10. 11 Louds a Leapin' Part 2 (Genderbent)

Ms. Grouse steps in and unfold the newspaper about the town's she's living.

Linka's behind the drapes, but her scarf is missing.

When Grouse turns around, Linka grabs it hides again.

Ms. Grouse looks around, with peaked suspicion.

Ms. Grouse turns again and takes off her winter gear.

Linka goes into the kitchen in fear.

She opens a cabinet which catches Ms. Grouse's attention.

She checks the cabinet but nothing's there, beyond comprehension.

Ms. Grouse steps on Linka's hand under the table; her yelp is muffled.

Ms. Grouse checks under the table but nothing's there; she can smell trouble.

"Burr… Cold." Ms. Grouse lit a match and goes over to the chimney.

A pair of eyes watch it scared.

"Aw, dang. All out of wood."

The pair of eyes blew out the flare.

As she leaves, Linka escapes and runs toward the back door, home free!

That is, she would have been, but Ms. Grouse yells "Freeze!"

Linka screams. As for her sled, she released it.

She could only watch as Big Red smashes into pieces.

"Big Red!"

"That's what you get, you little thief!"

"What?! You're the thief! You took my sled and now it's broken!"

"My yard, my property! I'm calling your folks right now, they'll know what to do with you!"

Over at the Loud House, everyone was doing their own thing.

Not one of them heard the phone's rings.

"Nobody's answering! Probably can't hear the phone ringing with all the commotion over there!" She hangs up and drags Linka over to the fireplace.

"Until I reach your folks, you can clean up the mess you made!" She hands her a broom.

"Why do you have to be so mean? All you could have done is give me back my sled. You should understand that. You had one, too!" She points to picture of Kid Ms. Grouse, smiling

Ms. Grouse tilts it down. "Stop snooping and start sweeping!" Linka sweeps, angry.

The phone rings. "Ah, that's probably them now." She answers. "Hello?"

Actually it's another,

Ms. Grouse's brother.

"Oh, hey Jude. No, it doesn't look like I'm going to make it for Christmas." Linka listens carefully. "I'm sorry. I know it's been five years, but I don't have the money to travel."

Linka now notices the picture of Ms. Grouse and her big family.

The realization comes to her clearly.

Ms. Grouse doesn't really mean to be a sourpuss,

She's upset she can't see her family, that's the purpose.

Poor Ms. Grouse, she and Linka aren't so different.

They both have big families and holiday wishes.

"Tell the boys Auntie Betty says hi and loves them a whole bunches. I love you, too." She hangs up and goes back to Linka. "Why haven't you cleaned up?!"

"I didn't know you were from a big family."

"What about it?"

"It's just… it must be devastating you can't be with them on Christmas."

"That's enough! Go home!" She shows Linka the door.

"So, you're not going to tell my parents?"

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Linka runs away, not wanting to anger her more.

After what Linka had learned, she couldn't leave her alone.

Everyone deserves to spend Christmas with family in a cozy home.

Her neighbor's grief made her sick.

So, she hatches an idea, she thinks of it quick.

Claudia calls her from the walkie-talkie. "Come in, Sled Girl Walking." Linka picks up. "Are you okay? I'm sorry I compromised the mission. One minute, I was in your yard, the next, I was in another neighborhood. I broke my mistletoe. So long, holiday smooch."

"Sorry, Turtledove. Everything's okay here though. Rescuing Big Red failed, but now, I've got a new mission. I'll call you back with the plan."

Linka enters her house, in the middle of last-minute Christmas Eve commotion (not so much Levi).

She tries to call out for everyone's attention.

Lars's on the floor doing a séance

To ask the spirits where his and Lynn's presents was.

"What the Ghost of Christmas Past say?!" Lynn asks him, anxious.

"You two definitely have the Christmas spirit! Hohoho! That's eleven!" Lane clicks his counter.

Thank God, that's almost done!

Chris escapes Leif's bear trap and runs.

At the same time, Loki loses his sanity.

The mystery gift leaves him in agony.

"THAT'S IT! I HAVE TO OPEN IT BEFORE I LOSE MY SHIT!"

He lunges forward with his might.

Leif lassos him with Christmas lights.

"You're way passed that point, bro."

Leif drags Loki away.

Luke enters the room, already in dismay.

"Can everyone chill? I'm trying to finish this and I'm down to the wire! Ooh! Maybe that's it! I'm down to the wire. St. Nick's on fire! Shit! I'm never gonna get this!"

"Guys!" Linka calls out in vain.

Loni is wearing new clothes again.

He walks in like he's expecting applause.

His clothes resembles that of Santa Claus.

"That white coat was ugly, anyway. This is my Christmas fit!"

Rita notices something's amiss by the chimney. "First the tablecloth, then the tinsel, now the stockings?! Why is everything disappearing?!"

Loni shushes everyone again.

Rita never knew all along it as him.

"Guys!" Linka calls out.

Lexx vacuums the house up and down.

Chris and Charlie are chasing each other around.

Loki struggles to break free and crawls toward the present.

Leif pulls him away, annoyed with his brother who's malcontent.

