Without Sin: All Star Edition

by Catspeaker

Lincoln Loud struggles to make ends meet as a comic book artist. His sisters have all gone on to better things, all except Lisa, just released from Prison. An experiment designed to get her back into the limelight sends him to a dimension where he has children with his sisters. These unthinkable circumstances are his new reality. Inspired by Red Herald's story.

12. Chapter 12

Cat's Corner: Hey folks, not much to say beyond sorry for the late update! But my New Year's resolution of minimum 1k words a day has me back on track. We hope you enjoy this chapter!

Safeverse

Lincoln was dreaming.

He was pretty sure of that because of how hazy and weird the images before him were. That, and he'd been having weird dreams with similar themes ever since Lisa drugged him a week and a half ago. It had been happening enough he could tell when he wasn't quite in reality anymore but occupied that liminal space between waking and sleep. He always felt so powerless in these dreams, like he was nothing more than a passive observer than anything else. Eventually he'd forget he was dreaming and think it was reality. That was the worst part.

Right now he knew he was on some kind of bed.

No, it wasn't a bed. It was a wooden examination table, one with a white sheet that covered everything but his upper chest and arms. He also felt some kind of metal crown was affixed to his forehead. Trying to move was useless. Something was keeping him bound to the table.

Sweeping his gaze around the room, he saw what appeared to be walls of hard stone. Like it was some kind of castle. The floor was wooden though, like he was in the upper levels. Beyond that were all the tables with strange items on them. Like the tower of the castle had been converted into some kind of Laboratory. Tables covered with bubbling elixirs in glass vials, Bunsen burners, and large Tesla coils crackling with electricity scattered about.

The reality of the dream began to firmly take hold. Lincoln couldn't tell he was dreaming anymore. He felt like he was really there, and in the realm of dreams, everything made sense, no matter how illogical it seemed.

Like the fact everything was in black and white.

Well, nearly everything.

There were splashes of color here and there, notably the blue electricity that arced off of the tesla towers and the green and yellow of the bubbling elixirs. But most noticeably, the bright red found in stains here and there and in some of the more questionable looking vials.

That red stood out in particular at another table. One that had a large lumpy pile of something covered by a formerly white sheet. Red stains adorned the sheet, with a small trickle of red leaking off the table and making a puddle on the floor.

He swore he could hear organ music playing.

As he looked around further, a figure finally appeared, shadowy at first until he saw his sister…Lisa?! Lisa of all people!

Only his most scientifically minded sister looked slightly different from her usual self.

She wore a tight dark lab coat, cinched at the waist, along with a white butcher's apron, spattered in red stains. Thick rubber gloves adorned her hands, and a pair of steel goggles covered her eyes. Her hair was long and messier than usual, standing up in places as if from too much static electricity.

The mad scientist Lisa peered at him as she brought one large rubber gloved hand to her goggles and adjusted them accordingly.

"Vell, I see das you have vowken up dear bruder. Alas before your alterations have been completed. Nein, sie are not quite vinished just yet!"

Mad Scientist Lisa gave a sinister chuckle.

She also had a thick German accent.

Lincoln wasn't sure if it was worse than her old lisp or not.

He tried to lift his arms up, tried to move, but found they were bound to the table at the wrists. A pair of metal manacles bolted into the examination table held them firm.

Lisa raised her hand up, wagging her pointer finger back and forth.

"Ah, ah ah mein brudder! Ve can't have you getting away now before I make you perfect!"

Suddenly looking to his right, another figured appeared as if an apparition. A shadowy dark figure he recognized as… Lucy!? Of all people!

Tall, and whisp thin, wearing a flowing black cloak with her beautiful long hair framing her face. Underneath the cloak, a spiderweb black dress that accentuated her bust, showing off generous pale cleavage. The dress ran to the floor and covered her feet. The black of her hair was even darker than the monochrome around her. She opened her mouth, and two large fangs became visible, vampire teeth.

Lucy the vampire came forward and ran her fingers over his shoulders, and down his arm in a comforting manner. She spoke in a soft and sensual tone.

"Lisa, what have you done to our dear, sweet, loving brother? He was perfect just the way he was! What horrible plans do you have for him?! I demand you release him at once, back into the care of the sisters that love him!"

Lisa sighed and put her hands on the hips of her lab coat, "Nein, you unholy bloodthirsty creature of die night! What I have done to our bruder is for der good of sie family! I vill not allow his corruption to run rampant through our bloodline anymore! I vill release him to unser care when I have made him worthy of our love!"

Lucy brought her slender fingers with long claw like red nails up to her shadowed brow and began to wail in despair, "But he's already worthy of our love! The more you change him, the more he stops being our dearest brother! You, you even took away his best part!"

Lincoln began to feel more and more nervous. What the heck was Lucy and Lisa talking about?! What did she mean took away his best part?! He started to wiggle and writhe again, he tried to open his mouth and say something, but nothing came out.

Lucy looked forlorn, brushing back the hair from her long dark bangs, the vampires' beautiful blue eyes appearing. They were another splash of color in the black and white around them, "Look at the pain he's in, the fear, the worry! You must put him back together! Please, our other sisters miss his kind words and his gentle touch so much!"

But Mad Scientist Lisa was unmoved.

"Nein! Not until das procedure has been vinished!"

Lisa brought her goggled gaze back to him, and another sadistic chuckle came from her lips. "Vhat, vhat is it mein bruder? You vant to say something? Oh, oh I'm sorry Lincoln! But I have removed your ability to spill your honeyed words and use your poison tongue to corrupt us any longer!"

Lisa reached over to a nearby table and grabbed what looked like a wood framed Victorian mirror, half the size of her. As she lifted it up to point it towards him, Lucy cried out, "No! Don't show him! Don't show him Lisa!"

But it was too late, Lisa held the mirror in front of Lincoln with her rubber glove covered fingers, and Lincoln looked at himself with horror.

His entire lower jaw and tongue were missing. A hollow hole that indicated his throat was visible and his upperlip and upper teeth were intact, but his lower jaw, his mouth, his tongue, completely gone.

What seemed potentially worse was seeing what the metal 'crown' around his forehead was. Several large spikes had been driven from the metal ring, into his forehead where old dried blood was visible on his skin. His skull cap had been completely removed and his brain was exposed. The metal spikes had been driven into different parts of his brain.

Only a few wisps of white hair and his sideburns were left on his head.

Lincoln tried to scream, but only a whistling sound came from the hole in his throat. It was a horror unlike anything else. His ability to communicate, his ability to taste, his ability to kiss, was now gone.

Lucy brought her hands up and began to cry again, while Lisa chuckled darkly.

"Oh, vhat is it bruder? Are you afraid? Scared? Oh but you have not even seen sie best part!"

Still holding the mirror aloft with one hand, her other came down to the white sheet covering his body, and she yanked it off, casting it away.

Lincoln's body was nude, his form splayed out on the operating table only…

No…

No…

Every male's worst nightmare was laid before him.

It was gone, completely gone.

There was no trace of his penis or scrotum. Only a large x shaped surgical scar with fresh stitches was present.

Lisa had fully castrated him.

Turned him into a Ken doll and removed his jaw and tongue so he couldn't even complain about it.

Tears ran from his eyes, down his cheeks to fall over the cliff where his lower jaw and chin should be.

Lisa put the mirror down as she began to step behind him.

"Do not cry dearest elder bruder. Vhen I am finished adjusting your brain, you vill not even miss that repulsive part of yourself anymore. You vill be the good bruder you always should have been. The bruder who helped all his sisters excel rather than treated them as his personal harem. You vill no longer be a monster."

Lincoln wanted to scream again but he couldn't. He had no mouth, and could not scream.

He cried, cried as the mad scientist Lisa went to work cutting into his brain, as Lucy wept in front of him. As his whole identity and who he was had been reduced to his penis and tongue, and was changed before him.

He tried to thrash about, and found the sheet coming loose. He tumbled off the operating table and hit the floor.

He woke up.

…

Lincoln untangled himself from the sheets and blanket he'd been wrapped and caught up in, and jumped to his feet.

He quickly looked down at himself.

He was wearing the same orange t-shirt and white boxer shorts he'd fallen asleep in.

He pat himself down, lifting his shirt up, looking for fresh scars. He ran his hands through his white hair, over his scalp, making sure everything was intact.

Lastly, just to make sure, he slipped his thumbs into the front waistband of his boxers, and pulled them forward, looking down at his crotch.

Yup, it was still there.

Oh thank god.

Lincoln breathed a deep sigh of relief as he sat down on the bed, before just letting his upper half fall back on it.

He'd been having these nightmares on and off since the day Lily had last visited.

