Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Sammie, that was rad! Best practice ever!” A brunette with a short pixie cut threw two devil horns as her and a blonde, Sam, walked out the doors of Royal Woods High.

Sam chuckled, brushing her teal streak out of her face slightly. “Yeah it was, Luna!”

She draped an arm over Luna's purple-clad shoulders, a faint blush dusting both of their faces. Their eyes fell to their boots briefly, soon lifting to face one another as they reached the footpath.

They shuffled their feet, a hand reaching up to grab the strap of their guitar cases. “So, how about we -”

They shared a laugh, gesturing for the other to go before Luna cleared her throat. “So, Sam, wanna go to the park? We've still got time to chill out and enjoy the rocking weather.”

“Sounds good, Lunes.” Sam rubbed the sleeve of her blue jacket, smiling softly as Luna grabbed her hand and led her down the path…

Giggling, the duo leaned against one another as they sat on a wooden bench. They had spent the better part of the afternoon wandering around the park, playing on some play equipment and laying in the grass while cloud watching. Now, they were happily watching the sunset as they chatted about their dreams for the Moon Goats.

“The Moon Goats will be Royal Woods’ greatest band, luv!” Luna pumped her fist, eyes sparkling.

Sam smirked, gently nudging her with her elbow. “Of course we will, because we're the best!”

Laughing, the pair wrapped their arms around one another in a warm embrace. A loud thumping soon stopped them, with Luna gripping Sam’s hand as she jolted.

“It's okay, luv. We'll check it out together.” Luna rubbed her thumb on Sam's hand, helping her up and leading her along behind her.

Sam nodded, hiding behind Luna slightly as the noise grew louder.

The moon had peeked over the horizon by the time Luna and Sam had traced the source of the sound, seeing a white van parked nearby and a shadowy figure pacing about. The thumps turned out to be the figure pounding their fists against the metal of the van, with soft muttering hidden by the figure's punching.

“Lu-Luna, are you sure w-we should be doing this?” Sam shook from her position behind Luna, peering over her shoulder.

“I'm not so sure about him either, luv, but at least we know where the noise was coming from.” Luna's voice wavered despite her sudden dip into a British accent, with the pair slowly taking steps backwards.

SNAP!

Sam gulped as she looked under Luna's boot, seeing a snapped stick. The figure turned towards them, walking over with heavy steps and loud pants.

“Well, well, well. Look what we have here…” The man reached out a filthy hand, with Luna quickly batting it away.

“Okay, dude. Let's not do something you'll regret.” Luna tapped Sam's stomach, warning her to move back as she took a step back.

The man grunted, snapping his hand on Luna's wrist and pulling her towards him.

Sam gasped, lunging forward before the man held up an object Sam couldn't make out in the dark. “I wouldn't do that if I was you…”

The man dragged Luna along, tossing her into the back of the van as Sam worked up a second bout of courage. “Luna!”

Sam charged forward, with the last thing she saw being the man raising his weapon with one hand and slamming the door with the other…

Luna gulped as she looked over to Sam's unconscious form, the rumbling of the van's engine barely disturbing her. She carefully slid over, gently rolling Sam onto her side and feeling a warm liquid on her fingers.

In the faint light, Luna could see Sam's eye surrounded by blood and something that she knew shouldn't be in an eye. “Sam…”

Shaking as she bit her hand to stop herself crying out, the Loud rocker shook her head and slowly rose to her feet. The van shunted her back and forth slightly, a rhythm she was used to from Vanzilla and the elbows and knees of ten other siblings. Her eyes drifted away from Sam, her heart breaking as she glared at the door.

Luna made a fist. “Sam, I don't know if you can hear me, but I'll get help and save you. I promise.”

Wobbling her way to the door, she gripped the door and gave a final look to her unconscious girlfriend. “Sam, promise me you'll stay strong. My heart will go on as long as I know you're going to be okay.”

A harsh bump sent Luna into the door, which swung it open and forced her out as the van swung swiftly around a bend.

Her hands reached for the door, with the tips of her fingers brushing against the metal as it swung shut again. “No!”

Luna tried again to grip something, her eyes locked on the railing of the bridge they went over. Her hands missed the bridge, with Luna plummeting into the river below.

SPLASH!

The current was strong, carrying Luna downstream as she fought to stay afloat. Her flailing removed her purple boots, leaving them to sink to the murky depths as she went under another three times. She gasped each time her head burst up.

Luna's eyes locked onto a nearby rock. “Yes!”

Paddling over, she gripped the rock and used it to drag herself onto dry ground. Heaving as her body flopped, Luna glanced to her right and found the bridge the van had crossed gone. In its place were trees, the moonlight reflecting off the leaves.

“Sammie…” Luna grunted, blacking out with her last conscious thoughts locked on her worry for her girlfriend…

Groaning, Sam slowly opened her eyes and flexed her fingers. Pain flooded her right eye, forcing her to bite her lip when she realised where she was. Her hands sat in the pool of blood below her, but Sam ignored it in favour of standing and turning to the front of the van. Feeling around in the dark, and taking care to keep her balance on the rough journey, Sam found a sliding door and opened it.

“Drat! The police found me - I gotta get my find out of here…” The man seemed to not have noticed the door open, his eyes instead locked on the rear vision mirror and the flashing red and blue lights.

A quick glance at the door proved she could squeeze through to reach the steering wheel, and Sam smirked. The flashing lights grew closer, but the man accelerated with a curse.

Sam gripped the frame of the small door to keep steady, her hand leaving red marks as she kept her eye on the man. “Now or never…”

Sam pushed herself through the hole, gripped the steering wheel with a grunt.

“What?!” The man backed as the rocker turned the wheel hard, forcing the van to swerve.

He fought back, turning the wheel and attempting to correct Sam's course. The pair turned the wheel multiple times, forcing the van into a swerving motion.

“Cut that out!”

“You won't get away with this!” Sam pulled the wheel hard, forcing the van into a steel barrier.

“No!” The man gripped Sam's arm, pulling her through the door as the van fell.

The van bounced a number of times, with the last thing Sam seeing being the man grunting as he was thrown through the van's windscreen….

Chapter Text

Signing the last of her discharge papers, Sam sighed as her left eye drifted to her new prosthetic left leg. It had taken six months for her to recover from her kidnapping - the van crash had, thankfully, killed the man who took them but had also taken her left leg when the van pinned her down and shattered her bones. As much as she hadn't wanted to end the man's life, the police hailed her a hero for ending his reign of terror.

“Some hero I am…” Sam scoffed, turning away from the reception desk and walking towards the door. “I lost my eye, my leg…and Luna…”

A tear fell from her left eye, her glass right eye barely shifting as she kept on her way.

Clank, tap. Clank, tap. Clank, tap.

The doors parted, sending a blast of chilled freh air onto her face as she left the hospital for the last time. She had managed to get a specially altered pair of maroon pants to match the pair she had before everything had happened - a desperate attempt to bring things back to normal. The constant reminders, both from the visible fake leg and news bulletins, had made her attempts moot.

Her hand balled into a fist as Sam walked over to a purple motorcycle, the open hand tracing the skull decal before moving to a full moon decal. “I'll find you, Lunes. I promise. No matter what everyone else says.”

She took a moment to breathe as she slid her motorcycle jacket - a customised mix of teal and purple - over the Hoodoo Gurus shirt she bought to replace her previous The Who top.

Putting on her black helmet, Sam started her bike and drove away from the hospital.

Sam dusted off her dark navy gloves, taking them off as she inspected her tent. Having driven for several hours, she decided to rest in the forest before continuing her journey back to Royal Woods.

“I just wish I didn't have to put up with all the ‘Luna is dead’ stuff at the cafe…” Sighing, Sam sat down in front of her tent and pulled out an old radio from her pack.

Her hands fiddled with the dial, searching for a station that didn't declare Luna dead. She had enough of that when she stopped for coffee before leaving the city. 

“Stupid people… Why do they try and do things like that?” Sam huffed as she turned the dial, small amounts of music breaking through the sea of white noise as her other hand played with the aerial to lock down the signal. “Stupid radio!”

The radio crackled loudly, making her startle as a low growl sounded nearby.

“Uh oh…” Sam shut off the radio, turning to see a cougar approaching with teeth bared.

She moved back, hoping the cougar wasn't seeing her as an easy meal. A hand drifted to her prosthetic leg, gripping it in preparation to remove it for a weapon. The cougar stalked closer. Sam gulped, removing her leg and swinging it in front of her to try and scare the predator off. A paw soon swiped the leg away and sending it across the field.

“No!” Sam gulped, her functional eye locked onto the cougar.

“Luna! Help!”

Luna lapped up some water from the lake, her ears trained for sounds around her. Pulling back, her eyes locked on her reflection with a confused pine. Her face seemed unusual to her, but she couldn't place it. It certainly wasn't the face that drifted in and out of her dreams - she was a girl with shining blue eyes and a blonde mane with a blue streak. Her mane was brown and shaggy, and her eyes brown and sharpened from her months in the woods.

“No!”

Luna twitched, snapping her head around as she registered cougar growls nearby. The voice that had called out sounded familiar as well - that same voice called out to her in her dreams, as well as during her early days of survival. It clung to her mind desperately, a small sliver of whatever past she had before waking up on the side of the river.

“Luna! Help!”

Her eyes widened. It was the voice she had heard before, and it needed her help! Luna snarled, turning and bounding towards the source of the cougar growls.

Sam closed her eyes, shaking as the cougar pinned her down with one paw. Her only thoughts were of Luna and her failed promise to find her, but a sudden removal of weight made her open her eyes.

“What the -” She turned when she heard a sharp growl, seeing the cougar being attacked by a vaguely humanoid shape. “Luna?”

Sam gulped quietly as the cougar swiped at the figure, catching part of a torn purple top and shredding the fabric. The being snarled in response, scratching the cougar on the snout. As the animal recoiled, she pounced and rolled with the cougar multiple times. Sam gasped, attempting to scramble to a standing position as the figure snapped her teeth on the cougar’s throat. Blood seeped onto the big cat's fur, with the predator thrashing as it attempted to throw off its attacker. Sam slowly shifted towards her prosthetic, putting it back on as the cougar finally stopped struggling.

She stood up with bated breath, watching as the being moved away from the cougar and rose to its feet. “L-Luna? Is that really you?”

Sam stopped as the figure moved closer, body tense as if unsure of the encounter. The blonde held her breath, seeing the figure was none other than her lost girlfriend. Luna's eyes darted up and down Sam's form, carefully assessing her threat level as she took another cautious step. There was very little left of the purple top she always wore, with the tears revealing a myriad of scars, bruises and bites littering her skin. The entirety of the bottom of it had gone, exposing what appeared to be the early stages of a six-pack.

“You're…You're…” Sam felt tears in her eye as Luna took another step on filthy bare feet, her plaid skirt acting more as a loincloth due to the rips.

Luna sniffed the air around Sam, her head tilting slightly as the latter darted into an embrace. Sam sobbed into Luna's shoulder, unable to form a coherent sentence. The hugged slowly put her arms around the sobbing lass, her chest rumbling in a soft purring in an effort to calm her…

Luna laid awake by the girl’s side as she slept, having moved her into her strange little cave when she fell asleep after crying for several minutes. This was definitely the girl from her dreams, but at the same time she looked different. One eye remained blank while the other showed emotion, but it was her nevertheless.

She had one main question for herself. Who was Luna?

It was clear, both from her dreams and her interaction with this girl, that she was Luna. 

But is Luna who I am now, or who I was before? She shook her head. There was no time for those kinds of thoughts - this girl needed her now.

Luna jolted when the sleeping form began groaning and shifting beside her, a whimper leaving her as she crawled forward and nudged the girl's face. She soon shot awake, arms wrapping around Luna as she shook. The girl smiled as Luna met her eyes, her breathing evening out as the latter licked her cheek. 

“Thank goodness you're still here, Luna. That was a horrible dream…Not that I've had a good dream for months.” The girl sighed, gently running her fingers through Luna's mane.

Luna blinked as she kept going, a voice echoing in her mind as more moments with this girl drifted from the fog in her memories. Sam…Her name is Sam. Luna nuzzled Sam, her heart fluttering with joy. And I love her.

Sam giggled, rubbing her face against Luna's. “You remember me!”

Luna studied Sam's face, slowly mimicking the smile on her face. Sam laid back down, her arms remaining around Luna.

“I'm glad I kept that promise to myself to find you. But, what happened to you out here?” Sam bit her lip, which Luna assumed was to stop herself rambling, her eyes locking on the lass with a wobble. 

“Nevermind that…” Sam shook her head. “Just - could you stay close?”

Luna curled up, to the best of her abilities with the girl's arms around her, by Sam's side and rested her head on her chest. Her own chest and throat rumbled as she purred, finding it was a good way to offer comfort to Sam…

Sam grunted as the tent refused to go into the bag, the canvas sticking out and blocking the zip from closing. Her left hand pushed it down as her right tugged the zip. The morning sun was of no assistance, being blocked by trees.

“Just close!” Sam slipped, flopping onto the bag as her gaze shifted to Luna.

Her girlfriend was sniffing the area on all fours, stopping and turning when Sam hit the bag. Padding up to her, she inspected the bag before batting it with her hand. Sam crawled off, watching as Luna jumped onto it with her hands and grabbed the zip. Growling like a dog at play, she pulled the zip and successfully managed to close the bag before falling onto her back.

Sam giggled. “Thanks, Lunes.” She ran her hand along Luna's abs, delighting in the kicking of her leg.

She stopped as she picked up the bag, carrying it over to her bike and tying it up. Her sleeping bag was already there, and she spotted something she had hooked onto the bike when she first got it.

“Luna, come here.” Sam grabbed the helmet and knelt down, seeing Luna sitting in front of her expectantly.

The helmet in Sam's hands interested her, with the wild girl sniffing the purple helmet before Sam carefully slid it onto her head.

Sam chuckled as Luna scratched at the helmet with her foot. “Easy, Lunes. You'll need to keep that on when you hop on my bike.”

Luna blinked, following Sam's gaze to the motorcycle before slowly wandering over and sniffing it. Watching Luna's behaviour, Sam approached her bike and rested a hand on the moon decal. It was clear something had happened to her to make her behave more like an animal than a human, and she was determined to find out what. 

She hopped onto the motorcycle, patting the space behind her as Luna gazed in confusion. “Hop on - I'll take you to a hospital and see how we can help bring you back.”

Luna leapt up, gripping the bike with her hands and feet as she nudged Sam. The latter rubbed the former’s cheek, turning on her bike and slowly taking off to accommodate the extra passenger.

Luna glanced around as Sam led her into the unusually white room, turning to her as she let out a sigh. Luna pined, nudging Sam's flesh leg with a soft purr.

“Sorry, Lunes. I just hoped I wouldn't ever need to go to hospital again after everything that's happened.” Sam lowered a paw and ran her fingers through Luna's mane, moving to the reception desk while Luna began wandering around the room.

The scents were all too sterile for her liking, so she leapt up onto a bench and waited for Sam. 

Her mind drifted to what Sam had said, her brow furrowing as she glanced down at her paws. Could what she be referring to be related to what happened to me? Is that why my head's so foggy?

Luna blinked when her nose detected Sam's scent - lavender, a small amount of fuel from her motorcycle and, for reasons unknown to her, the forest - beside her, turning to her before laying across her lap. Sam rubbed her back absent-mindedly as they waited, with Luna's eyes trained on the door.

It wasn't long before a strange being poked their head through the door, showing his teeth in what Luna could only assume was a bigger version of Sam's smile. “Ms Loud and Ms Sharp.”

Sam tapped Luna to get her off, with the lass following her with tense muscles. Who are Ms Loud and Ms Sharp, and why did Sam respond?

They entered another pale room, but this one had a bed in it. The figure gestured to the bed, with Sam sitting on a nearby seat as Luna cautiously sniffed the bed. Unfortunately for her, it was just as sterile as the other room they were in.

“It's okay, Luna.” Luna looked over to Sam, who gave a small smile as she patted the bed. “Hop up here so the doctor can examine you.”

Luna obeyed, looking over to the figure - a doctor, according to Sam - with a confused pine. The doctor chuckled, holding out a paw for her to sniff before he began the examination. Luna listened calmly to the exchange between Sam and the doctor, doing her best to ignore the repeated probing.

“So you found her like this yesterday? How long do you think she had been out there for?”

“At least six months - that's how long it was since the incident that separated us…” Luna whimpered when Sam sighed, a paw reaching out in an effort to comfort her.

“At least she appears capable of understanding everything around her…The good news is all of her injuries have healed well, so we don't have to worry about infections.”

“Why does it sound like there's bad news too?”

The doctor hummed as he put a paw on Luna's head, finding a scab hidden under her mane. “Considering I can officially say she has amnesia from a head injury, there is a high chance, based on how long she was out there for, that she may never fully recover her memory.”

Sam gulped. “What do you mean by that?”

“The girlfriend you knew last year may never return…”

Sam bit her lip, with Luna whimpering as a darkness filled Sam's working eye. She put a paw out, but was shocked to see Sam ignore it.

Sam stood in front of the doctor, glaring into his eyes. “I'm going to tell you this once, and ONLY once. I. Am. Not. Giving. Up. On. Her.”

Luna leapt off the bed, rising to stand on her hind legs to separate the two. The doctor recoiled at her warning snarl, with Sam grabbing Luna's paw and darting out the room.

It had taken at least an hour for Sam to calm down enough to book a hotel room, her rage replaced with heavy guilt. She sat on the bed as she watched Luna investigate the room, sighing to herself as she buried her face in her hands.

She flopped backwards on the bed, her body bouncing from the impact. “What in the name of peace, love and understanding is wrong with me?!”

Sam felt a second bouncing beside her, deciding against looking as her guilt raged on.

“Why did I go off at him?!” Sam barely suppressed a frustrated scream, feeling the presence beside her jolt through the bed springs.

A nudging removed her hands from her face, with a concerned Luna gazing at Sam with soft pines. From the angle they were in, Sam could see the old fire in Luna's eyes - it looked as if there was some form of mist hiding it, but she could tell it was there.

A smile found its way onto Sam's face, her guilt waning slightly. “Luna…You really are in there somewhere, aren't you?”

Sam slowly lifted her hand to cup Luna's cheek, feeling her nuzzle into it as she pined softly. It hurt her heart to see her girlfriend in this state, but the words of the doctor kept echoing in her mind.

She sighed as Luna shuffled over and gently licked her cheek, her hand resting on Luna's arm as Sam lowered her other hand to her stomach. “Why do people seem to want to give up? It can't be hopeless, right? All I need to do is remind you of who you are…and more likely just re-teach you a thing or two. I'll bring you back, Lunes, even if you end up with some of this permanently.”

Luna moved back from licking Sam's face, whimpering as she shifted in a way the blonde immediately recognised as a canine potty dance.

Her eyelids drooped. “Well shit…”

One Month Later…

Luna purred as she felt the warm water of her shower trickle down her body. She was happy Sam had taught her to wash herself, even if the poor blonde had a blush so bright it turned her whole face red, as it gave her some time to think. 

Their first task was basic self care, and Luna found that the tasks came back to her quite quickly. That doctor said amnesia - could it just be that? Maybe I also forgot human things to help me survive out there. Sam said to ask Lisa, but what IS a Lisa?

Grabbing the nearby bar of soap, Luna began lathering herself up as her eyes traced the scars over her body. Every mark told a story of survival - victories against coyotes and cougars, near misses with bears and bullets, and times when a deer fought back against her predatory needs - but there was one mark she could never place. A jagged scar drifted up her right arm, and it had bruising on parts of it back when she was in the forest.

She remembered Sam's blank eye having a similar scar underneath. What happened to us? Did whatever happened to Sam's eye happen to my arm?

Turning the water off as the last of the soap trickled down, Luna got out of the shower and shook herself off. Despite their best efforts, some instincts refused to shift, including shaking herself off following a shower or bath. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself to begin drying herself off in a more human manner. Her mind drifted again as she dried herself - Sam had told her they were going to replace her clothes and cut her mane, though she had called it ‘hair’. Luna was unsure of her plan, but her girlfriend insisted bringing her original look back as much as they could might help jog Luna's memory.

While she had her doubts, she trusted Sam with every fibre of her being. She promised she would bring me back, so I need to trust her. I want to know what's behind that fog, and I want to know why I'm like this.

Luna began putting her clothes back on, her eyes locking onto the mirror briefly.

She huffed slightly, shifting part of her mane out of her face. Maybe a mane cut wouldn't hurt, after all.. 

Sam held Luna's hand the moment they got off her motorcycle, slowly wandering into the store as Luna pined softly.

“You're okay, Lunes. I'm right here with you.” Sam rubbed her thumb along Luna's hand, a tiny smile on her face as the wild lass glanced over to her.

Their first stop was the hairdresser, with Sam keeping an eye on Luna as hair-dryers and other hairdressing machines whirred around them. It was clear the noise was stressing her out, but Sam stuck close to her. 

“It's okay. You're okay.” Sam smiled at Luna, who whimpered before nuzzling her.

The hairdresser gently guided them to an open chair, sitting Luna down as Sam pulled out her phone and showed her a photo.

The blonde turned back to Luna, rubbing her thumb over her hand again as she looked into her eyes. “Lunes, I'll be over the other side of the room. You'll see me in the mirror, okay? I promise you'll be safe here.”

“She'll be fine, darling. I'll get her hair back to her old style in two shakes!” The hairdresser snipped the scissors in her hand with a smile.

Sam nodded with a bright beam, sitting down with her prosthetic sticking out as she glanced between her phone and Luna. An idea had formed in her head during the night, and she hoped she still had what she would need for it to work. She heard Luna purring, pausing to see the hairdresser tickling the wild lass under the chin as she trimmed her hair. Giggling, Sam turned back to her phone and let out a breath that had caught in her throat. The songs from the Moon Goats were still set up as a playlist on her phone, as well as a special playlist she had made for Luna the previous year.

It's kinda bittersweet seeing this - it'll help bring Luna back, but it hurts remembering the good times before all this happened… Sam jolted at a slight whimper, seeing Luna gazing at her in the mirror with her cut half complete. “I'm fine, Luna. Promise.”

Sam pocketed her phone again, hands clasped in her lap as her eye trailed her prosthetic leg. She made a mental note to clean it, since it had collected a layer of dirt which had made its way into the exposed sections.

“And we're done!”

Sam stood up quickly, stumbling slightly due to her leg, and made her way over to Luna. The rocker’s pixie cut was back, with the lass tilting her head as she stared at her reflection. Sam watched with bated breath. Luna sniffed the mirror, moving back before looking to Sam.

“How do you feel, Luna?” Sam nodded to the hairdresser as she left to organise their bill, turning back to her girlfriend.

Luna looked back to the mirror, taking it in for a moment before turning back to Sam and smiling. Sam returned the smile, chuckling when Luna let out a happy howl before paying the bill.

“That's great, Lunes! Come on, let's get you some new clothes.” Sam ruffled Luna's hair, enjoying the familiar feeling as Luna purred.

Luna kept close to Sam as they wandered in the clothing store, the pop music thumping in her ears and disorienting her slightly. Her eyes kept scanning the clothing racks, her instincts telling her something could jump put at any moment. Sam simply rubbed her shoulder, shifting through the array of purple tops as Luna took a breath.

Why is this place like this? I guess this is what Sam meant when she warned me the store might stress me out. Boy was she not kidding… Luna nuzzled Sam as she pulled out a top that resembled the torn one she had on, with the lass tossing it over her shoulder.

“It's alright, Luna. I'm here, and we've only got a few more things to get and then we can leave.” Sam gently grabbed Luna's paw, leading her to the skirts as the wild lass kept her posture locked.

She found it funny that the clanging of Sam's metal leg brought her comfort, but her amusement was cut short when they wandered near a shelf of chokers. Luna paused, feeling Sam being shifted back from the sudden stop, and sniffed at the array of chokers before her.

Why am I drawn to this? I'm fairly sure I never wore one… Wait a minute… Luna moved her paws to a black choker with a crescent moon, cautiously taking it off the shelf and holding it before her eyes. A moon. Fitting, that's for sure…

“Luna? Whatcha got there?” Sam moved closer, seeing the choker and chuckling. “Oh, I see. Do you want that, Lunes?”

Luna tilted her head, her eyes on the choker, before facing Sam and nodding.

“We'll add it to the collection, then.” Sam took Luna's paw again, leading her along to their next stop.

Luna stood back and let Sam pick out more clothing, allowing herself to relax a bit in her presence. Being here with Sam, it feels right. I like that - just being around her feels right, too. I wonder how much time I spent with her in the past…

Sam approached Luna, smiling with her arms full of clothes. “All done picking them out! How about we try them on and see if it helps your memories?”

Luna smiled, following Sam to the changeroom and holding in a chuckle at the spring in Sam's step. 

They soon arrived at the curtained area, with Sam gesturing to the room and handing Luna the clothing. “I'll be just out here - call out if you need anything.”

Luna nodded, slowly changing clothes before looking at the mirror. A small part of her was glad Sam took the time to explain things to her, but her thoughts froze when she saw herself. She blinked briefly at her reflection, feeling more fog dispell from her mind.

This… This feels right. I remember seeing this face in the mirror. I really AM that Luna of the past! Luna let out a small bark, smiling and bouncing happily as Sam rushed in.

Luna felt her heart warm at Sam's smile, howling in delight as Sam embraced her.

“Luna! It's working! We can't give up now!” Sam led Luna out of the changeroom, with the wild lass delighting in the renewed hope on Sam's eye…

Chapter Text

Five Months Later…

Sam flopped into a red booth seat with a newspaper in her hand, seeing Luna gazing at her from her plate of food. Chuckling, Sam opened the paper before taking a sip from her chai latte. The pair had stumbled upon a Burpin Burger on their way back to Royal Woods, deciding to stop for lunch to silence Luna's stomach.

I can't believe she has such an appetite. Sam smirked to herself, her face soon falling when her eyes landed on an unusual article.

Reading, she soon let out a gasp that received a small bark in response. Despite their best efforts, Luna still had not regained her memory of speaking - the five months since their shopping trip, however, gave Sam the opportunity to learn to understand Luna's non-verbal communication.

“Lunes, check out this article - a werewolf sighting in Royal Woods. How weird is that?” Sam pushed the paper over to Luna, who was snapping up a chunk of her cheeseburger while pulling her new phone out.

Licking her lips, Luna scanned the article before sending Sam a text message. A white one at that. Why does it seem familiar, though? It's like when you said my strength could give Lynn a run for her money - that sparked some sort of red figure in my memory, just like I vaguely remember someone with a white mane now.

Sam hummed in thought, taking a sip from her drink as Luna returned to her meal. The blonde had already eaten her vegetable burger, and had allowed Luna to get seconds while she digested. It also gave her time to think - while she had been adamant about returning home to Royal Woods, there had never been much of a purpose. It wasn't until the off-hand comment yesterday that she had another purpose - if mentioning the Loud clan sparked something in Luna, then meeting them in person might be the fix to return her speech.

Sam's thoughts paused when she heard a pine, with the lass glancing up to see the feral girl tilting her head with a fry in her mouth. “Sorry, Lunes. Got lost in my head there for a moment. The white werewolf worries me, though - what if it's Lincoln?”

Luna ate the fry in her mouth, typing out another message before hopping onto all fours for a stretch. Do you think we should check it out? Maybe we can help stop the werewolf.

Sam gulped down the last of her latte, standing up and pumping her fist. “Then let's go! We've got a werewolf to catch!”

Luna whimpered as the lunch crowd stared at the pair, with Sam gulping and swiftly darting out the door with a deep blush spread across her face and neck.

The moon shone high in the sky by the time Sam and Luna reached Royal Woods, the pair pulling up beside a restaurant with Lynn's Table signage.

Taking off her helmet, Sam dismounted the motorcycle and paced back and forth. “According to the article, the werewolf has been sighted around here and Ketcham Park. First off, we need clues…”

Luna leapt off the bike and stood on her hind legs, watching as Sam rambled and continued pacing. She had wondered why Sam rambled when under stress, but her mind suggested it was a common occurrence.

Her nose twitched, detecting the scent of a number of wolves intermingled with familiar human scents. That's strange. I wonder if that smell belongs to the werewolf…although, why are there multiple scents?

Luna nudged Sam, who hadn't stopped rambling, and made a series of barks and whines. Her arms also waved around, her paws gesturing to where the scent trail was and relaying her suspicions.

Sam nodded, her brow furrowing. “Well that's just fantastic…”

Luna could sense Sam's fear, nuzzling her nose against her neck with soft purring. She knew it helped calm her down, and Sam's usual level-head was what they needed now. A series of howls interrupted the moment, with Luna detecting the beasts as they approached and snarling.

“Luna?” The wild girl heard Sam gasp as she dropped to all fours, putting herself between Sam and the approaching werewolves.

Three blonde werewolves sauntered up to them, with the white werewolf from the newspaper joining them. Luna snapped at them, body poised for pouncing as the smaller blonde stalked forward. Its fur glistened as it leapt at Luna, its path cut off by a blast of something hitting its face.

Was that…a pie? Like in those comedy films Sam watched a few times when she couldn't sleep? Luna saw more pies hitting the ground in front of her, glancing over to see a blue and white van sliding up to them.

A wild whooping noise reached her ears, with Luna's eyes darting to a being in yellow with her brown mane in a ponytail. In the being's paws was some sort of launcher, which continued to launch pies at the werewolves as the van's side door opened.

“Get in if you, like, totes wanna live!” The command sounded odd in Luna's ears, especially since the voice did not sound in the slightest intimidating.

Sam jumped in with a gulp, with Luna swiping at a pie-covered black werewolf before bounding in herself. The werewolves thumped against the van, which squealed in protest as the driver sped away. 

Luna gripped the nearest chair with her paws, glancing over to see a blonde mane at the driver's seat and feeling a distinct feeling of dread in her. Why am I nervous about this? It doesn't make sense. What is it about that female that scares me?

Luna shook off her thoughts, turning to see Sam hugging a small girl with a short brown mane and strange round objects in front of her eyes.

“Lisa! I'm so glad to see you! But-” Sam let go of ‘Lisa’, moving back as the ponytailed being jumped in from the roof of the van. “What's going on?”

“Simple; I have managed to create an antidote for the lycanthropes - street name werewolves - and I have recruited the remaining sibling units to pursue the pack to administer the cure.” Luna blinked in confusion, having only just managed to understand the ‘Lisa’ girl through her large words and lisp.

Sam shared Luna's confused stare, shaking it off as part of it registered. “Wait, you said ‘remaining’. Who isn't a werewolf?”

‘Lisa’ gestured to the two beings in the van. “Those of us who have escaped the lycanthropy curse include myself, Luan and Leni.”

“I'm still human too, Lisa.” Luna blinked as everyone squealed and jumped back, with a pale being with a black mane popping up from one of the seats.

“Of course. Sorry, Lucy.” ‘Lisa’ sighed with a paw on her chest, turning to the group with a sharp nod. “Let us reconvene at our place of residence. We'll discuss our plan there.”

Sam rubbed the couch under her as Luna laid across her lap, a small wistful smile on her face. Despite the situation, the blonde felt a warmness in her heart that she and Luna had returned home. Shaking it off, she put her arms on Luna's back and looked forward.

“Alright, Lisa, how are we going to catch all those werewolves? There's so many of them…” Sam shivered, with Luna whimpering and licking her cheek.

Sam rustled Luna's hair in gratitude, her eyes locked expectantly on Lisa. Before the small genius could speak, though, Luan burst into the room with a mix of fear and glee.

“Lucy managed to capture three of them and turn them back!” Luan kept her pie launcher over her shoulders, her free hand toying with the unusual increase in bangs over her right eye. “They don't remember anything, though, and it doesn't help us find Lincoln…”

Lisa blinked. “How did the seventh eldest sibling manage to reverse the lycanthropy? I thought my antidote was the only method of doing so!”

Sam blinked as Luan shrugged, having not heard a single pun since they reunited. What's up with Luan? She's not acting the same - it's like she's another person…

Sam was pulled from her thoughts when Luna shifted in her lap, with the blonde looking down to see her carefully removing herself and sniffing the ground. “Luna?”

Luna ignored her, following her nose on all fours towards the front door. She paused to lift herself up, opening the front door before dropping back down and continuing on her way. 

Leni wandered downstairs, looking to the trio with a soft smile. “I'm, like, going to stay here. Like, they totes need someone with them.”

“With Lana, Lola and Lynn free from the curse, we only need to worry about four werewolves. Provided Lincoln does not bite anyone else.” Lucy popped up next to Sam, eliciting a scream from her as she leapt off the couch.

Lisa sighed, a hand on her forehead. “Correct, but we do have the issue of the remaining four being among the more dangerous. While we have eliminated Lynn, who had the athletic prowess to cause a significantly reduced chance of success for our plans, we still have complications associated with the remaining lycanthropes.”

Sam tuned out the rest of Lisa's scientific speech, her eyes locked on the door Luna had walked out of. Lunes, I hope you know what you're doing.

Luan blinked when Sam gripped her arm, shouting in surprise as she was dragged out. The door slammed behind the pair as the blonde dragged the armed Loud back towards Lynn's Table, with Sam faintly hearing Lisa continuing her monologue…

Luna sniffed the air again, detecting the smell of the werewolves leading her towards the park. There was something off about those werewolves. Why did they specifically go after me and Sam? I've got to work this out…

Luna padded along the path, eyes darting side to side as car horns and owl hooting reached her. The scent trail was faint, but still there, which Luna assumed meant they had retreated following the attack on her and Sam.

As she padded along, Luna found her mind locked on the human part of the scents. Why are they so familiar? ‘Lisa’ mentioned the remaining siblings earlier, so could that be it? Maybe they're the Loud siblings that Sam mentioned - I'm meant to be one of them too... Luna's thoughts were interrupted by a series of howls, with the feral girl turning her head with a smile. There they are! Now all I need to do is get in close.

Luna bolted towards the howling, the scents growing stronger as she went. Concrete became grass, with Luna leaping into a nearby bush the moment she saw the werewolves. A black-furred werewolf paced about, teeth bared defensively as the white-furred werewolf laid down. A large blonde werewolf yapped and hopped about in front of the smaller werewolf, who let out a more human giggled as she played.

They don't seem aggressive now. How come they attacked before? Luna cautiously moved through the bushes, one eye on her paws to avoid making a sudden noise that would draw their attention to her. 

The black werewolf froze, turning his ears as Luna paused. He snarled and made his way over to the bushes the feral girl was in, with the white werewolf watching curiously. 

Luna gulped, with the beast gripping her skirt with his teeth. This isn't good…

She felt herself being tugged out, soon seeing the werewolves growling at her aggressively. Even the smaller blonde seemed to be baring her teeth, but the larger blonde werewolf kept her away from Luna.

Maybe they get aggressive around the smell of humans, like they have an instinct to attack them. Luna dodged as the black werewolf pounced at her, hearing the harsh snapping of jaws behind her.

