"Whoa! Girls, girls!" Lynn Sr. teetered on his feet, gripping a giggling Lincoln more securely in his arms as he was jostled by his hyper-excited daughters. "Easy there! I'm holding precious cargo here!"
"Yeah!" Lincoln chirped happily. "We brought you pizza!"
"I was talking about you, Squirt," Lynn Sr. clarified.
Lincoln blushed, his smile becoming a little more demure. "Oh…" He said, his heart suddenly feeling pleasantly lighter.
"There's my two handsome men!" Rita walked out from the dining room, having heard the happy chatter from her spot at the table.
Lincoln perked back up and turned towards his mother. "Missus Mommy!" He crowed, sitting up higher.
Rita smiled, moving past the little ring her daughters made so she could get close to her husband and her son. "Hey there, you two!" She pecked Lynn Sr. on the cheek and patted Lincoln on the head. "Did you have a good day?"
"Uh-huh!" Lincoln replied with an emphatic nod. "After we left Mister Daddy's work, we went to some place called an arc-ade!"
"You went to Gus' Games and Grub!?" Lori's eyes widened and she stood on her tiptoes. "Ooh, lucky! I'm actually a little jealous!"
Lincoln felt a little bad for that, but the happiness he felt at seeing the rest of his family overshadowed that. "We played a lot of games together! Mister Daddy and I even played a really fun driving game together!"
"That sounds so fun!" Leni chirped.
"It was!" Lincoln affirmed.
"And that's where you guys got the pizza?" Lynn asked, licking her lips.
"Mmhmm!" Lincoln happily hummed.
"You girls want me to pop this in the oven?" Lynn Sr. asked. "We had a feeling you'd be pre-tty hungry by now."
"Wait!" Before any of her sisters could interject, Luan spoke up, raising her arms to catch the attention of her family. "Can we do our show first? We just rehearsed, so this is the best time for us to do it."
Lincoln tilted his head cutely, "Show? What show?"
"The girls put together a show, all for you, little man," Rita explained.
"They did?" Lincoln's eyes widened and he looked down at his sisters. "You guys put a show together for me?"
Lori smiled and stepped behind Luan, putting her hands on her shoulders. "Mostly Luan if we're being honest." She looked down at Luan, "We helped, but she's the one who did most of the putting together."
Lincoln turned towards Luan, who, in response to the sight of her little brother's big blue gaze, blushed and looked down.
"I wanted to do what you asked me," Luan mumbled bashfully.
Lincoln gasped, and his good hand went to his cheek. "Oh no, I forgot!" He exclaimed. "I asked you to tell me a story yesterday and I—I—" He bit his lip and looked away, trying to hide his face from his family. "I forgot…Because I—"
"Don't worry about yesterday!" Luan interjected. She stood on her tiptoes, reaching out to put a hand on one of his little sneakers. "The point is that we have it ready today." She offered the boy a smile, trying to assuage his guilt before it could take root. "So, do you wanna see it? We're all set up."
Lincoln blinked owlishly, losing himself in the faint, hopeful glimmer of Luan's eyes.
There was no place for guilt within him when she was asking him so emphatically.
"O-Okay," He said, nodding with a hint of a shy smile playing across his face.
Luan looked fit to bursting with excited joy and she immediately hopped back from the circle her family made. "Alright!" She crowed. She turned on her heel and dashed for the living room. "Everyone follow me then! You especially, girls! We got a show to put on!"
"Well of course we're gonna follow you," Lori said, following after Luan with the rest of the sisters in tow. "What? Did you think we'd help you all day and then literally leave you hanging at the last second?"
Meanwhile, both parents and Lincoln followed a little more leisurely, Rita and Lynn Sr. chuckling amongst themselves as they made their way from the door.
"Well, they're certainly excited," Lynn Sr. said.
"They certainly have a right to be," Rita said. "They've been working like clockwork ever since they got back from school to put together their little play."
"They have?" Lincoln said in a hush of awe.
"They absolutely have," Rita replied, nodding to the boy posing the question. "They really wanted to put on this show for you, Lincoln. Luan especially."
Luan… Lincoln felt his little heart grow warm. Because of Luan, he didn't feel guilty for forgetting about his request, but he certainly felt touched that she remembered it for him.
"Alright, just take a seat here, you three." Lynn greeted her parents and her little brother at the front of the couch, gesturing to the blue cushions with a sweep of her arms.
Rita laughed and took a seat, "Thank you, sweetie."
"Are you our little usher, Junior?" Lynn Sr. chuckled, taking a seat as well. Between him and Rita, he placed Lincoln on the middle cushion, placing a pillow behind him so he had something to lean against.
"I think I'm just a seat-shower," Lynn answered, biting her cheek curiously. She frowned and glared down at her shoes. "I couldn't remember any of the lines…"
"Aww, don't beat yourself up, sweetpea…" Lynn Sr. leaned down and picked his Junior up by her underarms. "That just means you get to watch the show with us!"