The sharp pain in his neck, and then waking up the next day in his bed as if nothing happened. He recalled it all. He knew Lisa had knocked him out, and he was fairly certain she had done something, but since then she'd been extremely tight lipped around him.

She had barely even acknowledged his presence in the week or so since then.

He still brought her meals, he still cleaned up after her, he even did her laundry.

But she only responded with a curt and brief, "Thank you Lincoln" and "That will be all Lincoln".

It was as if she was aware he was afraid of her, and she enjoyed it.

He felt on edge every day now. The only positive seemed to be Lisa's effort in fixing the portal had increased.

Lisa had seemed to redouble her efforts in trying to fix the very experiment that had caused him to end up in this twisted and crazy world in the first place. The last week she had fixed more than a few of the broken and fried pieces. But there was still so much to go.

Either way It was clear the Lisa here had no love for him, and he was more and more terrified of what she had done to him while he was unconscious. He just wanted her to put him back in with his loving family.

He would sometimes ask her how her progress was, or what she did to him but no answers were forthcoming. Every time he asked Clyde, the man just nervously shook his head and made an excuse to get away.

It seemed his two 'house mates' were even further away from him than they had been before. Which only hurt and confused Lincoln, made him feel lonelier than ever. The day with Lily had seemed to go so well. But for whatever reasons, Lisa was now colder, and Clyde was more evasive.

The time to himself hadn't been completely wasted, however. He'd spent it trying to learn as much about his 'family' here as he could. It was difficult, especially with how unhelpful both Clyde and Lisa were being. He also didn't want to bombard Lily with questions, especially with her dealing with the tail end of school.

But he'd found out a few things.

Starting with Luan.

It was nice to learn about his sister's double here.

You never did forget your first after all.

Really it was only because Lincoln had been snooping around in his double's things that he even came across Luan's work in bad ending world.

His funny sister, the actress of the family had found the success she had always dreamed of and wanted.

He had been snooping around in his double's collection of physical media, when the case containing the first season of "Making Lemons out of Lemonade" fell from the shelf and onto his lap.

There on the cover was Luan. Dressed in a pair of white pants, and a sleeveless yellow plaid button up shirt. She was on a couch squeezed in between 2 girls on one side, with 2 girls and a boy on the other.

The people on the couch looked…uncanny to him for some reason. Familiar, but not in a sense because he knew the actors. He felt like he was supposed to know who these people were but couldn't put his finger on it.

Until he read the synopsis for the show on the back cover.

'Luan Loud stars as Luan Lemon, a down on her luck actress forced to return home to Royal Woods where the only job she can get is teaching English and Drama to Middle Schoolers! Her crazy family is there to help of course, 4 sisters and 1 brother! Somehow the Lemon family, despite all their problems and antics, always finds a way to make Lemons from Lemonade!'

Lincoln turned the cover back around and looked at the people on the couch when it hit him.

They were supposed to be him and his sisters…just…condensed.

Luan's sitcom was a fictional version of her own life.

The even more eerie thing was how her 'tv job' was the same exact job she had back in his own world. It was an irony that didn't sit well with him, so he decided to ignore it for the time being.

He wasn't going to stop there though. He went back into the collection of disc cases his double had and started going through them.

As he expected, bad end Lincoln had every season.

A cover with just Luan, holding a pair of lemons in front of her chest suggestively and winking for season 2.

A cover with Luan and the 'family' running a little kid's lemonade stand together, begging invisible passersby's for money on Season 3.

It must have been important to Lincoln to own physical copies of Luan's show and not just stream it. But sure enough when he jumped on Netmax, he saw it was available there, and his double had watched it. Multiple times it seemed.

With nothing much else to do, Clyde and Lisa avoiding him, Lincoln decided to watch it.

He had spent some time during the week watching every episode and all the behind the scenes stuff as well. It was funny, it was wholesome, and it was a little edgy.

Luan Lemon had her two older sisters, Lexie, a powerful corporate executive with a love of fashion, and Lindsey, a Tomboy country music singer. She had her younger brother Landon, a cheery goth guy whose love of horror belied his positive and helpful attitude. Followed by her younger sister Linda, a genius young model, and Lara an artistic tomboy who loved animals.

There were discussions between the characters he recognized, situations that had come right out of his own life. There were enough similarities, enough little coincidences with the plot lines, that he imagined the stuff he didn't recognize was likely cribbed from bad end Lincoln's life.

It was a strange feeling of nostalgia, particularly given the actor and actresses making up Luan Lemon's family were clearly chosen not just on talent, but also because they 'looked' right too. Right down to Landon being the only one in the family with black hair.

Luan's love life and struggles to become a famous actress and comedian were often the results of the comedy, and something about it made Lincoln feel a little…uncomfortable.

Obviously not the episode where Landon had to pretend to be Luan's boyfriend, that was hilarious and heartwarming. He was just sad circumstances in the episode never forced the two to share a kiss. Landon was Luan's housemate already, he just wished the show pushed those elements more…but it chickened out, alas.

No what made him uncomfortable was seeing the fictional Luan struggle and fail to reach her dream. Seeing her in the same position as his Luan, it pulled at his heartstrings and made him feel guilty. If the Luan of this world had achieved fame and success, then why hadn't his Luan done the same? He knew the reason why of course, but he didn't like thinking about it.

The behind the scenes material confirmed what he suspected, the stories were based off of Luan's real life with embellishments and add ins from the other show writers. There was even a family photo shown of all The Louds back when he was 12. Lincoln could swear it was the same exact family picture they'd taken in his world at that age. There were even discussions of the other famous 'Loud family members' and how Luan had to tone them down for the comedic failures of the 'Lemon' family.

For a brief moment, Lincoln had the realization his sisters and he resembled the Lemon family more than the Loud family of this world. A bunch of failures.

That hurt, made him very uncomfortable and even a little angry.

But Angry at who? He didn't know, he just felt angry.

He really didn't want to continue on this path of navel gazing though and instead wanted to focus on something else he held suspicions about after finding the disc collection. The idea that bad end Lincoln was so pathetic he lied to himself about how much he loved and missed his sisters. The evidence would be finding more things like this, hidden among his stuff.

It was something to take his mind off the current creeping dread, anxiety and loneliness he was feeling. An adventure of sorts, even if a small one, like back in his younger days. Thinking like his double, he realized the best place to look would be in plain sight. It was the way he and his sisters hid their lifestyle, by not hiding so much at all.

If he wanted to hide the evidence showing how much he missed his sisters, he would do it in a manner where things just seemed innocuous.

The first place he went next was Bad end's comic book and novel collection.

His next find didn't take him long at all. It had been there in his room the whole time. Nestled on a shelf where Lincoln had several different novels ranging from fantasy to sci-fi and back again, was a collection of thick black labeled books with L. Loud on the spine.

Lincoln grabbed them all from the shelf and began to look them over. There were 8 of them in total, and they were from two different series, both written by Lucy Loud. 'The vampire Princess Chronicles' and 'I speak for the dead: A teen medium's journal'. They were gothic YA novels, fairly chunky as most were. Looking at the descriptions on the back, he could see they were set in the same 'universe'.

He put them by his double's bed. Maybe they'd make for some good nighttime reading. His sister in this universe didn't work at a library, she made the books that were found within. He wanted to know what they were about, diving into them before he slept each night would be the perfect time.

Seeing those books made him wonder about Lucy and bad end Lincoln again though. Why they didn't seem to be on friendly terms. Lisa had only gotten out of prison less than 6 months ago, so might not know anything, he had a feeling Clyde would though. He'd confront the man later on the issue.

The glass collector's case full of comic book memorabilia was the next place to look. Lincoln kicked himself for not really paying deeper attention to it before, because now with his keener observation and investigation there was some items that stood out more than the others.

The first being the framed and sealed sports trading card featuring Lori.

Not just one, but three of them. At different stages of her career. The most recent was from last year.

He didn't have a giant size poster of Lori playing golf, that would have been too obvious, but here, foil collectible trading cards, featuring his eldest sister. His double could just pop open the case and take them out, look at them and be reminded of his biggest sis.

The next sister reminder was in the case too.

His double had a few rare 'Funky Bop' collectible big head figures. Lincoln didn't really like them, they were cheap and ugly. But he did have a few, like he felt obligated because of certain franchises. Just like bad end Lincoln did. Ace and Jack were prominent of course. They were the same Funky Bop figures he had back home. But the blonde, blue eyed Funky Bop figure in the blue racing suit with the red cap suddenly looked VERY familiar. Particularly since she had a blue toy race car with her name emblazoned on the hood.

LOUD.