The pair began pacing around in a circle, preparing themselves for a fight…

Sam thrust Luna's helmet into Luan’s hands, mounting her bike and starting the engine. “Luan, I have a bad feeling about Luna wandering off. I may trust her and her instincts to keep her safe, but…” Sam gulped down a lump of fear, feeling her body shake as Luan put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Look, chick, I get it. You don't wanna lose the one you love again, so things like this scare you. I bet Luna's trying to figure it out to protect you.” Luan held on as Sam got the bike into motion.

Sam blinked to herself. This isn't normal for Luan. She would have made a pun by now…

The pair turned down a street, with Sam glancing back briefly before refocusing on the road. “Say, Luan, how come you're acting so different?”

She felt Luan tighten her grip on her body, a jolt racing through her passenger as if caught out on a serious lie. The motorcycle revved under them, with the duo stopping by the Ketcham Park entrance as Sam turned to look at Luan.

The ponytailed lass sighed, a hand resting on the pie launcher she had strapped to her back. “Promise not to tell the rest of the Loud family?”

Sam blinked as they dismounted the bike, nodding as she took her helmet off. “Promise.”

Luan sighed. “My name is Maxine - Max for short. I'm one of Luan's alters.” Luan - or Maxine - placed her helmet on the bike and turned to face Sam.

Sam gasped, soon shaking off her thoughts as she held out a hand. “Well, Max, it's nice to meet you. Would've been better under different circumstances, though.”

Maxine shook her hand with a smile, a series of howls and snarls interrupting the moment. She grabbed the pie launcher, glancing over to Sam with a raised eyebrow.

“That didn't sound good.” Maxine rubbed a hand along the barrel of the pie launcher.

Sam took a breath. “Oddly, only the snarling. The howls sound…happy?”

Maxine raised a finger to ask a question, deciding against it as Sam darted forward. The blonde's prosthetic clunked against the dry ground, with the alter following behind.

Luna slid across the ground on all fours as the black werewolf fell back, shaking his head violently and growling. The other werewolves had backed off when Luna managed to bite her attacker, howling gleefully the moment their eyes locked onto the feral girl.

Luna panted with fire in her eyes. This werewolf made them act out? But how? And why? What is different about this one?

The black werewolf stood up again, snarling as he stalked forward. As he approached, Luna got a good look at his eyes - they were a deep yellow, which had been the colour of the other werewolves’ eyes before she had bitten him. The werewolf pounced, pinning her down and snapping his jaws at her. Before he managed to sink his teeth into her, the beast was blasted off of her by a large pie. Her ears pricked at the thumping of Sam's metal leg against the ground, a smile forming on her face as she got up. She made her way over to her girlfriend, seeing the ‘Luan’ being beside her firing off more pies at the black werewolf. The remaining werewolves moved to the pair, snarling aggressively.

“Running outta pies, chick! Whatever you two are planning, do it quick!” ‘Luan’ spat a curse when the pies stopped, grunting as she heaved the launcher at the wolf.

Sam knelt down, rustling Luna's mane and chuckling as the other werewolves licked her. “Luna, how come they're not biting us?”

Luna sat on her haunches, raising her front legs and gesturing with her paws as she yipped and growled.

“Mind control? How is that possible?” Sam blinked in shock, pulling Luna into her arms before the black werewolf sank its fangs into her arm.

Luna flinched as she screamed in agony, a sharp pine leaving her. Sam, no!

The black werewolf howled as he stepped back, with Sam immediately transforming as Luna lunged at him in anger.

You hurt my Sam! Luna soon found herself pinned down by a blonde werewolf, spying the familiar teal streak and the deep yellow from her natural eye. No…

The transformed yelped and leapt away as ‘Luan’ swung Sam's prosthetic leg around, soon following the black werewolf. Luna pined, howling mournfully as they disappeared into the night…

Maxine rubbed Luna's back as the siblings regrouped in Vanzilla, with the remaining werewolves reverted back to their human selves by Lisa's antidote.

Poor chick - transformed, mind controlled and alone. Moon Unit here seems pretty down, too. Must be something about that bond they have now. Maxine hushed the wild girl as she whimpered, with Lana hugging her head and reassuring her like one of her many pets.

At least we've got good news for Toots.

Maxine let herself smile. That we do, Coconuts. You can tell her now if you like - I'll need to front a bit longer to help ‘em.

What are ya thinking, sistah?

To knock out the hive, you aim for the queen. Maxine refocused on Lori resting her head on her arms, groaning louder than Lisa's scientific explanation. Lucy seemed to be watching her intensely, but Maxine gave a subtle wink and cheeky grin.

“Does anyone literally have any ideas that don't involve two tiny droplets?” Lori gestured to the empty vial, brows furrowed as she gave a pointed glare to Lisa.

“We simply do not have time to manufacture another vial of the antidote for the lycanthropes. Perhaps whatever cured the other sibling units may be of use.” Lisa tapped her chin in thought, humming as the others sat in silence.

Lucy crossed her arms, head facing Maxine. “Luan, you mentioned mind control earlier.”

Maxine withheld a wince at the wrong name, reminding herself she was currently pretending to be Luan. “Yeah - it seemed like Sam could understand Luna somehow, and it was Luna who told her. Why?”

“Sigh. I think I know how this happened…” Lucy swung her legs on the seat, with the rest of the Louds leaning towards her the best they could. “This has Morpheus written all over it…”

Maxine made a fist with the hand on Luna's back, with the feral girl standing on all fours and turning to her with trembling eyes.

“Well, there's only one thing for it. Draw out the queen, and kill the hive.” Maxine heard Mr Coconuts tutting her choice of words. Don't say anything- it's for Moon Unit!

“But they're, like, werewolves, not bees.” Leni blinked in confusion, with Lincoln patting her arm as everyone stared at her.

Lincoln was the first to break the silence. “Luan's right, though. The only way to stop it is at the source. And I have a plan.”

Luna panted as the group of siblings stood around a large stone, with a series of smaller stones surrounding it.

“Why, exactly, are we in this grody graveyard?” The being dressed as a princess groaned as she wiped off a fine amount of dust off the stone.

“Morpheus will only meet others in an area surrounded by spirits. He likes witnesses.” ‘Lucy’ lovingly patted the stone, whispering to it as the other siblings shrieked.

Luna watched as they gripped their chests. Why do they keep getting scared of her? Can't they smell her?

Another three scents reached the feral girl's nose, with the two werewolves flanking a young boy wearing a long dark cloak. 

He adjusted his glasses. “Lucy.”

‘Lucy’ hopped off the stone. “Morpheus.”

Luna stood close to ‘Lucy's’ side, baring her teeth as her eyes drifted to the mind controlled Sam. We'll save you, Sam. I promise.

“What are you gaining from this? My sisters did not care for your trick.” ‘Lucy’ gestured to the group, who stood with crossed arms while ‘Luan’ cracked her knuckles.

“I'm glad I got your attention, Lucy. You remember our conversation?” Morpheus kept his hands down, the werewolves obediently sitting beside him.

Luna felt her stomach churn. Sam deserves freedom. She's been through too much to have less.

“Of course I do. It was the day we voted to kick you out of the Morticians Club after you attempted to summon a demon.” ‘Lucy’ balled her hands into fists despite her monotone voice, with Luna snarling at the being in front of them.

“Call off your mutt of a sister if you know what's good for you. Unless your real dream is to become one of my pet werewolves…” ‘Morpheus’ snapped his fingers, with the werewolves immediately leaping in front of him and snarling.

Luna stayed close to the girl with the black mane, putting herself between her and the beasts. I don't want to hurt you, Sam, but if I have to I will…

The sisters gasped behind them, with Luna seeing her shadow being projected from a strange grey-blue light.

“I will not, nor will I ever, let you call yourself a Mortician again. You lost that right when you endangered everything we stand for - summoning a demon can disrupt the rest of the spirits.” The glow shone brighter, lifting ‘Lucy’ into the air as Luna turned to her in fear.

The werewolves whimpered in fear, with their master gulping as the light burst forth. “Unbelievable! How is she a more powerful witch than me?!”

The light hit the werewolves, reverting them back to their human forms. The white maned boy rushed over to the dark-skinned boy, with Luna approaching a confused Sam as she shifted herself to a seated position.

Sam smiled Luna, wrapping her arms around her. “Hey Lunes. Good to see you.”

Luna barked happily and wriggled in her arms, nuzzling her as much as she could. She's back! My Sammie is back!

Sam let our a small laugh, which was cut short as she gently turned Luna around. 

The feral girl whimpered the moment her eyes locked on the comatose kit before her, with Sam letting her go when she let out a growl. “Luna?”

Luna darted over to ‘Morpheus’ pinning him down and hovering her teeth dangerously close to the kill zone. You hurt Sam, and you hurt the Louds. I won't forgive you. She snarled, snapping at the air near his neck.

“We literally gotta get Lucy home! Luan, give Sam her leg and let's literally go!” Luna hopped off at the eldest girl's voice, eyes locked on the boy who caused everything as he fled with a squeaky promise for revenge.

Sam rubbed her back soothingly, kneeling beside her as ‘Luan’ reconnected her leg. “Thank you for helping to save me, Lunes. How about we head home?”

Luna smiled, panting slightly from her threat to the boy before yipping. This must be home, if it all feels right. Sam was right - coming here is bringing a few things back.

‘Lincoln’ wandered over to them, a bright smile on his face. “Good idea. A lot has changed in the Loud House since you've been gone.”

Chapter Text

Luna had just finished in the bathroom when she heard Sam moaning downstairs. Instinct overtook her as she bolted on all fours, ignoring the shouts of the other beings in her path.

I'm coming, Sam! Luna bounded down the stairs, leaping onto the couch to see Sam groaning at… a computer.

Luna huffed. What is so dangerous about that thing? Isn't it just a big phone? 

It was at that moment two adults burst into the room armed with a rolling pin and a wooden spoon, their eyes on Luna as she stayed on the back of the couch and loomed over Sam. “Luna! Get down from there! It's not safe!” The woman paused when she finished scolding - something Luna felt was habit from the size of the family - her eyes widening in amazement as the man broke into inelegant sobbing.

Sam looked up from the computer, scratching Luna under the chin as the duo stood in shock. “Well… I think you broke your parents.”

Those are my parents? I guess that explains my mane and why it's different from the others, yet somehow similar at the same time. Luna looked to Sam, nudging her with a pine as she moved a paw to the screen.

Sam turned her head to look Luna in the eye while rubbing her paw - a reminder the eye contact was not a threat. “Oh, this? It's some paperwork I gotta deal with to reinstate you as a living human being. Apparently emancipation from a family that leaves you alone leaves you liable to fill out your girlfriend's paperwork as the primary witness to her being alive despite her legal death declaration. THANK YOU FOR NOTHING, DAD!”

Sam panted as Luna jolted slightly, with the feral girl purring and nuzzling her cheek. She prided herself in the ability to calm the strained nerves of her girlfriend, seeing it as a way to repay Sam for all her kindness. Luna stopped purring, clambering onto the seat of the couch and flopping over Sam's lap.

The lass sighed, holding the computer up. “Sorry sbout snapping like that, Lunes. It's just really stressful - I'd trade this for the Highway to Hell easily.”

I wish I could help… Luna whimpered softly, hating her mental state as Sam rubbed her back.

“Lunes, it's okay. It's not your fault you can't help out… Actually, I have an idea.” Sam shifted so she could cup Luna's cheek. “Since I'll be busy with this most of the day, why don't you take the chance to meet your family again? Maybe some one-on-one time might jog some more memories for you.”

Luna blinked, tilting her head and slowly moving off Sam's lap to nudge her face. Smart idea, Sam.

Sam giggled, setting the computer down and looking over to Luna's still-frozen parents. Luna followed her gaze, the pair standing and wandering over to them.

Sam poked the male, soon being caught in a sudden embrace that made Luna snarl. “Okay! I'm taking a break to fix them and get out of this hug.”

Luna settled herself with a whine, slowly stepping back before making her way back upstairs. Poor Sam - hopefully she gets out by the time I work up the courage to go near those two. I have a feeling I'll need to fight my instincts with them…

Luna paused at the door closest to the bathroom, knocking on it before dropping onto all fours again. First on the list is the ‘Lori’ girl, the eldest of the pack.

She sat on her haunches as she stared at the door, taking a moment to calm herself with soft pants. The door clicked open, with a lanky blonde looming over her with a phone in her hand. 

‘Lori's’ green eyes softened when they met Luna, who had curled in on herself and started whimpering when the door swung open. She's certainly scary… Do I need to relent to her? Is she the leader of the pack?

“Bobby boo-boo bear, I'll literally call you back. I have some important reconnecting to literally do.” She hung up the phone, sliding it into the pocket of her brown cuffed shorts and stepping back. “Literally come in.”

Luna padded in, leaping onto the bed and laying down. Best let her know I submit to her now, I guess. Slowly, she rolled onto her back while keeping her eyes on ‘Lori’.

The blonde sat on the bed, rubbing Luna's stomach with a smile. “I'm so glad Sam brought you home. I was literally worried sick when you literally never came home. I literally tried to be literally tough, but literally, literally…”

Luna blinked as ‘Lori’ slipped into a fit of speaking only one word, rolling back onto her paws and nuzzling into the blonde's light blue tank top while purring. I hope this works for her, too.

Luna found herself wrapped in a pair of arms, her nose filled with the scent of the young woman. Her mind detected hints of beans and lavender, as well as the dusty smell of the house itself, but she kept up her purring until ‘Lori’ fell silent.

Luna glanced up to see the blonde with black streaks on her cheeks, the light blue eyelids down as soft sobs reached her. She must have been hurt by what happened last year…

Luna closed her eyes and nuzzled her, feeling the fog in her mind lifting as memories drifted in and out of focus. 

A smile grew on her face. This is Lori, and she's my oldest sister. I remember her.

Lori moved back from the hug, wiping her eyes with her paw. “Sorry about that, Luna. I literally lost it for a moment.”

Luna pulled out her phone, typing a message before sending it to Lori's phone. 

The latter pulled her phone back out, kicking off her blue flats and crossing her legs on the bed. It's alright. To be honest with you, I was scared of you for a moment. But that said more about the state of my mind than you.

Lori looked to Luna, who had sat her phone in front of her as she sat on her haunches. The feral girl gave a small smile, chuckling nervously as her eyes drifted to the bedding.

“Luna, what -” Lori swallowed audibly, with Luna putting a paw onto her knee. “What do you literally mean by ‘the state of your mind’?”

Luna typed out the message with her other paw, her heart dropping as she realised what would be happening across the rest of the day. I know Sam warned me a while ago my family would be very emotional and react strongly to my return, but I'm not sure how prepared I am for when they find out about my amnesia. 

The message sent, with Luna deciding to move closer in case Lori got emotional again - her memories indicated it was a regular occurrence. I have amnesia, so I don't remember anything from before waking up in the forest. My memory is misty, like everything is behind it but needs help. Sam was the first person I remembered, and she's been helping me remember my past. Being around triggers helps bring them back.

Luna whimpered, seeing Lori's eyes glistening with tears.

Lori shook. “You…You don't remember us?”

Luna pined as she shook her head, moving to Lori as she took a breath. I've still got all the others to meet. Will it hurt them too?

“Literally in that case, I'll pull out the albums I literally keep in here! That might literally help you!” Lori got up and began digging through drawers, leaving Luna to blink in confusion.

Well, that's something, I guess. It couldn't hurt to look. Besides, it looks like Lori could use some time not thinking about now. 

Lori flopped onto the bed beside Luna, laying beside her as she laid a number of books in front of them. “Let's literally get started.”

It was about an hour before Lori finished going through the various photo albums, leaving Luna with fragments of memories shrouded with patchy fog. There were figures she couldn't identify, but some familiar traits shone through. One of them, which appeared as frequently as Lori in her mind, was a pair of white sunglasses.

I think I know who here wears white sunglasses. I just need to find her, wherever she is… Luna paused when she saw a ladder dangling from the ceiling, a hole she didn't see before now visible. What's that?

Luna heard scuffling from beyond the hole, preparing to go up and investigate before a shriek echoed. Instinct once again overtook her as she moved into position, catching a woman before she hit the floor. A bundle of fabric concealed her, but Luna found herself detecting daisies, different types of fabric smells and the scent of the house. 

Her eyes drifted to the sole section of a lighter blonde mane, where a pair of white sunglasses peeked out. Wait a minute… White sunglasses. This must be -

“Oh, like, hi Luna! I thought I managed to, like, fall through the attic.” Luna carefully put the girl down, with the fabric falling to the floor and revealing sapphire eyes that gleamed brightly. “Luna!”

The wild lass yelped when the older girl squeezed her into a hug - Luna made a mental note to herself to ask Sam if hugs were supposed to feel like ribs were going to snap - and found her face buried in a dress that was a very light green she couldn't recall seeing in the woods.

“Like, I'm totes glad to see you! I totes knew you'd, like, come back!” The sound of sandals slapping wood echoed as the girl kept bouncing around, pinning Luna's arms to her sides and making her unable to communicate.

How, exactly, am I supposed to ask her name like this? Luna's thoughts were cut off when her captor squealed, pulling her into the room she had just walked out of along with the fabric.

“Lori! Like, Luna came home!” The girl rushed to the closet, leaving the feral girl to stare in confusion as Lori sighed from her bed.

“Leni, Luna literally doesn't know what's going on here. She literally has amnesia…” Lori facepalmed herself, with the ditzy girl emerging from the closet with her bare arms full of clothes up to the white frills of her sleeves.

“Like, what's wrong with her nesia?”

Luna shot Lori a wide-eyed stare, a whine leaving her as Lori stood up.

Lori sighed. “Literally type it out with simple words. I'm literally outta here…”

Luna pined, pulling out her phone and silently thanking Lori for adding the numbers of the siblings who had phones. She typed out the message as ‘Leni’ laid out the clothes, her red hoop earrings swinging around as she turned to Luna.

‘Leni’ gasped happily when her phone dinged, pulling it out of her dress pocket. Lori means I don't remember my past, meaning I don't know this is home. It feels right, but I can't remember.

“Oh, that's, like, totes sad… I know! Like, I'll get you to model for me, and, like, tell you all about us!” ‘Leni’ pumped a fist in glee, doing a little dance before pulling Luna behind a makeshift changeroom.

Luna blinked as she was handed clothing. This will be interesting… As she got changed, and as she listened to ‘Leni’ rambling, Luna found more fragments of memory becoming clearer. Leni is the second eldest sibling. She loves fashion, and is a bit of a ditz. But it's clear she knows a lot about the family, considering how much is coming back…

Luna stepped out from behind the changeroom, with Leni clapping in glee. “This is totes great! I've, like, been working on a whole new wardrobe for you!”

Luna widened her eyes, gulping down a lump as Leni approached. And now I remember why she sometimes scares me…

Luna slammed the door behind her, panting heavily as Leni grumbled and got distracted on the other side. The wild lass sighed in relief before her eyes drifted around the room - there was a number of musical instruments laying around, with a purple star-shaped axe guitar catching her eye.

Sam showed me pictures - this is my guitar, right? Luna slowly wandered over to the instrument, picking it up and putting the strap over her shoulder. This…This feels right.

Luna plucked the strings, jolting slightly from her sharpened hearing but revelling in the sound. Moving to the amp, she turned it down and looked back to the strings. Her eyes closed as she started playing, losing herself in the music for a moment before the opening door startled her.

Luna's eyes snapped open as she fought to keep herself from baring her teeth, seeing ‘Luan’ approaching her with a strange looking object covering her paw. What on earth is that?

The exaggerated brown eyes stared blankly at her, the rosy cheeks doing nothing to calm her nerves. Despite the light blue buttoned jacket, rolled-up pants and yellow boots, her nose detected nothing but the scent of wood from the figure. A yellow hat covered what Luna could only guess was meant to be an orange mane, and she carefully took the guitar off as she moved closer.

“Hiya Toots! Good to see ya playing your guitar again!” Luna struggled to keep from snarling, with the tiny wooden person shrugging.

“Mr Coconuts, you know she doesn't know who you are, right?” ‘Luan’ huffed the bangs over her eye, a small whistle coming from her jutting out teeth as the metal on them glistened in the artificial light.

The figure - ‘Mr Coconuts’ - shook his head, placing a paw on his non-existent hip. “Yeah, well she's the only one that knew the truth about us. How're we playing that one?”

‘Luan’ sighed, dusting off her yellow check skirt. “That's it. You're coming off. I'm talking to Moon Unit on my own.”

“Wait, Maxine!” The puppet fell silent after he was unceremoniously dropped onto the bottom bunk bed.

Luna blinked, tilting her head with a pine. I have a weird feeling about this…

“That's better. Come on, let's take a seat.” ‘Luan’ - or ‘Maxine’, if the puppet could be believed - patted the mattress beside her, adjusting a plastic pink flower on her white shirt.

Luna cautiously sat down, wincing at the creaking, and turned to the girl. Sniffing the air, she found this ‘Maxine’ girl had something unusual about her scent.

She sniffed again. I'm sure hers is the leather and rose, but why can I smell two other scents? One's sorta woody like the puppet and more heavy, the other smells more like cream, banana and plastic. There's the house scent again, but I know that could be a family scent.

“Having fun there, Moon Unit?” ‘Maxine’ quirked her visible eyebrow as her brown eyes sparkled mischievously, with Luna fixing her an unimpressed gaze, before her face grew serious again. “Sorry - too used to teasing you. Anyway, I had a chat with Sam earlier and she said you'd likely pick up our scents. We've agreed on an order, and I'm the first so I can say it.”

Luna blinked, feeling as if the conversation was familiar. I guess she…or they…had this conversation with me before.

‘Maxine’ took a breath. “Luan isn't officially diagnosed, but she has a condition called Dissociative Identity Disorder. Mr Coconuts and I are her alters, and we've been covering for her for the past year since you were gone.”

Luna felt more fog lifting from her mind, her eyes drifting to the puppet. Maxine picked it up, putting it back on her paw before it moved again. The wooden being - Mr Coconuts - also sparked memories, mostly consisting of a fuzzy version of what Maxine was wearing now.

Luna typed out a message on her phone, with the puppet ceasing what she assumed was angry glaring. I remember that now - she was really upset over some serious heckling, and you had a chat with me because she wouldn't. And the puppet wouldn't shut up.

“Hey! I'll have you know I was helping by sharing what was going on at the show!” Mr Coconuts shook his head, turning it to Maxine. “Well, Max, go get Toots. She'll love this.”

Maxine closed her eyes, with the puppet looking at Luna. It was a few short moments before the girl jolted upright, shifting her bangs back and beaming brightly when she laid eyes on Luna.

Her eyes watered. “Lulu, you're back…” ‘Luan’ lunged at the feral girl, wrapping her arms around her as Mr Coconuts grumbled.

Luna started purring, rubbing her back to comfort her. Those two sure weren't kidding when they said ‘Luan’ wasn't doing well. Her eyes darted around the room, spying various comedy props she recognised from the one comedy show Sam watched after a particularly bad nightmare. No wonder - we shared a den…

“This is great and all, but we got things to do today.”

“Shush, Mr C.” ‘Luan’ nuzzled into Luna as she kept purring, with the latter smiling softly as memories of her time with the brunette drifted back into focus.

Typing out a message, Luna sent it and smiled as her sister moved back and grabbed the device. Hi, Luan. I'm sorry I was gone for so long. Sam promised she'd explain it to everyone together - about where I was - but the harder thing will be remeeting everyone else. 

Luan glanced to Mr Coconuts, who gave a nod before she gently laid him on the bed. “Lulu, what do you mean by that? What's at steak. Hahaha, get it?” Luan gulped, rubbing Luna's shoulder in an effort to calm herself down.

Amnesia, Luan. Until now, I didn't know who you are. My memory is misty, and being exposed to familiar things is slowly bringing it back. Sam has been helping, but it's a long process. Luna pined, seeing Luan taking a shaky breath.

“Luna… This, this is a lot to take in… Could you please play something? It might help keep me on the right chord.” The absence of chuckling made Luna whimper.

No worries. Luna hung the guitar over her shoulders, casually strumming away to a random tune as Luan sat close by and listened in silence…

After a brief lunch, which consisted of Luna discovering she accidentally ate out of the family dog's food bowl and attempting to play it off by eating what turned out to be the cat's food, she found herself outside and hearing the sound of something pounding against metal. Wonder what that sound is.

Wandering over to the garage, Luna was suddenly hit with a powerful scent. She detected the house scent, but it was drowned out by the scent of sweat, rubber, wood and metal. Withholding a yelp, she rounded the corner to see a short-ish teenage girl kicking a black and white object into the side of the garage. The black cleats and white socks were a blur as she went all out.

Luna blinked and tilted her head, a curious pine leaving her. Is this the ‘Lynn’ that Sam was talking about?

The kicks stopped, with the girl turning her head to Luna. The thick brown ponytail swung with her head movement, a paw smoothing out the rest of her mane.

‘Lynn’ put the paw on the side of her red and white shorts, picking up the ball and smiling. “Hey, Luna! Welcome back!” Her words were short, matching the rugged breathing that shifted the red and white jersey.

Luna's stomach dropped when she noticed the calf muscles of the girl's legs twitching, but she shook it off as just nausea from eating pet food rather than human food or fresh kills.

“Sorry about all the pounding there - had to work out some stress from what happened with Luce.”

Luna waved her paw dismissively, unsure of whether ‘Lynn’ had her phone with her or not.

“Oh yeah, Lucy mentioned you can't talk right now. Didn't catch why before she fell asleep again.” The girl shrugged, dropping the ball and stretching. “Still got energy to burn.”

Watching her stretch with interest, Luna tilted her head as she felt an instinct raging within her. Energy to burn? Is that like my need to chase and run? 

Her toes wriggled against her boots, with Luna grunting and barking as she fought them and a pair of white socks off. She didn't realise ‘Lynn’ was staring at her until she started pacing about on all fours.

“Huh. I guess this is my chance to race someone running on all fours.” ‘Lynn’ smirked when Luna sat on her haunches and blinked at her. “I kinda tried to race a werewolf… Turns out they don't wait for a starting whistle.”

A strange urge to facepalm herself rose in Luna, but she shook it off as the girl before her moved beside her. 

She had put her front paws on the ground, one of her hind legs shifted further back than the other. “Three laps of the yard. Finish line here where my ball is - passing it ends a lap. Ready?”

Luna barked, her body hunched as if ready to pounce on a deer. Might as well see if this does something for my memory. This ‘Lynn’ girl seems athletic.

When the word “go” echoed in the yard, the pair sped off on their first lap. Luna detected the thuds of her competitor's pace beside her, the muscles in her legs responding as her speed increased. Clods of dirt lifted as she ran, hearing a gasp of awe behind her. Luna leapt onto the roof of a tiny plastic house, bouncing off of it as she turned a corner. In the corner of her vision, she saw ‘Lynn’ struggling to catch up but pushing herself further. She was gaining speed, but Luna had already finished the first lap. The feral girl looked back as she used the fence to help her turn, seeing ‘Lynn’ whooping excitedly with a fire in her blue eyes. 

With her instincts guiding her body, Luna found herself drifting into her memories - the girl in red was Lynn after all, and she was the athlete of the family. I guess exercise is good for the mind, after all. I just hope I don't deal with any tantrums after this…

Luna found herself panting, her body giving way at the ball and causing her to flop with a yelp. Lynn raced past her, running an extra lap before sitting beside the feral girl. 

Both spent some time catching their breath - Luna with her tongue out - before Lynn turned to her. “That was awesome! You were so fast, but you only lasted two laps. You were never that good before…Dang, what happened to you when you disappeared?”

Luna shakily stood on all fours, her body protesting and forcing her down. Growling in irritation, she decided rolling over would be easier and waved her paw over her stomach area.

“You want belly rubs? Okay, I guess.” Lynn scratched her head, a paw covering her freckles as she leaned over and started rubbing.

Luna purred, her eyes locked on Lynn as she used her paw to weakly nudge the rubbing paw to lift her top slightly. 

Lynn opened her mouth to protest, but froze when she saw the myriad of scars and bite marks on her older sister's abdomen. “I-I guess ‘survival of the fittest’ was literal for you… wait, is that?”

Lynn's energy returned with a vengeance, with Luna blinking as she leapt to her hind paws and pointed to her stomach. Oh boy…

“You have abs! And they're AWESOME!” Lynn rushed about, grabbing Luna as she sat up and shaking her shoulders. “What was your regime? How many crunches? How many squats? How much weight?!”

Luna snarled, snapping at Lynn in an attempt to calm her down and get her off. 

While it worked, it left Lynn with a smirk. “I see - keeping secrets from me, huh?”

Luna backed away, seeing Lynn racing into the garage with wild whooping and energetic howling before deciding she had enough time outside.

Panting heavily, Luna stopped in the hall and shook off her sweat before nudging the nearest door with her chin. The room was a mix of black and red, with sports balls all over the floor. 

“Sigh.” A coffin on a bed caught her eye, with a monotone voice drifting out.

Luna froze, her head turning to the source of the sound. It's that ‘Lucy’ girl from before. I hope she's alright now.

Luna leaped up onto the bed, gripping the side of the coffin with her paws to keep from falling off. She peered over the edge, seeing the black-maned girl laying with crossed arms over a black tank top. Her pale skin had returned to what Luna assumed was normal for ‘Lucy’, with her arms and legs covered in black and white stripes.

“Sigh. I'm fine. I just needed some rest.” ‘Lucy’ seemed to take a moment to focus - which Luna assumed may have been her opening her eyes under her bangs - before raising a paw. “Sorry, Luna. Everyone has been barging in for the past two hours. Makes it hard to nap to recover my strength. Sigh…”

Luna pined, her eyes trailing to see a myriad of blankets laying beside the coffin. Yikes… Chances are I was one of them.

“You were.” 

Luna yelped with a jolt, looking back at the girl with wide eyes. You…How did you hear my thoughts?

Lucy smiled - a small upturn of the lips - as her paw made contact with Luna's. “I have been practising reading minds the whole time you had vanished - I had a feeling it would come in handy.” 

Luna glanced at ‘Lucy’s’ paw, amazed at the chill emanating from it. Woah… You are one spooky little girl. 

“You used to call me that often. Sigh, the pain of amnesia.” ‘Lucy’ yawned, her paw retreating back to her coffin. “Sorry. I need a bit more sleep…”

Luna clambered into the coffin, nuzzling into the girl while purring. I'll stay here and rest for a bit, then. I've still got those adults, the two similar looking kits, the pup, the glasses-wearing pup and the boy left to remeet.

“Understandable. Heh, perhaps some time with a warm body might help me recover.” The kit wrapped her arms around Luna, snuggling into her as Luna purred.

Her mind whirred into overdrive, her nose filling with the same dusty scent, paper, wax and something she couldn't place. The scent was unnatural - there was something mystic about it, but Luna could not figure out the source.

‘Lucy’ somehow has some sort of mystic presence. Did I know about it before I left? Luna felt the kit shifting, her body becoming more energised as the feral girl was hit with a wave of memories of the girl popping out of nowhere and scaring her and the others. Oh my word she can teleport.

Lucy shifted again, with Luna responding to the slow upwards movement with a careful shuffle back. “That was a quicker recovery than I expected. I didn't even drift off.”

Well, I'm glad I could help, Luce Change. Luna felt Lucy wrap her arms around her again, hearing a soft murmur of “I missed you” before she was released.

“I wish you luck with your recovery from your memory loss. And ask that you let me pick your brain and aura - they seem to be quite inspiring for my poetry.” Lucy climbed out of her coffin bed, with Luna making her way out the door on two legs.

Thanks, Luce Change. And I promise I'll let you ask as many questions as you want.

The white maned boy stood in front of the bathroom door as Luna stepped out, charging in so fast his orange polo shirt and blue jeans were a blur. The door slammed behind him, leaving Luna to turn to the only other person in the hall.

“Sorry about that. Lincoln was desperate.” The dark-skinned boy shrugged, his yellowy-green and blue shirt shifting with the motion.

Luna tilted her head, crouching onto all fours and carefully moving towards him. He's not of this family. He must have a close bond with someone here…

He stepped back, raising his paws as his flat-looking black shoes with white stripes and laces squeaked on the floor. “Okay, let's not be too hasty here…”

Luna paused, sitting on her haunches as he wiped his paws on his black pants. Why is he scared of me? Do I look scary when I'm on all fours?

The boy sighed in relief, adjusting his round black glasses on his face. Part of his black bushy mane shifted when he did so, and he put his arms by his side.

The door to the bathroom opened, with the white-maned boy emerging with a sigh. “That's a relief… Oh, hey Luna.” He flashed a smile, revealing two chipped front teeth.

Luna moved towards him, with the dark-skinned boy waving frantically. “Wait, don't hurt him!”

“Clyde, why would she hurt me? She's my sister.” The boy held out a paw, nodding to Luna as she sniffed it.

‘Clyde’ shivered. “Sorry, Lincoln… My dads told me wild animals can be unpredictable, and the way she was acting…”

Luna moved back from ‘Lincoln’, her nose picking up paper, ink and a blend of scents that included traces of the sisters which had returned to her memory. How come his scent links them? I even smelt some of my scent in there…

‘Lincoln’ ruffled her mane, with the act warming her heart and freeing more memories of her past. 

Luna remembered all the times she was affectionate with members of the family, and beamed. Of course - he loves his family as much as I do.

“Clyde, it's okay. I think Luna was just trying to figure you out.” ‘Lincoln’ encouraged ‘Clyde’ to present his paw, with Luna sniffing him carefully.

Cats…metal and plastic…it's otherwise sterile like a hospital. Luna stepped back, tilting her head as she sat down again.

The boys locked eyes with each other, moving aside and muttering to each other. Luna blinked and watched them talk, with the pair moving back to her and smiling.

“Sorry again, sis. We were discussing a possible plan to help you out.”

“We overheard Lori - my sweet angel-” ‘Lincoln’ slapped ‘Clyde’ to snap him out of his daze, with Luna finding memories of ‘Clyde’ having huge nosebleeds drifting into her mind. “Sorry. We overheard her telling Leni about your amnesia, so we started thinking of ways to help you remember.”

‘Lincoln’ placed a paw on Luna's shoulder. “So far, we're not there yet.”

Luna pined, with ‘Clyde’ chuckling nervously. The boy made a mumbled excuse before wandering off, with ‘Lincoln’ sighing as he made his way to his bedroom. Luna padded along beside him, following him into the small space as he sat on his bed.

He sighed, paws clapsed in his lap. “Poor Clyde. He still feels bad about the whole werewolf fiasco, and I really hoped us making plans would help. Fat lot of good that did.”

Luna pined, turning to a whiteboard that had been erased and standing on her hind legs. Grabbing a black marker, she scrawled a message on the board and took a moment to beam at her ingenuity.

Distraction doesn't always help. Sam can't - she tries watching movies and doing everything she can to help me, but she still has moments. He just needs to know you're there for him and remind him it's not his fault. He was mind controlled after all. Luna wheeled the board closer to the bed, leaping up to sit beside the boy.

‘Lincoln’ smiled when he turned to face her, his three tufts shifting with the movement. “Thanks, Luna. You're right.” He took a breath. “I think he might need a bit of space, too. Have some time to process things. This Man with a Plan made a mistake.”

