Part 10)

Lincoln cracked open the door to his room and peeked into the hallway. To his chagrin, he found Lynn standing guard at his door. She turned to look at him and then crossed her arms, standing squarely in his way.

"Trying to go somewhere, little bro?" she asked.

"Need to use the bathroom." Lincoln said. "I am allowed out for that, right?"

"Nope. Here, you can use this." Lynn said, handing him an empty water bottle.

"Well I don't have to pee." he told her.

"Got that covered too. Here's a bucket and some t.p."

Lynn held out the said items and Lincoln took them, scowling as he shut his door again. That idea didn't work. Of course he could always try to make a run for it, but that's probably why Lynn was stationed by his door. He'd need another strategy to get out of his room.

Or...he could just get right out of the house.

Lincoln went over to the poster on the wall across from his door and pulled it up. The pull cord was still there. He had a way out after all and Lynn wouldn't have a clue.

Thank you Lisa.

Grabbing the ring, Lincoln pulled the cord and heard the rubber slide inflating outside the window. He climbed up and squeezed out the small opening, taking in the fresh air and the freedom. Adjusting himself so he was on the slide feet first, he went down and immediately got ready to make a run for it once he was at the bottom.

"Nice try Lori." Lincoln said as he sped off towards the sidewalk.

He didn't even make it through the front yard. Lori had been waiting outside on the front porch and saw him quickly enough. The next thing Lincoln knew, she had caught up to him, grabbed him and began to carry him back inside and up to his room again.

"Nice try Lincoln."

Lori gave Lynn a look once she got to the top of the staircase. She set Lincoln down and gripped his shoulders with her hands.

"You should literally try harder." Lori said. "He almost got away."

Lynn grinned sheepishly and opened Lincoln's door. Lori escorted Lincoln back into his room and made him sit on his bed.

"You can't make me stay." he said defiantly.

"Oh yes I can." Lori said back.

"I'd like to see you try."

"If you say so. I'll be right back."

Lori stepped out of the room and went into the one just to the left. She returned a moment later with a sleeping Lily in her arms. Using her free hand, she shoved him onto his back and put Lily on top of him. The sleeping baby yawned and snuggled against her brother, her tiny hand grabbing his collar.

Lincoln frowned at his sister and mouthed a single word to her.

"CHEATER"

"Don't blame me." Lori whispered. "You brought this on yourself with all your lies and attitude. Plus the sneaking around and dodging our questions. Since you won't listen to us when we try to keep you safe, we have to find other ways to do it. This is for your own good, Lincoln."

Lori shut the door just enough so someone could look through the gap to see inside, making Lily quietly stir at the clicking sound of the doorknob. Lincoln looked down at the baby, struggling to frown at her, but couldn't find it in himself to be angry at her. This wasn't her doing. He grabbed a pillow and held it over his face so he could grumble into it without waking Lily.

"Great." he thought. "Just great."

"Inkin." Lily muttered in her sleep her grip on his collar tightening a bit.

Lincoln rubbed Lily's back making her loosen her grip, but not release it.

He looked over at his clock, it was approaching 3:45. He still had just over and hour before Maggie and her mom were coming for him. He still had time to find a way out.

"Time to break out the emergency stash." Lincoln thought.

He slowly reached underneath his bed and pulled out a cardboard box. On top of which were the words "In Case of Sisters Open this". He opened the box to reveal several types of chocolate bars. He removed one and examined the wrapping.

"Super Spicy Chocolate Chili Pepper Bark." He read. "Perfect."

-Outside his room-

Lynn sat outside his door, spinning a basketball on her fingertip. She whistled as she switched hands, rolled the ball across her shoulders, and bounced the ball back and forth bewteen her elbows and and wrists. The basketball had her entire focus until she heard a sound.

CRNCH-CRCKLE SHFF CRNCH-CRCKLE

Lynn turned to the door and listened carefully. "That sounds like...foil and plastic wrap." she thought. "Does he have chocolate in there?!"

Almost immediately the door swung open and a remote controlled airplane flew out of Lincoln's room. Dangling from the bottom of it was an unwrapped chocolate bar. The chili peppers in it were so strong that Lynn could smell them through the chocolate. Her tongue dangled out of her mouth and drool poured from the corners.

"Spicy chocolate!?" she said. "COME TO MAMA!"

The airplane flew down the hall and down the stairs with Lynn in hot pursuit. Lincoln crept out of his room, sleeping Lily in one hand and the controller for the airplane in the other.

"Worked like a charm." he thought.

Lincoln carefully crept down the steps, keeping a watchful eye out for any sisters who could be around. He flew the plane into the kitchen and then had it dive and go through the doggy door. Lynn dove after it, barely able to fit through. He knew he didn't have much time now. She'd get hold of the chocolate bar soon enough, scarf it down and bask for a moment in the sweet bliss of post-chocolate-consumption. But then she could very well remember she had left her post. By that time he needed to be out the door and as far from the house as possible.

Moving quickly and quietly, Lincoln made his way to the front door. He paused just as he reached it though. Lori had been outside before, what reason did he have to believe she wasn't still out there? And because he had led Lynn into the kitchen, he had inadvertently trapped himself. Not to mention he still had to find a place to set Lily down. In his hurry to lead Lynn away he hadn't thought of what to do with his baby sister.

He stepped over to the couch and used his free hand to set up a place for Lily. She'd be fine there for a little bit and hopefully wouldn't be seen by anyone until he was long gone. Then again, maybe it would be better if someone did. He could find a place to duck down and hide while his sisters went nuts trying to find him. If he was lucky they'd rush outside to find him first and that's when he'd make a break for it.

Lincoln slowly set Lily down and stepped away, taking a quick look around to make sure the coast was clear. But as he turned to leave, Lily suddenly whined and rolled over on the couch. She started to cry a little and Lincoln had to scoop her back up and hush her before she would cry any louder.

"What are you doing in here?"

The sound of his sister's voice made him freeze momentarily. He turned to find Luna standing not too far behind him. The rocker looked around the room and then back at him. She stepped closer and leaned over to whisper.

"Dude, are you trying to sneak out?"

"Luna, please." Lincoln whispered back. "I know it's a lot to ask, but just let me go. I have to...be somewhere soon."

He saw his older sister hesitate and then she shook her head. "Sorry bro, but it wouldn't make a difference if I did. Lori is on the front porch and she's got the twins patrolling the back yard. You can get out, but you won't get out without them noticing."

"I can deal with...did you say the twins are in the back yard?"

Luna nodded. "Yup. They're in Lola's jeep. Why?"

"Dang it, I need to get back up to my room!"

Lincoln dashed towards the stairs, no longer caring if he woke Lily. She stirred and whined, but he kept going with Luna following him. By the time he got to the top and into the hall, the front door slammed open and Lori stormed inside.

"LYNN!"

Lynn came through the back door into the kitchen, licking chocolate and bits of chili pepper off her fingers. She looked up at Lori, who's face was red and teeth were clenched.

"What's your problem?" she asked.

"My problem is a sister who can't do her job!" Lori raged as she grabbed Lynn's arm and led her upstairs "It's a good thing Lola texted me that you were outside. But so help me Lynn, if Lincoln got out I'm going to..."

The two sisters reached the top of the stairs to see Luna standing up against Lincoln's door, strumming her acoustic guitar.

"Luna, what are you doing up here?" Lori asked. "I told you to guard the living room."

"I saw Lynn chasing after a chocolate bar on a toy airplane." Luna said. "So I figured I better stop Lincoln from leaving."

Lori sighed in relief. "Well at least one of you is good at doing your job" she said.

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Lynn said. "Blame the chocolate, not me!"

"This is twice now that you've screwed up." Lori said. "We can't have this happen again or he might get out."