There was even a ticket to the Michigan Speedway that was only a couple years old. It was resting right underneath the car.

A quick search on his phone revealed that indeed it was his sister Lana, a figure of her, and a model of her Nascar. When he looked up the date the ticket was from, it happened on a day Lana had raced back in Michigan. His double had bought a ticket and went to it. Yet when he looked through the photos in his double's phone from that time period, and checked his social media there were no tagged pictures of himself with her or anyone else in the family.

But on Lana's social media wall there was. He saw his mother, father and Lily standing with Lana at the winner's circle, their arms around her as she held up the victory wreathe.

He could only surmise one thing from that evidence.

Lincoln had gone separately to the race but hadn't told anyone. His family wasn't even aware he had come to see his sister perform at the task she did so well.

Why? Why didn't he tell her? Why wasn't he with the rest of the family congratulating her in the victory photo?

He looked back into the cabinet with the Lori Loud trading cards, the Lana Loud Funky Bop figure, her race car and a ticket to one of her races. Based off what he knew about the family there had to be one more…

There it was, standing proudly, with her fists up, wearing trunks and a sport's bra…A Lynn Loud fully articulated Ultimate Fighting action figure.

She was standing at the forefront, with the fully articulated Jack and Ace figures behind her, as if she was leading them into battle.

As much as Lisa and Clyde had told him how much his double spurned his sisters and didn't seem to care about any of them, in his room, he had reminders of them hidden everywhere.

It was enough at this point that his further discoveries in his investigations no longer shocked him. What he found next just made sense.

It was in the small stack of reference books that were situated next to his industrial drawing tablet. He had completely ignored the pile before, only glanced and saw a couple fashion magazines, famous world architecture photo books, a renaissance art book and one on anatomy.

But tucked into the middle of it all, was a large, glossy, thick paper photo book with his sister Lola's smiling gapped tooth face on it.

It was titled simply, 'The beauty of Pink: By Paul O'Rourke, featuring Lola Loud'.

It was nothing but pages and pages of Lola in different clothes and outfits, striking different poses, in all manner of locations. From the beach to clothing boutiques, a rose garden, fancy dinner. All with his most sensual sister in completely tasteful photographs.

This wasn't the sultry, sexy, fap bait he saw on her pictogram. She was beautiful in each shot, provocative here and there, but more a symbol to be respected and fawned over, rather than simply lusted at.

And his double kept it near his desk, to reference for his drawings.

Which only made Lincoln all the more curious. He had to search, he had to know.

He broke into Bad end Linc's art folders. Okay, breaking in wasn't exactly the right word, Bad end didn't password protect them…

But when he browsed through his double's extensive art gallery, sketch collection and finished pages, he came to realize something…

The women were almost all modeled after one of his sisters.

He was always drawing one of them.

And it wasn't just the obvious 'Full Deck' either. Other superheroines shared traces of his sisters' anatomy and features.

And why wouldn't they?

With ten sisters and his mother, Lincoln had a lot of variety in body shape, facial features, and fashion to choose from. He'd grown up with it, it was burned into his mind.

Sitting back in the chair by the desk, it struck Lincoln how ironic his double here being the lead artist on The Full Deck comic was.

He was basically drawing his sisters every day.

No matter how much he tried to run from them, no matter how much he tried to hide or ignore them, he couldn't. His sisters were still in his daily life by virtue of his chosen profession.

Lincoln was no psychologist, not like Lola was, but just like her, he was good at figuring other people out, if not himself. It really struck him at how torn up his twin must be in his home situation. Constantly reminded of the presence of the very people he swore he didn't care about.

During all of his investigations Lincoln kept up with the typical chores he still had at 'home'. He made meals for Clyde and Lisa, and even did their laundry, but he paid little attention to them in between his search for traces of his sisters.

It was enough he could tell they had noticed a change in him as well, but neither confronted him on it.

He was also getting distracted by the number of emails and now voice messages he was being left by Timely comics editors and business people. He didn't answer the phone when they called, because truthfully, he didn't know what to tell them. He doubted, 'Hi I'm Lincoln but not comic book artist Lincoln' would clear anything up.

So he watched as more emails checking in on him, asking if he was okay, asking where the new pages were, demanding he respond kept piling up, and piling up. Lisa and Clyde were no help here either. He just ignored them, and ignored them. He just kept erasing the messages and ignoring the texts.

Until it all came to a head.

It was just after nine am, Lincoln had left breakfast for Lisa, Clyde was gone at work, and Lincoln had been reading one of Lucy's books.

His sister had built an engaging and interesting gothic setting, with a sensitive yet morbid and dark Vampire Princess forever stuck in the body of a teen, living with a foster family while hiding from those who hunted her. The Princess Lucinda could travel by day because of her status as a royal vampire. The family cared for her, but she was reluctant to open up to them. All except for their son who physically was similar in age to Lucinda, a boy named Jimmy. Jimmy, who was now her adopted brother. A sensitive and kind boy Lucinda did not realize she was developing feelings for. But Lucinda also had an old flame, an undead revenant heart throb from the 1950s in a letterman jacket who had returned after being missing for 10 years, while Jimmy was friends with teen medium named Raquel Villanova.

Lincoln was strangely intrigued by the dark setting and yet relatable teen feelings within. The love square should have seemed cliché and trite but his sister wrote it beautifully, even if he was already rooting for Jimmy to get with Lucinda and not Raquel. After all, they were brother and sister.

A knock at the door interrupted his read.

Actually, it had made him nearly jump out of his seat.

Nobody came and visited the only Loud family home in bad end world except for Lily. There was never a knock at the door outside of the Pizza guy coming. It wasn't normal.

Getting up from his seat in the living room he made his way to the door, only to be greeted by a sight that left his blood cold.

Peeking through the peep hole he saw what appeared to be 5 police officers standing on his porch, with two squad cars parked in front of his house.

The police were in their tactical blues, radios clamped to their shoulders, guns and tazers holstered, looking about the porch and over the house again in general. Lincoln pulled back, quietly, completely uncertain of what to do.

He looked around the living room, trying to figure out how he was supposed to react, what he should do. Should he tell Lisa? Should he just pretend he wasn't home? Should he just open up the door and smile? He wasn't sure, anxiety filled him.

The knock came yet again. Louder this time, accompanied by a voice, "Mr. Loud? Are you there?"

Lincoln had a pretty good feeling they weren't referring to his father.

Why him?! What had he done that would send so many police to his door?! No, no they weren't here for him of course. They were here for the other Lincoln, bad end Linc! But it wasn't like that was any help right now! They would just assume he was bad end Linc!

He continued to fret, standing in place.

This had always been his nightmare. This had always been the Doomsday scenario in his mind. The Police showing up at his door, there to take his children away from him, there to separate him from his sisters. It was enough, The Louds had instilled a basic fear and mistrust of the Police in all of their children. The Irony of Lori being one of them not withstanding.

But this nightmare had played out in his head several times. Even if there was no way the Police here right now were related to any of his problems back home it still ratcheted up his anxiety.

The knock came again, "Mr. Loud we just want to talk to you and make sure everything is alright." There was a pause, before the voice spoke again, "Mr. Loud some people are worried about your safety."

Worried about his safety? Why would they be worried about that? Then it hit Lincoln. All the texts, calls, and emails he had been ignoring. Lincoln quickly realized this was a wellness check. They weren't going to go away if he kept quiet.

His phone rang.

Looking at the caller id he saw it was the Royal Woods Police Department.

Someone had even given them his phone number. Either that or they had it on file already somehow. He sighed as he picked up the phone and responded.

"H-h-hello?"

A feminine voice replied, "Hello? This is Officer Shaun with the Royal Woods Police Department, is this Lincoln Loud I'm speaking with?"

Lincoln nodded to himself and swallowed nervously more than anything else, "Y-y-yeah this is him. What can I do for you Officer?"

The voice responded, "Mr. Loud we've been called to find out if you're okay. It's called a wellness check, someone contacted us worried about your safety and well being. Could you come to the door?"

Lincoln nodded again before he answered, "Y-yeah yeah, I can do that. Just uh, give me a second."

Lincoln slowly walked back to the front door and opened it, staring out at the police standing on the porch, one of which was a woman with red hair holding a phone. She put it back in her pocket and he did the same.

But it was the male officer with the short buzzed black hair named 'Reyes' who spoke next.

"Mr. Loud, Lincoln right? Hey, we're here to make sure you're okay. That nothing bad has happened os is happening to you."

Lincoln nodded as he looked over the police, bewildered and so very, very nervous. He had an idea if he said the wrong thing, answered in the wrong way, they might drag him off somewhere. Throw him into a mental ward or maybe even jail. That would make getting home to his own family all but impossible.