Lynn's pout didn't lessen much in response. "But I wanted to put a show on for Lincoln with the girls…"
Lincoln took notice of Lynn's dour demeanor. "It's okay, Lynn," Lincoln said, reaching out for her with his good hand. "I know you would if you could." When Lynn turned her attention towards Lincoln, the boy felt bolstered to speak a little further. "And you know what?" He said, gazing down at his clasped hands bashfully, "Mister Daddy showed me where the park was today on the way to the arc-ade." He lifted his eyes so he could peer at her timidly. "Do you think maybe you'd still wanna go and play with me there?"
Lynn's eyes widened, making the deep verdant color of her irises practically shine in response to the question. "Would I!" She exclaimed, wriggling her legs in her father's hold. "Yeah! I totally wanna play with you in the park! When can we go!?"
"Can we get some quiet in the audience?" Lori's voice rang out from behind the little cardboard theater, silencing Lynn and making her turn her head to stick her tongue out in the direction of said theater.
Lynn Sr. laughed and placed Lynn next to Lincoln, "We'll try and shoot for this Saturday, okay, Junior?"
Lynn glowed, "Yes, Daddy!" She looked over at Lincoln, smiling like she had just been told Santa was coming earlier that year. "I can't wait, Lincoln."
Lincoln blushed and smiled in return, "Me neither, Lynn…"
Suddenly, the lights dimmed, putting the living room in a gentler golden tone. In front of those on the couch, a pair of slanted flashlights came on, illuminating the deep blue blanket draped over the little theater, making it look like a theater curtain.
"Lady and gentleman! Boy and girl!" With the dim darkness coming about, Leni's voice came soon after, jovially announcing the beginning of the show. "Welcome to the Loud Theatre!"
The blanket shook, and from behind the stage, the blanket was pulled over, revealing the opening of the theatre.
"We're very happy to have you here tonight for our show!" Leni spoke on, and in the opening, a piece of paper filled to the very edges with colorful letters appeared. "We hope you enjoy it! Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy our show! Luan Loud's: The Dream Prince!"
The paper bearing the title descended, and afterward came another drawing.
The next drawing was that of a grassy green hill, with multicolored flowers dotting the ground beneath the trees that lined the apex of it.
"On a bright and sunny day, in a land where dreams abounded…" Luna's voice flitted through the air, soft and melodious in her narration, "two good friends lived together; a dragon named Goldy-Blue, and a dinosaur named Teethy-Rex."
From beneath the stage, the two puppets bounced up like little streaks of gold and red.
"That day seemed just like any other, and in the sun's rays, the friends were settling down for their usual mid-afternoon nap."
To reflect that, the puppets nestled against the bottom border of the opening, Luan's hands ushering them into what she hoped was a convincing lie down.
Judging by the sound of Lincoln and Lynn giggling, she surmised that they most likely looked a little silly.
"But something was amiss…" Luan jerked the puppets upright with Luna's next words. "No matter how comfortable they got, no matter how warm they felt, no matter how much security they found in each other, the two friends just couldn't sleep."
That was Luan's cue.
"What is going on?" Goldy-Blue asked, turning to Teethy-Rex.
"You can't sleep either?" Teethy-Rex asked, Luan shifting to the rough, rambunctious voice of the dinosaur beneath him.
"Not one wink," Goldy-Blue replied, shaking her head.
"It doesn't make sense," Teethy-Rex groused, his stubby little puppet arms crossing over his striped orange belly. "We've never had a hard time taking our afternoon siestas before…" He looked up at Goldy-Blue, "It's like the—like the dreams just aren't coming…"
Luan jerked her wrist, making Goldy-Blue jolt in her other hand. "The dreams aren't—Rex, that must be it!" She exclaimed.
"What must be it?" Teethy-Rex asked, tilting his head.
Goldy-Blue's little blue-clawed hands rose up, "Rex, haven't you ever wondered where our dreams come from? They're brought about by the Dream Fountain from the castle courtyard of the Dream Prince!"
"Our dreams come from a fountain?" Teethy-Rex inquired.
Luan brought Goldy-Blue in front of Teethy-Rex, crossing her wrists together. "I'll explain on the way," She said. "For now, just follow me. The Dream Prince's castle isn't far!"
Teethy-Rex jumped, exposing a little bit of Luan's arm, and bobbed along after Goldy-Blue off the stage. "W-Wait! I can't fly like you! I'm still full from lunch! Goldy!"
And to Luan's delight, Lincoln and Lynn laughed from the other side of the living room.
They liked the show so far!
And with her heart fluttering in response, she lowered her arms once the puppets were out of audience sight and awaited the start of the next scene.
