I got roped into doing another Secret Santa this year, this time for my longtime friend SesNumeral. Thanks for being friends with my annoying ass for a year and a half now, man :)

I know I'm a few days late here, but now's probably a good time to say Merry Christmas to all, and Happy Hanukkah and Kwanzaa (do you say Happy Kwanzaa? I don't know the exact phrase for it, sorry.)

Loud thunder rumbled as black clouds rolled over Royal Woods. Winds rushed through the streets, strong enough to move parked cars. The air was electrified, the climate both cold and warm at the same time, and not a single beam of sunlight could pierce through the clouds of the storm. It was a day for heavy rain, so everyone in the small town decided to stay indoors.

When the sky issued a bright beam of light, people naturally assumed that it was lightning. It frightened some to see the lightning strike so close to their homes, but they weren't going to go out and investigate it. It's a shame they didn't; Lisa Loud would've appreciated someone helping her get up off the cold ground.

The young brunette, clad in a professional lab coat with her signature green sweater and brown pants hiding underneath, groaned as she lifted herself off the street. She looked around, but quickly found that she could barely see. At first she assumed it was because of the darkness, but then realized there was another reason when she waved her hand in front of her face.

"My glasses," she said.

She got down on her knees and patted the ground in search of her glasses, like Velma in an old Scooby Doo episode. When she finally found them, she put them on and sighed with relief when she saw they weren't broken. "Much better," she chirped cheerfully. She then looked to the left, and then to the right, confirming strong vision. "I'm glad I found these. I should really give myself corrective laser surgery… but that's neither here nor there. What's most important now is… where am I?"

It might seem like an odd question, but you have to understand one thing. One teensy tiny little thing.

Lisa had just gone through a portal.

At least, she hoped she did. For the past few months, Lisa had been working hard at creating a vehicle for transferring matter across chronological distances. Street name: time machine. She had traveled through time before, when she had sent herself back in time to reunite with her family after a lonely, miserable time away from them. For some odd reason, her attempts to travel into the future were less successful. One would assume that traveling into the future would be easier than traveling into the past (seeing how technically everyone is traveling into the future all the time) but the portals she created were just too unstable and irresponsive. In fact, the last thing she remembered doing was kicking her useless prototype time machine. One moment she was in her room, the next she had this strange feeling of falling upwards, and then she was here. Wherever here was.

"I must've managed to leap forward," Lisa realized. "Huzzah! And I didn't bring any of my siblings with me either. Double huzzah!"

She didn't say that because she hated her siblings. She just said that because she really didn't want any of them to spout that "I think the better question is when are we?" line that terrible science fiction movies had pounded into the cultural consciousness.

That reminded her… wasn't she supposed to be figuring out where she was? Lisa's eyes scanned her surroundings. She was clearly in a suburban neighborhood, what with all the lined up houses and neat lawns of grass. The architecture of the homes was clearly American… in fact, she knew some of these buildings. "Great Oppenheimer's ghost, I believe this is Royal Woods. This is my street!" she cheered.

Thunder boomed above her head, and the ground beneath her shook. Lisa nervously glanced up at the sky and noticed the darkest, heaviest clouds she had ever seen in her life.

"I should probably get inside right about now," she concluded with the sage-like wisdom that befit a scientist.

Like a mouse, she scurried to her home of 1216 Franklin Avenue, the infamous Loud House. She raised her fist to knock on the door, but before her fist hit the wood, she paused and left it suspended in mid-air. Dang it, she thought, I forgot to ensure that at least one of my family members still lives here. A lot can happen in… oh dear, I haven't even inquired to the exact year I'm in. For all I know, this could be two-hundred years in the future.

She looked up to the sky, checking it for UFOs. No, it can't have been that long. The Intergalactic Council would've made their way to Earth by now.

Another loud crash of thunder interrupted her thoughts. Lisa yelped, then rapidly banged on the door. Even if none of her family members lived here anymore, it would take a real sociopath to turn away a scared little girl in what was clearly shaping up to be a bad storm.

Lisa waited anxiously for someone to answer the door. She bounced in her place, nervously wringing her hands together. Her ears perked when she heard footsteps on the other side of the door, and relief flooded her heart when she heard the locks being undone.

The door opened, and a blonde woman stepped out from behind it. Lisa's heart fell when she saw that it wasn't her mother, nor was it any of her sisters. This blonde woman looked like she was somewhere in her late thirties – age touched her eyes, but it barely stole from her beauty. Her golden hair was long, flowing far past her shoulders. Her outfit was made up of a purple shirt with a white collar, a brown checkered dress, and loafers accompanied by knee-high socks. She looked… familiar, Lisa thought. Lisa scanned her memories to give a name to this familiar-seeming woman, then gasped when she realized who she was looking at.

"Carol? Carol Pingrey?"

The woman that might've been Carol Pingrey looked down at Lisa. "How do you know my name?" she asked. She also wanted to ask why she was standing at her door, and why she was trick-or-treating in a scientist outfit when it wasn't even close to Halloween, but she felt the name-thing was a bit more important.

Lisa waved her arms frantically as she shouted, "It's me! Lisa! Lisa Loud! I used to live here with my family! Lori is my sister. You remember Lori, right?"

Carol's brow scrunched with confusion, but Lisa watched as recognition sparkled in her blue eyes. "No… this is impossible," Carol whispered. She took a step back from Lisa like she was a demon out of Hell. She looked back into the house, then back at Lisa. "It can't be-"

At that moment, another crash of loud thunder came down from the heavens, accompanied by blinding lightning that lit the entire world up. Whoever this was, Lisa or not, Carol knew she couldn't leave her standing outside. She grabbed Lisa's arm and dragged her inside with a quick "We'll talk inside!"

