Shrunk with the Louds - Lost Chapter #1

(Goomba)

“Next on ClothesLine: Fashion Hotline...Margie gets a call and makes haste to settle a problem on plaid short shorts! What new clothes will she suggest next?”

“Ugh, I hope she put goes for skinny jeans this time. Overalls literally aren’t the most pleasant to the fashionable eye.”

“I totes agree. Of course there’s the issue with color, but knowing her she probably has it handled.”

Everyone in the Loud house was getting pretty fired up for next week and had great justification for it. How could anyone say that the upcoming summer vacation was a bad thing after all? Lisa maybe, but to everyone else it was all swimsuits and no books. Lori and Leni were just two of the family members getting in some early activities, and for now they chose to relax a bit and watch a relatively new show that quickly caught their interest. Known as “ClothesLine: Fashion Hotline”, it was about an expert fashionista named Margie and her team of makeup and clothes artists in their small office taking in calls on people that look absolutely horrid in style and outfits those particular people into better clothes. Most of the siblings in the house call it cheesy, but for Lori and Leni it struck all of the right points to hook them in. It was only in the first few episodes, but from the gossip Leni heard it was to get really good down the line. They usually went for the Dream Boat, but this new show will fill them in just as well.

“Leni...you’re...choking me here...”

Leni looked down at her hands to see the shrunken boy almost in a choke hold as he was wrapped in her fingers.

“Oops, sorry Brian. Got a little excited there.”

She loosened her grip on him to let the tiny boy breathe. Leni insisted that he watch the show with her in case she got any inspirations for future ideas for clothes she could make for him, and with him being as small as he was it really was a challenge. Brian couldn’t blame her though, it made her think outside the box in making clothes, and if there was anything Leni knew that didn’t get forgotten two seconds later it was fashion sense. As she was the only one that knew about him with the skills to make miniature clothes, she was his main source of new clothes. She was special and she knew her craft.

As Lori and Leni continued watching their show, Leni’s grip started to get tight again. Her pink fingernails even began to dig slightly into his skin from excitement, but before Brian could call her out again she loosened up.

“Oh...em...gosh, that pair of shorts would be totes perfect on you Brian! Do you agree?”

“Well...it’s unique I’ll give it that.” Brian replied as he saw Margie on the show outfit the client with some fancy shorts. Leni quickly took out her phone and snapped a photo of the TV screen for some insight later.

“If I know Leni, she knows what she’s doing.” Lori stated. “Going to go for a height reference too sis?”

Leni looked at Lori with wide eyes.

“Wow, that’s exactly what I was going to do next! Are you some sort of psychic?! Quick, what am I thinking of right now?!”

“Now’s not the time Leni.” Lori replied. Even though she lacked major insight in many areas, Leni understood Lori as she got out her phone and aimed the camera at her and Brian before snapping it. She smiled before looking to see the results only to suddenly frown.

“Eeeek, my nail polish is fading off! I can’t have a good photo with this travesty!”

“Leni, you just applied a new coat this morning. It can’t be fading that easily.” Lori replied.

“Of course it is! Look!” Leni exclaimed as she showed her free hand to her big sister. Lori’s face didn’t change.

“Still appears fine to me. Nothing wrong on this front.”

“But there is bare spots! I know it when I see it!” Leni replied. “Brian, back me up here!”

“How should I know about that sort of profession when I’m not even interested?!” Brian answered. Leni didn’t listen as she thrust her other hand in front of Brian’s face, showing her bright pink fingernails before him. He had to admit that she did a fairly good job with the painting as he could see the bright light reflect off of them with a certain shine, reminding him of the times he had to do both Lori’s and Lucy’s fingernails a few times. He really got messy over his entire body back then and those were times he didn’t want to revisit. Wanting to not let Leni down, he took one final scan over her large pink fingernails in front of him and that’s when he noticed them. Lori may have a keen eye for some concepts, but she easily missed the spots he was looking at. He set a hand on one of them, feeling the hardness of how Leni handled her fingernails, and pulled himself up closer for a better sight. His eyes weren’t fooling him, and they were all over the edges of a few of them. He felt over the spots of the nails one final time before getting back to the others.

“Hate to break it to you Lori, but I do see some bare spots.”

“See Lori, I was right the entire time!” Leni replied. “Oh man, I need to apply another coat right now!”

Leni set Brian on the couch next to Lori before speeding up the stairs in a hurry. Brian gazed up at Lori’s huge figure.

“I guess people have different points of eyesight huh?” Brian said.

“Actually Brian, I did notice the spots.” Lori explained. “I didn’t think they were that big of a deal so I didn’t bring them up. All of us have different opinions on subjects you know.”

Before Brian could ask Lori more about it, Lynn came charging down the stairs with a surge of excitement and speed as her feet made deep impacts on the stairs. Her eyes scanned the room like a predator before her eyes set on their target, making her form a huge grin.

Lynn hastily made her way back up to her room with Brian in her hands, and since Lucy was out in the cemetery for the day Lynn and Brian had the room to themselves. Lynn wasn’t particularly careful with Brian as her grip on him was pretty tight which wasn’t uncommon for the girl. He did have moments with Lynn on occasion, since he is her number one motocross partner, but if he had to choose someone to look out for him she would be one of the last ones. She usually expects everyone to act one hundred ten percent on all occasions, which included boys smaller that her toes, usually tiring them out in less than five minutes. Brian still cringed on occasion from the time she made him try to lift up her big toe like a cement two ton weight, severely giving him backaches for the rest of the day. Whatever she wanted him for now he hoped it wouldn’t go as extreme as that day.

Brian started to get dizzy from all of the sudden movements and turned to face Lynn while in her hand.

“Geez Lynn, could you slow down a peg or two? What’s so important that you need me for?”

“It’s for something special coming up.” Lynn replied. “Let me get the flier first.”

She set Brian on her bed as she reached under it and snagged something. In a typical Lynn way, she whipped the piece of paper in front of him in full view.

“Bam! Read this bad boy and tell me what you think!”

Since it was a bit too large to read up close at his size, Brian backed up a little for a better view. The image hit his eyes and made him raise his eyebrows. The borders of the flier were covered from top to bottom in dozens of race cars, from Formula 1s to Classic Dragsters, with exhaust and smoke coming from their back ends as their tires screeched across the ground. Even though it screamed Lana in his mind, at the top of the design was the recognizable checkered flag used in typical racing fashions. He had to give credit to the designers, it really gave some eye candy to people who were heavy duty mechanics and racing junkies.

That wasn’t the most interesting part though. The words inside the borders were the main attraction, and Brian took the time to read them.

“Do you have what it takes to win the biggest racing event in Royal Woods’ history? Have you always wanted to be like a winner of the Indy 500? We got the game for you, so join in the great Royal Woods Downhill Jam this weekend! Create your own go kart and ride down the biggest hill to victory, and the winner gets a years worth of protein shakes just like the racer you are! The event starts this weekend, so what are you waiting for? Sign up and leave your competitors in the dust!”

Once he got done reading the whole flier, Brian looked back up to Lynn’s huge face as she set the paper down.

“So you want me to tag along with you just like motocross practice? Sounds very similar to that.”

“Hey, I can’t go racing without my tiny navigator at my side.” Lynn responded as she poked Brian’s belly with one of her fingers. It tickled him for a moment before he spoke up again.

“And I suppose you already have some sort of small kart for the competition?”

“Well...not yet, but I already know someone that could make one in a jiffy. She can’t refuse someone like me.”

“It’s Lana isn’t it?” Brian asked with a slight sarcastic face. Lynn weakly chuckled as the shrunken boy rolled his eyes. She really wanted to go through with the competing in the race, and she doesn’t easily take no for an answer. Whatever she would do to convince Lana, Brian didn’t want to know.

“Well, I guess that issue is accounted for, but you do know that I’m not at all interested in protein shakes.”

“I don’t think you have a choice my shrunken friend.” Lynn answered with a slight smug tone. “Remember that you owe me?”

Brian almost went stiff from those words. He didn’t want to be reminded of those smelly fumes from inside Lynn’s shoe after that accident, and he had to be given to Lucy after that point. Lynn had the tenacity to remember something as heinous as that moment to someone like him and not show any amount of regret. She was a cold hearted girl at points, and to make things even worse she did say at the time that he owed her for giving him to Lucy, and Lynn was known to hold promises over people’s heads for extended periods of time. She would never let go of something once those words hit her ears, something that truly made Lynn a beast to handle.

“...I guess I can’t argue with that point. As much as I’m still uncertain about it, I’ll join up with you. Besides, I am your navigator under the helmet after all.”

“I knew you couldn’t say no to racing with me.” Lynn replied. “Acceptance noogie!”

To hammer the point in, Lynn snatched Brian into her grasp again and used one of her fingers to rub Brian’s head and ruffle his hair in every direction. She likewise had him bound tightly as his eyes squinted from the impacts of her finger against his head. He could even feel her fingernail at points digging into his cranium, while even though it didn’t hurt it still felt like a light drill screwing him in. Lynn had her ways of getting a point across even if they were a bit painful.

Surprisingly, after she was finished, Brian smiled and chuckled. The noogie was a bit painful, but it was the idea behind the motion that Brian really liked.

“There’s the attitude I expect from an expert navigator like you.” Lynn replied. “All we need now is for Lana to make our racing kart.”

They met up with Lana in the house’s garage.

“So you are telling me that you need me to fix you up a racing car in time for a downhill racing competition this weekend?” Lana asked the two with a wrench in her hand.

“That’s what I’m asking you for.” Lynn said with Brian still in her hand. “Do you want a portion of the winning protein shakes or not?”

Hops popped out of Lana’s hat before frowning and shaking his head.

“I’m not exactly interested in that type of preposition.” Lana said. “How about I give you MY interest in demands and maybe we can work something out.”

“But what else would you want from us outside of a cut of the winnings?” Brian asked. Lana looked up at her frog friend and exchanged smiles with him before getting back to the other two.

“Just one request……I want in.”

“You’re saying that you want to join in the kart and race with us?” Lynn asked. Lana put out a valorous smile and nodded.

“As someone who wants to spruce up the famous Bobby Fletcher’s race car when she gets older,  learning to get behind the wheel and experience the rushing wind is just one of those steps needed to make that dream happen. Besides, I can outfit the kart to handle both of us with a little extra work, right Hops?”

The cheery frog sitting on her hat croaked happily and licked his eyes in excitement. As much of a gross picture that was Brian brushed it off and gazed back up to Lynn’s huge face.

“I can’t see why we shouldn’t let her tag along. She does know her craft with mechanics after all.”

“I was thinking the same thing little guy.” Lynn replied before getting back to Lana. “Okay Lana you’re in, but know that when we win the prize the protein shakes go to me. Got it?”

“As if I cared about buckets of sludge like that.” Lana replied. “You got yourself a partner Lynn.”

“Thanks Lana, it really means a lot.” Lynn answered as the two girls shook hands. Because he didn’t want to be left out, Hops shot out his tongue and let Brian grab hold of it in their own makeshift handshake.

With everything now set in motion and Lana dedicating the next few days to making the kart on time, Lynn and Brian had a lot of time on their hands. Of course Brian already had a full schedule with over a dozen or so activities to do with the Loud kids since so many of them wanted to do as much as possible with someone a fraction of their size. There was Lola with her fancy tea parties and her special “dolly”, Lincoln with his friendly times of comics and video games, Luan with her practicing for her next act and her “Dinky Shrinky”, and even Lily and her playful stacking blocks. Brian was basically booked for a LONG tiring weekend and didn’t even get to points with Lynn and the kart racing event coming up.

But Lynn was no quitter for her navigator slacking off with the others.

In the rare chances that Brian finally got some free time, Lynn would immediately pull him out of it for some early workouts. He asked why these were necessary when he would be under her helmet the entire time during the race, but Lynn insisted that they were required for good racing luck. If there was another thing Lynn was known for among the family it was her superfluous superstitions, and Brian experienced them first hand. There was even one time where Lynn forced him to stay near the backside of her helmet just to have better luck during a certain motocross race, which almost cost Brian the safety of no free falling to his demise below. Whatever got her deluged this time wouldn’t be pretty.

Lynn held Brian in her hands until they made it to the backyard. She set Brian on the ground among the grass and looked down at him, almost making him look like a bug Lana wouldn’t hesitate to eat. To Brian, Lynn was basically a titan from the size she appeared to him, which she didn’t mind but really made her appreciate the sort of power that came with it.

“Lynn, you do realize that I have to give an opinion on a new music piece for Luna soon? She won’t like it if I miss out and bail on her.” Brian said.

“She can wait. I have to keep the good karma rolling for this weekend’s downhill race so luck turns in our favor!” Lynn replied. “I’ve been feeling some bad vibes of luck cloud over our heads which require a tip of the ol’ horseshoe. With these quick workouts I’m sure it will flow in our direction for the better.”

“Okay, I don’t know who you have been listening to, but that’s a really stupid outlook to-”

Lynn put a finger over his mouth to get him to stop talking, which at his size was his entire face.

“Unh, unh, unh, who’s the sports expert here? Trust me, once we appease the random numbers you will thank me later.”

She withdrew her finger as Brian wasn’t feeling what she was saying. Knowing Lynn, she probably had something to break his body into a pretzel.

“First off, we need to pump up those twigs for your legs. You may be among the bugs Brian, but that doesn’t mean you have to be one, and even then they could probably run faster than you. Luckily ol’ Lynnsanity has the right procedure for you!”

As much as he felt insulted to be compared to bugs his size, Brian was more worried with what Lynn had planned. She picked up Brian as he watched her get on the ground before placing him near the top of the backside of her legs. She put her feet on their tips as her arms planted on the ground, her arms keeping her body up.

“Okay little guy, here’s how this is going to roll. I’m doing to work on the abs by doing push ups while you climb your way up my moving body to my head. Make it quick, for good athletes always finish in record time.”

“Wait, you want me to climb up your body and-”

“READYGETSETGO!” Lynn rushed out. Brian rolled his eyes from the sudden start as he felt Lynn already get push ups in, moving the ground he was standing on up and down in a sort of rhythm. Not wanting to upset Lynn, which he knew was never a good idea around her, he took his chance and ran up the back of the sports juggernaut. Her push ups made his footing uneven as her body went up and down, making it more difficult than regular running, and she did it at a relatively fast speed for a thirteen year old. He had to grab her jersey at points so he wouldn’t fall off, and even then Lynn wasn’t making it easy at any point. He trudged upwards across her constantly moving back, holding in his lunch as best as he could from all of the motions she was doing, as he gripped her shirt when necessary and pulled himself closer and closer. Her back was just the easy part however, as he also needed to find a way up her constantly waving hair.

“Oh yeah, keep it going Lynn. Feel the burn and work it!”

The boy heard Lynn talk to herself for motivation as he turned to face the gauntlet of hair before him. This was where Lynn’s push ups reached a sort of apex, with motions of vertical movements bobbing higher than her back, giving Brian more cases of motion sickness. He cringed for a bit and toughened up somewhat before taking hold of a strand of moving hair. It lead up to her waving ponytail, and just by looking at it Brian knew it would be a hassle to trek across. He took hold of the hair strand and waited for some reasonable footing before hoisting himself up and dedicating his body to holding onto the strand and not letting go. With Lynn’s push ups giving active movement everywhere, Brian couldn’t rush it too quickly and played it safe. He scooted up at an average pace and dedicated the rest of his strength to holding on for dear life. He waved back and forth a few times, but he didn’t want to look down. The last thing he needed other than motion sickness was bringing up his acrophobia so he did his best and just kept looking up.

