Disclaimer: I do not own anything, I make no money or profit from this.

Chapter 6: Talk With Dr. Lopez

DREAM

Lincoln, in his Grunt uniform, was currently hiding behind a parked car. He and 4 other Grunts were currently in a shootout with police, after killing a traitor that was in police custody. With them being pinned down, the one beside him poked his head out to return fire. Only for him to be shot in the head, falling beside Lincoln dead. Said boy was horrified, but shook it off and focused on his current situation. He grabbed a pokeball from his dead companion's body and released the Pokemon. It was a Voltorb and Lincoln picked it up. He then gave it an order before tossing it towards the police. The Voltorb landed near the police and started to glow, indicating it was going to explode. The police ran to not get caught in the explosion, giving Lincoln and his fellow grunts a chance to escape. They made it to an alley and down a manhole, escaping through the sewers.

DREAM END

"Lincoln, you need to get up," Rita's voice said from the other side of his door. This woke him up from his dream. "You need to get ready for your appointment."

"Alright, I'm up," Lincoln replied, sitting on the edge of his bed. He heard his mother walk away and let out a sigh. He grabbed some clothes to wait for the bathroom, put them on, and went to wait in line. Upon seeing him, all his sisters greeted him with hugs or kisses to the face.

After what happened a couple of days ago, his younger siblings have been doing the same things as the older ones. His parents weren't happy when they heard what happened with Ronnie Anne and Clyde. They became downright furious when they heard the incidents with Lynn Jr. and Lucy. They scolded their daughters for keeping such information from them, before going up to talk to their only son.

They found him and Mawile sleeping in the bed, with the room a mess. They woke him up and soon the argument started. While they argued, the parents looked around the room. It was then they found, not only the marked out pictures, but his gun that he kept hidden. This only escalated the argument and yelling, scaring the girls who were eavesdropping. After an hour of yelling, the parents had left the room with the pictures and gun. All the kids were now in trouble, with only the older girls and Lincoln getting ground for 3 weeks.

The following day, the Loud parents talk to Dr. Lopez with the help of Clyde. They gave her all the information and got Lincoln an appointment for the next day around noon. While Lincoln was upset, he didn't fight against it. He knew this was coming, and he didn't like it. He only left his room to use the bathroom and feed his Pokemon.

After having a shower, getting dressed, and feeding his Pokemon, he waited in his room. Part of him wanted to just make a run for it. After everything he's been through, living on the streets would be easy. However he didn't because he didn't want to leave his home again. "This is a waste of time," he said to himself with a frown. "I'll get better on my own, I just need more time. I don't need help! I'm strong enough to handle this!" He then started to pace in his room.

After a few more minutes of him pacing within his room and talking to himself, he heard knocking on his door. It was his dad telling him it was time to leave for his appointment. With a frustrated sigh, he left his room and headed for the family van. His sisters gave words of encouragement, but he ignored them. He wasn't in the best mood and didn't want to snap at any of them. He remained silent for the drive to the office, despite his parents attempts at a conversation. He just stared out the window with a frown.

Once they got to the office and checked in, Lincoln remained silent and waited. After a few minutes someone called his name. He looked at the person and figured this was Dr. Lopez. She was a young woman who looked to be in her early to late 30s, tan skin and dark colored hair. She gestured for him to follow her, so he did, ignoring his parents' parting words.

Once inside her office he looked around. She had diplomas and credentials on the walls. A large bookshelf filled with books. A fancy desk with a computer near one wall. Finally there was a fancy leather chair and couch on the opposite wall from the desk. Dr. Lopez told him to sit on the couch, so he did. She grabbed a notebook from her desk before sitting in the chair.

"Now I'm sure you know, but I'm Mia Lopez," she told him with a kind voice. "I'm a psychiatrist and therapist, so what brings you here today?"

"Shouldn't you know already?" Lincoln asked, not hiding the annoyance in his voice.

"I do, but I want to hear why you think you're here" she replied calmly.

"I'm here because my parents think I need help," he replied with a scowl.

Dr. Lopez nodded her head and started taking notes. "Now your parents told me about your…recent trip," she started cautiously. "However I would prefer hearing it from you. So will you tell me about it? Just know anything you say will stay between us, unless it's a danger to yourself or those around you." She gave him a soft smile.