Once the door was closed, Carol got down on her knees and grabbed Lisa's arms. She shook the girl, a little more violently than she intended, and muttered, "Okay, we're inside now. Who are you really? You can't be Lisa Loud. I know you can't be."

"And why can't I be?" Lisa asked.

Carol opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, the two heard a feminine voice calling from the living room. "Carol? Who are you talking to?"

"I..." The woman visibly struggled for words. She gave up with a sigh and a falling of her shoulders. "I think you should come see this," she called back to the other woman.

Lisa heard someone get off the couch and approach them. The footsteps she heard matched with the pounding of her heart against her rib cage. Somehow, she knew that whoever was going to come around that corner was going to be someone important.

Another woman stepped out to face Lisa and Carol. She looked like she was around the same age as Carol – scratch that, she looked like she was exactly the same age as Carol – and she had the same shade of bright blonde hair. Her hair was shorter, and had a few strands of whiteness hidden amongst the field of yellow. She wore glasses as well, and a soft blue shirt with a soft blue dress.

The new arrival looked at Lisa with confusion. A gasp escaped her lips, and her hands flew to her heart as it began to beat. Behind her spectacles, Lisa could see tears starting to form in her eyes.

"You… it… it literally can't be..."

Literally.

Lisa realized who she was looking at with a sharp intake of air. Without another word, she ran to the other woman, who bent down on one knee to hug the small genius.

"Lisa, Lisa, Lisa," the woman repeated as she cradled the toddler. Tears flowed freely down her face as her hands rummaged the little girl, taking in every detail. How she looked, how she felt, how she smelled… the woman's nose pressed into Lisa's hair and inhaled, flooding her nostrils with the familiar warm smell of gunpowder and sulfur.

The woman openly wailed, and hugged Lisa even harder. "I've missed you so much, Lisa!" cried her older sister Lori.

Lisa didn't fully understand, but she hugged her sister back nonetheless.

A glass mug of hot chocolate was placed in front of Lisa by Carol. Steam issued upwards from it, and tiny white marshmallows floated in the liquid center. Lisa mouthed silent thanks and took a sip of her drink. Her eyes shot wide open as every inch of her body, from the top of her head to the tips of her eleven toes, was instantly warmed. "This is amazing!" Lisa shouted.

"I thought you'd like it. Your sister can't get enough of the stuff." Carol shot a smirk in Lori's direction. Lori blushed and tried to ignore it.

The three of them were huddled together in the kitchen of the Loud House, but it was much different than what Lisa remembered. Gone was the long table that could seat thirteen, and gone were the grown-up and kiddie tables that were used otherwise. The only table Carol and Lori had was a small, circular one that they all sat around. Their old clunky refrigerator had been replaced with a smart fridge, and Lisa was slightly dismayed to see that it looked a lot like the smart fridges of the past. "I thought they would've made more advancements in combining AI with daily household life."

"World War Three sorta got in the way of that," Lori said with a casual shrug.

"World War Three? I… I must've been gone for a really long time."

Lori's face crinkled, as if she were about to burst into another set of tears, but she managed to hold herself back. However, she couldn't stop her voice from shaking when she said, "You… you were. It's been… Lisa, i-it's been almost twenty years since you vanished. We all thought you had been… w-we had a funeral and couldn't even bury a b-body."

Lisa felt her heart sink at the news. Twenty years. Her family believed her to be dead for twenty years. She couldn't even imagine the anguish she had unwittingly caused them.

Lori pulled herself together. She offered her younger sister a weak smile. "But it doesn't matter now. What matters is that you're back… God, I'm literally so thankful."

"I'm sorry, sibling uni- sister."

"Sorry? For what?"

"For doing this. For… disappearing. You've clearly been sad and… if I take you as a sample, our other siblings and parental units must've been devastated as well." Lisa lowered her eyes guiltily. "I'm sorry."

Lori felt like she needed to say something, but words failed at her at that moment. She still couldn't really believe that her youngest sister was back, and that she had somehow remained as she was twenty years ago. Thankfully, Carol noticed and stepped in for her. "Don't be sorry, Lisa. It's not your fault," she reassured the child. "I'm sure this was all because of things outside of your control. Speaking of which… what exactly happened?"

The scientist looked over to her older sister, who nodded at her. Tell us, the nod said. Inhaling deeply and picking her words carefully so as not to confuse, Lisa said, "I had been, for the longest time, working on building a machine capable of transporting human beings into the far future. A time machine, as its known colloquially. It seems that I accidentally succeeded. The last thing I remember was working on it before I found myself on the street."

"It's a good thing you ended up on our street, at least," Carol weakly joked. "It's a real bad storm outside."

The sky rumbled to agree with her.

"Indeed. It's also good because now I can just go up to my old lab, find my machine, and send myself back. Then all this misery regarding my rumored death will be undone!"

Lori cringed. "Riiiiiight. Um, Lisa… it's not going to be up there."

"Oh," said Lisa simply. "Well, even if the time machine is gone-"

"Not the time machine. Your lab. All of your equipment and devices. None of it's here anymore."

Lisa slammed her hands into the table. "What?!" she cried. "You threw out my stuff?!"

"No, no." The older Loud shook her head. "After you… time-traveled, we kept a lot of your stuff in the attic. We didn't want Lily sleeping alone, so we had to make room for Lincoln to sleep next to her. We sold some of it in garage sales, but the rest of it was taken by… well, we were just talking about her. Lily. When Lily moved out, she took most of your things."

