12. A Walk Down Linka Lane Part 2

"Ok, we're all fed, Leon's changed, and we all took a bathroom break. Nothing else should stop us from hearing the little brothers' stories." Linka say as all the siblings gathered in the attic once more.

"Finally! Where's Lars?" Lexx says.

"Wasn't he behind us coming up?" Loni asks.

"Hey guys." Lars appears in front of his siblings; startling them in the process, of course.

"Damn! He gets scarier every time he does that!" Linka says.

"Excuse me, I was getting my item from my secret place. I didn't want to leave it out in the open." Lars picks up a black bag and pulls out a toy that's never been removed from its box: a Rainbow Zoom pony, the body is completely decorated with rainbow sequins. The boys laugh loudly at it.

"That's lamer than my tutu!" Lynn comments. Lars growls.

"This… is from the Princess Pony convention you and I went to, Linka." Lars explains. "You gave this to me, but getting this wasn't easy."

"Hurry up, Linka. The center's across the street." Lars grabbed his sister's hand and sprinted to their designation.

"Slow down, Lars!" She exclaims. "Today's the Royal Woods's Princess Pony convention, readers, and Lars is a huge closet Brony. I'm the only one in the family who knows about his secret, so I'm tagging along for moral support."

They entered the Community Center and are taken back by the excitement, noise, and gathering of fans.

"Wow, you would think something so cute wouldn't have this much of an impact." Linka said.

"Fandoms come in all shapes and sizes." Lars answered. "I'm just happy to be here. It's rare to be in a place where I'm not expected to be my dark and brooding self. Shall we?" Lars lead her inside.

They strolled around, looking around for some good Princess Pony merchandise for them both. Linka couldn't help it but gawked at the sights; the people older than her, both men and women raving about the sights around them. The costumes and the look of content on the fans' faces. It was… pretty awesome. What's better is how much fun Lars was having. He constantly pointed at booths for the two to attend, picked out hats, badges and jewelry for the two of them. He rambled on about what he knew about the show. It was nice to see the Goth ecstatic, by his standards anyway.

"So cute!" Linka said, as she paid for and put on a Princess Astronomica shirt. Lars put on a Princess Moon shirt that he paid for.

"Where to now?" He asked.

"Actually is there somewhere we can stop for lunch? I'm hungry."

Before Lars could answer and a man in a nearby booth. "Take the chance to win a rare Princess Pony collectible! Enter my raffle!" The two siblings go over to his booth and Lars's jaw dropped at the sight of the toy in a glass case.

"That's right, son. A Rainbow Zoom covered completely in rainbow sequins." The man said. "I have the only one in America."

"So you decided to raffle it off." Linka said. "Why is it so rare? With a name like Rainbow Zoom, that toy should be on the shelves." Linka said.

"Clearly you haven't been paying attention." Lars answered. "Rainbow Zoom is the tomboy athlete of the group; think Lynn's and Leif's personalities in a pony. I've read somewhere that they discontinued it, because making the toy girlier than intended and bedazzled, it wasn't being faithful to the source material."

"I respect that. How much are tickets?" Linka asked the man.

"$15."

"Let me guess, you're keeping the profit."

"Why else would I do this?"

Linka took money from her backpack, paid for both of their tickets then were told the time that the raffle will commence.

"Thanks, Link." Lars said. "Mark my words, that Rainbow Zoom will be mine." When Lars said "mine", a girl next to the siblings said the same word at the same time. Linka locked eyes with the girl; she's dressed similar to Linka but wore a white beanie over her light blonde hair.

Both girls gasped and said simultaneously. "You again?!"

"You know her?" Lars asked.

"Unfortunately. Remember when I did the grocery shopping for Mom just to get the cereal, Zombie Bran? I had the cereal first then she snatched it out of my hands! I had to chase her down!" Linka explained.

"Then you got me and my mom kicked out of the store!" The girl said. "You may have gotten that cereal, but nothing will stop from getting that toy! Not even Spooky here!" She clutched her raffle ticket in her fist.

"Listen, twerp…"

"The name's Staci."

"Ok, Staci. Believe what you want, just stay out of our way." Linka dragged her brother past Staci and into the main convention hall. Staci gave them both a death glare before walking away.

"Don't you listen to a word she says, Lars. She's full of shit. She's only mad at me because of something so petty."

"I get that, Linka. Staci doesn't scare me. Besides, what's the worse she can do?"