Lincoln spoke softly, calmly, trying to appear as if everything was normal with him, and not that his entire world had been turned upside down a month ago.

"Oh yeah, things are fine. Just fine."

Reyes didn't look entirely convinced, "We have some people who've told us you're not responding to phone calls, text messages and other inquiries. Given you also live with a dangerous former felon, we thought it best we check up on you."

Lincoln looked puzzled, raising his eyebrow, "Dangerous former felon?!"

Reyes only nodded, "You know who I'm talking about, your sister Lisa Loud."

Lincoln still looked confused. He frowned, shook his head, "Lisa isn't a dangerous felon."

The rest of the police looked at one another nervously, their hands coming down to their weapons. Some of them even began to look over his shoulder and peek into the corners.

Reyes still looked cautious, as did the other officers around him. He spoke up, "I understand your family connection with her, but given the crimes she was found guilty of, we still have to take special precautions." The man then lowered his voice and whispered softly.

"Blink twice if you're in danger and need us to get you out."

Lincoln just stared back incredulously at the man. In danger due to Lisa?

Well come to think of it, he was wasn't he? She'd already threatened to more or less kill him and get rid of the body if he ever did anything she found abhorrent. Then there was the fact she had obviously done something to him after knocking him unconscious, something she refused to fess up about.

She was also the one that plucked him, bodily out of his own universe with his happy family and forced him into this miserable one. By all rights he was in danger, plenty of danger from her. But she was also his only ticket for getting out of here.

Officer Reyes spoke quietly again, "She has a provision as part of her parole she's not allowed to engage in any form of Super Science. Has she threatened you into staying quiet? Ss that why you haven't contacted or spoken to any of your friends or employers in a month?"

Lincoln looked back unsure if he should say anything.

Reyes spoke up again, "Mr. Loud, is it alright if we come in?"

Lincoln began to feel even more nervous. Sweat began to bead up on his forehead. Why did they need to come in?

The nervousness, the fear, the anxiety it was all beginning to build up with him. All at once. He was somewhere he didn't belong, in someone else's life, his life, just taken the worse turn possible and it was all that Lisa's fault. But something else hit him too all at the same time.

Lisa Loud was his little sister.

Even Lisa Loud from another universe. She was still the little girl who loved it when he made her PB&J sandwiches, who loved it when he took an interest in all the things she did. She was his favorite lab partner outside of Lily, and even here… Where bad end Linc had screwed everything up, he could see how much Lisa loved her brother.

She did Love him, even if it wasn't HIM him. He could see how dedicated she was to getting her Lincoln back. He could see the guilt that wracked her over losing him in the first place. He had caught her crying over the loss of her Lincoln on more than one occasion.

Lisa Loud was not a bad person. She did not deserve to be thought of in this manner. No matter her misplaced anger with him, he didn't like anyone foul mouthing his family.

Something came over Lincoln then. An anger and defiance that rose up every once in a while. For being such an easy going person, when Lincoln got angry, he was difficult to content with. He suddenly stared right back at the Officers in front of him as he curled his lips into a frown.

"No, you may NOT come in. I'm Fine, okay? I've just decided I needed a break from the grind of editors I don't even talk to, and who don't appreciate all the work I do for them. If they want Lincoln loud's art style, they can see what happens when he doesn't provide it to them like normal. Maybe then they'll give me the pay raise I've been waiting for!"

Lincoln practically barked all of this out as he stood firmly in front of the door, folding his arms. The Police Officers looked back in shock, uncertain of how to proceed, before Lincoln continued..

"And another thing! Lisa Loud is the greatest genius that's come about in over a generation, her inventions and discoveries have benefited humanity far more than any of her small mistakes have! I won't have you sit here and talk about her like, like she's some criminal you need to be afraid of! So unless you get a warrant or talk to her Parole Officer, you can leave my little sister in Peace! I won't have you barging in here, waving your guns about and scaring her! We are fine, have a good day!"

Lincoln slammed the door shut in the Police's face.

He then turned around, his back to the door as the reality of what he had just did suddenly washed over him. His eyes went wide, and his heart began to beat a thousand miles a second. Slowly he sank down to his butt and put his hand over his chest… Panting quietly as he tried to calm down…

Hopefully they wouldn't call his bluff there.

He was completely unaware of Lisa standing at the top of the basement stairs, who had been quietly listening in on everything that happened. Nor the look of confusion that crossed her features as she turned around and softly made her way back to her lab.

Later

Lincoln needed to figure out what to do when it came to the editors and other bosses that were trying to get in contact with him from Timely comics. He didn't want more incidents like what had happened earlier happening again. Not only that, but he really needed to start contributing money to the Household. While taking up most of the domestic chores was something, it wasn't enough.

The problem was, what could he do? He knew he just didn't have the skill his counterpart did. He had the talent, his counterpart was proof of that. But he didn't have the years of experience and training the other Lincoln did, and it wasn't like he was going to be able to play catch up in a short enough amount of time to match it anyway.

That and he didn't have the desire to do so.

Drawing was a fun hobby, but it wasn't his dream. At one time it had been, but his family had changed all of that.

He was wondering if he could just start putting applications in at random places. Maybe even the Burpin Burger, but he also knew Lisa would probably have some issues with that. He'd have to talk to her, and Clyde. He didn't care about their misplaced fears involving him. He needed to work, and he needed to get out more. Right now he was starting to feel like a Prisoner.

But when he reflected on the way Clyde and Lisa sometimes looked at him, he had to admit okay, yes it did. It hurt. It hurt a lot. It hurt looking at his little sister, a woman who he was deeply in love with as well, and see her look at him with such disdain and disgust. It hurt more than anything.

While Clyde was a reminder of just how much he'd messed up in his own dimension. Clyde had been his best friend, and he'd driven the other boy away… now over here he was messing up his relationship with this Clyde…

Speaking of which… Lincoln was delivering him dinner.

He'd been doing all this musing while preparing meals for his two housemates. When he came downstairs to Lisa, he found she'd passed out working non-stop. He left the meal for her, and went about his business. Now he was taking Clyde a plate.

After he'd managed to climb the stairs and approached the bedroom that belonged to his double's brother from another mother, he heard something out of the ordinary.

Stopping just outside of the door, he listened to what seemed like the sound of soft crying.

Listening for a moment longer, yeah, it was definitely crying, and it was definitely Clyde.

It wasn't full on body sobbing and wailing, but it was enough to be noticeable. Enough to know something had greatly upset him. He could tell Clyde was trying to be quiet, but was letting himself cry anyway. As if his body needed to express this emotion. It was definitely the sad kind of crying, not the happy kind. Something had upset him indeed.

Lincoln thought he could knock, but he was afraid of Clyde turning him away. Clyde had shown him some measure of kindness considering the circumstances, but he knew the man wouldn't want to be seen like this. Chances are he would even try to hide it from his own Lincoln.

All the same, the misplaced Linc felt an obligation to find out what was bothering the man so much. Maybe there was a chance he could help him. Lincoln reached down and tried the door, it was unlocked. The white haired man didn't hesitate as he opened it just a crack, and spoke…

"Clyde… Clyde, hey, I was bringing you up dinner and I heard you, what's going on?"

He heard the sound of sniffling, and Clyde's hurried and worried, embarrassed voice responding, "Lin-Lincoln? Oh, uh, I'm fine, I'm fine, it's nothing… Just, you can leave it outside the door…"

Lincoln frowned, opened the door fully and stepped in.

Clyde was sitting on his bed, holding his phone in his hands. He looked up, fresh tears on his ebony cheeks that he was quickly now trying to wipe away, "I said I'm fine Lincoln. Really. You don't have to worry about this…"

Lincoln placed the plate of food down on the nearby dresser as he entered the space that had once belong to Lori and Leni. He crossed the distance and sat down on the Queen sized bed with it's black comforter that belonged to Clyde and folded his arms.

He looked over at the other man, concern on his features, "Clyde… would your Lincoln leave you alone if he found you like this?"

Clyde had gotten ahold of himself, but looked back with a still sad expression. He took a deep breath and sat his arms in his lap and slumped his shoulders, "No, he wouldn't. But I wouldn't want him to inquire anyway, because it'd just end up making him feel guilty."

Lincoln looked concerned again but also curious, "Guilty over what?"

Clyde sighed yet again, and gave a weak smile in response, "Girl trouble."

Lincoln nodded and looked forward frowning, "This is about Penelope, isn't it?"

Clyde nodded in return, "Yeah…It's… Listen it's nothing okay? Just me being dumb and weak."