Lori turned to Luna. "Guard his door." she said. "And Lynn, you take Luna's place guarding the living room. With the twins in the backyard and me in the front yard, there's no way he can get out."

Lincoln poked his head out from behind his door to glare at his sisters. He pressed a finger to his lips and "shushed" them all, before pointing to the sleeping baby he was holding and creeping back into his room.

"Don't worry sis." Luna said. "He's not going anywhere with me around."

"Good." Lori said. "We'll be downstairs if you need us."

Lori took Lynn back downstairs, leaving Luna alone in the hallway. Luna poked her head into Lincoln's room.

"Thanks for the save." Lincoln said. "I don't think that trick will work on Lynn a second time."

"It's not really a save, bro." Luna said. "I have to do my job, Lincoln. I can't let you leave the house."

Lincoln held up a candy bar in shiny blue and white striped wrapping . "Would a Rock Star Choco Bar change your mind?"

Luna's eyes widened at the sight of her favorite candy bar. Her mouth watered at the thought of milk chocolate with crunchy almonds and coconut. And candy filling that made a popping, crackling noise when it hit her tongue. Though sorely tempted, Luna shook her head.

"No way, Jose." she said. "Not gonna happen."

"Are you sure?" Lincoln asked, peeling the wrapper open and waving the exposed chocolate in front of her.

"Stop tempting me, bro!" Luna said. "I don't like this either! But...I'm starting to agree with Lori. You've been acting different. And I don't want to say that it's a bad thing, but you keep pushing us away and keeping secrets from us. I'm worried and it's mostly because I have no idea what the heck is going on!"

Lincoln sighed and sat down. "I'm sorry, Luna. I know that you haven't been on my case like Lori has been. And you were supportive of my new image too. So I really don't like that you're worried about me. But please, please believe me when I say that it isn't anything to worry about."

"Then what's with the secrecy, dude? Why can't you tell us?"

"I...I can't tell you. I promised Maggie. She doesn't want anyone to know."

"Then I definitely can't let you go anywhere. Sorry bro."

Luna went to shut the door and Lincoln put his foot in the way to stop it. She looked at him and saw there was conflict in his eyes. He pulled out his phone and gave Luna a pleading look.

"Wait. Give me a minute and...and maybe I can see if I can tell you."

"Really?" Luna asked. "You aren't just pulling my chain, right?"

"No, it's not a trick. I'm texting Maggie now. But no promises."

He started to text Maggie. A reply came within seconds and he started to text back. After a few more back and forth messages, Lincoln looked up at Luna and gave her a nod. Luna beamed and checked the hallway before shutting herself inside of Lincoln's room with him and Lily.

"Okay, before I tell you anything, there are two conditions." Lincoln said.

"What are they?" Luna asked.

"One, you need to help distract Lori so I can leave."

Luna nodded. "Sure. What's number two?"

"You're coming with me. As promised, I'll tell you everything, but only on the way."

"No problem. But now I have a condition." Luna said.

"Sure, name it." Lincoln said.

"I still want that chocolate bar."

Lincoln held back a laugh and handed over the candy to her. As she began to eat it he whispered to her, going over their escape plan as quickly as possible. Time was running short and he wanted to get going ASAP.

A minute later, the two had left his room and went down the stairs. Luna spotted Lynn lounging on the couch, watching a basketball game. She signaled Lincoln with a thumbs up and then both she and him returned up to the stairs. Luan took Lincoln to her and Luan's bedroom. The two stopped in their tracks however as they saw Luan inside. Luna tried to take Lincoln elsewhere, but he didn't move. He only held out Lily for her to take. She did so, but silently asked 'why'?

Lincoln smiled and pointed to Luan. Her back was currently turned to them. And more importantly, she was in her mime attire. He could work with that.

Lincoln tiptoed into the room and held up his hands in front of him. He looked like he was holding something, or rather, he was miming that he was holding something. Something cylindrical. Then he held that something up to his mouth and blew silently and forcefully. Suddenly, Luan tensed up as if something had struck her. Then she wobbled and slumped down to the floor, unconscious.

"Okay, what the heck was that?" Luna whispered.

"Mime tranquilizing blow dart." Lincoln explained.

"But...how did..." Luna started before she just shook her head. "You know what? Nevermind. I probably wouldn't understand anyway. So now what, bro?"

"Easy." Lincoln said. "I take Lily and hide here while you go back and 'guard me' in my room. I'll text Bobby to text Lori that he wants to videochat with her. Then when she comes up to get her tablet, she finds the chocolates for her and while she's gorging on them, we get out of here. First, you go and put these someplace Lori will find them."

Lincoln held out a box of assorted chocolates. Luna took it and looked at it for a moment before narrowing her eyes at her brother.

"Hang on. How come Lori gets a whole box of them?" she asked, a touch of envy in her voice.

"Because she needs a lot to feed her ego." Lincoln said.

Luna shrugged. "Makes sense. Okay, you hide and I'll sneak these into Lori's room. Then you text Bobby while I get back to your door."

Lincoln looked over at Luan's unconscious form. "I think I can hang here for a bit." he said. "Something tell me she won't be getting up for a while."

Luna handed Lily to Lincoln before she left her room, kicking the door closed, and went over to Lori and Leni's room. She knocked on the door with one hand, using the other to hide the box of chocolates behind her back. Leni poked her head out of the door.

"Hey sis." Luna said. "Can you do me a favor and guard Lincoln's door while I hit the can?"

"Sure" Leni said with a nod.

Leni made her way down the hall, letting Luna toss the box of chocolates onto Lori's bed. "Don't open the door." Luna called out to Leni. "Lily's sleeping in there. You don't want to wake her up."

"Don't worry." Leni said. "I won't."

Lincoln heard the bathroom door shut from Luna and Luan's room. He sat back on Luna's amp, holding the quietly snoring Lily on his shoulder. After a few moments, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone to check the time.

"C'mon." he thought. "Any minute now. Any minute."

He heard the bathroom door open again. "Thanks again Leni." said Luna's voice.

"No problem." said Leni's voice.

After Lincoln heard the sound of a door closing, Luna swerved back into her room.

"Sorry about the wait." Luna said. "Had too much root beer at the mall."

"No problem." he said, holding up his phone. "We've still got enough time. Now let's take care of Lori. I'm going to text Bobby to invite her to videochat with him. Knowing Lori, she won't hesitate to do so, and that's when she should see the present we left for her."

Lincoln carefully crept out of the room and back down the hall, texting with his free hand while he went. By the time he got back into his room and Luna was 'standing guard' again, his plan was already in motion. A few seconds later the front door opened and Lori entered, rushing up the stairs and then towards her room, taking a moment to look over at Luna.

"How's it going, Luna? Is he behaving?" she asked.

Luna shrugged. "He's been pretty quiet in there. But I peek in every minute or two to make sure he hasn't gone missing."

Luna slowly opened the door and Lori saw Lincoln on his bed, Lily's head resting on his chest. Lori smiled and gave Luna a thumbs up as she backed down the hallway.

"Keep up the good work. You shouldn't have to worry about looking after him for much longer. I can have Luan take over for you in a little bit. I'll just give her a heads up."

"It's cool." Luna said, trying not to panic as she saw Lori reaching to knock on her door. "I can keep an eye on Linc for the rest of the night if you need me to. He's been pretty mellow with me watching over him. Don't want to rock the boat, right?"

"Good idea." Lori said, turning away from Luna and Luan's bedroom. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a boyfriend who wants to see my beautiful face."

Lori entered her room and went to grab her tablet. But as she was retrieving it, she spied the box of chocolates sitting on her bed. She stared at it for a moment and then turned to face Leni who was currently sewing a new dress.

"Where did those come from?" Lori asked.

