Why?

Why do I put up with all this crap?

Why do I take it all in stride?

They never learn.

No matter how many times I tell them, they never learn.

Why don't they listen to me?

It's not new. Those same thoughts have been echoing inside Lincoln's head for years. The same good intentions he kept exerting onto his family were once a symbol of the pride of his family...they keep turning into weapons used by his family against him. First with the stupid polar bear environment thing which turned out to be a huge letdown, then the overreacting to his video with the humiliating reception, and then the sister fight protocol, the endless assault that resulted from Lisa acting normal, the list goes on and on.

It finally reached its boiling point when Lynn overreacted to her most recent loss: before the game "no sick luck thinking you could stay home you're coming", three hours later "bad luck if you come you're staying home". Oh, how such a little white lie blossomed into a giant stain on the canvas. He wanted some time alone; now, he has too much of it.

Why?

Why does this always happen to me?

Why always me whenever things go wrong?

Someone help me...help me not be me anymore.

Lincoln could've handle being booted out of family activities, if they hadn't boarded up his room and furniture, or booted him out of the house altogether. He couldn't take it anymore. He no longer wanted any part of this madness. He didn't want to be their lightning rod anymore, the one person that everyone sticks in front of the storm. He wanted out, but he didn't have a plan to get out.

Why do I keep feeding this insanity?

All he knew was that no matter what happened, the brunt of the pain would always fall on him. It could stop with him as well. He has to put a permanent stop to this stupid cycle.

But...how?

Luckily, this was a rare night where it was warm enough to not require a jacket, so he decided to take a stroll. This way, he could vent his frustrations out on the moments that sent him on a downward spiral, without fear of retaliation.

("My team has been dominating all season, then the one time you show up, we lose!")

Who was it that threatened him with a baseball bat into coming in the first place?

("Oh, come on, Lynn! That is absolutely...true... I think I may be onto something here.")

If only he hadn't said that. If only he went against his desire for just that one moment.

("Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Not so fast, son. I wish you could come, but with your bad luck, who knows what could go wrong?")

Even his own father bought himself into that notion. His father, the one person who was supposed to maintain family standards, who has now degraded himself to Lynn's level of ridiculousness.

("Sorry, Lincoln, but you can't sleep here tonight. We just can't risk it.")

"Sorry...sorry. Sorry! That's all anyone ever says nowadays!" Lincoln got angry, "Sorry this, sorry that...what sorry do you mean?! Sorry you feel that way?! Sorry you couldn't shape yourself to their standard?! Well, I got a sorry for you right here!" With one punch, he broke a mailbox stand in half. He stormed off looking for a way to vent some more anger out.

The spring breeze helped cool him off a little, but he needed to get himself out of this cycle. He looked around for some more inspiration. He didn't find much.

Just a huge demonstration around some gigantic machine. A lot of women were surrounding it, scanning with even weirder machines and typing all sorts of mumbo jumbo on numerous tablets. He didn't care that they were there; he just needed something to distract himself from the most recent setbacks, so he walked towards the towering robotic thing.

A green-haired female officer with glasses, saw Lincoln looking up at the machine. "Sorry," the female officer walked towards him, "Demo's closed for the night. You'll have to go home."

Sorry? Not that word again. He hated that word now. He didn't want to obey, but the woman was twice his height, "O-oh...ok..." he turned away and prepared to leave.

"Wait..." Another officer got close enough to recognize his orange pajamas and his white hair, "are you Lincoln Loud?"

"Yeah?" He mumbled.

"Loud...that Loud?" She saw him nod very slowly, almost as if he regretted being called a Loud. She swerved her head back and forth to make sure her staff was busy, "Ok. Five minutes."

"More than enough," he turned back to the giant machine.

Well, it didn't look like just any ordinary machine. It looked like it was a samurai kneeling before its lord...a 10 ft giant kneeling before a pint-sized kid. That got a chuckle out of him, and enticed him to come closer, until he could reach his hand out and touch it. From then on, he drowned out the world around him and focused on just the two beings that locked themselves in the moment. He took in the cold feeling that the samurai emitted from its body and pretended he was having a conversation with himself.

"Wow...you too?" Lincoln started talking, "They're giving you the runaround too?"

The officer noted curiously. She started recording his actions on her phone.

"You're fresh outta the factory, huh?" Lincoln just kept talking, "I bet they're using you just for display. Or worse."

A staff member saw Lincoln, "Hey! What are you-"

"Ah, ah, ah, let the boy have some space..." the officer commanded.

