User blog:Metool Bard/Fanfiction: Missing Linc (Chapter 25)

Chapter 25: The Full House Turnabout
Dirk lowered his shades and stared at all of us. After a few seconds, he started snickering.

“So, the whole gang is here,” he said. “The valiant heroes have come to save the day. How very quaint.”

“Yeah, I don’t see how that’s funny,” said Luan. “And trust me, I know funny.”

Dirk scoffed. “Well, of course you don’t see it. You’re too busy galavanting about in your own little fantasy.”

“Um, excuse me?” I said, arching an eyebrow. “You literally think everything in life has to go according to your script, and we’re the ones living in a fantasy world? Gag me.”

“Oh, trust me, High Card. If it comes to that, it’ll be your own fault,” Dirk said cooly.

Ginny turned completely pale. “Dad, no!  You’re just digging your own grave at this poi—”

“Cut!” Dirk interrupted. “There you go again, Gin. Always going off-script. Have I taught you nothing?”

“Actually, she’s quite correct in her assessment,” said Lisa. She brandished Dirk’s script. “I’ve taken the liberty of going over your little manifesto, and despite the fact that you use codenames for all the players involved, it’s very incriminating evidence against you. That’s not to mention all of the other information we gathered throughout the day. You have no means of escape, ergo it’s in your best interest to surrender to the authorities and relinquish our male sibling.”

Dirk sighed and shook his head. “See, this is something Bill Buck will never understand. All of his stories are so childish and predictable. You know from the first page that the heroes are victorious, and the villains are defeated. That’s not engaging. That’s not relatable. That isn’t art.”

…

Well, that came out of nowhere. Seriously, what the heck is he talking about?

“Don’t try to change the subject,” Lynn growled, pounding her fist into her palm. “We’re not talking about one of your dumb movies here.”

“Nor am I,” said Dirk. “For you see, Full House Gang, you may think you’ve won, but that’s just another fantasy. My work deconstructs fantasies and shows the bleak reality of the world, something you children are too naïve to understand.”

Seeing as we live with Lucy, I’m calling major bull on that. Lucy didn’t seem happy about the statement, either. Her stoic facade began to crack as she gritted her teeth.

“Grr,” she snarled. “It would not be wise for you to underestimate us.”

“I have nothing to fear from the likes of you,” said Dirk.

“Then you don’t know us very well.”

Dirk let out another sigh. “Tsk tsk tsk. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this, but it appears you stubborn brats don’t comprehend subtlety. Very well. I will explain to you just how hopeless you really are.”

I don’t like how confident he sounds right now. Lisa’s right; we literally have him backed into a corner, yet he’s still determined to fight us. He must have some nasty tricks up his sleeve. Which is all the more reason we can’t back down now.

Argument: You Lose

“You claim that having my script means that you’ve won,” said Dirk. “However, notice that not once in the script did I ever mention your brother by name. The police are simply going to see this as my screenplay for a movie, not the diabolical plan you claim it is. What’s more, there’s no other evidence linking me to the crime. When the police arrive here, all they’ll see are ten delinquents trespassing on my property and harassing me. It’s what you deserve for going against the script.”

I notice that at no point did he try to deny our accusations. All he said was that we couldn’t prove it. Well, that’s where he’s wrong. Let’s tear this guy apart.

“So you claim that your script has nothing incriminating in it, is that it?” said Lynn.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” said Dirk.

Lynn scoffed. “Funny. ‘Cause one of the locations in your script just so happens to be my school. Why would my school be a setting in an Ace Savvy movie?”

Dirk chuckled. “And people say I don’t know the source material,” he said. “Or are you not familiar with the Casino Multiverse arc?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” asked Lynn.

Ginny sighed. “There’s a parallel dimension in the Ace Savvy universe called Earth Prime, which was introduced in the Casino Multiverse arc.  It’s supposed to be a representation of our Earth.”

“Meaning he can just throw real-world locations into his script and just claim that those scenes take place on Earth Prime!” Luna exclaimed. “Bogus!”

Lynn snorted. “As if the police are gonna buy that!”

“And you really think you can back up your claim that the script is talking about actual events?” Dirk countered. “You have no evidence to that effect.”

“Think again, buster!” barked Luna. “What about that key you copied?!”

“Ah, yes. The key,” Dirk mused. “That might give your story some weight. I take it you have it?”

