28. Mixed Results

A/N: Welp, it finally happened. For the first time in over a month since the beatdown, Lincoln has initiated first contact with one of his sisters. Now, you could expect the girls to try and jump at the chance to get a lot of things off their chest; fortunately for them, they're still with their parents, who will rein them in before things go south. Will the girls try to take things slow, or would they try to speed up the process to get Lincoln to forgive them?

Also, as a note to those who update the trope pages for my works, I'd appreciate it if you guys took more time to actually update the pages with more information that instead of doing the easy work like making small grammar changes. The main page and especially the heartwarming page for Worth haven't been updated in over a week despite the YMMV page being updated on the same day, and there are a few things that could be added as of the latest chapter.

Disclosure: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.

Getting over the shock that was the short message on Lori's phone wasn't as easy as one may think. Having been without the company of their white-haired sibling for a month had done much on the girls' overall demeanor. Watching your sibling from afar was one thing, especially for the younger ones as they could keep a close eye on Lincoln even if he was vaguely aware of it. Actually talking to him was a completely different game to play, knowing that their very presence brings no comfort to the 11 year old in spite of how much they wanted to shower him with nothing but affection and pamper him until he was fully healed.

And now...Lincoln finally gained enough confidence to actually send them a message. A mix of emotions were in play, vying for control on how the Louds should feel. Make no mistake, the siblings were internally overjoyed that Lincoln was beginning to come around. And yet...there was something wrong with this situation.

It shouldn't have come out like this. They should be the ones who should've been the first to make small talk with their brother to try and put him at ease. They should've been the ones to send a message out to their brother first to make it clear they weren't going to harm him. They were the ones who so desperately needed to apologize. Oh, right, they did; it just ended up driving their brother further away after that one visit at the hospital. And since then, per their parents' instructions, all of the non-infancy Loud girls avoided any sort of contact with Lincoln.

But now, by some sort of sheer fortune or Dr. Lopez was some miracle worker, the girls finally had an opportunity to actually communicate with him. And they weren't going to waste it.

Lola was the first to get out of her shock, rubbing off any food particles still on her mouth after her short choking fit. "Don't just sit there! Say something!"

Lori bit her lower lip, very hesitant to even touch the virtual keyboard. Her thumbs were planted firmly on the sides of the phone as if they were glued on the spot. "W-What should I say? It's not like I just expected him to send me a text!"

Lynn reached over and grabbed the phone. "Well, if you aren't gonna say something, I will. His arm is still in a cast because of me."

"Oh no you don't." A small hand snatched it from the jock's fingers. "Linky is stuck with a horrid smile thanks to me, so I get first dibs." Lola claimed, her thumbs flinging around the screen as she started typing.

A single string of letters was left as the mobile device was once again snatched up by another sister. "I doubt he wants to hear from the person who wrecked his face." Luan pointed out. "Plus, I did help him out the day before he went into therapy, so he'll probably be more willing to speak with me."

"Do you honestly think he's going to forget about all the pranks you did to him sis? Especially during that one April Fools Day?..." Luna chimed in, gently taking the phone from her. "Let me talk to him."

Before Luna's finger could graze the screen, another teenaged hand took it. "Sorry Luna, but I totes need to tell Lincoln how sorry I am for everything that's happened."

"Join the club..." Lana stated with a bored expression. She grabbed another shrimp off her plate before popping it into her mouth.

Lori knitted her brows together after watching her sisters play keep away with her phone. Even if she was very moody lately, the oldest Loud sibling still didn't appreciate others touching her personal device. She reached over and grabbed the top half of the device. "Can I please have my phone back?..." Were the words that forced their way past gritted teeth; Lori's tone was laced with a mixture of overly sweetness and a hint of venom.

Leni tugged the phone in her direction, prompting an irate glare from Lori as she tried to pry it out of her sister's hands. Lisa blinked with disinterest as she watched her two oldest sisters bicker over the oldest's phone. She hadn't made a grab for the device, being rather cynical about the possibility that Lincoln would attempt to reach out to them. If he hadn't wanted to talk with them before, why would he suddenly send a message now?

Sensing a fight would break out, Lynn Sr. reached over and yanked the phone from their grips. "Girls, calm down! We're not at home you know!"

Rita took a glance at the screen, which now had an incomprehensible message on display due to the random button pressing. It was very fortunate that none of their fingers hit the 'send' button. "Kids, I know you're all jumpy to talk with Lincoln, but you need to remember that he's still fearful of you girls. We don't want you to overwhelm him with constant texts, as that might just make him stop sending any messages completely." Rita grabbed the phone and thumbed over the entire message before deleting it. "Now, Lincoln sent this to Lori's phone, so she gets to respond back." The matriarch handed the phone to her oldest child, who gladly accepted.