Leni looked up from her work. "I don't know. They were just, like, there. But they have your name on them, so I didn't touch them."

"They do?" Lori asked, taking a step closer and picking up the box to look at it. "They do! Well, no complaints here. I'll just have one for now. Or maybe two, no, three..."

Lori opened the box and started to look over the many choices available. And while she was drooling over them, Luna and Lincoln made use of the opportunity they had created. The two swiftly went down to the front door, sneaking past Lynn who was still on the couch and watching her game. Luna was carrying a diaper bag and Lincoln had Lily in the baby harness he often used when taking her out. Not wasting even a moment, they opened to door and made a mad dash to the street corner where Maggie and her mother were supposed to pick them up.

"Okay, so Maggie said they'd come to pick us up early. They should be here any time now." Lincoln said. "Thanks again, Luna. You have no idea how important this is for me."

"Hey, you said that you'd let me in on something you've been keeping secret. It's the least I could do. I got a lot of questions for you, little bro."

"And I plan on answering them all on the way. Let's just hope that Lori or one of our other sisters hasn't noticed we're gone yet."

Meanwhile, back in the Loud House, Lisa was busily organizing her notecards for an upcoming lecture that she'd be presenting. She allowed herself a small smile at the completion of her work and elected to celebrate with a juice box. The young scientist went to leave her room and upon opening the door she immediately took notice of something out of place. Lincoln's bedroom door was slightly ajar, and there wasn't anyone standing guard in front of it.

"Oh dear." Lisa said. "That does not look good."

She rushed over to Lincoln's door, only to find the room empty. Lisa's heart sank into the soles of her feet. She ran over to her siblings rooms and peeked inside. But she only found Luan lying on the ground, and Lucy sitting on her bed reading a book.

"He's escaped!" Lisa thought. "And seeing as Luna is no longer guarding his room, she must've gone with him! I must inform Lori right away!"

Lisa ran back down the hall as fast as her short legs could take her, over to Lori's room. She began hopping up and down, trying to reach the keypad on the side of the door, but to no avail. Looking around to make sure no one was in the hall to see her, Lisa flailed her arms around and stomped her feet petulantly in a tantrum suited for the four year old she was.

"Curse my diminutive stature!" Lisa said as she calmed herself down. "Well. I suppose it's time to go to Plan B."

Lisa ran back to her room, reached under her desk for a microphone connected to a PA system she had recently installed in the house, and spoke into it.

"Attention Loud Family." Lisa said. "I am requesting your immediate presence in the hallway. We've got a 2319! I repeat we've got a 2319!"

Lisa came out of her room, and was joined by her sisters in a matter of seconds. Lynn came up the stairs, a panicked look in her eyes.

"A 2319?!" Lynn said. "What's that? A tornado?"

Lucy poked her head out of her room. "A swarm of bees?" she asked. "Or maybe we've run out of dog food for Charles?"

Leni came out of her room. "The seat was left up and someone fell in?" she asked.

"No." Lisa said. "That's a 2391. Our male sibling has gone missing!"

"WHAT!?" screamed Lori as she came out into the hall, bits of chocolate on her face. "How the heck did he get out?! Luna was supposed to guarding his door!"

"Luna has gone missing as well." Lisa said. "I can only assume that she chose to accompany her to wherever it was he went."

Lori's face went pale. She sped past Lisa into her room, and ran up to Lily's crib. Only to find it empty. Lori's hands trembled on the edge of the crib as sweat gathered on her forehead.

"She's gone!" Lori said as a sense of dread began to settle in the pit of her stomach. "He took Lily with him too!"

"I beg your pardon?" Lisa said. "Perhaps my auditory receptors are deceiving my brain. But did you just say he had Lily? For what possible reason would he have her in the first place?"

"I gave her to him to try and keep him from leaving!" Lori said. "I literally can' t believe he took off with her!"

Lisa humphed and crossed her arms. "Well perhaps you should have known better than to endanger our youngest sibling by entrusting her to our increasingly rebellious male sibling!"

Lori growled and glared at Lisa. "Oh, as if you could have seen this coming, little miss smartypants!"

"Well as a matter of fact..." Lisa began, but then she suddenly lost her unabashed superiority. Her lower lip trembled slightly and ther corners of her eyes began to moisten. "I...I would never have anticipated that Lincoln would even consider doing such a thing. I know that he hasn't been showing the most exemplary behavior as of late. And I'm willing to overlook many of the things he's done, especially due to how well he's dealt with Lola..."

"Excuse you?" Lola cut in, narrowing her eyes at Lisa.

"...but the fact that he could take Lily along with him, putting her at risk, is not something I can easily process."

Lori scooped Lisa up and started to rub the upset four year old's back soothingly. "It's okay. We're going to get them back. Not we'd need to if somebody hand't let Lincoln get past her, again."

"Hey!" Lynn said. "This isn't entirely on me! You left your post! And from the looks of it, it was for a snack break too."

"Ugh, we can literally play the blame game later! Right now we need to find Lincoln, Luna and Lily! Does anyone have any ideas?"

Lisa sniffed and looked up at Lori. "I took the liberty to work on a new method of tracking Lincoln after the failure with my drone. As long as he has his cell phone with him and it remains powered on, I can triangulate his position using local cellular towers."

"That's great, Lisa!" Lori said. "How long would you need?"

"Five to ten minutes at most."

"Alright, you get to it and the rest of us will be down waiting in Van...zilla isn't here. Dad took it. Dang it, now what do we do?"

"What about the bus?" Lana suggested.

"It's Sunday." Lucy said. "The bus doesn't run today. We could try hitchhiking."

"EW! And risk ending up in some weirdo's car? No thank you." Lola said. "Let's just get a ride from Ooh-burr."

"Sure, if you want to pay for it." Lynn said. "Why don't we just call and ask the McBrides? They have a car big enough to hold all of us."

"Good idea, Lynn!" Lori said, pulling out her phone. "I'll just call him...and someone else should ask him. He may not stay conscious enough for me to finish."

Lynn held out her hand and Lori gave her phone to the younger teen. She called Clyde and waited for him to pick up, tapping her foot impatiently the entire time.

"Hey Clyde, it's Lynn." she said as he finally answered. "Listen, I know this is really out of left field and all, but do you think that you could do a HUGE favor for us? We need a ride somewhere and we need to go ASAP. Lori would really appreciate it."

For a moment Lynn stood there and then she flinched. "Uh...Clyde? You there? Clyde? Clydesdale?" She looked over at her sisters. "I think he passed out."

Lori sighed. "Give me that." she said, taking back her phone. "Clyde, this is Lori. I literally need your help in the worst way right now. Please, please, pretty please come and help me out? It would mean soooo much to me!"

A moment later Lori smiled a little as she heard an excited chatter coming from the other end of the call. She refrained from saying anything else though as she worried it may cause Clyde to faint again. But at least she knew that the devoted boy would heed her call and soon one of his dads would be at their house to drive them to find their missing siblings.

"Okay, everyone get your butts downstairs and be ready to leave the minute Mr. McBride is here!" she ordered, getting nods in response as her sisters all did as she said. However, it was at this moment that Lori noticed something. "Where the heck is Luan?"

Lori stormed over to the bedroom across the hall from her own and opened the door. Inside she saw Luan slumped over on the floor, her posterior up in the air. The blonde frowned and stepped over to her sister, giving her a gentle kick in the keister. The sudden strike jolted Luan and the girl scrambled onto her feet, reaching back to rub the sore spot Lori had made.

"Have you been sleeping this whole time?" Lori asked, her brow furrowed.

Luan shrugged and pointed to her rear end, rubbing at the sore spot. "Oh, come on." Lori said. "I didn't kick you that hard."