Lincoln leaned his shoulders against the samurai and looked down at their feet, "Yeah, tell me about it. I've done nothing but given my best for my family. Yes, I made mistakes, but I always try to learn from them. With my sisters, it's always the same one-two punch. They make a mistake. They apologize and learn their lesson. The very next day, what lesson? It's the same cycle over and over, and I don't know how to stop it..."

At that point, the giant machine hummed gave off a small glow, as if to answer to Lincoln.

And yet, he didn't notice. He just kept his head down, "A test? What? How's that gonna-"

The machine hummed again.

"I've been looking for a good sign for a long time, though."

The machine didn't hum, but started giving off a warmer glow.

Now, Lincoln was shocked, "You want me to do what?! I just wanted to-"

As soon as the glow subsided, Lincoln realized that a very tdrastic solution was his only real chance of getting his family back to their senses. Anything even slightly less drastic would shut down.

"Ok..." Lincoln said, "I'll do it. But on my terms."

The machine didn't budge. No noise. No light. Lincoln got some of his resolve back. He put his hand on the machine one more time, "Wish me luck..."

As soon as he walked away, he felt a hundred eyes pierce the very thin protective layer of his consciousness. He stared back at the eyes that were expecting him to fail. Soon, he ran into the officer who "greeted" him.

"So, uh..." the officer was nervous, "heard you having a good talk..."

"Yeah...yeah, I was." He nodded.

"Did...did that IS tell you..."

Lincoln quickly changed moods, "Nah! That was all me! I just needed an outlet for my emotions."

"Oh..."

"I'll be going now." He walked back the way he came.

"Wait," the officer quickly strapped a bracelet on him.

"What's this for?" Lincoln asked.

"Uh...for participating in the demo! Yeah!"

Lincoln didn't say anything; he just walked off.

"You'll be by tomorrow, right?" The green-haired woman asked.

"Maybe..." was all he said before he was gone.

On the way back, Lincoln started brainstorming ideas for his test. What would be the best way to get back at his family, and teach them a lesson that actually sticks? Physical pain lasts for days but emotional pain endures forever, that much he knew. So clearly a beat down was not warranted. He also knew that nothing scars a family more than one of their clan choosing to withdraw from their own home, albeit on bad terms. But if he does leave, how would he know that the cycle was stopped? Who's to say it wouldn't transfer to another sister, or even Clyde, or Bobby... or Ronnie Anne? Death of anyone, especially himself, would not be the best choice simply because of the possibility of the blame game intensifying. And going to the police wasn't an option due to either a possible bigger lie by his family, or the blame game and bad luck game stretching out to the city.

And then it came to him. A good way to put a stop to this cycle. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to try it, seeing as how even after the bad luck muck he deeply cared for his family, but after playing the mental conversation with that machine inside his head, he came to the conclusion that it's because of his love for his family that he has to do it.

He would make it seem like he was trying to win back his family's trust, when he would actually be giving them a test. All of them. He would allow them only one chance to pass. If they fail, then game over for the Loud House. He would never forgive or forget. The only thing he would say to them was his new last name, whatever it would be.

It's not that big of a deal if they cut ties with him, but it's an absolute catastrophe if he cuts ties with them? He thought this family was beyond dysfunctional. He thought it couldn't be saved.

Still, he needed a good transition into the test.

And he needed a place to sleep since Charles was obviously buying into the Bad Luck Lincoln hype.

But not the squirrels. They showed him a place to rest his mind, and he just accepted.

Elsewhere in the city, a tall woman with long black hair was trying to ease her headaches at a local restaurant. She may carry the illustrious title of Brunhilde, but it came with a huge stipulation: no free time except in the late night. This day, she was so overworked that she fled to the first restaurant she could find. She had a meal and caught the replay of a softball game on tv, as well as the star player that suddenly lost her composure.

"Bad luck, she says..." She said to herself, "Hah! That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard. What in the falconeese perverted monkey shy malarkey did she eat to get that superstitious..."

The Brunhilde kept feeding her high spirits until she was interrupted by her cellphone, "Ugh...Can't I go one day without..." *BEEP* "Orimura speaking."

"Miss Orimura! Miss Orimura!" A voice tried to break through the noise, "We have a-"

"Maya! Maya! Maya! Take it easy! Take it down a few notches."

"Don't tell me to take it easy when we have a real crisis on our hands, Chifuyu!" The caller got livid, "We have a second male pilot in our midst!"

Chifuyu laughed, then growled, "Ok. You're not fooling me with this hogwash."

"Seriously! Look at this!"

Chifuyu got a message linking her to a video file. She tapped it open and, at first, seemed unimpressed. Until the moment she saw the inactive IS responding directly to that white-haired boy. "WHAT?!" She spat everything out and dashed out the restaurant. She rewatched the footage three times over to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

"You're...not...joking..." she muttered, "this happened when?!"