"Lily took my things when she moved out? Why?"

"For her own research, obviously."

It dawned on Lisa what Lori was saying. "Lori… are you saying that Lily became a scientist. Just like me?"

The woman smiled, and nodded to affirm.

Lisa felt swelling pride upon hearing the news. I can't believe it, Lisa thought. I left such a positive impression on my only younger sister during her formative years that she turned to the sciences like I did! This is incredible! And she's using my research too. I have become the giant whose shoulders future inventors and scientists stand upon.

She couldn't stop herself; she let out a girly giggle. Both Lori and Carol found it adorable.

"Well this is fantastic news! All we have to do is find Lily. I'm sure that with her many years of research, she will have no doubt perfected my machine and will be able to send me back! Let's go!"

Lisa got up and started to rush for the door, only for Lori to jump up and pounce on her. She pinned Lisa to the ground. "Don't go outside. The storm, remember?"

"Okay, okay. No need to tackle me for it. You've become as physical as Lynn," Lisa grumbled. When Lori let her stand up, she dusted herself off, then said, "Speaking of my sporty older sister, what's become of her? As well as the rest of our sibling units."

"Lynn? She's doing well. She's working as a history teacher in a good high school."

"History teacher? But Lynn hated history… and studying."

"She changed over the years. We all did. Now let's see… Leni works with the local news; Luna manages Lynn's Table and gave Luan a job there as a waitress; Lincoln's also a teacher at the same school as Lynn, but he teaches English; Lucy is in New York doing God-knows-what because no one's spoken to her for a while; Lana works at the zoo; Lola got married to a really rich guy, so she gets to stay at home all day doing nothing; and I already told you about Lily. Oh, and some of them have kids. I'd give you the list, but it would be really long and you're probably not going to meet any of them right now, but trust me, your nieces and nephews are sooooo cute."

"I… see," Lisa said uneasily. "Well, at least our family seems to be doing well. Given how the economy was going, I assumed at least a third of us would be living below the poverty line. How are our paternal and maternal fore-bearers doing?"

"They're doing good as well. Dad retired and gave his restaurant to Luna, and Mom's still trying to finish that long novel of hers." Lori paused to chuckle, then continued, "The house still belongs to them, but they're visiting Leni and her husband right now."

"Well that explains why you're here," Lisa said to Lori, before looking over at Carol, "but it doesn't explain why you're here, Ms. Pingrey."

Carol smiled softly, then stepped by Lori's side. She wrapped her arm around Lori's shoulder, which made her blush, and looked back down to Lisa. "It's actually Mrs. Pingrey," Carol told the genius.

And it was at that moment that the genius noticed that both Carol and Lori were wearing rings. Rings that looked exactly the same.

The tiny brunette gasped. "You… and Lori?"

Both of the blondes nodded.

"Well, I, uh… congratulations, both of you. You two clearly make a lovely couple. I, uh, apologize for not being able to attend your most sacred ceremony."

"We'll find it in our hearts to forgive you," Lori said sarcastically, before turning her head slightly to plant a kiss on Carol's warm, pink lips.

"Nevertheless, congratulations. It does surprise me slightly, though, dear sister, to see you married to Carol. Especially given how dedicated you were to Bobby. Did things not work out for you two?"

The moment Lisa ended her question, she wished she had never asked it. No one said anything too out-of-place, but it felt like all the warmth in the room was sucked out in an instant. Perhaps it was the chilly rains outside, but it was also how Lori seemed to twitch at the name of her old boyfriend. Carol looked at her, eyes filled with cautious worry. Lori's gaze went down to the ground, and she stepped away from her wife. She wet her lips slowly before ultimately saying, in a voice as colorless as a winter's sky, "Yeah. Things didn't work out."

No one said anything after that. Lori tittered in place for another moment, then left the room with a low "Excuse me." When she was gone, Lisa and Carol locked eyes. The adult sighed, and said, "I guess you can tell what happened between them from that."

Lisa nodded. "He die- passed away, correct? Dang it, I can't believe I said something so-"

"It's not your fault. You couldn't have known." Carol smiled at the guilty toddler, her expression free of any blame-flinging. There was an almost maternal spirit to Carol in that moment; Lisa had no doubt that if she and Lori ever decided to adopt, she would make a great parent. Her smile faltered slightly when she recalled the horrible event. "It happened a long time ago, and… well, unfortunately, it was around this time of year. I remember how heartbroken I was when he was killed in that car accident. He was such a nice boy. He was kind and sweet and gentle and helpful… I can see why Lori loved him. I...I hope I can live up to the standards he set as Lori's partner."

The last sentence sounded like her talking to herself.

Remembering there was someone else in the room with her, she put on her smile again and said, "Well, it's fairly late now. Hopefully the storm will clear up so we can find Lily tomorrow. Looks like you're sleeping here tonight. Yay, sleepover!"

In spite of herself, Lisa grinned. "Yay sleepover indeed."

Carol beamed, and led Lisa up the stairs. As more and more of her siblings left the nest, their rooms were converted to be used for other things. Mostly storage, but Lola and Lana's room had been converted into a bathroom, which amused Lisa. Considering what Lana used to do in that room, it was no surprise.

Lori kept her old room, with Carol as her roommate now rather than Leni. It appeared that the only other room that still had a bed in it (besides their parents' room, which was locked anyway) was the room that had once belonged to Luna and Luan. The bunk-bed those two once shared still stood tall in the dark corner of the room. Carol didn't let Lisa near it until she smacked it. When she saw no dust clouds, she nodded and let Lisa choose her bunk.