Luna nudged him, the mist in her mind clearing and revealing her memories of Lincoln. My little bro.

Lincoln blinked, watching as Luna smiled at him and nuzzled his cheek. 

He let out a laugh, which was soon stopped when she reached over to the board and wrote again. “Luna?”

Little bro, I remember you now. You saying ‘Man with a Plan’ reminded me of all the times you helped us out. It was clearly fitting it came back for that. But don't beat yourself up for your mistake. You just wanted to help.

Lincoln hugged Luna, with the feral girl purring and swaying back and forth like she recalled doing when he was younger.

With Lincoln deciding to go help Lynn with her training - which he actually called ‘keeping an eye on her’ - Luna found herself in the front yard and watching the same young girl who had hugged her head during the werewolf fiasco. She was playing happily in a mud puddle with a dog, her blonde mane caked in mud.

She looks happy. Evidently she likes mud. Luna padded down towards her, dodging mud splatters before barking to get her attention.

“Luna! Hi!” The girl adjusted the red cap on her head as she raced over, tackling Luna into a hug that sent them both to the ground.

Her dark blue overalls were caked in mud, with a oak tree green shirt hidden underneath. Her shoes couldn't be identified under the thick layer of mud, but Luna noticed the muddy footprints behind them.

“Luna! You're back!” The girl nuzzled her, with the feral girl purring as she nuzzled back.

Luna put the girl down on the ground, padding around her. The girl matched her behaviour, sniffing her back as Luna investigated. The girl smelled of a variety of animals, mud and dirt, and she even acted the part.

Luna sat on her haunches, with the kit mimicking her. Did she spend time in the forest too? Am I not the only one who is more animal than human?

The girl chuckled, standing like a human before moving to Luna's side. “Sorry about that - I figured doing that might make you more comfortable. Besides, I know you'd need to smell me to make sure I'm not a threat.”

Luna licked her cheek, her eyes trailing to the dog by the girl’s feet. Animal charmer, perhaps?

“That's Charles. He's the family's dog. There's also Cliff, Geo and Walt… And then there's my animal friends.” The girl smiled, revealing two missing front teeth.

Luna watched as the dog left, her head tilting. Definitely an animal charmer, which explains the scent and why I remembered animals rather than her. But what is her name?

Luna paced around and sniffed her, trying desperately to spark a memory. Her heart dropped when nothing came from the fog, a pine leaving her as she sunk into a laying position.

“Luna? Are you not remembering me?” The kit curled up beside her, rubbing a paw along her back. “It's okay. Your mind is like an engine - you gotta treat it with care, and give it a good tune-up when needed.”

Luna stared blankly at her, the metaphor failing as she licked the girl again. She felt a strong instinct to protect her, but the feeling faded when the girl tossed mud onto her face.

“MUD FIGHT!” The kit laughed, soon gasping when Luna tackled her into the puddle she had been playing in earlier.

The feral girl laughed, seeing the girl smirking with a glint in her blue eyes. “Oh it's on!”

Luna dodged more mud piles, laughing as she kicked up mud of her own. The pair raced about, dodging and throwing mud with glee. It was at this moment, as Luna dodged another mud pie, that memories began resurfacing.

Lana. Her name is Lana. Luna howled in delight, with Lana dropping a mud pie as the wild girl pounced on her and licked her face.

“Luna, hey!” Lana laughed, scratching Luna's sides. “Does this mean you remember me?”

Luna nodded, hopping off and shaking the mud off her body. Lana laughed as she got covered in mud again, her eyes drifting to the puddle again.

“That was a lotta fun, Luna. Thanks for playing with me. If you want to meet Lola, she's in our room. Just be warned - she'll give you a makeover.” Lana jumped into the puddle again, laughing happily as she rolled.

Luna blinked, tilting her head as she made her way inside. Why warn me about ‘Lola’? What's the worst that could happen?

Luna found herself pinned down on a pink fluffy bed, a pair of critical blue eyes locked on her as a steady paw wrapped in pink gloves that went up to ‘Lola's’ elbows. A tiny unusual brush rubbed against her eyelashes, the girl telling her off every time Luna's instincts made her close her eyes.

“Will you stay still?! I NEED to get you looking as good as before!” ‘Lola’ grabbed Luna's chin, moving on to her other eye.

Luna gulped, locking her body up as if under attack by a bear. Lana could have told me she's more like an apex predator than a human.

‘Lola’ smiled as she applied the last stroke, nodding to herself before pulling out another type of brush and leaning forward. “Close your eyes - I don't want to get eyeshadow in your eyes.”

Luna complied, finding herself relying on scent to track ‘Lola’s’ location. The kit carried a scent of various artificial perfumes, the make-up she was applying to Luna, and something else that irritated her nose.

The wild girl felt the brush strokes on her eyelids, her heart hammering in her chest. I hope she stops soon. This is really freaking me out.

“And we're done!” ‘Lola’ clapped, with Luna opening her eyes and seeing her flick her blonde hair over the shoulder of a long glittering pink gown. “Your face is perfect! Now, let's move on to those horrifying nails and toenails.”

Luna blinked as she sat up, feeling slightly off-balance as she focused on mirroring the way Sam sat on a chair. ‘Lola’ grabbed a small purple vial, shaking it and opening it. She moved to Luna's paws first, adjusting the black tiara on her head before beginning her work.

Luna tilted her head as she watched ‘Lola’ work, confused by the sudden change from the aggressive attack to get her onto the bed to the calmer side she was showing now. Why is she even giving me this make over? Was I more feminine before everything?

“And one hand's done!” ‘Lola’ wandered over to the other side, starting the process again as Luna stared at the paw she had painted.

Her claws were purple, and it seemed right to her. Maybe I had my claws colourful beforehand? The eyeshadow stuff she put on me feels right, too. Weird, since I don't remember having it in the first place…

‘Lola’ hopped off the bed, the lighter pink sash flapping with the movement. The girl glanced up, smiling and revealing two missing front teeth just like Lana.

No wonder she knew. They're twins. Luna smiled to herself, feeling she was progressing with her memory well.

“I know I haven't said much since I grabbed you and pulled you in here, but I didn't know what to say. What can a pageant princess say to someone who has been missing for a year?” ‘Lola’ forced a smile on her face, finishing Luna's toes and grabbing a mirror. “What do you think?”

Luna blinked - the purple eyeshadow applied to her eyes shocked her with the familiarity, and she felt memories of herself looking in a mirror resurface. She nodded to the kit, who stood proud and put her paws on her hips.

“Of course you like it. I am the best make-up artist out there after all.” Seeing ‘Lola’ praise herself brought more memories back for Luna, which made her smile more.

Lola noticed, smiling to herself. “Did I remind you of my fabulousness? Of course I did.”

Luna chuckled, rolling her eyes. Well, Lola's certainly something alright…

With her claws finally dry, Luna made her way out the bedroom and turned to head downstairs. This has been a productive day. Only two more siblings and the parents left.

“Third eldest sibling, I'm glad I've located you.” 

Luna yelped, turning around to see a kit standing before her with steel grey eyes. She had her arms behind her back, a small smirk on her face.

I think this is ‘Lisa’ - the science girl. Luna approached on all fours, with ‘Lisa’ staying still.

The scent of chemicals, metal and plastic filled her nose, with the kit dusting off her green turtleneck. “Please, step into my bedroom-cum-laboratory.”

Luna felt a wave of nerves wrack her form, shaking them off as she padded in behind ‘Lisa’. 

The kit scratched her short brown mane, gesturing to a large chair nearby. “Please, take a seat. I'm simply running a number of tests to determine the primary cause of your amnesia. Injuries are known causes, but I believe there may be something else at play.”

Luna complied, shaking nervously as she pined. ‘Lisa’ pulled out a clipboard and pen, taking notes as the strange metal being pressed a number of buttons on the device beside them. Luna closed her eyes as a variety of beans fired, her yelps drowned out by the machinery nearby whirring and beeping.

A few minutes passed, with Luna opening her eyes as the noise died down. Is it over? Am I still alive?

‘Lisa’ nodded to herself, turning to the metal being as she adjusted her black glasses. “Todd, could you please print those results for me? I think I should cross examine them at a later time and devise some strategies to address Luna's amnesia.”

The metal being saluted with a grabber arm, pressing buttons as his bucket head turned to the kit. “Printing. Now.”

Luna took the opportunity to look over ‘Todd’ - it had a strange device in the middle of its bucket head, staring with round objects as its mouth flashed. The second grabber rubbed against what Luna assumed was a printer, based off the paper spilling out of it, as ‘Lisa’ grabbed the sheets of paper. 

‘Todd’ moved away on wheeled feet, the red cylinder rattling against what looked similar to the amp in her bedroom. “I will leave you. To it.”

‘Lisa’ thanked him, turning to Luna and shuffling along on brown shoes. “Third eldest sibling, the tests are complete. It appears I was correct to run my tests.” Luna blinked as she shook, removing some saliva from the kit's lisp. “It appears you may have undergone a severe psychological trauma - one such incident, based off the time frame of your absence, occurred approximately one year ago and thus caused a subconscious burying of the memory of the incident. Perhaps the blow to your head expanded the effects to suppress all of your memories. It would explain the ‘mist’ within your memories.”

Memories of the kit's scientific speeches flooded Luna's mind, her mind struggling to comprehend the fast-flying and lisped words. The metal being - Lisa's robotic assistant Todd - also featured in many of the memories.

Lisa can definitely figure out what's going on in my head. As nervous as she makes me, I trust her. Luna padded over to Lisa, licking her cheek gently and nudging her.

Lisa chuckled, rubbing Luna's head before wiping her paws on her brown pants. “I am relieved you have been returned to this residence. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some research to do.”

Luna leapt up onto the couch, curling up for a rest as the sounds of chaos reached her ears. The male who had trapped Sam in a hug hours ago - who she assumed was her father based on the way her siblings spoke about him - raced out the kitchen door, brown eyes wide with panic as most of his brown mane was covered by a tall white hat.

“What do you mean she got stuck under the ding-dang dumbbells?!” The man wiped off flour which had stuck to his green sweater, pulling Lincoln along.

“I don't even know how! Lynn just did!”

The door slammed behind them, catching the man's brown pants in the door before opening again and closing.

There's always something in this house, isn't there? Luna stared at the door blankly, her eyelids lowered as she shook her head.

“Luna, honey? Could you do me a favour and look after Lily for a minute? I need to keep an eye on dinner.” Luna looked over to see the woman from earlier before her, the pup in front of her pink top.

Luna barked and nodded, reminding herself the blonde woman before her couldn't understand her.

“Thank you. When your father comes back, I'll spend a bit of time with you. If not before dinner, we'll both catch you after.” She lowered the pup in front of Luna, her blue eyes sparkling as she walked away.

Luna glanced to ‘Lily’, spotting a bit of flour on her paws that had migrated to the woman's dark red pants. I wonder if that's why I'm looking after the pup.

The pup giggled, crawling closer to her on knees that were slightly covered by lavender shorts. “Wuna back!” Her paws sat on Luna's cheeks, her brown eyes trembling as she beamed.

She's a cute pup, that's for sure. Luna found her nose pressed against the pup's white shirt, taking in the flour mixed in with what she had discovered in the bathroom as ‘talcum powder’, a plush fabric and the scent of youth.

The feral girl nudged her back gently, shifting to lick ‘Lily's’ face adoringly as she purred. ‘Lily’ giggled again, arms waving about as Luna nuzzled her stomach.

“Wuna puppy and kitty!” The pup hugged Luna's face again, nuzzling her cheek against the feral girl's as she found herself recalling times where she had looked after the pup.

My baby sis… Luna smiled, gazing lovingly at Lily as she continued hugging her.

The woman returned as the man wandered back into the kitchen, smiling adoringly at the scene. “This is so precious. Did you miss her, Lily?”

“Wuna!”

Luna smiled at Lily, the smile dropping as the woman approached. Her instincts took hold, with Luna growling and standing over Lily as if protecting her. The woman stepped back in shock, with Luna settling slightly and pining. 

Sam stumbled out of the dining room, her eyes drooping as she carried an empty cup. “Need coffee…Mrs Loud, let Lunes sniff you before you grab Lily.” Sam yawned. “Otherwise she'll react on instinct if she remembers looking after her. She did it when she remembered a pet.”

Luna whimpered again, her head hung as Lily obliviously giggled. The woman held out a hand, watching as Luna carefully sniffed it before moving back and allowing her to take the pup.

Luna whined as she was left alone, with the call for dinner cutting the silence. Will my instincts cause more problems for everyone? Why am I like this?

Dinner had passed with an awkward air, which had barely been disturbed when Sam flopped onto Lincoln and fell asleep during the meal. Luna had darted away the second she finished her meal, running into the nearest bedroom and leaping onto the bed. 

Whining, she curled up and struggled to hold back tears. What is wrong with me? That wasn't even my pup. I remembered her, so why did I act like she was mine?

Luna choked a sob, hearing the click of the door opening. The two adults stepped in, slowly approaching her and sitting on the bed.

The woman gently rubbed Luna's back. “Sweetie, it's okay. I know you can't help your instincts.”

Luna pined, pulling out her phone and typing out a message to the number saved as ‘Mom’. I feel terrible for doing that. It was bad enough when I almost bit Sam for trying to get a dog away from me, but keeping a mother from her own pup? That's horrible.

The woman continued rubbing Luna's back, coaxing her to lay across her lap. “You know, you always had a motherly streak - even when you started following the rock and roll path, you took great care of your younger siblings. I should have guessed it would be strengthened by instincts.”

Luna sniffed the air, her mind soothed by the smell of various flowers, paper and mint. More mist lifted from her mind, exacerbated by the gentle fingers running through her mane which brought purrs from her.

“Like that? You loved it when you were little, too.” The woman - Mom, her mind supplied - smiled at Luna before gesturing for the man to move to her other side.

Luna watched the man, typing a message to her mother. Mom, thank you. Could you keep going while I remeet...I want to say Dad?

“Of course.” Her mother kept going, with Luna continuing to purr as she turned to the man.

Obviously a cook, if the food smells are any indication. Luna took another sniff, picking up scents from the van as well as the various food smells.

“Hey, doll. Good to see you home again.” The man's gentle smile seemed pained, with Luna seeing tears forming in his eyes.

Before anyone could move, he had scooped Luna into a tight embrace and cried loudly.

“Lynn! Please!” Her mother blinked with a drooped jaw, with Luna stuck between a growl and a whine as he swung her back and forth.

“I'm sorry, Rita, but I missed her so much! Oh my daughter's finally home again!” The man - evidently also called Lynn - began babbling as Luna pined, deciding to lick his face in an effort to soothe him.

Luna felt memories resurface as the hug continued, a small part of her mind wondering how she would escape the hug before her limbs became numb. Her mother - Rita - managed to free Luna, with the feral girl typing a message and smiling.

The older Lynn - her father - took out his phone and wiped the tears from his eyes. Hi, Popstar. I'm glad to see you too.

He babbled in response, with Luna's memories suggesting this was normal for him.

“I think we should call it a night. It's been a big day for everyone…” Luna nodded, nuzzling her parents’ legs before wandering out of the room.

As she made her way upstairs, she found herself gazing along the hall at the various doors. I really am home now. I am Luna Loud, and I live with my big amazing family.

Chapter Text

Sam flopped onto the couch with a sigh of relief, taking a long sip from her can of root beer as Luna leaned on the back of the couch. “I'm so glad that's over. Just took three freaking days.”

Sam groaned loudly before gulping down more root beer, with Luna nuzzling her head and purring. She responded by rubbing Luna's cheek with her free hand, sighing as she lowered her can.

“Are you two watching anything?” Sam screamed, leaping over the arm of the couch and hitting the floor as Luna blinked at her.

Lucy shook her head, turning to Luna with the remote in her hand. “I don't think she'll get used to it.”

Sam stood up, with Luna making a series of soft growls and gesturing to Lucy. “Lunes, you're the only one who can sense Lucy coming. I don't even know HOW she got here when I saw her in her bedroom two minutes ago!” Sam shook her head, taking a breath as she leaned on the couch.

“I teleported - Luna somehow guessed that correctly.” Lucy turned the television on, with a loud advertisement echoing in the house.

Luna gulped as the thumping of feet filled the air, grabbing Sam and Lucy and pulling them close to her in an effort to protect them. 

The Loud family swarmed around the couch, with Sam finding herself pinned between Lori and Luna. No wonder Luna freaked out - she knew they'd swarm.

The advertisement showed a large trophy, which had Lynn whooping from the couch. “Do you have an amazing skill you want to show off to everyone in Royal Woods? Then sign up now for the town-wide ‘Royal Woods Has Talent’! First prize is this trophy and a complete collection of SaLuna cups! So come on down and show us what you've got!”

The television was switched off, with silence filling the living room before the siblings rushed out to find their talent for the show.

Luna turned to Sam, tilting her head as the blonde blinked. “Well, that was interesting. You wanna enter?”

Luna shook her head, hopping onto the couch and making herself comfortable as Sam sat back down.

“Too much too soon, huh? Well, we've got school to prepare for anyway - there'll be a lot of people there, so why not watch the show?” Sam finished her root beer, placing the can on the coffee table and sighing. “Besides, they said no music. I don't know if you've remembered any other talents, and I don't think I can do my other talent of juggling anymore - being half blind sucks sometimes.”

Luna licked Sam's face, smiling before flinching at a loud crash that was followed by a short “I'm okay”.

Sam sighed loudly, with Luna chuckling before barking and waving to Sam.

The blonde blinked, huffing her teal streak up and gazing at the feral girl. “What, exactly, do you mean by ‘we can dance if we want to’?”

Lincoln was studying a book in his bedroom, humming in thought as he glanced to the pendulum in his hand. “This'll work. I just need to practice. Hypnosis can't be that hard, right?”

Lincoln stood up, closing the book and moving to the door to see if any of his sisters were free. His first stop was Lori and Leni’s room, where the two eldest Louds were busy preparing for the show. Lori was rehearsing a variety of gymnasic manoeuvres, while Leni was speed-sewing a dress from scratch onto a mannikin. Deciding against asking, Lincoln reversed away before a crash made him jolt.

He turned around, seeing Luan sliding down the wall as her unicycle flopped to the ground and the bowling pins she was juggling hit the floor. “I'm okay!” 

Luan gave a thumbs up, falling off the wall as Lincoln slowly stepped over her. “Well, there's three sisters unavailable. I'm not game to try Luna or Sam, considering they look like they've been through a lot. Maybe Lynn could help.”

He entered Lucy and Lynn's room, seeing Lucy levitating in a meditating position as Lynn bounced a ball. “Hi you two.”

“Hi Lincoln. Give me a moment.” Lucy moved to stand on the floor, suddenly disappearing in a puff of black smoke.

Lincoln blinked in amazement, which soon fell when he heard Lori scream and fall over along with Lucy saying a soft “dang it”. 

Lynn laughed after catching the ball, slapping her thigh. “That was hilarious, Stinkon!”

Lincoln sighed. “Yes, yes. It's funny Lucy accidentally teleported. Could you please help me now?”

Lynn put the ball down, hopping off her bed with crossed arms. “Okay, what do ya want?”

Lincoln held up the pendulum, which casually swung back and forth as he spoke. He didn't notice Lynn's eyes following it, closing his eyes as he sighed.

“I'm trying to find someone to help me with my hypnosis trick for the show. All I'm going to do is get them to act like a dog when I click my fingers like this…” Lincoln clicked his fingers, with Lynn immediately dropping into a crouch and barking.

Lincoln opened his eyes, seeing his sporty sister staring back at him with a vacant but distinctly canine gaze as she panted. He immediately dropped the pendulum, jaw drooped when he realised what he had done.

Lynn barked, lunging forward and grabbing it before running off just as Lincoln came to his senses. “Lynn, wait! Drop it!”

Luna held Sam up by the armpits as she struggled on a move for a third time, pining softly as she carefully rebalanced herself.

“Thanks, Lunes. Maybe we could try something a little simpler for the show? Dancing's not really my thing.” Sam chuckled lightly, with Luna pulling out her phone and typing a message.

Who said anything about the show? I just wanted to cheer you up and get your mind off of the downsides of your changes. Luna smiled, her tounge hanging out as she panted.

Sam blinked, smiling as she pulled her girlfriend into a hug. “You sure know how to cheer me up, Lunes. I think we'll just stick to getting our music mojo back up to scratch, huh? Bring back the old time rock and roll?"

Luna nodded, making sure Sam was stable before moving back.

A strange barking filled the air, with Lincoln's shouting mingling from upstairs. That's not Charles. When did we get a female dog?

Sam shrieked, crashing to the floor in a heap as Lucy teleported nearby and moaning. Lucy and Luna loomed over her, shifting out the way briefly when Lincoln leapt over the floored girl.

Sam stared back with a slightly dazed eye, her artificial eye rolled to hide most of the painted iris in the eye socket. “Anyone get the number of the truck that just hit me?”

Luna pined, gently nudging and licking Sam as Lucy turned towards Lincoln's shouting.

Lucy shook her head, turning back to the floored girl. “Huh. It seems Lynn's mind is more dog-like than usual.”

“Her mind?” Sam used a finger to readjust her artificial eye as she sat up, with Luna nodding as she typed another message.

Lucy can read minds and auras. It means I can communicate with her as well! But what does she mean by ‘dog-like’?

Sam shrugged, soon being knocked down by Lynn and Lincoln rushing past again. 

Luna blinked. Lynn somehow has a scent like Charles in her normal scent. That's not normal - it's clear Lincoln isn't happy about it. I don't know whether I should stay and help Sam or go help Lincoln…

Sam moaned as she held a paw over her stomach, with Luna whimpering and nuzzling her girlfriend's cheek. Lucy carefully helped the blonde up, with Luna moving to keep Sam up. Lucy nodded silently, disappearing in a puff of black smoke.

Luna whined, with Sam mustering up strength to rub her arm reassuringly. My girlfriend needs me now. They'll call me when they need me. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?

Lucy emerged from a black smoke cloud in the backyard, seeing Lincoln chasing after Lynn as she ran on all fours with something in her mouth. “Lynn! Stop! Heel!”

Sigh. This can't be good. Lucy approached, her silent steps not disturbing the chase.

Lincoln tripped over his own feet, falling to the ground as Lynn scampered away. “Dang it!”

Lucy stood over him, holding a hand out with a uptilt of her lips. He gratefully took her hand, standing up and rubbing his face.

Lucy saw Lynn digging a hole out of the corner of her eye. “Lincoln, does this have something to do with favour you were about to ask us before I accidentally teleported?”

“Well, yeah. I think I hypnotised Lynn before I knew what I was doing. I was telling her what I was going to do, and then she started acting like a dog and took my pendulum. I'll need it back to break the trance…” Lincoln sighed, with Lynn padding over to him and panting.

The duo saw the pendulum was no longer in Lynn's mouth, with Lincoln dropping to his knees and screaming. Lucy facepalmed, with Lynn whining before licking Lincoln’s face.

Lucy shook her head. “Sigh. I'll dig up whatever Lynn buries, just in case. Lincoln, I think you should try and train her to be a bit more obedient. Lynn might not know what she's doing in this state.”

“Thanks, Lucy. I owe you one.” Lincoln went to get up, but was stopped by Lynn pouncing on him and feverishly licking his face. “Lynn! Hey, stop!”

Lucy stood with a shovel in her hand, watching the scene with a foreboding feeling rising in her chest. Sigh. I have a bad feeling about this…

“Sit! Lynn, sit!”

Sam paused as she made her way to the stairs, seeing Lincoln standing in front of Lynn and frowning. The girl ran around in circles as if chasing a tail that did not exist.

“Dang it, Lynn! Sit!”

Sam leaned on the doorframe, a smirk in her face. This will be interesting. Let's see how long this takes before he asks for help.

Lincoln groaned and slapped his face, with Lana wandering to him with Hops the frog on her head.

“Hey Linc, whatcha doing?” Lana tilted her head as Lincoln made several lowering gestures with his arm.

“Trying to train Lynn after accidentally hypnotising her into thinking she's a dog.” Lincoln groaned, hanging his head in shame. “It's not going well…”

Lynn barked, stopping her spinning and starting to jump about as if seeking to play.

Lana cracked her fingers as she rolled her head, moving in front of her brother. “Let me hand this, Linc.”

Lana clapped, calling out the command. Charles sat down in front of Sam, who gave him a pat on the head. Lana tried again, this time taking a more authoritative tone. 

Sam found Cliff the black cat and Geo the hamster sitting down, sharing her stare of confusion. Oh boy. This is simultaneously entertaining and embarrassing.

Lana prepared for a third attempt, but Sam decided to make her presence known by clearing her throat.

Her prosthetic thumping, she wandered over and looked at Lynn as she barked and tried to persuade them to throw a random ball of yarn she had fished out from under the couch. “Let me try once - I think I might know why she's not sitting.” Sam licked her lips, taking a breath.

A short, sharp set of two whistles filled the room. Luna paused when she walked into the living room with a pair of cups, squatting into a seated position with a confused bark as the trio turned to her.

“Um, like, can I get up now?” Everyone turned to see Leni sitting on the couch, with Lynn padding over and sniffing her and pining.

Sam gestured for Leni to get up, rolling her eye as she turned to Lincoln and Lana. “Well, there's your answer. She's not going to sit.”

Luna barked as she stood and handed Sam one of the cups, taking a moment to lap at the water before gesturing to Lynn and yapping.

Sam nodded. “Sounds reasonable.”

“What did she say?” Lincoln clasped his hands together.

Lana raised a hand to Hops. “And what does that mean?”

“Luna said Lynn told her about a need to burn energy when she remet her, which she found was an instinctual need when she felt it too. It basically means you need to wear her out before she will follow commands.” Sam smiled at Luna, who nodded with a bark.

Lincoln and Lana sighed, staring at Lynn as she wandered around Luna's legs. Sam shook her head, looking to Lincoln as Lana went after the Loud House pets.

The boy smiled. “I guess we're going for a walk, huh?”

Lynn yapped, pouncing onto Lincoln and licking his face again. The boy struggled to fight her off, with Luna staring at Sam with a huff.

She raised her hands. “I know - I'll get the lead and collar, or something like that, and you get the Lynn off Lincoln.” Sam paused, realising what she had said as her girlfriend rolled her eyes and shook her head.

As Luna wrapped her arms around Lynn and pulled, Sam mentally facepalmed as she went upstairs. Great. Now I'm seeing her as a breed of dog called ‘Lynn’. Think like she's a dog called Lynn - it'll all be over soon anyway, right?

Loud beeping echoed in the backyard, with dozens of holes littering the ground. Lucy stood with her attire marred by dirt marks, sweat dripping off her brow as she leaned on a shovel much taller than her.

Lisa waved a device around, with the beeps not changing pitch. “It appears we have located all the stannum and cuprum - street names tin and copper - in the backyard.”

Their eyes drifted to the pile of rusted toys, tools and coins near the door. Lana poked her head out of one of the holes, throwing another rake head onto the pile before bobbing back down 

Lori wandered into the yard, her eyes on her phone. “Girls, we literally -” Lori cut herself off with a scream, falling into one of the holes.

Lisa, Lana and Lucy gathered around and peered over the edge of the hole, seeing a fuming Lori glaring at them.

She stood up, leaning on the wall of dirt beside her. “I will literally give you five minutes to literally explain this.”

Lucy barely flinched, while Lisa and Lana hid behind her. “From the fact that we have not been able to locate the pendulum, I believe Lincoln accidentally hypnotised Lynn into thinking she's a dog and she has eaten the one thing to use to bring her back.” She lowered the shovel down, mustering some of her energy and aura into lifting Lori out.

The eldest sibling dusted herself off, making sure her phone was not damaged before grabbing Lucy's shoulders and shaking her. “What do literally you mean literally by literally literally hypnotised literally and literally literally -” Lori found herself stuck on one word for a moment, slapping her own face to snap herself out of it. “EATEN IT?!”

“Firstly, I believe you should consult a speech pathologist to address the severity of your complex verbal tic, eldest sibling unit. Secondly, unfortunately it is a common canine behaviour to attempt to eat almost anything a home sapien - street name human - proffers to them. We may need to either await its passage through the digestive and excretory systems, or we could create a feasible substitute and reverse the trance with that method.” Lisa adjusted her glasses as Lori glared at her, with Lana turning to Lucy as they stepped away from the angered sibling.

Lana smiled at Lucy. “I call dibs on looking for the pendulum!”

Lucy teleported inside, ignoring Leni’s scream of fear as she began making her way to her bedroom. “Sigh. I knew this would get worse…”

Lincoln struggled to keep control of Lynn as he, Sam and Luna headed for the dog park. Sam had decided to take Charles for a walk while Lana helped Lucy find the hypnosis device, with Luna coming along to get some fresh air.

She kept an eye on Lynn, seeing something unusual in her behaviour. Something isn't right here, but I can't put my finger on it. It's almost like she knows she's under the spell, but taking advantage of it. I know she's fallen under because of the scent, but what is it?

“Luna?” Sam turned to the feral girl as they let Charles and Lynn off lead to run, with Lincoln watching the pair.

The purple-clad girl pulled out her phone, barking as she sat down and began typing out her message. Sucks it'll take a bit to explain, so I can't try it with the non-verbal way…

Sam gave Luna a kiss to her cheek, making her blush slightly. “Just send it through when you're done, okay?”

Luna nodded, focusing on typing as she listened to Sam and Lincoln talking.

“So you can't find the pendulum?”

“Nope, and the book said she'll stay under the spell as long as it's within her space…” Lincoln's voice trailed off, with Luna pausing in her texting to look up and see him burying his face in his paws.

“Lincoln?”

“She didn't bury the pendulum…SHE ATE IT!”

Luna heard small footsteps rushing away, finishing her message and sending it to Sam as she stood. Wandering over, Luna whined as Lincoln raced after Lynn for the third time that day.

Sam pulled out her phone, her eye flicking between Lincoln attempting to catch Lynn and the message. I feel like there's more to the spell than meets the eye. Lynn seems a bit TOO much like herself- stubborn, active etc. I feel like maybe she's either subconsciously in control of her actions (not sure how likely that is) or there's some part of her that maybe wanted this. I could be wrong, considering I don't know psychology AND the whole ‘animal-behaviour-to-survive-plus-apparently-trauma’ thing going on with me. Should we go to Lisa? Or try and figure it out ourselves?

Luna squatted down as Lynn raced past, catching her and holding her under her arm as she barked and kept her legs in motion. Lincoln rushed to Lynn's mouth, opening it up and searching frantically.

Sam blinked at the scene, shaking her head as if deciding against asking and turning to Luna. “It does seem weird she's more like a dog version of herself… Maybe we should brainstorm later, ask some of the others.”

“Dang it!” Luna and Sam watched Lincoln move to the bench, flopping down and staring at his hind paws. “It's past the point of entry.”

Sam winced, with Luna gesturing to the boy and barking as she mimed reading a book and stacked her hands to mark heights.

Lincoln stared in amazement as Sam mumbled an agreement, her eye darting to see Lynn missing and Charles sitting by her metal leg. “We'll get to that later, but first we need to go catch Lynn again.”

Luna huffed, dropping onto all fours and sniffing around before following the dog girl's scent. She's fast, that's for sure. And sneaky for someone who's usually pretty loud…

Sam sighed as she entered Lori's bedroom, dragging her prosthetic along as the foot section was replaced by a upside down bucket and a skateboard. “Don't ask. Just. Don't.”

Making her way awkwardly to Lori's bed, she sat down and shook her head. The other Loud siblings - sans Luna, who was looking after Lynn and trying to get Sam's foot back to repair her leg - sat, stood, leaned and laid in various spots over the room.

“Like, I thought only Lori could, like, call sibling meetings.” Leni kicked her legs up and down as she laid on her bed, turning her head to Sam as she fiddled with a pair of knitting needles. “And, like, you're totes not a sibling. Or are you?”

The others facepalmed, a soft sigh - in Lucy's case, the word itself - leaving them. Leni simply continued to fiddle and shoot a suspicious gaze to the blonde rocker.

Sam placed a hand on her knee, fingertips brushing against the metal of her leg. “I called it on Luna's behalf, actually. She has some suspicions about Lynn's spell, and we wanted to figure out why.”

Lincoln, having heard it at the park earlier, continued flipping through the book while he sat on Leni’s desk chair and kept quiet. The others began chattering, with Sam giving them a moment to talk before raising a hand.

Lucy was the first to return to the topic. “When you say ‘suspicions’, what do you mean?” She crossed her arms as she leaned on the wall near the closet.

Sam read out Luna's message from the park, her mind whirring from the second viewing of her girlfriend's words. Lunes sure is more observant since all this happened. I never would have picked up on it. But why is Lynn like this? She's a more docile version of what Luna was like in the woods, that's for sure…

“Of course she would be more observant - keeping an eye on your surroundings is key to survival.” Sam shrieked as her leg slipped off the board, flopping to the floor in front of the twins as she glared at Lucy on the bed. “Sigh. I did not mean to move here.”

Luan chuckled as Lily babbled in her lap, with Mr Coconuts on her hand giving a lopsided stare. “Sorry. It was too funny. Maybe Lynn was a bit dog gone after recent events. Hahaha, get it?"

The others groaned, with the puppet shaking his head. “Of course, Toots. Anyway, have ya considered a coping mechanism?”

Sam hummed thoughtfully as she picked herself up, with the other siblings blinking at Luan in shock. Lisa was the first to recover, murmuring to herself as she wandered out the room. 

Lori sighed, tapping on her phone absently. “Literally could be. We have literally been through a fair bit recently.”

The others mumbled agreement, with Sam turning to Lincoln. “Any luck?”

“If we can get a substitute pendulum, we can break the trance before any need for poop digging. I hope…” Lincoln shuddered, with Lana grumbling about his hopes.

He turned the book, revealing the pendulum looked like a blue eye.

Leni squealed in delight, pouncing on Sam as she grabbed her glass eye and held it out to her brother. “It's, like, just like Sam's glass eye! That's, like, totes lucky!”

Lincoln held in a gag, plucking the eye out of Leni’s fingers as Sam shoved her off. Unable to speak, he stared at the rocker’s empty socket before handing the eye to Lucy and rushing out the room.

Sam groaned, turning to the family as she closed her empty eye. “Meeting adjourned…”

Luna panted as she darted down the street, eyes scanning for Lynn after she was spooked by a clap of thunder. It probably wasn't smart of Popstar to open the door when he did, but the weather can't be helped. It's a good thing there were a few storms when I was in the woods, otherwise I'd be no better.

Another rumble of thunder rattled her nerves, her heightened hearing making the sound thump in her head. Shaking it off, she kept going and sniffed the air.

Where are you, Lynn? Luna picked up Lynn's scent, the trail leading further down the street.

Padding along, she felt droplets hitting her form and glanced up. Amongst the flashes of lightning, Luna spotted rain and pined in frustration. 

This isn't good. That rain might wash her scent away. A yelp reached her ears, with Luna bolting with her teeth bared. Gotta get to her now!

Skidding around a corner as the pavement became slick with rain, she found two boys kicking and throwing things at Lynn. Rage filled her as she snarled, charging at the pair and pouncing on them.