"If I may inquire mother..." Lisa spoke as she absentmindedly picked at her food. "How exactly do we know that's Lincoln, and not someone whose just using his phone? I find it hard to believe that as petrified he is of the 9 of us, he would suddenly develop the gall to actually initiate contact. Not that I don't believe in miracles, but I just find this hard to believe."

Lori thinned her lips as another wave of irritation engulfed her. "Well, you're the smart one. Don't you have something that can trace calls or whatever?"

Lisa squinted her eyes as she gave a sideways glance. "...Nooooooo?" She smiled sheepishly. The unamused stares from her siblings made it clear they weren't convinced. Breathing out through her nose, "Ok, I do. Unfortunately, it's at home."

Lola turned her attention to the mobile device, giving a cold glare at the hard casing. "If it is an imposter, I'm going to do something that will give them nightmares for years..."

Both Lana and Luan shifted their seats a few inches away from the former princess, small beads of sweat forming on the sides of their heads. If Lola ever spoke in a way that sounded like Death had you in its sights, it meant she fully intended to carry out her threat. There was a reason why she was so feared on the pageant circuit after all.

Lori rolled her eyes before taking a quick look at the message history. Lincoln didn't text her much in the past, and she could see a few messages from months ago. One in particular was an S.O.S. message to come home early during time the teen was out on a picnic with Roberto. Since Lori knew the emotional undertone texts typically carried, she could tell the 3 dots after the letters meant the person was either anxious or upset.

"...I don't see any reason why I shouldn't believe this isn't Lincoln, so..." Lori guided her thumbs over the touchscreen keyboard as she formed her reply.

"Out of curiosity, why did you send it to Lori's phone?" Clyde asked, peeking over Lincoln's shoulder. "And it's totally not for anything related to how pretty she is." The Loud sent him a half-lidded stare as if he didn't believe him. "What? After what Lori did, I don't see her as much of an angel as I used to." Clyde shrugged.

"Given how many times you've stared at her from a distance..." Lincoln said dryly.

The nerdy kid gave a nervous chuckle. "Speaking of staring, there was this one girl who kept staring at me several times today."

"Was it Haiku?" Lincoln half-joked, managing a small smile. He knew the two had always remained close since the Sadie Hawkins dance, though they were mostly friends than an actual couple.

"No. It was that girl named Astrid."

Lincoln raised a brow. "Astrid?"

"Yeah, she's one of Ronnie Anne's friends. She tried asking me something, but then she got...nervous I guess? I mean, she started to say something, froze up, and ran off." Clyde dragged a hand through his hair. "I gotta remember to ask Ronnie Anne about her."

Lincoln had a feeling it may have been due to the fact Astrid has a crush on Clyde, seeing as her mannerisms are similar to how Clyde acts around Lori (minus the nose bleeds). Yet, his best friend remained oblivious to it. He wouldn't say it out loud, but Lincoln thought Clyde would be better off if he didn't fawn over a monster like one of his sisters. Plus, Lori was too old for him anyway.

The white-haired child turned back at the screen, his depression increasing as no new messages had popped up. "Lori always has her phone with her, like it's glued to her hand. I thought she'd be the most likely to see it, even if she doesn't like me texting her much."

"Why's that?"

"She said she does not have time for my 'useless' messages..."

It had been roughly 8 minutes since Lincoln sent that text, and he still had gotten a reply. His lips curled down, eyelids dropping a bit as the thought of his oldest sister deleting his message came to bear.

"...Maybe I shouldn't have bothered to-" Lincoln stopped his self-loathing as his phone buzzed, a message incoming from Lori. Lincoln bit his lip as he opened it, hoping it wasn't anything meant to demean him.

Hey...how are you? - Lori

Lincoln turned his head to Clyde, who gestured him to respond back. The ticks from the phone echoed around the room as Lincoln typed back.

Ok...I guess... - Lincoln

Lori paused for a moment, wondering how she could make small talk with her brother. She didn't want to press anything as she didn't have a clear topic in mind, so she hoped he would direct the conversation. He did text her first after all.

Is there anything you want to talk about? - Lori

No...not really. It's...it's just been a while since we even talked... - Lincoln

Ok. Well, I'm here for you if you need anything. Love you, bro. - Lori

Lincoln's thumbs hovered over his screen, his body freezing up as an internal debate raged on he should answer that. He didn't want to make it seem as if he was brushing off the comment, but it felt like the love he previously had for his sisters, most of them in fact, just...wasn't there. Past moments of hugs and kisses had been all but forgotten, replaced by memories of fists and harsh words.

Seeing that Lincoln hadn't replied back, or wasn't going to, Lori sighed and set her phone down. However, she had to pick it back up when it buzzed again. The short message given felt as if someone put a stake in her heart.