Leon pops out of one of the stockings on Loni's shirt

A stench hits their nostrils and it smelled the worst.

"Ew, Leon, you didn't!"

Leon pooped in his suit, that's what Loni thinks.

Enter Lynn Sr. with the figgy pudding complete.

"Hey Hey Hey! I need a taste tester for my figgy pudding!"

"Oh, it wasn't you." Loni tells Leon.

"I'll do it, Daddy!" Lexx turn off the vacuum he was using.

He'll do anything for gifts and frankly, it's amusing.

"Your figgy pudding has always been the highlight of my Christmas! You're seeing this, right Santa?"

He says that last part quietly.

"Truly pathetic." Levi says plainly.

Lynn Sr. feeds his son some of his pudding for Christmas.

Lexx chokes it down and pretend it delicious.

"Mmm… Figgy!"

Linka was losing her patience.

She had her own drastic situation.

She yells at her family:

"GUYS! EVERYONE SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME!"

The brothers stop what they're doing.

They notice the girl's fuming.

She calms herself down. "I was just in Ms. Grouse's yard."

The boys complain about Grouse and they're harsh!

"Why would go where that meanie lives?" Lexx questions.

"She stole my good baseballs and that I can't forgive!" Lynn says.

"Her style in clothes gives me a rash that itch!" Loni sneers.

"And in all disrespect," Loki says. "She's a big fat…"

"Ok!" Linka cuts him off. "She's not that bad. Who am I lying to? She is. But now I think I know why."

Linka tells her brothers what happened and the reason

To why Ms. Grouse is so grumpy this holiday season.

"… And then she told me to leave."

The brothers' heartstrings were tugged by all this.

Who knew there were sides to Ms. Grouse they've missed?

"That's literally the saddest thing yet!" Loki says, close to tears.

"I can't believe she has a big family too!" Leif says.

"And she can't be with them? That's terrible!" Lane says, heartbroken.

"Seeing us altogether must make her miss them even more!" Loni realizes.

"Usually I'm impermeable to human emotion," Levi starts. "But…" Levi cries a waterfall. Obviously the saddest of them all.

"No wonder she's such a Grinch this time of year!" Lexx says, remorseful.

"How did we not know this?" Lane asks.

Loki pushes his present aside. "Maybe because we lost ourselves in the chaos of the holidays."

"Yeah. We put all our effort into what we were getting," Lynn says.

Lars blows out his candles. "When we should have put that effort into what we were giving."

"And isn't that what Christmas is all about?" Lexx asks.

After the brothers' epiphany,

Luke's face lights up instantly.

"Dudes! That's it! No wonder I couldn't nail my song! I've been going about it all wrong!" He goes upstairs to write it.

"We need to do something for Ms. Grouse." Linka says.

"But what can we do?" Loki asks.

"I have a plan!" She huddles up with them. "Okay, the first thing we do..."

The scene is seen from Ms. Grouse's house.

She closes the blinds, not wanting to see what they're talking about.

Later that night, Ms. Grouse is catching some Z's.

She's awoken to two-part harmony.

"Ooooooh."

"Huh? Never a moment's peace."

She opens the door and is not prepared for what happens next.

The Louds and the McBrides were outside, burning candles in their grasp.

Louds And McBrides:

Ooooooh

Luke:

I used to think that Christmas was

About the wish list filled with stuff

I never really needed, anyway

Loki presses a button, decorations on Ms. Grouse's house glows.

The warmth that the choir gives began to grow.

Luke:

But as long as we're together

It's a holiday!

Louds and McBrides:

It's not what you get, it's what you give

We've got the spirit, clear and loud

Ditch the list, hug who you're with

'Cause that's what Christmas is all about!

It's what you give, not what you get

We've got the hard part figured out

This year will be the best one yet

'Cause that's what Christmas is all about!

Merry Christmas from the Louds!

HO!

Ms. Grouse with her jaw dropped is still at the door.

She wonders what was all that for.

"Merry Christmas, Ms. Grouse." Linka says, holding a gift.

"We all chipped in and got you something." Leif explains.

Ms. Grouse opens the gift and what is inside.

Brought more joy and surprise than any toy could provide.

"It's a bus ticket." Lynn tells her.

"So you can be with your family tomorrow." Lane explains.

"And since you can't be with them tonight." Rita says and she and Lynn Sr. both lowers the boxes they were holding.

Remember when we were so shocked at such a sight?

Rita and Lynn Sr. first revealed their faces that night.

"We're bringing our family to you."

"How about it, neighbor?" Lynn Sr. asks, optimistically.

"LOUDS!" Ms. Grouse yells so sternly

But her tone quickly changed, thankfully.

"You all made this the best Christmas ever! Thank you. I say you all landed permanent spots on Santa's Nice List."

"Even me?" Lexx asks, hopefully.

"Even you." Lexx hugs her leg, delighted.

"Once again..." Levi says before crying a waterfall again.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Everyone, come on inside!"

Inside the house, colorful decorations glimmer.

The twins are setting up the table for Christmas dinner.

As Rita helps Leon put a star on the new tree,

The Louds completely transformed a home that once was gloomy.