It was a challenge, but his persistence payed off as he clutched the top of the ponytail and elevated himself up to the hairy grounds of Lynn’s head. He wasn’t out of the woods yet, for he had to make it across her ponytail to the tip of her head while it was moving erratically. It was like he was atop a moving airplane being flown by a klutzy pilot. Already feeling the motions from Lynn’s push ups, Brian wanted this tiring trial to end and moved his tiny legs through the thickness of her swaying hair. He had to hold some strands from the gravity changes, but unlike earlier there was way more to take hold of making the trek slightly easier until he reached the bottleneck; the braid holding the ponytail together. Brian gulped as he stared at the elastic band before him. Nothing to grip, and a straight fall below if he stumbles. The only way to get across the bridge of death would be to rush it and not look down, and that’s what Brian was planning on. As Lynn pushed her body downwards Brian knew this was his chance, so in a mad dash he ran like he just saw a ghost and made it across gripping her hair the instant he had the chance. With the major worry gone, Brian took his time to make it toward the tip of her moving head, and once he did so he let out a massive breath of fresh air. His trial was over.

He felt Lynn slow to a stop and carefully get back to her feet before a giant hand appeared above him. It picked him up before he was face to face with Lynn and her massive eyes staring at him.

“I could feel you make it to the tip of my head. That was a very impressive feat Brian, although I could easily do it in under half the time.”

“It was practically like...traversing over a raging bull...not that you are one.” Brian stammered as he took the time to catch his breath.

“Heh, I’ll give you that.” Lynn replied with a chuckle. “We’re not quite done with the flow of luck just yet.”

Brian’s head zipped up like he just ingested a block of sugar.

“What?! This was only the start?!”

“Of course it’s just the beginning. I’m perfectly fine so what are you complaining about?” Lynn asked as her mouth went straight and her eyes leered down at him.

“Look Lynn, I’m not the perfect athlete you are! You can’t expect me to gain muscle in a single-”

“We already spent too much time talking Brian, break time’s already over.” Lynn interrupted. Brian stood in shock at how ignorant Lynn was acting as she carried him over to an edge of the backyard sandbox and set him down on one. Lynn got on her knees and set an arm down next to him.

“This is where things get interesting. Since I would completely overpower you in the wrestling department, I’ll go with something a bit more on your level. For the next exercise, you’re going to wrestle...with one of my digits!”

“Lynn, I’m going to need some more time to relax. You can’t just force me to do something like this and-”

He never got to finish as he found himself smacked right in the kisser from Lynn’s giant index finger, tumbling him to the ground and giving him a pretty nasty concussion. He held his head and felt his face for anything, and while he didn’t feel blood at this rate he would easily get some it he took more from what Lynn just gave.

“Enhenh, you left yourself open there bucko! First rule of wrestling, always be on your toes! C’mon, I’m still up and ready to rock!”

Brian couldn’t believe how relentless Lynn was acting toward him without even giving him a chance to explain his side of everything. She could pass by as a drill sergeant with flying colors if she wanted to even if Lori fit that role more closely in his eyes. He heard horror stories of Lynn being a selfish jerk and practically ruling everything in the house with an iron fist, and now he was experiencing it first hand. Combined with his utter exhaustion, Lynn wasn’t going to let this by until he did what she wanted.

There was no backing out now. Not knowing how an actual wrestler works, he ran forward and held his arms out before grappling the finger. In a more stupid twist, Brian didn’t think he would actually get this far but nevertheless tried to the best of his ability as he tugged on Lynn’s finger. It pulled back as Brian held on and went for something different. With his strength not doing the trick, Brian went over the backside to use his weight to his advantage. Unfortunately it was as effective as his earlier tactic with no results to speak of. This was when things turned differently as Lynn’s finger bucked back and tried to lurch Brian forward, but he held on as if his life depended on it. As the events unfolded, it almost went from a wrestling match to a rodeo with the bull clearly teaching the cowboy a lesson. Lynn finally got the upper hand after half a minute of Brian clutching her finger when his strength finally faded, with one final buck forcing him off. Exhausted even further than earlier, Brian was about to throw in the towel when Lynn went for the unexpected. He only had a split second to react as Lynn’s massive hand hovered over him before slamming right over his tiny body. The impact was hard, unbeknownst to the giantess Lynn, and Brian struggled to break free.

“Hey...you’re...cheating!” Brian squeaked as the air started to leave him.

“You know me Brian, I’m not one to always play fair! Besides, now you can work those muscles into pushing me off! Let’s see if you can handle the big leagues...no pun intended!”

Lynn wasn’t aware of how dire of a situation it was for Brian. Everyone else of the family would have been more careful when handling him due to the magnitude of differences he experiences on a daily basis, but for the everyday jock of the house this was not a factor. Brian’s muscles were so inept at lifting Lynn’s hand off that it was already a lost bought. She was slowly putting more pressure on him as his life was getting squeezed out of him. If he could scream and say something he would have, but his lungs were so flattened that nothing came out. The more force that was put on him the more it felt like a mammoth steamroller pounding him across the pavement. If this was how he was going to die, being prey to the ruthless games of Lynn, he at least hoped she would tell them with the sincerest of feelings. A few tears shed from his eyes as he tried flailing his arms and legs one final time, but it was hopeless at this point. Lynn would be ending someone and she wouldn’t even know until it was too late.

It was at the very moment when the backyard door opened with Lori calmly strutting as she held her cherished cell phone. Her eyes were fixated on the screen as she texted to her friends with a smile.

“...and that was how Lana got food poisoning. Don’t remind her though, it’s literally pretty personal.” Lori said to herself before sending the text. She wanted to get it up before she took her close selfie. Today was nearly perfect in temperature, weather, and not a single cloud in the sky. With everything woven together, Lori had to capitalize on the moment and take the picture. She wasn’t the most popular selfie taker on the network, but she aimed to fix that in the future.

She strolled down the steps and held her phone out before her as she tried to get the perfect angle. As she put the camera over her face, she noticed Lynn near the sandbox with her hand blanketing over something between her fingers. Because she had the latest model it had crystal clear visuals, and once she saw who Lynn was pinning she instinctively flipped emotions.

“Lynn, what sort of sick game are you doing to Brian?!” Lori exclaimed in a freaked out manner. Lynn faced Lori, still with her hand over Brian, and didn’t quite get what she was saying.

“What am I doing? I’m finally getting that wrestling match I’ve always wanted to do with him...with some handicaps to make it fair.”

“You’re doing WHAT with his glass body?!” Lori exclaimed. “He’s not meant for games like that! Get your hand off of him NOW!”

“And lose the match? Sorry Lori, that’s not how this Lynner functions. Besides, I’m being careful with him, see?”

Lynn’s great pressure with her hand over Brian’s body finally reached it’s climax. In one final push, the two girls heard an assortment of snaps. They stood stiff, not believing what they just heard, as their eyes reflected off of each other in total fear. It would have lasted minutes if Lori didn’t act like the big sister as she ran toward Lynn and pulled her away to see the shape underneath. There he was, their own shrunken boy, but it wasn’t the greatest of sights, a rarity to the siblings when they notice him. His face was blue as his lifeless body spread out from the pressure. The lack of oxygen wasn’t the only damage done though, as his right arm and leg were flat like they were made of jello. If there was any sort of life left in him, Lori didn’t want that to leave.

“No……no!” Lori exclaimed. Tears formed in her eyes as she put forward one of her fingers to feel sort of life left in him. She didn’t like what she felt, and due to his size she couldn’t attempt any CPR without major risk.

Her head instantaneously zipped in Lynn’s direction, who was stricken with shock at what she was hearing. She was paralyzed with fear as Lori’s words ripped through her eardrums.

“Lynn, get everyone over here NOW!”

“But...how will that hel-”

“DO IT LYNN, THAT’S AN ORDER!” Lori shouted. Making her point clear, Lynn didn’t hesitate to race inside to get all of her other siblings. She could feel tears fall down her face as she zipped through the rooms and the grim realities course through her mind. This was a tragedy in progress, and it was all her fault.

All of the other Loud kids stopped what they were doing upon hearing what happened to Brian. Lori took hold of him and walked cautiously to the room that was the most logical for handling dire situations, the room of the child genius. The siblings could only watch and hope as Lisa hooked him up to a machine to track his vitals, which was pretty difficult for someone as shrunken as Brian, while she got out some medical supplies. Because she was interested in thousands of studies it also included biology and medical studies, and she had the diploma to prove it. How else could she harvest kidneys without getting into legal trouble?

Once the reports were printed out, it was revealed that his body was on the fringe in terms of health. It was incredibly lucky that Lori got him to Lisa in time, any later could have been too late. Lisa kept the machine running as it pumped the necessary medicines to keep his body from fading away, and it was a long and tedious process. Even so, the Loud siblings refused to leave his side for he was too special to them, although Lynn stayed near the back. To think it all started because of her refusal to give in when something was clearly wrong. It put a black spot on her heart as he emotions went all over the place. She didn’t want to cause any more harm, but she also didn’t want to become the next big sports loser. What was she to do? She was getting sandwiched between two pieces of sandpaper, one was not over the other. She needed more time to think on it but there was a more serious situation at hand and she didn’t want to ignore that.

They waited and waited. He had to pull through, they didn’t want to lose him.

...then his vitals started to stabilize.

“...ugh...grrrrnnn...”

Everyone fought the urge to give him the most heartfelt hug as they saw his eyes creak open. He wasn’t going to the skies above as long as they were around. He was kept on the machine for a bit longer just in case, but even then waking up was only one part of the problem. He may still be alive, but he still had a broken arm and leg that needed healing. It was thought best that he stay in Lisa’s room for the time being until then, and it would give him some time to relax after Lynn put him in the crippled state in the first place. She stayed away from him ever since but nobody really payed attention to that detail as they were too focuses on Brian’s near death. Because it was impossible to put a cast on someone so small they used a substitute; two large bandages over the arm and leg. It wasn’t the stablest solution, but it was the only option the Loud kids could come up with.

Too bad the only ones available were ones with Blarney the Dinosaur on the front.

Even though he it was required that he stayed away from everyone and let the healing do its thing it didn’t stop certain siblings from wanting to do stuff with him. Lincoln shared his experiences reading the latest comics and the ever-common Lucy popped in to get some feedback on certain poems, but one sibling went a bit further than that. She had to be extra careful as she held him to take him to her room, but once she did she didn’t hesitate to put things into action.

“Madame Mallard and Sir Gherkin, would you like a tiny bit of cherry bread? It’s fresh from the easy oven.”

A moment of silence went through the room.

“With pleasure my elegant lady. How about you dolly? Would you like a sample?”

“I would be delighted...if I could actually hold it.”

“No, no, don’t strain yourself. You’ve been through enough already, allow me.”

Lola left for a few seconds before coming back with a covered platter and removing the lid, revealing the bread of a slightly reddish tint. Even as he was injured with half of his body currently disabled, that didn’t mean Lola would allow him to skip out on her tea parties, especially since he was her special “dolly” that she didn’t want to lose. Because he was special to her, he was forced into learning etiquette table manners and fancy vocabularies just for the occasions, and while he wasn’t perfect he impressed Lola enough to always be at a tea party when she started one. She even got to show her cooking skills a few times when she brought appetizers to the table, but because he had to learn from the regal pro of the house he never spoke up about it until she asked him if he wanted any. He didn’t know how she managed to know all of these skills, including knowing some uncommon words, but she used them to her best of her ability. She was all Lola and nobody else.

She handed Brian a tiny plate with a few crumbs of the bread just for him, since a regular piece would satisfy him for weeks, before Brian noticed something different about his cup.

“Excuse me Lola, but I think you may have accidentally missed pouring tea into my cup.”

Lola’s gigantic face towered over him as she set her eyes on his cup and silently gasped.

“Dear me, you are right! A hostess never leaves out any invited guests, especially for someone as important as my precious dolly. Since I’m currently out of tea, I’ll have to make some more downstairs just for you.”

“I would be delighted.” Brian replied, trying to be as elegant as possible from what Lola taught him. She excused herself from the table and almost made her way out of the door before peeking back at him.

“You really are getting up there with all of the fancy table manners I taught you. I say you’re a little over halfway there but there’s still much you need to learn about.”

Brian broke character a little bit to speak to her about it.

“It can get pretty difficult at times.”

“We’ll work on the rough patches later.” Lola responded. “Little Leo, keep the table safe until I get back okay?”

There was a moment of silence as Lola let her stuffed animal “speak” to her before she shut the door. Brian chuckled to himself before finally getting a chance to relax as best as he could. However, it wasn’t long until the door opened up but it wasn’t Lola with a filled teapot. Immediately Brian’s content mood shifted downward as his eyes set on the one that crippled him in the first place. He was hoping he would get some time away from her for safety, but considering the amount living in the house it seemed like an impossibility.

“Oh...it’s you.” Brian said. He was holding back a remark on the prospect of her breaking his spine this time. Either something else was making him shut up or Lola’s regal lessons were getting to him in more ways than one.

“Yeah, it’s me...” Lynn answered, her tone dipping more than usual. “I was waiting to get some time alone with you.”

“It’s going to be hard after what you did to me. I’m not made of steel Lynn, you should have known that.” Brian said in a slightly aggressive manner. “Your other siblings already knew about my fragility but you were always the special case. Even Lily had a sense of dignity on occasion and I don’t usually stay around her!”

“I know what happened was all my fault.” Lynn replied. “I want to talk to you personally about that. If you can give me a chance, I’ll get to the point.”

She spoke in a way Brian never heard come from her before. When it came to Lynn, Brian was used to hearing something bold and brash with a pinch of trash talk every now and then, but if there was anything other than sympathy he wouldn’t point to her. That was one of the reasons he tended to stay away from her for his own safety, for if he were to get around her she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Still, she had a certain charm in her usual traits that got him interested in how she did with certain sports and he couldn’t ignore puppy dog eyes like she could.

“Well, since you’re actually speaking closer to reality...and I can’t deny eyes like that.”

“Thanks Brian.” Lynn answered. She walked into the room and got on her knees next to the chair Brian was sitting in. Even in all of the time he spent with the Louds, he still couldn’t believe that while he may be older than most of them they were completely gargantuan to him. He couldn’t even reach the top of Lynn’s feet he was that small, which many of the siblings couldn’t believe themselves when he was around them. Lynn was just one of those siblings that really enjoyed being the bigger one, as she yearned for pride and accomplishment that also tended to bring ire at points...like breaking someone’s bones.

“Brian, I do admit to my mistake back there. I know it was all my fault and I didn’t give you time to speak up. It’s a miracle that it didn’t become worse and I’m happy to see you still around the house but...it’s still making me sad that it was all because of me. To tell you the truth, I thought you functioned just like everyone else and I could do basically any sort of activity with you and get no consequences in return, but it wasn’t until now that I suddenly got a reality check. It punched me right in the gut, but it also reminded me just how cruel everything can be when you’re smaller than my fingers. I don’t want a repeat of what I did but I don’t want to keep ignoring you. I enjoy playing games with everyone, and I really don’t want to leave you out of it. If you can trust me again I promise I will be more careful. Please?”

“Lynn, you almost killed me.” Brian stated. “It’s going to take me a very long time before I can finally get over this. Your recklessness came back to bite you in one of the worst ways possible.”

“Is that why you have been avoiding me around the house?”

There was a complete one eighty in tones from that one sentence. Now Brian was the nervous one as he almost felt his heart stop, making Lynn look at him funny. She got her face up closer to him as the boy cringed.

“I didn’t get my eyes adjusted yesterday Brian, I have known about you avoiding me for months now. Is it because you are scared of my behavior or something? If I can confide my mistakes, you can do so too.”

Brian stuttered before coming clean.

“...well, okay, you got me there. You go around being the most bold and brash girl of the family and I didn’t want to risk the potential downfall. I just went through one of the circumstances I was hoping to avoid with you, and even then I always kept safety first. I know it was wrong to avoid you and I’m sorry for that, but I did it to keep my life intact.”

“I guess we both have something irking us then.” Lynn responded. She appeared more content now that Brian confessed as she extended a hand toward him.