Out of the corner of her vision, Luna saw Lynn with a number of bleeding injuries and shaking from the thunder overhead. How dare they? They can't just attack for no reason!

Luna pinned down one of the boys, the bike crashing on top of him as she snarled. The other boy backed away from Lynn, moving to his friend and trying to remove the feral girl.

“Get off me!” Luna swiped at him with her claws, leaping off of him and positioning herself in front of Lynn.

The kicker helped his friend up. “Looks like there's two of them.”

The boy with blood on his face from Luna's claws stood and raised a rock to throw at her, but froze when he looked at her. “It's her.”

“What do ya mean? Ain't she a ghost possessing that girl jock?”

Luna blinked, tilting her head slightly as she kept growling and stood protectively over Lynn. What is this guy talking about? I'm clearly not dead.

“No…This really is her. Moonstruck Luna is REAL!” The scratched boy moved back, picking up his bike and beginning to ride away.

The other boy stared at Luna for a moment, soon grabbing his bike and following his friend. “Wait up! I thought Moonlight Banshee was the canon fate of Luna Loud!”

Waiting a moment to watch them ride away, Luna sat on her haunches and whined in confusion. Moonstruck Luna? Moonlight Banshee? Canon? What was all that about?

Her mind refocused on Lynn, with the feral girl turning to her and surveying her form. Lynn was whimpering, flinching away from Luna as she curled in on herself. A number of gashes bled on her arms and legs, with Luna pining as she carefully picked Lynn up.

Her eyes drifted to the sky, flashes of lightning filling her gaze as she saw the clouds darkening. I need to get Lynn out of this storm and to safety - she needs medical attention.

Luna howled, struggling to run on two legs as she cradled Lynn. The hypnotised girl whimpered, staring at Luna as if a striken puppy.

Lynn…Poor girl must have been so scared. She's acting like a pup. As Luna made her way down the street, she widened her eyes as something sparked in her mind. Maybe I should ask Sam, Lucy or Lisa about this.

Leni gulped as Sam kept breathing loudly into a brown paper bag, her heart aching as the blonde rocker shivered and fidgeted. Like, what's causing Sam to act like this?

Sitting beside her, Leni rubbed her shoulder and watched the other siblings pace around nervously. Sam lunged onto her, sobbing madly as the storm continued outside. 

Lori frowned at her phone, with Leni tilting her head. “Literally no service…”

“Oh! Are we getting takeout?” Leni clapped her hands, her mind soon clicking to what Lori meant. “Sorry, guys.”

Lincoln smiled at her, with Leni glad she was able to catch herself this time. Thunder rattled the roof, with the twins grabbing hold of Lucy with a gasp.

“Like, Luna will be totes okay. Right?” Leni gave a hopeful smile, knowing Luna would be able to protect Lynn.

Sam shook harder, murmuring what Leni could only assume were a series of apologies. Lisa adjusted her glasses, going into a rant that Leni could not understand. The door swung open as lightning flashed again, with Leni seeing a familiar pair of figures in the light.

“Like, it's Luna and Lynn! She, like, totes did it!” Leni went to stand up, but remembered Sam was still clinging to her before rushing to her.

Her eyes adjusted properly, soon seeing Lynn drifting in and out of consciousness and Luna shivering from the cold weather.

Leni turned to Lori. “Like, we're gonna totes need first aid. And towels and stuff.”

Lori, surprised by Leni’s authority, nodded and darted upstairs. Lucy disappeared in a puff of smoke, with the twins screaming as they toppled over. 

Luan fought the urge to laugh, moving to Sam and handing Lily to Leni. “Let me handle Sam, Leni. We need you on babysitting duty.”

Leni nodded, watching as Luan carried Sam away, seeing Sam burying her face into Luan's neck. Luna whined as she watched Luan go, with Lucy appearing out of nowhere and handing her a towel. Leni got up off the couch as Luna laid Lynn down, rushing off after Luan on all fours.

Leni moved aside as Lori administered first aid, her brows furrowed. I know, like, she's totes under the spell thingy, but, like, she's really a puppy. Lynn, like, kept fighting it…

The moment Lori had finished, she sat back down and gently encouraged Lynn into her lap. Leni looked up to see the others watching with worried eyes, her hand softly rubbing Lynn's back 

“Like, can someone, like, grab some biscuits and stuff?” Leni smiled as Lana cheered, racing into the kitchen excitedly.

Lola tailed behind, ranting about human food.

Lori rolled her eyes, turning to Leni with worried eyes. “Are you literally sure about this? It's literally just hypnosis.”

“Like, I don't think so.” Leni glanced down to Lynn, who gazed up at her and licked her chin. “I think, like, this def was, like, hidden for ages. Like, she seemed to, like, be hiding something.”

Lynn whined from Leni’s lap, with the blonde finding her ear and scratching as if petting Charles.

Lori blinked. “Leni, I'm literally sorry for the way I've literally looked down on you.”

“It's okaysies. Like, with everyone's help, I'm, like, starting to get there. And, like, once I get it, I totes keep it in mind.” Leni giggled as Lynn leaned into her petting.

Lori sat down next to Leni, her eyes drifting to Lucy as she moved to Lynn and placed a hand on her head. “So, literally, could you literally tell me what literally tipped you off?”

Sam groaned, opening her eye to see Maxine looming over her with a concerned expression. She felt a weight on her stomach, carefully looking up when she registered soft purring to find Luna laying on her like a living weighted blanket.

“Chick? You good?” Maxine was pushed out the way by Luna's head.

Sam raised a hand and ran her fingers through Luna's hair. “Sorta. What happened?”

Maxines's eyes lost focus, with Luna moving closer to Sam's face and licking her. After a moment, the alter refocused and turned to Sam.

“Luan told me you found out about Lynn getting spooked by the storm and Luna going after her, and apparently you went postal on the parents.” Maxine pulled out a cloth from one of Luan's comedy cases, wiping Sam's forehead.

The blonde rocker put her arm on Luna's back. “Did I say anything bad?” Her voice was strained, a fresh wave of tears threatening to spill.

Maxine slid an arm under her, pulling her and Luna into an awkward embrace. “Mom and Dad knew something was off when you started screaming to be let out and calling them zombies. That's when the rest of us got involved. Luan told me she's never seen an attack that bad before, and she's had to deal with a few nasty bouts of stage fright.”

Sam felt Luna's nose against her neck, her breath tickling her skin as she purred softly. “How -” Sam swallowed, her lips drying suddenly. “How long was I out?”

“Just a bit over an hour. You know, chick, just ask Luan and I'll pop out and talk to you anytime you need.” Maxine released the embrace, turning to walk away before pausing and grabbing her bangs. “I'll let them know you need a bit of time.”

Sam nodded, a sad smile on her face as Luna whined. What is wrong with me? Did the kidnapping and crash leave more scars than I thought?

Luna nudged her, moving back to gaze into her eyes. Sam knew her girlfriend was asking her what was on her mind - it was the same stare Luna gave when she had days of lost hope.

“Luna, do you think I need help?” Sam struggled to fight back her tears, feeling Luna licking them away.

The feral girl moved back and made sure Sam was looking, making a series of barks and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Thanks, Lunes. I might look into some options with Maxine.” Sam held Luna with both arms in a gentle embrace, with the feral girl continuing to lick away her tears.

She stopped for a moment, barking and whining as Sam blinked. The lass took out her phone, with Luna doing the same and typing out her message instead. Sam let out a soft chuckle when Luna gently flopped onto her, feeling her girlfriend's heart beating in her chest as she grunted to herself.

Her phone dinged as Luna shifted back to her original position. You should, but I think maybe the whole family should. When I went after Lynn and found her being attacked, she went back to being a pup. Can't think of the word, but could it be that she would mentally strip herself to the mind of a pup to cope?

Sam hummed in thought. “Could be… And the word you were looking for might have been regression.”

Luna nodded, nuzzling Sam as she gave a soft smile. 

The teal-streaked rocker pressed her lips against the feral girl's, feeling Luna responding in kind and smiling to herself. I never thought I'd ever get her kissing me again. I missed this…

Lincoln once again stood in Lynn and Lucy's room, this time with Lucy beside him and Lynn sitting on her bed. The athlete panted, tilting her head as the sole brother held up the makeshift pendulum - Sam's glass eye tied to a piece of string - and began to swing it.

Lucy kept her gaze on Lynn, with Lincoln taking a breath as the hypnotised girl watched the eye. “Lynn, when I click my fingers, you will no longer believe you are a dog.”

Lincoln clicked, his eyes closed fearfully. If this doesn't work, and Lynn eats Sam's eye, I'm as good as dead.

“Stinkon? What're you doing? And why do I hurt everywhere?” Lincoln opened his eyes, seeing Lynn blinking and carefully rubbing her head as if the motion hurt her arms.

Lucy sat on her bed, a half smile on her face as Lincoln lunged and hugged Lynn. The athlete sucked in air through clenched teeth, putting her arms around her brother.

Lincoln laughed with choked sobs, tossing the eye to Lucy as he moved back. “I am so sorry for hypnotising you by accident! It's my fault you got attacked by whatever Luna meant by ‘yip bark’!”

“Sigh. She meant bullies, bro.”

“I'm sorry!”

Lynn gently moved him off, looking him in the eye with a raised eyebrow. “Okay, Stinkon, I have no idea what you're on about. All I remember is you asking for help, then this nice, calm feeling. Best I've felt in months.”

Lincoln heard Lucy hum, turning to her as Lynn eased herself into bed. “Lucy?”

The magic Goth sat cross-legged on her bed, her back against her coffin, and rested her hands on her knees. “While you were busy sorting out the pendulum, I took a moment to peer into Lynn's mind.”

“Hey! You stay outta there!” Lynn attempted to rush at Lucy, but grunted in pain and stayed down.

Lincoln sat on Lynn's bed, his eyes locked on his sister. “What did you find?”

“Despite the hypnosis, it was as if the Lynn we knew was wrapped in cotton wool - a protective cocoon around her humanity to allow her time to not trouble herself with the trials of being a human.”

Lynn blinked. “That would explain the calm feeling… You think you could -”

“Nope! Not making that mistake again - what if you get spooked again?” Lincoln waved his arms about, shaking his head. I can't put her in danger again! I'm a horrible brother! I'm-

“Sigh. Lincoln, please stop panicking. It's making my head ring. I don't think we would need to use the -” Lucy held Sam's eye out, taking it in before starting to untie the string. “The eye to allow this to happen again. Perhaps we should consult Luan - she has a surprising knowledge of the mind.”

Lincoln nodded. “Agreed. Hypnosis was too much too fast.”

Lynn nodded as well. “Not remembering what happened is not ideal…”

Lincoln decided to call it a night, leaving the room mates to discuss what had happened.

He soon turned around and re-entered the room. “Lucy, could I have Sam's eye? I think she'd want it back now.”

He received the eye, refusing to look at it as he made his way to Luna, Sam and Luan's room. Well, I now know one thing. We all have been through a lot of changes since Luna disappeared, and I need to try and find a way to help everyone. Just, not with hypnosis in case I make one of my sisters do something worse than become a dog…

Chapter Text

Morning had broken on the first day back at school for Luna and Sam, with the latter staring in disbelief at the hectic morning routine. She held one of Leni’s prize cups from the talent show the day before- which featured her and Luna as fire and ice elemental beings - as she watched the family racing about. 

Taking a sip, she shook her head and took another bite of the plate of bacon and eggs she had made herself. How did Luna survive this?

As if on cue, Luna arrived at the table with her plate - mostly bacon due to her instinctual leaning towards meat - and smiled. She noticed Sam's gaze at the chaos behind her, simply shrugging to the unvoiced question as she snapped up a bit of bacon.

Sam smiled back, chuckling as Luna shook her head at Lori's constant reminders of the time. “So, Lunes, ready for school?”

Luna let out a long whine, intermittently broken by gulping down the piece of bacon in her mouth, and stared at Sam with lowered eyelids.

“I know, I know. But I more meant as in feeling like you're ready to face everyone. OJ?” Sam poured Luna some orange juice into a different SaLuna cup - this one with the duo dressed as vampires - and passed it over.

Luna barked in gratitude, lapping at the drink before pointing out the two cups and growling softly.

“Yeah, I find the cups weird too. And what you said about the ‘Moonstruck Luna’ and ‘Moonlight Banshee’ thing. Honestly, I'm a bit scared myself - what if I get triggered at school?” Sam flexed her hand in an effort to calm herself, with Luna grabbing it and rubbing it with her thumb.

The feral girl barked and pined, with Lucy appearing beside her in a puff of smoke with her overcooked bacon and eggs. “Luna wants to remind you she'll stay close to you all day.”

With a hand on her heart from Lucy's sudden appearance, Sam smiled and nodded. “Thanks, Lunes. And thanks for the translation, Lucy.”

Lucy nodded, grumbling when she realised the vampire cup was taken. 

She settled for the SaLuna ghosts cup, having a sip as the rest of the family raced to the table for a fast breakfast. “I have a strange feeling you two will be swept up in something today…”

Luna barked as Sam pulled up at the school on her motorcycle, her tongue lolling out as she enjoyed the rush of wind in her face. Hopping off, she glanced to the school building and sat on her haunches to give her girlfriend time to organise herself.

For something they were anxious about, Luna found the building underwhelming. How is this scary? It's no different from the hospital all those months ago, right? As long as there's no doctors to say I'm a lost cause, we'll be fine.

Sam put a paw on Luna's shoulder, her eye showing worry as Luna rose to her feet. “You okay?”

Luna nodded, tapping her head with her paw to indicate she was thinking before resting her head on Sam's shoulder. With paws entwined, they made their way inside and found a variety of people wandering about and talking.

Luna noticed a variety of purple and teal patches on bags, including their heads, as well as themed clothing and other items in people's hands. Well crap…

Heads soon turned, with a clamour around them as students rushed to them cheering and squealing. Luna found herself able to detect the various voices in the crowd, feeling Sam cowering behind her as more students gathered around them.

“It's them! The Lost Girls are back!”

“Which fate is canon?!”

“Sam, sign my ‘Sharp Soul’ lunchbox!”

“Luna, sign my ‘Moonshine’ underwear!”

Amongst the clamour of autograph requests and questions, the feral girl sensed Sam becoming overwhelmed and turned to collect her in her arms. Snarling to force a clear path, Luna lifted her girlfriend into her arms and darted away.

Gotta find somewhere to calm down - too many people, and WAY too many scents and sounds. Her eyes scanned the halls as more students turned to them, a yelp leaving her when she collided with Luan and a brown maned boy. The pair turned, revealing another male and female with brown manes behind them.

Luna whined, with Luan helping her to her feet and looking to one of the two males. “Benny, could you please handle the crowd? I've never herd of such a crazy situation before! Sully, Mazzy, come with me. You two could band together with Luna to calm Sam down!”

Luna followed the small group, blinking as Luan cackled from her own jokes. How does she manage to make all those puns?

She shook her thoughts off, entering a room which felt familiar as Luan guarded the door. The duo - Sully and Mazzy - made a space near a small stage and helped Luna lay her girlfriend down. Remembering Maxine's instructions from the previous day, she put herself on Sam's body and purred. Her eyes drifted to the boy, who seemed on the verge of panic himself. The slim body almost vanished under his black leather jacket, his hands wrapped around the padlock on his necklace.

“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy…” The boy's purple shirt appeared damp as if he had been sweating, with one paw wiping against his blue jeans.

“For the love of rock and roll, relax! You freaking out is not helping!” The girl, whose reddish-brown mane hid her eyes, slapped the boy upside the head and huffed.

Her purple lips shifted in thought as she leaned over Sam's face - while Luna found her instincts flaring up, something in her heart told her to trust the stranger. 

She waved a hand over the teal-streaked rocker's eyes, her odd green jacket shifting as she sighed. “This is worse than the panic attack of third grade, and that one had her manage to belt up her three bullies…”

Luna blinked at the girl. Beat up bullies? That would explain her screaming at my parents AND the anger at the doctor.

The purple-lipped girl turned to Luna, revealing a black and white striped shirt under the jacket. “Keep on her and keep up that purring - she's blanked out, but not passing out, which is a good sign.”

The girl shuffled back to Sam's head, resting it on her dark grey skirt and crossing legs covered in white stockings.

Luna watched as she massaged Sam's head, feeling her girlfriend wrap her arms around her and smiling. Must be an old friend of Sam's - I need to remember that just in case.

“Okay, so… That was the most insane fan swarm I've ever seen.” Luna tilted her head, with the boy moving over to them as the second male clambered in through a window.

“No need to say that twice, Mazzy. But why did all those companies think Sam and Luna would be -” The boy - Luna guessed his name was Sully based on his interactions with the others - paused and waved his arms about, grey eyes wide as if unable to speak.

Luan joined the group, with the second boy sitting beside her as she held up Mr Coconuts. “I don't know about you guys, but there's nothing like speculation to get them spending.”

“I guess that's true, Mr C, but it was only a year.” Luan shied away from the puppet's gaze, with Luna yelping when she heard Sam groaning.

The rocker slowly blinked, her body shaking as she shifted her paws on Luna's back. Swallowing loudly with a small cough, she locked eyes with the feral girl before attempting to look around.

“Um, Luna? Where-Where am I? Whose lap is this?” Luna pined, nuzzling Sam as she struggled to reorient herself.

She felt her girlfriend cling to her, reminding her of when they first reunited and the nightmare. Purring more, she sensed Sam calming and smiled. 

The girl helping her - ‘Mazzy’ - loomed over and smiled. “Welcome back to the land of wake, girl.”

Sam blinked, staring at ‘Mazzy’ in disbelief. “Mazzy? Is it really you? Or are you going to pull your face off and be that zombie again?”

“Zombie? Eh?” ‘Mazzy’ moved her paw to Luna, holding it out as if waiting for a handshake.

Luna sniffed the paw, detecting wood, metal and leather as the girl made a confused noise and took her paw back. ‘Sully’ did the same, smiling at her as she sniffed. Luna found herself pondering the plastic, leather and burnt scent on him, soon shaking it off as an idea formed in her mind.

“Sorry. Got too much.” Sam carefully sat up, burying her face in Luna's mane as if hiding from the others.

The second boy turned to Luan, whose eyes seemed distant, before shaking his head. “Don't be, Sam. You can't help it if something overwhelms you.”

He moved to Luna, allowing her to take in his scent of fabric, wood and paper as he waited for Luan. Luna guessed there was some sort of conversation between Luan and Maxine causing the odd behaviour, but her thoughts were cut short when the comedian shook her head.

Luan looked to Sam and Luna, a concerned expression settled on her face. “It's a good thing each of us has classes with you two - Maxine said there would likely be a lot of triggers around the school, including more of those fan groups.”

The unfamiliar boy sighed. “She's not wrong there - everyone has at least one bit of SaLuna merch.”

The bell rang, with the boy standing and holding out a paw to help Sam stand. Luna hopped off her girlfriend, blinking at him as she felt something familiar about him. Deciding against investigating the feeling, she followed the group as they headed for class.

“Sam, easy on the grip there.” Mazzy shook her head as she gently pried Sam's hands off her shoulder, with the girl struggling to stop shaking.

Sam took a breath. “Sorry. Still anxious.”

She cursed herself for not being able to speak properly, seeing the Science teacher wheeling a number of trays around the room. Why a practical? It's too soon to try an experiment. I'm too shaky as it is - what if I spill something? What if I shut down? What if - 

“Sam, breathe. You're turning blue in the lips.” Mazzy patted her back, with Sam gasping slightly as she saw the tray placed in front of them.

“Thanks.” The pair focused on the teacher, who had put a tray in front of himself.

He instructed the class to remove the covering on the tray, turning around to draw a diagram on the blackboard. Sam felt her stomach flip when she was greeted with a pig's eye staring back at her, bile settling in her throat as she staggered back.

“Sam?” Mazzy's voice sounded distant, with a fervent buzzing filling her ears as her vision swam.

For a moment, the pig's eye morphed into her old eye - complete with the shard of the glass bottle sticking out. Her chest tightened as she shook her head. It was a pig's eye again when she looked.

That was- What was- Is this- Sam felt something bump against the back of her flesh leg.

She jolted, spinning around and seeing the glass flask she had knocked over. Cracks formed on it as she suddenly heard thumping in her ears.

“-am! Can - ear -e?” Stumbling away from the trays, Sam leaned against the bench sink on the side of the room and squeaked.

She could only just make out Mazzy in her fuzzy vision, struggling to see what her lips were doing as her mind became filled with thumping and buzzing. Movement in the corner of her eye made Sam twitch, and she saw a shadowy figure beside her. Her mind flipped back to the park, the white van behind the figure.

“Return to your station at once!” The figure stalked closer - Sam couldn't tell whether she was panting or the figure was.

His pale eyes locked blankly on her, the right side of his face torn off by the rocks from the crash a year ago. Limbs pointed the wrong way as he drew closer, and she did the only thing she could do. Sam screamed. Her chest tightened as if her ribcage was closing in on her heart and lungs.

Gottagogottagogottagogottago- Catching her foot on something hard, Sam tripped and stumbled to her feet and raced away.

All her mind had locked onto was the desperation to escape, fearful of what she was leaving behind.

Luna huffed as Luan made yet another joke in the group activity, the boy from before - according to Luan, his name was ‘Benny’ - and ‘Sully’ sitting with them as they worked on a health poster.

“Get it?”

“Please stop…” ‘Sully’ seemed to have paled since the task had started, unable to contribute much more than a retch as Luna added another fact to the ‘Fast Facts’ section of their ‘Safe Sex’ poster.

Of all the things to come back to, I gotta help make a safe breeding poster. Why call it sex, though? Or is this just my animal mind confusing me again? Shaking the thoughts from her head, Luna continued adding in details as ‘Benny’ glued a diagram onto the large sheet of paper they were given.

“Everything alright?” Luna glanced to him, nodding as she typed up a small message on the unprinted document.

Sometimes animal mentality sucks. Someone might need to go through and make sure I haven't put the word ‘breeding’ instead of ‘sex’ before I print this. Luna pined, with Luan stopping her work on the headings and looking over.

The boy nodded, turning back 'Sully’ and attempting to convince him to contribute more to the project. Luan moved over to her, seeing the message and rubbing Luna's shoulder. It was then, as they worked in silence, that Luna detected Sam's scent.

Poking her head up, Luna closed her eyes and sniffed the air. Sam? Isn't she meant to be in Science?

Wandering away from the group, she soon found herself standing near a girl who did not look anything like Sam. The girl glared at her, shifting in a way Luna's instincts registered as a territorial display.

Stepping back, Luna sniffed the air and found multiple sources of Sam's scent. This can't be right. There's only ONE Sam - all animals have unique scents. What's going on?

She made out the voices of Luan and who she assumed were friends before her disappearance, but ignored it in favour of taking a moment to mentally map the scents around her. There were six tracks which indicated Sam - something Luna knew was impossible.

This is wrong. It's…unnatural… Luna snarled at the thought, spooking a number of people around her as she turned away from the class and made her way to the door.

The teacher grabbed her arm, turning her around with an annoyed expression. “And where do you think you're going without permission?”

Luna snarled, swiping at the teacher to force her to let go before leaving the room. The sounds of student uproar echoed behind the door, but she decided to focus on seeking Sam out to ensure she was safe. 

Her instincts were telling her something was wrong, and her heart was telling her to trust that animal part of her was right. This scent… it also has that weird stink I picked up when- Luna whined, rushing about in an attempt to locate a confirmed scent path to Sam. She needs me!

Dropping onto all fours, Luna sniffed the air and darted along one of the scent trails.

The bell rang for lunch, with Luan looking around as Mazzy joined them. Sam was not with her, which put the Loud girl on edge.

Sully was the first to speak. “Where did Sam go?”

“We were dissecting pig eyes in class.” Mazzy's voice softened as she spoke, her hands hiding in her pockets.

Luan blinked, turning to Benny as he shook his head. “And Luna's trying to find her after what I think was her picking up her scent earlier. Which probably is the exact same as the Sam-themed perfume and cologne that's been on sale.”

Well this is just fantastic - an obvious trauma trigger for Sam, and Luna having an instinctual need to comfort her and getting thrown off by all these stupid products.

Stupid? Sistah, don't pretend you didn't buy the Sam and Luna shampoo and conditioner!

Oh shut up, wood breath!

Wood breath?! Okay, that's it!

Luan gripped her head. “Will you two please shut up for a minute?” Sully and Mazzy turned and stared at Luan, who saw their lips moving but couldn't hear them over Maxine and Mr Coconuts’ argument.

She felt Benny's hand on her shoulder, seeing the boy smiling at her before pointing to his head. She nodded, accepting his assistance to sit at a table. Luan shot him a pleading look, with the boy nodding as she leaned on him and closed her eyes.

“I only got those products because they were the only hypo-allergenic stuff in stock! It's like all they sell is SaLuna stuff!” Luan soon found herself staring at her alters, with Maxine gripping Mr Coconuts by his collar.

The humanised version of her trusty ventriloquist dummy grabbed the collar of Maxine's red and yellow leather jacket, putting the zip corners in her nose. “You still could've gone with something else! There was PLENTY of other stuff there!”

“As a protector, I can't just get the regular stuff - you KNOW it gives our body a horrible rash!” Maxine cracked knuckles hidden by black fingerless gloves, moving forward to punch Mr Coconuts.

Luan stood between them, waving her arms about. “Calm down, will you?! I can't hear anything from the others with you two fighting like this!”

The alters stepped back, looking to the red-carpeted floor beneath them and mumbling an apology. Luan smiled when they shook hands, deciding to take a seat on the blue sofa and looking to Maxine as she leaned against the arm. Mr Coconuts sat beside Luan, adjusting his jacket.

“Maxine, what did you mean by the dissection being a trigger?” Luan put her hands in her lap.

Maxine hummed. “Sam has a glass eye, correct?”

Luan and Mr Coconuts nodded.

“I suspect the way she lost her eye was linked to the traumatic event she experienced a year ago, which caused the panic episode.” Maxine toyed with the belt loop of her maroon skinny jeans, scuffing her black combat boots thoughtfully. “Once she got into said episode, it probably became a lot like the one she had during the whole Lynn Junior hypnosis saga.”

Luan shook her head. “It's worse - she's disappeared. She hasn't come for lunch.”

Mr Coconuts shook his head. “That ain't good. She could be anywhere now.”

Maxine rolled her eyes. “Not helpful, Mr Coconuts. You go back out, Luan - we'll try and make some sort of game plan to find her. Mr Coconuts, could you go dig into our memories and see what we know about Sam?”

“Got it, sistah. Catch ya later, Toots.”

Luna limped away from the third person she had approached, who ended up being a boy who was less than friendly towards her. Why does everyone smell like a scared Sam? I need to find her soon - she could be getting worse the longer I take.

Closing her eyes, she found several Sam scent trails before her and grunted. She had narrowed down only three, but her nose detected another eight trails.

Luna sighed. This will take a while, but I don't have that much time. I need to find the real Sam before she gets hurt.

Pining, she limped along on three limbs as she kept her right arm up. A teacher wandered over to her, kneeling down and holding out a paw. Luna flinched - the teacher smelt like Sam, and it was not helping her nerves.

“Hello, Luna. Are you alright?”

Luna pined, lowering her head in dismay.

“Oh dear… Well, let Principal Rivers give you a hand!” The woman - ‘Principal Rivers’ - smiled at Luna and put the paw she held out in her curly black mane.

Luna tilted her head, gazing at the pearl necklace dangling in front of her.

“Now, Luna, what seems to be the problem?” The woman dug into the pocket of her dark purple coat above her matching skirt and yellow shirt.

She pulled out a strange teal bottle, which leaked Sam's scent and made Luna growl and glare at it. ‘Principal Rivers’ moved her fingers, revealing a picture of Sam - the odd position showing two flesh legs and a sultry wink of her glass eye - and the label ‘Sam Sharp the Fragrance. For Her’.

She moved the bottle back into her pocket. “Okay, so it looks like the perfume is the problem.”

The boy who had kicked her earlier walked past, flinching when Luna turned and snarled with an audible snap of her teeth. You tarnished her name, you runt!

‘Principal Rivers’ held the feral girl, keeping her from lunging at the boy before sniffing. “And the 'For Him’ fragrance… Oh! You're trying to find Sam by smell, aren't you?”

Luna nodded, sitting on her haunches as the older woman paced on white boots. She scratched her head under the lavender scarf, pausing and turning to look down the hall.

“If it helps, I can take you to the last sighting of her. Maybe that will narrow it down?”

Luna carefully jumped up, yapping happily. Yes! Please do! Sam needs me!

‘Principal Rivers’ tapped her thighs. “Come on then, girl. Here, Luna!”

The principal turned and walked away, ignoring Luna's half-lidded stare. I know I kinda act like one, but does she seriously think I'm mentally a dog or something?

Lynn flopped onto the bench beneath her, gulping down her water as the rest of her team joined her. They had just won an interschool game of soccer, having taken some time to celebrate on field before resting.

Margo whooped with glee, thumping Lynn on the back after she removed her water bottle from her lips. “You played epic, Lynn-Sanity! Best game since last year!”

“Thanks, Margo. Getting Luna back played a big part in that - WAY less stress at home now.” Lynn wiped her sleeve over her forehead, smiling as she softly punched Margo's arm.

Paula joined them, resting her crutch beside her. “How's your head been, anyway?”

Lynn blinked as she allowed her mind to wander over the past few days - she remembered she had blanked out for half a day following a stressful game which included jabs against her family, and it had given the same feeling as she felt when she was brought out of the accidental hypnosis. Even being turned back from being a werewolf made her feel calmer, which scared her a bit.

“Lynn?” Margo poked Lynn in the shoulder, startling her from her thoughts.

“Sorry - just thinking about the last week or so. I -” Lynn took another gulp of water. “I think there's something up with my head.”

Her teammates blinked as Lynn hid her face, putting a comforting hand on each of her shoulders. 

She looked up, with Paula rubbing her shoulder. “It's not that there's something up. If it makes you feel better and doesn't hurt anyone, then it's fine. Besides, I liked playing with Lynndog - super cute!”

Margo chuckled as Paula smiled, putting her hands against her cheeks as she squealed. “Of course you'd say that, Paula. But yeah, it was fun looking after you. Did hurt when you seemed so scared of us, though.”

Lynn blinked. I was scared of my friends? That can't be right.

Lynn's thoughts were cut short when the sounds of screaming echoed around the field, with the trio turning to see Sam stumbling across and struggling to keep her pace. Her screams became weaker, filled with more pants than screaming, as she toppled over. Lynn raced over - her two friends trailing behind her - and knelt beside Sam. The older girl fought to stand back up, her good leg kicking against her prosthetic.

“Sam, can you hear me? It's Lynn Junior.” Lynn gulped when Sam's head turned as if checking for danger, her working eye as blank as her glass one and gaze distant.

Margo knelt beside Lynn. “Um, what's wrong with her?”

“Not sure - Luan did say she might have some sort of issue after what happened to her and Luna. This must be it.” Lynn reached out to try and tap Sam's shoulder, receiving a sudden punch to the stomach in response.

The others gasped around her, but Lynn found a soft feeling filling her head as she let out a pained whine. What is this? It's just like that bad game…

Shaking her head, Lynn found the sensation remaining as Sam collapsed in a heap. Margo rolled Sam onto her back and started checking her over for injuries, with Paula moving to Lynn as she remained hunched over.

“Lynn? You okay?” Lynn looked up to Paula, the fluffy feeling growing stronger as she tried to fight it off.

Paula carefully moved her hand towards Lynn, with the Loud athlete feeling the fluffy sensation filling her as her mind went blank…

Luna tugged at the leather lead the principal had decided to put on her choker, which had been tied up as she held a minor meeting with a pawful of staff members. Rage filled her as she snarled and barked, pulling as hard as she could on the lead.

Come on, give! She felt the choker dig into her throat as she fought, an idea forming when she turned to see if the lead was giving out.

Luna sunk her teeth into the leather, wincing at the taste in her mouth as she tensed her jaw and shifted her teeth. She thanked the time in the woods for sharpening her teeth alongside her senses as the leather broke, with Luna panting before darting away on all fours.

She turned down the hall, feeling the bitten part of the lead whipping her arm. At least I'm free. But Sam's scent would be gone by now. And there's still too much of it around…

Whining, Luna darted out the front door and found a piece of metal on the ground. Blinking, she approached it and sniffed it - it had Sam's scent on it, but it was faint. Smiling, Luna glanced away from the discarded piece and found the trace scent trailing away from the school.

Luna padded along with unsure feet. This has to be her. It's the only scent not refreshing with more people. But why did she leave the school?

With nothing holding her back, Luna continued on her path and found the trail attempting to angle towards the Loud House. She found it odd, but pressed on when the scent trail took her to a second school. She reached the front door, finding Sam's scent becoming stronger as it drifted towards the open field.

Judging by the scents, this must be the school Lynn, Lincoln and Lucy go to. Luna blinked as she made her way around, seeing Sam surrounded by Lynn and two other females in red.

Racing forward, she found Sam unconscious with Lynn laying on top of her stomach and whining. The strangers - who Luna assumed were Lynn's friends - moved back when she approached. Lynn perked up when she saw Luna, hopping off Sam and sitting next to the girl with the cast and crutch as Luna took her place. She pulled out her phone the moment she started purring, typing out a message and gesturing with a free paw to Lynn. 

The pair pulled out the Loud athlete's phone. Thanks for looking after Sam - how is she?

The blonde hobbled forward, with her ponytailed mane swaying with the motion. “She was screaming earlier - it was like she wasn't here the way she was acting. Punched Lynn in the gut and she went dog.”

Luna blinked, looking to Lynn as she obediently sat and waited for the girl to come back.

It was then the other girl - the one with a light brown mane, long nose and buck teeth - stepped forward. “No injuries from what I could see, but she might have overworked her leg. She came from your high school, right?”

Luna nodded, pining amongst her purring. Had an attack, I'd say. Didn't help so many people are wearing her scent lately.

The injured girl moved to the bench, happily running her fingers through Lynn's mane to the delight of the latter. “I prefer the Luna Loud fragrance - it's perfect for athletes.”

Luna widened her eyes as Sam stirred underneath her. There's a version of my scent around too? This will be delightful…

“Lu-Luna?” Sam's voice sounded as if it was scratching her throat, with Luna whimpering and nuzzling her cheek lovingly.

The girl stayed silent, nuzzling back as she used Luna to help herself sit up. Lynn padded over, licking Sam and barking. Her friends stayed close, with Luna nudging Sam until her head was tucked under her girlfriend's chin.

Luan sighed softly as she left the school, the day's drama wearing on her as she sat on the steps. 

Benny sat beside her, putting a hand in her shoulder. “Mazzy and Sully are taking Sam's bike to your place, as well as the school work her and Luna missed. But are you okay?”

The comedian sighed, resting her head in her hands. “It's been a long day. All this SaLuna merchandise is giving me a headache - not only did it cause a fight between Maxine and Mr Coconuts, but it's making things worse for Luna. Why did it have to be perfume and cologne?”

Benny pulled her into a side hug as she rubbed her face, with Luan smiling at the warmth emanating from his body. She could faintly hear her alters asking if she was alright, but she couldn't bring herself to focus on them.