Lincoln frowned as he looked back towards the man who was once his best friend, shaking his head, "It's not nothing Clyde. It really isn't, and you're not weak…"

Clyde looked back to the man who shared the same body as his best friend, and saw he apparently had more to say.

Lincoln took another deep breath before he spoke, "Okay listen. Back in my universe, you and Penelope are married. You have two kids, one of which is the best friend of my daughter Leia. Those two are pretty inseparable. They're in the same classes together, play together…"

Lincoln looked up, and a sudden feeling of great regret came over him, a deep sadness as he spoke, his voice breaking ever so slightly, "You don't know…how much… When I watch them play together. When I see them laughing and having fun, or having their little sleep overs… How much I miss…"

And then Lincoln frowned deeply and looked back at Clyde, "Well how much I miss you. How much I feel bad for cutting you out of my life… and how much I hope our daughters being friends means we can reconnect…"

Lincoln felt himself getting emotional. He reached up and wiped a tear from his eye, but when he spoke his voice was calm and measured, "Coming here, and seeing how close you are with the other me… it's one of the few good things that exist here. One of the few things that other version of me didn't mess up." Lincoln frowned, sighed and said something truthful, even though it hurt him.

"One of the things he did better than me."

Clyde sat quietly, listening to everything that came from his best friend's twin… and in these moments, he felt like…well he felt like he was with his Lincoln again. In this moment he saw all the reasons why Lincoln Loud was his best friend. He saw the selfless and friendly person with a heart so big it was capable of loving everyone around him. He missed his Lincoln in this moment, while at the same time felt strangely comforted by the one next to him.

Lincoln was looking back at him again, and speaking, "So no matter what it is. I know no matter how much you worry about him, he's just as worried about you, and he'd want to know why his best friend is crying… What girl trouble it is, and how he could help you."

Clyde gave a soft, slightly pained chuckle before he nodded his head, "Yeah Buddy, you're right. Linc can't leave well enough alone. Maybe I should say, YOU can't leave well enough alone."

Lincoln blushed slightly as he understood Clyde was giving him a compliment. Even if he thought Bad End Linc had made a ton of terrible decisions, Clyde loved him, and being compared to bad end was the greatest compliment Clyde could give. Linc gave a small shrug of his shoulder, "Well, it's nice to know we have that in common. Which means you and Penelope should have things in common with my Clyde and Penelope, and I know those two love each other like crazy. They've taken trips to both Greece and France together. Calliope wants Leia to come with her on the next family trip… Oh Calliope is your daughter."

Clyde was listening quietly, a soft expression of longing on his features, "What's she like? My daughter?"

Lincoln smiled before he chuckled, "She's something else, let me tell you. She's got your attention to detail and ability to focus, but her mom's attitude and fierceness. She calls herself Leia's Myrmidon…"

Clyde blinked and laughed, "Myrmidon?!"

Lincoln laughed as he nodded, "Yeah, sometimes it's Musketeer or Queen's Guard. It alternates depending on whether she's more into your French heritage or her Mom's Greek heritage at the moment."

Clyde found himself smirking and shaking my head, "Oh my god, my daughter is one of those 'Sword Girls' isn't she?"

Lincoln laughed as he nodded his head, "She really is. Quotes of every Maiden needing a sword, and dressing up in a tabard or armor on Halloween."

Lincoln shook his head with mirth before he went on, "My daughter Leia established a new scout and cookie business. She didn't like giving all her profits to the Bluebells. Calliope treats it all like they're some legendary army out to conquer their rivals, with my Leia as the general and your Calliope as her greatest warrior."

Clyde was smiling now, laughing, "That sounds like Clincoln McCloud energy right there."

Lincoln laughed and nodded, getting a far-off look, "Yeah, it really does. It helps they're both girls so they're not complete hopeless dorks like you and I were. But it's cute and well…Honestly, it makes me want to repair things with you back in my own world, but I've been too scared to approach you."

Clyde looked curious as he gazed back at Lincoln, "Scared of what? Me finding out the truth of your family and getting you into some kind of legal trouble?"

Lincoln looked down at his feet as he shook his head, "No, no. I mean yeah that's obviously a fear I always have. But it's something else… It's fear you'll say no. I'm afraid you'll turn me down and shut the door."

Lincoln went quiet as that possibility filled him. Clyde watches as the white haired man suddenly took on a more depressive air, his shoulders hunching, "Clyde, just hanging out with you here, the little that we've done, it's reminded me of how much I loved us being best friends. It's just so easy to talk to you, and I don't have that where I'm from. I love my kids and I love my sisters, but… I really miss having a best friend."

Clyde found himself slightly taken aback at the confession. It was so easy to think of this Lincoln as some kind of monster, some kind of twisted pervert. But the more he spent time with him, the more he saw the man he was willing to die for. The man he knew would die for him in return.

Clyde folded his arms, frowned, and looked down at his own feet.

Both men were silent for a moment, before Clyde spoke up.

"Lincoln, if your Clyde is anything like me, then he'll want to be your friend again. No matter how many years it's been. But you probably hurt him when you let things go the way you did. It means he's not going to make the first move, but Buddy… If our kids are playing together, and I'm talking about bringing your daughter along on one of my family trips? That's a big sign I'd probably like it if you came and talked to me. Just like the trips we used to take together with my Dads…. assuming you did that with your Clyde."

Lincoln looked back at the ebony man and nodded, "Yeah, my Clyde and I took more than a couple trips together when we were kids. Him and I with his Dads, He and I with my sisters and parents."

Clyde smiled back at the Albino, "Good, Good, I'm glad we got that in common. I'm glad you and my Linc have so much the same. Makes it easier to talk to you honestly."

Lincoln nodded in return, "Yeah, which means I should really be able to help you out with this Penelope thing. So why don't you tell me what's going on."

Clyde leaned back on the bed, and took a deep breath, before he looked up at the ceiling and started talking, "I don't know how things went down where you're from… Obviously they took a different turn, but Penelope and I got started back at Elementary school with that egg task."

Lincoln looked thoughtful for a moment, "Oh yeah! I remember that… I was teamed up with…" Linc trailed off, snapping his fingers as if trying to jog his memory, "Ronnie Anne! My first kinda Girlfriend!"

Clyde looked back at his quasi friend with a surprised expression, "And that.. that right there is evidence of just how different you and my Linc are… My Linc is still hung up on Ronnie Anne today."

Lincoln gave a slight shrug, "We're not talking about my relationships right now Clyde…"

Clyde nodded, "Yeah, yeah you're right. Anyway, Penelope and I became friends after that, but things didn't really change between us until middle school. When, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne started dating. Penelope and I had a few classes together, and Linc wanted to double date with Ronnie to the Spring Fling and pushed me into finally asking her out. She said yes and that was that. We were steady all the way through High School."

Lincoln nodded as he listened, his hand going to his chin in thought for a moment, "You know, you started dating Penelope around the same time back in my world from what I remember. I actually kinda pushed you to ask her out because I was getting more and more busy with my family…"

Clyde narrowed his eyes as he looked across at the freckle cheeked man, "Getting busy with your family huh?"

Lincoln flushed, folded his arms and looked away, "Just keep telling the story Clyde."

Clyde looked away with a sigh as he went back to his narration, "Like I said, we dated through Highschool, but we ended up going to different colleges and broke up. I dated other girls of course, but none of them lasted more than a year or so. It wasn't until I moved back to Royal Woods a couple years back that I ran into her again and we…well, we started talking like old friends, and before I knew it, we were dating once more."

Clyde smiled to himself, caught up in memories as Lincoln nodded and continued listening.

"Things were really good, she even got along with you Linc. She'd come over here and we'd all hang out sometimes, and of course I'd go over there. But the last couple months she really started pushing me to move out of here and move in with her."

Clyde sighed heavily as his smile went to a frown, "And I wanted too. I really did…but…."

And then Clyde looked back towards Lincoln, and the white haired man seemed to understand.

Lincoln responded, "I was in a bad spot and you didn't want to leave me."

Clyde nodded his head, "Lincoln…At least in this world, you are my brother. I've said it before, but since I was adopted, I know that family can mean more than just blood. The Louds are my family, and Lincoln, I can't abandon you when you're like this. I love Penny, I really do, but I couldn't just up and leave my twin brother behind when he's at the lowest point in his life. Heck, you're the reason the two of us even got together in the first place."

Lincoln listened intently, and again was hit with that feeling of guilt, that feeling of what could have been between himself and his Clyde. At the same time, he knew the situation Clyde and Bad End Linc were in wasn't tenable.

"Clyde, your Lincoln is like me, you've said it. Which means I know he probably hated himself for coming between you two. He wants your happiness more than his own."