“So Brian...you want to let bygones be bygones? I’ll forgive you if you could also do it to me.”

He didn’t like the concept at first, since she was the one that almost killed him, but it sounded like she spoke from the kindness of her heart. Maybe Lynn did have a conscience after all that Brian never noticed before and he was being the jerk for once. It was like she was lifting a large burden off of her back and owning up to what she did...and that was a spark of maturity in his book.

With his free hand, he reached out and grasped one of her huge fingers in a handshake.

“This may not fully turn me over yet but it’s a start...and you are just as much family as everyone else here. You’re a unique person Lynn and I need to understand you as much as you do to me.”

“Thanks Brian, it really means a lot.” Lynn answered as she withdrew her hand. “Speaking of which, and I know it’s probably the last thing you want to hear from me-”

“It’s about the downhill race coming up isn’t it?” Brian interrupted.

Brian was forced back into doing the downhill race with Lynn after some small convincing. It wasn’t as if he didn’t want to do it, but after his injury he wasn’t sure how Lynn would make it work. She was already prepared for it though and after some “safe” convincing she got Lisa to make a more sturdy cast for him. She would have it ready in time for the race, but that still left the issue about their kart. Like beforehand, Lynn had that checked off as well as Lana kept her promise and worked tirelessly to get their design built in time. She assure that it will be done by the time the big day comes as she knew what she was doing.

Even so, Lynn still had her superstitions.

To make sure luck would flow their way, Lynn insisted that Brian sleep with her in the days leading up to the race. As uneasy Brian was to doing it he did feel a bit better after Lynn confessed to him earlier, and even then Lynn slept next to Lucy so the creepy goth girl would get more time with him. After everything Lucy told and kept secret with him, she was the one that kept wanting him for herself.

After Lynn brushed her teeth and put on her pajamas, she needed to let Brian put on his. As usual in terms of his clothes they were made by none other than Leni, who already enjoyed the task of making clothes for someone of a very abnormal size, and for tonight she prepared for something very dazzling. Lynn left him inside the bathroom until he was done dressing, but once he said to her that she could come in that’s when the pajamas really gleamed in her eyes. The navy blue color mixed with the shining stars that glittered on the light really caught her interest. If there was anything that could be said about Leni’s fashion sense, it was amazing.

“Daaaaaaaaaaaang Brian, that’s a good outfit of long johns you have there.” Lynn complemented.

“I know, it really catches the eyes.” Brian said as he looked down at them. “Your sister has a great knack in knowing what to wear.”

“It’s the only major thing she’s good at. When you’ve been in this house for as long as I have you would know what I mean.” Lynn replied. With the two now ready for some shut eyes, Lynn walked p to the sink where Brian was and held a hand out for him to get on. He struggled a little with his broken arm and leg, but it wasn’t too much of a hassle as he got on. Once Lynn carefully wrapped him in her gentle fingers she carried him into her bedroom and pulled the blanket up from her bed.

“Okay, as much as I would like to get in some last minute lunges I agreed to let you take it easy for a bit. Don’t want the other side to shatter, right little guy?”

“That’s what I’m hoping for. I’m taking your word for this.” Brian replied.

“I see you’re sleeping with Lynn tonight.”

Both Lynn and Brian bolted upward as Lucy instantaneously appeared right behind them, almost making Lynn lose her grip on Brian. It wouldn’t be a moment with Brian in the house without the common Lucy appearing to show her intrigue in his tiny self.

“Err, ummm...yeah I kind of have to.” Brian answered as he tried to recover from the fright earlier. “It’s because of Lynn’s superstitions and all.”

“Hey, you’ll thank me when we win the competition and claim that sweet reward.” Lynn said. She was met with Brian looking up at her with an obvious expression.

“Don’t you mean YOUR sweet reward?”

“If you were interested in protein shakes in the first place.” Lynn replied. Brian smiled and rolled his eyes at Lynn’s response before finding himself getting poked from all angles by Lucy’s fingers. He turned his attention to her as she stared emotionless at him and gave him one more poke.

“So...fascinating…” she mumbled. With everything now set in stone, Lynn and Lucy got in their respective beds and pulled themselves under the sheets. Lynn set Brian down on the pillow next to hers as her huge eyes stared down at him.

“As much as I would like to wind down some extra steam, seeing you crippled like that tells me otherwise.” Lynn said.

“That’s probably one of the most sensible things you have ever said.” Brian remarked. With a flip of the switch the lights turned off and Brian set his head against the pillow. He could hear Lucy prepare herself as he pulled up as much blanket as he could and let his eyes shut. The sounds of a ball bouncing rang through his hearing, but Lucy explained to him when he slept in her room a couple of times that Lynn did it to help fall asleep so he had to adapt to it.

It wasn’t until much later when the dark of the night truly hit that the true troubles of Lynn’s slumber came to light. He was fast asleep atop the gigantic pillow when the honks jolted his eyes open. He knew Lucy also did it when she slept, but she always kept him wrapped in her coffin during those times which muffled the noises and helped him sleep. Tonight wasn’t the case, so now he was in full audible range of the young giantess as she sawed logs, but at the rate she went she would be chainsawing the logs instead. Brian tried plugging his ears with the blanket but it worked as good as tissue paper, and trying to tune out the noise was just as unsuccessful. He didn’t think he would recall back to somewhat of a throwaway line from Lincoln where he expressed his frustration over Lynn’s snoring...and now he understood what he meant completely.

His next idea would be to move and hope to block out the noise from a less troublesome location but then he came into the second problem. Not only was Lynn’s snoring ringing through his ears but the air she was pulling in came in droves. It was almost like he was experiencing a lesser hurricane, although if it was Luan she would just say the cause of blowing winds were trees sneezing. Once he stood up he immediately felt the suction of the snores as he held on to the pillow for safety, if he got off of it he wouldn’t have to worry about them. He trudged while holding on but he didn’t expect the next one to be as strong as he thought.

The wind started to pick up around him.

“Oh no...” Brian said to himself. Lynn then let loose the big one as she inhaled much more air and gave off a deafening snore through Brian’s eardrums. Gripping the pillow wouldn’t let him get by this one as his hands slipped and sent him clean through the air into the gaping maw of Lynn. The air around him went humid as it went darker than the outside but that was the least of Brian’s worries. His heart pumped rapidly as he held out for anything that would save him from becoming Lynn’s midnight snack, which luckily turned in his favor as he grabbed something soft and slimy. It was short lived though, as soon his entire body got stuck to the sticky surface and combined with the darkness he had no idea where he ended up.

“Hey Lynn...Lynn! Wake up! I’m stuck!”

His exclamations went unheard as Lynn’s intense snoring rang everywhere and Lucy obviously couldn’t hear from wherever he was at now.

“No...I can’t go out like this.” Brian thought as his mind raced. Even though he couldn’t see anything around him, he could easily hear the deep snoring Lynn was still doing, now amplified to louder pitches now that he was inside her. It made it difficult to think and try to pick out where he ended up but the warm winds of Lynn’s breath pushing out did give him a relaxing vibe. It was hard, but after his eyes adapted he was able to faintly pick out the white teeth around him and the colossal tongue below him. While it gave him a relief that he didn’t fall into her stomach it was far from a blessing as he determined that he must have landed on her uvula and was completely stuck to it. Just one slide down off and it would be the end for him but with the inability to move he was rather limited in what he could do. If Lisa were here she could figure it out in a-

It came to him like a slap to the face.

To think that listening to Lisa ramble about unnecessary subjects would give him the idea of escape. As her tiny guinea pig when she did various tests and experiments on him, she tended to spill out some random facts when jotting notes down to “keep her scientific mind running.” It just so happened that one fact she said to herself, in a rather normal tone since Brian was the only other one in the room, was a rather throwaway statement in biology. It was about the seemingly useless hanging tag of flesh in the back of the mouth and how it safeguarded food from heading up the nasal cavity, but she also put out the lesser known secondary function. While old cartoons depict it as nothing more than a makeshift punching bag, in reality it’s actually not advised to do so for one simple reason…

If there was any hope of getting out of Lynn’s mouth he had to go for it. It would come at the expense of harming her, but an injury was nothing compared to having a life taken. Because one of his legs were broken he had to use the other and he had to do it quick before he slipped off. After cautiously turning around to face the “bag” before him he reeled back his functional leg and swung it right into the slimy mass. He heard Lynn’s snoring stutter a little, indicating that the bodily function was working as he expected, but even then it wasn’t enough. Losing even more time as he slid further off, he went back and kicked it again. Her breathing stuttered for a second time, but it wasn’t the reaction he wanted. Almost sliding completely off, he went all out one final time as he kicked and kicked the uvula, making Lynn emit weird noises. There was some gurgling sounds from under his as his grip finally failed him, sending him toward the depths of Lynn’s throat. However, those last few kicks were the final pushes he needed as he didn’t fall into the confines of her stomach like he feared. Instead, he found himself submerged in stinky bile before suddenly launching forward as if he was just shot out of a cannon. He hit a soft surface on his front, missing his broken arm and legs by inches, as he picked himself up. Dazed, but still alive, he had made it out of Lynn’s system.

As he came to he heard Lynn grumble before her huge face loomed over the side of her bed to the ground below. It was still pretty dark in the room but he could pick her out from above him. She had tired eyes at first, but once she saw Brian all disgusted and gross she flipped out.

“What were you doing in my mouth?!” Lynn exclaimed. It wasn’t too loud to stir the rest of the house, but it did wake her roommate Lucy from her slumber. He could hear her eerily “rise” from her bed before she looked in Lynn’s direction.

“Ugh, what’s going on Lynn? I yearn for the dark normally but even I need to lay rest to the eyes.” Lucy dishearteningly said. She was met with Lynn pointing right at the shrunken kid on the floor.

“Little Brian here thought it would be pretty funny to take a vacation in ol’ Lynn’s mouth! He fails to realize that I’m not a personal playground by any means!”

He didn’t take her explanation well.

“Well excuuuuuuuuuse me for accidentally getting sucked in there from your ultra loud snoring! I practically went weightless as my hearing was taken up by your sawing logs!”

He expected Lynn to retort back, in fact it would be pretty “Lynn” for her to do so. However, she went silent instead before suddenly speaking up.

“Oh...so that’s what went wrong? Guess I packed up so much muscle that even my breathing packs a punch!”

“I don’t think that’s the main issue here.” Lucy replied. Lynn turned her gaze to Lucy for a second before going back to Brian and rolling her eyes.

“Okay sheesh, I’ll put him on the drawer instead so this doesn’t happen again. Why do you have to be so picky?”

“I was going to request something similar you know.” Brian spoke up. Lynn huffed before temporarily getting out of her bed and picking him up. She set him on the drawer between the two beds before getting a small tissue out for him to use as a blanket.

“There, now you’re safe. Happy yet?” Lynn asked with a hint of annoyance. He silently nodded before Lynn got back into her bed and set her head down. Knowing that everything appeared to be settled, Lucy set herself back down on her own bed and soundly went to sleep leaving only Brian left. He was more annoyed than anything at the moment due to Lynn being as uncaring as she was when she almost had Brian as an accidental snack. She could have been a bit cranky from being forced to wake up so it could have-

“Hey Brian, are you still awake?”

Brian opened his eyes and turned to see Lynn looking at him as she stayed in her bed with her head against her pillow.

“I am now. What is it? Still cranky from waking up from that accident?”

“Actually Brian, to tell you the truth...I believed and understood you immediately.” Lynn answered. “I’m not exactly known in the house as the most caring type and I want to keep it that way, but I want to let you know that I’m relieved that I didn’t swallow you.”

“So you acted unhappy earlier to keep your image up?” Brian asked.

“Mmhm.” Lynn hummed as her slowly nodded. “I may have an ironclad heart, but I do have feelings underneath. We can definitely win the downhill race with that sort of mindset, wouldn’t you agree?”

Brian chuckled as he playfully rolled his eyes.

“Whatever you say Lynn.”

The next couple of days were in preparation for the race ahead. Brian was taken to Lisa for better outfitted casts, which she didn’t hesitate to put on him. They were stiff and sturdy but a bit flexible just in case. She didn’t get to marvel over it for long as she caught wind of yet another young genius trying to outshine her, one by an acronym of “P.Crygor”, so she spent another afternoon, yet again, crafting the most indicative and IQ ridden message on her phone explaining her superiority which left some other business for Lynn and Brian to take care of. While the shrunken boy had it a bit easier, Lynn got her muscles pumping in her free time with dozens of other sports, stumping Brian a little since racing karts doesn’t require it. They did check up on Lana during the last day, and once they set their eyes on their ride they couldn’t believe it. How Lana could build something akin to an actual Formula 1 was beyond them, but whatever she did it was almost a near perfect replica. They could tell it was modeled after her racing idol Bobby Fletcher as it shared the same paint job and similar tires, but to differentiate it and give a unique identity the racing tail at the end had a decal of multiple frogs and insects, something she attributed to the keen eye of her buddy Hops. Unlike a regular of its kind, there was also a back seat for her since she wanted to take part in the race with them. That was the deal to get her to work on the kart in the first place, and Lynn couldn’t have been any more excited to burn rubber and win the gold.

Then, it was the day. Everyone met at the top of Royal Woods’ highest hill, fittingly named by the locals as the “Dinosaur Spine” for its long length, as the competitors positioned their karts around the edge. There were dozens of people occupying the streets, whether it was near the top or bottom, so they could get a good glimpse of the racers when they pass by. The Loud kids that weren’t Lynn or Lana stood near the start line so they could get to their competing siblings easier before everything started. Even if they couldn’t get a good sight of the race Lisa already had that covered as she placed a camera on the front of their kart along with letting loose a small helicopter drone, made from one of Lincoln’s toys, with a camera near the bottom to catch the action from overhead. The cameras would stream to a medium sized tablet Lisa had that visioned a split view of the two cameras for better visuals. For the Loud kids, this was going to be a great race to watch.

Lynn was already shaking in her shoes from excitement as Lana was equally as hyped. Brian was set under Lynn’s helmet as per usual, with a few extra precautions from Lisa due to his broken limbs, while Hops sat under Lana’s hat. They got this far and weren’t going to lose to some amateurs, as Lynn picked out from the other racers joining in at the starting line.

“Oh man, this is it! I can’t wait to feel the wind rush by and get into the racing business!” Lana said. Hops croaked under her hat in agreement.

“I hope everyone is prepared for the alligator surge, for this will be a snap!” Lynn said, giving off one of her word quips. “When the light turns red we’ll be off in an instant! How about you Brian, are you  comfortable up in there?”

Brian’s tiny head peeked out from under Lynn’s helmet for a better view.

“Yeah, as comfortable as always despite my setbacks. I guess I’m really accustomed to all of those motocross races I do with you.”

“It’s pretty much the same little guy.” Lynn answered. “Just don’t let my rushing hair smack you in the face okay?”

“Point taken.” Brian said. The two girls were about to get in their respective seats, Lynn taking the front and Lana in the back, but then some new particular racers came up to the starting line in their own little kart. They were about the same height as Lynn and had some pretty fancy identical racing suits of a sleek blue. The one in front had some long wavy hair with baby blue eyes and freckles over her cheeks. Her smile pierced the girls’ faces of a certain wave of flawless that made Lynn cringe as her dazzling eyes did the rest. She even wore pearl earrings as if to top off how much of a daddy’s girl her entire figure screamed to them. The one behind her sported two cloudy blonde puffs for hair with a hint of cinnamon that complemented her brown eyes. Her grin was less perfect than the other as there was a gap of a missing tooth near the front, but she also lacked any sort of freckles on her face. She didn’t have the appearance of a diva but had a common front for her supposed age. Whoever they were, they had a unique taste in style.

Lynn’s teeth gritted as the girls turned to face her, forcing Brian to fall back under Lynn’s helmet.

“Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in.” the girl in front said. “Couldn’t let those protein shakes go to the wolves Lynn?”

