he revealed a stun gun and fired it at him. Leak's body jerked around in an erotic manner, hands and legs flipping around as if they were fish out of water. "For the future of the Freights, I sentence you to death."

The President stammered about, trying to crawl towards the hall. "Freights?!"

With the click of a button on a weird belt-shaped mechanical contraption on the unknown assailant's waist, he exited the office, leaving in a final bright blue flash, followed by the explosion from the homemade bomb inside of the backpack. It devasted much of the office, sending it to rubble and debris that scattered through the rising smoke. The world would soon be awake and alerted of such news, but it wouldn't stop there.

The number one suspect of this terrorist event in nature had left behind a clear message through red spray paint on the field as various agents of the Secret Service had begun to gather on his behalf; Freights were here!

And he disappeared behind a corner of the left side of the place while many of the agents were flanking. With a push of the button on the contraption around his waist, the suspect was gone. Gone, like the peace that was then taken away in this one special night, where it only helped further escalate the world into further violence and madness, and shaping it into a whole new world.

It started here. And it would not end for another great many years to come.

---

Act I: Enter The Dawn, Chapter I: The Darkest Raid Of His Life

---

May 17th, 2030

Lincoln finally snapped out of it. The ugly coma had worn itself out, making him able to finally open his eyes and move about, only it was a slow process for him to regain the proper motor functions like he was accustomed to in the time before he had endured what felt like an eternal hell where he could not even dream the right dreams forever. Even as he had actually spend years within that particular dream world, he had only come to find that all of his dream sequences had been forgotten in just under a minute upon rising back to the living world.

There he was, the young man known as Lincoln Loud, having been returned to the world. The twenty-five-year-old had retained his odd white hair throughout the years, not ever bothering to dye his hair. It wouldn't work exactly, for he would have had to take haircuts often, enough times that the dye would be cut off with his hair. At least he was unique in that angle, for him having white hair since he was born had always made him feel like the odd one out of the group.

Spasms in his arms and legs had given him some grief, but he got back the control and moved up with a painful grunt. He was weak in this current state, until some body exercises would fix that. And to think he was a strong individual with an insane amount of strength who was near invincible.

"Aw, shit..." He withdrew the light-blue covers from his body, discovering that he was in a generic white hospital gown. He touched the fabric and ripped it. Light and fragile, almost like paper, just like he believed. Never in a million years, or when his life had taken a devastating turn for the worst, would he, Lincoln fucking Loud, imagine that he would wind up in a hospital like this.

Which begged the one and only question he had; how long had he been here? It didn't matter where he was, so long as he wasn't met with cops or FBI agents, maybe a more secretive type of enforcement.

You see, Lincoln Loud had gotten in with the wrong crowd that he didn't see as a bad influence when he threw in with them. He was part of a destructive organization known as the Freights, a collective of youngsters ranging from teens of various ages, all of which had barely met the basic requirement to be put in the anarchist category.

The Freights were as dangerous as a terrorist cell, due to them racking a body count. The Freights were killers, of course, but they aimed to cause destruction more than they cared for taking lives. Anyone caught in the crossfire of their attacks were likely to end up victims or dead, which in turn would leave devastation within the family of these said victims. That's what their goals werent; to spread about the injustice the world did not spare them from. No one was an exception. Not even Lincoln Loud or his many sisters. That was what he signed up for, but not for the whole ride.

Lincoln was here because he had seen a different perspective, which had motivated to act against his fellow Freights. He did so, but had failed ultimately. And to make things worse, the ones he didn't kill had to have known that he had come after them. But, did they think him dead now, right in this very second? Did they count him as a threat less? What was it? What was the last thing he remembered before he ended up here?

Pressing a hand to his head, Lincoln focused hard and tried his damned hardest to venture into memory lane. It hurt him, but he instantly recalled some ugly, fragmented pieces of the last fight he had with them. Him, against a number of Freights standing as a group, the second family he had once described them as, facing him with intense seriousness on all their faces. Faces of people who were well past due their expiration dates.

He missed some. He missed some and he was certain of it. Dana, Cristina, Chandler, Rebekka, and even Lori, the latter who was the oldest of many sisters the broken-up Loud family had to offer.

These particular five were for sure alive, had to be, for they weren't in range at the time he brought down the majority of the Freights, which had a hundred members at the time he tumbled them down at once. Yeah, that's what happened. He was caught well within the blast radius, where he was met with a rain of debris.

The hospital room was near dark at the time, only dimming with the light from the advanced medical machinery around. The heartbeat monitors that made a rhythm beat changed course to make the deadening flat-lining that mean tragic news. It was the only thing apart from him that made a sound.

"Fuck-" He made his way to the window frame, stretching his feet out as he made his slow first steps. Outside, the night was pitch black, and all he saw was a forest overlooking a skyline. He was on a high level, somewhere in a small town by the look of it. He calculated the jump.

Hell of a jump...

Lincoln had jumped down from high places that would have caused normal damage to him, but he had a power boost that he had stolen with one of the Freights, which made him invincible. He could probably survive it if he believed again.

Taking a few steps back from the window, Lincoln broke into a run and plowed right through, sending the window into millions of pieces. If any security happened to be guarding the room, they would have barged right in before Lincoln made his heavy landing.

Marking his fall with heavy handprints and footprints on the grass, and along with the glass sprinkles that covered the layer, Lincoln brushed himself off.

Unlike inside, the outer world was colder, had turned chilly the moment he had soared through the air and gave his skin something to react to. He shivered as he began to move quickly away from the hospital, running around through the trees and the cold grass under his feet. Where the fuck were his shoes, at least?

He wandered in circles, stumbling around in the dark as if he were a blind individual. He then stopped after three minutes trying to find his way out, drawing calm, slow breaths through his nostrils, trying to hear sound. Maybe a car engine revving by, or voices. He was near a hospital, so there had to be a road close by.

It worked for him, for he did catch wind of a set of wheels running down a road. He followed the sound, soon finding himself a narrow road, where the moon was shining down at to guide him the way.

He ran along the right side of the road, having gone behind the trees and shrubs every time a vehicle sped down the straight road, pushing past the cold atmosphere and the moist ground. The forest had ended right at a diner under the name of Abby's Warm and Toasty.

Whatever the time was, it had to be before midnight, for an open sign shone brightly in blue and red. The front parking lot was vacant, save for a 1982 Ford County Squire sleeping away, perfectly still and minding its one business.

Lincoln pushed through the dark wooden door, nearly sending it smashing against the wall as it turned nearly all the way. He forgot that his muscle made everything soft and fragile when interacting with objects on medium range. "Oh-"

There was a middle aged blonde waitress in a pink dress with a white apron who had her attention redirected to him while she was turning off the cookware machinery. "Oh, I'm sorry, mister, we're-"

"I just need to get to a phone, miss," Lincoln cut off, only thinking about getting his one and only back-up he knew he could trust. And that was none other than Clyde McBride, a computer hacker with amazing skills to back up his claims of being one, the very same one who was Lincoln's black childhood friend.

Clyde McBride, who had also known about Lincoln's activities as a Freight, and since Lincoln had sold him the truth of him wanting out, Clyde accepted it easily, moreso than Lincoln had initially believed he would have, but he didn't think twice afterwards. It was him who had helped Lincoln create the gateway back to a normal life, however normal that could be after all of this. Money wiring, off-shore accounts, you name it, he was sure to have it ready for the ex-Freight.

Luckily, the only phone booth in the diner happened to be free of charge after the waitress had directed him to it, but of course, he had slight trouble trying to remember that specific phone number Clyde had instructed him to memorize. Damn you, Lincoln Loud! He thought to himself. What was it? Three... Three something. Three one- He dialed the number as three-one-six-four-one-five-zero, but had only forgotten the area code. Maybe he needed that as well. And only after calling and letting it ring, did it pick up.

But it wasn't Clyde. It was a random citizen in the area with the same number. Now, Lincoln realized he so needed the area code. "Sorry, wrong number," Lincoln flatly apologized before hanging up.

Hanging the phone up on the rack, he let out a disgruntled sigh and made his way to a seat, still pretty much in the nude underneath the hospital gown.

"Uh, sir? I'm sorry, sir, but you need to leave," the waitress urged of him with a rising tone, sounding a little more fiercer than she had sounded to begin with. This made Lincoln a little uncomfortable and annoyed with her. His patience with people had drastically decreased to some dangerous levels, so he wouldn't have that shit tonight. He got up from the cold cushion seat, not hesitating to make it his night by shutting her up and sleeping over if possible. He didn't think of anything past that.

Fate spared the unsuspecting waitress from something horrible when a gray 2024 Lamborghini Huracan came pulling up to the diner, with bright xenon lights flashing through the windows, stunning Lincoln hard enough to cover his eyes.

The driver of the vehicle honked twice before the lights and engine switched off, and they emerged out of the super car fairly quickly. Now Lincoln could see that the driver had turned out to be none other than Clyde McBride himself, who entered through the wooden entrance.

It was definitely him alright. Clyde McBride, the adopted African American brat of two kind-hearted homosexuals, greeted Lincoln with a wave of his hand and a firm smile that, in reality, didn't really ease Lincoln's desperation to quite possibly a newer world he had returned to. Clyde had stepped foot into the diner with blue jeans and a dark red sweater, differentiating from the original look that Lincoln could still imagine him in.

"Ah, Lincoln! We need to go!" Clyde rushed.

"What the hell-?" Whatever the case, Lincoln had yet to find out for himself any and all answers for the questions that were quickly coming to mind, piling up rapidly. He took his leave and forgot about the fair waitress, who only looked on in confusion. "You gonna let me drive?"

Clyde shook his head and laughed. "You've gotta learn to tame such a beast, buddy!"

"But I already am a beast," Lincoln replied, chuckling away. He got in, calling shotgun, still feeling cold up until he would feel toasty within the next five minutes. "Checking up on me, I see?"

"I can't let you die, buddy," Clyde protested. "Not after..."

He held up a thumb and waved it back over his shoulder, signaling to the backseat. Lincoln raised an eyebrow and followed his lead. It was dark, but not dark enough that he could not recognize the other person after a few seconds of staring down at her. "Is that-?"

"Had to bring her, dude," Clyde admitted without guilt. "Look, before you say anything, I know it was dangerous to bring her, but when she found out there was an update on you, she insisted on coming."

Lincoln reached a hand to touch Lily's face. It had been a long while since they had seen each other, and the last time was a tearful one. Lily was around eleven years old when she was practically begging him to stay. Begging him to not go out and do what he planned to do. And did so with such heart-breaking tears, for she didn't want him to leave her again. Especially not after having reunited ever since-

She was warm, sleeping away, taking up the entire backseat. The teenager had been in her seatbelt up until she had fallen asleep from being awake for too long. Her blonde hair unraveled itself and concealed much of her face. Lincoln moved his gentle hand and brushed away the hair, and then felt a trail of moist liquid on her cheeks. Crying. Lily had been crying right before Clyde pulled up. Lincoln could never imagine what pain Lily had been feeling. "Sis..."

"She's been crying out of happiness, Linc," Clyde told him with ease. "We're both glad you're safe and sound."

Lincoln pulled back his hand and crossed his arms. Clyde just watched in awe and then sighed. "So, tell me..."

Clyde was reluctant to fill him in on the current situation. "Yeah, well... I figured you didn't get to see the results once you set off the bombs, but-"

"Just tell me, Clyde!" Lincoln demanded heavily, caring only to know if he finished what he started. "Are they all dead?"

Clyde pulled out of the parking lot with ease, looking over his shoulder. "Hold on," he urged, intentionally distracting himself with driving.

"You can multi-task," Lincoln hissed.

Clyde set the Lamborghini to drive, pressing the gas pedal like a maniac. "Engine roars so amazingly!"

"Be careful with my sister, man," Lincoln warned with silence. He shut his eyes and lifted his head up. "Waiting."