-/-

When the time of the raffle was announced, they and about 50 other people all crammed into a conference room. The man from before sat at a desk on a stage and tapped into the microphone.

"Royal Woods Princess Pony Convention 2018! How are we feeling?!" The audience roared with excitement. "Thank you for entering my raffle. One of you committed fans will go home with this sparkly, rare Rainbow Zoom toy. Know that if you go home empty handed, the real winner is me. Over $700 in a day, baby!" He shook the jar of tickets to his right and pick one up. "And now for the moment of truth…"

"Oh spirit in the sky, grant my wish!" Lars prayed.

"The winning number is 050216!"

Lars slumped disappointed but Linka squealed with delight.

"Lars, that's me! That's me!" The siblings quickly embraced before Linka sprinted onstage.

"Congratulations, little white-haired girl!" He gave Linka the toy and the audience either clapped or expressed their disappointment loudly. Linka walked back to Lars.

"This rightfully belongs to you."

Lars took the toy with gratitude. "Linka, you're the best sister ever. I'm so happy I can barely contain myself." Lars said in his usual stoic demeanor.

"I know bro, it's written all over your face."

The siblings and everyone else left the conference room. "How about we use the last of our money to get something to eat?" Lars suggested.

"Finally!"

Suddenly, someone stuck their foot out and made Lars trip. The box went airborne. Thankfully, it was caught. By Staci?!

"Gasp!"

"Told you I'll stop at nothing!" Staci said, triumphantly.

"Staci!" Linka screamed, furious. "You got five seconds to give that back before I pummel you!"

"How about a five second head-start!" Staci took off running with the toy!

Linka clenched her fists. Mess with her, shame on you but mess with one of her brothers? Staci better have health insurance!

"Get up Lars! We've got a brat to catch!" Lars quickly stood up and they sprinted toward the direction Staci ran in. Staci stopped by three water coolers in a row momentarily to turned them all on. Water poured onto the floor. The siblings stopped abruptly. Linka caught Lars before he fell again. He then grabbed a pink sled conveniently placed to the right of them and they hopped aboard. Surprisingly, it gets them across and they start running again. Staci knocked over clothing and accessory racks in their path. The siblings jumped over them no problem, too determined to end this cat and mouse game.

Staci ran through the two double doors at the end of the convention hall. Linka and Lars stopped again.

"Oh, she wants to take this outside, huh?" Linka said. "Fine by me!" They pushed the doors open; they weren't outside. Actually, they were in a completely different convention. People dressed in colorful wigs and costumes; most noticeable was the long green pigtails and school girl outfits. Merchandise of, at first glance, what looked like colorful cartoon characters. Japanese music was heard through the speakers but it almost sounded like a female voice synthesizer.

"My God, half the center is rented to a Singeroid convention." Lars concluded.

Linka picked up a Len Kagamine doll. "What kind of anime are they from?"

"Don't call it an anime, someone will literally stab you." The siblings walked around to find their perpetrator, but being in a new environment Linka had to stop and ask for directions.

"Excuse me." She asked two female cosplayers. One had a long white wig and was wearing a grey tank top and pink miniskirt. And the other had a short green wig and her miniskirt and shirt was orange and yellow. "Have you seen a girl in a white beanie? Holding a pony toy?"

"Yes, we did, actually." The green-haired one answered. "Kid ran in here like she was running from the police. Ran in between the legs of my girlfriend here."

"I last saw her in the West Wing." The white-haired one pointed in that direction.

"Thank you!" The siblings said simultaneously and took a sharp left. Linka caught eye of a white beanie. "Aha!" She tackled the person; only to find it was a boy.

"Ow!"

"Oh my God, I'm sooo sorry! I thought you were my enemy!" She picked her and the boy up. She heard familiar laughing, Staci was right in front of them. She waved the toy mockingly before sprinting. Linka growled and left behind the angry boy to chase her.

"This time no mercy, Lars! Lars?" Lars wasn't behind Linka anymore.

Staci was heading toward the exit until she came to a screeching halt because Lars appeared in front of her.

"Dead end, kid."

"How the hell-"

"AHHHH!" Linka screamed before tackling Staci and all three of them got into a chaotic rumble. A crowd formed around them. The toy was thrown out of the fight cloud. A whistle blew and three security guards ran up to the scene and separated the kids by picking them off the ground.