…
Lincoln's eyes absolutely sparkled, practically in conjunction with the glittery sparkles of the setting for the next scene.
In the opening of the theater, a drawing of a bright pink castle covered from top to bottom with blue glitter shined in the luminescence of the flashlights beside it.
"After a…spirited jog through the hills of their home, the friends arrived at the dream castle; a beautiful palace where the walls were made with sapphires; both the blue ones, and the pink ones."
Lincoln had no idea what a sapphire was, but judging by how pretty the castle was, he imagined they had to be incredibly beautiful.
Not as pretty as the girls though, He found himself thinking, a little flush of warmth creeping into his cheeks along with a bashful smile. His thoughts returned to the show when Goldy-Blue and Teethy-Rex came in from stage right.
"How did I not know this was here?" Teethy-Rex asked.
"You really should venture beyond the hills every now and again, Rex," Goldy-Blue chided.
"But home is where the hotdogs are!" Teethy-Rex cheerily rebutted.
Lincoln chuckled at that. Those two puppets sure were funny.
"Goodness me, food really is all you think about, isn't it, Rex?" Goldy-Blue continued off toward the other side of the stage, and when they walked off, the picture changed again.
This time, the setting appeared to be that of a courtyard; a circular area with a bright pink water fountain at its center. At the bottom of the fountain, a carefully shaded gradient of rainbow water caught Lincoln's eyes.
It was so pretty!
"Ah, here it is." And then Goldy-Blue and Teethy-Rex reappeared, making their way to the center of the picture. "Rex, this is the Dream Fountain, where all our dreams come from!"
Teethy-Rex ambled to the other side of the fountain, dipping his head towards the water. "How does this give us dreams?" He asked.
Luan brought down two of her fingers, making Goldy-Blue's form droop a little, "Typically, it aids the inhabitants of our realm fall into slumber thanks to its magical waters. But the waters have stopped flowing…" Goldy-Blue rose back up, looking to Teethy-Rex once more. "Why do you suppose that is?"
"It is my doing, I'm afraid…" It was then that Luna's voice returned, followed shortly by the arrival of another.
It was another puppet, this one bearing the resemblance of a fluffy white lamb. Upon the lamb's head, there was a little ring of gold foil, shaped into little points to better resemble a crown.
"Oh, you're the Dream Prince!" Goldy-Blue exclaimed.
"This guy?" Teethy-Rex rose up a little higher, "He's so tiny!"
"Teethy-Rex!" Goldy-Blue gasped in disbelief. "That is very rude!"
"No, no, do not worry…" The Dream Prince shook his head. "He isn't saying anything that isn't true. Besides, I feel rather small today anyway."
"Whatever do you mean, Dream Prince?" Goldy-Blue asked.
"Yeah, and while you're at it, can you explain why we can't sleep?" Teethy-Rex added.
"Rex!"
"What? It's what we came here for, isn't it?"
The Dream Prince shook his head, "No, please, allow me to oblige in that, in the very least." The Dream Prince turned to the fountain, "As you may have noticed, the dream fountain's waters have not been flowing. Am I right?"
"Yeah, that's right," Teethy-Rex said.
"Well, there is a reason for that, I'm afraid," The Dream Prince informed. He turned back towards Goldy-Blue and Teethy-Rex.
Even in his little black button eyes, the audience could see the sorrow on the lamb's face.
"I stopped the flow of the dream fountain's waters."
Teethy-Rex and Goldy-Blue jolted quite dramatically at that.
"What, but why!?"
"Yeah, what gives!?"
The Dream Prince shook his head emphatically, conveying Luna's practiced and perfected tone of panic and guilt, "No, you don't understand! I had to do it!"
"What reason could you have for interrupting my snooze time?" Teethy-Rex challenged.
"I had to do it because of the Nightmare Lord!"
Lincoln had been utterly enthralled by the play thus far, hanging onto every word the puppets spoke. But when that single word was uttered, when the mere mention of the concept of a nightmare came up, a breath was lost from his lungs and the smallest bit of a chill crept onto his skin.
And now there was a person who controlled nightmares? Why would the play have that?
"Who is this Nightmare Lord?" Goldy-Blue asked.
"She is the one who controls the nightmares that come upon our dreams from time to time, the one who makes us have them," The Dream Prince explained.
"Why would there be a person who does that?!" Teethy-Rex apparently agreed with Lincoln in his shock at the mere existence of such a being in what appeared to be such a wonderful place.
"The Nightmare Lord gives others nightmares so that they may grow strong," The Dream Prince continued. "With the aid of nightmares, the fears they hold over us grow weaker, and we in turn, become stronger."
The two other puppets seemed to grow less perturbed with the Dream Prince's explanation.
"Hey, you're right…" Teethy-Rex realized. He looked over to Goldy-Blue, "Goldy, do you remember when I had that nightmare about us running out of food? You made me feel better by showing me how full our fridge was! Because of that, I wasn't afraid anymore!"