"Half an hour ago."

"Oops..." Chifuyu saved the video, "Well, where is he now?"

"1216 Franklin Avenue...he's been sleeping in the backyard for ten minutes..."

"Huh?" Chifuyu stopped in her tracks, "Curious...why would he do that?"

"My money's on family dispute. I caught his downplayed attitude and his vocal frustrations with his family's bad habits."

"Oh, come on..." Chifuyu groaned, " Don't take this the wrong way, but it's best you leave him alone."

"Huh?! Shouldn't we at least try to-"

"Trust me, if we intervene now, we'll only make him angrier. Besides, that kid means we're on observation period now. We're only going to bail him out of life-threatening situations, understand?"

"And if he needs someone to talk to?"

"Talk, not drone on for hours on end...For now, send me his file. Track his every movement, but do not...I really mean, DO NOT ENGAGE unless I say so, clear?"

"Yes, ma'am..." Maya pouted as she hung up. She was standing right over her target, who was shivering sleeping with squirrels, and she gets the order to not engage. She couldn't stand the idea of leaving him alone to brace the unrelenting weather, so she took off her blanket and placed it over Lincoln. Then, she scrambled to find a box and filled it with leaves to make a makeshift pillow for him. She saw him relax his face a little.

She couldn't help but bring her face to his. She thought he looked adorable with that squirrel cuddled in his arms. "We'll be with you in spirit," she kissed his cheek and stood up.

"Nnn...Leni?..."

"Eek!" Maya yelped.

"D...don't leave me...alone..."

Maya sighed, then promptly left, "Steel your soul, little one..."

The next morning, he woke up slightly more rejuvenated than he expected, "Huh...I don't remember getting this..." he shrugged the blanket off, along with the numerous acorns stuffed in his pants, and went to the back door. He tried to open it, "Guys? I think you accidentally locked me out!"

"Poor kid..." Maya said from an inconspicuous tac-ops van, "It must've been a rough dream..."

"And all because of this bad luck nonsense?" Chifuyu radioed over her communicator, "What the hell are these people's IQ levels?!"

"Well, their four-year-old has a Junior Nobel Prize in Medicine for her simulation of a successful malignant cancer treatment."

"... I... I'm not gonna ask..."

"Where are you now?"

"Royal Woods Middle," Chifuyu stood in front of the school's flagpole, "Hard to believe in five weeks, he'll be-"she was suddenly getting feedback "-holy, What was that?"

"CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, I AM NOT BAD LUCK. I JUST LET YOU GUYS BELIEVE THAT SO I COULD GET OUT OF GOING TO YOUR STUFF. IT WAS A REALLY SELFISH THING TO DO. WE ALL NEED TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER. I'M REALLY SORRY."

"And that?" Chifuyu rubbed her ears, "What even was that?"

"Lincoln's trying to convince them that the bad luck stint was all his idea," Maya answered.

"Any luck? Pardon the pun?"

"Aaaaaah...no. A series of events has solidified their belief that he really is bad luck."

"Ok, now I have serious questions to ask the little Nobel-"

"Oh! His family just left the house! Oh...without him..."

"Right...you have permission to engage..." Chifuyu rubbed her eyes, "Just make sure you let me know where he's going." She disconnected and walked towards the demonstration area, "Well, pickle ricks, I wonder where this is going!"

While Maya tailed Lincoln from afar, Chifuyu slowly walked along the sidewalk thinking about her own little brother. She had her own issues with him, but at the very least she cared for him. She never treated him like bad luck. But one brother looking to one older sister with no parental help whatsoever was very, very different from one brother looking to ten sisters and two seemingly overworked parents, so the stress was bound to get to them. And yet, she thought that the two males were one in the same, nationalities notwithstanding.

Chifuyu sighed and tried to get that thought out of her head. She came across the park where the IS Public demonstration was in full swing.

"Yeah..." she groaned in disgust, "Like I expected anything else..." It was nothing new for her. A horde of event goers. A horde of hands rubbing the thighs of a very patient robot. And not one of them could come anywhere close to moving it the way Lincoln did.

Speaking of which, she saw Lincoln standing 50 feet in front of her, looking like he had developed some kind of plan of action.

"Well, at least he's not crying..." she muttered as she walked closer to him.

"Hello again," Lincoln whispered, "I thought about what we said, and...I'm gonna go through with it. I'll be back soon to let you know how it went."

As if to respond, the machine briefly lit up one of its wing units, then quickly shut off before anyone could notice.

"Heheheh...count on it..." Lincoln winked back before he walked away.

"Hey!"