"Enough! What's going on here? You three aren't even supposed to be in this convention!" A security guard said, looking over the Princess Pony merchandise they wore.

"Officer, I can explain." Staci said. "I was trying to find my way back the Princess Pony convention when these two Loud kids jumped me for no reason!"

"You liar!" Lars said. "We jumped you because you stole from us!"

But who do you think the guards believed? The next thing we they knew, Lars and Linka were literally thrown out of the building, the door shut behind them.

"This was supposed to be the best day ever. One of my happiest memories." Lars hugged his knees. "But instead, a girl I didn't even know took the coolest toy ever and I had to pursue a wild goose chase. I had it in my hands. Now, it's gone forever."

"Or is it?" Linka unzipped her backpack and placed in Lars's hands the rare Rainbow Zoom toy.

"Gasp! Linka, how did you-"

"I grabbed it while Staci was crying to the guards! No one deserves that toy more than you." Lars smiled wide, a rarity like his new toy, and pulled his sister into a hug.

"Again: best sister ever."

She chuckled and hugged back. "We should go before she finds out." They walked back home as the sun is setting.

"That's what Linka's good for: taking stuff behind people's backs." Lynn said.

"Not all the time!"

"Where's my phone?!" Loki frantically patted his shorts. Linka chuckled nervously and handed the device back to him.

"Wait a minute, if you're a Brony." Lexx says. "Then that means you're the one who reads Princess Pony comics and clogged the toilet with a comic that one time!"

"Oh yeah! I remember that! And we actually believed it was Linka who reads that garbage!" Lane says and all the other boys laugh loudly. Lars curl in on himself.

"That is…"

"Ok." Linka wrap her arm around Lars. "We all know you can't be gloomy all the time. Your interests are your interests. And admitting you're a Brony, that's the most ballsy thing you've done. Can't say the same for these A-holes."

"Hey!" They exclaim.

"Thanks, Linka." Lars says. "Oh, and I'm not giving you the actual toy. You can have the Polaroid picture I took of it a few weeks ago." Lars takes the photo from his pocket and slip it in the box.

"Fair enough. Leif, you're up."

"This isn't an ordinary bottle of Elmer's Glue. It's one of Levi's experiments." He explains.

"Patent pended." Levi adds.

"It's from the time we were stuck together last month!"

Linka was washing the high stacks of dishes one Friday afternoon. "This time I wasn't tricked into doing chores, readers. Tonight is the big Royal Woods Elementary Disney-themed dance. And Mom said if I do all my chores, she'll give me the money for the Ursula costume I wanted. Not only do I have to wash the dishes, I have to throw out the spoiled food from the fridge, sweep upstairs and scrub the bathroom floor. It's a busy day."

Leif came running in. "Linka! I need you to help me with my art project!"

"Why do you need help? You're the handyman."

"My specialties are plumbing and auto repair. But this popsicle stick house is annoying the crap out of me!"

"Well, go ask Loni. He's artistic." Leif gave her a skeptical look.

"Good point. Well, ask anyone else. I've got a busy afternoon ahead of me and not enough time." She went back to her chore.

"Unbelievable! My only sister, the first person I came to, can't make time to help me! What happened to those days when every time I fell, you were the one who picked me up? Well, I guess I'll take the "F" and live with the fact that I'm not as special to you as I lead on." Leif left the kitchen with a hurt look in his eyes.

"The old guilt trip. Just like his twin." She turned off the faucet. "Ok, Leif- Ah!" Before she can finish that sentence, Leif grabbed her arm and pulled her up the stairs.

In the twins' room, Linka and Leif started the project with no hesitation. It's a simple idea but it is a time consuming project. What's abnormal is the glue; there was no separating the sticks once it's glued together. It's too sticky for everyday Elmer's glue. That didn't stop Leif from making a mess with it.

"We're finished!" Leif said after he glued the last stick on the project.

"Good job, bro."

"Thanks, sis." They high-fived each other then they couldn't separate their hands apart.

"What the hell?!"

"Don't blame me, blame the glue!"

"Ok, plant your feet." Leif does so and Linka pulls away as hard as she can in the opposite direction.

"Link! Stop before you dislocate your arm!"

"Fine. Let me see that glue." Linka picked up the bottle. The label was peeling. "What's this?" She ripped it off.

"Experiment 12-5-22-1?" She reads.

"Levi." Both said, knowingly.