Lisa went up the rungs to the top bunk. She slipped and almost fell, but luckily Carol was able to catch her just in time. She pushed the four year old into the top bunk, where Lisa turned to her with a blush on her cheeks and said, "Thank you for your assistance, Mrs. Pingrey."

Her sister-in-law smiled. "Just call me Carol, Lisa." The woman then frowned when something occurred to her. "Shouldn't you brush your teeth first?"

"No need. I have dentures. Would you like to see?"

"N-No thanks."

"Suit yourself."

With a final smile, Carol sauntered out of the room, closing the lights behind her but leaving the door open. Just in case.

"Well… this has been an exciting day," Lisa remarked to herself. "I've finally mastered time travel, only to discover that it comes with a horrendous cost. And here I assumed Faustian bargains only occurred in the realms of literature. Still, it can't be all that bad. Lily has become a scientist, just like her favorite older sister. Oh, just thinking of the devices and machinations she could have produced is making me feel tingly. Of course, I would already know if I had been there for her… in fact, I might've been able to work alongside her..."

Her enthusiasm died down as she thought about how much of Lily's life she missed. Think of all the things they could've done together! Two genius sisters who could turn science into their playground. They'd be unstoppable. Lisa never dreamed of something as trite and cliché as "world domination bro" before, but now her mouth salivated at the thought of her and Lily as scientific goddesses ruling over an interdimensional empire.

"Perhaps I'm just being silly now."

Amused by her own imagination, Lisa reached up to take off her glasses and set them by her side. She then rolled over on her side (her left side, because it's better for the acid reflux), closed her eyes, and let herself drift off to sleep…

…

…

…

...okay, she was doing this wrong, because it had been exactly forty-one minutes and she wasn't asleep yet.

She sat up, rubbing her swollen eyes, and groaned audibly. "That's odd. I've never had much problem sleeping before. Hmmm… I haven't had any strong caffeine today, and I can't hear any sounds above eight hertz, so what's keeping me from-"

Lightning struck again, and her entire room lit up brightly. Lisa cried out and ducked under the covers. She only poked her head out when she heard footsteps approaching.

Her older sister Lori appeared in the doorway. "Lisa?" she called out to her sister in the dark. "I heard you scream."

"Ah, yes. Nothing to worry about, elder sister. I was… merely startled by the lightning."

Darkness obscured Lori's face, but somehow Lisa could sense that she was smirking. "Oh really? Just merely startled?"

"Yes. Merely startled," Lisa repeated, bristling with indignation.

"Well, hopefully it'll pass. Try to get some sleep. We'll need to wake up early if we're going to drive over to Lily's."

"Of course. Unfortunately, my accursed biology is preventing me from sleeping for some unknown reason."

"You can't sleep?"

"No, I cannot."

Lori was still and silent for a moment. She held up one finger and said, "I think I have something for that." She then left the room, and Lisa was curious as to what she'd bring back with her.

When she returned, she flicked the lights on. Lisa hissed as her weak eyes were flooded with explosive brightness. She covered them until she grabbed her glasses and put them on. She looked at Lori, smiling awkwardly, with something familiar in her hands…

It was a book.

"I haven't done this in a long time," Lori admitted in a soft tone. "It's weird to think that… if you hadn't jumped into the future, you would be way too old for this. But since you're still four… I thought maybe reading to you would help you sleep."

Lisa's mouth gaped. Despite being in the future, it still felt natural for her to get into bed and have her eldest sister read something to her. At the same time, she was smart enough to grasp that this wasn't completely natural for Lori. A day ago, she believed her sister to be dead. Now she was going to read a story to her just like she had two decades ago. No wonder Lori seemed somewhat uncomfortable as she sat in a dusty chair and cracked the book open.

"Lori, wait."

Lori watched as Lisa descended from the top bunk to the lower one. She snuggled in underneath the covers of the lower bunk, and flipped on her side to face her older sister. Her cheek pressed into the pillow, and a rare smile of childish content graced Lisa's face.

"I'm ready for the story now."

Lori nodded, curtly and businesslike, but inside she was glowing. She wet her lips and started reading to her four year old sister.

"Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away..."

Lori never looked up once from the book while she was reading. She never checked to see if her sibling's eyelids were drooping. She just read dedicatedly. It was when she heard Lisa's soft snores that she looked up and saw the young girl fast asleep. She looked so adorable and precious in her sleeping state.

To think that yesterday she was dead… and now she's a four year old girl falling asleep while I'm reading to her.

Lori tried not to spill a tear as she reached to take off Lisa's glasses and kiss her forehead. She got up and left the young girl to her peaceful slumber, closing the lights as she did.

She met Carol in the hallway. Her wife wore a smile that was both touched and proud.

The first thing Lisa did when she woke up was look out the window. Though her glasses-less vision was still blurry, she could clearly see that the weather was clear and sunny outside. Excellent, thought Lisa. Now I won't have to waste time building a cloud seeding device. I can just go see Lily straight away! Lisa felt a little nervous at the prospect of seeing her younger sister, but excitement mingled with her anxious feelings.

She rushed down the stairs and found both Lori and Carol dressed and ready to leave. But they refused to leave until Lisa took a shower, brushed her teeth, ate an unspeakably nutritious breakfast, and changed out of her clothes. "You slept in those," Carol said.

