AN: AND IT'S DONE! Feels good to finally be done with this story arc. But now I'll be moving onto something else, because I'm extremely Stupor'd out at the moment.

dogbertcarroll : That would only apply if Loudcest wasn't inherently the most wholesome thing ever, and it is. It's also hole-some sometimes.

TankH04: Really happy to hear that. Here, have another.

guest: Lincoln mentioned her in an earlier chapter. Safe to say she hasn't changed too much.

Tornado man: I'm not sure. Like I said before, I hadn't planned out too much beyond the Luna arc other than some odds and ends, and a broad idea of how I'd end the story someday. But it might be interesting to explore that stuff in the future.

Guest99: Because Gigant is a tokusatsu story, and tokusatsu is built upon self-contained, episodic fights with one-off monsters who'll probably never come back. I picked Thicc QT for the first one because she's barely a character and I thought it'd be fun to have giant versions of her and Leni smack each other around. I only reintroduced her into the story the way I did because I got the idea to have the mass-produced QTs serve as Darkness' minions. Don't have plans to do anything else with her at the moment because there isn't really anything for me to work with there. But the same could have been said for Maggie and she's one of the main characters now, so we'll see if I ever get inspired to revisit Thicc-QT's whole deal.

Strlo: Nothing can stop Lincoln. Not even super uncool tv writers who try to torpedo my ships by introducing bland love interests out of nowhere.

...I'm still not over Alpining Away.

Skully13: At least a few more. But I don't plan out these stories by coming up with an exhaustive list of all the girls to hook Lincoln up with, because a harem isn't a compelling story. You come up with a story first, and then you add the harem, preferably in a way that feels natural. I do have something planned for Becky though. Dunno if she'll be a permanent part of the story, but she'll make at least the one appearance.

GhostRider00: I don't totally understand what you're asking here, sorry. Tabby is my favorite of the Sadie Hawkins girls, that's why she's the only one I've written a story about in my Acesverse. Don't know if she'd fit into this story though. I do have a minor role for Polly to play, but I'm not planning on doing anything with Giggles. She doesn't get my creative juices flowing.

Lord Anathar: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy the fluffy bits, those are my favorite parts. The story isn't anywhere close to ending, incidentally, its just this story arc that's over now. As for writing a monogamy story...uh, I mean, I've written a couple of Lucycoln standalone fics. Just posted one the other day, in fact. Thing is, in my mind the Loud girls come as a package deal, so I can't ever really see myself doing a Loudcest story that's just about Lincoln and one sister. The closest you'll get are things like those Lucycoln stories, where its just the two of them, but they're written with an understanding that they're just a snapsot in the characters lives, and the other sisters will be joining in eventually. Especially Lynn, because Lynncoln exists in all timelines, and she and Lucy are even more of a packaged deal than the other sisters are. But I can't predict what I'll be inspired to write in the future, so we'll see.

"And then I took Lincoln aside and got a little hot and heavy with him, hoping it'd make it easier for me to turn him over to Luna," Lynn continued, pausing to lick bits of steak juice from her fingers, "Which it did NOT, by the way, and then I brought you here and we...uh, had this conversation."

She cleared her throat, and pushed her plate off to the side. "So...what do you think?"

Stella's jaw had dropped a little way into the story. Literally dropped, the lower part of her face had distended until it had clattered to the tabletop, and she had remained there, unmoving. When the waitress had brought out their food Lynn had directed her to tuck Stella's plate underneath her chin, hoping that the mouthwatering scent of artfully grilled meat would reanimate the girl, but it had apparently been to no avail. Which put Lynn in something of an awkward spot. The whole point of taking the novice heroine out had been to finally come clean to her about the family she'd managed to endear herself to. But she couldn't figure out how to proceed without getting an actual reaction from the girl, and this wasn't cutting it. It would seem that slightly more...drastic measures needed to be taken.

Lynn reached across the table, and after a moment of analysis, picked up a good-sized morsel of steak from Stella's plate. She leaned back in her chair, took careful aim, and sent the meat flying with a flick of her wrist—

—hitting Stella's open maw dead center, causing the other girl's eyes to bulge as the meat struck the back of her throat.

"Still got it," Said Lynn, giving herself a congratulatory fist pump as Stella succumbed to a gurgling fit of coughing. "Need me to come over there, Stel?"

Rather than respond, the polymorph swung one arm back, enlarged her fist to several times its normal size, and drove said fist into her own back—

"PLEARGH!"

—dislodging the now, somewhat slimy piece of meat, and causing it to skip a few times across the tabletop before it finally slid to a stop around the midway point. Her shoulder sagged as she began sucking in deep lungfuls of air.