-/-

"In hindsight, placing my adhesive formula in an ordinary bottle of Elmer's Glue was not an intelligent decision." Levi said, observing the two's hands in his room.

"You think?!" Linka shouted.

"But from my perspective, it's a success!" He took out his voice recorder. "Note to self, Experiment 12-5-22-1 is an excellent adhesive. Apply for patent immediately."

"Can you separate us or not?" Linka asked.

"Relax, sibling! I don't have a non-adhesive formula on the shelves at the moment. But I can create one, just give me 24 hours."

"Tomorrow?!" Leif and Linka exclaimed.

"What? You can't expect everything to be handed to you instantaneously on a sliver platter."

"That's freaking perfect! I have a crapload of chores to do and the last thing I need is my right hand to be inaccessible! This is all your fault!" Linka pointed at Leif. "You and your stupid guilt trip! If would have asked anyone else, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Linka! Chill! You're hysterical! Take your time, Levi." Leif walked out.

"Linka, I know your under a lot of stress, you have a lot to do today, and granted, this is partially my fault. Yet, freaking out is not the best solution. Being stuck together is only temporary and you'll have time to do your chores. And I'm gonna use the time we have now to help you relax!"

"Leif, you're not listening! I-"

"Shhhhh." Leif put his free finger on her mouth. "You don't have to shout. I know what I'm doing." He lead her to the backyard.

-/-

With the garden hose, Leif poured water onto the dirt. "It's a no-brainer that I love mud. It's my go-to method for relaxation. It also easy on the skin."

His sister grimaced. "Look, I get your point…"

"Don't get cold feet." Leif jumped in with Linka tumbling down.

"You disgusting twerp! Look what you've done to my hair!"

"Nothing a little shampoo can't fix." Leif took a handful of mud and smashed it against her face. "Feel how soft it is. It's the same as those mud masks from your spas."

Linka felt it against her face. She didn't admit out loud, but it was soft. Then again, it was wet dirt. She wiped it off.

"Another thing I like to do is watch the wonderful world of insects. The ones I don't eat, of course. Ooo, look at the worm in front of you." Leif pointed at it and Linka screeched in terror. "Don't worry, it's just minding its own business."

They watched it squirming around for a couple of minutes before Leif pointed at a bumblebee pollinating a rose in the garden, flying away and onto the web of a spider. A ladybug smart enough to avoid web flew next to a caterpillar eating on a leaf. A butterfly fluttered around and landed Linka's nose. Leif removed it gently and let it go. They also noticed an organized line of ants on their hill. Linka was amazed; watching what she once thought were insignificant beings of the earth, go about their lives. It was a very interesting sight.

"There's nothing more calming than nature, I always say."

"I'll give you that." Linka said, breathing in the afternoon air. "It is relaxing."

"I saved the best for last." Leif laid down on the mud and motioned Linka to do the same. They looked up at the endless blue sky.

"Cloud watching. Look, there's one that looks like a bird!"

"Oh, I see it! And there's a lady in a powdered wig."

"There's a tree."

"No, that's definitely a chemical explosion." Leif laughed at that. They just laid there in the mud for who knows how long, using their imagination to point out the shapes of the clouds. Leif then threw a mud at Linka, to which she didn't object, she threw mud back at him. Soon, they were engaged in what Leif called a "mudball" fight, followed by playful mud wrestling.

"Takedown! 2 points!" Leif said when he pinned down his sister.

"Hey!" Linka threw him off her, Leif laughing all the way. "This afternoon was awesome! Thanks for calming me down."

"It's good to have responsibilities, Link. But it's better to have some time to yourself instead of stressing about everything. You're a kid, enjoy yourself."

"I will. But I should probably get back to work. I only have," She glanced at her watch. "Two more hours. I have to get these chores done in maybe an hour so I'll have time for shopping later."

"And I'll be there with you every step of the way. Literally."

With the garden hose, Linka washed away the mud from the both of them. Leif shook himself dry as if he's a dog. They headed into the kitchen to finish the dishes. Leif held the dish and Linka scrubbed it with the sponge. They both used their free hand to dry and put away. Then, they threw out the spoiled food from the fridge. Initially, Leif offered to eat the spoils to save time but Linka refused. As for the bathroom, they attached sponges to their feet and performed a skating routine to clean the floors. Finally, Linka the swept the hallway while held the dustpan.