“Luan?”

“Just tired. Max and Mr C are asking if I'm okay, but I can't focus on them right now. All I can focus on is warm boyfriend.”

Benny chuckled as Luan snuggled into him. “I see how that can be distracting. Did you need to dissociate for a bit? It was your first day back at school, after all.”

Luan looked up at him, a tired smile on her face as a yawn escaped her. “Maybe. I don't know - I just wanna snuggle with you for a while.”

She saw the van approaching, sighing. Benny shook his head, lifting her up in a bridal carry as she snuggled into his shoulder. Luan smiled to herself, closing her eyes only to be greeted by the annoyed faces of Maxine and Mr Coconuts.

The alters glared, with Luan sighing. “Couldn't let me snuggle, could you?”

“Girl, you were dissociating. You need to take it easier before you create another alter.” Maxine shook her head, a hand on Luan's shoulder. “You're stressing out too much again.”

Mr Coconuts rolled his eyes. “Toots, let Maxine handle the therapy for those two - there's a reason she knows all this stuff, and it's to help ya. Just focus on ya comedy - that's what helps people.”

Maxine nodded. “I get you want to help your sister to pay her back for all the times she's helped you, but this is bigger than all of us. They need everyone to help them. You do enough, Luan. Now, get back to your snuggle time.”

Luan blinked, glancing up to Benny as he mouthed ‘dissociating’. She nodded, smiling as she heard Mr Coconuts humming away in her mind to keep her calm and allow her the moment with Benny. The others cooed at the scene, with the van rattling along to the middle school…

Sam sighed for the third time that day - her voice felt locked away since she croaked out her girlfriend's name, and it made her heart ache that she couldn't tell anyone what was wrong. Knowing that Luna struggled to find her because of the perfume added anger to the mix, which made her feel worse. 

Pouring herself a glass of milk, she wandered slowly to the stairs as her prosthetic leg creaked. Might get Lana to have a look at it - seems like something's missing…

Sam paused as Luna approached her, smiling and nuzzling as she returned the gesture. It seemed small to her, but Sam realised the gesture carried all the love Luna had been unable to express for six months. Smiling, she nodded a silent thanks before heading upstairs - she heard Luna following her, pining worriedly. The rest of the family had been told to give her space, but Luna refused to leave her.

Climbing up the ladder of the bunk bed, Sam laid down and chugged her drink in one hit. I hate this. I haven't gone non-verbal from a panic attack since third grade, and now I'm stuck like this because the Louds aren't familiar with my strategies. Dumb Dad not sending it all through when he let me go. I better go to the doctor later and see if I can get another copy.

Sam blinked when she saw Luna's head peering up from the side of the bunk bed, with the feral girl clambering up and laying beside her. Sam turned over, with Luna laying on her back and allowing her to rest her head on her chest. She felt her girlfriend wrap her arms around her, closing her eyes as she heard the mix of Luna's heartbeat and purring.

This brings back memories…I wish we could go back to before all this happened. Even if Lunes doesn't purr. Sam held onto Luna tighter, with shifting making her open her eyes and see a phone in front of her.

Wishing for the past again? Sam sighed, nodding against Luna as she pulled out her own phone.

A bit. My anxiety and what not was bad enough before. It's like those bullies transferred back and became that creep. I don't even know how I'll tell you the truth when the time comes. Sam felt Luna rubbing her back - something she had done many times before everything happened - and snuggled into her.

Luna chuckled, the motion shifting her chest against Sam's face. The problem with being unable to speak is you get stuck in your own head. Before you recovered enough to move around, I spent half an hour beating myself up about not finding you sooner. Luce Change threw a book at me to get me to stop. I figured a snuggle would be less violent.

Sam hummed in content. Thanks, Lunes. I'm feeling better already. I'll get my strategies together and share them with everyone. Should stop it getting this bad again.

Sam felt Luna shift, a gentle pressing of lips on the top of her head. Let's just chill here for a bit, luv. Maybe we'll jam soon, but my instincts say snuggle.

The teal-streaked rocker blinked, a tear forming as she quickly typed and sent a message. You haven't said that, or any of your British phrases, since I found you again. I missed it.

Sam heard Luna pining softly, feeling the embrace tighten and deciding to give the feral girl a belly rub. I love you so much, Lunes…

Lynn came back to her senses to find herself in the mall, hearing Lori screaming in a store adorned with the faces of Sam and Luna. “Okay… Wonder what that's about.”

Getting herself to her feet, she found something on her neck and turned slowly. Paula and Margo smiled, dropping the lead and rushing into a hug.

“Lynn!”

“Good to see you're back, Lynn-Sanity.”

Lynn blinked, hugging her friends back as she tried to find any memory of what had happened. It seemed there was fuzzy memories hiding there, but she shook it off.

“Good to see you guys, too, but what's with Lori? I can hear her screaming from here.” Lynn flinched, hearing a number of smashes and grunting from the movement in her gut.

“I think she's filing a formal complaint about the SaLuna merch.” Paula flinched at another smash, with Margo facepalming as they decided to sit on a bench and watch the scene at the front of the store.

“- WHAT LITERALLY GAVE YOU THE LITERAL IDEA TO LITERALLY PROFIT OFF OUR LITERAL SISTER AND HER LITERAL GIRLFRIEND?! YOU LITERALLY DISGUST ME!” Lori panted, twitching as she glared at the owner.

“Look, business is business. We make quite a tidy profit from those two.” The owner shrugged, with Lori struggling with the word ‘literally’ again before storming off angrily.

Lynn shook her head, watching as her older sister kept stammering and waving her arms. Her only thought was wishing Lucy was around to translate the tic into a coherent sentence, but she shook it off as Lori joined her and her friends.

“Hey sis. Doing okay?”

“Literally literally literally. Literally, literally literally literally!” Lori gestured with her hands, with Lynn turning to Paula and Margo with a shrug.

Margo chuckled, shaking her head as Lori sighed and started typing on her phone. “You seemed deep in thought earlier - what was up with that?”

Lynn blinked, tilting her head as if she was an inquisitive dog. “I think I have the memories of when I go dog, but it's sorta like how Luna once described her memory - foggy, but you know there's something there.”

“Literally! Literally, literally literally - literally literally!” Lori leapt to her feet, pointing at Lynn excitedly as Paula and Margo stared at her in confusion.

The athletes blinked, turning to each other before looking back at Lori. She huffed with a scoffed ‘literally’, walking away and leaving them to watch Leni racing out the store with her arms hidden by teal and purple bags. Lynn gestured for the others to not speak, with the trio deciding to go to the food court to discuss what had happened at school earlier that day…

Luna sighed as Sam glared at the set of cups, shaking her head as she leaned against the doorframe. While Sam was able to speak again after an hour of snuggling and two hours of playing, the feral girl could still sense unease in Sam's heart.

At least she's feeling a bit better. Maybe I should tell her to ease us back into school, just while all the SaLuna stuff's about in the school. Luna whined softly, seeing Leni rushing in with her arms full of bags.

She dropped them near the kitchen table, squealing in glee to the point where Luna howled to get the ringing out of her ears. Sam turned to Leni, blinking at the vast array of bags nearby.

“Leni -” She rose to her feet, moving to Luna with worried eyes. “ - what, exactly, did you buy?”

Leni beamed, holding up a bag. “I, like, bought all sorts of SaLuna stuff! If it was, like, enough to cause problem, then this will totes fix it!”

Luna blinked, tilting her head with a whine. Somehow I don't think this'll work well. I can see what Leni’s trying to do, but this won't end well…

Leni started pulling out her purchases, starting with a pair of stuffed toys made to look like them. Sam immediately grabbed them, cooing at them as she cuddled them to her chest. Luna sniffed them, her mind filling with memories of Sam's impressive collection of stuffed animals as Sam collected more of the stuffed toys from Leni.

Luna watched as Sam grew more excited. This is so cute. I wonder if she'll make a nest like before? Actually, where is all her stuff?

Shaking the thoughts from her head, she saw Leni pull out some sticker sheets, plates, bowls, mugs, cups and cutlery and sit them on the table. Sam ignored the other items, hugging the toys in her overfilled arms as Luna decided to investigate further. As disturbing as she found it, her instincts did not kick in when faced with them - the fact her girlfriend was still distracted seemed to help.

Wonder what'll happened if I get Sam to notice this stuff. Luna nudged Sam out of her trance, seeing the blonde look at the objects and blink.

She turned to Luna. “Huh. I'm not so bothered by it - maybe it was the fan swarm? Unless it's because I'm holding the stuffed toys. Might take a little Lunes with me if this is working.”

Luna smiled, nuzzling Sam as Leni pulled out clothing and laid them out on the table. The pair turned to the girl, who seemed unaware that the couple had stopped paying attention. 

Luna blinked at the box she pulled out, seeing the pair of them on the box alongside an odd looking shape. Hang on - that looks like the time I accidentally walked in on Sam when some thunder spooked me. And that looks like…

Luna's eyes widened in horror, swiping the box out of Leni’s paws and yelping as she raced outside. She knew Sam saw it when the toys in her arms all fell to the floor.

Stumbling through the back door, she tucked the box under one arm and bounded on her three remaining limbs to a grave Lucy was staring at. Perfect! Lucy turned to Luna as she leapt in, digging a hole within the grave before shoving the box into it and covering it. Luce Change, please fill this grave soon. Leni bought something no-one as innocent as her should have even laid eyes on.

The magical Loud nodded, starting to fill the hole as Luna returned inside. She paused by Sam's side as the latter picked up the toys, her eyes on Leni.

“What, exactly, do you mean you thought it was a massage wand?” Sam sighed, shaking her head.

Leni held up her hands. “The writing was, like too wavy and loopy, so I couldn't, like, make out what it said properly - it looked like it would be. Even if I totes found it odd you two were, like, wearing -”

Luna barked, waving her arms around. It's gonna be a long long time before that gets outta my mind. At least now it's six feet under.

Sam smiled, with Luna seeing her facial muscles were strained. “Well, thanks for the help. I'm gonna chop some dill - er, rub Luna's - um, TOILET!”

Luna and Leni watched as Sam raced upstairs, leaving a trail of stuffed toys behind her. The feral girl turned to the second oldest Loud, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe I should, like, totes start wearing my reading glasses to the mall - my word blindness thingy sucks…”

Chapter Text

A month had passed since Sam and Luna had returned home, and the pair had spent plenty of time settling back into regular life in the Loud House. Sam had even, with Maxine's help, started therapy sessions for both her and Luna. Today, while Sam was off at her weekly session, Luna was helping her parents empty her girlfriend's things out of her house.

I'm glad Mom and Popstar figured out the mess with Sam's family, but it feels weird moving her out. Luna's eyes locked onto Sam's father, who stood back and watched the Louds with narrowed eyes, and she snarled with bared teeth. You will not go near my ma - girlfriend!

Rita put a hand on Luna's shoulder, the other cradling a box of Sam's clothing. “Calm down, sweetie. He's not worth it.”

Luna huffed, heading upstairs and entering Sam's room. She smiled sadly - just standing at the door brought ghostly images from her memories, and she allowed herself to be lost in the moment. She saw her and Sam rocking out in the centre of the room, their voices blending in harmony. She saw the times they had heart-to-hearts, with either one laying on the bed and fiddling with one of Sam's various stuffed animals as they shared their woes. She even recalled the time she had talked Sam out of a panic attack after the Moon Goats were heckled harshly, which ended up being the first time she learned of Sam's anxiety and previous bullying. As the ghosts of memory passed, Luna saw only a few boxes left and pined as she picked one up.

Carrying it to the van, she glared once more at the man before packing the box away. This will be a great surprise for Sammie, but I just hope that man stays away from us.

Lynn Snr and Rita loaded the last boxes in, silently entering the van and driving off. Luna felt her muscles relax, the protective and territorial instincts waning as she whined.

“I know, doll. I'm mad too, but I just think about how happy Sam will be to have her belongings back.” Lynn Snr reached over and rubbed Luna's shoulder, waiting for her to text her response as Rita nodded at the pair before refocusing on the road.

It's not just that - I want him to stay away entirely. He set off protective and territorial instincts in me, and the last time both of those were triggered was when I saved Sam from a cougar. He's done some damage, and he could do more. Luna furrowed her brow, with Lynn Snr nodding and smiling.

“Thank you for telling us. We'll keep an eye out - when we had that discussion with your therapist, she said we should trust when your instincts are triggered.”

Luna nodded, yelping when her phone pinged and gasping at the message. Before her father could ask her about it, she showed him the screen and waited for him to pass on the message to Rita.

As the van's engine roared, Luna gazed out the window and shivered. What does Luce Change mean by Lori being suddenly sick? There was nothing in her scent this morning…

Lucy sat amongst a circle of candles, reading a spellbook as the shadows of the basement surrounded her. It was the perfect setting for her to seek answers about dark magic - she had to find out how Morpheus managed to transform Clyde into a werewolf servant capable of siring a pack of loyal werewolves, especially since a magic overload from her rage reversed the effects.

“Sigh. If Morpheus is able to create supernatural beings, he could try that stunt again.” Lucy found a page on creating a vampire, a chill racing down her spine.

A blue light illuminated the area, with Lucy looking up and smiling. The light hovered nearby, shaping itself into the form of Great Grandmother Harriet. The pearls from her earrings and necklace glistened in her spectral light.

“Hello, great grandchild. I sensed your distress. Is something the matter?” The ghost, who shared many similarities with Lucy, hovered in a seated position as Lucy placed the book in her lap.

“Sigh. Morpheus has become stronger since his expulsion from the Morticians Club, which led to him attempting to turn my family into werewolves under his command. The only reason he stopped was my magic erupting from me. What if he tries something worse, and my attempts at stopping him destroys me?” Lucy laid her hands on the book, shivering slightly.

Harriet hummed, nodding as Lucy calmed herself. “Not ideal - I see why you invited spiritual advice for this session. The solution is actually quite simple - what you experienced was an overload due to lack of use. The teleportation is helping to expend it, but I'd recommend you practice some spells more often.”

The door to the basement opened suddenly, with Lori walking downstairs while typing on her phone. “Lucy, are you literally down here? I literally need some help with my message -”

Lucy's hands glowed as she lifted them off the book, the light shooting off before she could speak and hitting her older sister. The girl fell down the rest of the stairs, her skin paling rapidly as her phone skidded away. Harriet disappeared as the disturbance extinguished one of the candles, with Lucy rushing to Lori's side.

Kneeling by her, Lucy nudged her frantically. “Lori, please wake up! Gasp!” Lucy retracted her hands, feeling an intense heat from her sister's skin.

She lunged for Lori's phone, sending a panicked text to Luna as she stuck close and cursed her soft voice…

Sam opened the door as she took her helmet off, seeing Lori laid on the couch with a blanket over her body and a wet cloth on her forehead. The rest of the siblings were gathered around her, with Lucy off to the side hiding her face in her knees.

“Okay…What happened here?” Sam hung her helmet on the coatstand before wandering over to Lucy, an eyebrow raised. “Lucy? You good there?”

The magical Loud shook her head, raising her head to reveal tear tracks on her cheeks. “I lost control of my magic again. I made Lori sick.”

Leni wandered over as Luan - who Sam could see was actually Maxine - took over looking after Lori and tried to shoot the other siblings away.

The fashionista put a hand on the goth's head, gently rubbing it as Sam blinked. “Lucy, it's, like, not your fault. You, like, can't always be totes in control. We'll, like, def help you!”

Lucy gave a sad smile, her gaze still locked on the floor as Sam moved to check on Lori. The eldest Loud was drenched in sweat, her skin pale as bags began forming under her eyes from fitful sleep. Even unconscious, she appeared pained.

“Something doesn't seem right here…” Sam felt her stomach churning with anxiety, thankful she had been able to resume her medication to keep her symptoms at bay.

She shook it off when she heard the Loud van pull up, with Rita and Lynn Snr rushing inside and racing to Lori. Luna wandered in, tilting her head at the scene before turning to Sam.

This obviously happened when Lunes was out with her parents. Sam shrugged, unable to answer Luna's unspoken questions as Maxine called for help to move the siblings along.

Luna wandered downstairs as the rest of the house slept, making her way to the fridge before a faint sound startled her. Turning away from the fridge, she sniffed the air and found Lori wandering around the living room and tidying up.

What on earth? Wasn't she sleeping earlier? Luna wandered over, whining to announce her presence.

Lori turned to her, her eyes emitting a green glow mixed with specks of red. “Oh, hey Luna! I'm just putting a few things away - woke up with a lot of energy… hey, I'm not saying literally! Whatever Lucy did cured my tic!”

Luna flinched, her nose detecting an unusual scent from Lori. It wasn't natural, but she couldn't put her finger on what was wrong. Lori seemed to move around rapidly, almost as if she was teleporting like Lucy, and the darkness wasn't affecting her like it did with the rest of the family.

I know for a fact she didn't go feral and get fixed up in a few hours, so what is going on here? Luna slowly made her way to the fridge, grabbing out the small pack of bacon bites as Lori watched intently.

“Luna, what are you doing anyway? I smell bacon bites. You know Dad doesn't let us eat after dark.” Luna stared at Lori, who hadn't blinked the entire time, and felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

The feral girl grabbed a handful from the packet, putting the rest back in the fridge as Lori remained at the door - her body was rigid, almost as if she was attempting to assert dominance.

She zipped over to Luna, looming over her as the red mingled with the green. “You know, maybe I should have a snack myself. Something smells amazing over here…” Lori sniffed the air around Luna, which made her shy away.

The feral girl shoved the bites in her mouth, chewing fast as she scampered upstairs on all fours. She quickly entered the bedroom, closing the door behind her as quietly as she could. Swallowing, Luna made her way back up the bunk bed and laid beside Sam.

What just happened out there? Lori was not acting like herself down there - and why did she look at me when she said snack? That's what predators do - they trap their prey. Luna nuzzled into Sam, who rolled over in her sleep and wrapped her arms around Luna and mumbled sweetly.

She smiled, tucking her head under Sam's chin and taking in her scent as she drifted back to sleep…

Leni almost screamed when she took her eyemask off - Lori had, at some point in the night, taped most of her fabric to the window before climbing into her bed. What struck her as really strange was the fact that Lori had been left on the couch before they went to bed.

“Lori? Like, what're you doing here?” Leni moved to her room mate, looming over her as she slept.

Lori had become paler again, the bags under her eyes more pronounced as she laid with her arms crossed over her chest - Leni had seen this position with Lucy, remembering the magical Loud's dreams of being a vampire. Her heart hammered in her chest, seeing Lori's nose twitched as one eye slowly opened. The red-green glow illuminated her face, locking on Leni with an annoyed expression.

“Leni, keep your heart down. I'm trying to sleep.” Lori sneered at her, showing a canine tooth that was longer than normal.

Leni backed away slightly, but was stopped by Lori's sudden grip on her wrist. Like, how did she get so strong? She, like, totes looks so sick. Leni found herself unable to free herself, the grip becoming tighter.

Lori used the grip to sit up, her eyes locked on Leni’s as she licked her lips. “I could quieten it down for you. All I need to do is have a little taste.”

Leni shrieked when Lori lunged forward, forcing the latter to flinch back and clutch her head as the former raced out of her bedroom and slammed the door behind her. She babbled incoherently, waving her arms as her wrist began showing bruising from Lori. The rest of the family simply stared at her, unable to understand her. Their eyes drifted to the couch, with Leni attempting to pantomime Lori being in their shared bedroom before the school call cut her attempts short.

Like, this is totes bad. Like, Lori's becoming, like, a totes real vampire. What do I do?

Sam sat up on the bunk bed as the soft giggles of Luan's sleep joking echoed in the room, Luna sitting on her haunches nearby and softly pining 

“Sorry, Lunes. It's gonna be one of those nights. Between everything with Lori and what's coming out in my sessions, I don't know where my head's at.” Sam slowly got off the bunk, attaching her leg as Luna followed.

She noticed her girlfriend's tense body, moving over as quietly as she could to pet her head. They silently wandered out the door, seeing Lori standing at the end of the hallway with deep red eyes. Luna growled as she put herself in front of Sam, who gulped as she closed the door.

This must be what Leni was trying to tell us this morning. Lori doesn't seem to be herself since Lucy had that accident. Sam was brought out of her thoughts by Luna huffing, which brought her attention to Lori entering her bedroom as if deliberately ignoring them.

Something in Sam's gut told her to follow, with the teal-streaked rocker gesturing to Luna to follow as they crept to the partially open door.

Lori was looming over Leni, who had backed herself into the wall as the deep red glow intensified. “Oh, Leni - you know you can't win against me. I am the oldest, after all.”

Leni cowered, her hands wrapping around her own neck as she saw Lori lick her lips in the glow of her eyes. “Lori, please. Like, this isn't you.”

“It's alright, Leni. It won't hurt - one little bite to sate my hunger.” Lori loomed over her sister, pulling her hands away from her neck.

Leni squeaked, unable to make her mouth or throat move from fear.

Lori smirked, her eyes locking on Leni’s as she shivered. “Although, I could use someone like you as my devoted servant…”

Leni’s eyes widened. “De-Devoted servant?”

“Yes. Someone who is completely obedient to me…”

Leni’s eyes trembled as the glow in Lori's eyes illuminated her face, revealing eyelids that were drooping. “Completely obedient.”

Lori licked her lips again. “Excellent. Blink three times and you'll be my servant.”

Sam felt Luna pushing against her as if trying to get her away from the danger, but she felt frozen in fear. Lori's a vampire? This is bad…really bad…

Leni stared blankly at Lori, smiling as the turning vampire stared at her neck. “My queen, you must be hungry. I live to please.”

“So hungry.” Lori lunged the moment Leni presented her neck, biting and lapping up the spilling blood as Leni murmured praises for her ‘queen’.

Luna shoved Sam as she scooped her up and bolted, with the blonde gulping nervously. Now what? How do you turn someone back from - Sam's eyes widened as Luna shut the bedroom door, dropping Sam gently to push something in front of it. Of course! Lucy's spell caused it, so she'll be able to reverse it! But, how are we going to do that?

Luan mumbled as she sat up in bed, watching with bleary eyes as Luna shoved a speaker against the door alongside the comedian’s prop chest and the desk chair. “Wha’ g'n on?”

Sam sighed, biting her tongue when she saw Lori's head at the window. Rushing forward, she locked the window and covered it with the beanbag chair as Luan turned a lamp on and yawned.

Sam leaned against the beanbag. “Lori's a vampire! And she's bitten and hypnotised Leni!”

Luan blinked slowly as Luna shivered and whimpered at the door, soon turning the lamp off and tucking herself back into bed. “Stuff this for a dream - it bites. Get it?”

Luna wandered over to Sam, wrapping her arms around her as the latter shivered and held onto Luna. Well, we're not sleeping tonight…

Luan woke up to a dark room, looking up to see Sam staring at the door as she leaned against the beanbag on the window. Luna was pacing about on the floor, baring her teeth at anything that moved. 

Luan slowly sat up, stretching as her back cracked and made her roommates stare at her. “Um, good morning? What's cracking?”

Luan giggled, but soon stopped when she saw their pale faces. Luna whined softly as footsteps echoed on the other side of the door, with loud knocking filling the air. Sam cowered, resulting in the beanbag falling off the window and landing on her head as sunlight finally filled the room.

“Luan, Sam, Luna! You guys up? I can't open the door!” Luan got out of bed, moving to the door and staring at the barricade as she recognised Lincoln's voice behind the door.

“Morning, Link! Let's just say there was a bit of night terror in here, if you get what I mean! Ha ha ha!” She smirked at the groan on the other side of the door, turning to Sam and Luna with a raised eyebrow. “That ruckus last night wasn't a dream, was it?”

The pair shook their heads.

“Lori really is a vampire?”

Sam and Luna nodded.

“And Leni really is her servant?”

Another nod.

“And you two forgot that, because this is our private space, Lori can't get you because vampires have to be invited in if it's not public or their space?”

Luna hung her head and whimpered, while Sam twiddled her thumbs while the beanbag remained on her head. “I didn't know that.”

Luan sighed, barely able to hear herself over Maxine and Mr Coconuts laughing hysterically. Come on, guys…

Sorry, girl, but that's too funny.Luan felt Maxine shrug, knowing she was regaining her composure.

Mr Coconuts, on the other hand, continued laughing loudly - Luan was forced to lip read to notice Lincoln's call for breakfast after opening the door a fraction to show she was awake.

Mr C, come on! Luan moved the last of the barricade, gesturing out the door. “It's daytime - no vamps about it!”

Lucy slammed the book shut with a huff, shoving it aside as she groaned. It had been three nights, and she still hadn't found a way to reverse Lori's vampire transformation. It helped less when Leni had clearly been tasked with waiting on her hand and foot and guarding her from the others.

“Maybe I should leave before I hurt someone else.” Lucy heard a soft whine beside her, looking over her shoulder to see Luna sitting beside her.

The book was under Luna's hand, with Lucy barely trying to get the book back.

You are not getting this book back until you promise not to leave. No-one else is leaving this house - by their choice or by someone else's - again. Luna glared at Lucy, teeth bared slightly as if threatening her point.

Lucy blinked. “Luna…” She struggled to hold back a sob, something she rarely did.

Luna nudged her softly, pushing the book back towards Lucy as she licked away her tears. It's not your fault you can't control your powers. You'll learn - even if you do small spells on me, I'll be happy to help. 

“Thank you, Luna, but I'm worried we won't be able to turn Lori back.” Lucy picked the book up, opening it to try again to find a reversal spell as Luna laid down beside her.

The magical Loud leaned against the feral rocker, feeling her purring as Lucy managed to find what she was looking for.

“Oh no…” Lucy gulped, with Luna nudging her gently.

Luce Change?

Lucy put a hand on Luna's back, rubbing it in an attempt to calm herself. “It appears the only way to stop Lori and turn her back is to trap her in a place where she is not invited until the vampire spell leaks out…”

Luna blinked, tilting her head as her younger sister closed the book again. She curled up on herself, laying over Luna like she was a body pillow.

“How can we do that when there's barely any privacy to begin with?” Lucy blinked under her bangs at the slight echo, reminding her she was in the house's vent system - her sole place of privacy within the Loud House.

Luna made a huffing noise, turning to Lucy. Can an invitation be revoked?

The smaller Loud clapped her hands over Luna's cheeks, forcing her into a strange expression. “Gasp! That's it! Thank you, Luna!”

Lucy crawled away swiftly, leaving Luna blinking in confusion.

Lori hummed as she stared at levitating clothes in the mirror, the green consuming the red as she stopped humming. She found herself staring at a red and black dress, contoured to accentuate her figure, a chill racing down her spine.

“What the… Why am I literally in my bedroom? And literally what is this?” Lori heard footsteps behind her, ignoring the lack of her reflection to turn around.

Leni stood behind her, eyes blank as she nodded to Lori. “Is my handiwork to your liking, my queen?”

“Q-queen?”

“Yes. You are my queen, and I am your loyal servant - I am completely obedient and will obey your every command.” Leni’s expression barely changed as she spoke, her voice monotonous as if she was trying to mimic Lucy.

Lori gulped, lowering her gaze as her heart felt heavy. Did I literally do this to her?

She shook off her guilt, hearing the whispering voices of faint memories of the past three nights as she refocused on Leni. Lori had an idea, and she needed to get it out there before the sense of slipping away overtook her.

“Leni, I literally need you to find Lucy the next time I fall asleep. Go to her and literally help her with whatever plan she has of fixing this. Please…”

Leni blinked, tilting her head. “Are you sure, my queen? What about your orders to protect you from the insolent humans of this house?”

Lori gasped, struggling once again to keep her mind as she felt tears in her eyes. I'm literally a monster. Why would I literally call my siblings that?

Choking back a sob, she locked eyes with Leni and grabbed her shoulder as gently as she could. “Leni, I literally need you to keep these instructions secret from me once I finish them - I literally don't have much time.”

Leni nodded. “Anything for you, my queen.”

Lori spoke quickly, eyes trembling as she fought off her loss of control. I literally need to hope Leni can do this - she's literally my only hope now. I don't want to literally hurt the others…

Lori's eyes widened as they briefly drifted to Leni’s neck, locking on the red dots as a powerful hunger built within her. Finishing her instructions, Lori gasped from a sudden headache and licked her lips as she stared at her sister.

“So…hungry…”

Luna led Sam by the hand as she wore a blindfold, slowly guiding her to the room they shared with Luan as the latter carefully dragged her metal leg along in an effort to not trip. Honestly, why did Mom and Popstar think this was a good idea? None of the others thought it was, so why blindfold her?

“Luna, are we there yet? The stairs were hard enough - I'm a bit scared.” Sam shuffled slightly closer to Luna, putting both her hands on her shoulders as the latter opened the door and led her in.

She grabbed the knot of the blindfold and slowly pulled it off, allowing Sam to view the room. Her guitar was placed beside Luna's, the neck pointing towards a very large collection of stuffed animals piled into a nest-like structure. A number of toys were also on the top bunk, and Sam walked slowly towards the closet. Opening the door in silence, she saw her own clothing stored amongst Luna and Luan's clothing.

Luna watched from the door, smiling at Sam's awestruck face. She seems so happy - she deserves all the sunshine she can walk on.

“Luna, this - this is- ” Sam moved to Luna, pressing her lips softly against the feral girl's as the latter's eyes glimmered. “Thank you.”

Luna barked, nuzzling Sam's cheek with a smile.

“Luna, Sam, I need your help tonight.” The pair jolted - Sam jumping into Luna's arms - and turned to find Lucy standing in Sam's toy nest.

“How did you -” Sam shook her head, staying in Luna's arms. “You know what? Nevermind. Why do you need our help?”

Lucy climbed put of the toy nest, with Luna sensing fear within her younger sister. We'll do whatever you need, Luce Change.

Lucy rubbed her arm. “We need to trap Lori in one of our bedrooms.”

Luna smiled, nodding as Sam slowly got out of her arms. The latter sighed, nodding as well as Lucy teleported out of the room. 

Sam turned back to Luna, eye trembling as she extended her arms. “Well, Luna, it looks like I'm finally home.”

Luna howled in delight, rushing into an embrace as she pushed the thought of confronting Lori to the back of her mind. Sammie is happy - I want to keep her like this for a bit longer, just to see more of her smile. I missed the warmth of it…

Lucy paced back and forth in her bedroom, waiting for Lori to come by. She had invited her to discuss terms of surrender - something she hadn't told her siblings about - to lure her in. She turned to gaze out the window, seeing Sam applying wet salt and garlic powder around the window.

Soon…soon, then Lori will be back to herself… Lucy felt the reassuring presence of Harriet nearby, smiling before the door opened.

Lori and Leni wandered in, the vampire standing in the centre of the room as her servant moved to Lucy's side. Lucy gulped, a mix of excitement and fear flowing through her veins.

Lori loomed over her, smirking with a lick of her lips. “So, you want to surrender?”

Lucy crept her way around her oldest sister, with Leni following silently as if attempting to prevent escape. “Perhaps…” When she reached the door, Lucy used her magic to step out of the room. “But you are no longer welcome in this room.”

Lori hissed as she lunged at Lucy, with Leni getting in between and grabbing the vampire. Lucy slammed the door in fear, with Luna darting over and pouring the mixture around the doorframe.

Did it work? Luna paused when Lucy remained silent, turning her head and blinking. Lucy?

A single tear trickled down the magical Loud's cheek. “Leni…”

Loud thumps filled the air, with Lucy teleporting downstairs and sitting on the couch. 

Lynn looked over with a slight start, stopping her channel-surfing and looking over. “Hey, Spooky. What's up?”

The athlete jolted when Lucy wrapped her arms around her and sobbed into her jersey. Nothing she was saying made sense, but she felt her older sister gently rubbing her back. The pair sat in silence, with Lucy using Lynn's thoughts on sports to calm herself while in the embrace.

Opening her eyes, Leni found herself leaning against the door as wisps of black smog faded from view. Lori was laying in front of her, the pale skin and sickly appearance gone from her form. Slowly, Leni rose to her feet and moved to her sister's side.

Her mind whirred, echoes of words over the past night or two running around her thoughts. Protect your queen at all costs…Literally save me, Leni…Craft my new gown, servant…Do not let Lucy literally sacrifice herself…

Lori's groans brought Leni from her thoughts, her eyes locking on her smashed sunglasses on the floor as she moved to the mirror. She had been bitten at least twice on her neck, with three scratches on her cheek. Blood dripped down her face as she shivered, deciding to focus on Lori as the latter's eyes fluttered open.

Lori blinked as she carefully pushed herself up, her body otherwise unmarked by the struggle Leni assumed had happened. “L-Leni? Is that literally you?”

“Like, hi Lori. You, like, feeling better?” Leni held out a hand to help Lori up, but noticed that Lori flinched when she spotted the scratches.

Tears welled in the older sister's eyes. “Leni, I'm literally so sorry…” Lori choked on a sob, flinging her arms around Leni.

“Lori, like, it's totes alright. You weren't, like, in control.” Leni traced circles in Lori's back, her heart aching as Lori cried heavily.

The siblings stayed in the embrace for a while, with Leni only moving back when Lori fell silent. The younger of the pair smiled warmly at her older sibling, gently raising chin to look her in the eye.

Lori shied away, her gaze flicking away. “I'm literally a monster. I literally called my literal family inso-”

“Lori, like, stop. That was, like, all the spell. When you had a chance, you, like, got me to, like, help cure you. If that's, like, a monster, the I, like, think you're totes the best monster, like, ever.”

Lori chuckled slightly, a small smile on her face. “Literally literally?”

Leni nodded. Poor Lori. Like, her speech thingy came back, like, really bad now.

Lori carefully rose to her feet, shooting a grimace at her clothing as Leni stood beside her. She gestured to it with a spare hand, the other holding Leni’s for comfort.

“Like, I know. That spell, like, totes had the worst fashion sense.” Leni felt Lori shuffle in a small giggle, leading her out the bedroom and seeing Luna sitting in front of the door expectantly.

Leni bent down and rustled her hair, watching as the feral girl smiled and made her way downstairs. She looked back over her shoulder with a whine, descending the stairs as Leni led Lori to their room.

“Come on, Lori. Like, let's get you into something, like, more your style.”

Lori sat on a rocking chair as the afternoon sun shone on the Loud House, her gaze locked on the road as thumps reached her ears. She looked away from the road to see Sam leaning on the wall beside her, with Luna wandering over to her and clambering onto her lap.

Lori gasped as Luna settled, curling up as Lori held her hands up. “Literally what?”

Sam glanced over, chuckling as Luna looked up with a bark. “Lunes wanted to help you - she does that when I feel crap, too.”

Lori went to protest, but remembered her siblings were all still at school or at extracurricular activities. 

Luna's purring sent soothing ripples through Lori's body, her arms laying on her back as she leaned back enough to get the chair rocking. “I literally feel horrible about literally being a vampire. I literally called everyone insolent humans… How can I literally fix this? Lucy literally tried to literally sacrifice herself!”

