AN: I've got a midterm on Monday, so I've fallen back on my usual coping mechanism. Don't mind me, just trying to stave off some stress.
I guess a small, informational tidbit that'll make this chapter slightly easier to digest, is that while growing up I was a big fan of a short-lived series of games SNK put out called King of the Monsters. As the name probably suggests, they were games about lawyer-friendly versions of popular kaiju (and Ultraman) beating the snot out of each other, the first one playing out like a wrestling game, and the second mostly as a side-scrolling beat em up. In fact, the reason I got into The Loud House in the first place was because one day I randomly came across some fan art of Leni, Luna and Luan facing off against characters from those games. In what I imagine was probably the reverse situation for most people who saw those drawings, I knew who the characters from the obscure 16-bit games were, but not who the characters from the hit Nickelodeon series were. And in trying to get some context for those drawings, I ended up falling down the rabbit hole that eventually led me to be writing this sentence. It's my understanding that those drawings were done by Migueruchan, so I guess they're ultimately to blame for all these stories of mine coming to light. Funny, that.
So given that my impetus for joining this fandom was coming across that super random crossover content, I suppose it was inevitable that would eventually write a fic which at least drew on elements from those games. Among other, similarly related materials. And apparently, that's what I've now done.
So...yeah. Uh, world building chapter go!
As he had so many times over the last few days, Lincoln glanced around his family's living room and just marveled at the simple comforts that he'd taken for granted all his life. Running water, air conditioning and heating, sturdy walls and a roof to keep the elements out, and a fridge that seemingly never went empty. Not to mention being able to heat the food within by simply pressing a few buttons. After a few weeks of roughing it, the mundanities of home felt like paradise by comparison.
Not that it had been all bad, of course. As delicious as his dad's cooking was, he'd been nursing a powerful craving for slow-roasted Giant Sabretooth for days now, and there just wasn't anything quite like it back home. It was getting to the point where he was seriously considering approaching Lisa with some kind of plan to import the meat. Or, dare he say it, raise them locally?
But, island delicacies aside, the ordeal had also been an opportunity to grow even closer to Sam and Luna. And they had very much done so, to the point where his first night spent sleeping in his own room, alone, had felt...strange, to say the least. Not that he'd been able to spend too much time alone. Even with half of his sisters either out of town, or shacking up Lynn, the remaining ones had been very insistent on spending time with them. They claimed it was to make up for lost time, but he'd suspected from how clingy they'd become, that it was at least partially to make sure that he wouldn't just up and disappear on them again, even though he'd tried to make it clear that he had no intention of leaving again any time soon.
Truth be told, he wasn't even sure he could. Since their transformation, Sam and Luna had displayed an uncanny ability to track him down no matter where he roamed, and since their return, Lynn had proven herself to be similarly adept at keeping tabs on him, leading to believe it might be some quirk of their physiology…
Which reminded him that his being here actually did have a purpose beyond endlessly ruminating on his circumstances. And so, Lincoln grabbed the remote, pointed it at the family television, and pushed the Play button.
"Good evening Royal Woods!" Said a professionally dressed woman from the set of what appeared to be a talk show. "I'm Katherine Mulligan, and tonight I'm bringing you a special feature we call, Terror From the Deep! An exploration of both trials and tribulations our beloved town has been going through as of late, and the beacon of hope that has recently been lit! First up, a little background to set the scene…"
She gestured to a large screen behind her which immediately lit up as it replaced the broadcast feed.
"Kaiju," Katherine spoke as archived footage of monstrous creatures began to play, quickly playing out as a montage of destruction and violence. "Terrifying creatures who, for years, have periodically emerged from the sea and laid havoc to cities across the world. For a time, global military efforts were able to repel the beasts with increasing reliability thanks to rapid technological developments and the bravery of those armed forces. But all that changed earlier this week, thanks to the emergence of something far more fearsome than anything that had come before it…"
The feed changed to show the Royal Woods coastline, moments before the sea began to churn furiously, then parted as an enormous, draconic shape emerged, scales like armor, teeth and claws the size of small vehicles, and a long line of jagged spikes protruding from the top of its head all the way down to its tail. As it finished surfacing, it threw back its head and roared, a tremendous gout of flame bursting from its mouth as it did so.