"We make a great team, bro."

"You got that right!" Leif threw out the contents in a nearby trashcan. Rita then came up the stairs.

"Linka, have you finished what I asked?"

"All done, Mom."

"That's great. Why are you attached to Leif?"

"We accidentally got stuck to each other because of Levi's sticky glue. He said he would make something to get us unstuck tomorrow." Leif explained.

"Hopefully, that means you'll behave yourself while she's at her dance."

"Of course."

Rita took out cash from her purse. "Here's the money for the Ursula costume, honey."

Linka took it with with gratitude. "Thanks, Mom. But I don't want Ursula anymore. Now that Leif is going with me, I'll need costumes for the both of us.

-/-

Rita drove the stuck together siblings to the elementary school. The two hopped out of Vanzilla, adorned in their Gaston and Le Fou costumes.

"You guys look so cute! One more picture!" Rita demanded and readied her phone from the driver's window. The siblings quietly groaned and put on fake smiles for what felt like the fiftieth picture.

"Great! I'll be back in an hour!" She drove off.

"I guess it could have been worse. You could have put me in a dress!" Leif said, smoothing the vest on his Le Fou costume.

Linka laughed. "Come on, let's party!" They both ran inside the building.

"And the rest is history." Leif finished his story and put the bottle in the box.

"That was a fun dance and I learn to appreciate nature more because of Leif." Linka says.

"Why didn't we notice you dudes were stuck together for a whole day?" Luke says.

"I think we did but just didn't care." Loki says.

"We didn't care about the inseparable bond that they shared?" Lane laughs. "Get it?" Everyone else just groan. "I'm glad you guys got out of that sticky situation!" Lane's second round of laughter was cut short by Lexx, who slaps his hand over his mouth.

"There will be no joke telling during my turn. Now, you all know Linka taught me to read and she's always there to help me pronounce hard words. But the time I struggled the most was when I chose this book for a book summary homework." Lexx held up William Golding's Lord of the Flies.

"I read that book in my Sophomore year, you finished the whole thing yourself?" Loni asks.

"Not without Linka."

Linka was walking back to her room, nose in a comic, when he heard the little prince's wails.

"AHH! WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?!"

Without hesitation, Linka disregarded the comic and ran into his room. "Lexx, what happened? Did you try to cut your hair yourself again?"

"Fortunately, no. It's this dang book! I've been stuck on the first page for twenty minutes and I have to write a book summary for class on Monday."

Linka sat with him on his bed and took the book from him. "I don't see why a children's book is- Lord of the Flies? Lexx, aren't you a little young for this?"

"That's what my teacher said, but being the bold man that I am, I took the challenge."

"But it's about a group of boys who are stranded on an island. The collapse of civilization and the rise of savagery."

"You read this book?"

"Saw the movie adaptation of the 90s."

"Whatever! If you're only here to criticize me, you can leave!" Lexx snatched the book back and continue with first page, with much difficulty.

"T-T-Th-Through he had t-a- AH! FORGET THIS!" He threw the book on the floor in shameful anger. "If I still struggle when I want to challenge myself, what's the point of reading?!"

Linka picked up the book. "There's no reason to give up reading altogether. Like I said when we entered that challenge at the library, the more you get into it, the easier and more fun it gets. All you need to do is to take your time."

"I've been taking my time and I see nothing fun about this."

Linka took a seat at his little plastic table. She grabbed Lexx by his underarms and pulled her little brother onto her lap and placed the book in front of him, despite his protests.

"Who says? Reading is so much more that just saying the words off the page. It's about opening your eyes to a whole new world, that in a way, shows you how it relates to the real world . Using your imagination to see and feel the characters' conflict."

Reading is a language that is felt instead of said

"Why are you singing?" Lexx asked, confused and the tiniest bit annoyed.

It has paved the road for the lifelong journey dead ahead

"Let's go back to the word you were on. Sound it out. There's the "t" and "a", together it's "tay". Then "k"…"

"Tay- ken. Taken! Through he had taken off his school sw-"

"Good. "S" and "w" make the "swuh" sound. It's something you wear in the winter…"

"Swuh-a-ter? Oh, sweater! And trailed it off one hand." He read. "Hey, I pronounced "trailed" correctly!"