Luan shook her head. She pointed at the spot again, grabbed a pen off the floor, and held it near her rear end. But Lori swatted the utensil out of her hand.

"We don't have time for this!" Lori shouted. "We have to go! Lincoln got out and he's got Lily with him!"

Luan's eyes widened. "WHAT!?" she shouted. "Wasn't someone supposed to be guarding his door!?"

"Luna was." Lori said flatly. "But we think he convinced her to go with him! The McBride's are going to be here any minute to give us a ride. The rest of our sisters are waiting downstairs for us. Now hurry up, we have to get going!"

Luan ran into her closet and shut the door clattered noisily as a rustling and rumbling sound came from behind it. After a few moments, Luan jumped out wearing a clown outfit. She looked down at herself embarassedly.

"Whoops!" she said. "Wrong outfit. This is no time to clown around."

"Really, Luan?!" Lori said. "Right now?!"

"That one was an accident." Luan said before jumping back into her closet and shutting the door behind her.

The closet door shook and clattered again for a few moments. Luan quickly jumped out of her closet, smoothing down her skirt and straightening the flower on her shirt.

"OK, I'm ready." she said. "Let's get going."

Lori and Luan ran down the stairs to join thier sisters in the living room. They waited for about ten minutes until a bright red SUV drove up to the house. The Loud Sisters filed out of the house and scrambled to fit into the back of the McBride's car, settling in around Howard as Clyde was in the front seat.

"Sorry for the wait." Harold said from the drivers seat. "We had to make sure Clyde had everything he needed to stay...stable."

Clyde turned his head to face the backseat. His glasses were off, a blindfold was tied firmly around his eyes, and plugs were set firmly in his nose and ears.

"Yup." he said nasally. "I'b all zet ub here."

"Uhhh, maybe it would be better if I sit in the front, Mr. McBride." Lori said. "I need to help direct you anyway. Lisa, have you gotten Lincoln's position?"

"Affirmative." Lisa said, holding out her tablet. "And I also have it locked onto our position as well so the GPS can provide instructions on the fastest route to his location."

Lori took Lisa's tablet and took Clyde's place up front while Leni helped him into the back. The seventeen year old looked at the screen and frowned at what she saw.

"Dang it, he isn't moving. He must already be wherever he was going. I just hope that we aren't too late."

"Too late for what?" Harold asked. "You haven't exactly told us what's going on yet, Lori."

"Lincoln is in trouble and about to do something he will literally regret if we don't get there right away! Now we need you to turn around and then take the second left."

"If you say so." Harold said. "But I still have some questions I'd like to have answered."

Mr. McBride backed into the driveway and then turned left to head the opposite way. As Lori had told him, he made a left turn after a couple blocks and then continued to follow her instructions from there. Lori's eyes never left the tablet screen, a nervous feeling filling her gut as they got closer and closer to their destination. Eventually they wound up in a large parking lot outside of a large building. Harold went to look for a place to park, but the sisters were far too eager to wait. He instead slowed down so they could file out of his vehicle, Lori leading the way.

"Okay, now we just need to find Lincoln and drag his sorry butt home." Lori said to her siblings. "Luna too. She is in SO much trouble for helping him and dragging Lily along with them!"

Lori kept a watchful eye out as they proceded through the parking lot, all the while peeking at the tablet to make sure she was heading closer to their brother. Now that they had gotten closer, she could zoom in on the map on screen. He was obviously inside of the building, but she had no idea just where exactly. But that didn't matter. They were so close she could practically feel it. Nothing was going to stop her now. No obstacles to block her way and no distractions to divert her attenti...

"Dad?" Lori blurted out suddenly.

The eight Loud sisters looked over to see thier father, standing up against Vanzilla with a cell phone in his hand. He looked up from the mobile device in surprise.

"Girls?" he said, pocketing his phone. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home right now?"

Lori's heart sank into the soles of her feet. Dread filled the pit of her stomach as beads of sweat gathered on her forehead. She couldn't let her father know that she had lost track of three of her siblings, she would be grounded until graduating college if she was lucky. Lynn looked over at the building.

"Oh, I see." he said. "You're here for the show too. Well I can't blame you for wanting to see it, so I won't tell your mother about...hang on...Where's Lily? And Luna and Lincoln?"

"Uh...well." Lori said glancing down at the tablet and seeing a small flashing light. "They're already inside."

"Well then we better join them before the show starts." Lynn said. "C'mon girls."

Lynn Sr walked into the building, his daughters following close behind. There was a large amount of chatter from the people who filled the main entryway. Their father approached a woman sitting at a table near a set of double doors.

"Nine tickets please." he said.

The woman grabbed a large roll of tickets, separated nine of the from the roll and handed them to Lynn Sr as he paid for them. He handed the tickets to his daughters.

"It's a good thing we got here early." Lynn Sr said. "The last thing we'd want is to have to wait in line."

"I know, right?" Lori said with a large, nervous, insincere smile.

Lynn led his daughters into a large room with a stage. There were several chairs set around the room, with people scrambling to get a seat. Lori stepped back into the small crowd of her younger siblings.

"You guys keep an eye out for Luna, Lily, and Lincoln." Lori said. "I'm gonna slip out for a minute."

"What for?" Lola asked.

"I'm gonna tell dad I have to use the bathroom." Lori said. "And I'm gonna look for them. They're in the building somewhere, and in a place this big I doubt we're going to find them anytime soon."

"Dudes!" shouted a voice "Over here"!

The Loud Family looked over to see Luna, sitting near the front of the stage with Lily in her arms. She waved at her family as they rushed over. Lori ground her teeth together as she ran over to her sister. She snatched Lily out of Luna's arms and glowered at the girl.

"Just what do you think you were doing?" Lori asked through her tightly clenched teeth.

"I was kicking back and getting ready for the show, sis." Luna said. "So pull up a chair and get ready, because this is gonna ROCK!"

-Backstage-

In a large open space in the back, several groups of kids chatted amongst themselves. There was a group of teenage boys all wearing purple bandanna around thier necks talking to a group of girls in spandex unitards. Another group of kids, both boys and girls, were all texting rapidly. And in one corner of the room, were a group of unhappy looking tweens. All of them had thick circles of eyeliner under thier eyes, were wearing sad emoji necklaces, and wore black t-shirts with the word SAD printed on the front in blue, with a small frowning face in space above the bar in the letter A.

"What's taking him so long?" Stacy asked, anxiously flicking her tongue over the piercing in her lip.

"He just needed to change into his shirt" Maggie said, dabbing at her runny nose with her hankie. "Just relax, Stacy. We're not onstage yet."

A blonde emo girl with a purple beanie on her head snorted, trying to suppress a laugh. Maggie turned to look at her, narrowing her eyes.

"Something funny Natalie?" she asked.

"You're telling her to relax?" Natalie said. "You're more nervous than any of us!"

Maggie sneezed into the cloth. "Thanks for reminding me." she said glumly.

After a few minutes, Lincoln came into the room and ran over to the group of kids dressed the same way he was. He straightened his emoji necklace.

"How do I look?" Lincoln asked.

"Unhappy." said Dennis.

"Frustrated." Ricky added.

"And almost totally defeated by life." Mona said.

"Long story short." Maggie said. "You look perfect."

"Almost perfect." Stacy said, pulling out an eyeliner pencil. "You just need some dark circles under your eyes to complete the look."

Stacy walked up to Lincoln, preparing to put the eyeliner on. Only for Lincoln to take the pencil from her with a smirk.

"I can do my own makeup, thank you very much." Lincoln said.

As he applied the eyeliner, a young man with a clipboard approached them. He flipped through the pages until he found the one he needed.

"Are you guys SAD?" he asked. "As in the group, not the emotion?"

"Technically we're both." Lincoln said gaining chuckles from the other kids in his group.