“Can it Grease, I’m in it to Lynn it.” Lynn replied with another smart quip. The girl frowned as Lana stood by confused.

“Wait, your name is Grease? What kind of place were you from...for I want to go there.” Lana said. The other girl’s cheeks puffed out as she didn’t look happy.

“Your word play won’t get by us this time, for we have crafted the perfect kart to take you down. It’s always amusing to see you flounder about...as boneless as you are!”

Lynn fought back the urge to give the girls a good pop in the jaw. If there was anything she couldn’t stand others talking about it was insults about her strength and she knew she had the power to wipe those clean smirks off of their faces in an instant. Her fists went tight but Lana was still left in the dark over the situation.

“Ummmm, who are those two Lynn?” she asked. Lynn took a deep breath to try and calm down before addressing her.

“Those are the Bullocks, two sisters with stupid stuck up attitudes. The regal one is Grease and the other is Biley, and I’ve had to deal with them in every sport I attend to ever since I took them out in a hockey match. Now they solely exist to take me down. It was pretty tame at first, but when they started to gain the upper hand a few times I had to take the gloves off and show them who’s boss. You can believe it when they always admit to their losses as flukes, even though I CLEARLY shredded them to Swiss cheese every time.”

“Those aren’t our names you twit.” the one in front said. “Perhaps those impacts to the head were too much for you.”

“I say she gets her head in the game in all of the wrong ways!” the other girl replied. The two girls did a high five from the younger one’s remark while Lynn was practically fuming at the two. If she was a furnace Brian would be charred by now which wouldn’t go well with the other siblings.

“I take it you are one of Lynn’s younger sisters?” the girl in front addressed to Lana. The young mechanic nodded before the girl walked up to her and stared her down.

“Then you better listen up. My name is Reese and my younger sister is Riley, and you better believe that we can go toe to toe with your sister. Don’t get in our way and we’ll do our best to forget that you even exist. You don’t want to see us angry.”

“Sheesh, you really think high of yourself, huh?” Lana replied. “Even so, you don’t appear to have a kart for this race. Where is it exactly?”

“Yeah Grease, did you just get back from the garbage dump?” Lynn chimed in. Reese scoffed at Lynn as she signaled her sister to go get the kart. When she came back with it Lynn’s and Lana’s, along with Brian under Lynn’s helmet, jaws hit the floor. It had the appearance of a top notch sports coupe combined with a sleek coat of black only seen in the darkest of spy movies. The wheels were just as stunning, as it had outer rims coated in dazzling gold and silver paint with a pinch of off road goodness along the treads. Not the most visual of choices for a kart, but it didn’t need to be. Mature in tone, but ready to kick some metal.

“I know, speechless are you?” Riley said as she leaned on the kart’s back. “We spent hours getting the tone just right as everyone runs with their tails between their legs. It’s not too shabby but with a paint job to fly under the radar we’ll easily win this.”

“Just like our daddy giving his two cents.” Reese added. “He knows what’s best for a car...especially since he’s part of Bobby’s Fletcher’s pit crew.”

That was when Lana felt her chest tighten. These weren’t some random rivals, they also had the backing of one of her favorite celebrities giving her the pressure she never wanted to face. She always wanted to be a part of her pit crew when she grew up, but hearing that the girls already had their father working her dream...it cut her deep. She almost didn’t want to go forward with the race but seeing her sister with a sense of vigor put a reminder in her head that they still had a chance to win. Besides, she didn’t want to let down her best frog buddy who always stood by her side no matter what.

“Pfffffffft, that’s cute. Do you honestly think that junk heap could win against our speed wagon? I’d like to see you try Grease.” Lynn stated. The two sides would have argued further if a loud horn didn’t go off to signify that the race was about to begin. Reese and Riley gritted their teeth before getting back to a more satisfied appearance.

“We’ll settle everything on the track. Let’s see who the real speed demons are.” Reese stated. The four girls had a sense of pride in their eyes and all of them got into seat of their karts. Lynn was obviously in the driver’s seat while Lana sat in the passenger’s seat in the back, and for the Bullocks Reese was in the driver’s seat while Riley sat in the passenger’s seat next to her. The two teams watched as around ten other karts joined at the starting line, bringing the competition up to a full grid of twelve, each sporting a unique kart whether by shape or color. Today’s race was going to be very heated.

A large stubby man with some fancy black round glasses and a white shirt sat near the announcer’s podium and turned on the microphone.

“Hello everyone to the annual Royal Woods Downhill Jam! This is your amazing racing announcer Laki and everyone appears to be prepared today for some real racing action! I’m not going to be the only one announcing though, for also attending is the esteemed author and doll loving woman of the south, BiggerBetterBarbie!”

There was applause around the racetrack as the famous author made her way to the seat next to Laki. She was very pretty for her age with her long brown hair and chocolate colored eyes while also sporting a white tank top and gold metal glasses. One of the Loud siblings immediately drew attention to her...and she was going to make sure the author knew her name.

“Thanks for having me Laki.” B.B.Barbie said. “I may not have a great interest in the sport, but I can’t let down a great event like this.”

“It’s always great to have someone with a happy attitude help commentate, whether they are interested or not!” Laki replied. “I can tell some eager fans are trembling for an autograph.”

“I get that much more than you think.” B.B.Barbie answered with a grin. The two commentators were about to begin the race when B.B.Barbie felt something attach to her leg. Once she lifted it up, she noticed that it was a crazed Lola gripping it with some very twitchy eyes.

“Ummmmm, do you need something?” B.B.Barbie asked. Her question was met with a large poster being shoved in her face containing over a dozen pictures of her from various sources.

“SIGN...THIS...NOW.” Lola replied as her heart raced and breathing went erratic. The young pageant queen didn’t read often, but when she did there was always a story from B.B.Barbie somewhere on her shelves. To Lola, nearly all of B.B.Barbie’s stories caught her interest in one way or another, whether it by interesting setting or astonishing main character, keeping her hooked to the very end. Her favorites were the ones where she had a young girl, like herself, with pink hair go do all sorts of zany antics, including her infamous grow and shrink abilities from her special ball that really tickled Lola’s interest. She always wondered what she could do with that type of power, and with B.B.Barbie’s stories giving some nice examples it gave her some interesting ideas. She always had her special “dolly” to do those types of ideas with but there was just something missing from those experiences. She was baiting on Lisa to invent something similar and when she did there would only be ONE person to use it. She had her ways of making Lisa do what she wanted, but until then she always had the stories.

And to see the respected author in person was one of her lifelong dreams.

“Okay, okay, easy there! You could have just asked, but who am I to judge a young girl like you?” B.B.Barbie said. After she got a pen out from her pocket, she proceeded to elegantly write her name on the poster but that wasn’t enough for the young fan girl.

“Longer...longer...DO IT LONGER!...that’s too normal!...say to my favorite fan...SAY IT!...To Lola, from BiggerBetterBarbie...now your infamous smiley face...TOO SHORT OF A SMILE!...”

Even through all of Lola’s stringent demands, B.B.Barbie kept a cool expression and even giggled at some of her outlandish demands. It wasn’t everyday that she got to meet someone as invested into her work as Lola did. Once she handed the signed poster back to Lola the young princess almost felt like fainting on the spot.

“THANK YOU SO MUCH, I WILL TREASURE THIS BEYOND EVERYTHING ELSE!” Lola exclaimed in a typical crazy fan girl way. She zipped back over to the rest of the siblings as a note fell out of her dress and into B.B.Barbie’s grasp. Having it addressed from “Lisa Loud” to her caught her curiosity, but she decided to leave it for later. There was a race to commentate and she was prepared to do it.

When she would open that letter though, Lisa had some choice words for her pink haired friend.

“Sorry for the interruption folks,  but we’re now ready to start the race! Everyone get to the starting lines and wait for the countdown!” B.B.Barbie announced.

This was it, the moment everyone was working up to. All racers at the starting line were pumped to finally get the race started, especially to the two opposing rivals. Lynn and Lana stared down Reese and Riley on the opposing side, shooting daggers at each other, while Brian stayed safe under Lynn’s helmet but could see the animosity between the two side. There could only be one winner, and both wanted it all.

Laki signaled the countdown.

“3!”

The racers gripped their wheels tightly.

“2!”

Brian took hold of Lynn’s hair for safety.

“1!”

Everyone glared at the downward hill like their life depended on it.

…

…

…

…

…

“GO!”

Every single one of the competing karts tipped and set their wheels on the asphalt as the wheels rolled down the Dinosaur Spine at high speeds. The crowds cheered as the cars rolled down the hill like an actual racetrack, everyone eager to see who would pass who. There were a few unintentional hazards among the road like a few ditches and cones, but if the racers were keen enough they would know how to avoid it and Lynn was one of them. She lost sight of the Bullocks as the wind rushed through her hair, but knowing them they wouldn’t back off that easily. Lana kept her hat down so it wouldn’t fall off and send Hops somewhere else while Brian kept his free hand on Lynn’s hair as tightly as possible.

“Okay, we started off strong and not showing signs of slowing down. Perfect.” Lynn said through the rushing wind. “How’s the back?”

“Still up and running!” Lana answered with a thumbs up while Hops croaked in agreement.

“Thanks sis, I’m handling this steering wheel better than Aunt Shirley on a treadmill!” Lynn said. “You doing fine up in there Brian?”

“It’s a bit gusty up here, but I can manage!” Brian’s muffled voice emitted through the helmet.

“I like the enthusiasm there buddy!” Lynn replied. She continued down the giant hill as more racers appeared before her. She had to swerve around them to avoid any collision, but one racer wasn’t too lucky. For some bizarre reason their particular kart had a GPS on the front, and when it said to turn left the racer immediately did so and drove straight into a Flippy cart in the sidelines, obviously being run by Flip himself. Clearly the racer mistook what the GPS actually meant as he was immediately lectured by Flip on how he was going to pay for the damages.

Soon enough, Lynn caught up to more racers. There was no sight of the Bullocks yet, but there was still competition ahead of her. She swerved right just as the road split in two around a small pond, and while some racers took the left side one stuck close to Lynn on the right. The driver growled having Lynn on the outside so she decided to fix it in a very offensive way. She steered right close to Lynn’s kart before ramming against the side, wheels locking for a quick moment before separating.

Lynn obviously had a beef with that stunt.

“So you want a piece of me?!” Lynn exclaimed through the rushing air. “You do NOT mess with the monstrous Lynnthro baby! Let’s see what you got!”

Lana quickly sat upward and quietly whispered to Brian under Lynn’s helmet.

“She’s talking about a type of dinosaur. Trust me, I kind of know those sorts of facts.”

“I’d be surprised if you didn’t.” Brian quietly whispered back. Lynn aimed her kart to the left as the two vehicles kept clashing and locking wheels. They were evenly matched as the aluminum rumbled and parts clashed. Unfortunately for the two, the feud was short lived as Lana kept her eyes forward just in case and noticed an incoming sign warning to not feed the ducks.

“Lynn, break off, break off!” Lana exclaimed. Even though she was into giving the opposing racer a lesson in car destruction she did hear her little sister’s outburst and saw the sign at the last possible second.

“Everybody hold on!” Lynn exclaimed. Lana took her advice and held on tight, along with Brian taking hold of Lynn’s hair under her helmet, as Lynn did one of the hardest right turns imaginable to get out of harms way. Hops almost fell out of Lana’s grubby hat and had to use his tongue to grapple her by the cheek and pull himself back to safety. To make sure her froggy friend was okay, she gave Hops a little rub on the back as the frog happily croaked.

Things weren’t so lucky with the other racer though. Because Lynn had her on the inside she didn’t get the chance to swerve right and t-boned right into the sign as her kart’s front was nearly totaled. She growled under her breath before suddenly getting attacked by flocks of ducks waiting for some extra bread crumbs. Suffice to say, the racer won’t be proceeding in the race any longer.

Lynn and co. exited the fork around the pond and met up with the racers that went the other way. That wasn’t the main thing Lynn ended up paying attention to however, as straight ahead on the street before them were the two rivals she won’t hesitate to grind into dust. She would have revved the engine up ten fold if this was an actual car, but since it was strictly downhill she couldn’t do that. It didn’t matter anyway as her kart quickly pulled up to the two sisters with many other racers behind them.

Riley turned to face Lynn and Lana as Reese was still paying attention to the road.

“So you finally oiled those wheels and managed to make your way up to us. I would find that rather sweet if you weren’t the consistent loser! Hahahah!”

“We’ll see who gets the last laugh when ol’ Lynn here mops the floor with you!” Lynn exclaimed as she got her kart closer to the other sisters.

“Put up the gloves ladies, for it’s time for a good fashioned beat down!” Lynn shouted.

“Not if my top class kart has anything to say about it!” Reese loudly answered. Lynn, Reese, and Riley were staring bolts of lightning at each other as they waited for the other to lay down the first hit. This was it, the final smack down of the century between two snobbish jerks and one wild athlete. It was near counterpart versus counterpart, the lions against the tigers, the rubies up against the sapphires, it would be a clash of the ages.

This is if Lana and Brian didn’t see one of the most unorthodox objects out in front of them.

“Uhhhh Lynn? I think there’s something more important to think of right now!” Lana exclaimed as she pointed forward while Hops croaked in agreement. She didn’t appear to listen at first, so Brian had to step it up a notch. Even with a broken arm and leg, he still had his other arm and with that, as much as he didn’t want to to it to someone like Lynn, tugged and pulled as much of her hair as possible. This made Lynn yelp for a quick second and made her sight go forward only to see the very grim outlook.

“Oh no, nonononono!” Lynn said worryingly as she tried to turn around and avoid it, but the suction was already getting too strong to pull away from. Reese and Riley were also getting the same vibes as they steered in the opposite direction and hoped for the best.

“Sis, what in the name of the skies above is happening?!” Riley exclaimed.

“You honestly expect me to know when I’m trying to get away from it?!” Reese exclaimed. “Some things don’t need explanations, just the speed to get away!”

“But this is a downhill kart! There is no engine to drive away!” Riley shouted. Reese looked at her sister with serious eyes.

“I’M NOT GOING TO BE TAKEN IN BY A BLACK HOLE! JUST DO SOMETHING!”

While Reese and Riley were unaware of what it really was, Lynn and the others knew exactly what was before them. Dozens popped up around Royal Woods at irregular intervals, but for one to show up now during the race had to be one of the most unfortunate timings in history. The other racers behind them were just as afraid, as they too were getting pulled in by the immense suction.

No matter what direction Lynn spun the wheel it was never enough to escape the maw of the hole before them as the winds pulled them in.

“Guys, I can’t do anything to stop us from going in!”

“Try harder! We don’t know where that might take us and I’m betting on the bad sides!” Lana exclaimed, covering her eyes with her hat. Hops likewise stayed under Lana’s hat like the plague.

“I don’t think we have much of a choice here!” Brian cried out from under Lynn’s helmet. “We better hold on tight everyone, for this might be an erratic ride!”

The rest of their cries we swallowed up by the tear taking its victims. Along with Lynn and her crew, the rest of the racers behind them, including Reese and Riley, were sucked in as well. Almost nobody noticed the sudden snatch of the racers as it occurred during a more crowded version of Royal Woods with the neighborhood of houses blocking views, but there was one family that saw all of it.

The Loud siblings were stricken stiff seeing their own kin, along with their “adopted” shrunken boy, disappear inside the tear from both views of Lisa’s cameras on the tablet. If it wasn’t for Lisa’s overactive security protocols they would have never known about the travesty that occurred on the screen. Some were more worried than others.

“No...we literally just lost our sisters to one of those holes!” Lori exclaimed.

“Brian’s with them too you know.” Lucy responded. “Sigh, and I was really hoping to not get the tiny coffin out early.”

“No, I will NOT accept the fact that I just lost my dolly!” Lola exclaimed. “Lisa, bring my dolly back!”