Just think about the words and let it flow out loud and clear

See how much a single passage can reveal

And ev'ry syllable, ev'ry single word

Is one word closer to the right ideal

Lexx finished the first chapter, much more interested in the book than he was before Linka showed up. Now that he met Ralph and Piggy and know that there are no grownups on the island. He even urged Linka to keep singing.

Once the conflict hits you, inhibitions fall away

And you find that the book's expressing things

The world dare not say

Don't you stop here, go on

With every passing page, your mind grows stronger too

As the veil of ignorance disappears

And ev'ry syllable, ev'ry single word

Is one word closer to the right ideal

"By the time Ralph f-in-nish, finished blowing the conch, the plat-form was crowded. There were d- . Ok, this word looks weird."

"The first letter is "d" so "duh", then "i-f-f"."

"Diff?"

"Good. Now here's the "er" sound and "e-n-c-e". It rhymes with hence but without the "h"."

"Diff-er-ence? Difference?"

"Very good!"

Lexx read chapter two, three, and so on well into that night. They move the session to Linka's room when Leif came in for bed. His admiration of reading rekindled as his eyes glowed with curiosity and wonder. He was certainly proud of himself when he read a page without stuttering. He imagined the internal and external conflicts his characters have gone through, and he was very impressed about their method of survival (not so much Jack's). God knows he wouldn't survive one night without his pampered, suburban lifestyle. He loved that Linka was there every word of the way.

The oldest form of entertainment

As you learn about the world around

And once you've begun

You've overcome

Your obstacles

One by one

I'm so proud

"Jack lead the way down the rock and across the bridge." Lexx read; he had finished chapter six. "Oh my God, I read half the book in one night!"

Linka yawned. "And you'll read the other half tomorrow."

"What?! But I need to know if they found out that there is no real beast! Simon seems to be the only one who understands that! And Jack and his converted hunters! They're going against Ralph and his rules! The savages!"

"We'll find out tomorrow. You've already read double the amount of pages of a regular children's book in one night! That's pretty impressive! Come on, storyteller, let's get you to bed."

Linka carried Lexx to his room and tucked him in bed.

"Hey, Link, thank you."

"Anytime."

"I spent that whole weekend reading that book and I got an A on the summery. Through I get nightmares about everyone else succeeding in eating Ralph then burning alive in the island fire." Lexx put his book in the box. "And I learned to pace myself in my reading. It's good to challenge myself, but there's no use rushing by reading books that weren't meant for kids like me. By the way, loved the song!"

"Thanks!" Linka says. "Levi?"

Levi hold up the notepad. "This contains the notes I took down when we lost you at the mall approximately three weeks ago."

"I remember that!" The brothers, sans Leon, say simultaneously.

Loki parked Vanzilla in the Royal Woods Mall parking lot.

"Remember guys, this is not leisure, it's an errand." Linka reminded as they all got out. "So, maybe we can-" Her brothers ran off in the direction of the fair next to the mall that was only there for that weekend. They cheered all the way.

"Typical. They said they want to help then ditch me immediately." Linka said to herself. She shook her head and went through the automatic doors.

After two joyous hours, the Loud brothers walked backed to Vanzilla with their large stuffed animals, toys, and food in their hands.

"How great was this day?" Lane asked, wearing gag glasses. Everyone loaded their prizes into the trunk.

"Awesome, dude! I totally dominated that water squirting game." Luke said.

"And I didn't regurgitate, or as you would call it puked, on the roller coaster. Unlike Leif." Levi said, eating a handful of popcorn.

"Hey, it made the ride more fun for me!" Leif said.

"It was awesome. But it's a shame that Linka missed out." Loni said.

"Yeah, but that's what she gets for being stuck up." Lynn said. He finished the rest of his soda then belched loudly. "Let's find her."

They entered the mall and went to places where they expected Linka to be: her favorite department store, the arcade, the food court. No sign of her.

"Where the hell is she?!" Lexx exclaimed.

"She could be anywhere. We just left our only sister in this huge place." Lars said.

"There's no reason to panic." Loki reassured and took out his cell phone. "I'm gonna call her." When Loki did that, his face dropped. "It rang once then went straight to voicemail. That means her phone's dead."

"Oh fuuuuu-" Eight of his brothers dragged out but were interrupted by one of the food vendors.

"Hey Louds! Watch your mouths! There's children here, including your baby brother!" That was Carl Pingrey, Loki's friendly rival from school.

Loki approached him. "Oh, and I literally thought that was someone important."

"Wow. So, what's up?"