Iloveyoutoo - Lincoln

To the casual observer, it might look as if the person typed the message and forgot to put spaces in it. But not to Lori. Lincoln had gave her 'I love you' messages before and they didn't look as nearly as forced as this one did.

"Lori? What's wrong?" Leni asked.

The teen slumped her shoulders as she leaned back in her chair. "I'd rather not discuss it. Not here at least..."

The girls and even the parents glanced at each other, wondering if something went wrong. The siblings took turns reading the conversation, not fully understanding why Lori became downcast. Aside from the last message, it seemed short and sweet. Lynn took a glance at it, then looked at Lori. The jock's heart sank a bit as she started to dread the sibling meeting that was sure to take place when they got home.

And speaking of home, Lynn knew she was going to have to break out her punching bag and padded mitts for a specific purpose once the family returned from the storage place tomorrow. Taking out her phone, she sent a text to one person in particular.

Meet me at my house at 2pm tomorrow, and make sure to bring some tape for your hands. - Lynn

Why would I need tape for my hands?... - R.A.

Trust me. You'll need it. - Lynn

Back at Clyde's, Lincoln set the phone down. He breathed in before giving a heavy sigh, his eyes downcast as if he felt something was missing.

"So, how do you feel now?" Clyde asked him.

"I don't really know Clyde...I want to feel some sense of relief that I finally got that out of the way, but at the same time, I feel...empty..."

"Empty as in, you're lacking some kind of emotion?" Lincoln nodded, to which Clyde picked up the phone. He scrolled through the short conversation, scratching his head as he couldn't see what was wrong. "I'm not getting it. She asked how you were feeling and said she loved you."

"That's just it Clyde." Lincoln turned to his friend. "I'm not sure if I feel the same way...I mean, my sisters and I used to have some good moments, but it kinda feels like it was meaningless in a way if they..." The Loud paused, scrunching his face a little, "Were willing to put me in the hospital. I'm just not sure if I still love my sisters...I guess part of me does, but not fully. I think I'll need to talk with Ms. Lopez about it..."

After that, Lincoln got up and went to his room. Clyde stared after him, closing his eyes as he shook his head in disbelief. "If only you knew Lincoln...if only you knew..."

Usually, Saturdays would be a relaxing time for the Louds as they got to unwind after a long week of work. Unless your name was Lynn Sr., who would spend his Saturdays fixing things in the house more often than he'd like to. However, today the whole family had some plan of action. Instead of another displeasing visit to Aunt Ruth, the patriarch took most of his daughters to the storage place so they could pick out (at most) two items to take back with them. Rita, on the other hand, was taking Lincoln to visit Dr. Fienstein to get his teeth checked. She was bringing Lily with her since the infant had whined about wanting to see Lincoln after being out of his presence for over a week. She could've taken Lincoln in earlier, but the matriarch wanted him to catch up with school first. It also helped that he was due for a regular check up anyway, but now it was a matter if he would require braces.

Surprisingly, there was no meeting concerning the hastily texted message Lincoln last sent to Lori, despite questions being asked. The eldest sibling decided to not speak about what it implied so her sisters wouldn't have their moods soured even further than usual. Then again, it shouldn't have come as a surprise if Lincoln didn't love them. Common sense dictates that you don't love something you're fearful of, like Leni with spiders. Didn't make that realization any less hurtful though. But, Lori did hope Lincoln would gain the courage to message her again soon.

The Loud girls were still rather indifferent about getting some of their possessions back, but they still picked out a few things. The only exceptions were Lori, Lana, and Lisa; the oldest sibling didn't have anything taken from her to be put away, whilst Lana wanted to visit the pet shelter to see if any of her old friends were still there. As for Lisa, she didn't have anything in mind she wanted to take back despite being asked twice.

The other girls meticulously selected their items. Leni got her sewing machine, Luna grabbed a basic guitar, (leaving her beloved axe behind), Luan brought out Mr. Coconuts (the dummy made a snide comment about being locked in a chest with no entertainment for a whole month, to which Luan replied that he didn't have to pay rent), Lucy took possession of her bust of Edwin, and Lola had a difficult time picking out anything. The six year old was still under the refusal to dress like a princess again, but in the end, she decided to bring back her go-kart in case she felt like driving it around. As for Lynn, she grabbed her boxing gloves and punching bag, knowing what to do with those.

Lynn Sr. gazed around the storage unit once it seemed like the girls weren't going to go back in. It was still roughly full with most of their things, as if they hardly made a dent in the removal process. "Alright girls, is that everything you want?"

The chorus of approval was once again undermined the by the apathetic tone it carried. Giving a sigh, the father locked up the unit before everyone began to pile into the van.

"Hey dad..." Lana spoke in a concerned tone. "Do you think Hops, Izzy, and El Diablo are still there?"

"Probably. I don't know anyone else who is into frogs, lizards, or snakes." The father took a few seconds to start the van before heading to their next destination.