Sam flinched slightly at Lori as she waved her arms about, turning her head in a way that made Lori assume she was resting her peripheral vision. “As stupid as it sounds, talk to them. Let them know how you feel - bottling it up will just make every little thing a trigger.”

Luna, while purring, nodded in agreement as she leaned against Lori. The oldest Loud held onto her younger sibling, resting her chin on her head as if cuddling a large teddy bear.

“You're literally right. Everything literally feels like I'm literally in the wrong.” Lori's eyes lit up, a smile on her face. “I know! I'll literally cook everyone dinner!”

Luna barked, with Sam wandering over and putting a hand on Lori's shoulder. “Great idea, Lori - Lunes thinks it's good, too. Besides, doing something nice for others is good for guilt - helping Luna come back here certainly made me feel better about not being able to save her from…” Sam trailed off, her eye going distant briefly before Luna nudged her.

Lori watched the scene, seeing herself and Leni - at times, even her Bobby Boo-boo Bear - in the interaction. Nodding to herself, Lori tapped on Luna's back as Sam regained her senses 

With Luna hopping off, Lori rose to her feet and turned to Sam. “Literally thank you, guys. I literally feel better now. Maybe I should call Boo-boo Bear literally after dinner - and hanging with Leni, of course.”

The trio shared a smile, turning to the driveway as Vanzilla rumbled to the house.

Lori started walking to the door, grabbing Sam by the arm. “Come on! I literally need some help to feed a family literally this big!”

Chapter Text

Lisa hummed in thought as she stared at her equations on her blackboard, the chalk in her hand as she sighed. “Perhaps a mental break is in order.”

She carefully climbed down her stepstool, placing her chalk on the lip of the board and making her way out of her bedroom-cum-laboratory. Descending the stairs, she found Sam and Lincoln gaming on the couch as Luna napped on Sam's lap. As intriguing as she found Luna's animalistic behaviour, Lisa had a more pressing issue to attend to - her stomach rumbled loudly, and she was keen on a sweet snack to stimulate her mind. Making her way into the kitchen, she found a box sitting on the dining room table and smiled.

“Fascinating…” Lisa clambered up the chair nearest the box, using the extra height to retrieve the box from the morning mail. “A package for me? I do not recall placing any equipment orders.”

Opening the box, Lisa gasped when she saw a batch of cookies inside. Her stomach growled at the sight, the chocolate chips making her drool. There was a note on top, but she ignored it in favour of her basic urge for food.

“These shall make an excellent snack. I best partake in them in my bedroom-cum-laboratory, lest my siblings eat them all.” Lisa wandered back up the stairs, hearing Lori and Leni gossiping through their open door.

Closing the door behind her, she took a seat at her desk and took one cookie out. Taking a bite, she felt an explosion of flavour in her mouth. Gasping in delight, she devoured the cookie before grabbing another. Two became three, and multiplied until she had eaten at least half of the cookies.

“Yummy…” Belching, Lisa clambered down and wandered to her bed. “Me sleepy…”

Luna barked as Lily giggled, the latter enjoying the ride on the former’s back. Rita and Lynn Snr chuckled at the scene, with the feral girl smiling warmly as she pranced back and forth in front of the couch. 

A giggle from afar made her stop with a yelp of confusion, with Lily tapping her back. What was that? Lily's here with me, so it's not her.

“Wuna? Why you stop?”

Rita and Lynn Snr blinked, looking around as another giggle echoed. They stood as Luna wandered over, allowing her mother to remove Lily from her back as she sniffed the area. The giggle sounded for a third time, with a zipping noise registering in Luna's mind.

Something about this seems wrong… Luna saw her father drop in front of her, snoring loudly.

She turned to her mother, seeing the Loud matriarch tipping as Lily fell from her arms. Leaping into action, Luna caught Lily in her arms, with Rita hitting the ground. Setting the baby on the ground, Luna moved to her parents and sniffed for a clue.

“Wuna! Twanqwy-wisew dart!” Lily pointed to a dart embedded in Lynn Snr's thigh, with Luna plucking it out and looking at the label.

This looks like Lisa's invention - I remember she put them aside for adjustment because they were too strong. But who used it? Luna pocketed the dart, picking Lily up and nuzzling her with a purr.

The baby giggled, with the feral girl tilting her head as the giggles sounded again. Cautiously wandering along on her hind legs, Luna scanned the room before finding Lisa gnawing on one of her inventions. Lily babbled as she hid her face in Luna's chest, with Luna purring softly to comfort her.

This isn't normal for Lisa - why is she acting like this? Did one of her experiments backfire again? Luna blinked as Lisa held the device towards them, giggling and waving.

“Hiya!” Lisa beamed, her eyes almost empty but filled with joy.

Luna gulped, sensing something amiss when the device tapped the floor. A laser shot out, hitting Lily as Luna cowered behind her parents. The sounds of Lily crying in fear filled the house, with Luna whining as a bright light filled the living room…

Yawning, Lincoln stretched and got out of his bed. “Ah. Another day in the Loud House. Good thing it's Sunday…”

Lincoln blinked, clearing his throat before putting on some clothing. Turning to open his door, he found it was slightly open - he swore he had closed it last night. Shrugging, he wandered out the door and joined the line to the bathroom as usual. 

His eyes locked on Lisa, who was crawling around as if she was Lily. What experiment was she doing to make her act like that? Then again, I could be dreaming…

Pinching himself, he hissed in pain as he shook his arm. Lincoln gasped when he walked into a solid body in front of him, with Luan turning around after her brief loss of balance caused a domino effect in front of her. She gasped and jumped back, all signs of falling asleep standing up gone as she once again collided with Leni and sent Lucy, Lynn, Sam and Lana falling to the floor.

“My eye!” Sam's glass eye rolled past Lincoln and Luan, with their eyes locking again as the comedian Loud calmed herself with a breath.

She raised a hand. “Lincoln? Is that you?”

Lincoln blinked, tilting his head. “What are you talking about? It's me - is this a joke?”

Luan let out a squeak, eyes wide as she gulped. “LINCOLN IS A GIRL!?”

The rest of the siblings in the queue - sans Sam, who had retrieved her eye and was allowed to cut to wash it - turned to Luan with confused eyes, screaming when they looked at Lincoln.

The sole brother looked around. “Okay… This is getting weird.”

Lisa giggled, wandering over to Lincoln and cheering. “Linky-poo! Cute girl!”

Lincoln gulped, with the bathroom line shifting to the side as Sam stepped out and stared at Lincoln. “Y’know, this is not what I was expecting - dude, you look like a lady. Now, I'm gonna go get some breakfast and see if I can get some coffee before there's any more ch-ch-changes.”

As Sam walked past, Lincoln rushed into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. While he still wore his regular clothing, he found himself staring at long white hair sitting below his shoulders and more pronounced eyelashes.

No no no! This can't be true! What's going on? Lincoln ran a hand through his hair, finding it was his, and screamed loudly.

“How's the toast and beans, Luna?”

Luna barked with a nod, looking over to a young adult wearing a lavender dress and fiddling with the spoon. Whoa. Lily's pretty clever - she was two not long ago, and she's picked up cooking somehow.

“Phew - I was scared for a moment.” Lily put the spoon down, running a hand through her ponytailed light blonde hair. “I mean, this has all happened too quick, and trying to be an adult now is weird.”

Luna pined, standing on her hind legs and moving over to put a hand on Lily's shoulder. The once-baby smiled, turning when a thump reached them. 

Luna dropped onto all fours, darting over to find Lori passed out on the floor and her phone beside her. I guess Lori got quite a scare seeing Lily like this. But why, exactly, would Lisa do this? And why is she acting strange?

Lily joined her, looking at Lori before grabbing her phone as the eldest Loud's boyfriend called to her. “Sorry, Bobby. She'll call you back later.”

Luna whined as Sam walked in, her body slouching. Please don't faint, Sammie. We'll need your help…

Sam paused, looking at Lori before looking to Luna and Lily.

Lily waved. “Good morning, Sam. I made toast and beans for everyone if you want some.”

The blonde put a hand to her head, pinching her nose as she moved past them. “Too much weirdness before coffee. Feel like I'm gonna go crazy here.” Pouring herself her coffee, Sam took a drink and looked again before slumping onto a nearby chair. “Nope. Not dreaming.”

Luna stood and moved next to her, with Lily dragging Lori to the couch. A scream echoed through the house, making the feral girl jolt as Sam sighed and lowered her head.

I have a feeling this is connected to Lisa, and I don't like it… Luna whined, with Sam rubbing her head after taking a large gulp of coffee.

“Well, looks like there's something strange in this neighbourhood…”

With Lori taking most of the siblings to the park after the shock of Lisa's behaviour, Lily's new age and Lincoln's sex change, Leni was left in charge of Lincoln (who had taken to hiding in his room), her sleeping parents, Sam, Luna and Lisa. She had felt something was wrong with Lisa when the joyful giggling gave her chills, and had wandered into Lisa and Lily's room to investigate.

“Like, this isn't right…” Leni had learned to trust herself if her body gave her sensations about someone - she vaguely recalled Lisa calling it ‘intuition’ - and knew something in Lisa's room caused her strange behaviour.

The little genius’ experiments were sprawled all over the floor, and it took Leni a fair bit of concentration to avoid stepping on them and setting them off. Sucking in a breath, she reached the desk and spotted the box of cookies sitting there. Her stomach rumbled, with a hand immediately grabbing one as her eyes locked on a note.

Leni took a bite of the cookie, unfolding the paper as she smiled at the explosion of flavour. Hope you do the opposite of hate these, Lisa Loud.

She hummed as she finished one cookie and ate another - there wasn't any signature one the note, and reading the note created butterflies in her stomach despite the food entering it. “This is, like, highly suspicious. Perhaps I should, like, totes analyse these cookies and identify any possible, like, compounds.”

Leni gasped when what she said registered in her ears, dropping the note in fright. The cookie stayed in her hand, her eyes locked on it as if it was radioactive.

Opposite? That must be why Lisa is acting strange! Placing the half-eaten cookie down, she turned to the door and paused in her mission.

Luna was gripping the doorframe, floating above the floor as Lisa giggled and wandered past. She was waving another of her inventions about, with Sam diving under Luna in an attempt to stop her. Luna reached for Lisa after Sam missed, her body floating down the hall as she flailed with a whine.

Leni gulped, hands forming into fists as she darted to Lincoln's door. “Linky! We, like, need your help! Lisa's totes out of control!”

Lincoln opened the door, looking to Luna floating behind Leni before gulping. “Yeah - as embarrassing as this is, we need to stop her before it gets worse… but, what happened?”

“Lisa, like, was sent cookies that made her dumber - I, like, ate some and gained intelligence, which indicates the cookies give the ‘opposite’ effect of someone's personality.”

Lincoln blinked, shaking it off as Sam carried Lisa downstairs. “Well, in that case, looks like you're our only hope, Leni. Never thought I'd say that outside of fashion emergencies…”

Leni rolled her eyes - something she attributed to the minor drop in her empathy - and pointed to Luna. “Like, can you find a lead for Luna please? Preferably before, like, she totes floats away…”

Luna howled, her body stuck in the corner of the ceiling as she tried to reach for a doorknob to bring herself down.

Leni sighed, shaking her head as she headed towards Lisa's room. “Like, I'd better get a start. This totes hurts my heart to, like, see my family like this…”

As the Louds returned for the evening, Lucy gasped at the mess in the living room. Broken inventions laid everywhere, with the others huddling into a group to move to the couch. Lori's voice refused to produce anything but her tic, leaving Lily to try and comfort her in place of Leni. A distressed aura reached her from the bathroom, with the magical Loud pausing at the door when she saw Lincoln holding a lead connected to a floating Luna as they sounded on the door.

“Sam, it's us. Can you let us in?” Lincoln pulled the lead down, allowing him to scratch Luna under the chin in an effort to calm her whining.

“No! I don't know what I'm seeing out there, but I'm not staying there to find out! How can his hand be here?!” Sam's voice rose as she began rambling, leaving Lincoln to turn around and almost drop Luna's lead. 

Lucy shook her head, grabbing the lead as Lincoln shuffled aside. She moved to the door, putting her free hand on the door.

“Sam, I sense your mind is clouded within the parts responsible for perceiving senses - is this to do with your rambling?”

Luna whined. Sorry, Luce Change, but it's hard for her to stop once she starts. Especially if she's going into an episode.

“Sigh. I think one of Lisa's experiments may have something to do with this.” Lucy shook her head, dropping her hand as she turned to Lincoln.

“Well, Lisa hit Sam in the head with something. Which then zapped her…I guess we'll need to find a way to confiscate everything.” Lincoln heard giggling, rushing down the hall with exaggerated steps to dodge the mess of inventions on the floor.

Luna huffed, using her lowered position to open the door and float into the bathroom. I'll stay with Sammie - Lincoln might need some help with our mad scientist. I suggest you run like a bat out of hell before you get zapped with something.

Lucy shook her head as Sam sobbed loudly, wandering downstairs as Lisa peered around the banister. Before Lucy could say anything, the giggling scientist tossed a round device at her. Lincoln grabbed hold of Lisa as Lucy shrieked in fright, the device emitting a strong glow the second it made contact with her…

As Sam pulled Luna towards the school, she turned her head to ensure the hallucinations had indeed worn off before opening the door. “Glad that's over - can't believe Lisa invented something to make people hallucinate…”

Luna barked, waving her hands about her head and pointing to Sam.

“It was to try and help reduce my attacks?”

Luna nodded.

“But it shorted out when it hit me, didn't it?”

Luna nodded again, with Sam's groan cut off by Luan and Benny racing up to them with panicked expressions. They were about to speak when Sam caught Lisa in her peripheral vision.

“Oh no… Hold Lunes - I'll get her!” Sam thrust Luna's lead into Luan’s hand, racing off as Lisa climbed onto a teacher's trolley and rolled away.

Students ducked out of Sam's way as her prosthetic clunked agsinst the tiles, her eye locked on Lisa as she turned a corner. Her mind barely had time to process the logic of the trolley turning corners when Lisa shot her with the same machine that had left her seeing the hand of the man who kidnapped her and Luna. Losing balance, Sam skidded across the floor and crashed into a locker as Lisa disappeared out the door.

“Ow…” Sam laid on the floor, moaning in pain as she kept her eyes closed - her forehead, nose, chest and leg throbbed from the collision, leaving her to slowly move her hand to check for blood.

“Easy, Sammie. You took quite a beating, luv.” Sam slowly opened her eyes, seeing Luna looming over her with worried eyes.

She looked as if Sam had gone back in time to the moment they reunited, yet spoke as if nothing had ever happened. Sam carefully sat up, shivering as she spotted the kidnapper’s disembodied hand once again.

Luna put a hand on her shoulder. “Take a load off, Sammie. It ain't real.”

“N-not real?” Sam gulped, finding a small amount of blood on her upper lip.

Luna shook her head. “Nah, dude. The hand ain't real, and neither am I. You're hallucinating again.” She stepped back as Sam rose to her feet, the real girl's prosthetic slipping on the tiles slightly as Luna smiled and grabbed the hand. “And this can go.”

Sam watched the hand sailing through the air, sighing in relief as Luan raced over. “Thanks. The less I see of that, the better…”

“I'd say bring it up with your therapist, luv. I reckon this could be connected to the monster loose in your head.” Luna faded from view, with Sam turning to Luan as she gulped in air and held her phone up.

Luan finally caught her breath, with Sam gulping. “Luan? Were you trying to warn me Lisa got out?”

Luan nodded. “Lori's the latest exhibit at Great Lake Zoo.”

Benny raced over with the real Luna, who whimpered and barked as Sam felt a wave of anxiety wash over her. Great Lake Zoo? That's the middle school's excursion! This is bad!

Luna pined, forcing herself down as much as she could as Sam felt the world around her blur.

Lincoln sat next to Stella and sighed - between Rusty and his flirting and Zach's alien theories, he was getting a headache. “Let's just get this over with…”

“I sense something dreadful is in store for us.” Stella and Lincoln shrieked as Lucy's black oozy body poked out of Lincoln's backpack. “We should be alert once we get to the zoo.”

Zach began waving a device near the pair, with a tendril swatting it away as Lucy slid out onto Lincoln. Rusty paused in his preening, spying Lucy and moving away as Stella blinked.

“Um, shouldn't your sister be at school?” Stella softly poked the amorphous body of Lucy, moving back when she heard the Loud giggle slightly. “As in, her own school?”

Lincoln put a hand in his hair, the length making him shudder. “She was…” He gave a hard glare to Lucy. “But she clearly didn't. But, I guess it'd be hard to study like that.”

Clyde wandered over, tapping Lincoln's shoulder before turning his head to the window. Vanzilla overtook the bus, with Lily waving as the bus slowly pulled up at the zoo. The student got off, with Lucy riding on Lincoln's head, as Liam gasped at the sign out the front of the zoo.

“Well lookie here! We get to see that new mega-jaguar! This'll be a hoot and a half!” Liam gasped as he was moved out the way by Leni and Lily, the former holding some sort of device, with Clyde gasping as blood spilled on the ground in front of him. 

His robotic murmuring was drowned out by Rusty gasping and pointing the Action News Team portable camera at the sign and zooming in. “Hey, does anyone think that mega-jaguar kinda looks like Lori Loud?”

Liam hummed, nodding as Lincoln charged forward and gasped. He felt his head swim, feeling Stella's hands around him to keep him steady as he struggled to swallow.

Lori… Lisa's state is getting worse. Lincoln shook his head, mumbling an apology to Lucy as she grumbled, and took a breath. “Action News Team, let's go in and investigate this mega-jaguar. “

Opening her eyes, a girl found herself surrounded by echoing walls and unnatural light. It hurt her head, but she rose to her feet and grunted.

Where am I? This isn't the jungle… And what am I wearing? She glanced down, seeing a skirt and shirt that made her stomach churn.

Huffing, she stretched and sniffed the air before darting down the hall. Her eyes locked on a line of clothing, spying something which made her smile.

Perfect! Now, once I'm changed, I'll go after that weird little girl. Those voices seemed pretty angry. Tearing off her clothing, she grabbed the tiger fur bikini and swapped out her attire with a whooping cheer.

Her eyes darted to a club settled nearby, wincing at the strange feeling despite its wooden appearance. Holding it over her shoulder, she ripped the thing in her hair out before wandering out the room. 

Narrowing her eyes, she spotted the child and leapt along the red objects along the walls. I need to catch that child! She is dangerous!

As other people screamed and dodged out of her way, she lunged forward and narrowly missed the rolling steed. She instead collided with a boy and tumbled down the stairs, her arms cradling his head as they went. He groaned under her, with the girl slowly moving her arms away from his head as she shifted off of him. The moment they separated, the boy blinked at her as she collected her club.

“Luan? Is that you?” The boy rose a hand to her, noticeably wincing when she quirked her lip and snapped her jaws.

That's not right. I am not this ‘Luan’ girl. She huffed, briefly glaring him down before realising he meant no harm. “Who. Are. You?”

The boy seemed taken aback, carefully standing and rubbing his left arm - it was clear it took the brunt of the impacts from the tumble. “My name is Benny. Do you have a name?”

She blinked. This Benny boy is kinda cute - like a baby tiger. Shaking off her thoughts, she moved forward and checked him over for other injuries. “My tribe does not do names. We are all of the Tiger tribe.”

Benny opened his mouth, closing it before shaking his head. “That won't do - I'll think of something.”

She put an arm around Benny, helping him to walk along as he limped. They paused by a vase of flowers, with the girl looking at the orchids as Benny pulled out a small device.

“Maybe you could help catch Lisa - between her running loose here and Lori being in the zoo, it's a handful.”

The Tiger tribe girl let Benny stand on his own, wandering over to the orchids and gently putting one on her hair. “Orchid…”

Benny looked up, smiling as she turned back to him and letting himself smile. “That is a perfect name for you. Now, how about we walk and talk? There's a few things you should know about all of this, Orchid of the Tiger tribe…”

Leni paused by the leopard exhibit, a transformation ray tucked into her bra as she scanned the enclosure. She heard Lily gasp, turning to see the ‘mega-jaguar’ exhibit was separate from the main jaguar exhibit.

“Like, great job, Lily!” Leni froze when she heard a roar, her eyes drifting to the side of the exhibit and spotting Bobby and Ronnie Anne.

Bobby cowered behind Ronnie Anne, who held her fists up as the large blonde jaguar attempted to leap out of the enclosure towards them. Lori roared, claws swiping as she hit the wall - the brown markings glistened as if her hair product remained on her fur.

“Lori, it's okay. We'll, like, turn you back to normal!” Leni produced the ray, quickly being tackled to the ground by security just as Lori finally managed to escape from her enclosure.

The transformation ray clattered away, with Lily arguing with the security members as Leni spotted Lori stalking towards Bobby. The boy screamed, with the security staff looking up before fleeing in a panic. 

Gates closed as lockdown announcements echoed, leaving Leni to grab the device and stare at the misplaced spring. “Lily, can you, like, try and get everyone to safety? I totes need to fix this.”

“On it!” As Lily raced away, Leni pulled a screwdriver from her purse and set to work.

This is, like, terrible. How are we, like, supposed to immobilise Lori to, like, turn her back? Leni dusted off the device as she stood, seeing Lincoln with his friends and Lucy near the bats. Of course! The Man with the Plan!

Leni got to her feet and ran, dodging panicking people as she shivered at Lori's fear and anger. Skidding to a stop, she turned to see Lily helping Bobby and Ronnie Anne out of harm's way. 

Sighing in relief, she refocused on Lincoln. “Linky, we need a plan. We, like, need to immobilise Lori so we can totes turn her back - I, like, have the transformation ray, I just need help.”

Lincoln hummed in thought, pausing with a shriek as Lori pounced onto Leni. “Leni!”

He made a fist, closing his eyes as he swung at his transformed sister. Leni spotted Lucy's fluid body flowing towards the ray, slithering back as Leni righted herself. Lincoln's friends gasped, with the farm boy swinging a lasso he pulled from nowhere in an attempt to stop the jaguar. The red-haired boy kept the camera on, struggling to keep his arms straight as the smaller glasses-wearing boy tossed balls of tin foil. 

Leni rolled her eyes as she accepted the ray from Lucy. Like, that won't help much. Totes appreciate the effort, though.

The sole female of the group pulled out a drone and a phone, sending it flying above Lori and distracting her. “We need to do something!”

Clyde cowered in the corner, the blood from his nose gushing again and sending the transformed Loud backwards with a growl. Leni stuck her tongue out in disgust, shaking it off as Lincoln clicked his fingers.

“Got it! Lucy, grab her legs!” Lincoln jumped back as Lucy's black oozy body slid forward, his eyes on Stella. “Keep that drone above her head - it'll keep Lori's eyes off us.”

“Right!”

As the drone buzzed above Lori, Leni held up the ray and aimed. You've, like, got this, Leni. For Lori.

The laser fired, with bright light filling the area as zoo staff rushed onto the scene. The light made them stop, with the mega-jaguar becoming more human in appearance.

Leni gulped as she slid her sunglasses down over her eyes. I, like, hope Lori's totes okay. And I, like, hope the others caught Lisa.

Sam grunted as Luna dropped suddenly from her floating, with the feral lass barking sadly. Lisa had eluded them yet again, but had managed to reverse their afflictions before vanishing from sight. 

Sighing, Sam rubbed Luna's side and sat up. “Well, that was a bust. There has to be a way to -”

A shriek echoed as multiple cheerleaders from the middle school rushed past them - as well as a number of high school cheerleaders who were running a mentoring program - all with their pom poms on fire. Luna turned to Sam, blinking and tilting her head.

“Either that was Lisa, or -” Sam gasped as Lynn wandered around the corner, rubbing her backside as smoke billowed from her shorts. “Or she struck again…”

“Man, that was not normal. My sub wasn't even that spicy.” Lynn stopped in front of the rockers, letting out a belch full of fire that sent Luna cowering behind Sam and pining.

Sam rubbed Luna's back, turning to Lynn and shaking her head. “Lisa got you too?”

“Yep.” Lynn popped the ‘p’. “So much for the mentoring day… Wait, what are you two doing here, anyway?”

Sam opened her mouth to speak, freezing when a Tarzan-like yodel echoed through the halls. The trio ducked as a girl swung over their heads, their eyes wide as they stood back up. Luna turned to Sam, nudging her leg as she whined.

Glancing down, Sam put a hand on Luna's head and ran her fingers through her short hair. “Another victim, maybe? I think we'll just call today and head home before anyone else is -”

Lynn put a hand up, with Sam drooping her shoulders in dismay as the jock pointed her thumb behind her. “Actually, the twins were hit just before they went to school - they were sent home because neither of them made any sense.”

Luna stood upright, nudging Sam's face with her nose before licking her gently. The blonde closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around her feral girlfriend and sighing.

Her heart shuddered. Just perfect…

Benny rushed over, smiling as what looked like Luan dressed as a cavewoman carried Lisa under her arm. “Nice job, Orchid!”

“Lisa is now captured. Now what?”

Sam opened her eyes tucking her head into the crook of Luna's neck as the latter purred. “Let's just go home. We need to fix all this before we cause any MORE problems…”

Lori groaned and sat up, a hand to her head as a headache made itself know. Blinking, she found her Boo-boo Bear looking at her with worried eyes.

Bobby cupped her cheek, seeming to be trying to avoid something on her face. “Babe, how're you feeling?”

“Head hurts, but I'll literally live. Where literally am I, anyway?” Lori looked around, seeing Leni tinkering with something nearby as the sounds of chatter echoed from further down the hall.

Bobby chuckled, sitting next to Lori after a quick scan of the couch. “You're at our place - Lily suggested coming back here while Leni changed some of you guys back.” He blinked. “Yeah, that doesn't sound right.”

Lori giggled, feeling something twitch on her head and flinching. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Leni glance up at her with narrowed eyes. Fear froze her spine as Lori bolted, slamming the bathroom door open and staring into the mirror. 

Her pupils had narrowed into slits from her terror, and two blonde and brown jaguar ears twitched and turned. Literally no… A set of whiskers jutted from near Lori's nose, her nose twitching as a blonde tail with brown markings swayed behind her. 

Her eyes fell to her hands, seeing claws retracting after her dart to the bathroom. “No…”

Bobby stood at the door, gazing at Lori with a soft smile. Lori shivered as she turned around, her tail going around her waist as she glanced away.

“Hey, babe, it's okay. No ears, tail or whiskers are going to change who you are. I still love you for you.” Bobby slowly approached, gently wrapping his arms around Lori and pulling her into an embrace.

She stayed silent for a moment, drinking in his warmth as she felt the stress of the past week melt off her. Her nose twitched as she smelt something familiar, opening her eyes to see Leni gazing at her sadly.

“Like, hey there. Sorry I, like, couldn't turn you back…” Leni turned to walk away, but Lori stopped her.

Bobby smiled as Lori pulled her sister into a hug, nuzzling her.

Lori locked eyes with Leni. “I just literally want the others back to normal… Or as normal as we literally can be, anyway.”

Leni giggled at that, moving away before her natural clumsiness made her slip. Lori looked down to see a puddle of black on the floor, her ears going back as the puddle complained in Lucy's monotone voice.

“Like, sorry about that.” Leni sidestepped away, pinching her bleeding nose as Lincoln - now a boy again - and his friends opened the door and gazed at the scene.

Lincoln scooped the puddle up, with Lori surprised at the feline hiss that left her. “Come on, Lucy. You can't just sit on the floor like that - let's get Leni to turn you back before you leave an eye or ear on the bottom of someone's shoe.”

“Sigh. I was having fun like this.”

Bobby and Lori turned to one another with wide eyes, jaws slightly drooped before they shook their heads.

Lori crossed her arms. “Well, I literally need to get these guys home. And literally might need some therapy…”

Luna grunted as she struggled to keep a hold of Lana, who continued to try and run backwards and speak in what the feral girl could only describe as gibberish towards Lola. Lynn had hold of Lola, who had somehow taken to imitating a chainsaw and a donkey.

‘Orchid’ toyed with her club as she watched the scene, sticking close to Lola to prevent a thrown projectile.

“!siht ekil mih dnif t'nac I dna ,yawa spoH deracs uoY !tiab krahs sa uoy gnisu morf yawa sdnoces owt m'I !?won nrohgof a wolb ot ediced uoy dluow yhW !aloL” Lana waved her fists around, screaming when Lola responded with a train whistle noise.

Luna pined. This is hurting my head. I feel like we need to separate these two until Leni gets back.

Sam rejoined the group, flopping onto the couch with Lisa in her arms. “I got the device out of her hands - I had to bribe her heavily, though…”

Luna turned her head to see Lisa eating a cookie, which immediately made her heart drop. Barking, she moved to her girlfriend as ‘Orchid’ picked Lana up and held her over her shoulder. 

Sam decided against asking, shaking her head as she locked eyes with Luna. “Easy, Lunes. It's not one of the cookies.”

Luna hopped onto the couch as bugle calls echoed amongst the gibberish, with ‘Orchid’ and Lynn separating the twins just as the athlete's stomach rumbled. Oh no… She's going to blow, isn't she?

The door opened just as Lynn farted, with the rest of the Louds watching in horror as flames shot out of Lynn's backside. Lola made a fire alarm noise as she kicked herself free, racing upstairs as Lincoln tossed Lucy's fluid body at the flames on the carpet.

Luna blinked as the fire was put out, leaving her to wince in disgust. Why would someone do this to Lisa? I don't even know how she was able to make something that causes fiery gas…

Sam gagged, shaking her head as Luna jumped onto the couch and nudged her. “Well, so much for wanting dinner tonight…”

“It appears my unrefined super spice has been leaked - it was supposed to remain under testing until I removed the methane igniting compounds.” The group froze as they locked eyes with Lisa, who swallowed another bit of cookie. “What?”

Leni squealed in delight, shoving a strange item into Lori's paws before picking Lisa up. “Lisa! You're, like, back to normal! It must have, like, been the glucose in the cookie you're, like, eating now!”

Luna howled from Leni’s pitch, shaking herself as Sam pulled her close. Days like these I hate my sharpened hearing. How does she even manage that pitch? Humans shouldn't be able to reach bat-like pitches.

Lisa mumbled against Leni’s body, with Luna deciding to wander into the kitchen and grab something to drink. As the remaining siblings cheered and celebrated, Luna found Sam following her and held out a glass.

“Thanks, Lunes. By the way, do you know of anyone that might be trying to one-up the Loud family? Any memories that have popped up that mean something like that?” Leaning against the wall as Luna filled the cups, Sam hummed to herself as she waited for her girlfriend.

Did Lisa make an enemy while I was gone? I'm sure she didn't have anyone against her in the past. Not even a fuzzy form… Luna turned and handed Sam her water, pining and shaking her head before lapping at her drink. I guess it's up to Lisa to investigate now…

Sam rubbed Luna's head, giving her a soft smile as the latter purred from the contact. “It's okay, Lunes. Maybe we'll find out later. For now, though, I think we should get some sleep.”

The pair turned when they heard yawns and thumping, seeing Lynn Snr and Rita standing at the door of the kitchen. “How long were we out?”

Lisa sighed as she closed down her computer to get ready for bed, a hand on her face as Lily - now back to her normal age - cooed sadly at her. As Lisa climbed into her bed, she gazed down before seeing Leni enter the room.

“Like, hi Lisa. How are you?” Leni held a book in her hand, clearly reading to Lily tonight, but paused when she saw Lily looking at her roommate with teary eyes.

“I found out who created the chemical which made me into a raving simpleton…” Lisa took her glasses off, wiping her eyes as tears tickled them. “My own crush is jealous of my intellect.”

Leni rubbed Lisa's head, sitting the book down and grabbing the Loud baby before taking a seat on Lisa's bed. “Like, if he's totes, like, jelly of you, then he was, like, never going to be, like, more than a crush.”

Lisa blinked, turning to her older sister. “You DID eat a cookie and return to your regular self, correct?”

Leni giggled. “Like, duh! But, like, didn't you once say, like, there was more than one type of, like, smartness?”

Lily grabbed Lisa's night shirt, cooing softly as Leni smiled warmly. 

Lisa shuffled over to Leni, finding herself craving the warmth of Leni’s embrace. “I believe I did - while your intellect is lower than average, you possess almost triple the emotional intelligence of the average home sapien. Street name - human.”

Leni put an arm around the small scientist, rocking slightly to soothe her younger sisters. “Like, promise me you'll, like, not let this get you totes down. If you, like, ever have him get to you, like, come study me.”

Lisa blinked as Leni moved away, putting the now sleeping baby back in her crib as she hummed softly. She tucked Lily in and gave her a forehead kiss, turning back to Lisa with a bright beam.

No wonder Leni said to study her - I would love to discover how my second eldest sibling is able to spark the production of dopamine with her mere presence. Perhaps, too, studying Leni may allow me to improve upon my social skills. Lisa got herself comfortable in bed, with Leni grabbing the book and making her way to the door.

“Leni, wait!” Lisa surprised herself with her sudden call, but found something within her encouraging her to follow through.

Leni turned back around, her eyes glistening in the faint golden light of Lily's nightlight. “Like, yeah?”

“Could you -” Lisa gulped down a small amount of saliva. “Could you please read to me?”

Leni smiled, taking a seat on Lisa's bed and opening the book as she pulled out blue-tinted glasses and slid them on. As Leni stumbled slightly over the words, Lisa closed herceyes and smiled as she felt her older sister's voice lull her to a peaceful sleep…

Chapter Text

Lily giggled as she listened to Sam's snores, enjoying the slight whistle as she breathed out. Lori had propped Sam's head on her lap so she could watch over Lily, with Leni wandering in and softly clapping at the scene.

Leni crept over, moving around Lily's blocks and gently ran her fingers through Sam's hair. “Like, this is totes adorbs.”

Lori sighed. “It would literally be more cute if she literally didn't spend half the literal night in and out of nightmares.” Lori draped her tail over Sam's body when the sleeping girl grumbled, twitching it to comfort her.

“Oh, like, poor Sam…” Leni leaned against the arm of the couch, with Lily waving at her older sister with a bright smile.

Lori's ears twitched, her eyes locking on a small box in Leni’s hands. “Literally what is that?”

Lily babbled as she started shifting back, her eyes wide as the item clicked in the fashionista’s hands. Deciding to find somewhere else to play, she began crawling away as Leni fiddled more.

“Like, it's one of those, like, cube thingies Lisa, like, keeps getting me to, like, try. Even though I, like, can't get it, I find it, like, totes fun to fiddle with.” Leni fumbled the box, which sent out a wave of blue light bolts as Lily dove under the nearest thing - the armchair - and started sucking her thumb.

Shrieks filled the house as Lily hid, trembling before babbling and kitten mews filled the air. Crawling out, Lily heard no other noise and slowly rounded the couch.

“Wowi? Weni? ‘Am?” Lily found Sam, somehow still asleep despite the commotion, laying on the couch but much smaller than before.

Blinking, Lily moved closer and found a baby version of Leni chewing on her blocks. By her side was Lori, who was laying on her back and teething on her tail.

Lily gulped as Leni waved, the second eldest girl dropping the block in her mouth as she giggled. “Hiiii!”