Clyde began to look frustrated. He got up off the bed and began to pace around, "You don't think I know that?! I know it kills him, but what was I supposed to do? Lincoln you have to understand this… We were heading towards some kind of disaster! I could feel it in my bones. I couldn't just leave when I was afraid my best friend was going to take his own life any day!"

Lincoln winced as he heard that. He frowned in turn before he looked back to the other man, "I didn't want to consider it, but it was that bad? Really?"

Clyde put his fingers to the bridge of his nose and nodded, "Yes, it was. He was coming apart, he felt like there was no hope in his life. He was stubborn and refused to tell his sisters how much he needed them, and they're all too stubborn to think their brother needs them. They all lie to themselves and say Lincoln is fine, or they're all too afraid to be confronted about it."

Lincoln sighed heavily before he stood up and walked over towards Clyde, putting his hands on the man's shoulders, "Clyde, I get everything with the Loud family is messed up here, and before you say anything I know you think it's messed up on my side too. But we're not talking about that right now, tell me what happened with Penelope."

Clyde put his hand to his forehead and then slowly nodded, "You're right, you're right… sorry."

Lincoln shook his head, "No, don't apologize. I think, I really think with me being here, maybe there's something we can do about all of this…Something I can do at least, because sitting around and twiddling my thumbs is driving me crazy. But we'll talk about that later. So why were you crying?"

Clyde took a seat on his bed once more, before he picked his phone up again, thumbed threw a few screens and then held it out for Lincoln to see.

It was a picture of Penelope Pessin, the girl had grown up quite a bit from back in their school days. Her auburn hair was naturally curly, and fell down around her freckled cheeks, while her soft green eyes peered out from a pair of horn rimmed glasses. She was tall and lithe. She was out at what looked to be a fancy restaurant, sitting at a table with a man sitting across from her. The caption simply read 'date night'.

Lincoln looked over the picture and back to Clyde again, before he nodded, "Okay, I get it. You think she's moved on."

Clyde raised his voice as he responded, "Think!? Lincoln, I don't think, I know! She's out seeing other guys right now!"

Lincoln put his hand up, "Clyde, relax, relax, remember what Lily said? Lily is certain she still loves you. This, this doesn't mean anything except that maybe I need to do something."

Clyde began to look nervous, hesitant, one of his brown eyes going upwards, "Linc, buddy, what are you planning to do?"

Lincoln only smiled as he looked back at his old friend, "Clyde, relax, I'm the man with the plan, remember?

…..

Lincoln had found the Vinyl record of the Moon Goats albums stashed in the Garage in a collection of others next to a record player, a set of large comfy headphones, and an old beat up chair.

Checking out his double's viewtube profile, he saw he was a subscriber to the Moon Goats channel, and a few of their songs were on his favorites list.

More than that was the collection of ticket stubs that were with the Albums. They told a story. The first couple were front row seats complete with backstage passes, VIP section no less. Which only made sense, If Lincoln knew anything, he knew his older sister Luna would want nothing less than her family to have the best seats in the house and access to her when the songs were over.

Looking back at them, some were over ten years old. But then there was a sudden gap, a few years where it was clear his Double hadn't been to any of her concerts. Where he'd just stopped going. Only for them to pick up again a few years later. Only this time, the seats were the nosebleed sections. The cheap seats, the kind of seats an artist barely making ends meet could barely afford.

It was a similar situation to Lana's races. Lincoln went to the concerts, obviously to see his sister, but didn't want her knowing he was there.

He'd accounted for all of the sisters but Leni now.

The Books, The Photo Reference Magazine, Action Figures and Cards, Albums and Disc Collections, where to look next was obvious, and he internally kicked himself for not thinking to do so.

All he had to do was take off the orange button up he'd been wearing and look at the label.

There it was, stitched right in, next to the size and machine wash information, 'Leni!'.

No wonder he liked his clothes in this world better. He hadn't even really thought about it, but while his double's clothing style was similar to his own, it was just like the staples here fit him better. The jeans, button ups, over shirts and sweaters all just…seemed better cut for him ever so slightly.

Because Leni had designed them.

Like Leni was hugging him every time he put his clothes on.

He couldn't decide if bad end was living in a hell of his own making or not. But he knew he felt for him in this moment.

It wasn't time to worry about bad end at the moment. At least not yet. Lincoln would do what he always did, what he should have been doing from the moment he got here.

Solving his family's problems.

And that started with Clyde.

Sitting in the old beat up, lazy boy in the Garage, with the Moon Goats playing in the background, Lincoln took out his phone, sent a single message and waited.

The message simply read…

'You made him cry.'

If what Lily had seen was true, he wouldn't have to wait long.

It was only 15 minutes before he got the reply.

He figured she needed a moment to process what was being said, and put on a brave face.

Penny: That wasn't my intention.

Lincoln: Bullshit. If you really wanted him out of your life, you would have blocked him on social media. You put that picture up knowing he would see it, and hoping it would hurt him.

Several minutes passed, Lincoln could see Penny was typing something, erasing it, and typing it again. It was clear the woman was having difficulty figuring out what to say.

Penny: So what, I'm sure he's happier living with you anyway! You won't let him have his own life! He won't abandon you! I need to move on with my life, that's why I'm dating again!

Lincoln: No, you did that because you miss him, and you were hoping he would do something after seeing that. But you know Clyde, he's too selfless for his own good sometimes. If he thinks you're happy without him, he's going to leave you alone.

Penny: I don't want him to be selfless and happy without me! I want him to be selfish! I WANT HIM TO WANT ME!

Lincoln didn't have the history with Clyde that bad end did. He didn't know his character as deeply, or as well. But he could take a few guesses and make a few assumptions based off of living with him for a month, and comparing him to the Clyde he'd always known. He chose his next words based off that.

Lincoln: He wants you more than anything, and I'm in the way. I see that, but I don't want to be in the way. You've put him in an impossible situation. He was living with me before you, and he can't leave me when I'm in a bad spot. So what I'm going to do is GET BETTER. But for that, I need to know my best friend is going to be in good hands if I relinquish him to you.

There was another few minutes of typing and retyping on Penny's behalf, before she responded.

Penny: You know I don't hate you Linc. I really don't, I'm just frustrated. I don't want to be the second in his life, I want to be the first.

Lincoln: You are, but like I said. He wants to make sure I'm okay. I will be okay, there are some…things happening, that are going to make everything better here. I can't go into detail, but I can promise you I won't be keeping him from you.

Penny: How do you even know I want to get back with him? You're making a lot of assumptions, like I'm just going to call him up and see if he wants to hang out again? I can't just do that Lincoln, that's now how this works.

Lincoln smirked to himself. In some ways he knew he had an advantage. Penny and Clyde were pretty happy where he came from. Leia had even told him so from her visits, they were a good couple. He had a feeling that energy would be here in this universe too.

Lincoln: I know you miss him, like he misses you.

Penny: Does he really miss me? Or are you blowing smoke up my ass?

Lincoln: He's been moping around for the last month. Penny you made the man cry. I know I'm the major point of contention here. That's the problem.

Penny: How do I know he won't do something like this again?

Lincoln: You don't. What you know is the man loves his family more than anything else in the world. He puts his family first. Whether it be the Mcbrydes or the Louds. I know you want to get serious with him. Penny, you wanted to move in together and start a family. You fell in love with him because of the very reason he won't abandon me. He's not going to live with me forever. I need to stand up on my own so he can live his life. You need to be there for him.

There wasn't a response for the first 10 minutes, but Lincoln didn't mind. He still had more Moon Goats music to listen to. But it was 15 minutes later when she finally responded.

Penny: I'll text him. But no promises.

Lincoln: That's all you have to do.

Lincoln gave a soft sigh after that, putting his phone down. He hadn't solved the problem, but he'd gotten the ball rolling at the very least. There wasn't some great reward that was going to happen by getting Clyde and Penelope back together, beyond the satisfaction of seeing people he cared about being happy.

More though, he really had to start thinking of Bad End and how he was doing back in his universe. From what he'd managed to garner from Lily, Clyde, and Lisa… the man wasn't really terrible, and indeed had a lot in common with himself. If he really was anything like himself, he doubted bad end was treating his children and family poorly. He had to hope the man had the same basic drive to put things right like he did.

Yet Lincoln leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to let the brash, boisterous and yet somehow angelic and soothing singing voice of Luna's wash over him. As he did so the young man was struck by an alarming thought, just how exactly would bad end Lincoln define 'putting things right?'

The music quickly faded to pleasant background noise as Lincoln contemplated the issue further.