"I slept in these because these are the only clothes I have. Random wormholes don't give you much time to pack," Lisa responded, her tone overflowing with deadpan sarcasm. "Besides, I doubt that there are any clothes in this house that are my size, so the point is moot."

The older women hated to admit it, but she had a point. Still, they insisted on giving her sweater and lab coat a perfume bath before leaving.

True to Lori's words, the drive was long. Their van – which was not Vanzilla because Vanzilla had been handed down to Lincoln because he was a het shit male – was gridlocked in traffic for an hour, but the two women up front insisted to Lisa that it could've been worse. Being stuck in traffic did allow Lisa a chance to see what the futuristic Royal Woods looked like. There were more electric cars on the road, and some cars were clearly solar powered. Floating cars zipped over their van twice, a sight that brought a smile to Lisa's face. It wasn't just the cars that were different; Royal Woods had gone from a decent town to a full-blown city. Skyscrapers and other monuments of steel and glass stood tall and proud in the distance, the signs they passed displayed Japanese and Korean text alongside the English, and Lisa could've sworn there was a pack of robot dogs in one alleyway that they drove past.

Amazing, Lisa thought. Perhaps the Third World War interrupted the refrigerator industry, but everything else seems to have developed marvelously.

Remembering that there had actually been another World War, Lisa decided to look at the world map to see how the borders of countries had changed. The US had expanded into the Mexican state of Sonora, and Mexico retaliated by taking Arizona and bits of New Mexico. The United Kingdom was united no more, and the rest of Europe was divided between the French-Latvian Empire and the N.U.S.S.R (New Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). Japan had been renamed Neo-Tokyo, China was [CENSORED BY ORDER OF THE FANFICTION DOT NET ADMINS], and most of the Arab World, along with Azerbaijan, was united under the Somethingthatendswithid-id Caliphate.

All in all, it looked like the political map had been redrawn by someone with no grasp of geopolitics trying to amuse himself.

"We're here," announced Lori. She brought the van to a halt and parked it in a wide parking lot. Lisa, barely containing her excitement, ripped off her seat-belt and jumped out of the vehicle. Carol and Lori exited more calmly, joining Lisa by the side. After making sure the doors were locked and secure, Lori adjusted her glasses, then pointed to a monochromatic building faaaaaaar off in the distance. "That's where Lily does most of her work," Lori said. "Unless she's taking a break today, we'll find her there."

"And they'll just allow us in?" Carol asked.

Lori shrugged. "Why not? This isn't Area 51."

"If there are any complications, inform them that you two are traveling in the company of one of the greatest scientific minds of the century. The name 'Lisa Loud' will register for them." Lisa adjusted her glasses with smug smirk.

Thankfully, it didn't come to that. The security took a few papers and numbers and identifications, but once that was done, they allowed the trio in with polite smiles. They took the elevator up to the third floor, where Lily was supposed to work, and Lisa vibrated with enthusiasm. Nervous enthusiasm. She glanced up at Lori and Carol for reassurance, and while Lori was busy staring at her phone, Carol returned her gaze with a confidence-inspiring smile.

At that moment, Lisa was glad Carol married Lori.

Ding. The elevator pulled to its stop, and the doors peeled apart. Carol, Lori, and Lisa stepped out as a wave of coated scientists entered. Lisa scanned the mob for someone who could be an older Lily, but none of them were young enough. Hell, none of them were even blonde.

"This way," Lori said. She started walking to the left, and Carol and Lisa followed. They went down a long hallway, doors passing by them on both sides. Lisa looked around at everything, and she couldn't help but shiver. The whole building so far was so… hollow. Sanitized. Unblemished. Just pure, blank whiteness. Lisa remembered why she preferred her lab at home: her home was chaotic and noisy, sure, but it had personality, and that energetic, anything-goes personality bled into her science. Her brand of science was efficient, but it was also messy and creative. No, it was efficient because it was messy and creative. That brand of science would never flourish here, and it depressed Lisa to think that this was Lily's work environment.

So now I have more reason to return to the past. I need to ensure Lily's technological career isn't so… boring!

Suddenly, Lori halted. Her wife and her sister did the same. "We're here," said Lori. Lisa's eyes wandered to the plaque next to the door.

Room 333 – LILY LOUD, PhD.

"Her lab seems… rather small," Lisa observed. The distance between doors on this floor wasn't very far.

"I think she said she prefers it this way," Lori recalled. "They gave her a wider lab, but she wanted a smaller one because those feel more… comfortable, I guess. Cozy." She then looked down at Lisa and said, "It's kinda like your old science bunker."

"Pssh. My bunker wasn't small. Well, okay, it was small, but I up-sized it after the duck thing!"

"Duck thing?" Carol repeated.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Lori told her. She shivered at the grim memories of that most awful of April Fool's Days.

Lori didn't bother knocking; she just opened the door and let herself in. Lisa cut in front of Carol to scurry into the room, eager to see what her baby sister had become. She saw someone in a lab coat, with their back turned to them, hunched over and working on something. "L-Lily?" said Lisa.

Upon hearing her name, the young woman perked up. She spun around in place, and in one quick moment, Lisa drank in all her details.

Lily's skin was pale, but not too unhealthily. She was clearly disheveled, with messy blonde hair, dark bags underneath her eyes, and a thin body only somewhat obscured by her billowing lab coat. She straightened herself as she leaned on her working desk, and her clear blue eyes darted from Lori to Carol to finally landing on…

She gasped when she saw the brunette toddler. Lily rubbed her eyes in disbelief, then checked again, blinking rapidly as she studied Lisa. Mouth gaping, she looked up at her eldest sister, who gave her a silent, serious nod. She then looked to Carol, as if to confirm with her that this wasn't a joke, and Carol nodded as well.