"Well, we've had a slight change in plans." he said. "I know you were scheduled third to perform, but the Huron Hazards dropped out of the listing yesterday and Vitamin-D has a member running late so they've asked to be pulled out until he arrives. So your group will be going first."

"Wh-what?!" Maggie squeaked out before suddenly going into a nasty sneezing fit.

"Uh, is she okay?" the young man with the clipboard asked.

"She's fine." Ricky said. "She just needs a minute and then we'll be ready to go."

"Alright, your group is starting in five. Good luck."

He left and Maggie tried to get ahold of herself. She took out her hankie and covered her face, attempting to blow her nose between the sneezes. After a moment, Lincoln stepped over and put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. Maggie regained control and took a deep breath, although it did little to calm her nerves.

"Five minutes? That's way too soon!"

"Well by now it's less than that. Four, maybe only three and a half." Dennis said.

"Not. Helping." Maggie said, groaning afterwards while hiding her face in her hands. "I can't do this. Not in front of all of those people!"

"Oh, no. No you don't" Stacy said. "You were the one who came up with the idea for us to do this in the first place. You dragged the kid into this and had him go through heck just to get us here. You are not chickening out last minute!"

"It's going to be okay." Lincoln said. "Trust me, I know it's a little scary. This is my first time too. But you know what I'm going to do when I go out there?"

"What?" Maggie asked.

"I'm going to just do what I've been doing day after day with you guys. Because I know we can do it, and we're going to do great!"

"Easier said than done." Ricky said. "Maybe Mags has a point. This is too ambitious for us right now."

"Too late for that." Lincoln said. "We're up first and we're going out there whether we're ready or not. Just think of it this way, the sooner we go, the sooner we finish. No worries, no regrets."

Lincoln held out his hand in front of him. He looked to the others and found none of them making a move to join him.

"Yeah, sorry kiddo. None of that 'peppy group cheer' stuff." Mona said. "But we get what you're doing. I'm with you on the whole lets get out there and get it over with idea. I haven't cared what people think of me before, and I'm not starting now. Let them judge all they want. I won't lose sleep over it."

"SAD, you guys are on in two minutes, please take your position." the young man with the clipboard called.

-Back in the audience-

"Okay, so let me get this straight, Luna." Lori said. "What you're telling us is..."

"That there's nothing to worry about? That our little bro isn't in any trouble? That you were being paranoid? Yeah, that's pretty much it."

"And now, we'd like to introduce a group doing their first ever performance." came a voice from some overhead speakers. "Please give a warm welcome to SAD!"

The curtain on the stage lifted up and the sisters, minus Luna, all gasped. Their brother, along with his new friends were all standing up there, side by side, with their heads hanging down. The sound of dark techno music began to play and the lights in the room dimmed, leaving only the stage illuminated.

Up on the stage, the group listened to the first notes of the music, ready to take their cue. Maggie started to feel her nose itch and struggled to contain the sneeze that she felt coming. She was only able to do so because she wasn't facing the audience directly. Otherwise, she would definitely have made a fool of herself. Lincoln picked up on her still being anxious and whispered to her just as they were almost about to start.

"Just remember. It's like how you slayed zombies while wearing my gaming goggles."

Maggie bit down on her lower lip, once again fighting the building urge to sneeze. She nodded her head at Lincoln. "Just relax and follow my lead." he said.

Lincoln stepped forward out of the group, gliding on his locked his fingers behind his head, moved his hips from side to side, and then moved them in a circle. The hip swivel became a spin on the tips of his toes. He pointed to Maggie and motioned for her to come closer. She mimicked Lincoln, giding on her feet, swinging her hips, and spinning on her toes. The two of them moved in perfect sync with each other as Maggie thought to herself.

"You're slaying the undead." she thought. "Just focus on killing zombies."

Lincoln moonwalked away from the still dancing Maggie to another part of the stage. Lincoln waved his arms back and forth to the music, pumping his shoulders up and down to the beat. He pointed at Stacy, who stepped out of the line, mimicking his arm and shoulder movements as she walked over to where Lincoln was, resulting in a few whistles and shouts from the crowd.

"So far so good." Lincoln thought.

Lincoln began doing the robot. Stiffly moving his arms, legs, and upper body to the beat for a few moments, before pointing to Mona. Who stepped out of line, walked over to Lincoln and copied his movements. She shoot a smirk at her younger teammate, who quickly returned the gesture.

Lincoln dropped to his knees, used his hands and feet to turn himself over, and slid across the floor in different directions. After a few moments he stood up and stomped his foot, signaling Dennis to step forward and take his place. He started to copy Lincoln's floorwork, before turning on his back and beginning to breakdance in earnest.

The crowd began to cheer a bit louder, save for the Loud Siblings. The girls watched in utter disbelief. Struck silent by the truth behind Lincoln's new group of friends. All the girls except Luna and Lily, who clapped happily as she watched her brother dance.

"I told you there was nothing to worry about." Luna said smugly.

The sound of sobbing caught the girls attention. The looked over at their father, who had tears streaming down his face. He wiped them on his sleeve as Luna spoke.

"Whoa, pops" she said. "What's with those raindrops falling from your eyes?"

"Just look at him!" Lynn Sr said "That's my boy up there! My son is following in my footsteps, following in my dance steps. I...I'm just so darned proud"

"I...I literally can't believe it." Lori said. " This whole time, he's just been getting ready for this? All of his secrets were because he was doing dance practice?!"

"Yeah, dude, that's pretty much it." Luna said. "And he had his reasons for keeping it on the down low. Now shush! I don't want to miss anything!"

Back up on the stage, Lincoln had led Ricky into a series of popping and locking dance moves. Once the older boy had gotten started, Lincoln popped and locked over towards Natalie before beginning to swing his arms while nodding his head, stomping his feet and puffing out his chest. Natalie mimicked his krumping after a moment and then Lincoln worked his way back over to the center of his group, coming to a stop as he reached his position. He ceased all movement and stood still for a moment before he suddenly swung his arms out to the sides and stomped his right foot.

The other six dancers all froze and the music came to a stop. Lincoln counted to three in his head, nice and slowly. Then the music returned with a sudden burst and all seven members of SAD began to dance simultaneously, earning a roaring cheer from the audience. For the most part, the dance was almost exactly the same as the ones Lincoln had played on the Dance Battle machine time and time again. Swift leg movements moving forward and back, left and right, with their feet striking the ground firmly as they twisted their bodies with the movements. However, there were some differences which Lincoln had thought up to work into the routine.

"Time for all that blood and sweat to pay off." he thought. "Time for the finish."

Lincoln began gliding on the tips of his toes again. He looked over at Dennis and pointed to him again, signaling him to start gliding as well. The both moved cleanly, expertly maneuvering around thier teammates, until they reached opposite ends of the stage. Lincoln stared at Dennis, who stared back with the same intense look in his eyes.

"Hope this works." he thought.

Dennis locked his fingers together,held them down in front of him, and nodded.

"Here goes nothing." Lincoln thought.

Lincoln ran over to Dennis at full speed, jumping up and planting his foot in his hand. At the moment, Dennis lifted him up, tossing him in the air where he turned a backflip. His sisters gasped in utter shock, their mouths hanging open as thier brother defied gravity. They all covered their eyes, not wanting to see him crash. Save for Luna who watched proudly as Lincoln landed on his feet, his crewmates falling on the ground at the moment of his impact.

The crowd roared with enthusiasm, standing up and applauding the young group. Lincoln walked over to his teammates helping them stand up as they walked over to the edge of the stage, locked hands, and took a bow, making the crowd roar even looked out at the audience, not only seeing Luna and Lily, but all his sisters and his father. Luna and Lynn Sr. clapped wildly, the latter appearing to have tears in his eyes, while his other sisters simply stared wide eyed and open mouthed.