"Okay, look..." Clyde kept his eyes forward. "The whole Freight hideout was destroyed, and... Well, you got most of them-"

Lincoln opened his eyes and faced Clyde. "Most? What-?" He let it sink in deeply.

"Some few made it, dude. And what's more... Lori is among the surviving Freights."

Lincoln studied his best friend's face, hoping that Clyde was going for some joke. But it wasn't that at all. His face had no hint of comic purpose among his words. The blood inside the white-haired young man boiled rather quickly, fists forming away out of anger at learning that there just so happened to be survivors. And then there was the fact that he had lost time.

He lost time. Not days, not weeks, nor even months. He lost years of his life trying to bring down a chaotic faction that he was once a part of. And he didn't even succeed all the way. What the hell kind of shit was this to come back to?

"What... What year is it?" Lincoln was going to find out eventually, but he might as well have asked. "Lily's gotten older, ao I know it's not twenty-six."

Clyde sighed. "Yeah, no, it's not. Linc, it's been four years since you brought them down. You... You actually brought them down. Ever since that day, all activity has stopped, and that idea that they were founded on, it died with them."

Lincoln stared out the window, gazing into the dark atmosphere.

"You killed the Freights, which is by itself-"

"It means nothing if some survived..." Lincoln muttered. "Who survived?"

"Look under your seat, Linc," Clyde guided him. "Sorry I couldn't pack any clothes for you, but back at the safe house, you still have a wardrobe of options."

Lincoln ran his hands underneath, feeling for something. He found a newspaper article all folded up until he undid it. "What is this?"

Five Freights Captured By Authorities; One Huge Step To Dismantling The Terrorists! (Story on Page 12)

He studied the headline before going down to the large picture that took up the space for the whole page. In It, he saw five individuals standing side by side, facing towards the person taking the shot. And it looked like they were in some sort of facility. A prison, maybe. The second one on the left was the one who made him jump in his seat. "Lori!"

"And four others," Clyde reminded him. "These ones, were they in your circle of friends back there?"

Lincoln scanned his eyes from Lori, moving to identify the other four Freights in the shot. After a comment, he simply answered, "I know them."

From left to right, the five Freights were; Chandler Jacobs, a redhead who acted as one of the leaders of the Freights, particularly the group Lincoln ran with; Lori Loud, the oldest sister in Lincolns broken family, the one he had lost way long ago; Cristina McAlister, a true redhead with no sense of morale, which made her one of the dangerous ones of the gang; Dana Hall, who felt like she was misplaced, as she was the least bit troublesome of the group, but was a Freight nonetheless; and lastly, Rebekka "Becky" Letenko, a foreign exchange student who originated from Russia. She was also lumped in with Chandler and Cristina, with what being a redhead and all.

They all looked so deprived of life, it was like looking at dummies made to look like them. "Pieces of shit," Lincoln declared angrily. "Where are they now?"

"I know you won't like this, but-"

Lincoln went to the page where the full story was printed on. In a three-paragraph update, he read right through it in under a minute, followed by him angrily crumpling it up in his hands. "THEY GET TO WALK FREE?!"

"I know... They all gave the names of everyone involved or connected to the Freights. That also means the ones who ran from it, or just got too tired. And... They know about you as well, Lincoln."

The newspaper dropped from Lincoln's hands. "An educated guess? Or is it possible?" He was doing the math mentally.

"I mean, they would have had to. That, and your attempt to murder them would have also been noted to the authorities."

"You think so?" Lincoln asked.

"No, I know so," Clyde corrected him. "Before you make assumptions, the whole world thinks you are dead. Too many bodies remain unidentified to this day, which says more than enough, even with the new forensics systems. You dealt quite the blow, and it went unnoticed for awhile, until hackers chewed their way into the database, and you know what happened?"

Lincoln shook his head. "Spill it."

"Get this, dude. Most of America has hailed you a hero. All the statements were leaked, and it's been all over the internet two months after you... You know, that."

"Pfft," Lincoln went, letting out a chuckle. "Of all things, I'm a hero?"

"Well, a majority of citizens labeled you a patriot whose eyes have been opened at long last. I mean, from what they know, you gave up your life to take them all down. That's bravery to them, a great story. Why, even Jimmy Kimmel brought you up the night the files flooded all the social media you can think of."

"What about the hospital? How did-?"

"Ah, Lincoln Loud is a ghost now. I've taken the liberty and wiped everything every system had on you. School records, dental and clinic records, you name it. Of course, creating a new you, that was a challenge... Jerry."

"So, I'm Jerry, now?" Lincoln scoffed. "Next time, I'll pick the name."

Clyde opened his mouth before Lincoln had another question.

"Uh, what's my last name?" Lincoln groaned.

"I just went with Cruise. Jerry Cruise, the albino with a scar on his forehead."

"Scar? I don't have a-" Lincoln looked into the mirror and discovered a large dark-red spot on left side of his forehead. "How did I miss that?"

"Maybe you didn't feel it. Looks to be dry, but we'd better take a better look at you back at the safe house."

"Yeah, that'd be great," Lincoln agreed.

"So, yeah, I did most of the work. And to think you would be able to start a new life with the same identity."

There was a long pause between them. Things had escalated to this magnitude where there was no going back. Only... Lincoln slowly let it sink. It wasn't that this was a genuine fuck-up that would deny him a life back into regular society, but that he had already done it when he joined with the Freights in the beginning, and this stunt of his had dire consequences. He could not be the one and only Lincoln Loud from Royal Woods anymore if he was to keep roaming around. And that was what he was able to take. Only... For Lily, the fifteen-year-old girl who he had lost time with, could she live with someone who was legally dead?

Lincoln Loud was dead. So, just who in the hell was this white-haired man in the passenger's seat supposed to be now? What was he?

"Damn it..."

"I'm sorry, man. It's how things are gonna be, I'm sure..."

Lincoln eyed to the backseat. Lily was still sleeping like an angel, unaware that her brother was there. "She usually take the backseat?" He asked.

"Yeah, nothing's changed," Clyde answered. "I mean..."

"But no one's suspicious, right? No one is looking closely at her, right?"

Clyde shook his head. "She's shown no trouble in the school, nor gained any suspicion, but she said she had a boyfriend. You believe that? Little Lily has been growing up-"

"Stop talking," Lincoln growled in anger. "So, where are we going?"

Fourteen Minutes Later - The Aberrant Motel

The Lamborghini pulled up into a near-vacant motel that ran along further up the road, five miles after they had passed through the forest. Clyde took his exit after shutting off the engine, and gave his friend the honors of carrying teen Lily in his arms. The two made their way into a room on the bottom floor. Clyde took out a key, quickly inserting and turning it counter-clockwise. "This place has two beds-"

And without warning, Lily, having felt real cold to the point it woke her up, despite having a pink sweater and some green leggings, spotted big brother Lincoln carrying her like some sort of guardian, and then slammed her hands into his chest repeatedly. "OH, M-MY GOD, YOU! YOU!"

Lincoln wasn't phased by her, but took a breather and closed his eyes while Lily went on to punish him. Clyde closed the door quickly behind them, hoping to not attract any unnecessary attention.

"HOW COULD YOU JUST LEAVE ME LIKE THAT?! YOU PROMISED! YOU MADE ME A PROMISE AND YOU LIED TO ME! BASTARD!" Just like the two anticipated, Lily flew into an emotional tantrum, letting her hands fly free to smack all over her big brother's chest and face. This went on for over a minute, until she wore herself down on her own. And then the crying followed soon thereafter.

The silly blonde had nearly lost her grip on him after nearly falling out of his arms, but Lincoln ensured her safety. "Are we done now?"

"Like hell..." She pushed herself off of him, landing softly on the carpet below. "I can't believe you... You promised-"

Clyde went to the bathroom to collect a few sheets of toilet paper for the teenager, offering it to her wirelessly. Lily wiped the tears from her most cheeks, silently thanking him.

"You're right, Lilster," Lincoln agreed to. "I broke it, and..."

Now that she was more visibly clear under the yellow light that glowed from the ceiling lightbulb, Lincoln got to see her for who she was now. Lily wasn't the eleven-year-old he had deserted long ago. Times were different, and not at all in any neutral way. Not anymore. Lily had aeen better days, and could definitely use them. Maybe with Lincoln back in her life, she would come to know them again.

But inside, Lincoln hated that he had lost time with her. "There is nothing I can do that'll make up for how long I've been gone, but... I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere."

"F-fuck you!" Lily had the energy to slap him one last time, and took it. She managed it so hard that she spun off balance and fell on her ass. "Y-you promised you wouldn't leave me!"

There was no way to compensate for it, not even with all the apologies he could muster up. The young man looked down on her until he then faced away. He left her crying, taking to the bathroom. "Get me clothes at the ready," he instructed his old friend before disappearing for a long overdue shower.

Clyde sat on his bed, positioned in front of the sobbing Lily. "Hey, are you okay?"

"What do you think?" Lily asked sarcastically. "I hate him, Clyde. I hate him so much..."

"At least he's here now," the black man pointed out. "I'll never know what it's like to have a sibling, but I'm sure he will try to make it up to you. After all, he's your brother, and I know he cares about you."

"Hmph," Lily scoffed, still wiping her tears. "He has a funny way of showing it."

"Well, yeah, that's true, but he didn't expect to be gone this long. It was..." What kind of explanation was this to give to a teenager? Especially one who had no understanding of the hellish hardships Lincoln had endured from childhood up to here? Could Lily have been mature enough to understand it? Understand all the choices Lincoln made, both the regrettable and correct ones he tried to make to undo his errors? Was Lily able to see all of that? Or did she have to learn by falling, falling right into that same dark reality? "What matters is that he's here, and you should be happy."

"Maybe..." In her mind, what Lily really thought was that she had been scared and angry at the only choice she saw him make; leaving her right after she had been rescued by him. Long before Lily had reunited with her long-lost brother, she was in a sad, isolated place where she knew not of the perfect family that existed around her infant years. However close she had been with the very few members of the Loud family tree had never felt the way she wanted it to feel. Even now, being with the white knight that had broken her out of that particular hell, away from Aunt Rinn Reagan's home, had made her feel just as she had, all the same. "I wish just once he knew how I felt."

The hot water hit and ran down Lincoln's hair, gushing through his freckled face. He had torn off the silly, fragile hospital gown rather than simply removing them the old fashioned way, and had been improperly stuffed into the trash basket at the other end of the bathroom, right near the toilet. There was no shampoo for him to use, so he made due with only the bar of soap he found, not caring if it had been used before him. Whatever the case, there were more bigger issues to deal with than this.

He ran the bar around his body, thoroughly rubbing it where his skin made contact with it. For someone who hadn't showered in four years, he was quite calm as if it were simply another day.

Clyde knocked thrice on the door before entering. This was their secret code to signal each other's identity, of which was a generic but simple one to remember. "Coming in," he stated, having grabbed fresh clothes for the man of the hour.

"Understood," Lincoln cleared. "Leave them near the door."

"Uh, right," Clyde complied, setting Lincoln's fresh clothes down. "Hey, Linc? I have to know something."

"Spit it out!" Boomed the albino.

Clyde closed the toilet lid and promptly sat down on it. "What's the plan? You going to remain Jerry Cruise and raise Lily off-grid? I mean, it's the only thing I can really see going for you. Hell, I could help you out by offering you to live with me. Lily's been at my place for these past few years, you know."

"Well, I appreciate that you did that for her."

"Did you know?" Clyde was going into unexplored territory now. "Did you know something would happen?"

"You mean back there?" Lincoln thought he knew what Clyde was asking. "The takedown?"

The raining water driplets hit the tub hard, them emitting the only sound apart from the voices of the two friends. The steam filled much of the room, with some getting intp Clyde's face, kissing away his whole face and glasses, which fogged them up. "Did you think you'd come back safe and sound?"