In actuality, Lynn Sr. had no clue as to whether any of Lana's pets were still there. Lana had roughly 20 different reptiles, some of which raised many questions as to how a six year old like herself was able to catch them. Lynn himself didn't try to answer that, nor think about it too much. It was just a thing Lana was able to do...somehow...but it would be a lie if Lynn said it didn't bother him that Lana was constantly handling dangerous animals at a young age. One of the worst things he feared as a father was that his little mudball would end up requiring a trip to the hospital after being bitten by something.

"For all we know, they might have died in captivity..." Lucy stated in her typical emotionless voice, her Edwin bust snuggled tight to her chest.

Lana slowly turned her head to the dark girl, giving a look that was the equivalent of a mother staring down a threat to her babies. The absolute last thing she wanted to hear was that one of her beloved pets died outside of her loving care. "Don't say that Lucy...just don't..."

"Just thinking about it is all." The emo continued, ignoring the look. "Trapped in a cage of sorrow, nothing but the pale sunlight to give you a sense of direction, concrete walls that seclude you from the outside world, with no one around as you begin to wither away...it's a great source of inspiration."

With her brows knitting into a broad V, Lana slipped off one of her shoes as her face started to become a red tint. "I said, knock. It. OFF!" Right as she finished her sentence, she threw it as hard as she could at the 8 year old. Lucy ducked behind the seat, the shoe bouncing off the window to her right with an audible bang.

Lynn Sr. looked at his daughters through the rear view mirror, seeing Leni struggling to keep Lana from jumping into the second row to beat her darkness loving sister. The 8 year old just sat calmly with a stoical face as the young tomboy clawed at her. "Lana, calm down! Lucy, apologized to your sister! You should know better than to act insensitive about this."

Lucy pursed her lips. "...Sigh..." She closed her eyes for a brief moment. "I'm sorry Lana..."

Lana's face slowly started to turn back to normal as she sat down. The six year old crossed her arms whilst grumbling something incoherent.

"Lana, what do you say?" Lynn Sr. spoke again in his authoritative voice.

"...Apology accepted..." Lana gazed at her father, her contempt clear as day. "This time..."

He almost felt like scolding her again for not being sincere, but one quick look down the road caused him to slow the van down. The animal shelter was just to the right. Just a passing glance at the exteriors of the place told the girls it was well passed its condemn date. The facility looked like it was built in the early 1900s; the brick walls were chipped, several windows were cracked, there was a sizable hornets nest on one corner that was hopefully inactive, and even the paint was peeling in a few places.

"Wow. This place makes Aunt Ruth's house look like a mansion." Luan quipped.

"This place sure has seen better days brah..." Luna agreed.

Lana's eyes were wide open with her mouth agape ever so slightly. "You brought them here?!"

Lynn Sr. nodded nervously as he parked the car. "It was the only place that was willing to hold that many pets, and we couldn't afford any of the other places..."

The mud lover bit her lower lip to keep herself from screaming as she climbed over Leni and threw the van door open, running up to the front entrance. Unsure of how things would go, Lynn Sr. undid his seat belt. "I think the rest of you should stay in here. This miiight get a little ugly..." Shutting the door behind him, the other girls could see sweat forming on dad's head as he walked to the entrance.

Not one second after opening the door, the patriarch was met with a peculiar sight. Lana was hanging onto the edge of the front desk, just enough so her head would be visible, and asking a ton of questions while the desk clerk was giving a nonchalant stare. Then again, said clerk also looked like she didn't care much about anything really.

"Come on! He's gotta still be here! Any of them!" Lana's voice was growing more desperate by the second as her patience drained.

Lynn pulled his daughter off the desk and held her in his arms. "Sorry about that. Now see, I brought a large amount of reptiles here a month ago, and we're trying to see if any of them are still here."

"What's your name sir?" The employee asked in a bored tone.

"Lynn Loud."

The woman moved her chair over to the computer to pull up a few files. She hummed a short tune whilst sorting through a list of names arranged in alphabetical order. "Loud...Loud...ok, here it is." The woman opened it, taking a moment to scratch her hair. "Yeah...see, most of the pets you brought here were given away to other people. The only ones that remained were some snake, a frog, and a gecko."

Lana's lips dropped into a small frown, small tears forming on the edges of her eyes. "Are...a-are they still alive?"

The lady gave a low shrug. "It says the frog and gecko are still here, but last week we had to put the snake down because it ate a few of the other animals, then bit one of the other guys when he tried to handle it."

We had to put the snake down...