He shot them a wink before heading backstage with his group. The announcer headed back on stage with a microphone in his hand.

"WOW!" he said. "And to think this is their first performance! Let's give it up for SAD ladies and gentlemen!"

The croud cheered and clapped loudly as SAD were offstage, having wrapped each other in a group hug. Lincoln squirmed a bit as he struggled to escape the hug.

"Guys." he rasped out. "I'm happy too. But can you let me go, I can't breathe."

"We did it!" Stacy said. "We actually did it!"

Dennis gave Lincoln a playful noogie. "And it's all because of you." he said. "You're awesome, you know that?"

"C'mon guys." Lincoln said. "You weren't that bad before I joined up. You'd have done fine without..."

Lincoln stopped talking the moment Maggie had planted her lips on his cheek. She pulled away to look at him. "We'd never have gotten this far without your help." she said. "It's all on you Lincoln."

He held his hand to his cheek, blushing lightly. "Wow." he said.

Maggie characteristic frown reappeared on her face. "Don't read to much into that kiss." she said. "I do that with all my close friends."

"That's true." Dennis said.

"She's right." Mona chimed in.

The announcer came back over to the group. "That was a really tight performance!" he said. "A great way to start the show. Good job, to all of you!"

As he turned to walk away, Lincoln grabbed his hand "Could you do me a favor?" he asked "There a group girls sitting with thier dad near the blondes, Four brunettes, one girl with black hair and a baby. Could you invite them backstage"

"Sure thing, just keep out of the way of the other groups."

A couple minutes later, Lincoln stood before his sisters. His arms were crossed and he looked cross with them. And aside of Luna and Lily, he found them looking at him with similar gazes. Lori stepped in front of the rest, placing her hands onto her hips and leaning forward to give him her best 'big sister glare'.

"Did you like our performace?" Lincoln asked

"You were awesome out there, bro" Luna said stepping forward to ruffle his hair "You were really smokin'...seriously you were moving so fast that I think I saw your shoes smoking"

Lincoln turned to his other sisters "What about you guys?" Lincoln asked "What did you think?"

His sisters simply stared at him for what seemed like hours. Lori was the first to find her voice "Dancing" she said "All this time, you've been dancing?"

Lincoln nodded his head as Maggie stepped forward to face the group of girls "Maybe I should explain" she said "About two months ago my friends and I put together this dance crew as a hobby. We'd get together, we'd watch dance videos and we'd try to copy them. It was just for fun at first, but when we signed up for this dance expo we had to start practicing more. I dunno if it was the pressure, or just that we were bad dancers, but we started to feel like we were getting worse. So one day we went to Gus Games and Grub to decompress from it all and..."

Maggie put her hand on the top of Lincoln's head "We found him"

Dennis stepped up "We saw this kid shredding it on the Dance Battle video game" he said "It was crazy the way he moved. It's like dancing just came naturally to him. So we started watching him to try and learn his moves. And it helped a bit, but we knew if we were going to get better fast, we needed to take a bigger step"

"So last week" Mona said "We waited for him to show up at Gus Games and Grub, and we asked him if he would join our group. He wasn't too into the idea at first...until he saw our dancing."

Lincoln shuddered "Yeah" he said as he recalled the video Maggie had shown him "No offense guys. but you were..."

He shuddered again "We know" Ricky said "Asking you to join up was a lifesaver. It was more than just dance, Lincoln really knew how to get us organized to clean up our routines"

"I know my way around managing a group of people" Lincoln said with a shrug and turning to his sisters "Speaking of whom..."

Lori pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath to steady herself "Alright, so let's start with the elephant in the room."she said

Leni gasped. "They have an elephant back here?! Where? I love elephants!"

"Uh, is she for real right now?" Mona asked.

"Ha!" Dennis snorted out. "I get it, she's the one who's the comedian. Right little man?"

"She wishes." Luan said.

"Focus!" Lori spat. "Lincoln. I don't like that you disobeyed me and snuck out. I really don't like it at all. But before we talk about that, I just need to know something. Why, oh why, didn't you just tell us what you were doing in the first place?! Do you have any idea how much you worried us? You literally couldn't just say you were off to practice dancing?"

"No." Lincoln replied calmly. "Because, first of all, it wasn't any of your business. More importantly, I promised Maggie that I wouldn't tell anyone. Not even my family."

"It's true." Maggie cut in. "I wanted to keep it secret until we made our debut today. The only people who knew besides us were my parents. I wasn't trying to cause any trouble. I just really wanted to keep it in the dark until we were ready."

"To help keep the pressure off." Lincoln explained. "No offense, but if any of you knew about it, I wouldn't be surprised if word got out. Some of you aren't so good at keeping secrest." he said, glancing at Lola and Leni in particular.

"Well excuse me for loving gossip!" Lola defended.

"My point exactly." Lincoln said. "And then there's the little fact that you guys would have butted in and tried to help. Which would have been more of an annoyance than anything else."

"HEY!" the sisters said as one.

"You know what? Fine, whatever." Lori said. "But now I need to ask, just how you kept getting hurt if you were only practicing dance with them?"

"Well..." Lincoln began, rubbing the back of his neck. "First, there were problems with spacing and timing. Since all thier routines were made for six people, adding a seventh threw things off. Everybody got hurt somehow at some point. Second, they were't exactly the most coordinated dancers at first. Saying they were clumsy is putting it mildly."

"That isn't true." Ricky cut in.

"I believe you're exact words were, and I quote: 'We need your help with our routine. We stink on ice.' "

"You don't have to say it in front of them!" Maggie said, a small tint of redness on her cheeks.

"Sorry, but it's the truth. And for what it's worth, you guys are doing amazing now!" Lincoln said to his emo friends before looking back at his sisters. "So, yeah, that's pretty much it in a nutshell. They asked me to help and to keep it secret."

"Hold on a sec." Lynn said. "So is that why I saw all of those pictures of Lincoln on your phone? Because you were learning his moves?"

"Pictures on my phone?" Maggie repeated before letting out an angry gasp. "I knew it!"

"Well I didn't!" Lincoln said. "When did you take them? I don't remember that during any of our practice sessions."

"Um, well it wasn't anything I did while you helped us." Maggie admitted. "That was before you joined. "

"Wow." Lori said. "Way to be creepy."

"I wasn't being creepy!" Maggie retorted.

"Let me check with an expert." Lori said. "Hey Lucy, is it creepy?"

"Very creepy." Lucy answered.

"Thank you."

"Well I'm sorry if it comes off that way, Lincoln." Maggie said. "But I was just trying to learn from you."

Lincoln shrugged. "I'm Ok with that." he said. "No offense, but with all the hesitating you were doing you'd need all the help you could get."

"None taken." Maggie said.

"I mean seriously." Lincoln went on. "It's like she was allergic to moving her hips. I couldn't get her to shake her booty if I put her in an earthquake. It got so bad that I had to lend her my gaming goggles to show her how."

Maggie frowned and blushed as the other crewmates laughed a bit. Lucy stepped forward, gaining her brother's attention.

"So what's with your clothes then?" Lucy asked. "If all you did was dance, then why were you dressing so differently?"

"They all dress like this to dance." Lincoln said. "I had to dress like them to fit their crew's theme."

"Probably why you had to listen to their music too, right?" Luna asked.

Lincoln nodded at her. "But what about the grafitti?" Lola asked. "We saw you spray paint your name on the side of that warehouse!"

Stacy stepped forward. "That's where we practice our routines." she said. "My dad owns those warehouses and he let us use one. He also said that we could decorate it anyway we wanted. We already tagged the inside before Lincoln joined so..."