"I remember that as well…" Goldy-Blue agreed. "And that time I dreamt we were separated; you were there to reassure me that such a thing would never happen. You made me feel stronger then."
"So, as you can see, nightmares hold a place in our hearts as well," The Dream Prince said. "Because of that, the Nightmare Lord and I hold a delicate balance, one that aids to soothe and strengthen those we bestow our dreams upon."
Goodness, Luan really has developed quite an advanced vocabulary, Rita thought, a proud little smile coming over her face. Though I do find myself wondering why it only comes out when she's handling puppets…
"However," The Dream Prince went on, "The Nightmare Lord has grown tired of that balance, and wishes to take over the realm of dreams completely."
Goldy-Blue and Teethy-Rex jumped in surprise.
"You mean she only wishes to have everyone experience nothing but nightmares?" Goldy-Blue inferred.
"Why would she want that!?" Teethy-Rex cried.
The Dream Prince sank, almost crumpling into the floor. "She has grown tired of those who shirk the benefits of her nightmares, and she believes she must make an example of their benefits…By putting people to an endless stream of nightmares."
Lincoln gasped. An endless stream of nightmares? That sounded horrible! He'd never want to sleep again if that was a guarantee!
He gulped when he recalled it. How he had tried so hard to avoid sleeping at all costs. How he had pushed his frail little form to its near limit just to avoid the possibility of seeing—
Of seeing the monster that crawled in the far reaches of his mind, always ready to swipe at whatever part of him seemed the easiest to bring harm upon at that time.
Suddenly, the room seemed to be getting smaller, darker, colder. His heart began to pound against his chest, and in the corners of his vision, little bits of darkness began to mire as his hearing gave way to his persistently loudening heartbeat.
A panic attack was coming—or, at least it was.
Suddenly, a gentle grip on Lincoln's shoulder brushed the encroaching darkness back, coaxing him into looking up at the one whose hand had banished it.
Lynn Sr. smiled comfortingly down at Lincoln, squeezing his shoulder supportively.
Even without words, Lincoln knew what he was saying.
"It's okay. You're safe."
And because of that, his heart quieted down, and he was able to look back to the play, listening to the words of the characters once more.
Thank you, Mister Daddy, He thought before fully bringing his attention back to the show.
"She can't do that!" Teethy-Rex exclaimed.
"Yes, the people of these lands would be unable to handle nonstop nightmares!" Goldy-Blue added,
"I know that," The Dream Prince sadly replied, turning to the dream fountain. "That is why I stopped the flow of the dream fountain. Without dreams as a base, the Nightmare Lord is unable to channel her nightmares." The Dream Prince sank further, "But I am afraid that is the most I can do. I do not have the ability to stand up to the Nightmare Lord by myself."
A moment of tense silence passed, a sudden moment of darkness in what had been a lighthearted story.
Then, Teethy-Rex spoke.
"Well, why don't we go with you?" He suggested.
The Dream Prince rose in surprise, twirling to face the two other puppets. "What?"
"Yes, why don't we go with you?" Goldy-Blue repeated. "If we go together, we may be able to convince the Nightmare Lord to stand down."
The Dream Prince shook his head, "You don't understand! The Nightmare Lord is terrifying! How could you think such a thing would be possible!?"
"Hey, we gotta try something," Teethy-Rex said. "I want my naps back!"
"And I want to help wherever I can," Goldy-Blue added. She bobbed towards the Dream Prince, Luan extending her claw towards the lamb on Luna's hand. "So, can we aid you on this quest? After all, nightmares are best conquered with the support of others."
"I—" Luna turned the Dream Prince away. "It is my job to care for the dreams of the people of this world. Because of that, I cannot let the situation stay the way it is…" He turned back to the two others. "If you want to come with me, I won't stop you; and I would be very grateful in you doing so."
"Then it's decided!" Teethy-Rex declared, bouncing up and down. "Let's get moving, Princey! We got a long walk ahead of us!"
Goldy-Blue giggled and followed after Teethy-Rex, "Better get moving, Dream Prince. Once Rex gets going, there's no stopping him."
"Of course," The Dream Prince said, nodding.
Lincoln watched the three puppets move off the stage, and as the setting changed, a single thought flashed through his mind.
What would happen when the trio came across the Nightmare Lord?
…
The rest of the play went on just as enjoyably as before, with the group going across several exotic locales that absolutely entranced the boy sitting upon the couch.
Such locales included a glimmering mine of gemstones run by a group of industrious mice, all wearing adorable hard hats, a garden filled with grapes the size of boulders, and perhaps the most interesting, a cloudy landscape filled with shining rainbow stars constantly streaming through the air, all done by the girls dropping little foil stars from above the drawing that made the landscape.