He heard an older female voice calling to him and turned around, "Huh? Do I know you?"

"No," Chifuyu said, "But you know how fast rumors spread in small towns."

"Am I that well known?"

"Pretty much."

"That so?" Lincoln started to rub his heels.

"I gotta ask...what's all this about?"

"What?"

"The jammies, the cloak," Chifuyu stopped him and brushed his neck, "the acorns that lodged on your backside like barnacles..."

"I thought I got rid of all of them."

"There we go," Chifuyu wrapped the blanket around his neck like a shawl, "What exactly happened to make you... look like this?"

"Well..."

The next few minutes were spent staring into space as she heard Lincoln's story, trying to repress every urge she had to chase after these people and demand answers.

"...and that's how I will become a squirrel," Lincoln finished his story.

"Wow...that's...just...sad," Chifuyu said.

"It happened..."

"So, your plan...I hate to ask, but is that like a...coping mechanism?" Chifuyu couldn't resist.

"A what?"

"You know...when you're feeling really sad, you just tell yourself you can get over it by doing something else?"

Chifuyu had expected to be berated for even suggesting that he was hiding his true emotions.

But to her surprise, he just said, "Ehhh, something like that."

She just turned her gaze forward. She wondered what he could've been through to make him hide his true emotions from his own loved ones, "Has it been going on for too long?"

"It does grate on me after a while."

Chifuyu kept quiet. She didn't want to probe into the matter anymore since she herself has a little brother that went through his share of the pain.

"I'm sorry for asking," Lincoln interrupted her train of thought, "but do you know somewhere private I can drop on?"

"Well..." Chifuyu winced, "Yeah, but it's being driven by someone who's not very well versed in the ways of privacy..."

"I'll take anything. I just need a place to think."

"Sure thing..." Chifuyu tapped her communicator, "Ok, Maya. Bring her around."

The van slowly approached them, and the door swung open to reveal a very roomy space with a lone driver, the same green hair and glasses, "Hello, there. Welcome aboard the Yamada exp-"

Chifuyu covered Maya's mouth, "Not now, Chatty Cathy..."

"Hahahahaha!" Lincoln chuckled and boarded the van, "Can you escort me to the baseball stadium, my darling?"

"Oh! It'll be my pleasure, good sir," Maya said shyly, "Take a seat, and we'll be right shortly."

The two shared another giggle before Lincoln had a seat.

"Well..." Chifuyu muttered, "Now, I've seen everything..."

"Come on, Miss Orimura," Maya said, "There's room for one more."

"I know we're not at the Academy, but could you please ease up on the glee?" Chifuyu grumbled as she walked to her seat.

The van drove off. Maya could feel some apprehension in Lincoln and tried to lighten the mood, "I see you're in high spirits today?"

"I am," Lincoln responded, "I just ran into a familiar face!"

"Oh! Why, thank you!" Maya giggled, "and you still have that bracelet on you?"

"Never took it off."

"Huh?" Chifuyu was curious, "Now, why is that?"

Lincoln flinched, "Uh-did I say that out loud?..."

"Not to worry, litttle Loud," Chifuyu grinned, "Your secret's safe with us."

"Oh, good..." Lincoln sighed.

"My name is Maya Yamada," Maya introduced, "the woman beside you is (...my associate...) Chifuyu Orimura."

"Watch it, ditz fritz," Chifuyu was about to nag on her, but seeing as how that got another chuckle out of Lincoln, she kept silent.

Maya drove onto the main road leading to the stadium, "So, what's the special occasion today, good sir?"

"Well, she definitely knows," Lincoln pointed his thumb at Chifuyu, "but I have a plan to deal with this nasty bad luck trend thing, and my family's annoying "antics". My plan is simple: I watch the game in disguise, and when the Squirrels win, everyone will see that I'm not bad luck."

"Simple, yet quite daring," Maya said, "And what happens after that?"

"The test," Lincoln's mood suddenly got somber, "After I reveal myself to them, and they say...that word... I'll observe them for 24 hours to see if it sticks."

"Where did that come from?!" Maya grew unsettled. She wondered what that conversation was about test and sorry...now she knows, "O-oh...Uh, you must have pretty high hopes for a passing grade, right?..."

"Yeah...maybe a little too high..." Lincoln looked out the window.

Chifuyu just slammed her forehead, "I told you not now..." She noticed Lincoln starting to get lost in his thoughts, so she quickly changed topic to the correct event, "So, how are you gonna get into the stadium?"

"I'm guessing that you're gonna borrow a costume?" Maya confirmed.

"Oh! Oh, yeah, if they'll let me," Lincoln returned to his senses.

"On this mild day?" Chifuyu said, "There's no way that mascot wouldn't say no to a long cold break."