“Errrrr, ummmm...I know this seems like a travesty.” Lisa answered. “Just...let my genius try to figure this out okay?! I’m only one person and any sort of straight on the mind can-”

One of the recording cameras on the tablet lit up as the one from the drone in the sky shut off. Before the Louds could comprehend what was going on, the screen that was set to record from the front of Lynn’s kart refreshed into a completely different set of sights...and it was stunning.

Everyone that was sucked into the tear saw colors everywhere as the wheels of their karts were up in the air like it was a massive jump. The wind rushed through everyone’s hair as they tried to determine what the heck they just went through. One racer even had to hold in their lunch from the motions happening around them, although Lynn and the others could easily handle the visuals. They were already pretty used to seeing the mischievous holes appear around them, but they never got the opportunity to actually go into one except for their shrunken stowaway in Lynn’s helmet. Hops itself also had to hold on tighter than normal just to not fall into the abyss around it, and Lana didn’t want to see her amphibian buddy disappear from her. Suffice to say, the tear was already causing problems and they didn’t even arrive anywhere yet.

As soon as the warping started though, it suddenly ended as everyone plopped to some ground below, karts still intact and running. Lynn still had her game face on while Lana sat dazed for a moment until Hops snapped her back to reality with a slimy lick.

“Woah, now that was one big flush.” Lana said as she held her head. “I may have to jiggle the handle first from now on.”

“Well this is just great.” Brian said in a sarcastic tone. “Whatever that tear did screwed with us again! Is everyone still alright?”

“You can’t get rid of me that easily!” Lynn responded. “I’m still in this!”

“Me and Hops are in one piece!” Lana replied with Hops croaking in response.

“That’s one trouble marked down then.” Brian stated as he peeked out from under Lynn’s helmet. “Now we need to find out what the heck happened...”

His eyes scanned the area around him before he looked down towards their kart’s spinning wheels, and he didn’t like the sights.

“Guys...you may want to take in the surrounding area...”

As much as Lynn didn’t want to take her eyes off of the road, hearing Brian with a nervous tone caught her curiosity along with Lana and Hops. Their jaws dropped seeing just what Brian was talking about, almost making their hearts stop. Not only was their kart automatically accelerating on its own, but the scenery around them was anything but the confines of Royal Woods. It appeared to be one giant stage with flashing lights overhead with many buildings around it giving off a neon glow. While other details were a bit hazy from their angle, what they could easily see were the audience members and they were very obscure but similar at the same time. They had faces of humans, it could be easily seen, but what really threw them off were their choices for hair...as they had some sort of tentacles for them. Some were lofted on two sides of the head while others were just some small curls near the center and each had a unique color. All of them echoed weird noises that Lynn and the others couldn’t understand while they waved glowing sticks towards the real showstoppers on stage. Like the others, they appeared to be the weird human tentacle hybrids that everyone else was, but the one on the left had more of an outlandish personality as her black tentacles swayed downward with its two hands being covered in some white gloves. Its outfit was colored mostly black and pink with pink leggings and two black and purple shoes topping it off. The other one on the right was a bit more calm and collected on stage as her white curled tentacle on top and green outfit gave off the signs. She also wore gloves over her hands to complement her green leggings and identical black and purple shoes over the other. They spoke in the same echoed sounds the audience exclaimed but with certain tones and melodramatic voices almost like singing as they did many dancing motions over the stage, unaware of the unexpected ones that were warped in. Their unawareness of the racers could be easily explained with the other side effect the tears did on the racers.

The tears not only brought them to a strange place, but they also made all of them minuscule to the surrounding area. Lana was the most worried, as it almost gave her a sense of helplessness since she always had the common thought that bigger was better. She loved seeing the many small critters down by her bare feet, which was one of the main reasons she adored having Brian temporarily live with her, but to feel like a bug herself was unheard of. She was tipsy for the moment and was uneasy over the whole situation.

“I...I think I know how a bug feels now.” Lana said in a shaky voice.

“I can understand that Lana. I have to deal with those feelings every day.” Brian stated. She was so caught up in her own thoughts she almost forgot that Brian dealt with those feelings on a daily basis. It made her feel a bit better knowing that she had someone who knew what those emotions going through her head were with Hops’ wide grin being the cherry on top.

“I don’t know what just happened, but whatever it is we still have a race to win!” Lynn stated with vigor. “Small or not, ol’ Lynn here is no quitter!”

“Hey siblings! Are all of you okay?!”

A voice emitted from the front of their kart on a spot that looked suspiciously like an implanted camera and speaker. It caught everyone off guard, but once they determined whose voice it was they calmed back down.

“What, Lisa?! Where are you?” Lynn said.

“I installed a camera and speakers near the front of your kart just in case.” Lisa’s voice emitted. “This way we could have seen the action up close...but seeing what’s going on now...”

“Yeah, things really went off course...literally.” Brian replied. The group could almost hear a huff from Lori on the other side for stealing her signature word.

“Okay, it’s nice to hear from all of you guys, but we’re kind of rolling around somewhere we AREN’T supposed to be!” Lana exclaimed. “Please tell me there’s an idea somewhere in your heads!”

“I’m working on it, I’m working on it!” Lisa’s voice exclaimed. A few seconds of silence went over everyone before Luna’s voice came up.

“Wait! If you dudes were brought in by one of those holes maybe another can get them out!”

“That could only work if there were any others where they are now situated.” Lisa’s voice said. That was when one of the group listening in suddenly had an epiphany...and it wasn’t even human. Hops smacked his tongue against Lana’s face to grab her attention before pointing one of his webbed feet ahead. It was a bit difficult to see, but Lana took notice and alerted the others.

“Guys, guys, Hops can see another one of those holes ahead!”

Directing them ahead, Lynn and Brian gazed in the direction Lana pointed, and to their surprise she wasn’t pulling their legs. There really was another tear all the way on the other side of the stage big enough to go through, and it was their only shot to get back to Royal Woods in one piece.

“Looks like that’s our only way home.” Lynn said. “As usual when it comes to me, I’m always game for a challenge. Anyone on the other side have second thoughts?”

“I can’t see anything wrong since it’s your only option.” Lincoln’s voice said. “Although, and it may be due to the camera angle, but it’s pretty far away from where you are at and considering those...giant tentacle girls-”

“Don’t worry Stinkoln, I’m always prepared for these extreme situations.” Lynn interrupted. “Remember when I sprained by biceps during a dive at the one championship baseball game and how I managed to steamroll the competition despite that? I never want to go home a loser!”

“...she has a point.” Lori’s voice said.

“Hey, I’m in this too you know!” Lana spoke up with Hops croaking in response.

“We didn’t forget you sis. There’s no way I could forget your dirty smile at any point!” Lola’s voice said. “I also can’t forget my one and only dolly, for I have many more activities with him in the future and I don’t want to see him go!”

“Gee, uhhhhhh...thanks?” Brian replied, not knowing how to react from Lola’s statement.

“We’ll be with you all of the way. Don’t worry, all of us have your back.” Lori’s voice stated. The voices of the other Loud siblings could be heard chiming through the speakers in agreement, giving Lynn and the others a sense of hope that they will get through this trouble. Brian clenched Lynn’s hair under her helmet tighter to avoid falling off while Lynn and Lana were primed for action.

“Everyone...you just awakened the racer in me.” Lynn replied as she put on an enjoyable angry face while gripping the wheel. Brian, Lana, and Hops chimed in as well showing that they were also on standby when needed. Because of the weirdness of the hole they went through, there was no need for downward slopes as their kart accelerated forward automatically, but Lynn knew with the correct push she could control its speed. She didn’t get to focus on it that much as a familiar yet negative sight scanned through her eyes. Her kart sped up to it as she locked eyes with the driver.

“You’re still in this Grease? I would have thought you got decimated during the trip here!” Lynn exclaimed with a snarky attitude.

“As if I would lose to a pinhead like you!” Reese replied. “I don’t know what just happened with us, but if anything that hole on the other side would be the best bet. And if we just so happen to cross the finish line in the process...”

“We’ll enjoy seeing you struggle for the vultures!” Riley chimed in as she pulled one of her eyelids down and stuck her tongue out. Their kart sped ahead as their words got Lynn’s gears grinding.

“Grrrrrrrr, even in the face of turmoil they STILL think they can beat me! Why I outta get my boxing gloves out and-”

“PAY ATTENTION SIS!” Lana shouted while pointing upward. Both Lynn and Brian looked where Lana indicated and only had a split second to react. Lynn was already on it in a flash as she steered hard right before the purple tentacle girl’s shoe came down where they once were. With how small they were, anything the two giant girls did as they danced on stage was a dire hazard, and they, along with the audience, didn’t appear to notice the microscopic ones unintentionally with them.

“This...isn’t going to go by quietly.” Brian said.

“I don’t think Bobby Fletcher had to deal with these types of hazards.” Lana stated.

“At the size we’re at, we won’t even reach up to her ankles!” Brian replied. “Put the pedal to the metal Lynn!”

Lynn, upon hearing Brian’s words, put on a wicked smile.

“Now you’re speaking my language little guy!”

Their kart sped off towards Reese and Riley as the giant girls danced over them with their massive feet making impacts against the ground, sending most flying for a second before landing on the ground. Even though Lynn’s and Reese’s karts stood out, that didn’t mean the other racers who also fell into the tear weren’t going to be pushovers. They came to on their own accords that they needed to get to the tear on the other side while avoiding getting crushed by the girls above, although some were bolder than others and didn’t mind taking the odd risks. They had to take into account the impacts the giant girls’ steps made and adjust accordingly when they were sent into the air to not accidentally get into the line of fire. While many succeeded, there were the very few that weren’t so lucky. One miscalculated the trajectory when they were sent into the air and ended up under one of the purple tentacle girl’s shoes. They started to panic seeing it come down and thought it was over for them, but just as the shoe came closer the front half of their kart made it out as the back end was crushed under the girl’s dancing might. They didn’t even get time to react to their second chance before they were engulfed in a blue light and vanished without a trace. Another took things a bit too quickly and sped up to get past the giant shoes only to see one come down earlier than they expected, causing a head on crash against the side. Thankfully they were still fine, but their kart was totaled as they also disappeared before they could determine what just happened. Whatever was going on it sent shivers to the remaining racers to not be as reckless.

Lynn and Reese separated as the shoes kept coming down, with Reese going left and Lynn right. The two were around halfway across the stage clearing the purple tentacle girl, but now they had the green one to deal with and she was just as dance happy as the other.

“I don’t think we can handle much of this stomping chaos anymore!” Brian said as one of the girl’s shoes missed them by inches. “Is there a safe zone where we DON’T risk getting squashed?”

“We could try driving near the front where the audience is!” Lana exclaimed. “I’m not sure what’s in store over there, but it can’t be as worse as turning into pancakes...and not the good kind!”

“Awwww, come on! I’m getting the pump of adrenaline with stuff like this! I can handle anything!” Lynn stated. She was met with with very stern expressions from Brian, Lana, and even Hops as they glared at her like she was their lifeline.

“Sheesh, fine! I’ll take the sissy route...but this will tarnish my reputation in certain areas!”

Lynn turned more to the right before one of the green tentacle girl’s shoes could slam right on them, putting them near the edge where the audience was. They could see the other racers far off to the left still dodging the dancing giant girls above them, but they lost track of Reese and Riley. As much as Lynn felt rage for wanting to beat them to a pulp, she had to pay attention to the track ahead and while she didn’t need to worry about getting crushed, there were other hazards to worry about. From loose hands from other tentacle humans wanting to get the performing girls’ autographs to, of all things, loose confetti Lynn had to avoid them all. Like the performers, they were completely oblivious to the tiny racers.

A loose blast of confetti shot over them as they continued on, raining the loose pieces of paper down over them.

“PAPER RAIN!” Lana exclaimed while Hops took cover under her hat. It was all up to Lynn now to avoid the unconventional hazards falling above them. One piece came down fast forcing Lynn to speed under it before five more came in. She had to steer very cleanly to get by them, with one grazing the side of the right tire, while the passengers held on for dear life and hope that Lynn doesn’t screw up. The confetti almost acted like they came in on parachutes, but that didn’t mean they fell any slower than Lynn thought. Right as they got through the first batch, another confetti shot went off, giving them more paper assaults from above to avoid. It put Lynn’s attentiveness on overdrive to avoid the next wave as these ones were clumped up at points, making her turn sharper to weave around all of them. One however escaped her sight and almost looked to be the end for them, but in a miraculous turn of events the piece of confetti flipped vertically and only managed to hit the bottom portion of the kart...straight into Lana’s face.

“Ahhh! Hops, I need help here!” Lana exclaimed. Brian couldn’t assist since he was under Lynn’s helmet for safety, but Lana’s little froggy friend would do anything for his best friend. Sticking his head out from under her hat, Hops used his webbed feet to try and push the paper right off her, with Lana helping even if she couldn’t see. It was tough at first, but with enough patience the two pushed the piece of confetti right off to the side. Hops croaked in satisfaction as Lana gave her frog buddy a pat on the back.

“Thanks for the help there Hops. Remind me to not get involved with that sort of ‘origami’ style Lisa wants everyone to do.”

Hops nodded and gave Lana a sticky lick across the cheek, making the young girl giggle. Everyone got a moment of relief after the confetti shower, for something as harmless as paper confetti normally was deadly to them at the size they were at. They could see the tear within driving distance, just a few more feet and they were home free.

Too bad a certain noise took them by surprise.

It came from their right in an odd tone. Everyone’s heads zipped to the side and what they saw basically turned their eyes into huge dinner plates. While they may have thought their size made them unnoticeable, it clearly didn’t effect all. Two planet sized eyes stared right down at them from the front of the audience while the ones in the kart were staring down two massive headlights. Lana and Brian were almost stunned completely while Lynn had to have some attention to keep driving, but even she was worried stiff. The tentacle person, which appeared to be a girl since it had two long orange tentacles for “hair”, emitted some weirder noises of their respective language as things nearly came to a standstill for the tiny ones. She tilted her head as she eyed the shrunken ones before extending a hand out toward them. Whether she was curious over them or not, Lynn and the others knew immediately what to do.

“Hit the gas Lynn!” Brian exclaimed from under her helmet.

“This is a downhill kart Brian, there is no gas pedal!” Lynn replied.

“Then do everything to floor it...without anything to floor it!” Lana yelled. The three of them screamed like it was their final breath as the hand came closer while their kart zipped forward. The hand was going to grab them and take them out of the race if their kart didn’t go any faster than they were now. Lana and Hops closed her eyes while Brian and Lynn could only watch their demise...only for their kart to suddenly get a burst of speed and miss getting grabbed by mere inches. Brian and Lynn felt like they almost had a heart attack while Lana and Hops slowly opened their eyes and noticed their stroke of luck.

“Oh my gosh...did we actually get past that?” Lana asked as she shook a little.

“I’m finding it hard to believe myself.” Brian replied as he peeked out from behind Lynn’s helmet to see Lana.

“That...was such a big rush.” Lynn said, almost not believing it herself. “That...that...was SO AWESOME! Talk about challenging the underworld and coming back the winner! I really am the greatest athlete to ever grace-”

“You’re losing traction sis!” Lana interrupted as the car started to wobble. Coming back to her senses of what she was initially doing, Lynn hastily grabbed the steering wheel and aimed their kart right toward the tear ahead of them. With nobody else in sight, it looked to be a straight win for them if they went through first.

Too bad Reese and Riley’s kart came out of nowhere ahead of them.

“You took a wrong turn losers! We got through everything with flying colors!” Riley exclaimed as Reese continued to drive. “Checkered flag, here we come!”

“Not as long as the TerLynnator has anything to say about it Biley!” Lynn exclaimed. With them being ahead, Reese and Riley sped into the tear first with Lynn and her family following close behind. The racers even further back that didn’t disappear and lose went in a decent distance behind the two. Whatever weird dimension they were in was no longer an issue.