In the face of such imaginative settings, Lincoln was completely and utterly absorbed in the play, his big eyes shining like the stars that fell across the last setting.
And when Leni relayed how he looked to Luan from her place in the corner of the stage, Luan's face broke into a joyous grin that spirited away the aches in her hands and wrists, encouraging her to keep bouncing her puppets above her, speaking for both of them with a new burst of energy, taking immense happiness in the giggling of her younger siblings.
As for Lincoln, he was once again leaning forward on the edge of the couch, taking in every word Luan and Luna spoke for their characters like it was Shakespeare.
That focus was broken when the picture after the cloudy area was put up.
It was a dark hill, with a winding path leading to a black, spiky castle at its summit. In the drawing, bolts of lightning surrounded the castle, lighting the side of the hill in a rather impressive use of shading.
It accomplished what it sought out to do. The castle looked foreboding, and Lincoln felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
The moment he had been dreading had to be coming. The moment the Nightmare Lord would appear.
And Rita sensed the fear that came about Lincoln in the way she saw him grow stiff beside her.
"Lincoln…" She whispered, reaching out to rub his back. When he jolted and looked up at her, she smiled and turned back to the theater, "Isn't this a great show your sisters put on for you?"
She was right. This was a show his sisters were putting on for him. Not a means of summoning his fears. "Uh-huh," He said, nodding when his realization came about. He looked back to the drawing. "It is a great show…" He pulled his legs up to hug them for a moment before he spoke again, "It sure was nice for them to do this for me."
"It's because they care for you, Lincoln," Rita whispered, rubbing a few more circles into his back for good measure. "They wanted to do something to make you happy."
Lincoln gulped and allowed his legs to relax back over the edge of the couch again. "That—That makes me happy," He said.
He didn't notice Lynn smile next to him in response. Even if she wasn't performing the play right then, she was still happy to see that their efforts were having the desired effect on their little brother.
"Well, we've arrived…" The Dream Prince's soft voice coincided with the puppets bouncing onto the set. "The Nightmare Lord's castle."
"So, what do we do now?" Teethy-Rex asked. "Find a door to knock on?"
"Oh, you knock on doors now?" Goldy-Blue queried.
"I tripped and ran through the kitchen wall one time, let it go!" Teethy-Rex cried, raising his little arms skyward.
"Do not worry about us finding the Nightmare Lord," The Dream Prince said. "She will find us."
"What do you m—"
"WHO DARES INTRUDE UPON MY REALM!?" On cue, a booming voice thundered through the living room, making even the parents on the couch jump in surprise.
Then, with a fluttering sound, a flurry of black cloth came from behind the theater, rising to a height that matched even the tallest tower of the cardboard structure, eclipsing one of the flashlights in its dark form.
"That is her!" The Dream Prince exclaimed. "The Nightmare Lord!"
Lincoln's heartbeat immediately tripled! Even with the hand of his father on his shoulder, and the palm of his mother on his back, the sight of that black creature immediately summoned a cursed and familiar creature back into his mind's eye, and in the sight of its horrible yellow eyes, the acrid smell of smoke followed.
His lungs had all but been squeezed to a singularity before another comfort came to his rescue.
"Lincoln?" His hand was clasped in the warmth of another, and the monster dissipated in the timbre of Lynn's voice. He swallowed a mouthful of air, somewhat painfully filling his lungs again and turned to her.
"Lincoln, look!" Lynn said, raising her other hand to point at the Nightmare Lord. "It's Lori! See?"
Lincoln was fortunately able to hear Lynn's words past his heartbeat, and looked back to the show.
The black creature stepped closer to the stage, taking its cloak off the flashlight and illuminating the face hidden beneath the shroud.
Lynn was right. It was Lori. Her blonde hair framed her face and her eyes glimmered bemusedly as she sauntered towards the stage, smirking impishly with her arms spread out.
She wasn't a monster, she was Lori; clearly having a whole lot of fun in her role given the way she was glowing while she stood over the comparatively tiny puppets. She was the same girl that always made Lincoln feel safe, the same one whose arm he had hugged following his nightmare in the car.
Lincoln wasn't scared of Lori; no way, no how.
"So you're the one who's keeping us from taking our afternoon naps!" Teethy-Rex hollered.
"You are the one who intends to bar the entire realm from sleep as a whole!" Goldy-Blue added.
Lori crossed her arms over her chest imperiously, catching the sparkles of her cloak in the light of the two flashlights. "I am doing no such thing!" She objected haughtily. She glared down at the little lamb quivering between the dragon and the dinosaur. "It is the coward between you who has deigned to stop the dream fountain's waters! Not I!"
Seriously, 'deigned'? What is Luan reading? Lori thought between lines.
Luna made her hand shake inside the Dream Prince, making him quiver in turn. "I—I only stopped the fountain waters to keep you from inflicting harm upon the people of this realm! I won't let you subject them to your endless nightmares!"