The Loud Sisters looked around at each other, then over at the group of kids Lincoln had joined. "OK. OK." Lori said. "So maybe you weren't up to no good. And maybe we did judge your new friends to fast and too harshly, but there's still something I don't understand..."

"What's that?" Lincoln asked.

"Why were you in such a bad mood all week?" Lori asked "I mean, giving me a wedgie, sticking Lola under a table, the threats and the attitude. It's not like you at all!"

"In my defense." Lincoln said. "I've been really tired and really sore all week. And on top of that, I have to put up with ten meddling sisters who just can't wait to bother me when I want to be left alone. You try being in a good mood after that."

His sisters all shared the same look of irritation. "We were only trying to look out for you, Lincoln." Luan said. "Can't you see how this affects us? Our only brother is keeping secrets and lashing out at us. You can't blame us for being worried."

"I can blame you for refusing to trust me!" Lincoln retorted. "I wasn't doing anything wrong, but you wouldn't leave it alone! You guys could've wrecked everything for us! I asked you to drop it, I told you I didn't want to talk about it. But you didn't care! All you cared about was meddling in my life like you always do!"

"That's not true and you know it." Lori said. "We just wanted to protect you. With all the weird things going on with you, we just wanted to be sure that you were safe."

Lincoln's eyes narrowed. "Oh really?" he said. "Then why didn't you just tell mom and dad?"

Lori opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out. She looked around at her younger sisters, who all looked unsure of how to answer. It seemed like a perfect solution, tell their parents about Lincoln. If they couldn't get an answer from Lincoln, surely their parents could. So why didn't anyone think to do that?

"I'll tell you why." Lincoln said. "Because you wanted to meddle in my life. Why do you feel like you deserve to know about the parts of my life that don't concern you? Lori, when you're on a date with Bobby, do you think I deserve to know what goes on between you two?"

"Well..." Lori struggled to answer. "I...I guess if...I mean..."

"What about you Lola?" he asked. "When you're in a pageant where do you think I should be? In the audience watching, or backstage telling you what to do and how to do it?"

'Um.." Lola said. "I don't actually need..."

"Yeah, sure." Lincoln interrupted. "And what about you, Lisa? How would you feel if I was in your room, breathing down your back while you work?"

"Well, in all honesty, I would prefer that you refrained from such a thing."

"I thought so. Face it, you guys. You wouldn't want me to meddle in your affairs. So don't meddle in mine! You should've trusted me from the beginning!"

"Lincoln. Enough." Maggie said, stepping forward and putting a hand onto his shoulder. "Don't you think you should cut your sisters a little slack?"

"Say what now?" Lincoln asked.

"This was partly my fault." Maggie said calmly. "You were keeping a secret for me this entire time. They didn't exactly know what was going on, no matter how many times they asked you. Can you really blame them for trying to find out?"

"Why are you defending them?" Lincoln asked "You're the one who wanted to keep it secret."

"I know, I know." Maggie said. "And I stand by the choice. But I'm just saying that you need to look at it from their point of view."

"You say you want them to trust you, right?" Ricky said, stepping up."Well trust works two ways. You want to be trusted, then you need to trust them too."

"But I couldn't trust them with this." Lincoln said. "They're always butting into my life, telling me they're trying to help, but they end up making things worse!"

"Don't you think you might be taking this a bit more personally than you should?" Mona said. "You can't just write them off as always being wrong to try and step in. They're your sisters and they clearly care a lot about you."

"Just think of it this way." Maggie said. "What if one of your little sisters was sneaking off and you had no idea what she was up to? Imagine how you'd feel not knowing what's going on."

Lincoln looked towards his five younger sisters. The thought of any single one of them just up and going somewhere without telling him had never crossed his mind. He tried to do as Maggie said and put himself in that situation where he knew one of them was up to something and he was left in the dark. Having no idea what was going on, wondering when they'd come home. Then he took into account that he had come home with scrapes, bruises, even a black eye. If he saw any of them like that...

"Oh, jeez. I...I...I've been..."

"A total bonehead?" Lynn offered.

"A meanie?" Lola piped up.

"Lynn, Lola. Drop it." Lori ordered. "Lincoln, look. I know that we've been on your case a lot this past week. But we've been worried about you. Sure we may not have shown it that well, but you need to understand that when you didn't tell us what was going on, it only made us worry more. And it literally frustrated us."

"I get that" Lincoln said "And I didn't mean to make you worry. But what was I going to do? I promised Maggie that I wouldn't tell anyone."

"We know." Leni said. "And we're sorry for butting in. We should've listened to Luna and gave you space."

"And we're sorry for not trusting you." Lynn said. "But with all the changes you've been going through, with your clothes and your attitude...we were really scared."

"And not the good kind of scared." Lucy said. "The bad kind of scared. The "where you think you might be losing your only brother" kind of scared."

"And we don't want to lose our only brother." Lola and Lana said together.

Lincoln looked up at his sisters. "I'm sorry for scaring you all." Lincoln said. "I promise won't act like this anymore. Since I'm not hiding it anymore, you can count on it."

"We'll accept that apology on one condition." Lisa said as her voice began to crack. "Promise us that your teenage years won't be like this. We can't handle this sort of ordeal all over again."

Lincoln shrugged. "I can't see the future." he said. "So I'm not making any promises about that."

"And hanging out with us has already gotten him into the scene." Mona said. "He'll probably be wearing stuff like this when he gets older."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Lucy muttered.

"Well we can't make and promises about not trying to step in when we think something is wrong." Lori said. "We care about you Lincoln. You all tried to look out for me when you thought Bobby was cheating on me. And you can't expect us not to want to do the same for you. From now on, if you ask us to trust you, then we will. But just remember that we only butt in because we care. And we'll make sure to dial it back from now on. Right girls?"

"Right!" said the Loud sisters.

Lincoln smiled warmly. A smile that his sisters hadn't seen in a week. But that smile slowly turned into a frown beneath a pair of narrowed eyes.

"What?" Lori asked.

"Are you crossing your fingers behind your backs?" he asked.

"No." most of the sisters chorused.

"Lola is!" Lana said, pointing to her twin.

"What are you talking about, little dudette?" Luna asked. "I don't see any crossed fingers in those pink gloves."

"She crosses her toes!" Lana said.

"Lola..." Lincoln said warningly, crossing his arms.

"Alright, alright. But if I dial it back, you can't stick me under tables or hang me from coat hooks anymore!"

Lincoln's face softened and he held out his arms, inviting her in for a hug. "Okay, you've got a deal."

Lola went in for the hug, followed moments later by the rest of the Loud sisters. The SAD crew watched the heartwarming scene, Ricky pointing his finger into his open mouth and making a gagging noise. This was swiftly rewarded by an elbow to the ribs, courtesy of Maggie.

"Let them have their sappy moment, you dork." she whispered, pulling out her hankie to wipe her ruined make up from her face. "Dang it, stupid tears!"

The group hug ended, Lynn lingering for a moment and squeezing her brother tight.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about before." she whispered to him. "That whole thing with the bat? I wouldn't ever really do that. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know." he whispered back. "Just don't pull it again, okay?"

"Promise." she said, separating from him. "But I gotta ask. What kind of name is SAD for your group? You realize how lame that sounds, don't you?"

"It's an acronym." Lincoln explained. "It means 'Shut-up And Dance'."

"Oh. Okay, that's not so lame after all."

"Anyway, we should be getting back to our seats." Lori said. "Dad is going to wonder where we all went. We'll see you after the show, Lincoln."

"Hold up. I can come with you." Lincoln said, turning to look at the SAD crew. "You guys don't mind, right?"

"Do what you want." Maggie said. "But don't forget we're meeting up tomorrow to start practicing for our next routine."