The soap in Lincoln's hands slipped out when his hands squeezed on it, reacting from after hearing the question. Even as he was quick to answer, he gave it some thought. "I was hoping that it would have gone my way," he replied. Truthfully, he didn't know what would have happened. He had to have been fast to go in, place the homemade cluster bomb, and evacuate before alerting the other Freights. And he only had one damn chance to get it right. Many variables got in the way, and he had faced some unexpected surprises, which he hoped he made up for with his toughest decision as of yet. "My way..."

"Same here, Linc. Same here."

"Clyde... This can't end like this," Lincoln thought.

The black man was puzzled. "What? What are you referring to?"

Everything in his mind was all Freight-related hate fuel, and he, who only desired one last deed to carry out right before the remnants of his broken mind could whisper the everlasting peace at the end of this long, dark tunnel, had already decided what had to have been finished, all then and there. "I have to see it through, Clyde," he answered bluntly. "I have to kill the remaining five."

He shut off the showerhead, having concluded his long-due shower. "Lincoln, you're kidding, right?" Clyde wanted his friend to have been yanking his chain in that second, getting no quick response as Lincoln snagged on the white towel from the other side. "Linc, I can't allow this!"

"Why not?"

"You barely got out of the mess the first time, Linc! Why would you dare try to kill five ex-Freights that you have already beaten?! Why... Why would you do this to Lily?"

Lincoln wrapped the towel around his waist, gradually walking out. It was then that, when getting right into Clyde's face, that he was quite taller than him. But it didn't seem to intimidate Clyde at the same time. "You watch your words."

"Wuh-watch my-? I'm just speaking truth here, Lincoln. You barely walked away with your life, what happens if you die?"

Lincoln let out a growl, sounding equivalent to a motorboat.

"I can't let you do this again, Linc! I mean, you've won already! You've disassembled those guys and undid their accomplishments! There's no need to go after them!"

"Yes there is," Lincoln insisted. "Idiotic move made by the system if they roam free."

Clyde nodded. "Yes, but they will always be remembered as domestic terrorists for the rest of their lives, man. Wouldn't you say that's more than enough punishment they've earned?"

"Not at all." Lincoln went to the clothes, and removed his towel. "Excuse yourself."

Clyde turned away and took his leave, still insisting on keeping Lincoln around. "It's not a good idea, Linc."

"What's not a good idea?" Lily still rested against her bed, not having moved an inch from her spot. She had her phone out, but was only swinging it loosely in her hands, wondering if she could contact the boyfriend she had left back in Royal Woods.

"Nothing," Clyde lied to her, finally resting on his bed. "We'll be back in town soon, the three of us."

Lincoln had come out among the most, sporting a black shirt, tan khakis shorts, and purple socks. "Clyde, we've got to talk about your fashion choices."

"What? It's not like I had the time to find what you liked! I packed random clothes in a haze!"

Which begged a question Lincoln found himself forming. "Say, you came across me only minutes after I fled from the hospital, and knew I was at the diner. That's too much of a coincidence." He crossed his arms as Lily made a serious "cover me" face at Clyde. "What gives? There a tracker on me? No... You were already driving before I woke up... How did you know?"

Clyde sighed, taking the notion to sit up from his comfortable spot. "Lily, I think you should share what you've seen," he told the blonde teenager.

"Lincy..." Lily rose up from the floor and sat onto her bed. "It's... Complicated, and peculiar, but... I kept having these dreams, and we were both in it. Most of them are the same, where Clyde and I found you in some dinner, wearing that exact hospital gown you had on you." She stopped and looked down at her lap. "It feels crazy, almost like I went insane. Same signs, same path driven, and I always... Ended up crying. And you know what?" In the middle of it, she went back into her light sobbing mode. "I was hoping it would come true, and it felt like it was bound to. I mean, what reason would've I had them if they foretold nothing? I needed to believe it was going to become reality! I just needed to..."

Neither Lincoln nor Clyde expected the teenager to throw one of her sneakers at Lincoln. He blinked when it appeared as if it was going to strike him in the face, but it smacked against his chest instead. Lily came charging at him, bolting in those same seconds after she had swung her arm to throw the shoe. Whatever she was going to deliver, he knew he had it coming.

Only, Lily hugged her big brother, arms wrapped around his waist. She burrowed her head into his chest and unleashed the four years' worth of pain. "Y-you idiot, welcome back!"

Clyde formed a smile, flashing a thumbs up. Lincoln took the time to close in the hug, rubbing away at both her head and back. "It's nice to see you again, little sister," Lincoln soothed.

Night

Lincoln and Lily occupied the same bed, laying side by side. Lily herself was nice and comfy right under the light bedsheets, sleeping like an angel. On the other hand, and other side of the bed, Lincoln had not bothered to get under them. His time within the Freight society had granted him the ability to sleep in the most uncomfortable of places, and this was nothing he couldn't sleep through. Only... He wasn't able to get a full night's rest.

Even in the darkness, in the perfect, temporary tranquility of the atmosphere around him, the demons plagued about, coming in from every corner, every crevice, and every hole they could manage to crawl out of. They laughed, they wheezed, and they mocked Lincoln, right in the place where he had been meant to feel safe. And these demons, they weren't just random creatures, but rather the remaining five Freights that had survived his big bad blow.

The five ran around in circles, merely toying with Lincoln, mocking at his biggest failure so far. If that weren't enough, the thing that projected itself in Lori's image. "Look at you, Lincy!"

Lincoln found himself in a dark area, as if it was nighttime in the middle of nowhere. Mist was forming, which was able to conceal the other Freights. He found himself sporting a loaded handgun.

Lori gawked at him, arms crossed, built with a disappointed look. "Couldn't even do one simple thing, dear brother."

The other four Freights were running through the ghostly fog, attacking Lincoln in random patterns. "Haha, if you couldn't get us the first time..." Cristina started.

Dana came from behind and kicked Lincoln in the back. "You can't kill us at all!"

Lincoln fell on his stomach, still lingering onto his gun. He raised it, scoping out for any of the ongoing attackers. He didn't get the chance, as all four swift-moving shadows gathered on the downed albino and began giving him a proper, brutal beating.

"You could never beat me, Lincy," Lori bestowed upon him in a calm matter. "You should have died in the blast." She grabbed the gun Lincoln had kicked out of his hand, and aimed it right at his forehead. "You lose."

And when Lori pulled the trigger...

...Lincoln ended up screaming at the highest of his limit he was able to reach. Lily had somehow moved her way around his chest in the middle of the night, which he had seen briefly right before he pushed her off from him. His raging cries had indeed spooked them enough to awaken from their own slumber. Lily panicked and leaned back, confused and freaked out.

"Buddy?" Clyde reached for his glasses on the nightstand, putting them on while facing the two Louds. "Nightmare?"

"I'm guessing so," Lily thought, pressing a hand onto her assaulted ear. "You really are a Loud, aren't you?"

Lincoln brought his hands up to his face, not knowing what to find. The gun wasn't there, because there wasn't any gun at all. And upon looking around, there was no Lori or any sign of Club Freight around. "What time is it?"

Clyde picked up his phone to look. "It's like a quarter past three in the morning," he yawned. "Can you manage?"

"I..." Lincoln stood on his feet. "I think I got enough sleep," he believed. "I'm going out for a bit."

"What? At this hour?" Clyde was puzzled greatly. "Lincoln, you need to get sleep."

"Lincy," Lily moaned, reaching out for him. She curled up around him, rubbing her face on the back of his neck. "It's cold out there..."

"I won't be long, Lilster," Lincoln told her, brushing her away gently. "Get some sleep, alright? Clyde?"

Clyde stood there, wondering what to say. "I wouldn't condone this, but if it wears you out when you come back..."

"Clyde!" Lily could not be hearing this right. "I- No, you-" She bounced up as Lincoln was already storming out without seocnd thoughts. "Lincoln!"

He had left, shutting the door firmly behind him. Lily jumped up after him, putting on her white sneakers quickly.

"Lily-"

"Screw that, I'm not letting him out of my sight again!" She argued, hurrying after him.

"Guys-" Clyde protested, but was hopeless to talk them out of leaving.

Lincoln aimlessly wandered onto the road, heading away from the motel. He thought he would have this, and be alone to his thoughts, but Lily sprinted after him, running to deny him the darkness. "Lincy!" She yelled.

Lincoln slowed down his pacing. "Go back, Lily."

"I'll do anything but that, Lincy!" Lily yelled, moving to his side. "Where are you going?"

"Just a walk is all," Lincoln decided.

Lily started to get cold. If she was regretting jumping out of bed, she didn't want to make it that obvious, so she lightly rubbed her arms when her skin felt chilly. "So... A nightmare, huh?"

"Yes."

Lily waited for him to share, but when she got nothing else, she took the liberty to pry it out of him. "So... What was it, if you don't mind me asking?"

Lincoln kept facing forward, eyeing the dark nothingness of the road up ahead. "Nothing that concerns you," he shared silently.

Lily scoffed angrily and moved in front of him. "Hell no, you don't get to write me off like that! Damn you, Lincy! I wish you wouldn't be so closed with me! Does a sister not mean anything to you? Do you-?" Her eyes widened as if there was an emergency she needed to attend to. "Do you not care about me?"

It wasn't that he didn't, but Lincoln had the preference set already. Lily was a sweet and innocent girl who mustn't cross into the territory Lincoln would never be fated to leave. And this meant never, ever mentioning the Freights. Lily could never know from him directly, even if she did have some sort of idea.

Lily began to tremble in the cold, huffing heat onto her skin still. "Lincy... You do t-trust me, don't you?"

"I do, Lilster," Lincoln found himself telling her. He noticed that the cold was doing quite the number on her, so he turned around, guiding her back. "Its getting cold, we'd better...-"

"L-Lincy?" Lily felt nerves hinder at her confidence, slowing her down from going all the way. "I... Know about the Freights, and Lori-"

"You what?" Lincoln halted dead in his tracks, finally giving Lily his full attention. "Lily-"

It was that he sounded serious which frightened her enough to retract her words. "Uh, C-Clyde told me-"

"Clyde?" Lincoln grew aggravated. "Who asked him to spill those beans?"

Lily rubbed her arm. "I wanted to know, Lincy. You both said you were in trouble, and I just... I know I wasn't supposed to know, but I... I just did."

Lily had found it out herself, and brought her suspecting knowledge to Clyde, who was not one to lie by then.

He studied her, examining for her reaction. "Lily..."

"Of all the things you've done, I wished you... You didn't go back." She broke away from eye contact and looked down at the ground. "I can't ever express how much I've missed you, no matter- No matter how many times I'll say it."

Lincoln had no words to say. Lily wasn't wrong, but he didn't feel he was at the same time. What he did was what he felt he knew had to be done. For the sake of those next in line who would fall victims of the Freights, he could not standby and simply escape them. He could never escape them, no matter what he would do.

Lily let out a sneeze, which told them it was past their time to get out of the endless cold of the night. The two jogged back to the motel, where Clyde had still been awake, simply laid perfectly in his bed. "It's been fifteen minutes," he notified them.

"I don't keep track of time," Lincoln stated, returning to the bed. "I'm gonna try to get some rest."

"For the better," Lily agreed, joining him.

It didn't take dramatically long for Lily to drift off. She slowly rotated her body to grind onto Lincoln's, which he felt upon, seeing as how he was still awake.

The last time... When was it? When was the last time they had slept in the same bed? He knew he had done so, but... For some reason, it was gone. And not just that, but other things, other memories, and little details all throughout the past were simply... Gone. He laid a hand on his forehead, and ran his fingers down to where he had received that round scar. Maybe he had earned more damage than he believed. "Goddamn..."

He closed his eyes, hoping that the monsters were kept at bay. He didn't know now, but he would come to know within the next several hours.