"Fine, but I doubt you'll believe me," the boy replied with a snort. He then gave her a brief summary of what happened for the last 2 years. He told her about the portal, Team Rocket, what kind of jobs he did, and about Pokemon along with trainers. He left out many details and gave her the bare minimum.

Dr. Lopez stayed silent and listened while taking notes. "I see, it sounds like you went through a lot in the last two years," she told him. Her voice was still kind, but she now had a frown.

"You actually believe me?" The boy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"While I'll admit this sounds like some sort of fiction…" the doctor started, pausing her note taking. "...I do know of your sister Lisa. I also heard of some of the things she built. So her building a portal to another world, while sounding crazy, I believe is possible for someone like her. Now your parents have told me you have these "episodes"? Can you tell me about them from your point of view?"

Lincoln let out an annoyed huff and laid on the couch. "Fine," he answered with a frown. "First, I never intended to punch Lucy. She just startled me and I acted on instinct. When I got beaten by Rocket Grunts, I never saw it coming. They would either hit me from behind and beat me right there, or grab me from behind and drag me elsewhere to beat me. So when she scared me, I thought she was a Grunt."

The doctor nodded and listened while writing things down. "How about the one with your sister Lynn?" Dr. Lopez asked him calmly.

"That one is a bit different," Lincoln replied as he stared at the ceiling. "Lynn calling me names like Stinkcoln happened all the time in the past. However, what she used to call me was nothing in comparison to what Team Rocket Grunts called me. Everyday, at least three Rocket members would belittle me, more so when they were beating me. So when Lynn was mocking me, I saw her as a Grunt rather than my sister."

"I see," Dr. Lopez said with a questionable gaze, continuing to take her notes. "Did you and Lynn have a good relationship before your trip?" Lincoln just shrugged his shoulders and gave a so-so gesture, but said nothing. "What about with this Ronnie Anne? What happened then?"

"I never wanted that to happen," he said, his expression becoming depressed. "She's the little sister of my oldest sister, Lori, boyfriend, and one of my best friends," Dr. Lopez nodded and silently told him to continue. "I didn't contact them because I didn't want something to happen. Truthfully, I forget she and Clyde were there. I was too busy yelling at Lori. However when she approached me and called me Lame-o…I didn't see her. In her place was an angry Pokemon trainer who was mad at me for taking their Pokemon or money. So I did what I always do, I punched them. But when I realized what I did and looked down at her, I didn't see her again. In her place were the many girls I saw forced to work at one of the brothels."

The doctor gave him a raised eyebrow as she wrote this down. "So instead of seeing Ronnie Anne, you saw these girls or Pokemon trainers?" She questioned. Lincoln didn't look at her, he just nodded. "How about what happened with Clyde?"

"I-I-I didn't mean to attack him," Lincoln said with a shaky voice. His expression was one of hurt and devastation. "When he grabbed my arm, all I saw was an angry trainer. So I ordered Mawile to use Flash Cannon. It wouldn't have killed him, but would've hurt him real bad. I was just so angry, I wasn't thinking or seeing straight. I was running on instinct, I didn't want to hurt him!"

Dr. Lopez started to frown at hearing this, she was starting to see a pattern. "What about the pictures?" She asked, hoping the change of topic would calm him down. "Why did you take all the pictures of you and mark yourself out of them?"

Hearing this caused Lincoln to calm down. After taking a breath, he returned to normal and went back to staring at the ceiling. "I hate seeing the old me," he replied. While his face was calm, his voice was filled with venom. "That weak brat couldn't do anything. He couldn't defend himself or fight back. All he could do was curl up in a ball and cry. Every night he cried, wishing, praying that someone would save him." Lincoln's expression became one of fury and he scowled. "But of course, it never happened. Things didn't change until I started to make things change. I stopped crying and started fighting back! Doing what needed to be done! Moving up in the organization to make sure I never had to go through that again! So I marked him out so I never have to see him again!"

"Is that why you destroyed your mirror when you returned?" Dr. Lopez asked him, with a serious expression and tone.

"Yes," he replied as a growl. "As I held Bun-Bun, I looked in the mirror. Instead of seeing me…I saw him. I hate seeing him, every time I do, I want to punch him for being weak!"