Luna suddenly froze like a deer in the headlights and gave Luan a worried look. That’s… not a good sign.

“Well, not on us,” said Luan sheepishly. “We gave it to Rusty so that he could make sure Papa Wheelie and Flat Tire didn’t get off the hook. But we can…”

“Cut!” Dirk interrupted. “If the prop isn’t here, then it can’t be used in the scene. Try to follow the script, would you?”

What, you mean just give up and let you win? Not freaking likely. Still, he seems to always have an answer to everything. But at the same time, he’s got “suspicious” written all over him. What is he thinking?

“Wait a sec! Even if we don’t have the key on us, there’s still something we can use!” said Lana.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“When we were looking in the trailer, we found a drawer full of candle wax,” said Lana, sneering at Dirk. “And in the wax was an imprint shaped like a key! All we have to do is compare that imprint to the skeleton key at Lynn’s school, and that’ll be the end of you!”

“Ah, I see,” said Dirk. “You mean this imprint?”

He took out a glob of candle wax from his pocket. Just like Lana said, there was a key-shaped imprint embedded in it.

“Wait, like, now it’s got your fingerprints on it,” said Leni. “Why would you do something like…?”

Before she could finish, Dirk clenched his fist and crushed the wax ball into a billion pieces. D-did he just do what I think he did? You all saw that, right? He literally destroyed evidence right in front of our eyes! This guy’s nuts!

“All according to my script,” Dirk gloated, dusting off his hands. “Now you have nothing but a screenplay, and that’s not enough for anyone to arrest me. You see now why you were living in a fantasy? Just because you’re the hero doesn’t mean you’re entitled to victory.”

Nnngh, dang it! I guess this is what Ginny meant when she said the deck was stacked against us. I don’t think we’re ever gonna get him to confess to anything at this rate! We’re definitely not gonna get him to back down! What do we do now?!

“We do not feel we’re entitled to victory, Mr. O’Donnell. We intend to earn it.”

I turned to see that Lisa had a sly smirk on her face. She pressed her glasses against the bridge of her nose, causing them to shine.

“What sort of nonsense is this?” Dirk asked. “I already destroyed your best chance at catching me. You’re doomed to fail, just as my script says.”

“Really now?” said Lisa. “Tell me, Mr. O’Donnell. Was this in your script perchance?”

She took out that HARV device she showed me and Leni this morning and pressed a few buttons. In a flash, a holographic projection of Dirk appeared before us, crushing a holographic ball of wax just like Dirk did a minute ago. Dirk’s jaw dropped, and he took out another screenplay. Sweat rained from his brow as he flipped through it.

“Th-that can’t be right!” he sputtered. “My script makes no mention of this!”

“Remember what Lucy said about underestimating us? This is what she meant,” said Lisa. “My Holographic Active Replay Visualizer, or HARV, can recreate whatever I so choose. And yes, that includes whatever evidence you destroy!”

“Cut~!”

Dirk recoiled and made a violent slashing motion across his throat. If he has anything to say to that, I’ll be very surprised.

“Th-this is preposterous!” he snapped. “You think the police are going to accept this glorified Etch-a-Sketch?!”

Lisa frowned. “I’ll have you know that this is the latest in forensic technology. And I mean actual forensics, not the pseudoscience junk corrupt prosecutors try to pass off as forensics. It’s time you confessed to your misdeeds.”

“Sh’s right, Dad. This has gone on long enough,” said Ginny. “Just let Lincoln go, and…”

“Cut!”

Y’know, that’s starting to get really annoying. I seriously pity Ginny if she has to put up with that every day.

“This isn’t over yet,” said Dirk. “My script says that you will fail, and that means you don’t have a chance. You’re still nothing but a bunch of children playing pretend!”

“So you’re right because your script says so, and we’re wrong because we’re just kids. Is that it?” said Luan, folding her arms. “Sounds to me like you’ve got a serious problem. Maybe you should go a doctor and ask him to give you a prescription.”  She laughed at her own joke. “Get it?”

Literally, Luan? Is now really the best time? Before I could ask that, her humorous smile vanished into a deadpan frown.

“But seriously, you can’t weasel your way outta this,” she said. “Give us back our brother.”

Dirk sneered. “What makes you think I have him?”

Wait, what? After all that, he still thinks he can deny everything?! Sheesh, what’s it gonna take to bring this guy down?!