May 18th, 2030

"What's the plan for today?" Lincoln asked as Clyde was already pulling out of the lot. Lily tuned out the world with her music, and that also meant the two men in the front seats. Just like a teenager to do so. The trio had already packed up and left, and there wasn't much that Clyde had brought to begin with. "Back to Royal Woods?"

"Yessiree," Clyde enthusiastically replied. "Lily's missed a few school days for this, and finals are coming."

"Uh," Lincoln scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, right..." Clyde felt awkward. "It's a high school and above thing."

"Lily..." Lincoln looked to the front mirror. The girl in the mirror was a high school student, entrusted with a normal, quiet life, even more of a better life than he himself had lived through. And if Lily had a fate where she would graduate, she'd surpass Lori for sure. She'd make mom and dad proud, as well. She would make him proud as well. Which was why, when he officially announced that he would finish what he started, he'd have to leave her behind a second time. A second, and maybe the last time for the sake of her well-being. "She really did grow up without me, didn't she?"

Clyde pressed on the gas pedal and stormed out of the motel, racing away to the direction of Royal Woods. "For the most part, yes. She's a saint to be around."

"I'll bet..."

Clyde coughed. "So, um, about yesterday... Were you being serious about that? Wanting to destroy the final five Freights?"

The way Clyde interpreted Lincoln's words was that maybe it was just him being angry that he didn't kill them all, and that he had to pay a toll he wasn't looking forward to pay. Why, yes, it had to be like that. Lincoln was just simply angry, but things had been drawn to a calm. And Clyde, believing this was the case, had to be sure that Lincoln was not going to throw himself in danger a second time. No reason to go out of his way to kill five individuals who surrendered to the authorities and had been destroyed and stripped of the destructive life. Wherever they were, they were over, and had fucked themselves to such a magnitude. That was the punishment received to each of them, including the notable Lori Loud.

Did Lincoln understand it? Surely he had to have gotten at least some clue that there would be no threat from them again.

Lincoln took the time to answer, but he did nonetheless. "I want them dead."

And Clyde was processing it. Not what he wanted to hear. "Lincoln, no."

"Lincoln, yes."

The sun shone brightly above their heads, but hadn't yet reached its highest point. The rays struck against the front windshield, prompting Clyde to lower the sun shade. "Lincoln, as your best friend for over ten years, I strongly advise against it! Let them live whatever lives they are going to live for the rest of their lifespans! Like, it's over, and you have a priority with your sister back there!"

Lincoln lowered the window and stuck much of his face outside. The rushing, chilly air ran into his face, blowing away at his white hair. "You're right, but I need to fix this."

"I dont understand you at all, Lincoln Loud! Again, it's over! You defeated the Freights! What more could you possibly want from that?"

His hands formed into fists, and he grew angry when that question was asked, and it was only because it made him think. No, it fucked with him. Made him wonder something else; what was to be after he went out of his way to kill them all? What was the point of roaming around the godforsaken earth? His life was no longer his life, and all he had to live with was a cover story, and nothing from the past. Lincoln Loud had died long ago, perhaps even longer than he initially believed, but returning to these thoughts again proved to enrage him.

Just who was to blame? Who was the real monster or monsters responsible for this? For where he stood today?

"It's not over until I say it is!" He bellowed loud enough to get Lily's attention.

"Did you say something?" Lily pulled out one earbud, staring at them and wondering what she missed.

Lincoln drew a blank, leaving Clyde to fill in the gaps. "Nothing, Lily. Lincoln was just-"

There was no need to lie, Lincoln felt, so he went on and decided Lily needed to know of his plans. Which was sloppy, for if he didn't reveal his plans, she wouldn't have reason to worry. "Lily, I-"

"Lincoln!" Clyde knew automatically where the big brother was going with this. "Come on, man. You just got your life back."

"What life-?" He scoffed, and then chuckled. "This is not a life, Clyde. I can't call this living if I'm destines to live a fake life with a fake name, and with quite possibly a new hair color!"

"But Linc-"

"I won't hear it, Clyde. I can't simply let this go, not for any simple reason."

"What? What are you talking about?" Lily only grew lost, rotating her head side to side. "Lincy?"

"I don't know how much you hate them, but I've gathered enough to know that it won't end well for you. It's... It's killing you, Linc! Don't you see?"

"What I see is that five maggots are still alive!"

Lily began to piece two and two together. "Five... Five are-?" And she then proceeded to piece it all together, from that one fact. "Oh, no. Lincoln?"

The albino man crossed his arms and prepared to take the heat. "I don't see why you're giving me quite the grief today. Last time-"

"Hey, I wasn't onboard back then either, but you did it because you wanted to atone for all the atrocities you've done with them. And you did just that, for the record. This... This isn't that! I can't believe you're actually serious!"

"Oh, I am, and I've been serious since before I upped with them!"

"Lincoln!" Lily did as her heart guided her to; she leaned forwards and slapped the side of his head. "You aren't doing this to me again, damn it!"

"I didn't have to if they just-" Lincoln found himself repeating the same rhyme again. "I need to, Lily."

The teenage girl grit her teeth and faced down. "It's like you really forgot about me... Back then, you said you were going away..." She punched the seat Lincoln occupied, doing so in a heavier manner. "You said you'd be back immediately, and you... You didn't come back! And now, here, you're trying that same lie again! If I let you out of my sight, you'd be as good as dead!"

"Think this through, Lincoln," Clyde pleaded. "You go after them, and it won't go unnoticed. Why, pretty soon, a person of interest matching the deceased Lincoln Loud will spread, and you will no longer be labeled a dead hero. No, you'll be wanted for what role you played in, and if that isn't enough of a hellish nightmare..." Clyde turned to Lily. "You'll be dragging an innocent into your bullshit."

It sank. It sounded so horrible, and realistic, and that's why it sank as it did now. Would there be a true victory at the end? Lincoln exhaled deeply though his nose, as if he was admitting defeat. "D-damn it..."

Lily relieved herself, taking this as a moment where he had seen perfect clarity of a dark reality. "Thank you..."

Clyde also gave himself a mental pat on the back. That's all. That's all it took to get him to stand down.

Only... Lincoln was not one to easily give in. Yes, this was all in the name of Lily, who didn't need to be roped into this. Maybe he made the wrong choice when coming to little Lily's aid, all those years ago. Just maybe, he should have let her suffer to simply spare her of this, a much worse future she could never have imagined in comparison to what she had been exposed to. Maybe Lily was better off if she was bound to get hurt in this adult game.

That was why he planned to escape when they weren't looking. Escape, mainly to finish the job. The only one that ever mattered to him. And anything that came after, he promised to pay whatever price called for.

"We'll be in town before you know it, buddy!"

May 19th, 2030

The house, after all these years, after all the times Lincoln had been there, was still standing. Once lived by both of his gay fathers, the black man had inherited it from Harold McBride, the one who made the initial purchase, coming from the will as he lay dying a few years back. No way Clyde was going to sell it, or move out of this place with many wonderful memories.

Despite all of the remodeling it went through, Lincoln could still picture how it looked back then. It felt weird and a tad out of place. He went exploring around, finding that Clyde had turned his parent's bedroom into his own, and his old room, the magical place where sleepovers were held, had transformed into Lily's room.

Lincoln expected a girly room, filled with endless pinkish colors and ponies and whatever teenage girls loved in this day and age. He was wrong. "This... Looks like it's from my old room," Lincoln thought.

He discovered more about Lily than he had thought. It turned out that there were the genes of a gamer lingering within Lily, as told in secrecy by the many posters of current and past video games that hung without life all around the room. And none of the other sisters he had were sisters who shared his hobbies. At least not until...

"So I'm a bit of a gamer girl, so what?" Lily swooped down onto an orange beanbag, laughing away. "Not only that, but..." She pointed to the closet.

Lincoln followed along and slid the closet open. He was met with a black and white electric guitar, placed perfectly on a stand. "You play guitar?"

"I mean, more or less," Lily opened up. "Been practicing for a year now."

Lincoln crashed onto her bed, and held out a hand towards the instrument. "Well? Aren't you gonna play big brother a song?"

Lily raised an eyebrow, and then had her cheeks go red on her. "I, uhhh... I'm not that great-"

"Let me be the judge of that. Bring it out, Lilster! Show me what you've got!"

Lily was reluctant, for she didn't feel like she lived up to the skill that several of her classmates expressed, sometimes even hyped. She gave him a fake smile, but had decided to go ahead and give him something of a performance. She only meant to show him the instrument, and not play for him at all. "Don't blame me if my skills are rusty! It's been awhile."

"Excuses, excuses," the brother laughed, watching her wield the electric guitar. "And make sure you amp it up!" When he said that, he didn't know if it was just his words forming before he thought the next ones, or maybe it was a subconscious command, constructed by the very memories he had of Luna being her passionate self, rocking out to the max with her own instruments. Maybe he missed that, and he didn't realize it yet. "Live up to your name!"

And just when they thought to be alone, Clyde peeked into the room, filming away at the two as they started to bond. Lincoln was in plain view, smiling away while the blonde sweetheart ran her fingers around the steel chords, playing the cover of a rock song Lincoln didn't recognize. Clyde wondered if he knew that he had missed too much stuff from the world, and maybe Lily would be the one to catch him up. Yes, her, the only sister he had left.

Needless to say, there had been enough footage to look back at as a fond memory, a keepsake of what both brother and sister still had.

After Lily had wrapped up, she disconnected the guitar from the amp and set everything back to how it had been. "Well?"

Lincoln clapped tremendously. "Oh, that was beautiful, Lilster! You're not bad at all."

"Aw, thanks, Lincy," she giggled. Then, something got her attention. "Oh, I almost forgot!"

Lincoln watched the young girl dash into her drawers to pull something out. "What?"

She came back and placed heelsef beside him, holding up a stuffed animal. Only, it was no random stuffed animal. "Is that-?"

"Say hello to Bun-Bun!" Lily cheerfully stated, moving its arms as if to wave hello. "Hiyah, Lincy!"

"You kept... Him... All this time?" His hands moved closer, extending to reach out to the stuffed rabbit he had grown up with, and left behind at some point of his life. "You had him?"

"Yes, I wasn't going to throw it away!" Lily went on. "I couldn't, knowing what it... Or he, as you aay, meant to you. And it was the only thing I had that kept your memory alive. No way I couldn't-"

Lincoln lunged to give Lily the warmest hug she had rightfully earned, while still holding the rabbit. Lily gasped, developing sparkly eyes as her dear brother showed deep affection. This hug was one of a tranquil type, and not at all one she received out of comfort to ease her pain. It was this way that he told her he loved her, in which she returned, to treasure it.

Night

He crashed on the couch of the living room, which he felt just as comfortable in as the last bed he had ever laid in. He had done his research by then, but had only gained one clue in total around the final five. Cristina McAlister was behind bars in some small town far from here, but with the super car at their disposal, Lincoln could get there in fairly quickly. The keys were left on the countertop, which he stealthily snagged before moving out.

He had ideas on how to get to her from the outside, but all were risky when he thought about it. Risky, in the sense that he would be announcing to the world of his grand return. Maybe if things went well, he needn't worry at all. This time.

He made sure Lily and Clyde had been asleep before he moved. And move, he did, only he'd be on his own the second he pulled out of the driveway. He ignited the engine, which let out a beastly growl, strong and clear enough to arouse the car lovers galore. He set the clutch in reverse, lightly pressing the gas pedal. Before long, he had been off that night, and gone with no such weapons or anything of the sort. He really was on his own.

May 20th, 2030 - Jamestown, Ohio

Cristina McAlister had been there since the fifteenth, and, as she had no one to bail her out, she was stuck there. And she had the audacity to extend her stay when she chose to further antagonize the cops who ran the precinct. She was alone, cold and gloomy in the small cell, just one of six that were located in the back.