This caught the doctor's attention. "You saw your younger self in your reflection?" She asked for clarification. The boy continued to scowl and nodded. "Does this happen often? Or is it only in mirrors?"

"Anything I can see my reflection in," he replied through gritted teeth. "I didn't want to get into trouble after breaking my mirror. So I didn't break anything else I saw him in."

"These hallucinations, do they happen often?" Dr. Lopez asked, not liking what she was hearing.

This caused Lincoln's fury to cool down as he thought. "Seeing my younger self does," he replied with a puzzled expression. "But the others, not so much. Thinking about it, they only happen when my emotions are running high."

"I see," Dr. Lopez said, writing this down. "Do you still love your family? Do you blame them for what happened to you?"

Lincoln had to really think about this. "I do still love them," he replied hesitantly, with a neutral expression. "While I don't blame most of them, I do blame a few of them. I blame Lisa for making that fucking portal. I blame Lori for Clyde and Ronnie Anne getting hurt, as well as coming here. I also blame my parents, since if they did a better job parenting, Lisa would've never had the chance to build such a device. Everyone else, I don't blame them."

Dr. Lopez nodded in understanding and looked at a clock on the wall. "I understand, our time is almost up" she told him with a kind smile and voice. "But before it ends, I want to ask. Why do you see getting help as being weak?"

Lincoln looked at her with a serious expression. "If you can't do something yourself, you'll never survive in the real world."

"I don't agree, but I hope to change your view," she said to him with a sad expression. "Now let's return to the lobby, I need to talk to your parents." Lincoln said nothing and got up following her out. Once they got to the lobby, Dr. Lopez told the parents to follow her to the office. They did while Lincoln waited in the Lobby. Once in her office, Lynn Sr. and Rita sat on the couch, with Dr. Lopez taking the chair.

"So what do you think, Dr. Lopez?" Lynn Sr. asked nervously.

"Can you help our son?" Rita asks worryingly.

"To be honest, it's going to be a challenge," Dr. Lopez told the parents with a sigh. "I can't say much since it was our first meeting. What I can say is he might be suffering from some sort of PTSD. However, I'm afraid there might be more than that. It seems like he is also having hallucinations. While some of these hallucinations are consistent, others only happen when he is stressed. To make things harder is when he is stressed, his first instinct is to fight or lash out. He also seems to lash out at people if they mock him, even if it's in jest. He also has hatred for not only himself, but for some members of the family. That is why he marked his younger self out of pictures."

"Who?!" Rita asked urgently. She didn't like the fact Lincoln hated them or his sisters.

"I'm sorry, but I can't say," the doctor told her with a sad expression. "He also doesn't seem to trust me and won't tell me a lot about his two year trip. Since he didn't mention a lot of what you told me over the phone. However the biggest issue is his view of asking for help as being weak. As long as he has this mindset, I'm afraid there's not much I can do. He'll ignore anything I say and won't take our session seriously."

"There has to be something you can do?!" Lynn pleaded, with his wife joining him.

"Normally I would prescribe something to stop the hallucinations…" Dr. Lopez said, looking at her notes. "But I don't think that's best right now. I would like more sessions so I can diagnose him properly, then maybe medication later. What concerns me right now is him attending school soon. He hasn't been in school for two years and you said he was starting middle school. He is going to be under a lot of stress. I'm worried his hallucinations will get worse and he may be violent at school."

"So what should we do?" Rita asked. She and her husband were at a complete loss.

"I would suggest letting him go," the doctor told them seriously. "We have no idea what will happen. However should he become violent, it might be best to have him do a mix of going to school and homeschooling. I also believe I should see him once a week. If I can diagnose him and give him the proper medication, he should hopefully calm down. As for you and your children, he seems to have trust issues with all of you. Try to do things to rebuild that trust, but don't smother him. He is emotionally unstable right now and smothering him will only cause him to lash out. Finally, it's best to not have any old pictures of him around. Seeing himself before his trip only agitates him and will cause him to lash out. Now set up an appointment with my receptionist before you leave."

The parents nodded in understanding and thanked her before they left. After setting another appointment for Lincoln, the 3 Louds returned to the family vehicle. The drive home was silent and Lincoln returned to his room the second they got home.