Those 7 words pierced Lana's heart like a bullet going through wet paper. The color drained out of her face as that last sentence ran through her mind repeatedly. She heard many stories about what could happen to shelter animals if no one wanted them or they became too much to handle, but not once did Lana believe that such a thing could happen to her best friends. They were well behaved and wouldn't harm anyone, especially those she was close with. The handywoman had a lot of reptiles as pets, but she always kept a very close bond with El Diablo, Izzy, and Hops. Not a day went by that Lana wasn't worried that they might not survive in a shelter, and she hoped at the very least that her friends may find another family to stay with so they wouldn't be stuck here forever. Sadly, it seems one of them didn't make it.

Lana could still remember the day she first found the little constrictor. She was only 3 at the time, playing around in the garden of the house while her mother was tending to the flowers. Lana always claimed she wanted to help, but Rita knew she just wanted to get dirt on her skin. The matriarch didn't always enjoy having to wash the toddler once she was finished, but found her playful nature too cute to resist saying no. Back then, Lana wouldn't have met Hops or Izzy until a few months and a year later, respectively.

The toddler was playing around a few potted flowers when she noticed a small tail sticking out from a hole on the side of one pot. With her curiosity at an all time high, Lana picked the pot up to find a snake no more than a few inches in length. Upon being exposed, it curled into a defensive posture whilst hissing a warning. Lana wasn't deterred in the slightest, more fascinated by an animal she had hardly ever seen. She tried to pet it, which caused the snake lash out and bite her. Not even this act of aggression stopped the toddler, despite the stinging pain in her hand. Because the snake wasn't venomous, there was no risk of Lana being poisoned. Laying a hand on the snake, it managed to calm down once it realized it wasn't going to be harmed.

Lana then scooped up the snake and showed it to her mother, who immediately demanded that she put it down and let it be. Sadly, Lana had to obey and let the serpent wander back into the foliage, but it wouldn't be the last time they saw each other. A few days later, Lana was playing outside with her twin when both heard a hissing sound. Upon seeing the snake, Lola immediately screamed and ran off, but Lana had a sense of familiarity with this reptile. Upon closer inspection, she saw it was the same one she set free not too long ago. Knowing how her parents would act, Lana decided to keep the snake in secret, feeding and caring for it like a mother would to a child. The tomboy even gave it the name, El Diablo. She named him that due to how fiesty the snake would get if it wasn't handled properly.

Like all secrets though, hers eventually came out; but Lana wasn't about to let her parents tell her to get rid of her friend. After a long discussion about having a pet, the parents decided to let her keep the snake so long as she took full responsibility for it. The months of taking care of her snake allowed Lana to grow an interest in reptiles, and she later met her two best friends some months down the road. From then on, Lana would become curious about nearly all types of animals, but she still preferred reptiles.

Now...the one snake who helped ignite Lana's interest was gone; he probably spent his last few moments wondering where she was, and why she wasn't coming for him. Water pooled at the bottom of the girl's eyes, her lower lip quivering as the fact she'd never see El Diablo again swelled in her gut. However, that depression was soon turning into something else. The young girl's face started turning a deep shade of red, her lips parting to reveal two rows of clenched teeth. Tears started to leak out of the corners of her eyes before she gave a primal yell and attempted to lunge at the shelter employee.

Lynn Sr. was quick to see his daughter's rage and held her tight. The six year old squirmed in his grip as she tried to get loose, nearly succeeding a few times before the patriarch reaffirmed his hold on her. Despite her size, Lana could easily use something as big as a heavy duty pipe wrench, and have enough strength to use it as a weapon if she felt like it. The woman gave a surprised look for a few seconds before shrugging it off. She left the desk to go retrieve the two pets the Louds were referring to while letting the father deal with his clearly pissed off daughter. Seeing she was unable to reach her target, Lana turned her ire on her father.

The tomboy punched and kicked at Lynn's chest with as much energy that she had. The patriarch groaned as his daughter kept pelting him with hits, but he knew she would eventually wear herself out. After raising 11 kids with different personalities and physical traits, the father had to keep track of how long it would take for a Loud to simmer down if they started having a tantrum. In Lana's case, it was 20 seconds.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BRING HIM HERE OF ALL PLACES?! WHY COULDNT YOU JUST LET HIM GO BACK INTO THE WILD?! O-OR EVEN TAKE HIM TO A PET STORE?!" Lana yelled into her father's chest as she continued to wail on him. The six year old opened her palm before repeatedly smacking it against Lynn, each hit decreasing in strength. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU!"

The man withstood the assault his daughter gave him, even though he really wanted to put her down to give his aching chest time to heal. Just as he thought, 20 seconds had passed and Lana was now a sniveling mess in his arms. She just hung limp in his grasp, doing nothing but staining Lynn's sweater with her tears. In the end, Lana knew it wasn't her father's fault. While he was partially responsible, much of this was her own doing. Her beating on Lincoln as much as she did caused her punishment to happen; to lose most of her pets save for two. While she could have never seen it coming, one thing was perfectly clear in the little girl's mind: she was the reason her first friend is dead.