She had only a dirty mattress and a toilet that had no toilet paper. She had to make due with her dark blue sweater, which had gone through two shit-wipes already. Lucky for her that she had only gone through a sleeve, and had ripped it off of her sweater. It made her attire uneven, but she accepted it over crying about it. Lucky for her she had never any guards come at those times. Lord knows she didn't need to be gazed upon when she went about her business.

Right now, before the untimely stranger of a past era had reintroduced himself back into her life, Cristina sat on the mattress, wide awake somewhere in the middle of night. Her eyes had developed bags, and she had a bit of a headache that gave her quite a hard time, but it wasn't due to being unable to sleep under these accommodations, but rather because she found herself to be drifting, wondering what she had to live for.

A life was destroyed. Her own. Not just her own. On her own, labeled an outcast to the family name. "Man..."

Next thing she heard was the sudden sound of glass shattering, some hard thud, and gunfire going off all at once, as if someone had flipped a switch on the volume. A shitshow was happening within the walls, and she was just a helpless worm caught in it. "Uh, hello?"

The little squabble outside ended after a minute, leaving her a little worried. She jumped on her feet and closed in on the bars, hoping to see something or someone. Was it possible that assailants had staged an attack to break her out? As much as she had known, one of the special agencies had overworked themselves to the core, having "killed" Cristina McAlister, and in her place had been someone else. Tricky stuff all around, but here, and according to the database that pulled her records, she came up as Georgia DiMartino.

"Yo, sheriff guy," the redhead called out. "Get me out of here!"

It was a lame attempt, but she figured she'd try anyway.

Lincoln came into the cell block, busting his way in with a Mossberg 500. He had fought his way in and subdued all officers in the precinct, firing slugs where he deemed necessary. A few painful moans echoed behind him as he passed through the cell block, and found a familiar face behind the last cell on the right.

Cristina gasped upon glancing Lincoln's white hair. Then, she began laughing hysterically, to which Lincoln raised an eyebrow. "What's got you laughing all of a sudden?"

Cristina fell to her knees, not being able to stand strong as she giggled fiercely away. "This- This is hilarious! Don't you see it?"

Lincoln aimed the gun at her. "All I see is someone who should have died, still somehow breathing before me."

"Hahaha, dear God!" Cristina pointed at him. "You've come all this way to see me, just to kill me! And you know what? There is nothing for you to kill, Lincoln! Nothing at all!"

Lincoln moved the barrel in between the bars, still centered on her. "We'll see about that."

Cristina was out of breath now. "I bet you want to know where the others are, don't you?"

He twitched.

"I can tell you where the others are, you know, but even so..." She began to sweat. "You are actually going to kill me because you believe that you need to, don't you?"

He remained silent.

Cristina remained sitting on her legs, letting her hands rest on her lap. "I've got news for you, little man. This won't change anything. Your little quest of vengeance, which I know this is, won't do anything for you!" Immediately, she howled back into a disturbing laugh, genuinely poking fun at him. "You will never know true peace as long as you live, you broken little war toy, you!"

Lincoln shot a slug near Cristina, serving as a warning. "Tell me where they are, Cristina."

Cristina had a giggle fit so hard that she had her cheeks go insanely red, along with her amazing set of green eyes having watered up. "You'll never walk free from this, Lincoln Loud. I promise you."

When she looked up at him, he looked right into her eyes, and saw that Cristina was not stalling for time, but truly believed what she vowed to him. She really felt Lincoln would never be free. Ans she laughed heavily because she knew. She knew.

"Dana is near Carson City, Pennsylvania," Cristina dropped willingly. "Just northside of the city, there are a bunch of high-end houses, you can't miss them." She then smiled widely and closed her eyes. "I don't know about the others."

Lincoln cocked the shotgun to reload, and took a deep breath.

"See you in hell-" Cristina's entire head jerked back after the single shot had penetrated through it, and the wall behind her had been repainted, going from its depressing gray color and into a red mess of brain matter and blood. Her facial features were gone as well, replaced by the uneven flesh rearrangement brought upon by the slug. Cristina had died before her body slumped forward, blood racing right out from what remained of her head.

Lincoln left without a thought, or the utter sensation to vomit from the graphic death. Next, Carson City.

May 21st, 2030 - Carson City, Pennsylvania

Dana Hall had been checking up on her fellow ex-Freights as often as she was able to. Lori, Chandler, and Rebekka stuck together, but Cristina, a true troublemaker, went off-grid and out of contact, despite her having Cristina's contact info. It had been some long years after the fall of her many destructive comrades, and, running away with a duffel bag of dough, she established a quiet life in a nice, big house just outside of the city.

She was a brunette who didn't know what she wanted, or what to do. With the leftover money she had, she knew it wouldn't last long. She'd have to get back into the real world, after so many years of battling against the world, alongside a horde of outcasts. An outcast herself with no real life experience, apart from having a part-time job once. How did she get here?

She learned as she went along, and did fairly okay for herself, and with the new identity she had to adopted, she had been given just one chance to do right. And that, she took with no hesitation or second thoughts.

Dana developed quite the guilt for her role she played, so she took it upon herself to request a list of victims made freshly from the wake of the Freights' attacks. She found the Fox kids that way, a group of quintuplets left as orphans which she had taken under her wing. The five kids, consisting of Jay, Jared, Jasmine, Jasper, and Jake, were all thirteen now. All the kids were built with brown hair, but their eye colors were either blue or green, and all boys were the same height of 5'4, with Jasmine being two inches shorter.

She raised them, but couldn't fully embrace a motherly role, so there was no real bonding with the five kids. It wasn't like they thought of her as a surrogate mother. At most, she was just someone who looked upon them with pity. Only, Jasmine was grateful to have a roof over her head, and the orphanage they found themselves in wasn't the best home they've been in.

Currently, Dana had brewed hot cocoa for the younglings, and served them out two at a time, doing it a few times. She finished up and sat down next to Jay and Jasmine. "I hope it's to your liking, guys," Dana said with a cheery tone.

Jay took a big gulp from his glass, taking it in while it burned his tongue. "It's pretty hot!"

"Blow on it, idiot," Jake passed at him, while Jared laughed.

"Oh, but I like it that way," Jay lied.

"Are you sure about that?" Jasper tested. "I mean, are you absolutely suuuuure?"

"Please be quiet," Jay shot back before he took another gulp.

"You are embarassing," Jasmine grunted.

Dana let out an innocent laugh, finding the company of her adopted kids amusing. They helped her get back on her feet, but did so in a slow fashion. She had forgotten what it was like to laugh, and have some grade-A great times to treasure. It was one of the many things she had come to wonder for the other four. She hoped they had come to realize what it was that they were missing. Maybe they had known, but had never acknowledged it, as it went both ways. Could she have afforded to get hurt by her own accord back then?

Her phone vibrated flat on the table. "Hm?"

Picking it up, she checked to find it was a text send by "L-Girl", which was the name she assigned onto Lori's contact;

Did you hear about Cristie?

Attached to the text was an article link. Dana clicked on it, and found herself redirected to the article on her browser;

Local Precinct In Jamestown, Ohio Attacked; One Dead, Many Injured

In the late hours of last night, an unidentified male suspect, as seen by multiple witnesses, had come in and attacked the officers. Said suspect is described is his mid-twenties, with a scar on the right side of his forehead, and some white hair-

She stopped. And re-read. White hair. Those two damn words were the keywords that brought her the horrifying realization that the suspect could have been none other than Lincoln Loud. "Oh, my God."

The kids turned to her, following her with the serious tone. "What's going on?"

Dana went back into the thread, already having filled in the pieces. She sent a reply to Lori, fearing of what this meant;

Did he... Get her?

She gulped after sending it, and put her phone back down on the table when a sudden knock madecher jump out of her chair. "Dear God!"

"Hey, what's going on, Miss Anderson?" Jasmine asked.

"I, uhhh..." She stuttered.

Jay got up and decided to play nice guy. "I'll get the door."

"No, wait!" Dana stopped him all of a sudden, grabbing him by the shirt. If she hadn't spooked them, she certainly had by now. "Wait..."

Lincoln knocked again, this time hitting the butt of the shotgun against the door. "Dana Hall!"

It was. It is. It sounded just like Lincoln's voice, as if he hadn't changed or grown up since she had last seen him at the Freight hideout. "Oh, my God, no!" She panicked and pointed to the basement. "Kids, up! Up now, get behind me!"

"What? Why, who is that?" Jasper squealed.

Dana rushed towards the basement entrance, and pulled a key she had on around her neck. She bent down and inserted it, while continuing to give instructions. "I knew it, I knew he couldn't have died!"

"Who couldn't have died?" Jasmine was quaking nervously while Dana acted to protect the kids from some unknown menace banging on the front door. "What's going on?!"

Dana rushed inside the basement, switching on the lights. She picked up a backpack on the right side after reaching downstairs, ans gave it to Jared, who was the closest boy behind her. "Listen, this has all the information you need. Don't open this until you all cross together."

"Cross? Cross what?" Jake scratched his head, eyeing the backpack Jared held.

"It's a little heavy..." Jared yelped.

Dana went further into the basement, which the kids were only seeing for the first time. The basement had been off-limits, for reasons they didn't know. But being kids with manners, the Fox quintuplets agreed to not pry around the mystery, even as curious nature allowed them to be. They didn't find any of the stuff they assumed had occupied the basement. Most of it was actually empty, save for something large concealed by a tarp at the far end of the dusty basement.

"What is that?" Jasmine wondered in amazement, staring at her brothers. "Is that...?"

Dana tugged on the tarp, removing it away from whatever it concealed, revealing a large contraption that looked like it belonged in a science fiction movie. The contraption, a U-shaped device with a pad on the right side of the thing, had been activated quickly. The machine hummed lightly, signaling the start-up sequence. "Listen, kids," Dana commanded strictly. "This machine is going to take you elsewhere, far away from here and now."

"Far away? What do you mean?" Jasmine had no clue what Dana was on about. It was too much and too fast for her to catch up and process, just as it was for the rest of them. Dana was acting quite weird and nervous on their behalf, and it occurred right after the sudden stranger had come in unannounced. That led her to believe that Dana withheld some secrets from some past event or events. "D-did you-?"

The machine put up a blue oval in between both metal pillars, which began swirling around as if it consisted of water that gravity had no effect on, a sight truly inexplicable.

"What the hell?" Jared's mouth went agape in solid amazement.

"Inside, now!" Dana had set in the date in the machine's screenpad. "Hurry, you've got yourselves a mission!"

Dana's heart gradually sunk, having to let go of five good kids for the single purpose that would benefit her, and spare many others, both Freights and some victims of the gang. She had been warned only once that Lincoln hadn't died, and was going to go after the survivors in due time, but she didn't believe it. She didn't, and even so...

Dana acted with precaution, praying that such a possibility was unlikely. It was, until tonight. Tonight, when Lincoln Loud had now broken into her home and started clearing the rooms on top floor. "DANA HALL!"

"D-Dana Hall?" The kids thought they heard wrong, eyeing "Megan Anderson" with confusion. "Who... Is that your-?"

"Inside!" Dana boomed, pointing to the portal. "Now, kids-"

Lincoln began thrashing the place, calling for Dana's attention. He had found no sign of life within the rooms, and neither the living room. He had lowered the shotgun when he directed to the kitchen, and then raised it back up when he smelled the faint smell of hot cocoa coming from the table. Six glass cups gave away six individuals that weren't too far away. He came across the opened basement at the far end of the kitchen, only to be surprised by the engaging Dana.

"LINCOLN!" She pounced on him, attacking him with nothing but the perfect set of teeth she showed off with a great smile. She bit into his neck, which was just as fast as him firing off one of the last shells. She was struck on her waist, with the shell having pierced through. Her lavender sweater with white stripes had been ruined this way, but Dana wasn't out of the fight yet. She held onto her clean-shot wound, applying pressure to it with one hand while trying to throw a punch onto Lincoln as fast as she could.