"...Sorry about that," Lynn said, sliding Stella's drink a little closer to her. "But you've been kinda zonked out for a bit, and I was starting to get worried. Did you...uh, hear, everything?"

"I did," Stella wheezed, reaching for her beverage. Lynn waited patiently as she gulped down the liquid until finally, she continued.

"It was just...a lot to process," Stella admitted, placing her drink back onto the tabletop, and then sinking into her chair, still looking slightly dazed.

"So...what about Landon?" She asked, after several moments of contemplative silence.

"There never was a Landon," Lynn deadpanned. "Come on Stel, keep up."

"Right, right," The other girl muttered, shaking her head. "It's just...I really liked you two together. But if you've never...I mean, if you've only…"

Her eyes widened in realization. "Oh my god. The hair!"

Lynn winced, partly out of...embarrassment, she supposed. Not because she in any way regretted what she had with her brother, but there was a certain...vulnerability, that came with sharing something this private. Mostly, however, she felt sympathy for the younger girl. Stella's face was fully animated now, presumably running through a multitude of memories, reexamining old interactions through new eyes, reassessing everything she knew about the strange siblings that had drawn her into their social circle. It was weird to watch, and it would undoubtedly be significantly more to go through. So despite very much wanting to intervene, and hopefully speed the process up, Lynn forced herself to remain seated, until finally, Stella's head began to droop, and then plopped down upon the tabletop.

"I can't believe I didn't see it sooner!" she moaned. Before Lynn could even begin to formulate a response, Stella's neck began to rotate around, twisting a full 108 degrees before it stopped. Lynn had expected a lot of potential reactions to the revelations she'd dropped on the poor girl, running through multitudes of potential outcomes in her head as she tried to figure out how to best handle this meeting that was destined to result in unparalleled levels of awkwardness for everyone involved.

Somehow, that look of disappointment that she now faced, had not been among them.

"...Did I ever have a chance?"

"...Huh?" Lynn replied, blinking in surprise. That was even more unexpected. "You...uh...heard the part where I admitted that I was dating my brother, right? And that I'm sharing him with Lori? Who he's also related to?"

"I heard," One of Stella's arms snaked upward and gave her a curt, dismissive wave. "I thought that'd save me, but of course, you're all involved with each other."

Lynn blinked a few more times. "It's just...when I was planning this conversation out in my head, I kind of thought the whole...siblings dating...thing, was going to be a bigger deal for you."

"...Look at me, Lynn," Stella deadpanned, elongating both her arms and flailing them around, demonstrating the impossible range of movement she possessed. "It's a pretty safe bet that I'm the weirdest thing in whatever room I happen to be in. Top three at worst. Finding out that three people who obviously love each other are also...uh…"

Her face noticeably reddened.

"D-doing other...stuff," She paused to take a deep, shuddering breath, "Is pretty small potatoes. The way you guys act around each other, it'd actually be weirder if you weren't dating."

She let out a forlorn sigh. "I just wish I'd figured it out sooner. Lincoln must think I'm an idiot."

"Gonna stop you riiiiiiight there," Lynn said, lightly rapping her knuckles on the table. "First off, when it comes to realizing girls like him, my little bro is even more dense than that chunk of metal that fell out of the black hole that opened up over Canada a while back."

"I think they're calling it 'Densium'."

"That's the one," Lynn said, nodding. "He's so thick in that particular department, that if you walked up to him, tore off your shirt and showed him that you'd written 'Take me now!' across your abs, he'd still be confused about your intentions."

Now it was Stella's turn to look dumbfounded. "...That sounds like a really specific example."

"My point," Lynn continued, is that anyone with eyes could see that you've got the hots for my bro, I guarantee that he thinks you're just some cute meta girl who's chosen to slum it with him for some unfathomable reason."

"...Did he say I was cute?" Stella asked, cautiously. "And how did he say it? Was it sarcastic? Actually, don't...don't tell me if he said it sarcastically, maybe you could just—"

"Oh, my, GOD!" Lynn shouted, throwing her arms up in exasperation. "He likes you, you dope! And you like him! You both like each other! Okay?"

Stella's head raised a fraction of an inch. "...Really?"

"Yessssss," Lynn hissed, feeling a familiar throbbing in her forehead. "Now will you let me finish my pitch?"

"...O-okaaaaaaayyyy wait a minute," Stella tensed up again. "This...this isn't you trying to get rid of me, is it? Like that one girl who was crushing on Landon. Christina?"

"That was a TV show!" Lynn growled, a full-body twitch running through her. "And in real life, she moved away! And I didn't have anything to do with it!"