It was a hard pill to swallow, and Lana knew there was nothing she could do to change that...

Outside, the rest of the girls were growing a bit anxious. Their father and Lana had been in that derelict building for over 20 minutes; it probably wasn't going well either since the siblings swore they heard Lana screaming not too long ago.

"Either Lana is excited to get her gross frog back, or she's upset that he was sold." Lola said to no one in particular.

"I'm sure it couldn't be that bad, right?" Leni asked, glancing back at her sisters.

"Statistically speaking, the chances of Lana obtaining some of her pets are..." Lisa paused, doing the math in her head. She extended a few fingers for reference before finally getting a solution. "Approximately 35%. And that's because they might have been sold since reptilians are one of the easiest creatures to obtain for first time pet owners due to their size and management."

"Wouldn't that be cats and dogs?" Lynn stated. "I mean, it wasn't that hard raising Cliff and Charles."

Lola furrowed her brows. "Tell that to my bed sheets..."

"You'd think that, but a Felis Catus and Canis Lupus Familiaris require more upkeep and maintenance than a reptilian." Lisa pushed her glasses further up her on her head to scratch the skin under her left eye. "For the most part, you just need to keep them warm and in a cage suited to their natural environment."

"How would you know? I thought you were more interested in chemistry than biology." Lynn pointed out.

"Correction: I'm heavily invested in both. I've just had more time to look at the biological spectrum over the past month."

"They're coming back." Lori spoke, seeing her father carrying Lana as well as a cage that held both Izzy and Hops. The girls grew worried when they noticed the distraught look the young tomboy had, as well as the pink tint in her eyes.

"Guess Lana didn't take something well..." Lori quipped.

Lucy studied Lana's face, her eyes widening a bit. The goth lover gave a heartfelt sigh. "I know that look. It's that of someone mourning for another..." She curled up in her seat, hugging Edwin even tighter; the image of her depressed sister was practically engraved in her head.

The 8 year old was only joking when she talked about the handywoman's pets dying in the shelter. She would never wish that on anyone, but to see that her joke turned into an actual truth made her soul weep for her sister. "I regret everything I said about her pets..."

Some time around two that afternoon, Ronnie Anne made her up to the front porch of the Loud abode. Instead of wearing her typical hoodie, she had on a plain white t-shirt due to the increasing rise in temperature. And she expected Lynn would make her sweat, so she just threw on something she didn't mind getting dirty.

On instinct, she reached for the doorbell, only to pause when her hand was an inch away from touching it. Lynn said something about that button always being on the fritz, shocking anyone who pressed it. The Hispanic girl felt lucky that memory came up, or she'd have deal with getting rid of aftershocks in her body. Moving her hand away from the bell, she balled it up before moving it to the door frame. Right as she was about to knock, Ronalda nearly hit Lori in the stomach as the teen opened the door.

"Gah!" Lori flinched backwards a little before regaining her composure. "Oh, hey Ronnie Anne. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for Lynn. She told me to meet her here around this time for...whatever it is she wanted to do." The 11 year old shrugged.

Lori squinted her eyes, folding her arms. "You guys aren't going to fight again, are you?"

"I really hope not..." Ronalda grimaced inwardly, her forehead tingling a little as the memory of that knockout punch came to bear. "No. Just to talk, I guess." The tomboy folded her arms, gaining her own doubtful stare. "What about you? You looked like you were in a rush."

Lori unfolded her arms, leaning slightly on the door frame. "I'm going to a..." She paused, unsure if the people she would talk to could be considered friends, seeing that she had none to speak of right now. "I mean, someone's house. Anyway, Lynn is in the backyard, and please don't try to start an arguement with her. No one is in the mood for it."

Ronnie Anne rolled her shoulders before moving past the teen. "Oh, and before you go, I have one last question."

"What?" Ronalda turned her head back to Lori.

"Has...has Bobby mentioned anything about me lately?" Lori's voice was a mix of worry and longing.

"Mmmm..." The tomboy hummed, looking up at the ceiling. "Not lately, but I know that whatever he has to say about you probably isn't anything good..."

Lori pursed her lips as she breathed deeply through her nose. "Of course he still hates me...why did I even ask?..." The blonde bemoaned internally before turning around, shutting the door behind her.

Ronalda stared at the door for a few seconds before working her way through the house to find the back door. In a way, she felt a little sorry for Lori. Her and Roberto were pretty close, so much that it was overly mushy and annoying. But this wasn't something Lori nor her sisters could be easily forgiven for, and Bobby didn't want to be involved with someone who would beat their own sibling over a minor mistake. Still, Ronnie Anne knew that Bobby was still hurting for Lori to some degree. She occasionally caught him browsing over photos of them on dates on his phone.