"Yeah, you ruined it." Lars says.

"Guys, I finally made the perfect Christmas fit!" Loni holds up a green non-Christmas themed jacket. "It's not for me, it's for Ms. Grouse. You can wear it tomorrow." He puts it on her.

"Thank you. What happened to my curtains?" She points to her curtains, now with jacket-shaped holes. Loni shushes her.

"Chow time in five, people!" Lynn Sr. calls out.

"Before we sit down, there's something I'd like to say." Ms. Grouse declares.

"Speech! Speech! Speech!" Lynn chants.

Loki nudges him to tell him to "can it."

"Well, I know I haven't been the nicest neighbor, and I apologize. You've all given me so much tonight, now I'd like to give something to you."

"We take checks." Lexx reassures.

Loki nudges him before he made things worse.

Ms. Grouse opens a door at the bottom of the stairs.

Every item she had stolen was all in there.

"ALL OUR STUFF!" The Loud Brothers cheer and gather there with gaiety.

Leif is finally reunited with his plunger. "PLUNGEY!"

Ms. Grouse turn to Linka. "I'm sorry about your sled."

"That's alright. It's only a sled. I'm just glad we're friends now." She and Ms. Grouse hug.

Both Claudia's mothers' eyes glowed like gems

This precious moment was too much for them.

"Oh, Hare-Bear! Isn't this the most wonderful thing you've ever seen?" Holly tells her wife.

"Now, Holly. Remember what Dr. Lopez said…" Harriet begins but shakes off the facade. "You know what, forget Dr. Lopez! This really is the most wonderful thing I've ever seen!"

Both women sob with tears of joy instead.

Loki takes note of what's over Claudia's head.

"Claudia, do you know what you're standing under?"

Claudia looks up and sees mistletoe.

She's weak in the knees; her anxiety starts to grow.

Loki gives her a smooch on the cheek so innocent.

She's a good kid, she deserves her Christmas wish.

"Merry Christmas, Claudia."

"And to all a good night." Claudia says, love struck and faints.

"Come on, everybody sit! Dinner is served! And save some room for the figgy pudding!" Lynn Sr. declares.

But everyone was pretty much already there.

Ms. Grouse's thankfulness has grown greater.

As she spend Christmas Eve with such thoughtful neighbors.

"Merry Christmas!" The Loud family said the next morning.

Christmas Day at the Loud House is always awarding.

Presents were opened by the Loud girl and boys

And they each got something they adore.

"Well, that's all the gifts. Time to start decorating the house for New Year's Day!" Rita says.

Loki push in the present taller than he.

Finally, it was his chance to solve this mystery.

"Wait! I have one more present! I saved the best for last!"

He shakes the present and it shouts "Ow!"

The present was alive somehow!

Loki open his present with care.

And to everyone's surprise, Bebe is in there.

"Merry Christmas, Loki Bear." She says, so tired.

"Babe?!"

"I couldn't find anything special enough to buy you for our first Christmas together, so I decided to give you myself."

"Sexually?!" Loki asks, hopefully. Linka throws her slipper at him.

"Ow! I mean, that's literally the perfect gift." He hugs her. "I got you something, too."

"I hope it's food and water."

"Santa sure was good to us." Levi says.

"Santa?!" The Loud family question him.

"Oh, I thought you were too smart to believe in him!"

Lexx says, credulous.

"I didn't, until I spot him leaving a present behind the couch last night. Behold!" Levi shows them a picture of Santa's behind. He named him "SANTICUS CLAUSIMUS."

Lynn looks behind the couch. "There is a present back here. And it's addressed to Linka."

Linka opens her present, it's a new sled.

An older model to Big Red.

Specifically, A Fearsome Flyer 1000.

She knew this came from this one woman.

She rushes outside. Careful on the ice so she wouldn't slip.

She catches Ms. Grouse before she leaves on her trip.

"Hey, Ms. Grouse. Thanks for the sled."

"Don't thank me. Thank Santa." She winks at her. "Merry Christmas, Linka."

"Merry Christmas, Ms. Grouse."

She carries her new sled with pride

as she goes to the backyard and up the slide.

"Well, another Christmas has come and gone, readers. But this year I got the greatest gift of all: a new friend. And you know, I think things are going to be pretty different around here from now on."

She slides down the slide like she did in Part I.

But Déjà vu called, she says "we're not done!"

She crashes into the same rock. She flies off the sled so fast.

And the 1000 flies and breaks Ms. Grouse's window glass.

"LOUDS!" Ms. Grouse screams, livid.

"Maybe not that different." Linka says.

As Linka runs away,

Lane comes in to end the day.

"Well readers, that about wraps things up. Yes! I did it! That's twelve!" He clicks his clicker. "Merry Christmas!"

Lane is soon caught in a net, Leif's ploy.

Leif jumps around, overjoyed.

"Woo-hoo! I finally got one!"

Before this chapter can come to its total end,

Words from the author that needs to be said.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday!

Hope it was joyous and safe, even if things didn't go your way.

May the rest of your week be filled with cheer.

And blessings to all readers in the new year!