"Have you seen my sister around here? We lost her and her phone's dead."

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Brothers of the Year. But yeah, I saw your sister; hard to forget about a little girl with white hair. She went in the direction of the Pear store."

"But she doesn't have anything from Pear. Thanks!" The brothers proceeded to that store. Levi took out his notepad and wrote down their location, just in case they needed to retrace their steps. Yet, Linka was nowhere to be seen in Pear.

"Excuse me?" Leif asked a female employee. "Have you seen a white-haired girl? We're her brothers."

"Yeah, I saw her going into Blossomingdales."

"What? That's where I buy my clothes." Loni said. "Let's go!"

The rest of their chase proceeded like that, they went to the next store, did not find Linka there, asked an employee and been told she's been in a completely different store, rinse and repeat. Along with Pear and Blossomingdales, they searched Guitar World, Pranks a Lot, Be a Good Sport, Left in the Dark, Toyology, and the only bookstore in the mall. Levi kept track and the patten they were following was too coincidental to be random.

The brothers stopped in the middle of the latter store, catching their breath. "She's… literally been everywhere!" Loki said.

Lars walked up to them. "I just talked to the cashier. He hasn't seen where Linka went after she was here."

"So that's it! We lost track of her!" Lynn exclaimed. He slammed his head aganist a shelf. "We're the worst brothers ever."

"We'll never see her again!" The twins cried, clinging onto each other.

"Siblings, instead of relinquishing all hope, why don't you think this through logically?" Levi suggested. "Have you noticed the pattern of stores we've been following?"

"What do you mean?" Leif asked.

"I mean the stores we've visited was not pertained to Linka's interests, but to ours! Pear pertained to Loki's, Blossomingdales pertained to Loni's, and so on. We're currently standing in where I purchase my science textbooks."

"Holy crap, you're right! It doesn't make sense for Linka to visit those stores unless she was shopping for us!" Lane said.

"You made a believer, bro." Luke said to the scientist. "But that doesn't answer where she is now."

"Luke, we've been into stores regarding our interests in birth order! Ergo, if she was last seen here, then she must be at the store that pertains the interest of…"

"Me!" Leon said, giggling.

-/-

Luckily, there was one baby store in the Royal Woods Mall. They split in different directions once they stepped inside. Loni went straight to the cashier.

"Hi, I'm looking for my little sister. She's eleven with white hair." Before the cashier could answer that, the very girl the Loud Brothers been stressing over finding came up next to him, holding a baby's mobile. She dropped a plethora of shopping bags.

"Hi. Just this please." She readied her parents' debit card that she borrowed.

"Linka, beat it! I'm in the middle of a crisis!"

"What crisis?"

"Well, you see-" Loni stopped mid-sentence to stare and picked up his sister in a bone-crushing hug. "Linka! You're ok! Guys, I found her!" The other brothers come running and visibly let out sighs of relief.

"Linka! Thank God!" The twins said as they hugged her hips when Loni put her down. Leon reached out for her in Luke's hold. He handed the infant to her and he kissed her cheek.

"Charge your freaking phone before you leave the house next time!" Loki demanded.

"Guys, what happened?" She asked.

"We've been all over this damn mall to find you! We were stressed out, man!" Luke explained.

"Then Levi noticed that you've been to stores that we would be in, in our birth order." Lexx said.

"And he knew you be in this baby store because Leon is the last child." Leif said.

"About that, why were you visiting our kinds of stores, Linka? We didn't request you to do the shopping for us." The four-year-old asked.

"Well, that's because I was buying replacements for your stuff that I broke or lost. Sorry, guys."

"Don't say sorry, Link. We're sorry for abandoning you for the fair." Lars said.

"Even through, it was the most fun thing we did all day. I certainly wouldn't take back a single minute." Lexx said.

"Come on, let me pay for this then we can go home. Oh and Levi? Great job today." Linka and he fist-bumped.

"It's quite a proud achievement that because of my observations that we were able to find you." Levi put his item in the box. "Also, that plight is the main reason I've implanted a tracking chip in you."

"Wait, what?" Linka says, creeped out.

His brothers look at him suspiciously. "A tracking chip? You didn't put one in the rest of us, did you?" Lars asks.

"Noooo…" He lied.

Leon waddles up to Linka with a crudely colored drawing of Linka in a fox suit.

