Pre-chapter author's notes: In response to overwhelming feedback, I have replaced the previous version of this chapter with this version of this chapter. Also, I am hereby declaring the previous version of this chapter non-canon/invalid/banished to the deepest pits of whatever realm you'd care to name/forget that it ever existed. Seriously. Although some (not all) of the negativeness that I saw was uncalled for, I understand where it was all coming from, and I would like to offer my most sincere apologies to anyone who I offended. Hopefully, this newer version of this chapter will be more well received.

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.

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Chapter twenty-four: Making Amends

Lynn Loud Sr. had just gotten back after a rather tiring day working at Aloha Comrade, one of the many fusion restaurants located in Royal Woods, Michigan. The Loud family patriarch considered himself lucky to not only have a job that allowed him to help support his (admittedly rather large) family, but one that revolved around his passion for cooking. Granted, Aloha Comrade wasn't looking too good right now; out of all of the fusion restaurants located in Royal Woods, Aloha Comrade was currently ranked as least popular.

Lynn Sr. even, at one point, allowed his competitiveness, his paranoia, to make him act out in a rather shameful manner. He didn't see his error until Lincoln, his only son out of eleven children, had called him out on it in one of the most heartbreaking ways that he (Lynn Sr.) could have imagined. Once he saw through the error of his ways, Lynn Sr. resolved to try and rectify things with the people he disappointed. To his credit, Lynn Sr. managed to make it up to his wife Rita and their ten daughters. The only person that the Loud patriarch has yet to set things right with is his son. But Lynn Sr.'s previous shameful behavior in regards to the fusion restaurant business is not the reason why Lincoln has yet to forgive him.

A while ago, Lynn Sr. and the rest of the Loud family had decried Lincoln as bad luck after a softball game that Lynn Jr. lost. Granted, Lincoln did have some role in facilitating the belief that he was bad luck. However, Lincoln only did so because he otherwise would not have gotten the alone time he desperately needed to rest and recharge after having gone to so many of his sisters' various events; it was Lynn Sr., Rita and their daughters who took things way too far. Lincoln had already forgiven all of his sisters and his mother.

Hell, Lincoln has even forgiven the family pets; Lynn Sr. was admittedly a bit confused about why his son held some resentment towards the pets, but he later learned that they showed some hostility towards Lincoln as well, mainly Charles, the family dog, when he growled at Lincoln when the boy was forced at one point to sleep in the backyard.

The pets all had the excuse of acting out of an animal instinct, as opposed to the human members of the family, who had allowed superstition to make them abandon all logic and common sense. Abandoning all logic and common sense…that's exactly what Lynn Sr. had done when, at the height of his competitiveness and paranoia over the fusion restaurant business in Royal Woods, he tried to forbid his children from hanging out with some friends of theirs, simply because the family of said friends owned the most popular fusion restaurant in Royal Woods.

"I'm home, Rita," Lynn Sr. called out as he entered the Loud family residence after getting back from work. A few seconds after Lynn Sr. called out, his three oldest daughters, Lori, Leni and Luna, along with their younger brother Lincoln, came walking out.

"Dad, did you forget that mom literally left on a trip to California earlier this morning?" Lori asked, shooting her father a mildly confused look.

"Oh yeah, that," Lynn Sr. replied in a tone that was two parts embarrassed and eight parts tired; earlier that day, sometime prior to Lynn Sr. leaving for work at Aloha Comrade, Rita got a ride from Harold and Howard McBride to the airport so she could fly out to Sacramento, California. A friend of Rita's who lives in Sacramento had a relative who just very recently passed away, and the friend asked Rita for help in managing the deceased relative's final affairs. Rita, who ended up bringing baby Lily with her because what sort of mother would not want to look after her baby daughter at all times, agreed to fly out to Sacramento to help the friend.

Sighing in a resigned and tired tone (mostly tired), Lynn Sr. said to his children, "Sorry, kids, but I had a really tiring day at work. It was actually surprisingly busy at Aloha Comrade today. The busiest we've been this season, in fact." Looking to his children, Lynn Sr. continued, "So, what have you kids been up to today?"

"We…actually went to Odin-Dono's earlier," Luna said in a mildly hesitant tone. The Loud family patriarch was able to pick up on his musically inclined daughter's hesitance right away, and he understood full well why Luna was hesitant, given how he acted in the past over the fusion restaurant business.