Lily braved a step forward. She locked eyes her fellow scientist. "L-Lisa? Is that… you?"

"You… you actually remember me," Lisa breathed.

"I… how… is this..."

Lisa stepped forward, her arms held up wide. "Er… it's been a long time, sister. And though I'm mostly going off what your infantile years… you always responded well to hugs. Might our reunion be blessed by one?"

Without hesitation, the twenty year old Lily fell to the ground and scooped her four year old older sister up in her arms. She squeezed Lisa tightly, her hands patting her tiny body all over just to make sure she was really real. She fought back tears, but couldn't stop herself from exhaling shaky breaths. "I can't believe you're back," she whispered into Lisa's ear. "We all thought you were dead, but I always thought… I always wondered..."

Lisa hugged Lily back, and had nothing to say for herself other than a low "I'm sorry."

Carol and Lori watched the sisters reunite. Lori's eyes watered in Lily's place, so Carol graciously reached over and wiped the tears from her eyes.

The sisters then broke apart, but Lily stayed with her knee planted in the ground to meet Lisa's eye level. "How is this even possible?" Lily asked. She grabbed the sides of Lisa's face and titled her head to examine her, stopping only when Lisa brushed her hands away. "Are you… a clone? My sister's notes did indicate she was dabbling in cloning at one point."

"I was never able to clone anything more complicated than a cat. That did come in handy when Cliff ran away and I needed to cover it up."

"Cliff ran away?!" Lori exclaimed.

Lisa ignored her. "No, Lily, the reason why I'm here now is that I never actually died, as you all have understandably been led to believe. Many years ago, I managed to catapult myself forwards in time, and I landed here. I would say it all seems like it happened yesterday, but that would be literal rather than figurative. Thankfully, Lori and Carol were able to shelter me and bring me to you in the hopes that you would be able to send me back to my time."

"Hold on… hold on." Lily held up her palms defensively. "This is all… sorry, this is a lot to process. Even for someone of my intellect. Let me just sort this out: you came from the past by accident and now need me to send you back through time travel."

"Correct. You seem to have grasped it faster than the other two."

"Hey!" shouted Carol and Lori in unison.

"Lisa… I don't know how to tell you this, but… I'm afraid that's now possible," said Lily.

"Not possible? What do you mean not possible?"

"Even if traveling back to the past were possible-"

"It is, I've done it before!"

"Let me finish!" snapped Lily. She quickly regained her cool and continued, "Like I was saying, even if it was possible, I… simply can't do it. Time travel is my white whale. I've been able to take massive strides in teleportation through space, but time… time is another beast all together."

"That's fine, Lily," said Lisa. "As someone who's managed to travel through time before, I can tell you how it's done."

Those words seemed to shake Lily. "Does it require technology?"

"Well… it would greatly help-"

"So that's a yes. Which means I have to tell you that we don't have the technology capable of handling that much energy."

"But this is the most prestigious institute in all of Michigan. Possibly in all of North America."

"And we don't have it," said Lily firmly. Her tone softened, and her eyes brightened with sympathy. "I'm sorry, Lisa, but… we just can't do it. The only place that could potentially possess that kind of tech would be Canada, but thanks to the NBTWFA act of 2025, we're not allowed to purchase anything from major foreign adversaries."

"But… but..."

"Lisa," Lori said sadly, "I think Lily's right. If she says there's not much you could do for her then… I'm sorry."

"No," Lisa said, "no, no, no, no… there has to be a way to go back. I know there is."

She felt someone put their hand on her shoulder. She glanced to see that it was Carol, looking at her with both sadness and sympathy. She didn't say anything to the young genius, but no words needed to be said. Her body language sent an unmistakable message.

Hanging her head, Lisa mumbled, "I… need to be alone."

"O-Of course," said Carol as Lisa brushed her off. The child prodigy walked up to the door, head still low. She opened it, then looked back to the three women behind her. Her face was a neutral mask, but all three of them could see that, behind the frames of her glasses, there were the slow beginnings of tears.

When Lori and Carol managed to find Lisa again, she was sitting alone in the food court, a tray of Burger King in front of her. The burger and fries were untouched; all Lisa really wanted was the Coca Cola. The quick burst of sugar was unhealthy, sure, but it would serve to cheer her up. When Lisa noticed the couple approaching, she tapped her food with her shoulder. "Would you like some Burger King?" Lisa asked in a deadpan voice.

"No one wants Burger King. Ever," stated Lori. Which was true. BK's only redeeming quality was that it wasn't McDonalds, which had gone out of business a long time ago anyway.

Lori and Carol sat on either side of Lisa, and wrapped their arms around her. Lisa was irritated at first, but accepted their attempts at comforting her in the end. She did make sure to roll her eyes, to show everyone that she didn't need it. She was a tuff smartie gurl.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Carol asked softly.

"What's there to talk about? I'm never going home. It's as simple as that."

"That's not true. This is still Royal Woods, after all. And your family is here. Lori, Lily, all your sisters, your brother-"

"Don't forget to add yourself, Carol," Lori told her, making the woman in purple blush.

"That's true," Lisa muttered. Well, it was technically true. It did comfort her a little knowing that, even though she had missed two decades of her life, her family and hometown were still there. The thought brought a smile to her face, which almost immediately flipped into a scowl.