The racers were sent into another range of colors as their eyes lit up a rainbow. Like last time, the trip didn’t take too long as the tear suddenly sent them out careening forward. Many already had their expectations set, including Lana.

“Phew, and I never thought I would see the day of getting back to Royal Woods. My friends will never believe what I just-”

“Lana, you may want to turn those expectations down a notch...as much as I would NOT want to say.”

Once the visuals hit their eyes Brian’s statement made much more sense. It wasn’t Royal Woods, they landed somewhere completely different. It was on top of a couple of rooftops spaced out by lustrous buildings below. It didn’t appear too much like a city, but it had the qualities of one at the same time, with streets and sidewalks down below along with some cars parked to the sides. Everything was lit up as the night sky spread its blanket and the street lamps attracted curious moths. It almost had a hypnotizing effect at how gorgeous everything appeared, for this was almost never seen back where Lynn and Lana were, but there was one major aspect that was the line in the sand. Even back at Royal Woods there was at least some people out doing any sort of night work, whether by night shifts or last minute shopping, giving an impression that life was teeming at all hours. If everything was graded in that sort of way, there would be skulls and bones everywhere in this place. There was not a single person in the streets below, not even any animals of the sort, but with the lights being everywhere it was far from being a ghost town. Whatever this place was, it gave Lynn and company the chills.

“Wha...I thought we would make it home!” Lana said.

“All of us did Lana.” Lynn stated. “Something isn’t right. Hey Leese, got any bright ideas?”

There was moment of silence over the speakers near the front before a voice came through.

“Sorry, my cerebral cortex was in the process of taking in the visuals!” Lisa’s voice said. “As for what all of you are going through...I’ll need some deductions to the facts. I have a couple theories that I would-”

“Just get on with it! Our sisters are literally spiraling off somewhere else!” Lori’s voice exclaimed. There were a couple of grunts, possibly from Lisa, over the speakers before she got back to them.

“Okay, okay! Ignoramus much?! Sheesh! Ahem, anyway the best I can conclude on for now is to find another one of those holes and hope for the best as you race through it.”

“You know it doesn’t take a genius to tell us something we’re already doing.” Lynn stated.

“With that sort of attitude maybe I WON’T help you out!”

“No, no, Lisa! We would very much like your assistance!” Brian said almost a bit flustered and nervous. His words appeared to work as they could hear Lisa chuckle a little from the other end.

“Heheheheh, leave it to my tiny lab rat to convince me otherwise. To be completely transparent, I was going to assist you no matter what. Can’t let my siblings see the citadel in the sky I always say!”

“Thanks Lisa, you’re awesome.” Lana said before the speaker went dead. With the small chat now over, they could focus on the race ahead and catch up to Reese and Riley...however far ahead they were.

Lynn and the others didn’t get a chance to drive further without hearing a deafening roar through the skies. Their pupils shrank before turning their heads to the source as their kart bounced from rooftop to rooftop. They thought the last place they were brought to was crazy, but seeing this new sight cranked those factors up ten fold. First there were weird humanoids with tentacles for hair, now there was a humongous scaly dragon up in the air along with some sort of girl, also strangely sized up to the huge dragon, in a stylish getup. She appeared to have a certain interest in the color blue as she wore two long boots colored in blue, having some red marks near the top, along with an outfit of a white and blue mix. There were two long blue sleeves over her arms that also covered her hands but not her fingers as she gripped some sort of rod with a crest on the top that almost looked like the head of a bird. The most appealing part of the girl to Lynn and the others was the large gold emblem that almost looked like wings of a bird with a red jewel engraved in the center, almost like royalty. To top it all off, the girl had two gold “wings” situated behind her head to complement her overall look. Whatever she was, they had to admit she would be a good contender in a costume contest even if she did look to be a bit young.

The racers could see the gigantic girl battle it out with the massive dragon as they drove on the rooftops of the city, giving them a good sign as to why there wasn’t anyone down by the streets. If the tear managed to form around the two it would get pretty brutal to avoid any crossfires, but some were eager to speak their mind on the matter.

“Wow...that girl’s outfit is SO GORGE! I might have to write that down for later.” Lori’s voice rang through the speakers.

“Move it sister, that design is all LOLA territory!” Lola’s voice said. “Beauty before age after all!”

“I think there’s a greater problem than that. I mean, there’s a dragon right there!” Lincoln’s voice said.

“Yeah, going to have to agree with you on that.” Luan’s voice said. “Think you can handle it Lynn?”

“Sis...I was BORN ready.” Lynn replied. She couldn’t argue with that, so Luan went silent along with everyone else. While Brian helped Lynn with passing over the rooftops, for she relied on him at times to be her navigator when racing, Lana was focused on the fight in the distance. Her eyes were locked in amazement as she saw the girl do combat with the dragon almost like all of those monster movies she adored watching, including ones with titanic ants, moths, and her absolute favorite the giant lizard. This wasn’t a movie though, it was real life and she wanted to see as much action as possible. Part of her wanted to get up close and see the battle with as much of a sight as her eyes could handle but the other hand kept her back from actually doing it. Even she knew the risks doing so and had the borderline set pretty tight. As much as she wanted to experience it more, it was too dangerous for someone like her.

That didn’t mean she couldn’t take in what was currently before her.

“I can’t believe it...Hops, is that what I think it is?”

Her froggy friend popped out of her hat and gave a happy croak.

“It really is...and it’s just like all of those monster movies too! I’m so happy to see an actual fight unfold before my very eyes! I...I think I might cry...”

Her eyes began to get wet as she had on one of the sincerest and gleaming smiles ever put on by her with her pupils glistening with complete happiness. It was almost too perfect for her that Hops had to lick the drops off of her face at points so her face didn’t get too wet, even if it was soon replaced with slime from his tongue. She even reached out with a hand as if to take hold of the dragon herself and call it her own. This was truly very special for her and she would never forget this once in a lifetime moment.

“Fascinated with what you see?”

Lana was spooked out of her fixation by Brian’s voice, with him peeking out from the back of Lynn’s helmet. Considering Lucy was the sibling that most commonly wanted him to herself, it was likewise that one of her distinct knacks would rub off on him.

Even so, it didn’t deter her that much and since it was Brian she knew she could trust him.

“Brian, of course I’m so excited to see something that epic! You know me, always into grimy things and junk, but there’s always the sweet spot with me and giant monsters. Roaring through the skies, destroying everything in their path, and don’t even get me started when they punch through entire skyscrapers! They show so much power and might and I can’t help but imagine myself in their place. Getting to romp around as the giant girl I always wanted to be and cause destruction like in those monster movies...I can’t help but put that on my secret wish list.”

“You want to unleash the Girlzilla?” Brian replied. “I can easily see you wanting that more than anyone else. I say you fit the traits for a good monster...and I witnessed that first hand after all!”

“Yeah, that was a fateful day.” Lana said. “I always have that moment in the back of my mind every time I see you. How could I not forget the moment when you suddenly came into our lives? It’s nice to know that I can be Girlzilla to at least one person...but in a good way obviously!”

“Can’t go around destroying things and risking my demise?” Brian asked.

“Exactly. You’re way too special to me for that outcome.” Lana answered. Hops popped out from under Lana’s cap and did a ribbit to show that he also felt the same way. To Brian, it was always very nice to hear that he meant something from one of the Loud kids. He probably heard it a million times from Lucy already and Lori practically did so the one time he accidentally intruded on her, so hearing it from Lana was another to put off the checklist. That didn’t mean he thought nothing of her, it was quite the contrary. Her love for any sort of gross or strange things made Brian more interested in learning what they were, even if they almost made him hurl behind her back, along with her animal and bug friends. In some ways he felt lucky that it was her to come across him first, for any other sibling probably would have ignored or ended him considering he could be easily mistaken for a bug. Even so, he heard that Lana loved to eat and swallow bugs on occasion, which came back to bite her a few times if they family toilet was any indication, but when she came forward with that information to him she quickly dismissed it saying she always wanted to get a good look at the bugs first before deciding to eat them. Somehow he got chills thinking she was lying, but another part of him indicated she was being truthful. Still, he couldn’t ignore that upbeat smile as he hung out with her at times. She may be a dirty one, but Lana loved having Brian around and thought of him greatly.

“Hey, can both of you back there wake up and help navigate this rolling beast now?! As much as I would like to handle this myself, this is one sport I would really like some team support!”

Lynn’s voice brought them back to the current situation. They still had a race to win, and Lynn wasn’t keen on becoming the next big loser. Both Brian and Lana nodded in agreement before Brian closed up his spot in her helmet and made his way, slowly due to his broken leg, to the front.

“Okay Lynn, what’s the status report?” Brian asked.

“The kart is a bit shaken up from the constant jumping from roof to roof, but it’s still running smoothly.” Lynn replied. “Not sure what’s coming up though.”

Lana tilted her head down to the left to see the rooftops they were speeding across. She gazed at it for a second before the kart jumped to another rooftop but then she looked ahead of her to the ones coming up and came up with an observation.

“Knowing these types of houses, I’d say we have about fifteen more roofs before we drop to the streets. We better prepare for a strong landing when it comes up.”

“How did you conclude on that?” Brian asked. Lynn was equally as confused.

“I picked up a couple of pointers from the library. I accidentally picked the wrong book one day thinking it was about mechanics only to see tips about housing in it. Boy, was that an eye opener for this gal!”

Lynn and Brian didn’t want to ask any further on that situation, for even if she wasn’t Lucy there were obvious black marks to Lana that they didn’t want to know about. It’s not like they could have asked though, for one of the loose racers pulled up right next to them with more behind. There weren’t any signs of Reese and Riley around them but Lynn didn’t want to find out if they were ahead or not to keep her cool. The racer turned to the left aggressively as Lynn responded back the only way she knew how; by fighting back. She locked wheels with another for a second time as the two karts tried to push each other off of the roof while dodging the crossfire of the dragon and giant girl. It was rough, but Lynn already thought one step ahead and it would only be a matter of time until it came to action. She mentally counted up as she rubbed metal to metal with the other racer and once she got to the magic number she abruptly pulled away and focused more on keeping her balance. The opposing racer was stumped until they saw what Lynn was working up to. The tires hit the air as what looked to be a twenty foot drop lay under them, bringing out the acrophobia to the ones that had it. It went by so quickly, almost like a standstill, before the karts hit the pavement. Lana must have made Lynn’s kart from something very sturdy as it landed with almost no damage whatsoever, although the other karts had different experiences. Many were able to take the plunge as well as Lynn’s kart, but one didn’t have the same luck. I collapsed on the underside from the impact, but thankfully the driver was still in one piece. Like the destroyed ones in the first area, the kart and driver vanished but everyone else was too focused on the race to notice.

 With Lynn taking up the front and many racers behind her the insanity hit the streets. Reese and Riley still weren’t seen anywhere making Brian and Lana have doubts on whether the two were still in it. Lynn knew better though, for if she was still up and running Reese and Riley were also still in it.

And that moment was when Lynn noticed where they were heading. Lana started to get a little giddy while Brian felt dozens of rocks hit his stomach. Lynn kept her serious demeanor on, as it was going to be one wicked drive and she needed her A game.

“Okay road buddies, we’re heading into the battlefield and it will be a thrill ride! You better have the spines to live through it...for I’m always in it to Lynn it!”

Lana, Brian, and Hops understood and held in tight as their kart hit the grass and trudged into the conflict between the dragon and the giant girl. One of the first things they noticed immediately was the tear near the back behind them, indicating their ride back to Royal Woods, but with the two huge beings practically above them it would be no easy task. They had to avoid as much as they could as the giant girl tried to pull the dragon by the tail with no success, making it spit fire. Some of the cinders from  the fire dropped down below and made temporary fire stacks that the racers had to avoid. Lynn did her thing and recklessly drove around them while her other teammates held their breath from the smoke, hoping Lynn knew what she was doing. Even as reckless as she was, Lynn avoided each fire stack like a pro while the other racers behind her did the same...except for one unlucky driver. She cut one of the turns too close and lost traction into one of the smoking flames. Miraculously she was unharmed, but her kart was anything but unscathed. There was no way she could recover from that, but she didn’t have time to mope about it as she vanished away like the others.

The racers weren’t out of the trouble just yet. Brian’s body almost went hollow as the giant girl started running around with the dragon chasing her, bringing more hazards to avoid. The girl’s feet impact the ground with a few quakes forcing Lynn to adapt quickly while Lana was up in awe watching the insanity unfold above her. She even reached out at one point to hopefully get a touch but Hops was quick to pull her back in caution. Nearly missing the dragon’s tail swish by, Lynn could taste the ending of this extra leg in the race but the other racers behind her her weren’t pushovers. They couldn’t get up close or risk getting trampled on, so they kept their positions firmly to not fall off of the radar. That didn’t prepare for the final problem they were about to face as the giant girl suddenly tripped up and fell to the ground below, making a huge boom that sent many flying. Luckily for Lynn and company they were already so close to the tear that they practically fell into it upon impact. The other racers seemed to have also gotten through it okay. Right before Lynn fell into the tear she saw some tire marks before it, giving her a vague idea where Reese and Riley were.

Everyone’s eyes lit up for a third time as the wide range of palettes flashed over their pupils. It wasn’t long though before they were sent out, yet again, to somewhere else. At this point they were already expecting something different, and their expressions went flat when they found out it was true. The new place was absolutely huge as it appeared to be like a young girl’s bedroom, as there was a deluxe looking bed near them nearly fifty times bigger than them. There was an open window in the corner and a wooden door near the back as well. Oddly enough, there wasn’t anything else around them other than the bed, although they did hear some rumbling atop of the bed that they couldn’t see at the moment.

“Why am I not surprised that this isn’t over yet?” Brian said.

“At this point I’m preparing myself to never see Royal Woods again.” Lana stated. It was evidently sarcasm, since there was no way Lana would succumb to losing her family.

“We can’t give up yet you two, we’re still in this race!” Lynn exclaimed as she continued driving. “Just put on your game face and this will be over in a flash!”

“I don’t think this race is EVER going to end at this rate.” Brian stated. “One of those tears will just bring us to another one of these crazy places! How do we even know that one will take us back?”

“Because the next one will bring you back.”

It was Lisa’s voice over the speakers again.

“Where were you the last couple of minutes when we needed it?!” Brian exclaimed.

“Educating my cranium, what else?” Lisa’s voice answered. “I was doing the research you told me to do!”

“Okay, okay, we get it now and we’re sorry!” Lynn said. “What do you have for us anyway?”

“She got the calculations to hopefully get you back here.” Luan’s voice said.

“Exactly.” Lisa’s voice stated. “According to the numbers, wherever you are has the tear to take you back in one piece. Find it, and you should arrive back home as soon as possible.”

“You sure about that Lisa? You said that last time and it didn’t turn out like that.” Lana said.

“Trust her this time. I’m no genius, but just looking at the numbers gives me the hope that you will return.” Lucy’s voice said.

“That’s all I need to get back into things!” Lynn exclaimed. “Wish us luck everyone!”

The Loud siblings on the other end spoke up to give their support before the speakers went silent. With other racers behind them they couldn’t afford any more free time as their kart zipped under the giant bed. Thanks to having a keen eye, Lana saw where the final tear was situated. She indicated to the others where it was and it got Lynn and Brian to notice. The last tear that would bring them back to Royal Woods was nearly halfway across the room next to the door, making the trek there a pretty long drive but Lynn knew she could handle it. They swirled around giant dust bunnies and books of all kinds, along with some other objects they couldn’t recognize, as the dust on the ground made steering a bit harder but not impossible.

That seemed to be the case as Lynn glanced ahead and widely smiled at what she saw.

“Hey Grease, forgetting someone about to kick your butt?!”