Sighing in a mildly resigned tone, Lynn Sr. said, "It alright, kids, I'm not upset. I've long since dropped the shameful behavior I had back then." Facing Leni specifically, Lynn Sr. continued, "Also, Leni, I want to properly apologize for trying to ground you out of paranoia."

"Apology accepted," Leni replied, a small but appreciative smile on her face.

"Did you kids at least have fun?" Lynn Sr. asked Lori, Leni, Luna and Lincoln as a whole.

"Yeah, although we didn't really go to Odin-Dono's to actually have lunch," Lori replied, "We went there in order to watch something."

"Watch something?" the Loud patriarch repeated in a confused tone.

Nodding in an affirmative manner, Luna explained, "Yeah, pops, Lynn told us that she was invited by Ulfric and his parents to have lunch with them. They ended up going to Odin-Dono's for lunch today, and when we heard that, Lori, Leni, Lincoln and I decided to go over as well to make sure things went smoothly and to make sure that Ulfric didn't break Lynn's heart like that little bastard Francisco did." Crossing her arms over her chest, Luna added, "I am glad to say that Lynn had one heck of a time, and Ulfric was nothing short of a cool dude to Lynn the whole time they were at Odin-Dono's."

"Oh, so Junior went to have lunch with that Ulfric boy and his parents," Lynn Sr. remarked. With a mildly curious look, Lynn Sr. continued, "Say, I don't suppose any of you know what kind of people Ulfric's parents are like, do you?"

"Oh, they're literally both really great people," Lori began, "I heard one of them say something to playfully tease both Lynn and Ulfric." With a confident nod, Lori continued, "I can safely say that Ulfric's folks would readily approve of it if Lynn and Ulfric started to go out."

"That's good," Lynn Sr. remarked, "That's good. After that little bastard whatshisname broke Junior's heart, I was worried about how she would recover. Thank goodness that Ulfric boy is an upstanding young man who I have no doubt will do right by Junior, assuming they both end up going out with each other." The three oldest Loud girls and Lincoln nodded in agreement with the Loud patriarch before he made his way to the living room to relax for a bit.

Due to how tired he was after work, Lynn Sr. simply decided to order a few pizzas rather than try to cook. After all of the cooking that he did today, Lynn Sr. wanted someone to do the cooking for him for a change; luckily, the local pizza place was more than willing to do so. After the Louds that were present in Royal Woods had their fill of pizza-y goodness, the kids decided to spread throughout the house to do their own respective things. This allowed Lynn Sr. himself to rest and relax in the living room.

…Or so he thought.

After depositing the plate that he used to hold his two pizza slices in the sink, Lynn Sr. made his way into the living room, intent on watching the sports channel. However, when he arrived in the living room, he saw that Lori was sitting on one end of the sofa while talking on her phone, Leni sat on the other end of the sofa with her feet up on the middle cushion of the sofa (Leni was painting her toenails), and Lincoln sat on the floor, playing a game on his video game console.

"They…they were in the dining room not thirty seconds ago," Lynn Sr. thought as he regarded his two oldest and his only son, "How…how did they settle down like that so quickly?" Not wanting to try and disrupt his children out of worrying that he might upset them again, Lynn Sr. decided instead to walk into the living room and attempt to make small talk with his kids. "Hey Lori, Leni, sport," Lynn Sr. said in a friendly enough tone, getting the attention of his three kids in the process, "What are you doing?"

"I was actually just telling Carol about how cute Lynn was with Ulfric earlier," Lori explained.

"I'm, like, painting my toenails this shade of color that's totes cute," Leni replied.

"I'm playing a video game," Lincoln remarked casually.

"Cool, cool," Lynn Sr. replied, "So, uhh…you're all enjoying yourselves?" The two oldest Loud girls and the sole Loud boy all looked up at the Loud patriarch with mildly confused, not sure what to make of his seemingly hesitant and unsure attitude. The three of them all exchanged looks with each other before turning back to regard Lynn Sr.

"…Sure, Lori, Leni and I are all doing okay," Lincoln said, sounding just as unsure as the Loud patriarch, but out of confusion rather than being hesitant. Turning to regard the TV, Lincoln quickly fiddled around with the game in order to turn the game off, and eventually the system itself. Getting up from where he sat on the floor, Lincoln said, "I'm going to guess that you're going to want to watch the news, Mr. Loud?"