Finding her way to the stairs, Lily spotted baby versions of her parents playing in their food - she faintly remembered they said something about an early lunch for the two of them. Grabbing the step in front of her, she carefully made her way up to the second floor.

After several minutes, Lily flopped over the last step and sighed. “How Wisa do it?”

Crawling along, she found Lana had also become a baby and had taken to play-wrestling with a babified Lynn. Lucy seemed to disappear and reappear in various places around the hall, with Lincoln crying any time she popped up near him. Lily rolled her eyes as she crawled along, stopping by Luan, Sam and Luna's bedroom. Luan - aged down just like the others - wailed as Mr Coconuts sat beside her, the wooden dummy clearly having hit her when she shrunk down.

“NO!” Crashes made Lily turn away and crawl down the other side of the hallway, the baby pausing briefly as a young Lisa babbled and rolled past on Lincoln's skateboard.

Gulping, she found Lola throwing a major tantrum in her room. Toys and dresses were tossed across the room, leaving Lily to find shelter as Lola screamed louder and louder.

The sounds of crying echoed as the rest of the Louds began crying, with Lily sitting down and rubbing her face. “Poo-poo…”

Strumming the final chord, Luna howled as she turned to a stocky man with hopeful eyes. Did he like it? This ‘Chunk’ guy apparently knows about how I used to play - at least, that's what Popstar said.

The man - ‘Chunk’ - stood from his beanbag seat and moved over to Luna. Despite the purple heart and crossbones markings on him and the large gold ring in his nose, she felt safe with him.

“Well, luv, it was pretty on par with yer old rockin’ self. If anything, yer just a bit rusty. Keep up the practice, and it'll be like ya never left.” Crossing his arms over his white tank top and black vest, ‘Chunk’ smiled and rustled Luna's hair.

A faint memory of him doing so on a few occasions resurfaced, with Luna purring as her eyes instinctively closed. For someone who's meant to be just a roadie, we seem pretty close.

The roadie laughed, adjusting his purple cap as Luna opened her eyes and whined at the ending of the head rub. “We might 'ave to do a check once ya get yer voice back, need a bit o' TLC innit? C'mon, I swore to yer da I'd take ya 'ome, mate!”

As Luna put her guitar back in its case, she turned back to the man and watched as he packed away some amps. The bracelets of his wrists shifted as he went, his jeans-covered knee giving him some extra lift on one particularly large amp. Black boots scuffed the pavement as he closed one of the van doors, with Luna passing him her guitar to put in as she got into the front of the van.

How come I feel uneasy with this van? I've been in it plenty of times, right? As ‘Chunk’ got in beside her, Luna felt more fog lifting as the van filled with the scent of wood, plastic, metal and sweat. I guess that answers that…

Chunk started the engine, with Luna putting her paws on the dashboard as a raspy voice reached her.

“Play it loud! Play it loud!

I got no time for turning it down!

Play it loud! Play it proud!

I live it, I breathe it!

Don't tell me I don't need it now!”

She blinked, turning to Chunk with a small bark as he turned down a side street. She sounds familiar, but why?

Chunk glanced over as he checked his side mirror, laughing heartily as Luna tilted her head at the music. “That's you, luv. You and the Moon Goats were the biggest band in town. Still are, considering.”

The rest of the trip passed in silence, with Chunk playing many Moon Goats songs as Luna gazed at the radio in awe. Wow, I rock! Especially with the Moon Goats… I hope I can relearn singing again and bring that back…

“We're ‘ere, luv.” Chunk opened the door of the van, with Luna hopping out onto all fours before rising to stand on her hind legs.

The silence of the house made her shiver, with Chunk humming before passing Luna her guitar. He soon drove off, with the feral girl walking towards the house with a hunched body. 

Opening the door, she pined when she saw a number of babies in the living room. Oh no. This can't be good…

Two frantic hours had passed since Luna arrived home, having chased the babies around the house and gathered them into the one room. 

Lily dragged a small cart of baby toys downstairs, giggling. “Wuna! Wiwy find toys!”

Barking, Luna padded over with Lynn kicking her sides as if riding a horse. She yelped when the athlete pulled her mane, grabbing a hobby horse and swiftly pulled her off. As Lynn rode away happily, Luna flopped onto the floor and huffed.

Lily moved over to her and patted Luna's head. “Poor Wuna…”

The feral girl whined as she felt the rest of her siblings clamber all over her, her instincts urging her to stand guard over all of them. Wish I had Sammie with me - I vaguely remember some of our dream talks, and she wanted to have offspring someday. Guess I'll need to trust my maternal instincts for this one.

Glancing over, she saw Sam sleeping peacefully on the couch and smiled. Leni crawled over to her, babbling happily as she grabbed Luna's face in an embrace. Luna gently licked her face, delighting in the giggling as Lori nuzzled into her side.

Something white flopped in front of her, with Luna pining as she smelt Lucy perched on her head. “Diapee.” The rest of the Louds wailed at Lucy's sudden appearance, with Luna darting about and nuzzling and licking everyone to calm them down.

“Wiwy on it!” Lily grabbed the discarded diaper, waddling along as Lincoln roamed the room with his lower half exposed.

“Tehehe!” Lincoln darted back and forth, with Lily chasing after him.

Luna pined as she paired the others up, setting her parents beside Lynn and hoping they'd keep her under control. Padding over, she put herself in front of Lincoln and grabbed him. Lily sighed and put his diaper back on. Luna turned away when she heard soft cooing, darting back to the couch and seeing Sam rousing from her sleep. The baby rocker giggled when she saw Luna, reaching up with grabby paws as Luna scooped her up and purred. Sam snuggled against Luna's chest, with the feral girl's eyes tearing up. 

The moment was broken by Lori batting Luna's leg with a paw, mewing softly. I guess they're hungry. Better get some bottles ready in case the others get hungry.

Luna sat Sam down, wandering into the kitchen to prepare some bottles. Grabbing a number of baby bottles from the cupboard, she began pottering about on her hind legs as she tried copying her memories of her mother doing bottles. 

Lily wandered in, followed by a loud booming noise. “We missed Wisa’s teh-wah-porter…”

Luna yelped, racing back to the door and slipping slightly on some spilt milk to find all of her siblings, her parents and Sam were gone. Oh no…

Stella sighed as Rusty kept flirting with Girl Jordan, who backed away with her tongue out in disgust. Liam facepalmed as Zach tried to get rid of the other girls before he saw them.

Clyde sat a plate of fries on the table, watching the scene with a groan. “Here we go again… And I thought the Stella Zhau Special taught him a lesson…”

Liam huffed, with Zach grabbing Rusty by the ear and dragging him off. “With Zach keepin' an eye on him, and since you’ve been our buddy for a spell, you’d reckon he’d pick up a thing or two. But shoot, he’s sure got a knack for makin’ it harder, hasn’t he?”

Stella shrugged. “I don't know - he got worse when he started getting jealous of Lincoln coming to me over the past year.”

Clyde nodded, taking a bite of a fry. “Yeah - didn't think my advice would go there. He needed a female who wasn't dealing with their own problems to hang with, and I knew the best bet was you.”

Stella hummed, her mind drifting as Clyde squeaked and rushed to help Zach get Rusty away from the flying fists of Girl Jordan. What I didn't expect was to start falling for him. But why now?

A flash shot in front of them, with a baby Lincoln dropping onto the fries before turning to Stella and giggling. “Hiya!”

Picking him up, Stella felt her heart flutter and beamed. “Aww!”

She heard Liam clear his throat, a hand waving to Lincoln's legs. “I hate to be a thorn in your side, but somethin' just ain't right with him. If I can see a bare behind, then we got ourselves a pickle.”

Clyde and Zach dropped Rusty's dazed form as they stood frozen in horror. No words left their mouths, but Lincoln giggled and clapped at them as Liam picked up something white and held it out to Stella. The sole girl of the group felt her face flush, with Clyde taking his deaged best friend to put the diaper on as Zach fanned Stella.

“What kind of alien device did this to him? The same one as the one that turned him into a girl?” Zach gave a hopeful smirk, pushing Stella's soda to her.

Liam sighed, pushing the fries away. “I reckon it’s that clever gal Lisa, bless her heart. Might be she’s just playin’ dumb again? Right now, though, we gotta keep an eye on him and pray somebody comes to fetch him ’fore Stella swoons from all that baby charm.”

Luna skidded to a stop as Lily kept one paw on her mane and the other on a small tablet from Lisa's room. How does this even happen? How do babies activate a teleporter when it clearly needs a fair bit of typing?

“Wuna! Over dere!” Luna laid down so Lily could climb off her back, following her finger with her eyes to find Lucy teleporting around the cemetery.

The feral girl licked the baby Loud, tapping the ground to indicate to Lily to stay where she was. Creeping in on her hind legs, Luna gulped as she sniffed the air. 

She could see wisps of Lucy's smoke drift in the air, watching as they shifted to the left slightly. Based on the wind direction, she must be popping up slightly to the right of where the wisps are. But where? And could it just be a wayward wind?

Luna spotted Lucy sitting on a headstone, vanishing in a split second. Dropping onto all fours, the feral girl rushed forward and moved to the next headstone. A white shape met her vision, and she pounced. A male voice cried out in shock, with Luna being met with four pale beings and a fifth with darker skin.

“Are you alright, Boris?” The shorter female stepped forward, one eye visible through her parted black mane.

Luna got off the lanky being she had pounced on, who slowly got up and revealed pointed ears, small fangs and a bald head. “Boris is fine.”

“Are you sure?” A female with buck teeth and braces reached forward, with Luna stepping back.

“Boris is fine. But Boris wonders why there is a baby floating above Dante…” His bony finger pointed above the tan boy, who glanced up and gasped.

“A baby got possessed?!” Lucy grabbed his black mane, pulling on the loose strands as the final pale male struggled to grab her.

“Goo ga.” Lucy let out a monotone giggle, playing with the boy's hair.

Luna grabbed Lucy, whining and using her nose to try and get the baby to release his hair. Come on, Luce Change, give it!

The others moved to her side, attempting to help her while murmuring about what was going on. 

They eventually managed to successfully free her, with Lucy teleporting onto Luna's head and playing with her hair. “Mama Wuna.”

The group simply stared at Luna, who snarled defensively before moving away. Her instincts raged, but she felt a pang of guilt in her heart.

Those are Lucy's friends. They won't hurt her - that Morpheus boy wasn't there. I need to somehow figure out how to turn everyone back before I hurt someone…

Mazzy laughed at Sully's impression of a teacher, freezing when she heard soft sniffling nearby. She glanced to Sully, who was already halfway to the food court, before moving to the source of sniffing near the fountain. She gasped when she saw a baby Sam sitting alone, sobbing as she sucked her thumb.

“Sam? What happened to you, dudette?” Mazzy slowly walked over, gulping when she saw Sam looking at her with a watery eye.

Gently picking her up, she held Sam close and swayed slightly. “Oona…”

Mazzy blinked under her bangs. “If you're upset over Luna not being here, then how did you get here?”

“Zappy…” Sam locked eyes with Mazzy - even with only one working eye - and reached out to the girl.

Mazzy kept her close. “Tell ya what - Sully and I will look after you for a while, then we'll see if we can find your Luna lover.” She smirked softly, chuckling as Sam responded with babbling and waving hands.

“Oona! Oona!” Sam's eye sparkled, with Mazzy watching her leg and her stump waving about.

Turning towards the food court, the drummer walked along as Sam went back to sucking her thumb and watching the world from her arms. Seems like we should get jamming again. Maybe someday Sam will feel comfortable enough to share what happened to her - it's clearly too much for her to handle alone…

Sully darted over, eyes wide before he skidded to a stop. Before he could open his mouth to speak, he spotted Sam in Mazzy's arms and gaped for a moment.

He shook his head. “I was going to bring up you disappearing, but where did that baby come from?! I thought you were aro-ace!”

Mazzy sighed, with Sam grabbing her chin and cooing. “I am - do you really think I can have a 18-month-old in two minutes? Sam's been deaged.”

Sully nodded slowly, with Sam giggling and reaching out to him as Mazzy rolled her eyes with a head shake. He wriggled his fingers in front of Sam, chuckling as she put one finger in her mouth and grabbed two others.

Mazzy laughed at the sight, with Sully wincing as drool coated his hand. “Come on, dude. Don't you have a date with that crooner guy?”

Luna panted as she dropped a muddy Lana into a crib on wheels, which had Lucy distracted by a bat mobile Lily had spotted in a store window. Three down, ten left. Should I even count Lily in this? She's helping me, and she kinda already IS a baby.

Shaking the rest of the mud off her, the feral girl padded over to Lily and sat on her haunches. She ran a paw over the screen of Lisa's tablet, humming thoughtfully as Lily pointed to the different spots on the screen.

“Dee-hey evewywhere - Wuan's in a toy stowe, Wola's at a pageant, Mama and Dada are... IN VANZILLA?! We need to fwiend a way to get 'em!”

Luna glanced at the screen, seeing the various dots and pining. One dot, however, seemed to be approaching - the duo turned to see Lisa driving Todd past them and cheering happily.

Luna slouched. This ain't gonna end well…I need to find a way to catch them all.

Lily babbled as she spotted a tricycle nearby, clapping as she climbed on and pointed to the tablet. “Wuna, keepy that! Me goin’ to da toy store, pa-gee and da mall! Use dat to find all our famiwy – your spidey senses might helpies!”

Luna nodded, grabbing the rope tied to the crib with her teeth and pulling it along. Her body shivered as Lily pedalled away, with the feral girl whining as she wandered down the street.

The scents of the Louds filled Luna's nose, with Lynn Junior's being the closest. I need to find her before she causes harm. Or someone hurts her. Luna shook her head. No, stop those thoughts, Luna - the more you think like that, the worse it gets. You already nearly tried to feed Lucy when she started crying out.

Pausing by the soccer grounds, she saw Lynn's friends ducking as soccer balls went flying everywhere. Her eyes scanned the area, her limbs leading her to pull the crib to the bleachers. Luna howled, rushing over and dodging the balls as the crutch user smacked a ball away.

“Lynn, please!” She ducked under another ball, gasping as Luna leapt over her and landed on all fours in front of her.

The other friend kicked away as many balls as she could, only stopping when the baby Lynn picked her up and tossed her away. “Whoa!”

Luna growled at the baby, her expression hard as she stalked forward. Lynn blew a raspberry at her, laughing as she threw more balls around.

The feral girl ducked, snarling as she loomed over Lynn. Need to teach her a lesson. I am the alpha here.

Gently pushing Lynn onto her back, Luna put her face close to the baby and huffed into her face. The baby settled immediately, cooing as she reached up to Luna's face.

“That was awesome.” The girl with the crutch stepped forward, with Luna glancing back with bared teeth.

The tossed girl returned, limping slightly, and put a paw in front of her. “Careful, Paula - I think Luna might be maternal right now. You never get between a mother and her babies, lest you suffer.”

Luna pined, picking Lynn up with her teeth and walking away. I'm losing myself again, aren't I? I can't believe this is happening…

Lily stopped pedalling at the door of the toy store, blinking when giggles reached her. The doors opened as she made her way inside, seeing Luan sitting at a little table and chair set. She was giggling and having a tea party with a number of stuffed toys, with Lily shaking her head when she saw no sign of pranks.

“Wuan?” Lily took a seat at the table, flinching when her sister waved her arms about and screamed.

“No, no, no!” Luan got out of the chair, grabbing the teddy bear next to her before clambering into a toy Jeep.

She sped away, with a number of parents gasping and moving out of the way. Lily groaned, getting back onto her tricycle and chasing after Luan. She used her small horn to alert the customers, who moved away before she got close. Her eyes scanned the aisles as she went, seeking out any sign of her sister.

“Poo poo…” Lily shook her head before a honking reached her.

Cheering, she turned her tricycle towards the discount section. The Jeep sat unattended near boxes of bouncy castles, with Lily looking around. An opened Fenton the Feel-Better Fox sat beside her, sparking an idea as she picked him up.

“Fenton!” Lily put him down near a fort-like structure, pressing his foot before his arms moved about.

“Cheer up, baby, don't you cry

No more tears, it's cheer up time

Laugh with me and we will be

Happy, happy, happy!”

Luan peeked from a window, giggling as she opened the door slowly. Lily pressed on Fenton's foot again, smiling as Luan crept out more and danced with the toy.

When the song stopped, Lily stepped forward and smiled. “Hiya!”

Luan shook her head, looking away from Lily. “No Wuan!”

Lily sat down, staring as the girl in front of her played Fenton's song again. “Whew a'yoo?”

The girl giggled, clapping as she sat in front of Lily. “Me Wuwu!”

Lily blinked - she felt something was suspicious about this, especially since Luan had been acting strangely the whole time Luna was missing. She played along, deciding to ask her later when everything was back to normal.

“Wuwu hewp cwach silbings?”

 Lulu clapped, waddling to the Jeep. “Yay!”

Luna dropped the rope when she saw Chunk’s van parked nearby, beaming and wiggling her body in delight. Yes! A fast way to catch Vanzilla!

She glanced back to the three babies she had rounded up, shaking as her eyes drifted back to the van. Her heart hammered in her chest as she pined, her instincts warring within her as Chunk wandered away from the van.

I can't let him near the pups, so what do I do? Luna blinked as Vanzilla rolled into Chunk’s van, causing the older rocker to gasp in horror as a large dent formed.

“My van!” Chunk froze when he saw Rita and Lynn Snr crawling out of the van, his mouth drooping as the baby adults crawled out.

Luna moved to the duo, stopping when she saw they had grabbed hold of a trolley carrying an amp and were careening down a hill. Yelping in shock, she darted on all fours after the amp. The hill was steep, but Luna found the steepness helped her speed as she raced after Rita and Lynn Snr. The pair giggled happily, oblivious to the danger they were in as the amp rolled through an intersection. Luna barked as she used car hoods and roofs to gain speed, spying someone with a skateboard leaning on a power pole and chatting with someone. Grabbing the board, Luna used her paws to gain speed as Chunk’s van drove beside her.

Chunk lowered his window, resting his arm on the side. “Oi Luna, got the other nippers wiv me. You want me to stick around after we grab your folks? Seems like you could do wiv a hand, innit?”

Luna barked, a small smile forming when Lucy floated near Chunk’s head as she narrowed her eyes and picked up speed. I need to save Mom and Popstar - Chunk’s right that I need help. I guess I trust him more than my instincts thought.

The deaged parents squealed in delight as they held a tickle fight, ignoring the busy intersections and car horns around them as Luna squeaked in fright. The final intersection was just in front of a petting zoo, with the amp hitting a wall and sending the babies over the fence.

Luna barked as she jumped off the board, racing through the gate and ignoring the gatekeeper as she slipped under legs and jumped onto and over benches and people. Come on, where are those pups?

Her eyes and ears scanned the area, a coo and giggle reaching her as Luna turned. She was met with Rita and Lynn Snr sitting on the backs of sheep, paws gripping the wool underneath as the animals went berserk. Luna whimpered as she leapt over the fence, body poised to pounce and retrieve the pair. Just as she went to pounce on Lynn Snr's sheep, she was headbutted on the side and sent into the fence with a yelp.

“Blimey! That must 'ave stung. You doin' alright, Luna?” Luna lifted her head to see Chunk standing at the gate, Lucy sitting on his head, as she hobbled over.

Whining, she sucked air through clenched teeth as her shoulder throbbed from the impact of the fence before eyeing Rita's sheep. Growling, Luna pounced and managed to get a grip on the animal before tucking Rita close to her chest. The sheep jumped, bucking the feral girl off and straight into Chunk’s arms.

Rita giggled, clapping her paws. “Aga-gan! Aga-gan!”

Chunk blinked at Luna, who gave a soft lick to his chin in gratitude. “Buzzin' I could give ya a hand wit' that. So, 'ow you plannin' on gettin' Mr. Loud outta there, then?”

Lulu pulled the toy Jeep over as Lily watched Todd zip around with Lisa toying with the device that caused the transformation.

Lily gasped as she clambered out the Jeep, flopping onto her stomach as she attempted to signal to Todd. “Tawwwd! Pwease stahhhp!”

The robot did not respond, continuing to zip around as Lulu giggled and clapped. Lily gulped as she sat down, watching the scene as she tried to figure out a way to stop Todd and get the device from Lisa.

“Uh oh.” The device clattered to the road, a blinding light filling Lily's vision as Lulu screamed and ducked behind the Jeep.

“Astoundingly, it seems my innovative de-aging apparatus bears an uncanny resemblance to my Rubik's Cube; thus, it may warrant modification to distinguish its identity.” Lily opened her eyes, seeing Lisa back to normal and shaking her head. “Wisa!”

The youngest Loud embraced her older sibling, with Todd rebooting in the background. Turning to Lulu, Lisa held up the device and blinked when she shrieked and darted back behind the toy car.

“Intriguing. Luan seems disinclined to revert to her authentic age. I find myself contemplating the underlying motivations for such a choice.” Lisa hummed, with Lulu poking her head up and throwing a pebble at the scientist.

“Me Wuwu! No Wuan!”

Lisa gave a raised eyebrow gaze to Lily, who shrugged and babbled as Lisa put the device away. Lulu saw this, and happily clambered out. Lisa waved to the little girl, who responded with a giggle and wave of her own as Todd wheeled over.

“That was not. Fun.” The robot turned his head to look around, with Lisa smiling.

“It brings me great solace to witness your return to your former state, Todd. Now, let us deliberate on the most strategic methodology for the procurement of our remaining brethren.” Lisa turned to Lily, who clapped as Lulu hopped back into the Jeep and beeped the horn playfully.

“Wisa, Wuna wooking for da othews too! But, she feews a wittle scawed of hewself.” Lily looked down, soon feeling Lisa rubbing her shoulder in reassurance before the group decided to move on to find the rest of the babified Loud family…

Chunk pulled the van up at the mall, with Luna gazing at the building from the open window.

“Right, Luna, 'ere we are. Best get some nipper gear for the van while we got 'em back there. Otherwise, they might leg it again, and I reckon neither of us fancies a rerun of the petting zoo, do we?” Chunk’s eyes locked on the bandages on Luna's arm - his best attempt at a patch up after several hits from the sheep and the fence.

Luna turned to him with a soft pine, shifting to the man and nuzzling him before hopping out the van. She sniffed the ground, finding Lori's scent near a red car as Chunk took out the portable crib.

Her eyes narrowed as she sniffed again. That's weird. Lori's scent, but she hasn't been here since she was made part jaguar… Oh no…

The scent led towards a store called Reininger's, which Luna vaguely recalled was Leni’s place of work, and she immediately followed the trail on all fours. She heard Chunk talking to her siblings and parents, fighting off the maternal instincts bubbling within as she padded along.

I need to trust again. Trust Chunk - he's helping me out. A mother always has some form of help. Luna paused by the door of Reininger's, seeing a tan male with a black mane adjusting a top.

As Luna padded closer, she heard crashes and shrieks as the male glanced over. Dark paw prints covered his otherwise white top, with blue jeans ripped up as he wandered around with only one red and white sneaker on. Just as Luna passed the door, she spotted Lori darting along the top of the clothing racks.

“Luna? Is that you?” The boy stopped when Lori pounced onto his head, shrieking in response as the baby mewed and played with his hair.

Luna stood on her hind legs, raising her arms to try and pluck the kitten from the boys head. She flinched when Lori hissed, blinking as the infant went back to playing.

“Aw man.” The boy sighed, moving his arms as he walked ahead of Luna. “Come on in - I think we need your help with this.”

Luna followed, eyes and ears trained around her as she kept an eye on Lori. This is odd - how did Lori come here? And why is she in this store? I'm pretty sure this is where Leni works.

A female with a brown mane in a ponytail walked over, paws covered by thick gloves that covered most of the sleeves of her two-tone pink sweater. She rolled her eyes, her yellow scarf around her nose and mouth as she reached up to Lori.

“I'll get her off. Still can't find Ms Carmichael's glasses, though.” The female, whose light blue jeans were also ripped, reached up and flinched at the hissing.

Luna whined, with the male sighing as the female lowered her arms. There's the ‘why’ and ‘how’ for Lori being here, I guess.

“Fiona, is she absolutely sure they're not on her head?”

“Miguel, do you think I haven't already checked that twice?” ‘Fiona’ groaned loudly, with ‘Miguel’ sighing as he turned to Luna.

The feral girl spotted something shining above the duo, pointing with a bark as she pondered a way to distract Lori from the hair.

‘Fiona’ turned with a mumble, gasping and slapping her hands on her face. “Oh my gosh! How did they end up there?”

The girl rushed away, leaving ‘Miguel’ gulping as a woman wearing a blue jacket and long skirt wandered over with her arms extended. The orange shirt - for reasons unknown to Luna, tied in a knot - appeared darkened by a stain, but she was otherwise neat.

“Have you found my glasses yet? And my kitten?” The woman - who Luna assumed was ‘Ms Carmichael' - put a hand on a nearby mannequin, running a hand through her short red hair.

“The kitten? Yes. Your glasses? We're still working on that…” The boy held in a gasp as Lori pawed his head.

Luna blinked, spying a ball of yarn laying on a sale table and beaming. This should get Lori to come to me.

Plucking a random ball, she held it up and waved it about where Lori could see it. Lori mewed, her tails swaying as her ears twitched and her eyes narrowed. Tossing the ball to the floor, Luna watched with a sigh of relief as the normally eldest Loud batted the ball back and forth and pounced on it.

‘Fiona’ passed ‘Ms Carmichael' her glasses, groaning as she spotted the baby at play. “And now I need to fix the display.”

The woman blinked from under the black rimmed glasses. “Oh my. That is very much not the cute little kitten I thought that was. It's still cute and little, though…”

Luna lowered her eyelids as she scooped Lori up. You don't say…

Before anyone else could comment, and as Lori decided to roar in what Luna could only describe as a loud but squeaky manner, the feral girl carried her charge out the store.

As she scanned the store for Chunk, one thought flickered into her mind as she regained some memories of visiting Leni at her workplace. Where even is Leni? And why do I have this unsettled feeling making my instincts go mad?

Sully sighed as he sat on a nearby step, with Mazzy gently rocking Sam as she patted his shoulder. “Dude, it's alright. Plenty of fish in the sea…”

“But he was so close to being the one!” Sobbing, the keyboardist buried his face in his hands as Sam babbled and patted his arm.

The babbling stopped when a engine rumbled nearby, with Sully's date flipping the bird from his white van as he drove off. Sam began wailing loudly, limbs flailing as Sully glared at the van with teary eyes.

Mazzy cradled her best friend, grunting when an arm clobbered her in the chin. What is it about the white van that freaked her out so much? Was one involved in her disappearance?

Sam continued wailing, with Sully standing as Mazzy slid off the step she was sitting on. They headed back inside, but Mazzy found Sam's flailing becoming more chaotic as she screamed louder and louder.

“Sully! Code Dangerous Toys!” Mazzy grunted as she was belted, with Sully gulping.

“We haven't had a Code Dangerous Toys for ages!” His heartache forgotten, Sully started tickling Sam's side as they gazed around. “We need a pet shop or petting zoo stat!”

Mazzy blinked, her eyes locked on Chunk as he wheeled a crib around. Darting over as Sully followed and tried to soothe Sam, Mazzy waved to the roadie and blinked at the scene behind him. Luna was running over on all fours, with a baby Lori on her head.

Now that's not something you see every day. Shaking off her thoughts, Mazzy waved her over as Sam's flailing became more aggressive.

Luna immediately took Sam in her arms, purring and bopping slightly as she looked to Mazzy with a quirked eyebrow.

Mazzy gulped as she took Lori from Luna's head, met with a suppressed growl. “Code Dangerous Toys - Sully's blind date drove past in a white van, and she started screaming. We haven't had much success so far, but it could be because she's not her normal age right now.”

Luna blinked, tilting her head slightly as Sam's screaming and flailing slowed.

“Dangerous Toys is a code meaning Sam is having an episode so bad she's not responding normally - under normal circumstances, she might hallucinate or totally freeze up. This time, though, it's more like a tantrum mixed with a meltdown…” Mazzy smiled slightly as Sam settled down, cooing as she sucked her thumb, before the drummer cradled Lori in her arms. “Thanks for that, Luna.”

Chunk cleared his throat, gesturing to the crib in front of him as Luna kept purring and nuzzled Sam. “Cor blimey, as lovely as it is 'aving a chinwag 'ere, we’re gonna need some aid, ain't we? Got a mountain of nappies to snag, and a couple of little 'uns still M.I.A, mate.”

Stella glanced down to Lincoln as he napped in her arms, resisting the urge to gush as her face lit up in a blush. Rusty scoffed at her, walking away with a wave of his hand as Zach chased after what she knew was a drone - the alien fanatic of the group insisted it was a UFO. 

Clyde smiled at his best friend, gently playing with Lincoln's foot as the infant sucked his thumb. “He's a pretty cute baby, huh? And he really likes you, Stella.”

Liam chuckled, walking on the other side of Stella as they walked down the street. “Well, ain't this a cornfield of surprises, but that Lincoln sure is one adorable little critter.” He then turned to Stella, a cheeky smirk resting on his lips. “Well now, Stella, when were ya fixin' to mouth off 'bout that crush of yours on Lincoln? And how can we lend a hand in this here business?”

The sole girl of the Action News Team almost choked on her own saliva, glancing down to make sure she didn't wake Lincoln up. “Liam! Come on!”

Clyde chuckled, soon stopping when Stella froze and stared ahead. Liam and Clyde followed her gaze, seeing a baby Leni giggling and crawling after a butterfly. Stella passed Lincoln to Clyde, darting forward as a car sped towards Leni. Lunging with arms outstretched, she wrapped her arms and body around Leni before rolling along the road on the other side of the car.

Clyde gasped, with Lincoln waking up and babbling obliviously. “Stella!”

Liam rushed over, brows furrowed as he swallowed a lump of fear. “Stella, come on now, holler at me! You good? What in tarnation were ya thinkin'? That there car coulda done you in!”

Stella stayed quiet, opening her eyes and gazing to Liam before drifting her gaze down and opening her arms up. 

Leni giggled obliviously, waving her arms as Liam shifted his gaze between Stella and Leni. “Hiya!”

“Well, I'll be! Leni didn't even bat an eye. Good job, Stella, but I reckon that wasn't the brightest idea in the toolbox.” Liam shook his head, gently removing Leni from Stella's arms as she carefully stood up.

She rubbed her shoulder, wincing as she was forced into a limp from a sharp stabbing pain in her hip. “I know, Liam, but it was either that or watching her get run over.”

Clyde rushed over the second the pair got off the road, Lincoln bawling as Leni picked up on his sadness and started crying herself. “Stella! Are you okay?”

Stella carefully took the Loud boy, cradling him in her unharmed arm and rocking him gently. She didn't acknowledge the other's presence, focusing solely on him as she limped to a bench. Slowly, she sat down and settled Lincoln into her lap as he perked up and used her shoulders to stand up.

Lincoln beamed at her. “Stwella!”

Stella smiled back at him, her eyes slowly drooping as pain flooded her head.

“Stella! Hang on! I'll call an ambulance!”

“Stwella!”

Stella felt a hand on her good shoulder as her vision swam. “C'mon, Stella. Stick with me, darlin'. Don’t you even think 'bout shuttin' them peepers!”

Groaning softly, Stella felt herself slipping into unconsciousness…

Lulu and Lisa pulled up at the pageant hall, with Lily stumbling out of the Jeep as Todd allowed Lisa to disembark.

The scientist Loud adjusted her glasses, locking her gaze on the hall as screams emanated from the door as people raced out. “Upon meticulous consideration of my observations and the responses elicited in this context, it becomes unequivocally evident that Lola has indeed arrived. What remains paramount is the formulation of a robust strategy to engage her sufficiently, enabling a moment of tranquility to facilitate the reversal of this situation.”

Lily turned to Lulu, who shrugged as they moved to the door. Lola was inside, tossing various crowns and gowns around while screaming at the top of her lungs. Lily turned to Lisa, who was speaking but was inaudible over the screaming. Lulu whined from the Jeep, covering her ears as Lisa held up her device and pointed to a teddy bear. Lily nodded, picking it up and tossing it towards Lola.

“Pwease work…” Lily gulped, watching as Lola stopped screamingand locked eyes on the bear.

Slowly crawling over, Lola picked it up and inspected it with a keen eye. Lisa fired the device just as Lola threw the bear away and, managing to turn her back before she could throw another tantrum. 

Lola looked around, blinking in confusion. “Um, guys? What am I doing here?”

“Wowa!” Lily crawled over to the pageant princess, waving her arms happily as Lola picked her up for a hug.

Lola laughed, soon turning to Lisa with eyes burning in rage. “Lisa.”

“On this occasion, I must assert my innocence! Leni erroneously perceived my rejuvenation apparatus as a mere Rubik's Cube!” Lisa flinched as Lola loomed over her, opening her eyes and sighing in relief as Lola's fury ceased.

“So it's Leni’s fault?” Lola's eyes shot flames of anger, with Lily backing away as Lisa gulped and turned her device to Lulu.

Lily waved a hand to stop her, but was cut off by Lulu screaming and starting the Jeep up again.

“Wuwu no go! Wuwu no go!” Lulu raced away, leaving Lola to blink and turn to Lisa.

“What was that about?”

Lisa's gaze stayed on the settling dust from Lulu's escape. “It seems that Luan remains resolutely averse to reversion, steadfastly asserting her identity as a being other than Luan.”

Lola ground her teeth. “No-one understands you!”

Lily sighed. “Wuan not hewself. She Wuwu.”

Lola slapped her forehead, grabbing Lisa and Lily's. “I don't care! Let's just get her back here now!”

Luna blinked as Chunk drove the Moon Goats and the Louds past a hospital, seeing Clyde and someone Lincoln had called ‘Liam’ standing outside. Barking to stop the van, Luna cradled Sam close to her body as she leapt out the open window. 

As she scampered closer, she could make out Lincoln and Leni’s baby forms in their arms as Sam cooed from against her chest. How did these two find them? Weren't they going to meet - oh, right…

Lincoln reached out to her and giggled, with Leni waving as Luna sat on her haunches and gazed at them. She felt Sam snuggle into her, with the feral girl purring as a quick glance down revealed Sam was happily sucking on the pacifier Chunk had bought.

“Luna, there you are! Do you know how this happened?” Clyde held Lincoln out, his panicked voice cracking as the white-maned boy giggled and gripped his diaper. “Oh no, not again!”

‘Liam’ sighed, one hand trapped in Leni’s mouth. “Well, bless your heart, it's a tale as long as a country road, if yer wonderin' how we stumbled upon 'em. Lincoln just popped in, like a jackrabbit on a hot skillet - one minute we’re waitin’ on him, and the next, there he is, like a dog in a rabbit hole. Now Leni, she brings in a butterfly, a truck, and Stella dreamin’ up big ideas that’d make a cat laugh…”

Luna pined, feeling Sam cling to her as she stood on her hind legs as Mazzy and Sully scrambled out of Chunk’s van.

Mazzy scooped Leni out of ‘Liam's’ arms, moving to the van with a small whoop. “And another one down! Only a few left!”