"The kaiju that has since been given the designation...Geon."
"Ah, I see you're watching the interview."
Engrossed as he was in what he was watching, Lincoln experienced a mild joint of surprise as another voice invaded his mental space. This being not even a remotely uncommon occurrence in a household where up to 13 people typically shared the same television, however, he quickly recovered and instinctively thumbed the pause button as he turned to greet the new arrival.
"Lisa," He said, waving the remote to greet the brainy brunette who was currently walking down the stairs. "Yeah, just doing what you told me to do. Not really sure why, but its kind of nuts to see what me and the girls missed while we were gone."
"It gets significantly more, 'nuts'," The young scientist replied as she rounded the banister and began heading his way. "But to answer your unspoken query, I thought that getting you caught up on what was publicly available would be a good start. If for no other reason than it would help mitigate some of the...awkwardness, you're going to experience as you reintegrate back into your social hierarchy.
Lincoln winced at the reminder that he would be back in school come the following Monday. His parents had, of course, offered to let him take more time off, but he'd politely refused, knowing that he'd already probably missed a lot due to his unexpected 'vacation'. But even knowing that, he still wasn't looking forward to the questions he'd undoubtedly be fielding. Especially as Luna and Sam's...conditions were also rapidly becoming public knowledge. Forget the jokes about him not having access to toilet paper or running water for a few weeks, sooner or later, somebody was going to connect the dots and have questions about what the finer points of his tropical island adventure with two gorgeous, giant amazons had been like, and that was going to be its own brand of awkward.
...Dollars to donuts that it would be Rusty who'd take it upon himself to cross that particular bridge.
"R-right," He muttered, trying to shake off that bit of unpleasantness. "Well, guess I'll get back to it then."
"One moment, elder brother," Lisa interjected. She shrugged off her lab coat, which he'd only now just noticed was of far finer material than the ones his parents had bought her while they were growing up. He supposed it was just another sign of her moving onto bigger and better things. As she hung it on the coat rack, he caught sight of an emblem that was printed across the coat's breast pocket, but the angle he was viewing it at prevented him from getting a good view of it.
"There we go," She said to herself. Then, to his surprise, she walked over to the couch and hopped onto the cushion next to him. Emphasis on next to him, as there was barely any space between them. "You may resume playback."
"You're...uh, a little close, Lees," He pointed out.
"Ah, of course. How silly of me." And with that, she pushed off the couch cushion...towards him, the young girl now pressing into his side. "Now you may proceed."
"...Sure thing, Lisa," He said, snorting in amusement. His younger sisters had all been pulling stuff like this since his return. And despite how she tried to portray herself, the family scientist was nowhere near as cold and emotionless as she pretended to be. In hindsight, it was only a matter of time before she took her turn. Resigned to his fate, but not at all displeased, Lincoln turned back to the tv and put his thumb the play button.
"You may also put your arm around me," Lisa added, as she leaned into him. "The studies I've read suggest that such contact will aid with your reintegration."
"Whatever you say, Lees," He replied, sliding his arm around his younger sister, and hitting the play button again.
"Geon was a threat unlike any that had come before it," Katherine's voice picked up as playback resumed, the footage now depicting the beast making its way inland, effortlessly swatting away or stomping down military resistance like they were insects, and carving out chunks of the surrounding terrain with enormous blasts of fire it launched from its mouth. "But just when it seemed there was no hope left, an unlikely hero emerged!"
The monster suddenly reeled, as if had been struck by a tremendous force. With a roar of outrage, it spun around, fangs bared and claws at the ready. And there, standing before it, was Lynn, larger than life in every sense of the phrase. Surprisingly, she still came up short relative to the kaiju, her head more or less reaching up to its waistline. Even so, she put up her fists and flashed it a cocky grin.
Despite knowing that things had to have turned out okay, Lincoln still felt a pang of anxiety for his reckless, stubborn-to-a-fault sister. And yet, seeing her standing up to what had to seem like impossible odds at the time, he couldn't help but feel proud of her all the same. Especially knowing that in that moment, without the benefit of hindsight, that sight of Lynn staring that beast down, unflinching, unmoved by the awesome power it had displayed...it would have meant the world to anyone lucky enough to witness it.
He loved that about Lynn. He always had.