When they got to the stadium...

"No can do," the mascot bluntly stated.

"What?! Why?!" Lincoln demanded.

"Lynn will freak out if you come and dance your way into her sights," the mascot explained.

"Does that mean you buy into the bad luck brouhaha, too?" Chifuyu got in the mascot's face.

"Well...not really, but-"

"Listen," Maya coaxed, "Forget the bad luck crud. This kid is offering you a full game stretch! A chance to witness the epic finale to an epic season! And yet you would rather sweat your fat, jiggly belly off than relax in the crisp air and enjoy the satisfying thwack of the bat?"

"Well... I never liked having to toot my own horn in this thing..." the mascot turned to Lincoln, "Can you handle standing in this thing for hours on end?"

"Yes, I can," was all he said.

"And we'll be there to support him," Maya said.

"Wait, what?" Chifuyu suddenly shivered.

"Alright. Job's yours," the mascot took off the suit and pushed it onto Lincoln, "It's the playoffs right now, and tensions are high. I better see you dance your heart out, kid. Turn this bad luck nonsense around, yeah?"

"Wait, we're gonna do what?!" Chifuyu's bewilderment fell on dear ears.

"Yes, sir!" Lincoln got excited. He thought this was his chance to see how his family would react to his presence at the game.

Chifuyu had her doubts, "Are you sure you don't wanna just... you know, sit in the van? I mean, you're technically still at the game-"

"I appreciate it, but I can't," Lincoln said, "I was out in the open when the Squirrels lost, and I need to be out in the open when the Squirrels win."

"Besides, this is his choice," Maya hugged him, "He chose to don the costume for the sake of proving his family wrong. Surely you can understand a brother's affection for his family, right?"

"But he just..." Chifuyu faltered, "That's not what-"

Maya crossed a huge line when she said, "And you did say that we would bail him out of life threatening situations. Knowing Lincoln's bad luck, he's bound to get hurt. Just like a certain someone who also got hurt around his age..."

"His-who?" Lincoln was puzzled.

"Ugh..." Chifuyu finally gave in, "You're gonna pay for that..."

"Sorry," Maya bowed, "I just wanted to see you blush. And join in this little break, since we're about to go nuts."

"*SIGH...*" Chifuyu was already about to turn it in, "Ok, Lincoln. What's the game plan?"

"Oh, it's simple," Lincoln said, "I got you these hats and jerseys. Just put those on and walk me in. They'll buy the act. Once we're in, I'll do the heavy work, and you guys keep me from falling."

"I'm not gonna hold my breath, but I'll make sure we see this through," Chifuyu affirmed.

"We'll cheer you all on," Maya said.

Ok...I'll do it.

Once more...I'll feed the insanity just once more.

"Ok, team!" Lincoln declared, "Commence Operation: Change Our Luck!"

The softball game went underway. The trio were able to infiltrate the Squirrels' bullpen, where they released Lincoln to do his business with Lady Luck. It was harsh business indeed because the Squirrels were scoreless for every single inning leading to the bottom 9th. Missed pitches, hits caught, and Lynn got thrown for a loop several times. If that wasn't enough, Lincoln was putting himself through the heat to see this game through. Thankfully, Chifuyu and Maya routinely cooled him off and cheered the team on, allowing him to keep going. Chifuyu even caught a stray bat that was tossed by accident. But nothing changed the play of the game.

It was Hazeltuck: 3, Royals Woods: 0 until the very last batter.

"Yowza," the baseball announcer said, "Two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and the bases are loaded. Lynn Loud steps up to the plate, but with the luck she's been having today, the Squirrels are looking a whole lot like roadkill."

"Bases loaded?!" Chifuyu suddenly screamed at Lynn, "COME ON, FOCUS! ONE LOUSY HIT IS ALL WE NEED TO STAY ALIVE!"

After Maya helped him recover, Lincoln danced even harder, "One hit! We just need one hit!"

The pitcher wound up, then threw the ball. A swing and a miss.

"STRIKE ONE!" The umpire called out, and Chifuyu cringed.

Lincoln suddenly lost his confidence, "Lynn's right! I am bad luck!"

"Don't say that, Lincoln!" Maya encouraged, "There's still two more throws to go!"

The pitcher wound up and threw the ball again. Another swing and a miss.

"STRIKE TWO!" The umpire bellowed.

"Maybe I can move into Lisa's fallout shelter?" Lincoln said to himself, "Lead walls will keep my bad luck from affecting anyone."

"Not cool, discount Bane!" Maya screamed.