“And what exactly does that mean?” snarled Lola. “What have you done to Linky?!”

“Indeed, that is an interesting question. What did I do to him?” said Dirk. His shades seemed to flash in the moonlight. “Oh, right. You have no way of finding out, do you?”

I literally just felt chills go up my spine. This guy’s not just nuts; he’s sick in the head! It’s like this is just a game to him! And he says we’re the ones playing pretend?! I-I am this close to turning him into a human pretzel!

“Wait. So, like, if we find out what you did to Lincoln, you’ll let him go?” asked Leni.

Dirk chuckled. “Ah, so naïve. Even now, you don’t understand the situation you’re in. You’re destined to fail because my script says you will fail, and my script says you will fail because that is the vision I intended.”

“That’s just begging the question,” said Lisa. “Your script is infallible because it’s your vision, and your vision is infallible because it’s in the script. Mind giving us an argument that isn’t circular?”

“Yeah, try a rectangle instead,” said Leni. “Wait, is that even a thing?”

Dirk laughed again. “And you expect me to take you seriously. Such naïveté has no place in my script. I’ve had enough of this. It’s time to shoot the climax! Behold, the downfall of the Full House Gang, Take One! And… action~!”

I glanced over at Ginny. She had her hands balled into fists, and she was biting her lip hard. It’s like she wants to say something, but she can’t. I think she’s still scared of her dad. Well, if she feels she can’t stand up to him, we’ll have to do it. Just hold on tight, Lincoln. We’re not going home without you.

Argument: The Downfall of the Full House Gang

“Let’s suppose for the sake of argument that you’re correct,” said Dirk. “I put this whole plan in motion to prove to Bill Buck and your brother that I tell the better story where the hero doesn’t automatically win. If that’s the case, where is he now? Your little tracking device can’t find him, and you already know he’s not in my trailer. For all you know, he’s not even here at my studio. And if I knew where he was, what makes you think I’d tell you? My script calls for me to rob you of your happy ending, and that’s just what I intend to do.”

Well, he’s right about one thing. We don’t have any evidence showing where Lincoln is right now. All we have is stuff connecting Dirk to the crime, so even if the police do arrest him, we won’t get Lincoln back. He really thought of everything, didn’t he? Well, maybe not everything. We can still do this if we work together.

“Curious,” mused Lisa. “How did you come to know about my tracking device?”

“Your brother told me,” said Dirk. “He told me quite a bit about you lot, insisting that you’d come for him. But of course, you’re still nothing but a bunch of entitled brats who think that just because you’re on the side of justice, you have to be victorious. That’s not how the world works, I’m afraid.”

…

Oh, man. He does not know how badly he just slipped up. And of course, Lola was ready to call him out on it.

“Wait a minute! How could you know all that stuff if you weren’t the one who hurt Linky?!” she demanded.

Dirk blinked. “I-I was just speaking hypothetically.”

“Dad, they’re not gonna buy tha—”

“Cut~!”

Ginny tried to speak up, but just like before, Dirk was having none of it.

“Keep speaking out of turn like that, and you’ll be joining your hero,” he threatened. “This is your last warning, Gin. Follow the script.”

“Stop telling her to do things she doesn’t wanna do!” Leni barked back. “You’re really hurting her feelings!”

“Cut! Mind your own business!” Dirk roared.

“Ginny’s my friend! I’m making it my business!” Leni countered.

I think we can all agree that’s a pretty bold statement for Leni to make, considering she just met Ginny a few hours ago. But, y’know, it’s Leni. If she feels that Ginny needs a friend right now, she’s gonna fill those shoes. That’s just the kind of girl she is.

“I feel like we’re getting off-track, Mr. O’Donnell,” I said. “‘Cause Lola’s right. The only way you could know about Lisa’s tracker is if Lincoln told you. And if you admit to Lincoln telling you, well, that’s pretty much a confession to kidnapping him, isn’t it?”

“Cut!”

As Dirk made a slashing motion across his neck, Luan pantomimed him while making goofy faces. I’ll admit, that’s a little funny. I’m getting sick of him doing that, too.

“Must you improvise at every turn?” he scolded. “You’re ruining the scene!”

“That not all we’re gonna ruin,” I said. “‘Cause guess what? We know you were planning to nab Clyde, too!”