Walking into the kitchen, the tomboy couldn't help but notice how quiet it was in the house. She could hear some commotion going on upstairs, including what sounded like faint guitar playing.

"Huh. Thought this place would be a lot louder." Ronnie Anne half-joked. The sound of chains being rattled brought her attention to a window in the kitchen overlooking the backyard.

Outside, Lynn was sitting on a tree branch as she tied the chain of her punching bag to it. She was dressed in her own workout attire, wearing a black shirt with white stripes with black shorts to match. The ponytail that hung on the back of her head was folded into its scrunchy as well. After a few tugs, she confirmed it was secure. The creaking of the back door made her glance towards the house, finding just who she wanted to see.

"Hey Ronnie." Lynn jumped off, doing a small roll when she landed before standing up right. "Glad you made it." The teen flashed her teeth, letting Ronnie Anne see the empty spaces where her teeth used to be. The Hispanic girl flashed her own grin, showing the one open space on her rows of teeth.

"Not like I had anything else to do...any reason why it's so quiet in there?" She jerked a thumb back towards the house.

"You mean besides what you already know?" Ronnie Anne gave a dull stare like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Lynn just rolled with it, turning to grabbed a pair of soft hand pads on the ground. "Got some of our stuff back, including a couple of Lana's pets. One of them died though, so Lucy is planning for the funeral. Ms. Queen of Mud is probably still lying in bed right now with Lola trying to comfort her." She faced Ronalda. "So, you brought the tape?"

The Hispanic girl dug into her pocket and pulled out some medical tape. "This was all I could get from my house." She casually tossed it around in the air. "Wasn't gonna ask mom cause I know she'd want to know what I needed it for."

"You'll need it to make sure your hands aren't aching as much when we're done for the day." Lynn slipped the pads on, flexing her fingers inside of them to get used to the feeling. Normally, she would have Lincoln hold them for her, but given the circumstances...

"Whatever." Ronalda stretched out a piece of tape before beginning to wrap it around her hand.

Lynn watched her, the teen's lips curling into a frown upon noticing how loose the tape was and its placement. She took the pads off and tucked them into her armpit. "You're doing it wrong."

The younger tomboy raised a brow. "What are you talking about?"

The jock gently took her hand and started to unwrap the tape. "One, it's not tight enough. Two, you're wrapping it too close to your fingers." Taking the roll of tape, Lynn stretched out another piece and started to wrap it on the girl's hand. "You want it to be tight just enough where it's firmly wrapped to your hand, but your finger movement isn't restricted. And at the same time, it prevents the skin of your palms from taking damage."

Ronnie Anne frowned as she attempted to move her fingers, noting how stiff they felt from the pressure. "It feels tight enough already..."

"Just keep flexing your fingers and you'll get used to it." Lynn then moved behind Ronnie Anne, who was busy with getting used to the adjustment, and grabbed the girl's ponytail.

The 11 year old went wide-eyed as her hand snapped upwards and pulled the hair out of Lynn's grasp. She wheeled around, glaring daggers at the sporty Loud. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Lynn gave a dull expression. "Fixing your hair?"

"What the heck is wrong with my hair?" She released the ponytail before folding her arms. "I like it the way it is, thank you. And you aren't exactly a hair stylist."

Lynn gave a wide grin. "Tell that to the time I nearly ripped your head off the first time we met. Like it or not Ronnie Anne, if you're going to get into a fight, you don't want the person you're fighting to be able to grab something sticking out that they can use for leverage. That includes long hair, loose clothing like your favorite hoodie, or similar. Why do you think I had an easy time beating your head in the lunch room? I even tied mine up just to show you how it's done." Lynn turned her head slightly and jerked her thumb to the short stub of hair that was visible.

Ronalda grinned a little as she gave a low chortle. "If it weren't for the eyelashes, I'd say someone would mistake you for a boy."

The jock narrowed her eyes. "At least I know how to fight properly."

Ronalda lost her grin as irritation replaced the bravado she upheld. "I made a name for myself in my grade for a reason, and it's not because I'm a peacemaker."

"Sure." Lynn huffed, shifting her weight a little. "Fighting against other amateurs is one thing, but fighting against pros is another. In case you forget what happened on Monday, you would have been off a lot worse than you would think if I was serious about fighting you."

Ronnie Anne bit her lip to hold her tongue while fiercely glaring at Lynn. As much as she wanted to badmouth the meatheaded sports fanatic, and while she still hated to admit it, Ms. Sporty still had a point. In most cases, Ronnie Anne knew she could one hit punch a couple of would-be bullies, though if anyone had some knowledge on how to trade blows correctly, it would be a somewhat long battle of endurance. Granted, the few fights she had been in helped build the rep she had right now; but if she could end a fight as quick as snapping her fingers, that would do a lot of good not only for her, but for Lincoln as well if he doesn't get over his fears any time soon.