"I'm not just upset over how I can't return to 2016," said Lisa. "It's… well, it's Lily! This awful place has brainwashed her. Did you hear everything she said? Nothing but 'I can't's and 'I won't's. Why, if she were under my tutelage, then she would know that an experimenter never says that they can't do anything. Sweet Aristotle, if only she had learned from me instead of these bores."

Lisa stopped ranting when she noticed an odd smile sneaking onto Lori's face. "Dear sister, do you have something to add to the conversation?" Lisa asked.

"Oh, it's literally nothing."

"The look on your face doesn't imply that it's nothing, literally or otherwise."

Lori let out a light chuckle, then said, "Lisa… Lily did learn from you."

Lisa blinked. "What?"

"Why do you think Lily even became a scientist in the first place? She had so many influences growing up. She could've become a musician or an athlete or a magician or a pageant princess… but one day, she came across your things, Lisa. Everything you had worked on and written down. All your notes and inventions and kits. And that's when she decided to follow in her big sister's footsteps. Her closest sister's footsteps."

Lori smiled down at Lisa, whose face flushed red. "Lily… took up science because of me?"

"She only knew you when you were a baby, but she always respected you. She used to talk about you and your achievements all the time, with such respect in her voice. She worshiped you, Lisa, and your notebooks were like her Bible." Lori paused, searching her mind for the right word, before smiling and saying, "She loved you, Lisa."

"I'm… I'm touched," Lisa said truthfully. Lisa liked to think of herself as an articulate woman, but she couldn't think of anything else to say. Warm feelings spread though her like a wildlife of emotion. She touched the top of her head, cracking a smile. This brain of hers was what inspired her baby sister. It was what made Lily decide to try and be like her. Lisa made no pretenses about how complicated and difficult her writing style was, and she was beyond impressed with how Lily managed to study her achievements and emulate them. Everything she had ever written down in her notes… everything…

Lisa's face scrunched up. "Everything in my notes," she repeated in a whisper.

"Yes, everything you-"

"I need to go!" Lisa shot out from between the two women like a cannonball and began running towards the elevator. Before she got too far, she spun in place and shouted, "You two can have my sandwich and fries! It's all sugars and salts mixed together to addict anyway!"

A redheaded West Virginian scientist heard that, frowned, and tossed his Chili Cheese Burger in the trash. Where it fucking belongs.

Lisa rushed to the elevator and barged in just as the doors were closing together. She panted as the elevator rose to the third floor, and when the doors opened again, she burst out and ran towards Lily's room. She felt like a cheetah as she ran, though she looked more like a flailing monkey. She really needed to get some training. Maybe she'd ask Lynn or Lana… when she returned to the past.

Lily turned when she heard the door behind her fly open, and watched as Lisa staggered in. Tiredness clung to her every breath. She put her hands on her knees as she rested, and when she felt she could breathe normally again, she shot her sister a strange look.

"I heard from Lori," she started, "that you based a lot of your work on my notes."

Lily's cheeks pinkened with embarrassment. Now she knew how Lincoln felt when he showed his Bill Buck-inspired artwork to Bill Buck; it was a bit embarrassing for your hero to know how much you idolized and tried to imitate them.

However, the darkness in Lisa's eyes told Lily that that wasn't the issue. Lisa took a step forward. "I'm sure you've read all my notes, correct?"

Lily nodded. "I read all your notebooks. Both the ones about science and the 'lifestyle documentation street name diary' ones."

"So you read all my notes on robotics?"

Lily nodded.

"All my notes on astronomical observation?"

Lily nodded.

"All my notes on… how to travel through time?"

Lily's eyes widened, and that told Lisa all she needed to know.

Lisa sighed. "So you were lying to me before when you said you didn't know how to send me back. And I'll, to use a colloquial idiom, go out on a limb and assume you do have the materials to send me back. Am I correct in my assessments?"

There was no point in lying anymore. Having been caught, Lily hung her head shamefully low, and muttered, "Yes."

Lisa wanted to be angry. She wanted to shout at her sister, then force her to answer to why she would lie about something so important. But something about her the way her face shamefully scrunched up and reddened brought the image of the baby Lily had once been to Lisa's mind. Clenching her fists and grinding her teeth, she forced herself to tone down her anger. Maybe she had a good reason for her lies. She better have a good reason.

"Lily, I'm not mad… yet," Lisa said. "Just… why? Why would you lie about this?"

"It's stupid," Lily said. "I'm sorry. I was wrong. I'll send you back-"

"Lily, I asked you why."

"I don't want to tell you."

"Lily-"

"I DON'T WANT TO FUCKING SAY WHY!"

It was at that moment that it felt like all the air had been sucked from the room.

Lily, breathing raggedly, stood in defensive posture. Like she was being physically attacked. Despite her being taller, stronger, and "older" than Lisa, she still felt threatened by her. Lisa's rising anger was quickly snuffed out, and both surprise and worry took its place. For a moment, she stood stiff, as did Lily. Both girls weren't the interpersonal type. They both wanted to take that hesitant, shaky step forward, but something strong held them back. They were like magnets: they were the same, and that's what kept them apart.

Lily turned around, unable to even face her sister. That, for some reason, gave Lisa the courage to move forward, and put her hand gently on her sister's thigh. Lily looked down when she felt the touch, and Lisa weakly smiled up at her. "I'd put my hand on your shoulder, but I'd only end up hanging from it."

The blonde chuckled. She got down on one knee, and allowed Lisa to grasp her shoulders like handles. When Lisa's inquisitive eyes met her own, her burgeoning smile vanished. "I was being selfish," Lily stated. "I was going to keep you from getting home because I was being… no, because I am selfish."