Lincoln nodded. "You got it. See you later!" he said with a wave. He then followed his sisters out into the audience, Lori falling into step beside him.

"So, you're going to be out tomorrow after school from what I heard?" she said.

"Uh-huh, I won't be home later than I was any time before."

"Do you want a ride there?" Lori offered.

"No thanks." Lincoln said. "Maggie's mom can give me a ride to and from. Maggie and I are going out for Flippee's before practice.

"So...the two of you are dating after all?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Lincoln stated firmly.

"Yeah, sure. You said that about Ronnie Anne too." Lori countered. "But whatever. Just be more careful, okay?"

"Wait." Lynn said. "Does this mean you're gonna keep dressing like Lucy after all?"

"What are you talking about?" Lincoln asked. "I'm dressed emo. Lucy is a goth. There's a difference"

"THANK YOU!" Lucy exclaimed in an uncharacteristic show of emotion, gaining attention of many people nearby in their seats. In the next moment her normally pale cheeks were pink and she was very grateful for her skill in moving both quickly and silently as she found her seat again. "That was embarrassing."

"Don't worry about it, Lucy." Lincoln said. "The next group is about to perform, so everyone's attention is going to be focused on them."

"Thank darkness for that." Lucy said. "By the way, you looked good up there. It was...fun to watch."

"Hey, thanks for that, Luce." Lincoln said. "That means a lot to me. I'm just curious as to what the others will do in their routines. Who knows? Maybe I'll pick up a new idea."

The sound of the announcer's voice caught their attention as the next group was introduced. The group of teenage boys with purple bandana's around their necks took the stage and the room was soon filled with hip hop music as they began to dance for the audience. Lincoln watched earnestly, intent on seeing if he could learn something new from them. However, he soon found himself far too absorbed in how fun it was to do anything other than just watch in awe. Same with the next group, and the next, and the next, straight through until the show was over.

-Later that night-

Soloson6 has logged on.

SeldomlySmiles13 has logged on.

Soloson6: Hey Maggie.

SeldomlySmiles13: Hey Lincoln.

Soloson6: Today was fun

SeldomlySmiles13: That's one way to think about it. I still can't believe we actually did it. I'm glad it's over, but also kind of disappointed.

Soloson6: You had fun up there and now you want to go and do it again.

SeldomlySmiles13: meh, maybe. But not anytime soon. it's still a lot to stand in front of so many people.

Nottagoth has logged on.

Nottagoth: Yo

Soloson6: hi Dennis

Nottagoth: good, both of you are on. I got something to share with you. I found us a new member. if you're okay with him joining

SeldomlySmiles13: really? that was fast.

Nottagoth: he's my cousin. he was watching us today and really liked it. I mentioned we were thinking of getting an eight member and he asked. he's online now, mind if he joins us?

SeldomlySmiles13: no, have him join

Nottagoth: okay, just a sec

Needs2cry has joined the session.

Needs2cry: hey

Soloson6: hi, what's up?

SeldomlySmiles13: hey

Needs2cry: saw you guys perform. it was good. didn't think my cousin could be that coordinated. guy has two left feet.

Nottagoth: Shut up!

Soloson6: lol. I can vouch for that. So, you want to join us?

Needs2cry: if you'll let me

SeldomlySmiles13: sure, why not? you any good at dancing?

Needs2cry: kinda. not as good as you guys are though

Soloson6: no worries. we have practice tomorrow after school at four. can you make it?

Needs2cry: sure, I go to school in Hazeltucky, so I may or may not be late. that cool?

SeldomlySmiles13: we practice until seven or eight, depending on what we need to do. drop by whenever.

Needs2cry: okay. I'll c u then I guess

Soloson6: C u then. Looking forward to having you as part of the gang.

-The next day-

School had ended and Vanzilla rolled up to the driveway of the Loud Loud Siblings ran into the house, scattering in different directions upon entering. Some doing homework, some going to thier room. Lori made her way upstairs and headed to the bathroom.

"Excuse me, Lori." Lisa said.

Lori looked down at at her younger sister, who had a clipboard in her tiny hands. Lori shuddered under the look in Lisa's eye.

"Oh no." Lori said. "We've been over this, Lisa. I don't want to be in your poop study!"

"I'm sorry to hassle you over this, elder sister." Lisa said. "But my current data files on you are sorely in need of an update."

Lori looked over to see Lincoln on the way to his room. He made a motion, as if he were pressing buttons on a cell phone, held it to his ear, and shook his head as if he we're saying "No."

"No means 'No', Lisa." Lori said.

"Fine then." Lisa said. "If you won't allow me into the bathroom with you, then perhaps I could convice you to refrain from flushing so that I may..."

"Sorry." Lori said reaching for the bathroom doorknob. "Can't hear you...you're breaking up."

Lincoln shot his big sister a thumbs up just before the shut the door behind her. Lori chuckled to herself from behind the door.

"I guess that really does work to end a conversation." she thought.

Lincoln slipped into his room and began changing clothes. He removed his orange shirt, and reached for a black one. He stopped for just a moment, to admire his sad emoji necklace in the mirror. He had worn it to school under his shirt that day. He may have been back to his old style of dress again, but wearing that necklace still made him feel like part of the gang.

He ran his finger over the shiny, blue surface before reaching for a black shirt with the phrase "You think you know me" written on the front. Then he switched out his blue jeans for a black pair and made his way out of his room.

"I'm heading out now." he called as he made his way to the stairs. "I'll be back sometime after eight, okay?"

"You sure that you don't want a ride home?" Lori offered, exiting the bathroom. "It literally isn't a big deal for me to come and get you."

"It's fine. But thanks anyway."

Lori shrugged. "Okay, if you're sure. Just make sure to let us know if you're running late for any reason."

Lincoln nodded. "I will. Later!"

He turned to head for the door, but was suddenly stopped. Lori's arms grabbed him and pulled him in for a tight hug.

"Oh no you don't. Not with out one of these!" she said, squeezing him. "Have fun and be careful. No more coming home with bruises or anything like that."

"I'll try, but no promises." he said. "And Lori?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you wash your hands?"

"Excuse me?" Lori asked defensively. "Of course I washed them? Who do you think I am? Lana?"

"Just checking." Lincoln said, slipping out of her grasp. "Anyway, I should be going. I'll see you in a while. And don't worry!"

He ran off, Lori waving to him as he went through the door. She then went into her room and flopped onto her bed, pulling out her phone to text anyone/everyone she knew. After a moment, a thought crossed her mind.

"Sorry Lincoln." She thought. "But I'm going to break my promise and butt in, just a little bit."

She typed something into her phone and then smiled to herself as she hit 'send'.

My baby brother is off to dance with his friends. #BustAMove

Lucy: sigh. I really had hoped he wasn't serious about staying with them. at least tell me he didn't dress like they do this time.

Luna: So what if he did, little dudette? that look works for him!

Leni: Totes! Orange may be his favorite color, but black really works better on him!

Lynn: Forget what he's wearing. I can't wait to see what dance moves he works on next! Am I the only one who wants to learn a little from him?

Luna: Nope, I'm down for learning some of his sweet moves.

Lana: Me too!

Lola: Count me in!

Leni: I would so love to do that! We should ask him when he gets home!

Luan: Hey, maybe he can show the pets some moves too! Charles and Cliff could use them, they both have two left feet!

Luan: Get it?

Lynn: If I say yes, will you stop?

Lisa: aksdjhgfae

Lori: Say what now?

Lisa: Apologies. Lily was attempting to play with my phone. I too would also like to participate in learning our male siblings sick moves

Lori smiled again, continuing to read the new comments as they popped up on her phone's screen.

"Nope." she said to herself. "Nothing to worry about at all."

And so it ends
Twisteddarkness225 and I want to thank you all for coming along for the ride
Until the next collab