"Yeah!" Teethy-Rex agreed.
Lori let out a derisive "Hmph!" in response and took another step closer. "And you believe yourselves able to stop me? Don't make me laugh!"
"There is no need to do this to the people!" Goldy-Blue objected.
"'No need'?!" Lori boomed, swiping a hand through the air. "They need this punishment to learn to appreciate my nightmares for what they are! The days of my being bad-mouthed will end!"
"B-But doing what you plan to do will only make them bad-mouth you more!" The Dream Prince reasoned. "There must be another way!"
"There is no other way!" Lori barked. "Only through this method will I no longer be hated! Only through this way will I no longer be alone and reviled!"
The Dream Prince jolted, "Alone? What do you mean alone?"
"Do you believe I myself do not suffer the pains and stings of my own powers!?" Lori cried. "No, to create nightmares that strengthen the people of this realm, I myself must subject myself to countless ones of my own! A thousand terrors I must bear; all to minimize the suffering from those who are to receive the ones I send out!"
Goldy-Blue pulled her claws against her stomach, "Do you mean to tell us that you screen the nightmares you send out? To prevent anything too intense from passing by?"
"Of course! That is my responsibility!" Lori replied. "And what is my reward for my efforts? My name being dragged through the mud! Left alone to suffer the pains that come with my work! Tell me, where is the fairness in that?"
The three puppets didn't respond. They were far too shocked to react to the revelation; the fact that the Nightmare Lord had to endure her own nightmares, all on her own.
Then suddenly, without any prior volition, a statement leapt from Lincoln's mouth.
"Don't worry, Nightmare Lord!" He cried, his legs propelling him into standing atop the couch. "I'll help you deal with the nightmares! I know what that's like!" The words came completely unbidden, but everyone who heard them, including Lincoln, heard the passion behind them.
Lori jerked into looking at Lincoln, her previously hard eyes going wide with surprise. Then, when she registered the words, they grew soft.
As for Luan; hearing Lincoln's declaration all but melted her heart into a soft puddle of goo. Did he just—Aww! Linky! She looked over at Luna and Leni beside her, smiling from ear to ear just like her.
"He's such a sweetheart!" Leni gushed.
"He really has the biggest heart in the world, doesn't he?" Luna whispered in adoration.
Luan nodded emphatically in response and looked back up at the puppets on her hands. "He does," She agreed. She squared her shoulders and rolled her wrists to get the cricks she had accumulated out of them. "That's why we need to end this with a bang. Follow my lead, Luna!"
"The one who speaks is right!" She had Goldy-Blue declare. "If it is support you require, then we will be here for you!"
"Yeah!" Teethy-Rex said. "If you gotta deal with the nightmares you gotta screen, then we'll help you deal with 'em!"
Luna raised the Dream Prince a little higher, "Your Lordship, it seems I have neglected a piece of our partnership! For that, I'm sorry, and if you'll allow me, please let me help you in your responsibilities from here on out."
Lori (and she supposed the Nightmare Lord by extension) was floored. This was a far different outcome from the one Luan had originally pitched. Mainly in the fact that it didn't have her getting blasted in a rainbow beam of friendship magic.
But Lincoln had derailed that. With a few measly sentences, he had brought the plot to a wild detour into some sort of strange wholesomeverse.
Which means you better think of something to say, Lori! Her mind barked. Improvise, girl, improvise!
"Y-You would do that for me?" She found herself saying.
"Of course!" Teethy-Rex said. "If it takes a friend to deal with one nightmare, it's fair to say a bunch of them needs the help of a bunch of friends!"
Lori smiled and clasped her hands together, consciously softening the demeanor of the Nightmare Lord. "Then…Perhaps I can be persuaded into calling off my plan," She said.
"You would?" The Dream Prince asked, moving closer.
Lori nodded, going over to kneel down by the puppets. "My plans were a part of me venting my frustrations," She admitted. "But if I were to have your help with things…Then I see no reason to have them."
Luna brought the Dream Prince's hands forward, and Lori reached out and took his little fluffy limbs into her hands. "I would be happy to help you; for the people of this realm, and for the sake of our partnership," He said.
"And we'll help, too!" Goldy-Blue and Teethy-Rex added.
Lori smiled and released the Dream Prince's hands. "Well then, I suppose that's that then. The world of dreams will be balanced once again! Now, shall we change the look of this place?"
Luna looked back at Leni, "Leni, that's the new cue! Bring out the next picture!"
"Oh! Right!" Leni said, bringing the drawing down and grabbing the next one.
Back on the couch, Lincoln gasped when the next picture came out.
The Nightmare Lord's hill was brightly lit with a shimmering rainbow coiling around it like a shining prismatic ribbon, and around the hill, the same rainbow foil stars were shining in the brightness of the flashlights.