Needless to say Lincoln had gotten the upper hand and battered her jaw with the shotgun's powerful butt. It hurt her enough to get her in a case. Lincoln wielded the firearm back in place and fired another slug at Dana's legs, which hit right above her left leg's kneecap. She let out a severely harsh cry and reverted to limping while she bled.

"You really made it out alive! And here I was thinking you were at peace!" Dana stumbled over, now dragging herself to Lincoln's legs. "S-son of a bitch!"

"Where are those others?" Lincoln waved the shotgun back at the table, referring to them by the cups.

"Th-they're just kids, Lincoln, I swear!" Dana didn't know whether to attack or plead for mercy. She considered the well-being of the kids, praying that the quintuplets had all entered into the portal before Lincoln discovered it. All she needed to do was to get to the trigger now. "Hey, hey-"

Lincoln pushed the bleeding Dana back, calmly moving to the basement. He reloaded the shotgun before waltzing down the creaky steps. While he didn't find any children down there, he did come across the big contraption and the blue oval it formed before him. "What the hell is-?"

And for a faint second, the flash of white and orange came out of nowhere, and the force of the explosion send him flying backwards.

Dana crawled her way to the staircase, firmly watching Lincoln seemingly die from the remote bomb she concealed within the wall behind the contraption. A second one went off in the kitchen, which went on to claim her now. She smiled in the last second before death, feeling all was well in the world. Her burning body had gone flying right over Lincoln's head, splitting right on the ground. As for the weird blue oval that was there before, it dissipated completely, and the projecting machine had been destroyed with the blast. And Lincoln was left with one question; where did the others go? Did they, these kids, manage to escape? He surely hoped that was the case.

The house had gone through a chain of multiple explosions before he made his eacape, and by the time he raced away, the house had been ravaged greatly from the inside, fires still burning brightly. He had parked Clyde's hot ride two blocks away.

The quiet area turned to a noisy atmosphere, where cop cars and a fire truck had come blaring their sirens right up to Dana's house. He left before that part of the area had been closed off.

Two down, three to go.

With no clue on where the final three were hiding, Lincoln decided to head back to Royal Woods, where he was sure Clyde and Lily awaited him. At this point, he didn't knkw how angry they'd be, but they'd have well been past the point of words. And in a beautiful example of coincidence, he was stopped by a black 2021 Dodge Challenger that went out of its way to block Lincoln. He honked on the horn and lowered the window. "MOVE IT, FUCKHEAD!"

"LINCOLN!" The driver came running out, charging at Lincoln's side. This time, Lily had skinny jeans and a purple sweater on her. "YOU PSYCHOTIC BASTARD!"

Lincoln set the vehicle in park. "H-how did you...?"

Clyde emerged from the backseat slowly, greeting Lincoln with a dreadfully silent look. "Baby has a tracker, Linc. You didn't think you'd get away with it, did you?"

"Hmmm..." Lincoln didn't consider that. Clyde really did think of everything.

"Lincy, why did you...?" Lily placed her hands on the car door. "Please stop it, Lincy."

"That's enough of your foolishness, buddy. We've been following your trail, and you've basically told the world you're alive and going after the last of the terrorists."

"You let Lily drive?"

Clyde sighed. "Don't do that, Linc. Come on, bud, we can still head back to Royal Woods. You... You're just making a mess of things."

When he blinked, Lincoln saw the laughing demons again. Lori, Chandler and Rebekka frolicked about, circling the shadow of the man that was left of him. He opened them just as quickly, denying them mental time. "I can't..."

"You can't come back...? Or won't?" Clyde corrected.

Lily opened the door and tried to pull him out. "You're coming with us!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Lincoln!" Lily put her foot down for the last time, punching him in the face. "I tried to slap some sense into you." Then, she turned around and shook her stinging fist. "Ow, ow!"

"So... Who's left?" Clyde asked the killer.

"Lori, Chandler, and Rebekka," Lincoln answered.

Clyde looked to both sides of the street mindlessly. "Jesus... You really aren't gonna stop, are you?"

"I already told you, Clyde. I will not stop until I've killed them all."

"Oh, my God, he's that hopeless," Lily groaned, throwing her arms up and giving in. "Come on, man."

"If I can find their location, will you come back after you've ended them? Will this... Senseless quest of vengeance end?"

Lincoln made deep eye contact with the young black man. His blue eyes glittered with a sort of hatred that could only be depicted from him. Such a resolve, such a conviction, and such motivation. It was crammed into the darkness of his eyes, and Lincoln was centered to see it through to the end. "Yes," he admitted from the bottom of his darkened heart. "It all ends with the three."

Clyde had already fixated on the location from the remaining trio of ex-Freights. He had every reason to withhold that information for the sake of both Lincoln's and Lily's lives, but Lincoln, being his stubborn, persistent self, couldn't be stopped. He and Lily gave their attempts through sentiment, but they couldn't try to the point they would resort to brutal tactics he was familiar with. "Okay..."

"W-wait-" Lily thought she had misheard Clyde. "You can't be serious?!"

"I've been covering much of your track, Lincoln. I hope you know that." Clyde pointed to the Challenger. "Lily's been driving while I've been toying with my custom software, sneaking around backdoors of multiple databases. I've missed news outlets and such, mainly because I have never had to bite my way into those. Sorry."

"That's fine..." He didn't think it would mean too much to anyone who read it, apart from conspiracy theorists and some skeptical officials. Would anyone bat an eye his way? Would those who worked in the high departments catch wind, or let alone suspect he was actually alive under these circumstances? In any case, whatever happened was going to.

As long as... As long as Lily was one to not pay the price for his actions. Her just being here with him meant a great deal on itself, as well as her having been related to Lincoln Loud, the Freight. They'd never live it down with her, if it became clear of the relation.

"Are you going to-?"

"The Mystic Plaza, in Brooklyn, New York," Clyde dropped. "Yellow building with thirty floors. You want room three on the sixteenth floor. They've been a trio for quite some time, I guess."

"Oh? That saves me the trouble of going to three different places in total. How convenient." Lincoln smiled widely. "Hey, I don't suppose you have anything on you."

"What, like a weapon?"

The shotgun had only one last round, and he couldn't even use that in a populated area. He had been fortunate to have taken two old comrades out with nothing to begin with.

Clyde shook his head. "Not even a knife for you, sorry."

""I guess I'll make due with my hands," Lincoln thought. "Better get going."

Clyde looked back at Lily, who had already gotten back inside the driver's seat. She had been eerily starting at him, with discontent in her heart until he faced her, making her look away. The teenager was too immensely bothered by the trials against her. "Listen... If you're going to go, Lily and I are tagging along."

Lincoln slammed his hands on the steering wheel. "No! This isn't your fight!"

Clyde narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "It wasn't, but you roped us into this by making us chase you! We couldn't allow you to screw up whatever life you could possibly have! And I'd do what it takes to maintain a shadowy lifestyle for you, without every reporter, cop, or angry relatives of the dead you left behind right on your ass!"

Lily stuck her head out the window. "Yeah, you tell him, Clyde!"

"Idiocy, I'm not gonna-"

"You get no choice in the matter, I'm afraid," Clyde cut off. "You're not gonna desert us as if we're just thing you can put away easily. And if you run out on us, I will report this sweet Lambo as stolen. Call it insurance.'

Lincoln grunted, for the genius of the two had actually gotten a checkmate this way. "Goddamn it..." He had no choice but to accept. "I want you to stay out of the fight when we arrive, got it?"

"Yeah, we're not stepping foot in the hotel," Clyde agreed.

Lincoln raised an eyebrow. "It's a hotel? Huh, so they're living fancy, are they?"

"Well..." The black man raised his skinny shoulders. "It doesn't make them fancy."

"Heh," Lincoln chuckled. "That's actually funny."

"So..." Clyde was being obvious about what he wanted his friend to confirm. "Will you give me back my wallet?"

"Fine, just..." Lincoln handed it to him, despite him having nabbed half of the money in his pocket, and motioned his hand toward the blocking vehicle. "Can you tell her to-?"

Clyde held a thumbs up to Lily, who in turn reversed back into the correct lane. "Don't ever think we won't be far behind!"

"I don't suppose you want me to follow you?"

Clyde scoffed. "You'll be first. And, if you try to lose us, we'll still know where you'll be. I doubt you can find the tracker easily."

"Hurry up, man. I've got some friends to reunite with."

"Right..." Clyde returned to his other car, getting into the passenger seat. "You're following him."

"Following him into the danger, was that really a good idea?" Lily began to have doubts about the layout of their plans.

Lincoln was off again, driving off into the night.

"I know, but he has to see that he can't do everything himself. I hate this as much as you do, but we really can't stop a person like that. You saw that he ran away to kill McAlister and Hall, and he did just that without hesitation..."

Lily did a U-turn where she was able to, following after Lincoln just up ahead. "He's still the Lincoln I know... Isn't he?" She whimpered.

"He will be, I hope," Clyde answered in a whisper. "Don't worry, Lily. Things will be okay soon enough. I'm more than positive that'll be the case."

"I'll keep driving, and you should take a nap or something," Lily suggested. "I've got this."

Clyde yawned. "I do need my sleep," he yawned, removing his glasses and moving the seat down. "Wake me in a few hours."

"No problem," Lily agreed.

May 22nd, 2030 - New York City, New York

Car horns. The chatter of people. And echoes. Lots of echoes disturbed him from his everlasting sleep. When Clyde woke up, he did come to find that he was gradually alone. Wherever Lily had gone, she had gone with Lincoln. At least, that was what Clyde thought when he found the car keys left in the ignition, right for him to see when he was finally up. Not even a note had been left for him, rather the garbage of the mess.

"Are you kidding me?!" He screamed, unheard by anyone inside the parking garage.

Lily had left Clyde, guided by Lincoln under the reasonable idea to have him keep watch on both hot rods, seeing as how they both parked next to each other. Such a vehicle like those were guaranteed hot enough to commit theft to. But the main reason for Lincoln was that this was more for tactical escapes. If they had chosen to park in or near the Mystic Plaza, they'd be seen by countless. witnesses who would label them suspicious. Ergo, they had to leave their cars pretty far, relying on a commuter to get there.

It was a busy morning for them, but not a quiet one at that. People crowded all over the sidewalks, streets, and even when they crossed the street. Lily kept bumping into fellow strangers as she and Lincoln were getting to the commuter station, having already analyzed their pathway from a map Lily had come across.

"Stay close, Lilster," Lincoln warned from in front.

"This is gonna take awhile, isn't it?"

They had reached the platform of the local commuter, standing right next to a formed crowd of civilians after buying a pair of tickets. When the white, three-car commuter train arrived, the two Louds entered inside as outgoing commuters rushed out and into the crowd. Only, the combined force of the businessmen managed to block and push Lily away from Lincoln, long enough for him to take notice when he called out for her. "Lily?"

Lily had to resort to her untapped strength she considered un-ladylike, and was about to jump into the train when the doors slid shut, separating both brother and sister in such an inconvenient manner and time. "No! Lincy!"

"Next stop! Go to the next stop! I'll be there!" He hoped he heard her through the glass panel built into the sliding doors. She confirmed his commands by giving a quick nod.

Lincoln had lost his cool tenfold, and was recuperating it back inside slowly. He looked around for a seat, but found that all riders had occupied them, with a select few actually standing. And then, in the corner of his eye, he saw something he figured he was hallucinating. "Huh?"

Lori, Rebekka, and Chandler were huddled together, at the far end of the car. He found them, and then turned around to avoid being detected by the likes of them. All three of them, there and united as a collective of evil. A trio of danger.