Chifuyu saw through the costume how badly Lincoln was suffering, and how much he needed Lynn to win. "Oh boy, what am I doing?..." she muttered before giving one last shout, "KNOCK THIS SUCKER OUTTA THE PARK, LYNN-SANITY!"

The pitcher wound up and threw the final ball.

-THWACK!-

"Huh?!" Maya and Lincoln jumped, "Is that..."

"Not yet..." Chifuyu kept her eyes on the scrambling players, especially the Lynn who made a mad dash across the bases.

"It's going...it's going..." the announcer came on right before Lynn touched third base, "IT'S GONE!!! LYNN LOUD HITS A GRAND SLAM!!! SQUIRRELS WIN! SQUIRRELS WIN!"

"Then, that means..." Lincoln jumped for joy, "Bad luck begone! I am free!"

"We did it!" Maya cheered with him, "We won! We won!"

Chifuyu waited until she saw Lynn reach home plate before dropping her demeanor. Then, she turned around and saw Lincoln's family elated, and Maya and Lincoln share a brief celebration before running off to meet with his family. And she was briefly overwhelmed with that same feeling. She hadn't been part of a family celebration since...ever, "Guh...I need a drink..."

Lynn completed her run and was picked up by her family in celebrations, "Congratulations! You rocked it, Lynn-sanity!"

"And a doctor, apparently..." Chifuyu muttered, "The hell did they get down here so fast?!"

"Is that them?" Maya grabbed Lincoln, "That's your family, right?"

"Yep! That's them!" Lincoln steadied himself.

"Go! They're waiting for you, man! Go!" Maya pushed Lincoln towards his family, and he ran after them. He caught up to their group before they could leave.

Lola took notice of the goofy mascot, "Um, do you mind, fur ball? This is a family moment."

"Guys, it's me!" Lincoln took the mask off and revealed himself, "I was here the whole time! This proves it. I'm not bad luck."

Lynn was surprised that he made the effort, "Oh my gosh, you're right. Wow, Lincoln, I'm really sorry."

The rest of his family apologized. Lincoln smiled at them.

ALL APOLOGIES RECEIVED; COMMENCE 24HR TEST — STARTING GRADE: A

Chifuyu looked on and thought that Lincoln would be ok. But that one moment of silence was more than enough to hear a very disturbing exchange.

From his own mother, "Sorry we sold all your furniture."

Lincoln stopped and looked at her, "Wait. What?"

DEMERIT: SOLD FURNITURE WITHOUT PRIOR NOTIFICATION — GRADE CHANGE TO: B

Chifuyu froze. She didn't believe it. His own mother admitted...way too casually...that his entire family sold all his furniture...without his consent...just like that. Just...poof. It took every ounce of her being to not ram into them and demand extremely convincing answers.

She backed up towards a distraught Maya and whispered, "Maya...am I going deaf?..."

"Nope, I heard it too," Maya confirmed, "His own mother..."

"Dangit..." Chifuyu was struggling against her need to intervene, "our observational period isn't over yet..."

Maya remembered that Lincoln himself would test his family. She wanted to see him work their trust into him, but she couldn't help the feeling that his luck would run out in someway. "Well, our 48 hours will encompass his 24 hours. Shall I call for backup?" She asked.

They stood there as they witnessed Lincoln enter the family van...with the squirrel costume still on.

"Yeah, maybe call up two entrance exam proctors?" Chifuyu responded, "And a legal team?"

They needed them. Because later that night...

I can do it.

I can reach out to them.

I still have a chance to stop this cycle.

I don't have to drop the ball yet...

Lincoln held out hope that night. He knew he would return to the graces of his family. He knew that they would no longer consider him bad luck. But the real question was whether or not they would keep that lesson learned. The answer was already up in the air the moment his mother admitted that his family sold his furniture, but he went along with it to see if anything else had happened. Knowing how quickly lessons learned are stowed away in the dark recesses of their minds, Lincoln took extra note to everything that happened, starting from the moment he set foot on the porch.

"Man, ice cream after a hard win always feels amazing!" Lynn held her bat high like a trophy.

"Ahhh...after all that lick and luck," Lincoln took the mask off and stretched, "it does feel good to finally be back home."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Leni got in front of him and grabbed the door knob, "Allow me." Instead of unlocking and pushing, she just yanked the knob broke. "AAAAAAAAA!"

Her scream somehow pushed it open.

"Wow, Leni!" Lincoln led everyone in, "Some lungs of steel you got there!"

"Steel?" Leni got frantic, "*GASP* Am I poisoned?!"

If that came from anyone else, that would be cause for concern, but since it came from the sister well known for her simplemindedness, it's not a warning sign...yet. The fact that the door opened after it lost its handle was a big warning sign.