"Sister… I've often found that, in my studies of psychology, human beings are bad at judging themselves. Especially when said humans are Louds."

"But it's true! I could've gotten you home by now, but instead I held back because… well..."

Lisa leaned in, curious to hear her reason. Lily let out a shaky sigh before she said, "Because I didn't want you to take this from me."

The older sister was visibly confused. "Take what from you?"

"This." Lily gestured to her lab coat, then to the wider lab around them. She pointed to the chemicals she was working with, and to the machines she had built. She pointed to the equations she was solving, and the books she was in the middle of reading. She pointed to the codes she was writing, and the AI she was training. She pointed to the grand stars in the sky she was observing, and to the tiny bacteria she observed with just as much interest. She pointed at her head, her brain, and all the knowledge that was stored within.

At that moment, Lisa understood. Lily was afraid that Lisa was going to take her away. Who she had become, the things that made her stand out from the crowd… all of that was at risk if she let Lisa return in time. If Lisa never disappeared, she would never have discovered the sciences. The Lily that existed now could potentially never happen if Lisa returned to her role as the genius of the house.

"Do you know what infantile amnesia is, Lisa?"

"Of course. Infantile amnesia is the state that prevents people from remembering anything before the age of three or four."

Lily nodded. "It prevents most people from remembering anything from when they were babies. But I… I don't know why or how, but I was never struck with infantile amnesia. I remember… everything. I remember every meal I threw at Dad and every time our siblings tried to not swear in front of me. And I remember… growing up, I always remembered a girl with brown hair and a green sweater. A girl who, one day, wasn't there anymore."

"Lily..."

"I was so curious about that girl, because I remembered so many things about her. I remember her making scary electricity and using me for experiments… but I also remember how she played with me, and how she hugged me, and how she comforted me when I was crying because I couldn't sleep. One day I found her notes and experiments and… I wanted to do what she couldn't. I wanted to make her proud, and to give the world what she would've given it if Death hadn't taken her."

Lily's eyes were filling with tears now.

"When I saw you come in with Lori and Carol, and when I realized it was really you… it was so strange. I didn't know how to feel. I wanted to show you everything I'd done with what you've given me, but I was also afraid that you wouldn't like it. That you'd… think I'm inferior, and don't deserve to take your place."

"Lily?"

"Yes?"

"With all due respect, younger sister… that's the most flawed logic I've ever heard."

"Wh-What?"

"You heard what I said," said Lisa sternly. "I mean, look at this. Look around you. This room no doubt only houses a fraction of your work, and here I see miracles brought to life through science. Through your hard work, Lily, not mine. I deserve as much credit for it as Galileo deserves for satellites. This was your work, Lily, and I cannot even begin to express how proud I am of you."

The youngest Loud sibling felt her heart pound. "Do you mean that?"

"Of course I do." Lisa smiled fondly at her sister. She reached up to touch Lily's blonde curls, running her hand through them. "And something else you said just isn't true. If I were to return to the past, you wouldn't lose your place as a scientist. Your path is your own to forge. And if our paths are similar… isn't that something to celebrate? We could be partners, Lily. Imagine that. Us! Partners!"

"That does sound nice..."

"Doesn't it?" Lisa exclaimed, eagerness coursing through her. She calmed herself down, and forced her enthusiastic smile to dial back down to a comforting, familial one. "The point is, Lily, that whatever path you choose to take, I want to be there by your side, helping you with whatever you need. And likewise I want you to help me with my work. And I promise you that this is what I really want. Nothing would make me happier than us working together."

Lily felt overwhelmed. She felt like she was being given an amazing blessing that she didn't deserve. Unable to hold herself back, she launched herself at Lisa and wrapped her arms around the child prodigy and held her tight.

When she finally let go, she brushed a few tears away from her eyes and said, "Nothing would make me happier either."

Lisa beamed at her, and Lily was glad she could finally see that warm, proud smile she almost never let cross her expressionless face.

"Alright," said Lily as she stood up. "I think it's time I sent you back. Let me just-"

"Hold on, sister," said Lisa. "Since time travel allows me to return to any point in time, there really is no rush."

"What are you saying?"

"Well… I'd like you to give me a presentation. I'd love to learn about everything you've managed to accomplish. Surely you've done amazing things over these years, and… well, I want to see," said Lisa. She suddenly realized how sappy and sentimental she was being, so she swiftly followed up with, "J-Just to make sure you would be a worthy lab partner, of course."

"Of course. I wouldn't expect otherwise," Lily giggled. She leaned on the wall, allowing her head to rest on it. "But, you know, it has been a long time since I was able to just spend some casual time with my older sister. I'll give you a presentation, but… how about we just go for pizza first?"

"Would you be paying?"

"I'd be a terrible adult if I made a toddler pay for food."

Lisa grinned. Truthfully, she did want to go home as soon as possible, but she knew that the way home was going to be available to her at any time. She wanted to relax and defuse… and just spend some time with the fascinating person her little sister had grown up to be.

"Pizza it is, then."

Lisa and Lily left the lab together. They met up with Carol and Lori in the lobby below, and the four of them drove to the best pizza place in town. They then found themselves shopping for more feminine clothes for Lily, watching a VRdisney (the future's equivalent of movies), and finally spent the dying hours of the day back at the Loud House, trying out awkward but fun karaoke. And it was there that Lisa came to an epiphany.

Maybe there are no galactic empires yet, thought Lisa as she watched Lori fumble with her song, but it seems that there's going to be a lot to look forward to in the future.