There it was once again; the fact that out of everyone in the family, Lynn Sr. was the only one that Lincoln yet to forgive for what happened during the whole bad luck deal. Hearing Lincoln once again refer to him as 'Mr. Loud' rather than some variation of 'dad' was like an arrow from a bow shot the Loud family patriarch in the heart. Lynn Sr. desperately wanted Lincoln to acknowledge him as a parent once again, but he had no idea how he could go about earning his son's forgiveness.

Lynn Sr. also noticed out of the corner of his vision that both Lori and Leni were watching him talk to Lincoln. The Loud patriarch had a feeling that if Lincoln stopped playing that video game just so he could take over the TV to watch sports, then Lori and Leni would both be a little upset, in a disappointed manner. Lynn Sr. had to pay his cards right here, otherwise he might have more than one child alienated from him.

"…Actually, I was just going to head over to the bookshelf, grab one of my political thriller books, and relax in my armchair," Lynn Sr. said, figuring that it'd be a believable enough lie to fool his kids. It wasn't even a complete lie either; Lynn Sr. actually did have a political thriller novel on the bookshelf that he's been meaning to read for quite some time, and if doing so would allow him to avoid incurring mild scorn from his two oldest daughters, then the Loud patriarch would be more than glad to catch up on his reading.

"Oh, okay then," Lincoln replied, "I actually wanted to head up to my room anyway to go over the book on Kendo that Aggro-sensei let me borrow again."

"You sure have read that book a lot, sport," Lynn Sr. remarked, sounding mildly impressed that his son is taking a physical activity seriously "You're taking that martial art as seriously as Junior takes her sports."

"Linky's gotten pretty good," Leni said with a hint of a giggle in her tone, getting Lynn Sr., Lori and Lincoln to all turn and face her, "But then again, he's had someone as amazing as Aggro to teach him how to play sword fighting, so you've, like, got to figure that Linky would get really good, like, really quick." After Lincoln said to Leni that Kendo isn't a game of sword-fighting but rather an actual martial art, Lincoln took his leave to head up to his room.

When Lincoln was gone, Lynn Sr. turned to regard his two oldest daughters. "So, uhh, girls," the Loud patriarch began, "How are you and your siblings getting along with your brother?"

"You're worried that you're literally the only one Lincoln has yet to forgive, aren't you?" Lori asked right before having to end her call, both her tone and expression deadpan. Lynn Sr. wasn't surprised that his oldest child was able to read him like a book; Lori always had something of a knack for that skill. But then again, Lynn Sr. was being kind of obvious about it.

Sighing in a defeated and resigned tone, Lynn Sr. replied, "I have no idea what to do to show Lincoln how sorry I am for my part in driving him away, girls." Walking over to his armchair, Lynn Sr. slumped down and said, "I don't suppose you can give me some ideas, can you?"

"Actually, we all did something different for Lincoln to forgive us," Lori began to explain, "Lucy got some sort of heat-of-the-moment type deal when Lincoln saw her get punched in the eye by a bully, Lincoln let Lily off the hook because she's only a baby, he forgave the pets because they're animals that acted out of instinct rather than humans who acted out of superstition, Lincoln forgave the twins after they both worked together to practically make a bakery for him, Lynn pushed Lincoln out of the way of some serious danger and ended up taking said danger in his place, Leni had a number of heart-to-heart moments with Lincoln, Luan not only cheered up all of us when Pop-Pop had to go to the hospital but she also promised to refrain from doing her April Fool's level pranks ever again, Lisa helped Lincoln and some of his friends get ready for a really important test, Luna realized exactly how badly her part in what happened hurt Lincoln and had a heart-to-heart with him…" Taking a slight pause to seemingly reflect on something, Lori continued, "And I led the way to make sure that Lincoln's feelings and decisions were respected."

"What did your mother do?" Lynn Sr. asked, a curious and mildly confused look on his face.

"I'm…not sure what mom did, exactly," Lori admitted, "I think that Lincoln let mom off the hook to help give weight to her side of the argument she had with you back when you were literally being stupid over the fusion restaurant business."

"I think Linky also said something about not really being able to hold a grudge against mom forever because what kind of son could do that to the woman who brought him into the world?" Leni added, drawing a nod of agreement from Lori.