"Thank you, Dream Prince," Lori said, looking down at the puppet and peering over the stage to smile at her sisters below. She then glanced towards the other two puppets, "And thank you—"
"Goldy-Blue," The dragon replied.
"And Teethy-Rex!" The dinosaur said.
Lori smirked and bowed her head slightly, "And thank you, Goldy-Blue and Teethy-Rex." She then leaned closer over the stage. "I think this is as good a place to end things as any, Lunes," She whispered to the girl holding the Dream Prince.
Luna smiled and took a breath before speaking.
"And so, with the crisis averted," She improvised, "the plans of the Nightmare Lord were dashed, all because of the surprise voice of a compassionate force that no one had been expecting."
Lincoln's eyes widened. Was Luna referring to him?
"Because of that, the Nightmare Lord was brought back to the side of good, and thus, the realm of dreams was safe once more. As for the Nightmare Lord, she now had friends to help with her duties, people to keep her happy in even the saddest times."
Lincoln felt a small lump form in his throat. People to scare away the nightmares? That sounded so nice…
"And they lived happily ever after. The end."
Lincoln had little time to ponder further, as the sounds of the others on the couch clapping their hands roused him out of his mind. With a small start, he brought his own hands together, clapping much more softly to avoid hurting himself, but joining the others in crying out their approval for the wondrous performance the girls had put on for them.
The lights came on, and from behind the theater came Luan, Luna, and Leni, taking a spot by Lori with puppets and drawings still in hand.
"Don't just stand there, take a bow!" Lynn called out.
The girls smiled, all blushing a little, and they did as their youngest sister said, each taking a bow of varying lengths (Leni actually stumbled and fell on her stomach for a split second).
"Oh, girls, that was fantastic!" Rita said, rising up from the couch.
"She's right!" Lynn Sr. agreed, going with his wife. "You did a wonderful job!"
Lynn scoffed humorously and jumped off as well, "I think it would've been even better if I got to perform, but it was still pretty good."
Lori went by Luan and put her hands on her shoulders, same as she did before the show. "Thanks for the compliments," She said with a chuckle. "But don't forget, it was Luan who made up the whole story; we just brought it to life."
Luan blushed a little pinker and she clasped her hands together bashfully, coincidentally bringing Goldy-Blue and Teethy-Rex together as well. "Well, almost all of it," She said. She looked past the rest of her family, back towards the lone boy still on the couch. "Linky actually changed the story a little bit at the end there," She chuckled.
Lincoln seized up, "I did?!" He leapt from the couch, stumbling for a split second before catching himself. "I'm sorry, Luan! I didn't mean to!"
Luan moved in front of Lincoln in a flash, a surge of big-sister instinct bidding her to raise her puppet cloaked hands towards her brother reassuringly. "No, don't feel bad, Linky! It's okay!" When Lincoln grew a little bit calmer by the sight of Goldy-Blue and Teethy-Rex, she spoke on, "It was actually—" Luan laughed again, and she regarded Lincoln with a glimmer of mirth in her eyes, "I actually liked the way you sent the story."
Lincoln blinked, bringing a fist to cover his lips timidly, "You did?"
"Yeah!" Luan affirmed, nodding. "It was really sweet." She took a chance by raising one of Goldy-Blue's claws and giving Lincoln a little prod in the chest, "You got quite the big heart in there, doncha, Linky?"
Linky looked down at the tiny plush claw before he giggled in response, "I guess so…"
"Well, I know so!" Luan declared, taking the claw back. She smiled down at her brother, "Still though, I'm left wonderin'—" She tilted her head towards Lincoln, closing a single eye in a mischievous smirk, "Did you like the show?"
Lincoln's face lit up. "Uh-huh! It was the best show I've ever seen!" He said, hopping up and down.
Luan felt lighter than air hearing that, and her smile only grew wider, reflecting the deep affection that was warming her from the very center of her heart, to the very tips of her being. "I'm glad," She said, standing straight again, "I'm really glad…Linky."
GRRRMMBL! Suddenly. The moment was superseded by the rumblings of several stomachs, Luan's included.
"Whoops," Luan laughed, a splash of pink painting her cheeks again. She brought her puppets over her stomach. "I guess my stomach is asking for a refill. Putting that show on was hungry work."
"Well what are we waiting for then?" Lynn Sr. said, setting his hands on his hips. "We've got a pizza ripe for reheating right in the kitchen!"
"Oh, right! We have pizza!" Lynn exclaimed. She immediately squirmed her way past her other sisters. "I get first slice!" She cried, running towards the kitchen.
The other girls jolted. "Says who!?" They challenged.
Before Lincoln knew it, the girls all ran past him, thankfully taking care not to accidentally shove him, but still leaving him behind and rather confused.