Without uttering a word, Ronalda turned around before pointing towards her ponytail. Lynn smirked a little before stepping up and fiddled with the girl's hair. Since Ronnie Anne had longer hair, Lynn couldn't just fold it into her scrunchy like she could. So, she formed into a small little bun on the center of the Hispanic tomboy's head.

"There. That wasn't so hard was it?" Lynn joked. She nearly went into a fit of giggles when Ronalda flipped the bird at her. Slipping the pads back on, she patted them together so they'd make a loud popping sound. Crouching slightly, Lynn dug her feet into the ground for what she had planned next. "Alright, now give me your best punch!"

Ronalda raised a brow, putting a hand to her hip. "My best punch?"

"Yeah. I need to see how strong you are when you're angry so I know what I need to work with. Just think about something that makes you so mad, that you want to demolish a wall."

The 11 year old pursed her lips, staring off into space. "Well, I did throw my nightstand out the window that same night I found out Lincoln was in the hospital..."

"Pff, weak! Nightstands aren't that heavy."

"It still had my clothes in it."

"Well, when I'm done with you, you'll be able to lift a full dresser filled with clothes. Now, concentrate." Lynn ordered. "Use that anger to fuel the force of your hits."

Ronalda hummed, thinking back to how she felt that evening. Her blood was boiling, face red with fury, had an enormous need to beat the Louds into paste as she thought what they did was on purpose or they felt no sympathy. Then she thought about her fight with Lynn, how her admitting she broke Lincoln's arm sent her over the edge. The girl's face started to contort a little as that anger was building, but then it began to taper off as Ronalda thought about what happened within the last two weeks. She had a better understanding of how the Loud siblings really felt, and while the 11 year old still hadn't forgiven them, she wasn't necessarily angry at them anymore.

"Dang it Ronalda, focus! You're supposed to be angry, not mellow!" The Queen of Pain hissed internally.

Searching through her memories, Ronnie Anne looked past recent events to find something much older that still held significance. Diving back to a few years ago, she came across a rather bad memory of a certain incident in 2nd grade. It was coming to her just like it was yesterday: the bullies, the food throwing, the humiliation, and the crying. The Hispanic girl's left eye twitched as she began to shiver, with Lynn growing a little confused as to what she was doing. A small tear escaped Ronnie Anne before that emotion Lynn was looking for finally began to manifest. The Queen of Pain started to grind her teeth while her face became a reddish tint. Her hands formed into tight fists, and that's when those eyes filled with fury settled into Lynn. A low growl escaped the Hispanic girl as if she was ready to pounce. Snorting slightly, Lynn raised the pads up, silently hoping Ronnie Anne targeted those and not her face.

In the span of 15 seconds, Ronalda ran forward with a hate-filled roar and pounded away at the pads. Lynn's entire body shook from the force of each hit, the sound of fist meeting pad reverberating around the yard. To Lynn's surprise, Ronnie Anne even through a kick into the mix, although it was a little sloppy in her opinion. As soon as it started, it stopped with Ronnie Anne landing one last hit to Lynn's padded hands. The younger tomboy panted as sweat dripped from her forehead, her arms falling limp to her knees to keep herself up right as the cost of overexerting herself took its toll.

Lynn patted Ronalda on the head with her padded hands. "Not bad. I only said one punch, but I was impressed a bit. But, if you get tired that easily after that little display, then we really need to work on your endurance. Also, your form could use some work too."

"...My hands hurt..." Ronalda finally spoke.

"If you didn't have that tape on, they'd be hurting even more. And speaking of which, first thing we're gonna do is start with how you should be punching without throwing yourself out too much. Hang out here for a sec, I'll go get us some water." Lynn finished as she ditched the pads and went into the kitchen.

Ronalda brought her hands to her hips before pulling her upper body up straight. The 11 year old couldn't shake the feeling that she was gonna be put through some sort of boot-camp-type training. She stared up at the clouds moving through the sky. "What the heck did I sign up for?..." The Queen of Pain uttered in Spanish.

A/N: Looks like Lincoln has another topic to talk about with Dr. Lopez during his next appointment. Might be a bit of a running gag concerning how it seems like things are looking up, but then a curve ball comes and throws everything off. But, this isn't the last time Lincoln will text his sisters, seeing nothing bad happened to him. And I almost feel bad for putting Lana in a bad spot with having one of her pets killed. It's a thing that happens quite often in our time, and sadly she had to experience it. I still personally believe that girl had too many pets for her own good.

Also, you may have picked out a couple things in this chapter that are related to Talespinner's side story Ace Observations. We both discuss how he can line things up with my story, but the Aces won't appear much in this story outside of mentions and cameos.

Lastly, Lynn has finally started to train Ronnie Anne, and she's gonna go through some hell if she wants to be as strong as Lynn.