They finally did it. After all of the hassle without them from the last area, Lynn’s tenacity and might got them to catch up to her rivals easily, and from what she was seeing from their kart it almost sounded too easy. They must have hit a wrong turn from the dust as there was a huge dent on the right of their kart along with their right wheels appearing a bit loose. It was a miracle that it was still running, albeit slower than usual, but the other sister was aiming to remedy the situation as she could be seen stabilizing the wheels with some oil and a wrench.

Reese and Riley were furious upon seeing Lynn behind them.

“Ugh, how in the right mind did you immediately get to us?! We had one of the strongest leads imaginable!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have steered so tightly on that dust floor sis.” Riley said as she tightened the back wheel a bit more.

“I know what I’m doing Riley, just get this heap of metal back up and running!” Reese shouted. Riley huffed and snorted before getting back to fixing the wheels, and to do it while driving was an impressive feat for someone of her age. The instantly Lynn’s kart ran past them, putting them in the first place position, Riley fixed the wheel and Reese wasted no time going after them, almost giving Riley no chance to get back in her seat.

It was going to be a long ride to the tear across the almost endless floor, but Lynn knew it wasn’t going to be easy. She still had Reese and Riley to grind into dust and she wanted a spare seat up close to see the gritty details. Cruel, yes, but Lynn didn’t care as long as she won and they lost.

Too bad her train of thought was stopped early from a boom echoing over her.

“Ugh, why do my parents have to remind me to practice my magic? Hello, I practically do it all of the time!”

Everyone was spooked for a moment until Lana gazed up and pointed where it came from, drawing Lynn’s and Brian’s attention. They went flat seeing what it was, yet another potential hazard was among them. Atop the bed they were just under was a young girl, but she had some features that made her stand out. Her hair was long and bright blonde with a band near the top with small horns on it, and her faced appeared in such a way that she could be bubbly and up tempo and it would easily steal the show. Her eyes were sky blue as two heart shaped marks dotted her cheeks and her dress had a dark green tint to it. Her legs were covered in two purple and orange stockings with her two long red boots to top it off. As with the other ones they came across, she was massive in size compared to them. Nobody knew what to expect from her, and they didn’t want to find out.

The girl was currently being occupied by a tall book in front of her face and her eyes were locked with the pages inside. Lynn couldn’t get too distracted with what she was doing as she needed to continue driving, so Lana and Brian kept their attention on her just in case while also keeping Reese and Riley in check behind them. Even further behind were the remaining few racers that didn’t get disqualified from any sort of crash or collision, making all of it a mad dash to get to the tear first.

The girl’s voice boomed again.

“At least this spell might be interesting to use at some point. Turning people into giant ice cream cones always puts a smile on my face. Ooh, maybe I could get Marco and try it out on some of those-”

She paused when she averted her visuals to the side below her on the floor. Brian and Lana were nervous wrecks seeing the eyes rivaling even planetoids cast their sight over them along with the other racers. It was a flip of the coin to know what would go next.

They flipped tails.

“Eeeew, there’s bugs in my room?! I told the cleaning maids to go through every corner so this wouldn’t happen, and yet here come the infestations! However...they could help me with target practice...”

Their pupils shrank as they saw the girl get off the bed and planted her boots on the floor. It was just what they didn’t need, an unofficial time limit, and if it hit zero they wouldn’t survive the outcome. The girl pulled out what appeared to be a stylish looking wand, not nearly as glamorous as the last one they saw, and aimed it right at the mites that were the racers and grasped it with both hands.

The grand show was about to begin.

“Bubblegum Bendy Shot!”

Pink beams shot out of the girl’s wand around the racers and hit the ground around them, leaving behind a sticky confectionery where it landed. Everyone’s attention was put on overdrive as the beams shot out quickly and they only had seconds to react. Lynn was already on the brink of getting hit while Reese and Riley had an easier time, but even they knew this was only beginning. Their tires grazed the edges of the sticky spots that almost made them lose balance at points and it didn’t help that some were panicking already.

“Eep!” Brian exclaimed as he tried as much as he could to stay under Lynn’s helmet. The constant shots around them made him very nervous and afraid, making him pull at Lynn’s hair on accident a few times.

“Hey, hey, watch the hair little guy!” Lynn said as she rubbed a spot on her head. “I need full concentration if we’re going to get out of this!”

“Sorry, but I don’t want to get stuck and lose you!” Brian replied.

“You’re talking to Lynn Loud Junior here, I know what I’m doing.” Lynn said. “Just hang in there and this will all be over.”

“This...is...so amazing!” Lana stuttered as the kart went over a few bumps in the floor. This came at a consequence, as the back right wheel was tossed into the air for a moment before landing on an edge of a gummy spot, twisting it and making it lopsided. Lynn had to slow down a bit to not risk losing it, consequently making Reese and Riley pull ahead of them.

“Too bad you got tire troubles, for my dad taught me how to fix that ages ago!” Riley heckled. “I’m not going to tell you how, for that would be aiding losers like you!”

Lynn growled under her breath as the two sister pulled further ahead until they were a decent distance away. They wouldn’t be able to pull back ahead at the rate they were at, for the lopsided wheel held them back from going too fast. Fixing it was her top priority.

“Hey, we need someone to fix that back wheel! I can’t speed up at that rate and shred those two without it!” Lynn exclaimed as another bubblegum blast zoomed above her.

Lana chuckled and tilted her hat downward in a cool manner.

“Lynn, you quite possibly have the greatest mechanic at the forefront for the job. I can get that baby up and straight in a snap!”

“Great, I need as much team support if we’re going to win this!” Lynn stated as she kept her eyes on the road ahead.

Hops chimed in from under Lana’s hat to show his support and Lana glanced back to the right rearward wheel. It truly appeared to almost be on the verge of breaking off, which would put them out of the race with no time for recovery. Lana had the skills to know how to operate those certain mechanisms but there was a snag with this one. Since the wheel was near the back she couldn’t reach that far with her equipment unless she had some really stretchy arms, and even though she would love to have that as a superpower she didn’t have that at the moment. Even so, working on it while in a moving vehicle almost sounded like a death sentence, but if Riley could do it since her father was a part of a famous pit crew there was no reason she could pull it off too.

Still, she needed an outrageous idea to pull it off but Lana was just that special type of girl to think of something of that caliber. She lifted Lynn’s helmet up slightly to see the worried Brian underneath, making him relax a bit when he saw her face.

“Brian, I’m going to need your help to fix the back wheel.”

“What? How can I help when I’m no bigger than one of your fingers?” Brian asked.

“You won’t be doing it alone, that’s what. You seem to have forgotten that we also have the world’s smartest frog on board, and he’s learned a couple of pointers from always hanging with the expert.”

Hops jumped out from under Lana’s hat and onto her shoulder upon hearing his name. Both Hops and Brian weren’t quite sure what Lana was talking about until she explained further.

“Okay, I know we have the amphibian with us but how will that help?” Brian asked. The kart hit another speed bump before Lana explained further.

“Look, I can’t reach the wheel with my arms, but if there’s something that can it’s my best buddy’s tongue. I always keep a toolkit with me because I need to be prepared for anything, so Hops can grip the wrench I have with his tongue but he finds it rather hard to turn things with it. That is where you come in Brian.”

“Umm, what do you have in mind?” Brian asked with a pinch of nervousness as he didn’t like where things were going.

“I’m going to need you to be at the end of Hops’ tongue while holding the wrench. He might not be able to turn the wrench, but you can despite your size. He has the length to reach the wheel and you can twist and fix it. Don’t worry about not knowing what to do, I’ll be watching you and explaining what to do, for I am the expert after all.”

Lana had to have been insane to come up with a plan like that. Hops was already up for it, as he couldn’t deny his best friend in a time of need, but Brian was the greater skeptic. If anything went wrong with the maneuver it could be catastrophic and he would be at the front of it. He wanted something safer but they didn’t have the time to until the wheel fully fell off and he couldn’t deny a joyful girl like Lana. She would get crazy at time and she was pretty committed to going through with the idea even if it was outlandish. He felt a pit in his stomach as he was going to agree with her…

“I would highly request against doing those sorts of rash actions!”

Lisa’s voice came over the speakers.

“I may not be able to have you in the line of sight, but my sharp-eared auricula atrii can pick you up clearly!”

“Lisa, we kind of have no other choice before we lose the wheel. As crazy and stupid as it sounds, it’s our only chance.” Brian replied.

“If you can give me enough time surely I could calculate a more safer alternative-”

“We don’t have time Lisa! We need this to go through!” Lana interjected.

“But the injury rates are off the charts if you were to do something like that! According to my calculations, if just the simplest of movements were to come across your bodies it would-”

Lana and Brian tuned Lisa out as their idea would come to fruition. Lana picked Brian off of Lynn,  doing it cautiously due to his broken arm and leg, and held him in her hand as Hops stuck his slimy tongue out. This made Brian cringe knowing her had to stick to the end of it, but Hops was one of the family animals that knew he wasn’t a free snack. Lana liked to have him around after all and Hops respected that, even getting to give him a few rides on his back on occasion. Brian sluggishly trudged up to Hops before Lana stuck him to Hops’ tongue with two fingers. Already it appeared to be a silly sight, but it was going to be a tough patch to get through.

Lana handed Brian a wrench out of her overalls, with astonishingly was small enough for Brian to grip with his available arm despite the size difference. He wanted to ask Lana about it, but with her motto “always be prepared” he chose not to. He didn’t want to know about the other things she kept in those pants to save his sanity just in case.

“Okay you two, time to do this.” Lana said. “There’s one thing I want to ask you though Brian.”

“And that would be?” Brian asked while trying to adapt to Hops’ saliva dripping down him. Lana’s eyes squinted to him in a more serious manner.

“What did you say about this plan being stupid?”

Brian felt his heart skip a beat for a second as the young girl leered at him.

“Errr, ummm, I didn’t mean it like that! I, uhhhhhhh, meant to say-”

Lana couldn’t help but chuckle at how Brian acted before she put her trademark smile back on.

“Heheheheh, just messing with you Brian! I’m thinking the same thing, but this DOES need to work despite that.”

“Phew, thanks for the tip...” Brian replied as he felt the relief exhale out of him. With Hops having Brian at the end of his tongue, Lana carried her frog to the side of the moving kart as she looked down to the loose wheel running against the floor. She held Hops tightly so he wouldn’t fall off, but that wouldn’t save her shrunken friend. The amphibian needed the perfect shot and with the constant bubblegum shots shaking up the kart it wouldn’t be easy. Hops took a moment to concentrate, even using his webbed feet to rub his head, before taking a deep breath, while keeping his mouth closed so he wouldn’t get Brian on accident, and shooting his tongue out with the best of his ability. Brian was launched with the wrench in his hands as Hops held him back with his tongue like a bungee cord. It was close, but Hops’ concentration payed off as Brian stopped just inches from the back wheel while being slightly above it. Hops’ job was done and now it was time for the tiny one and the continual sights of the speeding road under him didn’t help make him any more scared than he was. It was all a blur from the speed they were going at and it cast a terrifying intimidation over his helpless body. Part one was done, now the other half needed to close to seal the deal.

He heard Lana cheer from her seat.

“Yes! I can’t believe that actually worked! You okay back there Brian?!”

“It’s a bit dusty from the tire, but I’m currently okay!” Brian exclaimed. It was a little harder to hear from the noises of the kart and the screeching wheel so it took a moment for Brian to mentally decipher what Lana said.

“Okay, now I’ll tell you the instructions! Follow what I say and this will be over quickly! Don’t worry about falling, Hops has you stuck to his tongue tightly!”

A croaking noise rang through his ears past all of the tire noises, telling him that Hops was handling him okay. Even in the most crazy of situations Hops kept a level head, something most frogs wouldn’t have as they would tend to hop away from danger at most. He lowered his tongue closer to the loose tire, putting Brian practically on top without actually touching it, as Lana belted out the first step.

“Now I want you to get the wrench closer to the axle and attach it! Don’t worry if you see sparks, it happens at points when metal clashes in motion!”

Brian shuddered, for even the first step was putting his life on the line. He didn’t want to know how Lana could muster doing handiwork like this and not cower in a corner after the first procedure, but this was his time and not hers. The two had their differences, some obvious and some not, and this moment was almost a perfect example. Not wanting to delay for too long, the tire kicked dust from the floor as Brian slowly latched the top of the wrench near the middle of the axle, and like Lana warned earlier, a spurt of sparks flew from the clash of metal making Hops have to readjust his tongue so Brian wouldn’t get burned. As he held the wrench with his free arm, Brian could already feel a low heat from the handle. It wasn’t too bad, but at least he wasn’t holding the top.

He heard Lana shout again.

“You’re doing great Brian! Try to angle the latch near the base of the axle near the kart, for that’s where the trouble is!”

Hops moved his tongue closer to the spot Lana was talking about as Brian kept the wrench attached while still holding it. They didn’t get far until a booming voice rang above them.

“I appears these bugs are more evasive than I thought! Let’s try this out then, Beautiful Butterfly Swarm!”

With her first attempt failing to stop them, the giant girl went for a different approach as dozens of butterflies shot out from the wand. To her they were normal sized for a bunch of butterflies, but to the tiny racers they could compete for the next blockbuster monster movie despite having a rather cute appearance to normal ones. The flaps of their wings created gusts all around the racers as their bodies scraped the floor attempting to ram them. While most did okay, one racer wasn’t so lucky as their light kart tossed and turned from a loose gust before a butterfly obliterated their ride, forcing them to the ground. She were almost helpless to the giant insect on top of her, but before it could land the finishing blow the racer disappeared like the others who were eliminated. With another down, there weren’t many left with their wheels turning, including the Bullock sisters and the Loud crew.

For Lynn and her passengers, the butterflies were completely hectic to them. Lynn struggled to keep their kart steady from the winds and concentrate ahead, while Lana, Hops, and Brian took the brunt of the troubles. With the kart jerking everywhere Hops’ tongue swayed everywhere as the frog tried to keep Brian from smacking into the moving loose tire, which combined with the butterfly trouble almost was on the verge of breaking off.

“What the heck?! There’s giant butterflies appearing now?!” Lana exclaimed as she saw the trouble Brian was going through. She hastily turned to Lynn for her input as the kart rumbled everywhere.

“Hey sis, we need more stability or Brian’s going down!”

“I’m trying my best, for even these guns have their limits!” Lynn stated referring to her muscles. “I wish I could do something, but I need to keep my eyes locked ahead! If there was anything I learned from snippets of Lori’s driving training it’s to always keep your eyes on the road!”

“But Brian’s out there fixing that tire in the open! If something else happens, he might-”

Before Lana could finish, one of the massive butterflies flew over their kart and let loose a treacherous whirlwind in it’s wake. The kart was sent wildly swerving as Lynn tried to keep it stable and Hops kept Brian stuck safe, but that was easier said than done. The rushing wind was so strong that Hops flew out of Lana’s grasp and into the air, forcing him to do a last ditch effort to stay with her. Before he could fall off the kart completely, Hops stuck his hind legs out and miraculously took hold of the tail at the end, making him go up against the rushing air as the kart went forward.

“No, Hops!” Lana exclaimed as she tried to reach out and grab him, but like she said before her arms were too short to access the back. She could only watch as Hops held on for dear life from his hind legs at the tail of the kart, wishing it wouldn’t end tragically. This didn’t bode well with Brian either, as he was taken for a ride of his own when Hops was let loose. He was also sent careening through the air as he was suddenly taken from around the loose tire, but Hops’ tongue was so sticky that it kept him stuck to it without risk of getting off. Even so, it didn’t end well when Hops saved himself by latching to the kart’s tail as his tongue dropped back down toward the tire, but also lurched to the side and smacked into the side of the kart, taking Brian with it. If he didn’t get any pain before the race due to the casts, it all came forth in one big blow. It was like his arm and leg were skewered by a large iron nail and it stuck with him as he yelped. He didn’t know how much damage went over his arm and leg now but he didn’t want to find out.