Sighing in a defeated tone, Lynn Sr. remarked, "I guess that my behavior made things for difficult for me in the long run, huh?"

"That is literally what I thought the moment Lincoln referred to mom as mom while still referring to you as Mr. Loud," Lori remarked dryly. Seeing her father slump in a way that conveyed depression, Lori continued, "But now that your head is clear, you can clearly think on how to fix your relationship with Lincoln, dad."

"How about doing some father-son activities with Linky?" Leni suggested, "I bet that if you showed how much you really cared about him, Linky is bound to come around!"

"…Hey," Lynn Sr. remarked in a mildly impressed tone. Getting up from his armchair, Lynn Sr. continued, "That isn't a bad idea at all!" Pumping a fist into the air, Lynn Sr. declared, "Tomorrow, I'm going to take Lincoln with me so we can spend the day together doing some father-son activities!"

"Just make sure to ask Lincoln if he wants to do it rather than force him into it," Lori advised, "Forcing Lincoln into doing something is the mistake that Lynn literally made that caused the whole mess to begin with."

"Right," Lynn Sr. replied as he pointed to Lori in a commending manner.

A few short moments later, Lynn Sr. was upstairs in the second-floor hallway, making his way right over to Lincoln's bedroom door. As he got close, the Loud patriarch saw signs of back when the door used to be boarded-up to ensure that Lincoln wouldn't be able to sleep in the room that was a converted linin closet. The sight of those signs of what used to be made Lynn Sr. take pause, as well as sigh in a resigned tone. Gathering his resolve once again, Lynn Sr. made his way over to Lincoln's bedroom door and knocked on it a few times.

"Lincoln?" Lynn Sr. called out, "You in there, sport?"

"You need something?" Lincoln's voice said from the side, making Lynn Sr. turn around and see Lincoln standing there, accompanied by Lola. For some reason that Lynn Sr. couldn't explain, Lincoln was dressed up in a very nice suit. When Lynn Sr. made a note of this, Lincoln explained, "Lola wanted me to play with her, acting as her butler for a tea party" Looking up at the man who he has yet to acknowledge as a parent again, Lincoln continued, "Anywho, is there something that you need, sir?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you'd be willing to join me for the day tomorrow," Lynn Sr. explained, "I figured that we could head to the go-cart tracks, grab lunch at Gus', maybe try some fishing." Giving Lincoln a mildly hopeful look, Lynn Sr. asked, "You interested?"

"…" Giving his ex-father a dry look, Lincoln said, "We're going to have to skip the fishing. The fishing rods were sold at a yard sale, remember?"

"…Oh yeah," Lynn Sr. replied in a mildly embarrassed tone, "I forgot about that."

With a small but appreciative smile on his face, Lincoln added, "But other than that, I think that your plan for tomorrow actually sounds pretty great. I'm looking forward to it." Seeing that Lincoln actually agreed to his plans for tomorrow made Lynn Sr. feel relieved.

"Well alright, then!" Lynn Sr. replied, a hint of excitement in his tone, "We'll leave after breakfast tomorrow."

"Sounds fair," Lincoln agreed. After a few more pleasantries were exchanged, Lynn Sr. took his leave, allowing Lola to take Lincoln back and continue to use him as her butler for a tea party. The Loud patriarch was relieved that his attempt to reconcile with his son was actually off to a good start. If he played his cards right, then Lynn Sr. might finally be forgiven.

Lynn Sr. hoped like hell that his plan would work.

After breakfast the following morning, Lynn Sr. took Lincoln with him into town. The first place that they tried going to was the go-kart track, but it was close when they got there, even though it should have been open by the time they arrived. Thankfully, one helpful go-kart track employee said that the track was closed in order for the staff to handle some clean-up, and that the track should be open sometime around noon. With the slight dent in the plans he had for his day with Lincoln fixed, Lynn Sr. decided to turn things around by heading over to the local movie theater. There, Lynn Sr. and Lincoln saw a movie that the latter picked out.

After the fun they had watching a movie at the theater, Lynn Sr. and Lincoln went over to Gus' for lunch, as they still had approximately an hour before the go-kart track was expected to open. The two guys of the Loud family had lunch, then they made their way over to the go-kart track, where it was finally open.

"Hey, why don't we try one of those two-person karts, Lincoln?" Lynn Sr. suggested.