"Hehe, you're gonna need to react quicker than that if you ever want first dibs around here, little man." Lincoln let out a little gasp when he felt a pair of hands wrap around his torso.
"I said the same kind of thing to him today," Lynn Sr. chuckled, taking a place by Rita's side as she took Lincoln into her reassuring grasp. "Ya gotta be quick and attentive when you're a Loud, Squirt."
Lincoln blinked and looked between his mother and father. The two people he had spent the past two days with, the ones who had shown him truly wonderful days that he would come to cherish for many years to come.
He liked the thought of being a Loud; it made him feel so warm inside!
So, Lincoln smiled at them and nodded, "I'll try, Mister Daddy and Missus Mommy! I'll be the best Loud I can be!"
And the two parents felt their hearts swell for their new son, and they both knew just what to say in response.
"We know you will."
…
"Mmmm!" Lynn hummed in delight. She stretched the cheese of her pizza to an exorbitant length, making Lori groan in disgust.
"Lynn! Please just bite the cheese and be done with it!" She huffed.
"Doncha mean 'cut the cheese', Lori?" Luan interjected from her place by Lincoln.
Lori rolled her eyes, "I specifically avoided that phrase just to avoid that joke…"
"Is something on your mind, Little One?" Luna tilted her head curiously, regarding the thoughtful expression on Lincoln's face; not troubled, just thoughtful.
Lincoln lowered his pizza slice back to his plate and sat back, "I was just thinking about the play…" He looked around the table, "About how it was about dreams and nightmares. You all made it about that for me, didn't you? Because of my nightmares?"
A slight rise in tension immediately overtook the table.
"That's right," Luan said after a moment of silence. "We wanted to show you something that made you less scared of them, to show you that the nightmares could be beaten." She smiled winsomely and looked at Lincoln, "That's why in the original version, the Nightmare Lord was supposed to be defeated."
Lincoln's eyebrows rose. The Nightmare Lord defeated? As in, never helped?
"But then you changed the story," Luan explained further. "And the good guys wound up helping the Nightmare Lord." She brought a hand to scratch her cheek thoughtfully. "So, I guess the message changes then. Instead of beating the nightmares, the Nightmare Lord is saved by getting friends to help her feel better about all the ones she has to deal with."
"Sort of like me…" Lincoln said, his gaze falling. In the past three days of his time in the Loud house, he had actually been blessed with a slight reprieve from the nightmares. Yes, he still had a few, but there were a few times where fortune had been kind enough to give him a complete absence of both dreams and nightmares. Not much better, but better, nonetheless.
"I sure would like to not have any nightmares anymore," Lincoln mumbled morosely. "But—" His good hand clenched against his chest, "I sure would like to have help, just like the Nightmare Lord got."
"Well, that's what we're here for!" The voices of his family brought Lincoln's attention back to those at the dinner table with him.
The members of the Loud family all regarded Lincoln lovingly.
"Y-You are?" Lincoln asked.
"Of course!" Lori said, sitting up higher, "We already told you when we put you to bed last night, didn't we? If you need us for anything, anything at all, we'll be there for you!" She smirked and crossed her arms over her chest, "That includes any nightmares that might come your way, Lincoln."
"Yeah!" Lynn agreed, standing up on her chair, trying to look tall, but still looking adorably small. "Lincoln, if you need me to, I'll chase away anything that scares you!"
"That goes for me too, Linky," Leni added. "If you need me to make you feel better for anything, I'll be more than happy to, day or night!"
"And I'll tell you a story!" Luan said.
"And I'll whistle the Robin Hood song for you," Luna said. And I'll give you a hug, if you'll let me, She thought.
"And Lincoln?" Rita pulled Lincoln's sights to the head of the table, where she and Lynn Sr. sat. "Your father and I are just downstairs if you need us, okay?"
"And if you need any help getting downstairs to them, feel free to ask us for that as well," Lori said. "We're here for you, Linc. Family for family."
Family for Family. This was his family.
Lincoln bit his lip, blinking back the tears that threatened to surface. When they were successfully forced back, he looked around the table, offering his family the best smile he could muster.
"Thank you…" He mumbled in a slightly choked up sniffle. "That makes me happy. You all make me happy."
"Awww! You make us happy too, Lincoln!" The girls replied.
Lincoln wiped his eye of a single happy tear that nearly spilled and looked at his family again. "Happy enough for the last slice?" He joked with a cheeky little grin.
"Oh, dream on, little bro!"
"You've already had the most out of all of us back at Gus'!"
"The rules say 'no seconds until you finish your firsts'."
The girls all laughed cheerily in response to Lincoln, catching his joke, but truthfully willing to give him the last slice if he had truly wanted it.
After all, he was their baby brother, and they wanted to make him happy.
But Lincoln wouldn't have taken the slice either. He wanted his sisters to be happy. Because he was their brother.
He was a Loud.