I think my sisters were hoping to slip back home unnoticed, but since Ginny told the cops where I was, they had to stick around and answer a few questions. And of course, that meant they had to explain their entire plan to rescue me. I couldn't really tell 'cause I was kinda out of it, but I think the cops were kinda confused. In the end, they did commend my sisters for their bravery, but they also gave them a lecture about taking the law into their own hands. Personally, I don't think that's gonna stick. Not with a family like mine.

My sisters let me have the Sweet Spot in Vanzilla, and I just dozed off as the police escorted us back to Royal Woods. It was well past midnight when we pulled up to our driveway. Mom and Dad were so relieved to see me safe and sound, but of course, the police informed them of what my sisters were up to. Luckily, as the master of persuasion, I managed to convince Mom and Dad not to ground them. I mean, if it wasn't for them, I don't know what would've happened to me.

Now, as you probably know, I don't really get to sleep in at my house. Even on weekends, things can get pretty crazy in the morning. But when I got up the next day, it was almost noon. I was awoken by the smell of my dad's famous breakfast burrito. Man, I missed that smell. I mean, yeah, Ginny took it upon herself to make sure I didn't starve, but nothing can compare to my dad's cooking.

I opened my eyes to see Mom setting down a tray in front of me. Leni was with her.

"'Morning, sleepyhead~," said Mom.

"Mmm~. 'Morning, Mom," I said, rubbing my eyes. "Breakfast in bed, huh?"

"Yep. Dad made it especially for you before he went out shopping," said Leni.

"Shopping?"

"Yeah, he said now that you're back, he wants to make your favorite dinner to celebrate. Oh, but shhh~. It's supposed to be a surpri—"

Leni blushed as she realized that she ruined the surprise. Yep, I totally saw that coming. Mom just sighed and patted her on the shoulder.

"It's alright, honey. There's not much point in keeping it a secret, anyway," she said. She then turned to me and smiled. "We all agreed that you could use a break today after what you went through."

I then saw Lisa walk in with a clipboard in hand. When she looked up at me, I could see her bloodshot eyes being magnified by her glasses. Was she up all night?

"Greetings, elder male sibling," she said. "Lynn and I took the liberty of conducting a brief physical examination of you after you went to sleep. I'm happy to report that there appears to be no lasting physical trauma from your ordeal. After a day of bedrest, you should recover to full strength. If I may inquire, how are you emotionally?"

That's an interesting question. Not because Lisa's the one who asked it; she does genuinely care about us. But honestly, it's hard to put my feelings into words right now.

"Well, I am glad to be home right now," I said. "That's what's important."

Leni frowned. "Is something wrong, Lincoln?"

Heh. I keep forgetting how good Leni is at reading people. I sighed.

"I guess there are still a few things that are bugging me about the whole thing," I said.

"Like what?"

"Ginny. I mean, maybe it's because I spent my entire life around you guys, but I still can't believe what she had to put up with from her dad. It's not right, y'know?"

Lisa nodded solemnly. "Indeed, such dismal familial relations are not the norm, nor should they be. However, I'm confident that Ms. O'Donnell will get the help she needs now that she's free of her father's toxic influence."

"I hope you're right, Lis'," I said, picking up my burrito. "She's been through enough."

"Totes," said Leni with a sigh. "I feel bad for her, too. I wish we could've done more for her."

"I'm afraid her fate is quite out of our hands, Leni," said Lisa. "But fret not. We may very well meet her again someday."

Heh. It's not every day you see Lisa actually consoling someone. Just goes to show you that she's not completely detached from her emotions.

"Well, I think we should let Lincoln rest for now," said Mom. She knelt down and gave me a kiss on the forehead. "We're all so glad you're okay, sweetie."

"Indeed," said Lisa. "Please let any of us know if there are any psychological disturbances that need to be addressed. We'll do everything in our power to help you recover."

"Yeah. What she said." Leni then gave me a peck on the cheek. "Feel better soon, Linky."

With that, the three of them left. Y'know, I'm glad that everyone's going out of their way to make me comfortable now that I'm safe, but I dunno. Something doesn't feel right. I can't quite put my finger on it, though. With a shrug, I just started in on my burrito. Mmm~. Just as delicious as I remember it. Before I could take another bite, there was a knock on my door.

"Knock knock~."

Ah. There it is. Now it's starting to feel like home.

"Who's there?" I asked.

"Muffin."

"Muffin who?"

Sure enough, Luan opened the door. "Muffin like seeing you safe to know that everything's right in the world," she said with a laugh. "Get it?"

Lola groaned and rolled her eyes as she walked in ahead of Luan. Oddly enough, she was holding a muffin. Something tells me that's why Luan went with that particular pun.