Sully attempted to grab Lincoln, blinking when he found himself holding an empty diaper. Lincoln giggled as he toddled away, completely naked from the waist down. Luna winced, soon turning back to Lincoln's friends as a tan girl hobbled out on a crutch.

‘Liam’ was the first to respond, rushing to her side with a worried gasp. “Well, butter my biscuits, Stella! Praise the Lord you're okay! I reckon I can't wrap my head 'round what you gone and done!”

‘Stella’ sighed, looking down as she used the crutch to keep herself steady. “I know, I know. I just- I just- I wasn't thinking. I just had to do something.”

Luna wandered over to her, nudging her with her cheek before licking her with a soft pine. Sam babbled and reached out to ‘Stella’, with the girl chuckling and softly rubbing the baby rocker's mane.

“Thanks, you two. I needed that.” Stella blinked as Sully struggled to catch Lincoln, waving his diaper in the air before turning back to Luna. “Have you been looking for them?”

Luna nodded, rocking Sam as Leni reached over from ‘Liam's’ arms.

The ginger-maned boy sighed, glancing away as Luna's ears detected wheels screeching on the road. “Well ain't that just a hoot? I coulda sworn I just spied a robot, a wee babe, a little scientist, and a pink sparkle rollin' on over this way.”

Todd eventually stopped, tilting slightly as Lisa held the cubic device out. Lola flopped onto the road, groaning as Luna blinked in amazement. 

Her eyes drifted to the device. Did Lisa manage to figure out a way to reverse it? Does that mean Sam will go back to normal?

Lily climbed off Todd, her eyes wavering as Luna lowered herself to her level.

As Lisa wandered to Chunk’s van, with the man blinking in confusion, Sully cheered and held a now-covered Lincoln just as Lisa transformed the male Loud back to normal. “I did it! He's dressed!”

“Good for you, now can you please put me down?”

Luna chuckled, shaking it off as Lily waved her arms and babbled frantically. In the baby's hand was a yellow scrunchie, which Luna immediately recognised.

A lump formed in her throat. Luan's run off? This is bad…

Sam tugged Luna's top. “Oona ‘elp!”

Lisa wandered over to the feral girl, the device in front of her. “Esteemed elder sibling, permit me to restore Sam to her genuine chronological state; your endeavors would undoubtedly benefit from the additional assistance.”

Luna snarled, baring her teeth and snapping her jaws as she help Sam close. No, don't take my pup! Wait, no. She's not my pup. Shaking her head, Luna dropped onto all fours and raced away with Sam in her arms.

As she gave a mournful gaze back, Luna saw Mazzy turn to Lisa as the rest of the Louds spread out and made their way out of Chunk’s van.

“Let her handle this.”

Luna sniffed the air, whining as she sat on her haunches and gazed down to Sam. The teal-streaked rocker blinked up at her, a tiny paw gripping her lip as Luna nuzzled her. 

Giggling, she let go and turned to look into the woods. “Googa?”

Who's that crying? Could that be whoever Lulu is? Getting back up, Luna followed the sounds to find the babified Luan sitting on a log near a colourful tiny vehicle so deep in the mud she couldn't identify what it was.

Pining, she watched as the pup turned and flinched back. Sam cooed, gripping Luna's top fearfully.

Her arms waved about. “Nuh-uh! No wanna be big-wer! Not Loo-oo-ahn!”

Luna kept back, looking down to Sam as Luan's screams became wet and weaker. She won't talk to me…. Maybe Sam could try - provided she knows what's going on here, that is.

Luna placed Sam down, nudging her forward as she watched on.

Sam crawled over, using the log to keep balanced as she attempted to stand on one leg. “Hiya.”

“Me Wuwu. Who you?” ‘Lulu’ shuffled over to Sam.

Sam looked back to Luna uncertainly, with the feral girl nodding as she laid down. You can do it, Sammie. I trust you.

“‘M ‘Am.” Sam hid her face with her teal streak, with the other pup shaking her head.

She giggled. “You's so silly!”

Sam gave another nervous gaze to Luna, giving up on talking to ‘Lulu’ and crawling back to Luna. Snuggling into her side, Sam gripped her top again before grabbing part of the top and sticking it into her mouth.

Luna smiled, turning slightly to lick Sam's head as the other pup watched on. She's so cute, but does this mean she was always a bit nervous and shy? Or does she remember?

‘Lulu’ started making her way over to Luna on shaky legs, arms waving before one last stumble changed her walk to a crawl.

“LUAN LOUD!” Yelping, Luna looked over to see her father and mother rushing over, clutching Lisa's device.

The pup froze, screaming and flailing her limbs as Sam cowered under Luna's arm. “No no no! Me not Wuan! Me Wuwu!”

The feral girl turned to her parents, who stopped next to her. Dang it. Almost had her…

Rita knelt down and gently rubbed her daughter's head. “Easy, sweetie. We know your instincts are strong right now, but we really need to turn Luan and Sam back.”

Sam peeked out from under Luna's arm, her gaze briefly flicking to ‘Lulu’ before she slid out. “Eee-dee-uh.”

Rita blinked as Sam crawled out, with Luna glancing to the device before nuzzling Sam as the blonde kept making her way to Lynn Snr. The patriarch kept trying to convince his babified daughter, but to no avail as she screamed louder and louder. He sighed, turning when he felt a small hand on his pants.

Looking down, he saw Sam pointing to the device and mumbling as she sat and waved her arms. “Ah, I see…”

Lynn Snr aimed the device at Sam, seeing Luna watching anxiously next to her mother. As the light enveloped Sam, Luna locked her gaze onto ‘Lulu’, who flinched long enough for her father to use the device on her.

Sam blinked - now back to her true age - and turned to Luna. “Lunes? You okay?”

Luna barked, her body wriggling in glee as she pushed herself against Sam's body. Sammie! I'm so glad she's back - as much as I loved her baby form, this is what I needed.

Sam chuckled, wrapping her arms around Luna as the pair heard a loud shriek. ‘Lulu’ was back to her body's true age, but she gave off an air of distress before darting into the forest. Luna pined as Rita and Lynn Snr followed, turning to Sam as she tucked her head under her chin.

“Poor Luan. I don't really know what happened there, but that clearly wasn't her. You knew, didn't you?” Sam shifted back to look Luna in the eye, seeing the feral girl nodding as she whimpered.

Luna turned to where the parents had run, trembling despite Sam's gentle rubbing along her back and side. I wish there was a way for me to help her.

Rita flinched as she heard her daughter scream, seeing her laying on the ground and clutching her head. Glancing back to see she had lost her husband somewhere before the clearing, she carefully stepped out of the bushes and approached Luan.

“It's okay, sweetie. I'm here. Mama's here.” She raised a hand, gasping when a vine around her ankle caught her eye.

Rita moved slowly - careful not to make any sudden movements or noises - and reached out to it.

A hand gripped her wrist, with Rita turning to see Luan glaring warningly at her. “No.” Luan grunted. “Stopping. Lulu.”

Luan grunted again, clutching her head as she resumed screaming. Gulping, Rita moved away from the vine and stuck close to Luan.

Sitting down, the Loud matriarch put her arms out and slowly shuffled forward. “It's alright. I'm here. I want to help you - let me help you.”

Rita grunted when she felt Luan lunge at her, wrapping her arms around her daughter and rubbing her back. 

The comedian panted, gripping Rita's clothing in fists as she choked a sob. “Don't go…”

“I'm not going anywhere, sweetie. I promise.” Rita winced as Luan resumed screaming, blinking as she focused on the way she sounded.

Her mind wandered as she held Luan close -the screams sounded more like a distressed or tantrum-throwing child, whereas the warming didn't sound like Luan at all. That voice - it sounded like the old Lacy Liger cartoon, like she was from the rainforest just like Lacy. Oh, Luan, what aren't you telling us?

Rita felt a sudden bite on her shoulder, squeezing Luan as she thrashed. “It's okay, it's okay.”

“No wanna go!” Luan let go of her mother's shoulder, glaring defiantly as if a child fighting authority.

An idea popped into Rita's mind. “Who said you had to go forever?”

Luan paused, blinking and tilting her head as her thumb drifted into her mouth.

“When you go, you'll go into a nice safe space with some new friends to make. I'm sure they're going to love meeting you.” Rita ran her fingers through Luan's hair, seeing the fear fading from her eyes.

“Weally?” She beamed brightly, her eyes trembling excitedly.

Rita chuckled. “Of course, and I'm sure if I have a chat with my daughter, we can work something out and you can visit.”

Luan froze up, looking away sadly. “Sowwy…”

“What are you sorry for, sweetie?” Rita blinked, cupping Luan's cheek.

“I stwopped ya seein' Wuan! I feew so sowwy…” Before tears resumed, the Loud matriarch gently pressed her lips against her forehead.

“It's okay, sweetie. May I see Luan now please?” Rita stayed still, remembering all the times she carefully guided her daughters and son through intense emotions.

Luan leaned on Rita, closing her eyes with a small smile. “Uh-huh. Me so sweepy…”

Luan snuggled into her mother's body, her gorm sagging as Rita turned to a snapping stick. Lynn Snr crept closer, smiling in relief when he saw Luan cuddled against Rita and sitting beside them.

“You did it - good job, honey.” Lynn Snr wiped away a tear, his smile dropping when he noticed Rita's expression. “Honey?”

“How long has Luan dealt with this on her own?” Rita choked on a small sob, feeling her husband's hand on her shoulder.

“I think it was back in kindergarten. I'll have to double check with Maxine, but I'm too tired now.” Rita jolted slightly, glancing down to see Luan looking back with a tired expression.

The parents stayed silent for a moment, simply holding Luan in an embrace and enjoying the reunion. After a few moments, they turned to see Luna standing nearby.

“I guess it's so we don't get lost, huh?” Lynn Snr rustled Luna's hair, standing while Rita carried Luan in her arms.

The comedian smiled, resting her head on Rita's shoulder as her mother glanced to her.

Rita smiled, but bit her lip slightly. “I'm so sorry…”

“Mom, it's alright. You couldn't have known it'll happen - I did a pretty good job hiding it, too.” Luan yawned, closing her eyes as they began making their way out the forest.

Rita gulped, but swiftly calmed when she heard her daughter snore slightly. She turned to her husband, who gave a nod as if knowing what she was thinking. She knew she needed to take Luan to get an official diagnosis, but she had her suspicions…

Chapter Text

Lincoln blinked at the tablet before him, shaking his head as he sighed. “Well, I've eliminated at least three of the suggestions from our viewers.”

Clyde looked up from his papers. “How come?”

Lincoln looked up, raising an eyebrow as Liam brought over six drink cans. “Simple. One was a ‘guess that butt’ with my siblings, and I am not in the mood to be mauled by Lori or Luna.”

Zach shuddered as he fiddled with the camera, ensuring everything on it was operational. “And the other two?”

Lincoln shook his head. “The second option won't be viable for another six to eight months - depending on how Stella's next few appointments go.”

Stella winced as she hobbled down the stairs, one arm in a sling while the other used a crutch to stay balanced with her leg slightly elevated. “That was a lot harder than it needed to be. At least Sam was able to give me a hand.”

Manoeuvring to the couch, she slowly lowered herself down and sighed. Lincoln grabbed her hand, rubbing it with his thumb before Clyde cleared his throat.

Liam sighed, taking a sip from the can. “Well, that third choice was gonna be a tough nut to crack. Roping in Luna woulda been a walk in the park, but wrangling four hundred pounds of mince, a sausage maker, a big ol' beach ball, and twenty boxes of fireworks? Now that’s a whole other kettle of fish.”

Rusty sighed. “Sucks, though. That Trained Luna bit would've gone gangbusters. “

Lincoln slapped his forehead, shaking his head with a groan. “Did you seriously forget about the fact that Sam would MURDER us if we did that?”

Clank, tap! Clank, tap!

“I wouldn't say murder, Lincoln. But I'd find whoever suggested it and make them pay…” Sam's eye grew dark as she crushed a can in her hand, shaking it off as she binned the can and grabbed a bag of crisps.

Rusty slid up to Sam, wriggling his eyebrows as the others stared in horror. “Surely you'd reconsider for the Rust Man? Let me know what you want, and it's yours.”

Lincoln raised a hand. “Rusty -”

Rusty waved him off. “Relax, I've got this. So, Sam is it?”

Stella cleared her throat. “I think you should -”

“Not now, Stella. Now, where were we you fine lady?” Rusty ran a finger down Sam's arm, ignoring the irritated glare she was giving.

Liam shook his head. “Well, butter my butt and call it a biscuit. Here we go again…”

Rusty leaned closer, soon being shoved back by a rough kick to the groin.

Sam loomed over him. “You know, I fight my inner demons everyday. Don't become one of them.”

Lincoln gulped. Gee, Sam. You can be scarier than Lucy when you want to be…

As Sam dragged Rusty over to the others, she turned to Lincoln and sighed. “Next time, just shout out I'm a lesbian. Saves a lot of hassle.” She turned and walked away, leaving the Action News Team staring at Rusty in annoyance before Zach beamed.

“What about that cheese challenge? Completely harmless and no need to train. All you gotta do is throw a slice of cheese at someone's face.”

Rusty grabbed a slice - Liam grumbling about the invasion of his snack - and tossed it at the footsteps descending the stairs. “Like that?”

Lincoln turned to see Lori with the cheese on her face, seeing the straight rod tail and shivering at the growl. Oh boy. Rusty's dead meat…

Lori peeled the cheese off her face, tossing it at Clyde as her claws extended. Rusty got up, racing out the door as Lori roared and leapt at him on all fours.

“Literally get back here, cheesebrain! You're litterally going to be a literal human pretzel when I literally get my hands on you!” Lori roared louder, with Lincoln burying his face in his hands as Zach pulled up the camera.

“Let's just film some cheese challenges.”

Liam picked up a slice, spying Luna and gesturing to Lincoln as he tossed it to her. Luna turned and saw it, snatching it from the air and licking her lips.

Lincoln smiled. This is good - a nice bit of fun with my family. 

Lori stretched as she walked through the door, her nose twitching as she detected an unusual scent in the house. 

Blinking, she tilted her head and hummed. “Literally what is that?”

Taking off her name tag, Lori wandered upstairs and found the strong and overly sweet odorous getting stronger. Her tail twitched, with the scent leading her to her bedroom.

The second she opened the door, Lori was forced to bite her tongue to stop a hiss. Wow it smells like a petting zoo in here. But why?

The smell emanated from her bed, causing her to raise an eyebrow. Her ears turned as faint teeth chattering reached her. Climbing on as her tail swayed, Lori peered under her bed and saw Lincoln wincing at her appearance.

“Lincoln? Literally what are you doing?” Lori's nose twitched, the scent pounding her as Lincoln gulped.

“You-You’re not going to-to try anything?” The boy shook, closing his eyes as Lori reached out to him.

She hummed again, ears twitching as she sighed. “Lincoln, what do you literally mean? I'm literally your big sister. Even if you literally smell like a literal petting zoo.”

Lincoln gave a small laugh as he opened his eyes to see Lori still looking at him from her bed, slowly crawling out and sitting on the bed with her. Lori opened her arms, allowing her brother to embrace her as she wrapped her tail around him.

“I drank orange juice Lisa gave me after I spilled mine - she just poured herself a glass and decided to give it to me after I tripped. That tasted funny, but I didn't think anything of it until all the girls in school started chasing me -” Lincoln blinked, glancing to Lori as she kept purring against him. “Are you purring?”

Lori blinked, chuckling as she tried to stop the sound. “Literally was not expecting that. I'm literally even humming a lot more, too. But what literally -” Her eyes widened, pupils narrowing into slits as realisation hit her.

Holding Lincoln close, she made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. Her tail brushed against her leg as she scanned the cups, with her brother pointing to the cup he used that morning.

She moved it to her face, sniffing and wincing at the scent. Yep, that's it. That jerk literally tried to get Lisa again.

Lori snarled sharply, her pupils staying in slits as she put Lincoln down. “We literally need to get Lisa to analyse this. That literal jerk's back!”

Luna howled as she played the last note on her guitar, smiling at the chuckles she heard from Sully and Mazzy as Sam approached her.

“That was wicked, Lunes!” Sam rubbed the feral girl's head, with the latter purring before they turned to their band mates.

Sully stretched his fingers, groaning with the effort. “I don't know about you guys, but I could use some more fuel. This rock beast is running on empty.”

Mazzy sighed. “Agreed, but you coulda phrased it better. Sounded weird.”

Luna chuckled, rolling her eyes as Sam opened the door. Their joy soon stopped when a powerful scent hit them.

Luna looked to see Sully was the only one not reacting with disgust. A mating scent. I wonder who it is and why it's affecting Sully like this.

Luna tilted her head, seeing the boy sighed dreamily before shoving Sam out the way and racing inside. “Outta the way! I've got to find my lover boy!”

Sam groaned from ground, a hand on her nose as Mazzy helped her to her feet. Sensing something amiss, Luna put her guitar down and padded into the house. The mating scent was stronger inside, and her ears pricked at the sudden screams of Lincoln.

She snarled. This is bad - if Lincoln is near the source of the mating scent, he's going to get injured.

Luna raced to the lounge room, seeing Lori holding Sully by the collar of his shirt with an unamused gaze. Lincoln was cowering under the couch, the mating scent guiding her to his hiding spot. 

Blinking, she poked her head under the couch and gazed at her brother in shock. The scent - how come it's coming from him? Lincoln isn't of age yet, is he?

Lincoln squeaked, flinching before Luna pined. “Sis? You're not going to do anything, are you?”

Luna pined, gently licking his nose as she moved back and turned to Sully. 

His eyes were locked on the couch as Lori carried him away, arms reaching out. “Linky-poo! I love you! You're in my heart and in my soul!”

“You're going to literally be in our dumpster in a literal minute.” Lori growled, tossing Sully outside as feminine screaming filled the air.

Luna pined, feeling Lincoln cling to her as Sam and Mazzy walked up.

“Whoa, baby! This sure is one insane stank!” Mazzy gripped her nose, stepping away from Lincoln. “Dude! Band managers do NOT smell like petting zoos!”

Lincoln shifted against Luna, with the feral girl smiling as Sam and Mazzy acted as expected. She nudged the lad, showing him her band mates as Sam held a tissue to her nose. 

He sighed, moving to Mazzy. “Sorry, guys. I was scared it'll be school all over again.”

Mazzy scoffed. “Well, you're safe here. You've got an aro-ace and purebreed lesbian here.”

A handful of chips hit the girl, with the pair turning to Sam as she glared at them. “For the last time, Mazzy, stop calling me a purebreed lesbian!”

Luna chuckled, turning her head to Lincoln as he rushed into an embrace with Mazzy - the drummer turned her head to Luna with a confused sound leaving her. It's a good thing Lincoln has us around - if he's producing a mating scent for no reason, he needs all the help he can get.

He had been dreading this all night - as much as Lincoln had protested, his parents insisted he continue going to school. Lori had given him a number of perfumes in an effort to fend off the scent, but the eyes locked on him on the bus indicated it wasn't working.

“Oh boy. What do I do? What do I do?” Lincoln raced off the bus as girls lunged for him, sliding through the open doors of the school and scanning the halls.

The faint calls of the girls from the bus made him gasp, and Lincoln raced into the nearest room before they arrived. The door slamming behind him, he leaned against it and sighed in relief.

“Um, Lincoln?” The boy glanced up to see the Action News Team staring at him in confusion.

Lincoln's eyes fell onto Stella, who blinked and tilted her head as the others covered their noses. Oh no. The one time where I wish Stella wasn't a girl…

She wandered over, with Lincoln shivering as Liam got in between them.

The country lad waved his arms. “Whoa there, Stella! What's the ruckus? Lincoln's got a stench that'd knock a buzzard off a gut wagon, and that’s sayin’ somethin’ from me!”

Stella barely responded to him, reaching over Liam's head and gently cupping Lincoln's cheek. “Are you alright, Linky? You look pretty scared.”

Lincoln blinked, a faint blush dusting his face. This is surprisingly nice - why is Stella more gentle than the others?

He shivered, his mind locking on the nickname as girl's screamed outside the door. “Oh no. Please no. Not you too.”

Stella stepped back, with Lincoln blinking and seeing her shift back but keeping a hand on his shoulder. “It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not like the others.”

Zach opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Clyde putting a hand over his mouth. Liam got out of the position he was in, staring in amazement as Stella rubbed Lincoln's shoulder. Loud thumps hit the door, but a shrill scream soon took over as the door opened slowly. 

Lucy stood with her hands on her hips, a smirk resting on her lips. “I'm glad I sensed something amiss. It was fun to spook people who aren't acting normal.”

Stella chuckled, keeping an arm around Lincoln as he smiled.

“Thanks, Luce. But what brings you here?” Lincoln rubbed his arm, grounding himself with Stella's touch.

“Simple. I sensed your distress, and thought I'd come help.” Lucy shrugged with a monotone chuckle, with the other boys staring at her as Lincoln smiled.

The boy gave her a hug, feeling a confused heat from Stella's eyes. “Seems like your teleporting is improving. But, you'd better get back to school.”

Lucy froze in his arms, with the lad stepping back as she vanished in a puff of smoke.

Stella turned to him, fighting and failing to suppress a lick of her lips. “I have a bit of a bad feeling about this… even if it's hard to feel bad around you, cutie.” She turned away with a blush.

Lincoln noticed this as they made final preparations for the Action News broadcast, his mind wandering as he got ready. Stella is definitely affected, but how come she's acting normally? And why is she making me feel this way? 

With the camera being adjusted, Lincoln shot a small smile to Stella as his face flushed before composing himself.

Luna sat on Sam's motorcycle, eyes darting around the school as Sam pulled up. The feral girl shivered as she stared at the vehicle that sat near the building. 

Red and blue lights flashed as Sam put an arm on Luna's shoulders, nodding as the black and white car stayed silent. “You're okay, Lunes. It won't hurt you.”

Wailing filled the air, with Luna racing inside to get away from the sharp noise that forced her ears to ring. She had heard Sam calling to her, but fear overtook her. Skidding to a stop, Luna found people in strange blue clothing wandering around the room. It was quieter inside, but there was still a tension in the air much stronger than outside. Her eyes scanned the room, seeing a young dark-skinned kit crying in the corner as the strange people gathered around a spot on the other side.

Could this have something to do with the accident Lori was talking about? Luna whined, padding to the kit and nudging her gently.

The kit looked up from her stuffed giraffe, brown eyes trembling. “Lisa's not okay, is she? That shaking was scary…”

Pining, Luna licked the kit's face and nudged her as Sam rushed in behind another set of strange people. Moving away from the kit, she wandered over to where Lisa was laying and sniffed her.

Weird. She has a faint mating scent, but she is nowhere near ready for that. Luna stepped back as a second scent hit her, turning towards the other room as one of the strangers approached her. Whose scent is this?

She started padding away, hearing the paw-steps of the stranger behind her as she followed the scent trail. Luna paused as her eyes met a pack of kits, with one off to the side. The scent trail pointed directly to the kit, who seemed less distressed than the other kits.

“Um, miss? Where are you going?” Luna ignored the voice behind her, stalking closer to the kit with a white lab coat as she picked up part of the mating scent on his yellow-striped sweater.

Her eyes widened, locking square on the kit's eyes under his glasses. That kit… That must be the one who's been after Lisa!

The kit glared at her. “And what do you want?”

Luna snarled, lunging at him and pinning him down on the ground. His black mane was ruffled as he gasped, his brown shoes scuffing the floor as he fell. The blue pants irritated her arms, but Luna was focused on growling at the kit.

“David? Why did you hurt Lisa?” Luna glanced back to see the same kit from before standing nearby, the giraffe clutched in her arms.

The stranger glared down at the boy, who continued to squirm despite Luna's continued growling. “Young man, I believe you have some explaining to do. Miss, you can leave him with me.”

Luna nodded, giving a final snap before heading over to the female kit. She whined as the kit hid her cyan shirt and yellow shorts behind her toy.

“I'm scared…” The kit moved to Luna, who held her arms out for a hug as Sam walked in.

The blonde rocker sighed, shaking her head. “Lunes, I'm going to head up to the hospital with Lisa. The paramedics want to have her looked over before she goes home to rest. I've asked Lori to come down to get you.” Her eye drifted to the kit in Luna's arms. “I think you should take Lisa's friend with you - she needs some support.”

Luna scooped the kit into her arms as she stood on her hind legs, nodding as Sam turned back to the crowd around Lisa.

Lincoln panted as he cowered in the janitor’s closet, hiding behind the large yellow bucket as girls raced passed the closed door. He gulped as quietly as he could, shaking as he gazed at his bag.

“This is getting worse…” He blinked as the door opened, clutching the bag closer to his chest as footsteps reached him.

His eyes clamped shut as he curled in on himself, the footsteps coming closer. Lincoln gulped, shaking as the steps drew closer.

“Linky? You here? The others are looking for you.” Opening his eyes, Lincoln saw Stella kneeling in front of him. “Hey there, Linky.”

Lincoln stayed rigid with his bag against his chest, his heart hammering in his chest. “Hey, Stella. I'm glad it's just you.”

The sole girl of the Action News Team beamed, holding up a bag with white hair.

“I managed to sneak a hair sample from you - believe it or not, being unnaturally attracted to you has its perks - and did some looking into what's going on.” Stella slipped the bag back into her pocket, shuffling forward. “It looks like it might wear off on its own, but I think I can find a way to help it along.”

Lincoln blinked, his eyes locked onto Stella's brown eyes. Stella's awesome… She's even coping with her leg pain without her crutch at the moment. Oh, what am I doing?!

Lincoln sighed, looking away as he let go of his bag and shuffled towards her. Stella responded by wrapping an arm around him, resting her forehead against his with a soft sigh.

The boy shuddered. “S-Stella?”

“Sorry, Linky. All I want is to be close to you. I want you to be happy, Linky, and the only way I can see that happening is to do my best to keep all the other girls away and keep myself under control.” The girl sighed again, a smile forming on her lips as she carefully stood up again.

Lincoln rose to his feet, helping Stella to regain her balance. His eyes glistened with hope, with the girl chuckling before her eyes widened.

“Stella?”

“I have an idea…” Lunging forward and gripping his shirt, Stella pressed her lips against his.

Lincoln struggled, managing to get Stella off of him before backing away. “Oh no.”

She shook her head. “Sorry, I lost myself there for a moment. Get the others to sneak you out - I need to run a test or two. I think I have a way to fix this, but I just need to test it…”

Lincoln nodded, turning to see an air vent and smiling. “Actually, I have my own way out. Get the others to meet me outside - I might be able to get out of here another way.”

Stella nodded, waiting by the door as Lincoln crawled into the vent before stepping out. The boy crawled along, hearing the giggles of the girls below him as they called out to him.

They'll rip me to shreds if I keep coming in. I'll have to convince Lori to let me stay home - as long as Mom and Dad are with Luan, they're not going to realise how bad this is. Lincoln sighed silently, continuing to crawl along and hoping no-one dared look up.

Sam sighed as she held Lisa, who purred contently as she received head scratches. The rocker had arrived back at the Loud house after Lisa was discharged, fearful the scientist Loud's cat-like behaviour would cause more problems. 

Her heart hammered in her chest. This is bad. This is bad. Ohboyohboyohboy-

The door opened to reveal Lori, who blinked and tilted her head with a twitch of her ear. “Sam? You literally know you don't need to literally knock, right?”

Sam opened her mouth to speak, slamming it shut again with a clicking of her teeth. Lisa mewed from her arms, with Lori glancing down and tilting her head.

She chuffed, taking Lisa in her arms before refocusing on Sam. “I literally guess that jerk literally had something to literally do with this.”

Sam nodded, shaking as she wrapped her arms around herself. Lori put her tail against Sam's back, guiding her in as Luna waved from the couch. 

Lisa's friend sat beside her, eyes wide as she stared at Lisa and held her toy close. “Lisa? Are you okay?”

Lori sighed as she sat on the floor, allowing the girl to see her friend as Sam sat beside Luna and pulled her into a hug. The feral girl blinked, her eyes flicking to her girlfriend before she adjusted herself and purred.

Sam rested her head on Luna's and turned to Lori. “Sorry…”

Lori chuffed. “Literally what are you literally sorry for?”

“She's been made into a cat.” Sam winced, feeling her throat tightening as if closing over.

Luna whimpered, shifting in Sam's arms as if reassuring her. The rocker sighed, her shaking calming as her body absorbed Luna's body heat.

Lori's ear twitched as Mazzy burst through the door, holding Lincoln close to her as girls squealed outside. “Literally what is going on?”

“Is Lisa doing her science thing?” Mazzy gasped when she saw Lisa in Lori's arms, turning to Sam. “Who did that?!”

Lincoln moved to Lori's side, his gaze flicking between his sister and the young girl on the couch. “We're doomed, aren't we? I mean, Stella has an idea, but she's affected too.”

Mazzy hit him upside the head, with Sam chuckling at the scene. “Dude, chill. I just wanna know who I'm bashing for hurting my favourite manager and his sister.”

Sam sighed. “David…” Her throat ached, with Luna licking her face before moving to Lincoln's side.

Lisa hissed at the mention of the boy, with Lori growling as her eyes narrowed into slits. “He literally better be punished.”

“Police arrested him.” Sam shook her head, getting up and deciding to head upstairs.

Her heart hammered against her chest as she headed for the bathroom, a faint buzzing in her ears as she went. Opening the door, she moved to the sink and splashed her face before taking a breath.

The buzzing had faded, but her heart hadn't slowed. “Dang it…”

A whine made Sam jump, her eye locking on Luna as she stood at the door. The feral girl slowly stepped forward, nudging her girlfriend's cheek and moving back to gaze into her eye.

“Small attack. Sometimes get them after a big scare.” Sam shook, sitting on the floor as Luna dropped onto all fours and laid in her lap. “Bad one…”

“It's not your fault. You looked after Lisa.” The pair looked up to see the child from downstairs, with Lincoln standing beside her.

Lincoln smiled, nodding to Sam. “Darcy wanted to come see you - I'm going to bed while Mazzy does some sort of patrol around the house. Don't ask.”

Darcy nodded, walking in and sitting beside Sam as Luna rested her head on her lap. “Thank you, Sam. You're awesome.”

They sat in silence for a while, Darcy and Sam petting Luna as they rested…

Lincoln opened his eyes to see a smirking girl looming over him. He gasped, struggling against ropes tied around him.

“Hi there, Linky. Good to see you, my cutie pie…” The boy shivered as he locked eyes with Girl Jordan, who smirked as she played with her light brown braid.

“J-Jordan?”

The girl stepped back, spinning a key around her finger as she kept an eye on Lincoln. She was wearing a black ninja costume, which made the boy gulp nervously.

“Oh yeah, Linky. And now you're all mine…”

“Oh no he isn't!” The door slammed against the wall, revealing Mazzy dripping from the sudden rainstorm.

Lincoln beamed, attempting to wriggle out of his bindings as Girl Jordan huffed and turned around. Mazzy shook her head before stomping in, cracking her knuckles as she moved forward.

“Leave. Him. ALONE!” Mazzy lunged forward, with Lincoln toppling over and moving like a worm to get away from the fight.

He panted from fear, managing to reach the door and spotting a doggy door at his level. “Yes!”

Lincoln slipped out with some difficulty, his eyes widening as he saw a large group of girls standing outside. They squealed in delight, darting forward before a body loomed over him and stopped them. 

Lincoln gulped, but soon settled when he heard growling above him. “Luna!”

The girls stepped back, murmuring amongst themselves as they kept their eyes on Lincoln as if they were Luna and he was a dangling piece of bacon. Luna snapped at any who stepped too close, a blast of orange above her making Lincoln blink.

“Luna? What was that?” Lincoln heard another squirting blast, with his sister shifting and beginning to gnaw on his restraints.

Stella paused beside them, pointing a water gun at the approaching girls. “Flip’s gonna get in a lot of trouble with the FDA, but I guess it works out for us.”

More shots fired, with Lincoln watching as Luna licked her lips the second she finished biting through the rope. Her eyes trailed the orange, but she shook it off before moving in front of the boy.

Lincoln blinked once. Twice. “Is that cheese?”

As more shots fired, Stella winced at the shrieks of the approaching girls. “Specifically Flip's nacho cheese. I got Lori to grab a barrel for Lisa, and we'll have to dunk you once we get outta here.”

Lincoln shuddered, chuckling at Luna's brief lick to his cheek as Mazzy stormed back out with a second water gun. She hollered a war cry, with multiple blasts leaving her weapon. A motorcycle engine filled the air as Stella, Lincoln and Luna stared in confusion at Mazzy - she had managed to take out half the crowd and caked herself in cheese.

“All in favour of leaving Mazzy to her devices?”

Stella raised a hand. “Aye.”

Luna barked, tilting her head as more war cries echoed.

Lucy shook her head as Lisa pounded the keys of her calculator, ignoring the endless laughter from Lincoln as Lori, Luna, Lana and a canine Lynn licked the cheese off him. The joy radiating from the group was a welcome change for Lucy, but her scientist sister held a grey aura over her.

“Lisa? Are you alright?” Lucy ignored the jolt from Lisa, waiting for the fear to settle before putting a hand on her shoulder.

Lisa shook her head. “My concerns weigh heavily upon me, Lucy. Though it may seem illogical, I find myself apprehensive that his actions could escalate to even more dire consequences than those already manifest. Lincoln, in the precarious grasp of those girls, was perilously close to demise, and I stood helpless, preoccupied only with trivialities such as defecating in Cliff's litterbox.”

Shuddering, Lucy shook it off and glanced to the calculator. “Calculating the statistics of death and dismemberment is not ideal, Lisa. David always had an envious streak in his aura. What he did was his fault, not yours.”

Lisa stayed silent, glancing over to Lincoln as most of his face and head were cleared of cheese.

Lucy moved in front of Lisa. “Sigh. Maybe you should take some time to step back from science, just for a little while.” The last part was hastily added when Lisa's aura spiked from fear. “Maybe take time to be a four-year-old?”

Lisa mumbled to herself, wandering away as Lucy shook her head. Sam and Stella wandered into the living room, blinking at the scene before the rocker moved to the magical Loud's side. Stella moved to Lincoln with a faint blush, laughing at the scene as Lynn began wriggling as if wagging a tail.

Sam sat beside Lucy, placing a hand on her shoulder as she turned to see her better. “Not a bad idea, but I think there'll be some new rules after this. I'm sure Mr and Mrs Loud will think of something.”

“Sigh, I hope so.” Lucy turned to Sam, soaking in the older girl's gentle but conflicted aura. “Lisa is suffering, but her aura is out of tune with her soul.”

Sam hummed, turning as Lincoln stood up and stared at the group still licking him. He turned to Stella with a blush, smiling warmly as he held in laughter.

A knowing smirk rested on Sam's lips. “At least one of us had a happy ending, even if he'll stink of cheese for the next week.”

Lucy giggled. “What is it about Flip’s cheese that drives animals so wild?”

“Who knows?” Sam shrugged.

Lucy glanced up to see Lisa gazing forlornly at the scene, soon turning away and heading towards her bedroom. I'll find out later. For now, I better make sure Lincoln doesn't die of laughter from this cheese licking…