"Sure, why not?" Lincoln replied as he followed Lynn Sr. over to where they could rent one of the go-karts so they could race around the track. Once Lynn Sr. and Lincoln got their helmets, they were led over to where they could pick a kart to use. They picked a two-person kart, and after it got onto the track, Lynn Sr. and Lincoln both got in and began to race around the track.

"Wow, this is actually pretty fun," Lincoln said as he and Lynn Sr. sped around the track. Turning to face Lynn Sr., Lincoln said, "Thanks again for today, da-"

Lincoln was cut off when something hit him in the back of the head. Seeing something land next to him in the go-kart, Lincoln picked it up, showing that it was a…a plastic turtle shell? "Did someone on the track really throw this toy turtle shell at us?" Lincoln said aloud in a confused tone.

"One of the other-" Lynn Sr. began, but he was cut off when a banana peel smacked him in the face. Thankful that the helmet he wore kept the banana peel from actually smacking him in the face, the Loud patriarch peeled the peel off and held it. Regarding the banana peel with a confused look, Lynn Sr. said, "What the-"

Suddenly, a go-kart pulled ahead of the kart that Lynn Sr. and Lincoln were in. It was a one-person kart, and whoever was in it dropped another banana peel on the track, clearly with the hope that the kart that the two Loud guys were in would run over it. Lynn Sr. and Lincoln's kart did run over the tossed banana peel, and…nothing happened, because it would take a hell of a lot more than running over a banana peel to make a go-kart lose control on the track.

"Oh great," Lincoln said in an annoyed tone, "Some idiots are trying to play a real-life version of that racing game on the Playtendo family of games and systems."

"Hey Lincoln," Lynn Sr. began, "I have a question for you." After Lincoln turned to face him, Lynn Sr. continued in a knowing tone, "Are we going to let these idiots beat us?"

Smiling back in an amused tone, Lincoln said, "No way! Let's go!" With both father and son turning their heads to face forward, Lynn Sr. sped up the kart he and Lincoln were in. They soon pulled up alongside the kart that passed them, as while they were next to that cart, Lynn Sr. took the toy turtle shell and tossed it into the kart.

"I think this is yours and your friends'!" Lynn Sr. called out right before he and Lincoln sped ahead to pass that kart driver. After Lynn Sr. and Lincoln got ahead, Lincoln turned around in his seat to look behind him. He saw that in addition to the one-person kart that he and Lynn Sr. had just passed, there was a two-person kart as well. When Lincoln saw the person in the passenger seat of the two-person kart hold up another toy turtle shell, Lincoln knew that the people in both karts were in on the messing around.

"Dad, I think they're gaining on us," Lincoln said in a mildly alarmed tone.

"Then we better push it!" Lynn Sr. replied, putting as much effort as possible into pushing the gas pedal in the kart he and Lincoln were using. The two Loud guys managed to pull further ahead of the two other karts that were on the track. Eventually, Lynn Sr. and Lincoln both saw the finish line for the go-kart track they were on.

"We're almost there!" Lincoln nearly exclaimed.

"Right! This is the final stretch!" Lynn Sr. yelled excitedly. With a final bit of effort, Lynn Sr. and Lincoln sped over the finish line, not only getting away from the two karts that were harassing them but beating them in a race as well. After the kart he and Lincoln were in pulled to a stop, Lynn Sr. got out and stood in front of the kart he used. As the other two karts came to a stop and their respective occupants got out, Lynn took off his helmet. "What is wrong with you punks?!" Lynn Sr. snapped at the trio of mysterious people, all of which were clearly teenagers, "Were you seriously trying to-"

"Whoa, dude!" one of the teenagers called out in a female voice that struck Lincoln as familiar. The owner of that voice, who was the passenger in the two-person kart, took off her helmet, revealing herself as Luna's girlfriend Sam. The other two teenagers also took off their helmets, revealing themselves as some of the boys at school that often rock out with Luna and Sam. "Lincoln! Mr. Loud!" Sam remarked in a surprised tone, "I didn't know you guys would be here at the go-kart track today!"

"Sam?" Lincoln said in a confused tone, "What were you and the other guys here doing?"

"Oh, we were trying to do a real-life version of the racing game on the Playtendo family of systems," Sam explained, "A friend of ours is filming from the bleachers, and we're planning on getting the video up on the internet later." Rubbing the back of her head in a manner that conveyed embarrassment, Sam said, "Heh, sorry that you guys got caught up in our little plan."