"Hey, Luan. Hey, Lola," I said. "What's with the muffin?"

"I'm making a batch of 'em for Mr. Grouse," said Lola, placing the muffin on the breakfast tray. "I wanted you to be the first to taste 'em."

Huh. Usually when Lola does something like this for me, it's because she wants something from me. But I'm not really getting that vibe this time.

"Oh. Well, thanks, Lola," I said. Just then, something occurred to me. "Wait, why are you baking muffins for Mr. Grouse?"

Lola brushed the back of her head sheepishly. "I… kinda promised him muffins as payment for taking me and Lana to the pageant hall yesterday so we could investigate. Long story."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Wow. You went through all that trouble just for me?"

"Oh, that's not even the half of it," said Luan. "Luna almost drowned in a sewer during our investigation."

I almost choked on my burrito after hearing that. "She what?!"

"Again, long story," said Luan sheepishly. "And for the record, your friend Chandler's a jerk."

What, still? Dang it, I really thought he turned himself around after that whole House of Terror business. Ah well. Not much I can do about that.

"Still, that's… pretty intense," I said.

Luan shrugged. "What can I say? You're worth it, Linc."

"You sure are," Lola agreed. "Oh, um, when you're feeling better, could you show me some of your Ace Savvy comics?"

I tilted my head. "Um, why?"

Lola blushed and twiddled her fingers. "Well, it's just that Winston happens to be an Ace Savvy fan, and, well, y'know…"

I'm tempted to say that this is why she gave me her muffin, but I know Lola better than that. It is possible for her to do something nice out of the goodness of her heart. Besides, who's to say she can't have more than one reason for doing something nice?

"Sure, Lola," I said.

Lola smiled. "Thanks, Linky." She then climbed up and gave me a peck on the cheek. "We missed you so much."

"Yep. Sure feels good to have our Ace back in his hole," Luan said with a laugh. "Get it?"

Eh, that one was a bit of a stretch, but I was too exhausted to get annoyed. I simply chuckled along with her as she and Lola left my room. As I started in on my burrito again, my thoughts drifted over to Ace Savvy. I'm pretty sure the Full House Gang movie is gonna be canceled now that the director has been arrested. It almost makes me wonder why Bill Buck trusted him with the script in the first place. I know they were supposedly friends, but Mr. O'Donnell didn't seem to respect Bill Buck all that much. I guess it's just one of those things that'll remain a mystery.

"Hey, Lincoln."

Yah~! How did Lucy get in…? Right. Dumb question. When I got my bearings, I saw that Luna and Lynn also let themselves in.

"Sorry if we're bugging you, bro," said Luna. "We just really wanted to see how you were holding up."

Heh. Now it really feels like home. Peace and quiet is nice and all, but when you grow up in a big family like this, you learn to appreciate being surrounded by so many people who care about you.

"I'll be okay," I said. "Lisa said I just need some bedrest."

"That's good to hear, even if this victory is bittersweet," said Lucy.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Lynn sighed and folded her arms. "I'm not gonna mince words, Linc. That was some pretty rotten luck you ran into. I mean, the second you got some of the best news in your life, some jerkwad just rips the carpet out from under you. It's not fair."

"Yeah, I hear you, Lynn," I said. "Even so, I don't think I'd want Mr. O'Donnell to be directing the Full House Gang movie. I'm sure Bill Buck will find another director, but we'll have to wait and see."

Lynn nodded and rapped her knuckle against my desk. "Well, here's hoping, Lincoln," she said. "You just take it easy for now. Once you're better, I'll get you back into shape. It's the least I can do."

I smirked. "I think you girls did more than enough already."

Lynn blushed and started shuffling her feet. "Eh, well…"

"Sigh. Your guilt is unfounded, Lynn," said Lucy. "We all know you couldn't get out of the game, even though you wanted to. Besides, we ended up helping Lincoln anyway by exposing the blackened souls who stole him from us."

Lynn let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Oh, by the way, Luce. Margo's wondering if you're gonna be joining us at the Burpin' Burger to celebrate our victory."

Lucy turned away and hid her face. "I-I don't know."

"C'mon, Lucy. This is your win just as much as ours," said Lynn. "It'd really mean a lot to me if you were there."

"Dude, don't pressure her into this," said Luna.

Lynn blinked. "What? I mean it. I would've been a total mess yesterday if it wasn't for Lucy. I think she deserves to celebrate with the rest of the Roosters."

"Yeah, but still…"

"Sigh. It's fine, Luna," Lucy interrupted. "I'll… think about it."

Lynn nodded. "Cool. Just let me know." She then gave me a small salute. "Smell ya later, Stinkoln."

With that, she dashed off while Lucy followed. Luna sighed.

"Well, she's not wrong," she said. "We really were falling to pieces without you, bro."