"Alright, alright," Stella muttered, sitting back in her chair. "I mean, can you blame me for being nervous? You guys are already pretty protective of Lincoln, and that was...before…" She gulped audibly. "B-before I knew what was going on. Geeze...you sure Lincoln didn't pick up on my whole...uh…"

"Trust me, he's going to be floored when you tell him you like him.

"T-t-t-tell him!" Stella squeaked, her face flushing crimson. "B-but you said you—!"

Lynn held up one hand and immediately the other girl shut up.

"You were right when you said that Lori and I are really protective of our little bro," Lynn began. "We were like that even before all our...situation happened. There's a reason Luna waited till Lori was off planet before she tried that stunt with Linc."

Stella nodded uncertainly but remained silent.

"Today, you showed me that you have Lincoln's best interests in mind. And because of that...and because you've just been a good friend to us in general, Lincoln most of all…I'm extending an offer for you to...join our team, so to speak."

"Your...team?"

"I'm saying you can date my brother," Lynn clarified. "Assuming you don't mind sharing, obviously."

Stella's eyes bulged and her mouth opened ever so slightly. No sound came out, but Lynn swore she could hear dogs barking far off in the distance. Thankfully, however, the younger girl managed to compose herself after only a few moments of...whatever that was.

"W-why...w-would y-you…" Stella abruptly cleared her throat. "Why would you...want...that?"

"If I'm being honest, I don't one-hundred percent want it, exactly," Lynn admitted. "There's a part of me that kinda wishes it was just me and Linc. But...underneath all those layers of awkwardness and dorkyness...he's a pretty amazing guy. And when someone can see through all that, and appreciate him for who he is...I have to respect that. Plus...Linc's got a big heart. And I know that no matter how many girls are jostling for his attention, I'll always be his number one."

Stella opened her mouth, seemingly as if to respond, but instead she just shut it.

"See?" Said Lynn. "You're already figuring out the dynamic. You'll fit into things just fine."

She picked up her drink and gave the glass a flick, watching the remaining liquid swirl around inside.

"Besides," She continued, "I'm not being a total altruist here. You're still a little rough around the edges, but you're pretty strong when you're properly motivated. The way I see it, having a potential powerhouse like you in our corner, and giving you a good reason to keep my little bro safe is worth giving up a bit of my Linc time."

"Should I be worried that it sounds like you expect more of this kind of stuff to happen in the future?" Stella asked, weakly.

"Maybe a little," Lynn admitted. "But I have a feeling the pros are going to outweigh the cons for you."

Something sounding vaguely like a whimper escaped Stella's lips. But a moment later, she nodded. And a moment after that, she nodded a second time, significantly more resolute that time.

"O-okay," She said, her cheeks tinted scarlet. "I guess I can try it. A-assuming Lincoln's okay with it…"

Lynn rolled her eyes but said nothing.

"So…" Stella began, as she counted off on her fingers. "It'd be uh...me. And you. And Lori, and...that Luna girl?"

"And it seems like her girlfriend's onboard too," Lynn added, swallowing the last of her flippee. "Not entirely sure how I feel about that, truth be told."

"Hoo boy," Stella muttered, her face turning slightly pale. "Anyone...else, I need to know about?"

"He's got ten sisters."

Stella visibly grimaced. "And they're...all…?"

"Well, Lily's way too young for that kind of thing," Lynn replied. "For now, anyway. But the others...yeah, pretty good chance."

"Hooooo boy," Stella muttered, sinking deeper into her chair. "That's a lotta Louds…"

"One thing at a time, kid," Lynn replied, chuckling. She rapped her fingers upon the tabletop three times, and suddenly their waitress was there, holding a fresh tray of drinks.

"Now," Lynn said, taking a fresh sip of flippee. "I should probably give you a bit of a crash course on our family. Seeing as you're probably going to be meeting them sooner or later.

"A-are they as...colorful? As you and Lori?"

"Pretty much. Nothing stays quiet for too long with us Louds…"

Lucy Loud emerged into darkness. Granted, she had also emerged from darkness, because that was her primary mode of locomotion, but it was a different variety of darkness. So on paper, it was sort of a lateral move, but only because the layperson was generally unfamiliar with just how much nuance there was between different kinds of darkness—

"I really need a good night's sleep," Lucy muttered, shaking her head in an attempt to dispel the errant narration that was threatening to overtake her. It had become something of a problem as of late, with back-to-back missions covetously stealing the vast majority of her...there she was, doing it again. But it was fine, because now she was back. In her brother's...closet...which...wasn't normally something to celebrate, but it was a transitional state. All she had to do was grab the doorknob, give it a good twist, and—

Lucy abruptly grabbed the door and shoved it open, scurrying through the entryway with little care for her dignity, only paying the barest attention to the amount of noise she was making, as she prepared to receive her long-deserved rest.