"Aww, did you make that yourself, Leon?" Leon babbles in conformation. Lane pulls him onto his lap.

"Want me to translate, Leo?"

"Poo poo." Leon clear his throat and babbles on cutely about his favorite memory of Linka.

"I'm sure you all remember this one, this is from the time you gave me Fenton the Feel-Better Fox. But he went missing after I became so attached to it. I was so sad. Then Linka brought me back to my bubbly self." Lane says.

The brothers brought Leon downstairs for a great surprise. Leon saw his sister dressed up as his lost and beloved Fenton.

"Fa-fa?" He crawled to her and pressed on her foot, as he would do to the real Fenton. That was Luke's cue to he play the Fenton song on his acoustic guitar from his hiding place and sing. Linka danced the way the toy did to Luke's singing.

Cheer up, baby, don't you cry

No more tears, it's cheer-up time

Laugh with me and we will be

Happy happy happy

"Fa-fa!" Leon hugged her leg. He pressed on Linka's foot in euphoria. "Fa-fa! Fa-fa! Fa-fa!"

Linka, along with their nine brothers, sang and danced to the Fenton song in the living room. Much to their baby's brother's delight.

"That was a great story, Leo." Lane says.

"Yank you." Leon says, and put his picture in the box.

Linka look down at the box with gratitude. "Guys, I'm really, really touched. Not only did you help me out, but I love that you kept all these souvenirs because they hold sentimental value of me."

"We need something to remind us of all the crazy adventures we had." Lynn says.

"And why stop at 10? We have like, hundreds of more Linka memories!" Loni says. "Like the time you wanted to help me with my drivers test?"

"Or how I made your first SMOOCH concert unforgettable? We danced onstage with the band!" Luke says.

"The time you swapped out my horrendous picture in the school yearbook instead of yours and Claudia's group photos." Lexx says.

"You hogged Bebe when we were at the County Fair, but you realized your selfishness." Loki says.

"The time you were so scared of my fortune for you that you ruined our family trip to Grand Venture State Park for yourself." Lars says.

"You brought me out of my "average kid" façade when I transferred to your fifth grade class. Even through, you were the one who initiated it." Levi says.

"We performed for Manny and his emo friends at his birthday party as mimes together." Lane says.

"The time you wanted the Sweet Spot to yourself. We ended up destroying the whole van!" Leif says.

Leon babbles excitedly. "The time you wanted Leon to be your mini-you." Lane translates.

"No. The best Linka memory was when we performed a concert for her in the front yard. We dressed in black and wore SMOOCH makeup. And actually brought SMOOCH here!" Lynn says. And the brothers talk enthusiastically about that memory.

"Wow readers, I left such a huge impact on my brothers' lives. It's really sweet to know that no matter how much we fight or how much I annoy them and vise versa, we've shared a lot of good times together." Linka says.

"How about how we all reacted to Linka's first period?" Loni brings up.

"We don't talk about that!" His siblings shout at him. Loni just laughed, causing the rest of them to laugh with him. The brothers continued to tell stories of Linka until their mother called that it was time for bed.

The next day, Linka came home from school beaming. Her time capsule project in her hold. She sat on the living room couch, her brothers were watching TV before she arrived.

"Hey, sis. How did the project report go?" Luke asks.

"Fantastic! Everyone loved all of your memories and I got an "A"!"

"As you should." Lynn says.

"So, do you guys want your items back?"

"Nah, keep it." It was an unanimous answer.

"Seriously?"

"Of course, big sister. Our memories are also your memories." Levi says.

"This way you'll always be reminded of the awesome times we shared with the best sister ever." Loni says as he ruffles her hair.

"Thanks, you guys!" Linka says as she relaxes on the couch and watches TV with her thoughtful brothers. The time capsule held tightly in her lap.

AN: In Lars's flashback, "Singeroid" is referring to Vocaloid.

Disclaimer: The startup to Leif's flashback was an idea by a Guest and Levi's flashback idea was from What what. BUTTS. The song from Lexx's memory is a parody of "One Step Closer" from Broadway's The Little Mermaid. You already know that Leon's is from the episode "The Crying Dame".

MLA Citation for the book mentioned:

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Penguin Books, 2006.

Thank you for your patience!

Edit 6/13/18: I'm surprised no one picked up on this: in Lars's memory, Linka's winning raffle number is the date of when The Loud House officially premiered on Nick. May 2, 2016 (050216).