"I figured," I said. "Y'know, Ginny's right. I'm really lucky to have a family like this."

"True that," said Luna. "Take it easy, Linc. And just remember, if there's anything that you want; if there's anything I can do, just call on me, and I'll send it along with love from me to you."

I couldn't help but smile at that. "You got it, Luna."

Luna nodded and raised her signature devil horn salute. "Peace."

As she left, I finished up my burrito. I was just about to start in on my muffin when another guest barged in.

"Poo-poo!"

"Lily, get back here! Lincoln needs his rest!"

I just had to laugh. Lily crawled in with Lana right behind her. From her smell, I figured that Lana was trying to change her. Lily has always been restless when it comes to that. I should know; I speak from experience.

"It's alright, Lana. I'm sure Lily's just happy to see me," I said. "Aren't you, Lily?"

"Winky!" Lily chirped. She held out her arms to me, showing that she wanted to be picked up. Of course, I wasn't really in a position to do that. Luckily, Lana managed to scoop her up.

"You can play with Lincoln later," she said. "He's not up for it right now." She then gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry about this, Lincoln."

"Like I said, I don't mind," I said with a shrug. "Oh, about those mechanic parts you needed…"

"No worries. I'm having Lori take me to Flip's after lunch," said Lana. "You need the day off." She then sighed. "Hey, Lincoln?"

"What's up?"

"When we were at the pageant hall, I met these fancy pageant princesses from out of town," said Lana. "They said they were there to congratulate Lola on being in the Full House Gang movie, but now that the movie's been canceled, I'm worried that they won't be friends with her anymore. She really needs friends, y'know?"

Yeah, I can see why Lana would be worried about that. "Well, first of all, we don't know if it's been canceled for good. Bill Buck might find another director." I then smiled. "But even so, I think Lola needs actual friends, not just friends who like her because she's popular. And in the meantime, she still has us. I think she'll be fine."

Lana nodded. "Yeah, I think so, too. See ya around, Lincoln."

"Buh-bye," Lily said.

Lana carried Lily off, leaving me to the last of my breakfast in bed. Just as I finished my muffin (which was delicious, for the record), there was one more knock on the door.

"Who is it this time?" I asked.

"Oh. Is this a bad time?"

I recognized Lori's voice. "Nah. At this point, I've come to expect it."

After a pause, Lori opened the door. Straight away, a blur flew into the room and wrapped his arms around me.

"C-Clyde?!"

Sure enough, Clyde held me tight and started crying. "L-Lori told me everything. I-I'm so sorry I couldn't be there for you, buddy."

I sighed and returned Clyde's embrace. "It's okay, Clyde. I know you did what you could."

"He was actually a big help," said Lori. "Even with his overprotective parents preventing him from properly investigating."

Yeah, that sounds about right. "Well, don't worry, Clyde. Next time we get a mystery like this, we'll do a proper Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack team-up. I promise."

"Good. I'm holding you to that, Lincoln," said Clyde. "Oh, and the others send their regards, too. Especially Rusty."

Lori sighed. "I'm just glad this whole nightmare is over. I am completely frazzled, and I'm sure I'm not the only one."

I gave Lori a worried look. "I'm sorry you all had to go through so much trouble just for me."

Lori's lips curled into a small smile. "Hey, you've got nothing to be sorry for. If given the choice, we'd literally do it all over again. That's just how the Louds roll."

"I hear that," I said. "Thanks again, Lori. For everything."

"It's no problem at all, little bro," said Lori. "C'mon, Clyde. Let's let Lincoln get some rest. Oh, and Mom and Dad said you can use those Noise-B-Gone earbuds if you want."

With that, the two of them left. I have to admit, putting those on right now is tempting. But after spending an entire day practically alone, I think it would be more soothing to hear my noisy family. I cuddled up with my new Ace Savvy blanket and closed my eyes. Even if my comic doesn't end up being made into a movie, the important thing is that I'm back where I belong.

…

Although y'know what? From what little I've heard so far, it sounds like my sisters had some pretty crazy adventures while they were investigating. Maybe I should base the next Full House Gang story on this. I'll have to talk about it with them later. For now, I'm just glad everything turned out okay.

"Lily~! Stop squirming! Lola's gonna throw a fit!"

"Hey! I didn't say you could borrow my scarf, Leni!"

"So then the harmonica says; 'You two may claim to be harps, but I know a couple of lyres when I see 'em!' Hahahahaha~! Get it?"

"Heheheheh~. O-okay, that was a good one, dude."

"Hands off, Lynn! Those muffins are for Mr. Grouse only!"

Ah~. I might've said it before, but it bears repeating. I really missed all of this. It might be pretty crazy, but as I've said many times before, I wouldn't trade it for the world.