And then...she skidded to a halt.

"What…the…" She breathed, one eye twitching furiously underneath her bangs.

Lucy had prepared for the frustratingly likely possibility that she would once again find her brother with company, her sisters rightfully stealing her place at his side from her. And she had prepared to handle it with dignity and grace...by simply taking her spot back. By force, if necessary.

As anticipated, her midnight rendezvous with her brother had led to her finding the young man accompanied by a blonde and a brunette. What had set her eye twitching, however, was that she hadn't expected to find him entangled with an entirely different set!

"You've got to be kidding me," She muttered, her teeth gnashing as she ran her eyes over the three individuals huddled under the covers. "Wait...Luna? AND Sam?"

Somehow, that particular combination was stranger, and even more infuriating than her initial thought, that she'd come across Lincoln with another random pair of girls. So baffled in fact was she, that her preoccupation with the how of the situation momentarily prevented her from considering the why. Still, it wasn't long before her night-acclimated sight took in the clues before her. Discarded clothing, exposed bits of flesh poking out from under the blankets, not to mention just how cozy the trio appeared to be. It became abundantly clear that this was no mere sleepover. And that realization was what finally set Lucy over the edge.

"That's it," Lucy growled. "No more Ms. Nice Goth."

Clamping down on her seething emotions ("Soon...just a moment longer…"), Lucy circumnavigated Lincoln's bed (which she noticed was much larger, nicer, and...sturdier than his old one…), and made her way to Lincoln's nightstand. Along the way she was forced to pass by Sam, her cyan-streaked hair easily recognizable even in the low light...particularly because of the way it was resting peacefully atop her brother's bare chest. And for a moment, Lucy seriously considered giving the blonde a good punch in the head. Which was absolutely not the kind of conduct she normally engaged in, but here...it was so very, very tempting. Still, she mastered her emotions and trekked on, finally reaching the nightstand. She rummaged around until she found the pen and notepad Lincoln always kept there, and then scurried back to the foot of the bed, not trusting herself to remain too close to her brother's...partners, for much longer. Re-situated, and scribbled a message on the pad. Examining her handiwork, and finding it to be to her satisfaction, she took a deep breath, and centered herself.

"Now…" She breathed softly, "It's Lucy's turn."

With a gesture, she tore open a hole in reality, a portal made of the darkest night manifesting in her brother's closet. And as it stabilized, she turned her attention back to the slumbering trio.

...Even she had to admit that it was a little weird just how much satisfaction she was getting from this. Even so…

Lucy raised her hands and gestured outward, and in response, a slew of large, inky-black tendrils burst from her cloak, writhing in anticipation as she linked her mind to them.

"Take him," She commanded them with her mind, gesturing at her comatose brother. At once, the ebony appendages lurched forward, tossing the blankets aside and entangling her brother with blinding speed, and even taking care to daintily separate him from the two girls that had previously been wrapped around him. As the tendrils retracted, pulling the young man toward her she caught sight of his eyes, now very much open and wide with terror, the only thing likely keeping him from shouting out in alarm being the ebony substance clamped around his mouth...and in spite of speed being her ally here, she ceased the operation momentarily, and willed her construct to pull Lincoln closer.

"H-hello...big brother," She said, haltingly as Lincoln approached. She couldn't say whether he'd actually heard her, but she was the recognition in his eyes. A strange sensation of exultation gave her pause, so tremendously happy was she that despite everything that had happened, he still knew her. It was a wonderful feeling.

...and it was one she intended to have more of.

"Don't worry," She said, daring to trace her fingers down his cheek. "We'll have plenty of time to catch up…"

And then, she gestured once more, her constructs bulged as they coiled into themselves...and they flung her brother into her portal.

"...Nicely done," She congratulated herself. She was about to dismiss her constructs, but a thought occurred to her, and instead, they splayed outward in all directions, each seeking to retrieve a specific item. Moments later, a t-shirt, a pair of jeans, some underwear, and a spare blanket all sailed through the portal.

"And that will do it," She said, nodding in satisfaction as her constructs retracted back into her cloak. She took the pad and pen and place them upon the bed, then retreated through the portal, closing it behind her.

Come the next morning, Lincoln's sisters and attached parties would find a short message, written in flowing, stylized handwriting.

Lynn,

Took Lincoln.

Will bring back when done.

-Lucy

Minor clarification here: This isn't the start of another Lincoln kidnapping plot, it's just a gag for the story arc to end on. She does exactly what she said she'd do, and brings him back when she's done.