“Please hold on as best as you can Hops! I don’t want to lose you and Brian at the same time!” Lana shouted with tears in her eyes.

Hops croaked to the best of his ability through the winds while Brian tried to tough out the pain to speak to Lana, wrench now back on the axle near the base with sparks coming out.

“Lana, ow, what’s the, ouch, next step to fixing this?!”

Lana almost acted like she snapped out of a trance upon hearing Brian. She couldn’t reach him, but she could still speak with him. She tried to calm down from her massive panic to give Brian the next step.

“Oh right, that...wheel fixing, uhhhhh, errrrrrrm…you need to turn the wrench down to straighten the wheel! Please make it quick!”

Brian didn’t need to be told twice as the sparks flew around him with Hops holding on for dear life from the kart’s tail. With his free hand Brian put all of the pressure on the wrench and pulled with as much as he could do. It made the tire lock up for a quick moment before going loose so it needed more pressure. The constant winds of the kart weren’t doing him any favors but it would be much worse if he fell off at any point, so he pressed down on the wrench again. Again, it locked up for a moment but then got loose, still not enough. Wanting this to all be over now, Brian frustratingly pushed down on the wrench again and again as more sparks flew out, with each extra press locking the tire further and further. He didn’t want to see what was coming up on account for the insanity that was happening, and Lana was on edge and freaking out over two of her close friends nearly on death’s door. However they were to get out of it would seem like a miracle.

But that didn’t mean Lynn wasn’t out of the game. She might not be able to take her eyes off of the road but she could definitely hear the troubled ones behind her. She wanted to help even if she couldn’t move from the wheel and, like Lana, came up with a pretty crazy decision to do so. If a gust of wind from one of the shot butterflies pushed Brian and Hops to the back, then it could also push them forward out of it. All she needed was one of the butterflies to do so, and once she saw one behind her through the rear view mirrors, for Lana was so professional in making the kart that she put those accessories in, she drummed up one of her famous insults and went for it.

“Hey, guts along the windshield, you’re giving off a cute little draft here! I thought you had the power to fly kites to tiny ones like me, but all I feel is a light breeze! I might as well turn on the AC and go with that instead!”

Even though her voice was muffled through driving, the butterfly could hear Lynn clearly and didn’t like those choice words. Easily taking the bait, the butterfly flew forward to give Lynn a taste of her own medicine as Brian did one final tighten of the axle and Hops began to lose he grip on the kart’s tail. Losing all strength, Hops’ feet slipped from the tail right as the butterfly flew over them, casting a huge gust of wind forward before the tiny frog could fly off completely. Both Hops and Brian screamed, or in Hops’ case croaked in a high pitch, as Lana was taken by surprise and, almost on instinct, stood up and expertly caught Hops as he launched forward right into her bare hands. Hops and Brian were almost stunned at what just happened before Hops realized that Brian was still attached to his tongue, so he withdrew it as Lana used a free hand to pluck Brian back into her grasp and take her wrench back. Whatever just went down, it was now over.

“What...what did I just go through?!” Brian said in a shock. His statement was met with Lana almost tearing up completely before pulling both Brian and Hops in for a close hug. Even though he didn’t want to believe what just happened, he couldn’t admit that Lana’s hug was anything but heartwarming especially since the near death that almost occurred moments ago.

“I almost thought I was going to lose you two, I’m terribly sorry to put you through that! You’re my best friends, please don’t be mad at me! I love both of you!”

That last statement stuck out to Brian. He obviously knew it wasn’t “that” type she was talking about and more of a sibling love, but it was very charming to him to think Lana thought of him that way. He wasn’t related to her in any way and she was practically calling him one of her brothers, he almost felt like crying himself into her overalls. It was special to him for her to say that.

“Wow, uhhhhh...thanks for the feelings Lana...” Brian said as he leaked from the face a tiny bit. Hops likewise croaked happily, giving Lana more reasons to hold them close even if it was making Brian’s pain from earlier spike up again. He was really experiencing “tough love” in all of its glory.

“I know I’m not supposed to be a killjoy for happy moments, but we have bigger things to worry about! Look alive!”

Lynn’s loud voice caught the three’s attention as she indicated to look behind them. They were still shaken up, but Lana, Hops, and Brian turned their heads towards the back to see all of the butterflies quickly disperse, which the giant girl didn’t exactly like.

“Urgh, evasive little buggers are you? That’s it, you forced me to bring out the big guns termites! Spider with a Top Hat Blast!”

With that said, the giant girl’s final form of ending them came out of her wand belting out a silly war cry. Out launched the aforementioned spider with a fancy top hat, which weirdly enough appeared like a circle with eight legs, as the top part of the hat flipped open revealing a deadly looking Gatling gun that immediately started firing rounds at the racers. It they were normal size the shots would probably bounce harmlessly off, but at their current size, not even reaching one of the spider’s legs, any direct hit would be the end.

“You have got...to be joking.” Brian said with a slight deadpan tone. Lana safely put Brian back under Lynn’s helmet while the young all star did her best to avoid as much as she could. The spider didn’t appear to be the best sharpshooter as it let loose shot after shot, making impact around everyone that they had to avoid. This didn’t bode well for two of the racers though, as they were caught off guard when a stray shot hit their karts, wrecking it as they were sent careening forward. They vanished before they hit the ground, leaving only a select few still racing.

The craters in the ground from each shot made the road bumpy as Lynn could see the tear not too far ahead with Reese and Riley also somewhat close ahead of them. Once Lynn saw the two she grinned widely, for Riley was back repairing a tire while Reese was still driving, giving her an ample opportunity to catch up.

“Blazes Riley, I knew we shouldn’t have taken that left turn when the shots came!” Reese exclaimed.

“Relax sis, you have an expert mechanic as a sibling. You can blame our pit stop member of a dad for that, for someone’s got to handle things when he’s gone!” Riley replied as she used a wrench on the wheel’s axle. Just as Riley put the finishing touches on, their jaws dropped when they saw Lynn and company speed past them.

“You should really watch those potholes Grease! You might let someone pass ya!” Lynn taunted as she passed them into first place. This got Reese fuming as her rival disappeared into the tear before them.

“Riley, get that wheel fixed NOW!”

“I’m just finishing it up Reese. You have to have some thought and care with mechanical work like-”

“FINISH IT NOW!”

“Okay, okay, it’s now done! Let’s get going already!”

The colors ran through everyone’s eyes yet again as the tear brought them to another place. Pretty much everyone accepted their fates to never end up in Royal Woods again for it always seemed to go to somewhere they didn’t know. Because of it, Lynn, Lana, Brian, and Hops braced themselves for whatever crazy place they will be brought to next, hoping it would be somewhat calmer than the last.

They were astonished to see the familiar streets and buildings around them.

It seemed out of reach, but all they needed was to go through three others places to get back. Lana and Brian couldn’t have been any happier to see the familiarity of the place around them, and Lynn wanted to scream joyfully if she wasn’t focused on beating the Bullocks. Gazing around where they were, they appeared to be near the bottom of the Dinosaur Spine meaning the tears they went in skipped most of the interesting parts of the course. Their karts also went back to traversing downhill instead of on their own like where the tears took them, making it more simple to the few racers still going.

Both Lynn and the Bullock sisters were neck and neck as the announcers suddenly came up.

“Whoa, looks like some racers are finally making it out of the crowded part! I don’t know what happened to cause such a long wait, but at least we can see the epic climax! What do you think B.B.Barbie?”

“I’m on the edge of my seat!” she said. “As I’ve said, I’m not too much into racing, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I wanted a photo finish! This is HISTORY for Royal Woods in the making!”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself!” Laki replied.

Lynn and Reese gritted their teeth as the finish line came into view. Their passengers held close together, which in Riley’s case was her sister’s backside, while their karts zipped in a standstill. Most of the audience, including the Loud siblings, all stood near the finish line cheering for the racers and the epic finish.

The yardage got shorter and shorter. Seventy feet, sixty, fifty, forty…

Thirty…

…

Fifteen…

…

Five…

…

Zero.

The crowd erupted with cheers and praise as the two racers passed the checkered flag. It was almost too fast to notice, making it look like one huge blur just sped by, but that was one of the factors that made the finish so memorable.

“Oh my gosh, that was an AMAZING finish! What a play from those two racers! We don’t even know who won!” Laki exclaimed.

“I’m believing it as I’m seeing it!” B.B.Barbie answered. “That’s one for the record books!”

Everyone held their breaths in anticipation to the big screen as the footage of the finish was being analyzed. Because Lynn had to take off her helmet Lana stealthily hid Brian in one of her overall’s pockets since Hops was occupying under her hat. The other racers, including the ones that were eliminated, were also among the crowd after they found themselves in an unoccupied street with their karts destroyed. They couldn’t recall how they managed to lose the race, although the Louds knew the real reason and nobody else. Reese and Riley tried to explain what happened but obviously nobody believed them with how crazy the accusations were.

Lori and Leni were among the most worried as they chewed their fingernails in nervousness while everyone else was mostly content. Brian stayed hidden in Lana’s overalls and only poked his head out when he thought it was safe. The footage on the big screen slowed to a crawl and almost went frame by frame for a more thorough analysis. It was close at first, but the closer the two karts got to the finish line was when a difference showed.

One was clearly a few inches before the other.

“Well everyone, it was an epic and astounding race, probably one of the best ever in the history of this event, but there can only be one set of winners. It was close, but the winners of this year’s downhill kart race is...Lynn and Lana Loud!”

The audience erupted as the jock, mechanic, and shrunken boy felt their hearts stop. They did it, they actually did it, even through the detours of the tears interrupting their progress. Reese and Riley shook a fist at them as the winners rushed up the podium with stars in their eyes while B.B.Barbie got out the huge trophy and gave it to them.

“You two are real racing legends. You definitely deserve this.” B.B.Barbie said. Lynn and Lana were ecstatic seeing the gold reflect in their eyes as they posed for the cameras but one particular sibling in the audience was clearly focused on something else.

And B.B.Barbie felt it when the pageant princess latched to her leg for a second time with crazy eyes.

“I LOVE YOU AND YOUR STORIES! PLEASE NEVER LEAVE ROYAL WOODS, FOR I HAVE SO MANY STORY IDEAS AND ADORE IT WHEN YOU USE THE PINK HAIRED ONE! I’M ONLY SIX, DON’T LEAVE ME!”

The Loud kids came home with their winners in tow. They helped carry in the big trophy and gave their congrats to one of the greatest races they ever saw. Lana herself couldn’t stop rambling off about all of the exciting sights she witnessed through the tears and the experiences that came with it. She wanted something as exciting at that race to happen again which her siblings informed to not put in expectations to something as unpredictable as those holes, but knowing Lana she probably already did so behind their back.

Once everyone split off once they got to the house, Lynn and Lana carried the huge trophy to the dining room where Lynn’s other trophies were situated. They took a moment to rest their arms before making extra room in the cabinet and putting the trophy inside. They then closed the cabinet and took a moment to gaze at how special it was. While Lynn was used to the feeling, Lana didn’t attend competitions that often so it was almost heavenly to see that she won that with her big sister Lynn.

“Wow...I can’t believe we actually won...” Lana said as she sniffed a little. “It’s so beautiful...I’m really happy to have a sister like you Lynn.”

“Any time little sis!” Lynn said as she smiled and gave her a pat on the back. “Winning is my specialty after all.”

“Hey, you’re forgetting me!”

The two girls looked down to the source of the voice only to see Brian still in Lana’s overalls from earlier.

“We didn’t forget you Brian, we could never lose track of someone with such a memorable trait!” Lana said as she picked him out of her pocket and into her hand. Hops also chimed in before a rumbling sound was heard.

“Oops, almost forgot about feeding time! Lynn, if I could ask-”

“Sure sis, I’ll take Brian off your hands.” Lynn replied. Lana showed off her gaping smile before handing Brian over into Lynn’s grasp. She then bolted up the stairs to get the reptiles’ meal for the day, and knowing Lana she would also want a “taste test” like she usually did.

The giantess looked down at Brian in her hand with a smile on her face.

“Well little guy, we did it. All of those protein shakes will really get this girl pumping.” Lynn said.

“You can’t let up for two seconds without some sort of workout, can you?” Brian asked with a pinch of sarcasm and a snarky smile. Lynn couldn’t help but laugh.

“I always have to keep my muscles in tip top shape for the dozens of sports I’m in. You’re learning from the master after all.”

“I’ll keep that in mind when you need me again.” Brian replied. “You think Reese and Riley will be there too? They were pretty upset over losing today.”

“Well that’s because they’re sore losers. I’m pretty sure they will count this as a fluke like every other time.” Lynn said. “Too bad they’re always up against ol’ Lynnsanity and her unstoppable win streak!”

The two laughed it up before they looked back at the giant trophy they earned. They could see their faces in the shine around it like the winners they were, giving a stride of confidence in their souls. For once, Brian felt he accomplished something. Sure Lynn did most of the work but he was a vital asset, along with Lana and Hops, to get the kart up and rolling. Lynn really appreciated the extra eyes when racing, which was why she always took him to motocross practice under her helmet. It was a muddy sport, but it was an activity Brian could do with Lynn while crippled at such a small size. When together, Lynn loved the collaboration and Brian couldn’t help but feel the same way. They were different, but they appreciated doing stuff together.

“Can’t believe we won something like that, huh?” Lynn said. “I understand how you must feel as I went through similar emotions when I won my first trophy. I wears off over time, but the magic is always there.”

“Yeah...I can feel it.” Brian replied. “I think we really got to understand each other through that race. I can now appreciate what goes through your mind and your sort of mentality...and there’s a spark in me that wants to learn more.”

“Wait...” Lynn replied with a spice of surprise. “You actually want to hang out with me some more? Even after I broke you arm and leg?”

“Hey, you still wanted to find the right sport we could do together even with the size difference.” Brian answered. Lynn’s eyes almost shined with heartfelt feelings at the shrunken boy in her hand. She always wanted a sporting buddy around the house and even though he wasn’t normal size hearing him volunteer almost was unheard of. Here he was though offering to hang out with her, and she couldn’t have been happier.

She put up one of her trademark snarky smiles looking down at him.

“Hey Brian...you’re pretty cool.”

“Thanks Lynn.” Brian replied. It was something to make up for always avoiding her in the past and he was pretty sure Lynn would bring up the “being stuck in her shoe” situation at some point. It would be pretty rough, especially since it was Lynn after all, but he needed to start with the first step at some point and now was the perfect time to do so.

Lynn coiled her fingers around the shrunken kid, making sure to be careful around his broken arm and leg, as she went with him to get to the backyard, happy to have someone that wanted to know her. She was going to rub in how huge she was compared to him, since gloating was a trait she enjoyed having, and be happy being the “biggest athlete” to someone with her even if Brian wasn’t keen on it. Being the biggest girl in the house wasn’t a top priority for Lynn but she appreciated the extra buffs it would give during sports. Plus she could rub it in her siblings’ faces and not feel guilty about it, but until then she always had Brian and his tiny size. She would always be the biggest sports star around him and it made her feel happy.

But even then Brian didn’t give her the full story.

After the awards ceremony of the race, Lisa requested Brian for something he needed to see. It was all recorded from the camera in front of the kart at the time and it picked up something extra when in the area with the dragon. As it fought with the giant girl in the city there was one extra presence over them that Lisa calculated to not be from that place. It took some zooming in, but when it came into view Brian’s skin went clammy. The digits were pointed and sharp like talons as the teal color almost blended in with the night sky, and Lisa did more calculations and concluded it was easily over twice the size of anyone in the house. He asked what it was about but Lisa stayed quiet, only saying that there was the possibility that it could come for any of them, not just him. There was something in the back of her mind that she was keeping from him, and whatever it was it gave Brian chills. Some secret research maybe?

He would have to tell the other siblings about the giant hand in the footage after Lynn was done with him.

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