It would be expecting far too much of the other Lincoln, once confronted with his sister's non-conventional relationship to embrace it. No he doubted, to use a phrase that he could see his most religiously devoted daughter use, the other Lincoln would fall off his horse on the road to Damascus and see the light. See the love that was always waiting and willing for him.

He could picture it now. The other Lincoln having called a meeting with his sisters while the kids were out the house somewhere. Looking incredibly smart in one of his rarely worn suits from the back of the closet. The old white board behind him, covered in an assortment of print outs and text giving notes on various sub-categories like 'dangers of genetic inbreeding,' 'unhealthy power dynamics,' 'risk of destroying familial relationships,' 'THE LAW!' With Lincoln having amusingly drawn a sketch below that last with the iconic British comic character Prosecutor Fear and his comically oversized gun pointing out towards the viewer. All of this under a large heading, Why Incest is WRONG!

Most of his sisters would grow impatient and bored after around 20 minutes, he was sure of that. He was also certain some of them, like Luan and Lola would start taking advantage of the situation to tease the other Lincoln with more than a few lewd displays.

The only sister he could think of that would be bothered by it, and might be shaken would be Lori.

Lincoln paused in his musings, a slight frown on the corner of his lips. Deep down he knew of all of them she'd be the only one to be slightly rattled by it, squirming in her seat uncomfortably. She was the oldest, the one trusted with a degree of responsibility to take care of her younger siblings, to speak with their parent's voice when they were not around.

They had talked about it many times, lying in bed together in the middle of the night after making love. She didn't regret it, not for a second, the love they shared with each other was unbreakable, both of them knowing in the depth of their souls they would be incomplete, broken, people without it. Their daughter Loan was a physical manifestation of that, giving their forbidden love a physical form they could embrace and nurture.

Yet for all that she still carried with her the guilt of her betrayal towards their parents, when him and Leni approached her to bring her into this special circle they were already sharing with each other and Luan, this secret family within the family, even then that late in the game she knew should could have put a stop to it. She was supposed to have put a stop to it, but she didn't and when it all finally came out, the look of shame and disappointment their parents had given Lori almost broke her.

Moments like these were beginning to creep up on him more and more since he came here. Moments of doubt, and moments of worry.

His sisters in this dimension were far better off financially, and they probably didn't have moments like his Lori did, where she felt she had failed her parents in exchange for winning her siblings.

No, no, he was certain the other Lincoln would fail in the end. They wouldn't listen to his hogwash, and if they knew how terrible things were in this dimension, they would redouble their love and efforts towards one another.

He considered the fate of his counterpart struggling to maintain his chastity in the face of his horny sisters. He laughed, debating the odds in his head regarding which of his wives would finally send him over the edge to experience a world of unconditional love and unimaginable pleasure.

He doesn't stand a chance, Lincoln thought smugly, my sisters will make him whole again.

….

Lisa took a position that was beginning to become very familiar to her. Sat back in her chair, brow furrowed in frustration as she looked at the pieces of the portal in front of her while she tried to figure out what to do next. A soft sigh of complaint rose up from her lips. It'd been just over a month now, and she'd managed to reconstruct about 25% of the portal machine.

It'd taken her around 4 months to build it in the first place, and since she knew what she was doing now, theoretically it should go faster…but the problem came down to raw materials.

She just didn't have what she needed to finish it, and finding everything she needed all over again was going to take more than serendipity. Quite frankly, the likelihood of getting ahold of all the parts she needed in the same manner she did the first time was downright hopeless. The first time she had resorted to cannibalizing the devices she still had left over at the family home. The old bunker and everything she had in it was gone. She had no idea where she was going to source the parts she needed now.

But she also knew she just couldn't give up either! What was she supposed to do, accept her real brother was gone and she was stuck with the imposter? She wasn't about to let her Lincoln languish in a dimension where the family had turned into sexual predators! Or let her family be seduced and corrupted by the Lincoln from that depraved place!

That Lincoln with his silver tongue, his affable smile, his friendly disposition. That Lincoln that reminded her so much of how her brother used to be. The same Lincoln who had become distant as of late and was making her feel weird because of it.

Maybe not weird but…dare she say kind of lonely?

She hated admitting that last part. But when the Lincoln from the other world had talked to her and treated her like how her brother did years ago, she had felt more than a little nostalgic. It made her dream of the time her and Lincoln used to get along so well and take care of one another.

Just thinking about that made her feel guilty though. Like she was betraying her real brother in favor of the imposter. She hated that, because she knew Lincoln in his heart didn't hate her. She knew underneath all of his pain, and stress, and worry and depression he still loved her. It could be difficult to deal with him sometimes, but his actions showed it.

Her Lincoln had cooked for her dinner and did her laundry without even being asked. He had prepared the basement for her with a bed, and fresh linens. He had taken a caregiver role over her, even in his bitter state. She knew it spoke to his real nature. He was hurting, hurting a lot.

The problem was, Lisa wasn't the best when it came to solving emotional problems. She had a difficult time trying to 'human' enough on her own. She didn't know the words to say or the actions to take to 'fix' her big brother. So she responded in the only way she knew how. To try and build something that change her and his life, something that would make them both rich. Something in her actions that would say, 'I love you big brother. I care about you and I worry about you. Please never worry about money again. It's the least I can do.'

Only her invention didn't work how she intended it, and now he was gone. Replaced by the other Lincoln, who… Ding Dang it, was downright wholesome when she ignored the parts of him that made her shudder. She wanted to like him, she wanted to be friends with him, but it was just…just… when she thought about herself, and her younger sisters, and what he must have done…

She frowned and reflected back on what he said…how he had made her 'wait' before consummating their relationship.

She sighed inwardly, that sounded like her. She would have wanted to get involved far earlier than whatever rules the rest of the family put down. She also knew how persuasive she could be when it came to putting her family under duress. Yet he 'held out' before letting her 'join the family'.

Lisa frowned and stood up.

She reached into her pocket and withdrew her phone, clicking through a few various screen until the selfie mode came up. She used it to start looking herself over.

That was another thing…

She didn't consider herself to exactly be a stunner. Yes, her breasts were large, as was her rear, but she had a little extra pudge around her stomach, thighs and hips. She was rather plain faced as far as she knew, and her hair wasn't the most stylish.

Overall, she didn't have many men come on to her often. There had been one or two at the Blacksite she had worked at, but she thought that was more probably because of how few women were there. Honestly, she was wondering how her brother could even think of her in such a manner. Why would he want to kiss her, and touch her, compared to her other sisters who were all so much more beautiful than her?

Gah! For the love of Feinstein, why was she thinking about all of this?! Why was she worried about what her brother thought about her?! Why was she even missing her other brother being kind and considerate towards her? This was… This was all ridiculous. As ridiculous as the strange 'jealousy' she felt over her dimensional doppelganger not being a virgin while she herself still was!

She needed to check on the other Lincoln, him doing something gross and perverse would probably put her head back on right again.

She sat herself down and flipped through her phone to one of the many personally designed apps she had installed on it. Apps that controlled her various inventions and lab equipment. This latest one involved the suite of things she'd installed in her erstwhile 'brother'. Part of that suite had involved a series of nanites that could take the form of a camera lens over his eyes and translate everything he was seeing at the time, directly to Lisa's screen. This way she could keep an eye on his activities directly when he wasn't around.

As the screen flicked to life and showed her what her brother from the other dimension was doing, she found herself slightly puzzled.

He was using her true brother's drawing tablet and art program. She'd seen him do this before, a couple of times since she installed the cameras. It was a peculiar activity she was still trying to figure out. At first she thought he was trying to possibly practice to take over for her brother, but watching him had shown that wasn't the case. While his skills were impressive for an amateur, they didn't hold up to her own brother's. Not only that but the subject matter he kept drawing and fixing over and over again spoke to it being more personal.

He seemed to be drawing what appeared to be a series of children. He'd started and stopped a couple of times, but Lisa could see he'd figured out how to use the software enough to where he could quickly change his mistakes. They ranged in ages and there were about four now in some group picture, with Lincoln working on a fifth. The one that stood out to Lisa the most, however, was the infant or well toddler among the bunch.

Lincoln had drawn a baby girl, in a onsie with a mop of brown hair and big blue eyes, with a pacifier in her lips. Something about her felt familiar, even if Lisa wasn't sure why.

Whatever the case, her brother doing drawings was one of the least dangerous things he could be doing. She did want to ask him about these drawings, but she had a feeling right now, he wouldn't be willing to tell her. That and it would tip her hand in terms of her spying on him. It would have to wait.