Lori, in a dark green jacket and tan shorts, felt something was off the second the commuter rolled off again. Not a text or a call from Dana had given her quite the bad omen she made this out to be in the first place. Just what were the chances that Lincoln, her younger brother, was roaming around freely to continue that which he had started long ago? Could it have been true, or was an impostor picking up where he failed? To think hard about it had made her hurt a shit-ton, mainly because her brother, one such person she thought had cared for her, had decided to forsake her by carrying out the death order. And he tried. He really did try to kill her. And it broke whatever there was left of her. She knew from then on that Lincoln was no brother of hers thereafter.

Whatever was happening, she hoped that some psychotic fanatic was behind the death of Cristina McAlister and the sudden disappearance of Dana Hall. Her brother could not have been alive after all these years... Could he have?

Rebekka Letenko, a short-haired redhead, had worn a blue tank-top and black pants, brushing off the coldness quite easily. Her specialty happened to be toughness, which came from being a natural-born Russian trapped in the hells of America. She, having arrived as a foreign exchange student, learned a fair amount of English to be considered fluent, but maintained a hint of her accent that would be questioned if ever noticed.

Chandler Jacobs was, well, Chandler Jacobs. The snotty man-brat with a dick attitude, and somehow he was seen as leader-potential among the club Freights. He was dressed in a baggy blue sweater, some gray jeans, and an orange hoodie, feeling as lucky as a loan shark on this fine day.

Only, it wasn't so much as a good day for them. They were on edge, concerned about what vastly unfolded before them. Someone was going out of their way to kill them one by one, and they had all known it.

Lori raised her head towards the many city people inside with her, and spotted the long set of white hair on a faceless individual. She squinted her eyes, believing it to be her mind playing a trick on her. "Luh-"

And Lincoln half-assed it by turning around, letting Lori know that it was actually him. Their stare-down happened in such a sharp manner. The daggers were coming from Lincoln, striking away at Lori while the sensation of adrenaline ruptured throughout her body. In that moment, she knew great fear again, so much that her heart was bound to come beating rapidly out of place. She stood up from her seat and screamed.

Chandler and Rebekka looked to her, and followed the thing her eyes were centered on. "Holy shit-" Chandler yelped, sounding equally alarmed. "It's him!"

Rebekka took out a 1911 handgun from the under Chandler's sweater, wasting no time to unload it onto Lincoln. "Die already!" She roared as she fired at him.

The passengers who were in between both parties moved out of the way, and some were lucky to have a head start when the gun came into play. Rebekka shot three civilians in the process, all while Lincoln avoided her shots by moving around. The commuter train began to slow down, stopping right as Rebekka had emptied the entire clip. She missed him, but five people had been hit at the end of her blind target practice, with two of those being dead. And Lincoln remembered this was the reason he was after them to begin with. "REBEKKA!"

"LINCOLN!" Rebekka kept clicking until she accepted the gun was empty, and rushed him, throwing the gun at him before she went for a kick. He shielded himself from the firearm but took a foot to his abdomen, sending him back into the corner. Once the commuter stopped, all the passengers began rushing out, screaming away from the train, save for the wounded ones.

Lori and Chandler remained still in the other end. "Go help her!"

"What? She just used the gun!" Chandler shot back. "I told you we needed one for each of us!"

Lincoln countered a swing and grabbed Rebekka by her arm, dragging her right onto the window. He battered her head along the glass until it shattered after four hard tries. Rebekka dangled over the window, bleeding profusely from her head. Just when it looked like she had been beaten, Lincoln granted no mercy and ran her neck across the window pane, where her throat was slashed in pieces by the fragments of glass. She choked as blood flooded in her mouth, making her heave it out as she pushed herself off from the window, falling weakly on her back.

"L-Lincoln..." Lori had just witnessed it, and even then, she couldn't believe it was really Lincoln. "Stop..."

Lincoln stood over Rebekka, watching her helplessly try to stop the bleeding from her neck with both hands. He needn't go further, as he was sure Rebekka was already dead.

"Bastard!" Chandler took a daring step forward. "Why can't you leave us alone?!"

Lincoln looked to the other bodies dropped by Rebekka. "Don't be stupid, you knew you'd have to answer one way or another."

Lori twitched at it. "We... We paid for our actions! We've all paid!"

Lincoln maintained his distance as Lori moved forward. "Clearly, you have not."

"Lincy!" Lily's voice broke Lincoln's focus for a few seconds. Lori found a brief opening and charged to attack him, breath shaking heavily. But the source of the voice, a familiar teenage girl, came rushing to his aid, shoving right into Lori. Lily successfully knocked her down and rejoined Lincoln's side. "Are you okay?"

"Lilster-!"

"L-Lilster-" Lori repeated, finally realizing that the teen was Lily. "Lily?"

The sound of sirens started to fill the airwaves, meaning bad news for all four. "Hey, Lori, we should get out of here," Chandler suggested frantically, stretching his hoodie lower.

"I don't think so," Lincoln denied, looking behind him. Lucky for him that he boarded the first car, which put the conductor's controls in it. It had been left open for him to enter and use, and that he did, moving a lever to start up the commuter. "We're going for a ride, scumbags."

Chandler was almost close to leaving, but Lori shot him a death glare that promised consequences should he jump out. "Lori, come on!"

"No! He'll keep following us should we run away! This has to end here! It has to!" Lori raised her fists as Lincoln came back to meet her. "Fight me..."

Lincoln's blue eyes opened wider, mouth going agape to reveal his gritting teeth. "Fight..."

"Just like old times!" Lori then charged at him, throwing the first punch to which Lincoln blocked easily. She rerouted it, turning it into an uppercut from below, getting a solid strike from this. Lincoln's head bobbed backwards, enough time for Lori to throw an additional set of hard punches to his stomach. The third one backfired on her when Lincoln caught it, yanked her hard and delivered a hardened headbutt special to her face, breaking her nose. "Yargh!"

"Take it!"

Lori cupped her face, moaning from the broken nose and the blood flowing from it. "S-son of a bitch!"

Lincoln rushed her and pinned her hard to the ground, choking her out. "Fucking stay dead!"

"Hccck!" Lori grew weak, trying to push Lincoln away with her arms. The more she pushed, the more energy she felt vastly elude her. She flopped her arms all directions, hanging onto dear life. Chandler was frozen stiff, specating like the statue he'd been rendered as.

Lily twitched when it was made apparent Lincoln was not going to let the woman live. She made a step forward, stomach churning as she advanced. "Hey... Lincy..."

The life drained rapidly from Lori's beautiful blue eyes, pleasing the broken brother more and more as he kept squeezing her throat, depriving it from all the oxygen in the world. The glitter in her eyes told him that she didn't know she was already dead. She bought it. She bought into the lie, the self-deception, in which she played a role in being some human who could return to the crowd of nobodies, forever damned and destined to wander about, dragging the boulder of her regrets and burdens.

She didn't want to die, but also didn't want this to end in the inevitable death Lincoln promised long ago. It didn't have to be like this... So how did she get here? Why didn't she take the offer that could have changed this outcome? She... Failed him back then, which was why he was now letting her down. Literally.

She let out a tear that came from her left eye, running down into her ear. And closed her eyes.

"Lincoln!" Lily bumped into him, knocking him off balance. "She's still my sister!"

"Lily, don't interfere-" The commuter crashed into a passing trailer truck, storming right through the trailer. The impact send all four passengers down hard as the train had dramatically decreased. If any cops had given chase, they'd be surely catching up right about now. He and Lori had slid into the front end of the train, and Lily had somehow remained in the middle. Chandler had held onto the seats when he, the only one in view of what happened behind them, was quick to take action.

He was the first to get up, and to unveil the mystery prize he concealed with his baggy sweater; he had a vest composed of explosives, aimed to be for precautionary purposes. "Lincoln!" He took out his phone, revealing it to be the trigger. "We're going to walk away freely, or..."

Lily ended up being snagged, held as a hostage by the mad Freight. "Lincy!"

"We all die! You, me, and the girls! I know you wouldn't want little goldilocks here getting fried, would you?" He slowly moved to the exit, just as the train began picking up speed again. "Stay where you are, don't follow us!"

Lori began crawling her way to Chandler, still bleeding from her nose. "Help-"

"We're going, Lore, we're leaving-"

Lily steadied her breath and gasped. "Close... Close the door b-behind you..."

Lincoln's eyes shot wide open. "Lily?"

"What?" Chandler was baffled, and Lori raised an eyebrow from below.

"I'm sorry, Linc... I didn't mean to get here..." Lily lowered her panicking hands after hopelessly trying to break Chandler's grasp. "I didn't know that I'd be here in... In this situation-"

She wouldn't be able to sleep if she lived to see the two get defeated and killed by Lincoln. It was too dreadful and awful to even gaze into that bloody pit of darkness and despair, and even worse to see someone she loved participate in the pit games with pure ease. She wouldn't allow herself to be at peace if she saw it, so she made the one move that could spare her from it- And at the same time, there was a big price to pay. This, over facing the fact that her brother was the monster she could no longer deny, was chosen over it.

Lily elbowed her captor and turned around, tugging at the wires of the rigged vest. "Take cover, Linc-!" She pushed the horrified Chandler out of the train, along with herself just as the explosives detonated. The two became burning bodies in the matter of seconds, and the fire extended past Lori, who screamed in agony as she burned on the ground. Lincoln fell back into the control room and tried to shield himself from it. He, too, received some burns below his neck, but it wasn't all too serious. Parts of his clothes were burned quite enough to leave holes. "Lil- Lily!"

Lori had screamed out the worst of her blood-curdling cries as the fire further damaged her. She might've actually been dying, and Lincoln didn't bat an eye to her. He went back out to see a large chunk of train missing after being blown apart from Chandler's vest.

"LILY!" Lincoln saw no sign of his sister around. The bodies had been left behind, no doubt. And in no way was there a chance Lily had survived that. She couldn't have, and didn't at all. Lincoln staggered about the slow-moving train, lost on the last seconds he had seen Lily. And replayed it slowly. She died, doing so to-

He held his hands up to his face and figured out the sacrificial equation. She died to save him, and what little of his soul he had left. And he closed his eyes in pure disbelief.

Oh, Lily...

One Hour Later

He walked with that shit on him, heading back to the exfil point. Clyde had no idea what happened, hopefully he didn't make a move on his own and drive to the hotel. Not that Lincoln was wondering if he knew or not. The problem was having to explain that he had lost her, and he had done so all willy-nilly. It was going to be his fault that Lily had been killed. And he didn't need to be reminded.

Clyde had made a move of his own, which was actually driving around the city to find them. And after some time, lo and behold! He had found Lincoln strolling along the sidewalk, looking completely dead, with his clothes having seen better days. He honked the horn and alerted the young albino. "Lincoln!"

"Uh?" Lincoln didn't have to turn to know it was Clyde. On cue of his voice, the devastated soul wandered into the street to get in the muscle car. "You've got a tracker on me, too?"

"No, I was just looking all over for-" He noticed the missing person. "Hang on, where's Lily? You didn't lose her, did you?"

He was petrified, and gave no look or answer to Clyde.

"You did, didn't you?" Clyde demanded, driving off again.

Lincoln looked down.

"Honestly, I can't believe you! Looks like we'll have to play hide and seek with her."

"Mm!" Lincoln went, looking down at his feet. "I... Lost her..."

"Yeah, I know you did!" Clyde turned the left corner, entering another street. "We're going back to the-"

"No, Clyde. I didn't lose her, I... I lost her..." He admitted softly.

The young black man suddenly hit the brake pedal and understood what Lincoln meant. It took him several seconds to process and accept. "Y-you mean Lily is-?"

"THAT'S WHAT I FUCKING SAID, GODDAMNIT!" Lincoln thrusted his fists right onto the glove compartment, seething in rage. "FUCK!"

"How...? Did you two come across-?" He turned to look at Lincoln, but the albino had too much shame to return the notion.

Lincoln hyperventilated, withdrawing back into a calm state. "I'll... I'll explain everything."