While the family was getting dinner ready, Lincoln was showering... not really. He just stood still in under the running water unable to shake the feeling of uncertainty. He turned off the water, dried and dressed himself, and instantly bolted out of the bathroom, "IRON METEOOOOOOOOOR-"

-CRASH-

He plowed through the door and it's many padlocks and wandered around his room. It was completely empty, just as he expected. So, what was the problem?

"Ahem."

"AAAAA!" Lincoln flinched, "LUC-Oh...hey, Lori?"

"We could've just used Leni for that," Lori said, "Why'd you go knuckling down the door?"

"I...Uh..." Lincoln stuttered, "Oh! Bun-bun! Yeah, I was so worried that someone might've-"

"Hahaha, is that all?" Lori giggled, "He's having the time of his life." She pointed to Lily slobbering over Bun-bun's ears.

Lincoln nearly gagged until he thought of the night he was kicked out. He survived; Bun-bun could've been doggie doo-doo by now, "Whew...glad to see he's in good hands." He started to walk out until Lori said something.

"Um, Lincoln..."

"Yeah?"

"About that night we locked you out..." Lori was near cringing, "If you want, I could...lend you some space in my room?..."

Lincoln was bewildered, "You never do that...are you sure?"

"Yeah...better late than never, right?"

"Come on, Lori. If that's all it-"

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. That's all..."

Oh no. Not that word again. Of all the equivalencies of an apology, why that one?

"Hey!" Lana suddenly popped into his room. Through the window, "Or, we could make a new bed for him so you won't have to put up with his BO." She casually said ignoring the dual screams.

"Excuse me," Lucy suddenly popped out from the hallway, causing a second scream, "It's time for dinner."

"WHAT DID I SAY, FREAKAZOID?!" Lori chased after Lucy for ruining the moment and scaring the daylights and nightlights out of her.

Honestly, hearing the word "sorry" made him want to sleep outside again. Thankfully, it came from Lori who tried to comfort him. So, no warning signs there.

The first red flags came at dinner. While everyone was going about the rowdy conversations, not once bringing up the bad luck fiasco, Lola, Luan, and Lynn kept their eyes on him at all times. Lincoln would've been worried about hearing no plans to refit his room, but he had to make sure that at least Lola and Lynn got the message. After dinner, he decided to meet each of them in their rooms.

Since Lynn felt safer to handle than Lola, and she was the reason for this bad luck nonsense, he knocked on her door first, "Hello? Lynn?"

"BOUNCE TIME!"

Lynn smacked her tennis ball against the wall so hard, it ricocheted across the room and stayed in the air.

"Heh, someone's in high spirits!" Lincoln commented.

"Oh, I am!" Lynn caught the ball with her feet, then flipped down to hug him, "and it's all thanks to you!"

Normally, he would embrace her. But her getting psyched about her win, with no thoughts of the bad luck accusations, could only mean one thing. And Lincoln hoped he was wrong, "Me? Uh, what did I do?"

"You showed up in the most tense inning of the game! I am still flipping out over it!"

"Happy to help, my superhuman compadre!"

"I'll say! That squirrel suit works wonders, huh?"

"I'll admit, I do look adoorrraawwwuuuuuuhhhhhh?..." Nope. He was right.

"You know what I mean," Lynn smugly said, "That suit reversed your bad luck!"

"But...you won. With one swing."

"Because you had the costume on."

"Waaait, waitwaitwaitwait, haven't we been through this before?"

"If you want, I can make a potion to rid him of all bad and good luck," Lucy offered, "It'll take some time, though."

All kinds of alarms went off in his head. She still hasn't let go of her superstitions against him, and Lucy's an enigma. After five whole minutes of unsuccessful convincing, he had to place Lynn and Lucy on his avoidance list.

While he went to his parents for help to try to talk some sense into Lynn, Chifuyu and her team had already hacked their way into Lisa's camera systems and were watching his every move undetected.

"Anything yet?" Chifuyu asked.

"No strange activity yet," an agent said.

"Well, what about the testimony and the charges?"

"Well, we've pegged Lynn Loud Jr. to be the main perpetrator of this mess," one of the lawyers said, "added to the fact that she influenced her parents to force the pilot-in-question out of his own house, the parents could face jail, but Lynn will face juvenile."

"Uhhh, let's wait until the observation period is concluded before we go that far..." Chifuyu turned to the exam proctors, "See any standout qualities?"

"Other than his familial affection, no," a proctor said, "I don't understand why his family's acting up, though."

"What do you mean?" Chifuyu turned the speakers up to get a good listen.

"I'm just saying, son," his father said, "With all that's happened between you and the suit, it might relax everyone's consciousness for a little bit."