"Unbeknownst to the public, local sports legend Lynn Loud Jr.…" A photo of Lynn was briefly overlayed atop the brawl, one of the many occasions where her team had carried her off the field after she'd pulled out an amazing victory in one sport or another, "...had bravely volunteered herself for a radical, experimental treatment, the specifics of which are still unknown. However, the results more than speak for themselves. And with her new size and strength, Lynn challenged the creature head-on, making it pay dearly for every inch of the ground it had taken, until finally, she emerged victorious, driving Geon back into the sea!"
The end of Katherine's narration coincided with a clip of Geon having been driven back to the coastline. Then, after a brief bout of what appeared to be a fairly severe case of indigestion (not at all an uncommon sight where Lynn was concerned), his sister let loose her sonic breath, knocking the kaiju into the air and sending it crashing into the ocean. The monster clambered back to its feet with no small amount of difficulty, its heavy frame shuddering, seemingly finding it difficult to support its own weight. It paused, displaying a gleam of intellect that belied its ferocity, and then, after sparing the girl one last, hate-filled glance, turned away, and retreated back into the ocean's depths.
"Truly remarkable," Katherine said as the talk show set once again took over the feed. "And now with that out of the way, how would you folks feel about getting to meet the hero herself? Here! In the studio, tonight!
A cacophonous chorus of cheers resounded as the camera pulled back, now revealing that in the time it had taken to show that presentation an enormous chair had been set up next to Katherine's, its sheer size absolutely dwarfing the hostess.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that!" The newscaster exclaimed, punching the air for emphasis. "Because here she is! Come on out Lynn!"
"BOO YEAH!" Came the booming voice of his sister as Lynn's head emerged from backstage. "HOW ARE WE DOING TONIGHT, ROYAL WOODS?"
The cheers intensified tenfold as Lynn emerged and made her way to center stage...though, not without difficulty. Even stooped over, she was barely able to move without banging her head on the ceiling, but nevertheless, she managed to maneuver her way to her chair, which she hurriedly sank into, the barely-disguised relief on her face still pretty palpable to Lincoln's practiced eyes.
"So Lynn," Katherine began after allowing Lynn a few moments to mug for the audience. "Or, I suppose I should be calling you 'Lynnzilla' now, right?"
"That is what people are calling me now," His sister said with a boisterous laugh. "I dunno who came up with it, but sometimes things just fit. Much like my new line of sportswear that just launched!"
She took a moment to indicate the stylized "LZ" that had been emblazoned on the tanktop she wore, which the cameraman seemingly took as an invitation to zoom in on the logo in question.
"Can't wait to get a set for myself," Katherine replied with a good-natured chuckle. "Now, I know the members of our audience undoubtedly have a million questions to ask you. But before that, I'd like to ask one, teensy tiny question for myself, if you don't mind."
"Fire away, Katherine."
"Seeing as you are both a star athlete and a professional kaiju fighter, what would you recommend I eat for breakfast to get the most out of my day?"
"Well obviously, you'd want something packed to the brim with essential vitamins and nutrients!" Lynn replied, flexing her arm and causing her mountainous bicep to bulge outward. "Like my new officially endorsed breakfast cereal, Lynnzilla Crunchies!"
"Oh! I think we just happen to have a clip of your commercial on hand…"
"Alright, I think that's enough of that," Lisa deadpanned, snatching the remote out of Lincoln's hand and turning off the TV.
"But...cereal…" Lincoln murmured, reaching to take the remote back—
SLAP
—only to receive a smack across the face instead.
"...Are you cognizant again?" His younger sister asked, dryly.
"I...uh...yeah," Lincoln muttered, giving his head a good shake as the fog that had clouded his thoughts began to fade. "Wow, that was some...really good marketing."
"Yes, Lynn took to that aspect of her new position like a fish to water," Lisa remarked as she hopped to her feet and returned the remote to its usual resting spot atop the coffee table. "Now come with me if you please."
"Where...uh...where too?" Lincoln asked as he stood up.
"To my lab," Lisa replied, "I told you, the whole point of you watching that dreck was to give you the version of events that has been deemed acceptable for the public's consumption. Now…"
She picked her lab coat off the coat rack and donned it once more.
"...I'm going to tell you what really happened."