Clyde formed traffic behind him, forgetting he had stopped in the middle of the street. The car behind him honked desperately, bringing him back to the driver's seat. "Oh, crap!" He said, speeding away.

Lincoln looked down to his burned, black shirt. The explosion had left a crescent-shaped hole right on his chest, as if some mysterious force was branding him. "Hey, what does this look like? The quarter moon?"

"...Linc?"

"Hmph..." He pressed a hand to his chest. "We... I'm sorry we had to leave you, but I saw fit to do so..."

"Linc..." Clyde sighed.

"But we boarded a commuter, right? We got separated, and Lily was left behind. So I'm there, right? Inside and alone, but I looked around. I looked, Clyde..." Lincoln began to motion the scenario with his hands, to exchange glances with him to see if he understood. "I looked, and I saw them. All three of them are at the end of it. Lori saw me, and before I knew it, the shooting-" He froze, eyes finally sparkling red for the first time. "No, no, no!"

Clyde had stopped on a red light, finding the time to eye his breaking friend. "Linc...?"

Nothing in the breaking tone of voice had told both men it would be okay. A family member had paid the price for Lincoln's actions, when there should not have been one to begin with. It was crazy, downright insane of fate to have done such a thing. To have swiped the life of a sad little girl who had but only one wish, and that was to have her brother back. Fucked up, completely fucked up. An evil design, carried out by some higher power he didn't understand or accept in his heart. Lincoln paid the toll for his revenge, and wanted to cheat on it.

He brought his hands to his face and went silent into his palms. "I couldn't... I couldn't do anything to save her, Clyde," Lincoln wailed.

Clyde gave him a gentle pat on his shoulder. "I'm... I'm sorry, man."

"I couldn't do it... I couldn't save her, and it's just... It's just like that other time... The fire..."

Clyde centered his eyes back on the road, steadily driving again when the light went green. "You did try, didn't you?"

Lincoln sniffed visibly. "I didn't try hard enough."

It hurt him because he had to explain it how it went, and he realized once more that it happened. It was God-awful, and Lily was to never return again.

"Ahhhh, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He broke.

"We have to stay, Linc. We need to get the body before it gets tagged. They'll find out who she is and put two and two together. First, we've gotta book us a room."

Lincoln rubbed his eyes. "Do what you've gotta do, bud."

Later

He was allowed to be alone in the bedroom, brooding and grieving severely for the girl with the sunny hair he would not longer be able to see, hear, or let alone touch. It killed him, made him immensely miserable. It was all on him. Back then, he had some plans to make once he ended it. Here, he had no idea at all what to do now. All hostiles were gone, but one of two friendlies had been downed.

Whatever Clyde was doing with his fancy-shmancy tech, Lincoln didn't care. The next step was to break into the department morgue to recover Lily's remains before it was apparent that Lincoln Loud ran around, which would ultimately lead to a lifetime of being on the run, and who wanted that?

At least Clyde respected his wishes of being alone. Honestly...

Lincoln was better off dead from the start. It would have spared Lily from death and the pain he caused her after he had come back. If only... If only he could change back time to start over. If only.

Clyde knocked in after over an hour of playing around and breaching from backdoors, as he called them. "The autopsies haven't been put in yet, so there's still time."

Lincoln stood up to his feet. He didn't want to go, knowing it would probably hurt him again when he saw the actual remains of Lily. "Mmm..."

"Hey, we have to do this, man. For you and I!" Just days ago, he wasn't itching to follow Lincoln, but seeing him now, it was surely odd of him. A confidence that came from fucking nowhere.

Lincoln circled him. "You know, I've been meaning to ask-"

If not for the mirror that hung on the wall with the bed, he would not have noticed the reflecting object, a wire tap, loosely dangling from his sweater. And then and there did Lincoln realize that Clyde was compromised. He made no sudden reaction, but moved away from him, heading out of the bedroom.

Clyde was either being forced or complying willingly with them. He had no idea, so he figured to leave Clyde. Lincoln snagged the keys of the muscle car. "I'll be right back, Clyde."

Lincoln never made it past the door before his ears succumbed to the cocking of a handgun. Clyde had pulled out his borrowed weapon in quite the rookie mistake, confirming Lincoln's suspicions. "Damn it, Linc! What gave it away?"

"I guess I was meant to see the wire on you, idiot." Lincoln gripped the keys, raising his occupied hand onto his chest. "When did it happen?"

"I couldn't tell you that, but it's been like this for awhile." Clyde sat down on the table, still in range with Lincoln. "From the bottom of my heart, I didn't want to believe you were truly a monster, so I gave you a chance to not mess it up for you. I did that out of respect for you, and for the friendship we've had for so many years."

Lincoln snorted. "You're holding a gun to me, and you wanna talk about friendship?"

"Hey, I've gotta humor you now, right?"

"I get it now..." Lincoln put the pieces together. "You two followed me, and your real reason was to have me arrested over there, right?" He turned around slowly.

Clyde formed a smile. "That's it, man! And that's how it was going to go! Only... It all went south..."

They exchanged darkened glares with each other, not as friends this time, but as sudden strangers in the heat of the moment. The foundation of their friendship began to crumble away, deteriorating before them.

"I'm sorry, Lincoln. Lily's death was not part of the plan. Plan was for you to go to the hotel, not go in circles."

"But you admit that Lily was part of this?"

Clyde gave a simple nod. "Yes, she was. She would have been placed into child services."

"How long until they get here?" Lincoln had only one shot to escape.

"Minutes, I'd say," Clyde answered. "Don't think you can get away, Lincoln. It'll only make you look more guilty and vicious. Please, come quietly."

Nothing, no one had been helping him from the start. Clyde had been running his own agenda, in league with CIA, or FBI, or whoever the fuck. Lily followed her brother into the war zone, which was his idea to begin with, and the rest of the world was but a collective of enemies made up of a freat many. At least he destroyed the Freights, the only thing he wanted to do, in bloody retaliation for what he was today, and what they had taken from him.

Only, he didn't feel better in any way. Nothing had changed, but only had gotten worse. "I know what to do."

"Ah, I do hope it meets with the-" Clyde was smacked hard with the keys once Lincoln had thrown them with all his definite might. "Oof!"

Lincoln ran right at Clyde just as the gun-toting mole fired away at him. Two rounds into his hip slowed him down, but Clyde made the mistake of staying in place. "Lincoln, no, I-!"

Lincoln stripped him away of the gun and pushed him backwards, sending him down.

"W-wait-" Clyde believed for a moment he'd get mercy from Lincoln, but the monster in his body said otherwise with those dastardly, maliciously cold eyes. "Linc-"

And the monster shot him dead, executing him with no remorse or regret. All was right in the world, even if it wasn't right. He took the gun with him, tucking it onto the back of his shirt. Pity to anyone who was able to see it, due to a missing portion of the shirt being noticeable from behind.

And he was running away, just like that, away from the hotel room. Running, like a rat in a maze.

He lost those around him, either by choice or unlucky spins. One thing he really knew was that it happened because of him. The senseless, bloodthirsty desire had taken more from him than he believed could have been possible. Just like before, he was alone, back at square one. Only, he wasn't running rampant with the crying, or fears the way the child version of him had expressed one time too many. This was different, and he could never explain it. But he it was different, because the emotion was different. He was simply ready for it, and he wasn't either.

He wasn't ready to say goodbye to Lily.

May 24th, 2030

The McBride residence was awfully quiet when he had returned. The silence was dreadful, and insane to take in. The sound of the ticking clocks played into his head so much that Lincoln threw a chair at it to regain his shattering focus so that he could be calm inside. Peace.

He had slumped onto the floor, gun falling away from him, making a racket as it slid on the ceramic floor. Why now? Why was he getting weak? The albino gained a nasty headache that hadn't gone away since he had done Clyde in, and wanted it to stop. Why, the pain was massive and intense enough to intentionally self-harm by slamming his head onto the walls, and taking objects to his skull. He bled, but the aching pain didn't go away. If only-

He looked to the gun, and found what may have been the most reasonably irrational solution there could have been. He grabbed it and placed it onto the side of his head. For what did he live for? Finger set on the trigger, he squeezed it with a hardening look on his face. He opened his eyes when the gun clicked rather than fire one into his head.

The clip was empty from Clyde unloading it all. Lincoln didn't count the rounds fired, as his mind centered on shutting Clyde down. "Fuck you..."

It was funny for him enough to laugh. He thought of killing himself, and the showrunner behind his endless streak of bad luck would not allow him to drop out just yet. "Come on!" He yelled to the ceiling. "What am I supposed to fucking do?!"

God and the angels from heaven, those are who he felt were laughing at him from way beyond the clouds. Laughing away at the hell he had not crawled out of. It was all just a twisted game played by deities, fit to server for amusement.

Damn those fuckin' gods.

He dropped the gun and laid down. Why was he alive for? Peace was a pipe dream, and a chance to get back into society had been revoked. The ones Clyde stood behind had to have known about all of it. Lily, the fake identity he adopted, and more. This place would soon be infested, as it may have also been bugged, and it was now that he figured that was the case.

At the very least, he went to the television to drown out whatever broken pain he could have. Maybe cartoons. Maybe the news. Or maybe Dream Boat, if those still aired. He laid on the couch, grabbing the remote and turned it on. The channel it had been left on was the Kron channel. There happened to be a breaking news report;

Breaking! Mysterious Creature Attacks Vial Corp Facility; Dadetown, Colorado Under Lockdown!

From a helicopter's point of view, the footage depicted a building heavily in ruins, burning brightly. The camera was shaky, but not too shaky to miss the many silhouettes down below, all seemingly running away from the building. At first, he looked at it as if it was a Freight affair, having all the right signs for one. He raised the volume to get more information.

"This is Katherine Mulligan reporting live high in the air near Dadetown, hovering just above this Vial Corporation facility, as you can see below, now in complete ruins from what can only be described as the effect of some sort of explosion. There have been numerous reports from both Vial staff and an unnamed civilian whose identity has been asked to be withheld. The civilian in question has reported seeing what can only be described as a "huge reptilian monster." If you look below- Wait, what is that?"

The camera panned closer to an area where it hadn't been locked on, depicting several bodies near the wrecked facility.

"Oh, my God, move the camera, Gene! Move it- Uh, here's Riley Doubt with more from the ground. Riley?"

The camera switched to a ground unit, with a young blonde woman next to a blockade of patrol cars.

"Thank you, Kathy. Riley Doubt reporting live, just down the small road that leads into the facility, where it has been cut off by two of the local law enforcemeod units. Officer, can you tell me why the need to barricade this road? Has there really been such a creature sighted? And what about those people moving around the dark?"

Lincoln narrowed his eyes as the reporter went to one of the officers before turning it off. An interesting thing to say. Interesting and motivational. He smiled greatly, for he knew right then and there that he didn't have to stop. The world had just offered him a different type of work, and he accepted it. Soon, he'd be looking into this, and see just who had been up to selfish, corrupted activities. Soon, he'd be going out to kill again.

Soon, Lincoln would return to the big world and make his mark. And what did he have to fear? The darkest raid of his life had given him something in exchange.

---

AN: Thus ends chapter one of eleven for the complete Act I. Yeesh, I didn't know how long this chapter would be, but it had to be long to get it as right as I can, and better than the original. Things will be different, obviously, but a great many things will remain from the previous three fics, but going in different routes and paths for your beloved characters.

Here's the line-up for the entire Act I;

1. The Darkest Raid Of His Life

2. Adrenaline

3. Superbeast

4. Velocity And Momentum

5. Sweetwater

6. The Comedienne

7. Death Angel

8. Demon Hunter

9. Grey

10. The Patriots

The eleventh one is a surprise, will not be revealed until I drop it. All I can say is that it's horror, and it involves one of the sin kids.

Anyways, thanks for reading! See you next time!