She needed to get back to work, and she needed to figure out how she was going to acquire more material. The only way she could get it would be to leave and acquire it elsewhere. Which would mean violating her house arrest again and hacking her leg tether once more.

She was beginning to wonder if she should start asking Clyde for help, have him drive her out to the places she knew she could scavenge for equipment, but that would make the man an accessory to her crimes if anything went wrong.

It was all just so frustrating. She missed those Halcyon days of her family all living together, all working together, and all loving one another.

Lisa took up her phone again and went to her photo gallery.

She spent the rest of the afternoon looking at old family photos and reminiscing about better days.

….

As Clyde stepped into the living room after work and took his shoes off, he could already smell a delicious meal coming from the kitchen, no doubt courtesy of one Lincoln Loud. It wasn't completely out of the ordinary, his Lincoln cooked dinner too, but this Lincoln was far more consistent about it…and a better cook.

Clyde's mood had been getting better as of late. Part of this had been because Penelope had texted him to ask how he was doing…how he was really doing, and he'd opened up to her. She had admitted to missing him, as he admitted to missing her, but they were also both honest with the issues they had. Clyde knew he loved Penelope, but he was also aware she had put him in an unfair position with her ultimatum. Penelope was aware her Ultimatum was out of line it seemed, but was also afraid the two of them would never move forward with their relationship.

It was progress, they were talking again, and admitting they missed each other. It was no promise they would get back together, but it was enough to lift Clyde's spirit all the same.

And he knew he had Lincoln to thank for it. That was the most bizarre thing overall. Lincoln had obviously done something, but when asked about it, the man brushed it off and said he hadn't done much but said a few words to Penelope.

Right now though, as Clyde took his jacket off and hung it up, that same man with the plan was walking out of the dining room, clad in an apron and looking curious towards him.

"Hey Clyde…" Lincoln started off, a simple greeting and question.

"Yeah Buddy?" Clyde responded without even thinking. He almost wanted to wince internally. He had reacted as if it was still *his* Lincoln he was talking to, and not this other one.

Whatever the case, this Lincoln didn't make anything about it, "You know I'm still trying to figure things out here with everyone…and I want to ask you about something that's probably pretty sensitive, but important."

Clyde looked back at the man with a look of concern, wondering where this was going to go. Lincoln just went on…

"It's about Lucy."

Clyde winced, then gave a slight sigh and nodded his head, "I figured you'd ask sooner or later."

Lincoln came fully into the living room and took a seat in the recliner. Clyde took a seat on the couch.

Clyde spoke up, "You uh, got a minute? Food's not going to burn or anything?"

Lincoln shook his head, "It's a roast. We got another hour or so before it's ready. Don't worry."

Clyde nodded, as he steepled his fingers together and looked down at the floor, "Well, I'm sure you figured out Lincoln's not on speaking terms with her."

Lincoln frowned in return and nodded his head, "I put that much together. You'll have to color me more than a little shocked. As much as things might be screwed up here, how did I get to the point where I'm not even talking to one of my own sisters? And Lucy?! Lucy of all people?"

Clyde sighed softly as he nodded, "I know, I know. It was a shock to me too when it happened. I can't tell you everything that went down, it's something that Lincoln has always been very…" Clyde paused, scrunching up his face for a moment, "Secretive about. I asked around to some of the other girls, Lynn in particular, see if Lucy said what happened, but she only provided a few details herself. All I can do is tell you what I know…"

Lincoln listened intently and nodded his head. Clyde looked back, then folded his arms as his eyes shot up while recalling everything he could.

"Lucy does a lot of traveling for her books. She likes to physically go to the places she writes about, give it more of an authentic feel. So, like the rest of the girls, she'd been gone from home for more than a few years. She does owns a permanent home here in Royal Woods, but she isn't in it often."

Lincoln nodded again as he listened, Clyde looked saddened as he added, "I don't think she's really been back home since the incident."

Lincoln frowned as he heard the last part, looked back to Clyde with worry, "He stopped her from ever even coming home?"

Clyde put his hands up, blowing air between his lips, "I don't know what he did per say, all I know is, Lucy avoids Lincoln and vice versa. Lincoln already avoids most family gatherings, but he really stays away if his father or Lucy are involved. Just, just let me tell you what I know."

Lincoln sighed, "Okay, okay, go on."

Clyde gave a weak smile and continued, "So it was a couple of years ago, Lucy was back home in town. She got ahold of Lincoln, said she had something really big, and really important to discuss with him. She wanted to meet him at the Burnt Bean where they could talk about it."

Clyde took a breath, Lincoln waited.

"From what I understand it didn't go well. I know some folks who were there talked about it because it was such a scene. From what I've managed to piece together…The meeting ended with Lincoln yelling at Lucy and telling her he wanted nothing to do with her ever again. They say Lucy was on the ground in tears, crying out to him, saying she loved him. Lincoln said something about not needing her, and that he was responsible for her success."

Lincoln listened and winced as he heard some of the details. He couldn't ever imagine saying such things to his Lucy. She was such a deep and sweet soul, his words meant so much to her. It would destroy her if he ever told her he didn't love her. But there was still so much context missing. What was important and really big? What did Lucy talk to him about? Why did his double yell at her? He frowned as he got lost in the possibilities.

Clyde continued.

"When Lincoln got home, I was there. He was pissed, and frustrated, he wouldn't tell me everything. Just kept saying 'how dare she'. He kept going on about how she thinks he's incapable of taking care of himself. Kept talking about not needing her charity or pity."

Clyde paused again, a very grim expression coming over him, "And he mentioned he needed to cut her out of his life for her own good. It was ugly, very ugly."

Lincoln was positively appalled. To him, his double had committed an absolutely cardinal sin. Cutting one of his beloved sisters from his life in such a fashion? What kind of man was he? What kind of man did that? No man like him. In this moment he wished the other Lincoln was in front of him, just so he could slap him. Frustration coming over him, Lincoln responded with voice raised, "He just…Just cut her out, just like that?! Just told her he wanted her out of his life?! Like it was nothing?! What kind of monster does that?!"

Clyde frowned as he raised his voice without even realizing it, coming to his friend's defense, "It wasn't nothing! It wasn't nothing at all! It destroyed him! Do you know how many times I've caught him crying and saying her name? Begging for her forgiveness when he's drunk?! It tore him to pieces, but he refused to change his mind on the issue! He keeps saying she's better off this way, that he did her a favor."

Lincoln was surprised at Clyde's sudden passion and defense of his friend. But then, Lincoln was his best friend. All the same, maybe there was also more to this than he thought.

Clyde sighed, "That was when things went the darkest. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. That's when Linc changed for the worst. He'd already been on a downward spiral, but that incident with Lucy…It killed him, and it turned him into a walking ghost."

Lincoln continued to try and figure out what happened. Why would his double react so violently to one of his favorite sisters? Well he wasn't entirely sure if Lucy and Lynn were his 'favorites' per say. Lincoln loved all his sisters, but he was closest to his Lucy and Lynn…He imagined it had to be similar with the Lincoln of this world. Why would he turn his back on them? Why would he cut one of them from his life completely? If what Clyde said was right, it hurt him in a way that was harder than anything else he'd gone through.

Lincoln just folded his arms, frowned and went quiet, brow furrowed, trying to figure it all out.

Clyde watched him and just gave a sad nod, "I don't know either buddy. I just know things were bad, and kept getting bad, but pulling Lucy from his life hurt him."

Clyde slowly stood up and shook his head, "Anyway, I don't wanna talk about this anymore, no offense. I'm going to change into something more comfortable…." Then Clyde looked back towards Lincoln with a hopeful expression, "You feel like maybe, watching Dragon Dynasty together later?"

Lincoln was broken from his inner thoughts by the question, and looked up towards Clyde and smiled, "I'd like that very much Clyde."

…..

It was late…Lincoln was lying in bed but couldn't sleep. Dinner had been fine, and hanging out with Clyde to watch Dragon Dynasty had been the most fun he'd had since Lily had come over. Really, hanging out with Clyde was….well it was awesome. It was really, really awesome.

But the subject matter involving Lucy earlier just kept bugging him. What had happened between the other Lincoln and Lucy? Why was he so cruel to her, when it was clear cutting her out of his life hurt him so much too? There were so many questions, and Lincoln knew there was only one way to find out what happened.

He opened up his phone and scrolled through his contacts…

Sure enough, she was still there, and under the same heading he had for her in his own world….'Spooky little thing'.

Taking a deep breath, he began to type the message.

'I know a lot of things were said in the heat of the moment. Things I still regret. I only hope you don't hate your only brother. I'm sorry.'

He looked at the message, and made up his mind.

He pressed 'send'.