"But tomorrow's a heat wave!" Lincoln protested, "I could stroke out! Or worse!"

"When we come back from the trip," his mom tried to help, "we'll get it off you for good."

"We already tried that, and look what happened last time!" Lincoln freaked, "Don't you think this is getting a bit redundant?!"

"Oh my..." Maya commented, "Switch to the upstairs cam, please?"

"Ah, hello?" Lori butt in, "I'm the oldest sibling, and I say he does not wear that stupid thing."

"Well, I say, he does!" Lola fought back, "Just look at what happened when he took that mask off!"

"Not to mention the streak of horror that stopped when he came in the costume," Lucy said.

"The squirrel can still save him, Lori!" Luan tried to convince, "We just have to-"

"Are you listening to yourselves?! You're literally letting this go to your head! Again!"

"Like how that doorknob thing didn't get to his head?" Lynn demanded.

"How in the asshole can he stand these people?..." Chifuyu grumbled, "Go to the living room..."

"I still don't understand why Linky has to wear that thing," Leni said.

"I still don't understand why we're having this discussion," Lisa was playing math stuffs with Lily, "It's obvious that our plague-wracked male sibling is in denial."

"You were never a fan of luck before, Lis," Luna commented.

"Well, certain unforeseeable events tend to favor the odd...man...out," Lisa rambled, "We simply need to isolate that out to ensure safety for the rest of the family."

"Can't argue with that," Lana agreed, "Although I still wanna make a bed just 'cuz!"

"Well, ok, but I still don't like it," Leni said, "You think anything bad will happen to him?"

"Naw, man. He's as tough as they come," Luna said, "He'll sweat it off no problem."

"Um...I dunno."

"Wow," Maya chuckled, "They're really giving him too much credit in all the wrong places, eh, Miss Orimura?" She noticed that someone was gone, "Miss Orimura?!"

DEMERIT: IGNORANCE — GRADE CHANGE TO: C

Chifuyu had deployed her IS just to get away from it all. She hopped rooftop after rooftop to exert as much frustration as possible, but no matter how far she ran, she couldn't escape that little episode. Watching Lincoln suffer through the family luck fight was bad enough, but to have it remind her of the one time she lost control of her frustrations and lashed out at her own younger brother...

"Why can't you just help out?! God, I wish we had parents, sometimes. I can't have a boyfriend because of you, I can't go out and hang out with people... I can't even have any normal friends! Can't you at least learn to help out?!"

"B-But...Chifuyu-nee...don't you...love me?..."

"Og-ugh...damn, that's some bad ginger ale..." Chifuyu stopped on top of a light post and nearly puked. That little spiel was eight years ago, when she was 16 and he was 8. Now, they're on very good terms, but back then...

"Come on, Lori...pull through for me..." Chifuyu opened a private communication channel to her home.

If only I hadn't worn that costume.

If only I had just shown my pajamas and not feed the insanity again.

Why do I keep making these stupid mistakes?

Those thoughts kept circulating Lincoln's head as he laid in his empty room. He thought he could get to them. For five hours, he tried to get to them. He didn't know who was getting the message because they all sent different messages back. He remembered Lori giving him permission to come to her room. He didn't want to take that chance, but it was the only alternative he had.

Lori was texting away with Bobby, slightly more worried about their relationship. She didn't notice Lincoln sneak his way to her side.

"Psst...Lori..."

She said without looking, "Whatever it is, it better be-Oh my gosh!" She saw Lincoln dejected and drew him in, "I am so sorry! I didn't see you-"

"Lori!" That word again, "It's ok! I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine."

Lincoln got on her bed, "Yeah, I know. It's just...I hate the word "sorry" now."

"Gee, I..." Lori thought back to all the times that she and the family had said sorry to him. In the past few hours. "Have we been saying it too much?"

"Yeah...it's not just today," Lincoln tucked himself in beside Lori, "It's happened before, but it's ramped up to 11. I don't know what'll happen if I let this go on any longer."

"Bobby's been nagging me about it, too."

"Really?"

"Bobby heard you say you're not bad luck, so he's been asking me about it, and I...blabbed," Lori showed him one of Bobby's texts:

Boo-boo Bear: "WOW. No offense, babe, but your family cut it really close this time. I'm glad he's ok, but...GEEZ..."

"Heheheh..." Lincoln laughed, "Can you imagine if it was someone other than Bobby?"

"Like Ronnie Anne?" Lori giggled, "Ha! She'd probably flip the whole house on its side!"

That night provided some comfort for Lincoln. He was able to confide in her his very personal struggles. And she was actually able to offer a few pieces of advice, one of them very haunting which they both kept on standby.