"I'll…try to catch your video on the internet later," Lincoln remarked dryly to Sam, "In the meanwhile, I think that my dad and I have to go return our-"

"Hey, you punks!" a random voice called out, making everyone turn to see the same go-kart track employee who told the Loud guys that the track would be open at noon come running up. Shaking a fist at Sam and her friends, the employee said, "You kids are the reason why we had to open late to handle clean-up!"

"Cheese it!" one of the two guys with Sam yelled, prompting himself, Sam and the other guy to run away. The three teenagers all managed to get away from the employee who was trying to chase them. By the time Sam and her friends got away, the employee came up next to Lynn Sr. and Lincoln.

"I'm terribly sorry that those punks ruined your time here at the track," the employee said to Lynn Sr. and Lincoln, "I'll let my boss know what happened. I have no doubt he'll want to try and compensate you two for your troubles."

"That would be nice, yes," Lynn Sr. remarked, and before long the manager of the go-kart track met up with Lynn Sr. and Lincoln. After giving both Loud guys season passes to the go-kart track, Lynn Sr. and Lincoln took their leave.

…

"How can your sister be friends with those kids?" Lynn Sr. asked Lincoln in a tone that was more or less rhetorical, "I mean, really!"

"I have no idea what to tell you about that, dad," Lincoln replied in a tone that showed he was just as lost as the Loud patriarch, shaking his head gently in a manner that further helped to express how lost he was on the notion. Turing his head so as to look up at Lynn Sr., Lincoln continued, "But what I do have an idea what to tell you about is how much-" Lincoln was cut off when Lynn Sr. stopped in place, got down on one knee so that he was level with Lincoln, threw his arms around him and gently dragged him into a hug.

"Thank you, sport," Lynn Sr. said in a gentle tone, a single tear falling down the side of his face. Lincoln recognized the tone that the Loud patriarch had just used and realized right away why he was using that tone. Lincoln gently threw his arms around Lynn Sr. so as to being hugging the Loud patriarch back.

"…No problem, dad," Lincoln replied.

Later that day, after Lynn Sr. and Lincoln got back from the go-kart track, they told the girls about their day. …Well, Lincoln told them, Lynn Sr. just sat by and watched as his son was having fun regaling the girls with stories about the day that he had. "Dude, I am so sorry about what Sam and the guys did," Luna said in an apologetic tone.

"Well in their defense, they didn't know it was me and dad who was in that kart," Lincoln pointed out, "So try not to be too mad at them, okay?"

"Yeah, that fair enough I sup-" Lori began, but she stopped short when she realized something. "…Lincoln," Lori said, "What did you say?"

"…That Luna shouldn't be too hard on her friends?" Lincoln replied.

"No, before that," Lori clarified.

Realizing then what his older sister was trying to get at, Lincoln had a small but knowing smile. "…I said that they didn't know that it was me and dad in that kart," Lincoln said, "But once they saw that it was us, they-" Lincoln was cut off when the girls all gathered around him and formed a group hug, with Lincoln in the middle of that group hug. Some of the girls cheered, and one or two cried out of relief, but the sentiment was the same.

Lincoln had finally forgiven Lynn Sr.

They were all a family again.

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Author's notes:

I could tell from some of the reviews I got on the first version of this chapter that said version was very unpopular. I would once again like to offer my most sincere apologies. I thought that the previous version of this chapter, which teased the beginning of another story that I've been wanting to get up, was a good idea. To quote Thorin Oakenshield, I have never been so wrong in all my life.

I've actually been under a lot of stress ever since 2018 began; since I graduated the previous year, I've been trying like hell to find a job. The job hunt has me so stressed and worried that I must have lost some of my ability to think straight. Also, since I've taken to uploading chapters of this story up on Mondays and Fridays, I was also mildly worried that I'd disappoint some of you by missing a day where this story was usually updated. But I guess that I caused even more disappointment by trying to save time with a chapter that teased another story, huh? What I did was not fair to the rest of you, and I would once again like to apologize for it. Now that I've had the chance to cool down from my post-college worries and taken care of fixing the hot mess that this chapter used to be, I hope that we can all put the past behind us and agree that the previous version of this chapter never happened.

Again, I'm sorry.