“Indeed,” said Lisa, brandishing the letter. “I found this written correspondence in what I presume is your study.”

“Well, that’s a bold assumption to make,” Dirk huffed. “Maybe I genuinely wanted to invite him for a behind-the-scenes look.”

“Oh, please. Don’t even try,” I said. “When Ginny first told you that Clyde wasn’t showing up at the meetup, you said that it went against your script. You were planning to kidnap him there, but when he didn’t show, you had to come up with another plan!”

Dirk took off his shades and smashed them in his hand. “Th-this is outrageous! My script doesn’t call for you figuring everything out!”

Luna sneered. “Show’s how much your script knows then, doesn’t it? Breakdown, takedown, you’re busted!”

“A-and what of it?” Dirk growled. “You still don’t know where Lincoln is, and I don’t intend to tell you!”

“You don’t need to,” said Lana. “‘Cause you’re not the only guy who knows where Lincoln is.”

“That’s right. Ginny knows where he is, too,” said Lynn. “So what’s stopping us from asking her, huh?”

Everyone turned to Ginny, who started hyperventilating again. Dirk gave her a threatening look.

“Say one word, Gin, and I’ll make sure you never work in this industry again,” he said.

“Don’t listen to him, Ginny. You’re stronger than that,” said Leni. “We all believe in you.”

Ginny trembled as her eyes darted every which way. Dirk just glared at her like a lion waiting to pounce. I don’t feel good about putting her on the spot like this, but if Dirk isn’t gonna tell us where Lincoln is, we don’t have any other options. Is there some way to get through to her?

…

Hang on. Maybe there is.

“Ginny, try thinking about what Gin Rummy Prime would do in this situation,” I suggested.

Dirk laughed. “You say that as if she’s not Gin Rummy Prime. I already know all about her little online persona rebelling against my script in vain. She’s just like you lot: a child playing pretend. And no daughter of mine is going to retreat into some fantasy world while I have a say in it.”

…

Okay, at least when our parents tried to dictate our lives, they were doing it because they were worried about our future development. Plus, they backed off when they realized we were miserable. Meanwhile, this bozo literally couldn’t care less about what happens to his daughter or how she feels. It’s like he has no clue about what it means to have a family.

“So that’s why you don’t like to be called Gin, huh?” said Leni. “Because you don’t feel like you’re as brave as Gin Rummy Prime.”

Ginny nodded. “I-I’m sorry. I-I can’t…”

“Yes you can,” said Leni firmly. “I already told you, remember? You’re the one who called us out here and left us those clues. It wasn’t Gin Rummy Prime that did that; it was you. So stop telling yourself that you’re not strong.”

“She’s right, dude. You can’t let this prat walk all over ya, even if he is your dad,” added Luna. “You’ve got time to rectify all the things that you should, so do what ya wanna do.”

“Cut!” Dirk barked. “You have no right to…”

“Oh, go cut yourself,” Lynn snapped.

Dirk gasped and stumbled backwards. I guess people talking back to him wasn’t in his script, either. Before he could launch into an angry tirade, Ginny spoke up.

“Lisa, was it?”

Lisa perked up. “Are you referring to me?”

“Yeah,” said Ginny. “Do you still have the device that locates the transmitters?”

“Affirmative,” said Lisa. “Why do you ask?”

“Turn it on.”

Dirk scoffed. “Why would she do that? She knows it doesn’t work. My script says it doesn’t work!”

“But she doesn’t know why it doesn’t work,” Ginny countered.

Dirk started sweating bullets as he scrolled through his copy of the script. “W-well, maybe I removed the transmitter from him!”

“That’s highly improbable,” said Lisa. “Only I know where I placed the transmitters.”

“Th-then maybe I took him to someone who could find it!” Dirk countered.

“Or, the more likely scenario, Lincoln was just out of range when Lisa tried to track him,” said Ginny.

Lisa took a moment to consider this. “Hmm. It is true that the range of my transmitters is limited to Royal Woods. If Lincoln was in Hazeltucky when I activated my device…”

“Cut!” Dirk boomed. “Th-that can’t be it! You have no way of knowing that for certain! You’ve still lost!”

He says that, but we can all see him shaking in his boots.

“Card Counter, call his bluff,” I said.

Lisa nodded and took out her tracker. In a matter of seconds, her eyes went wide.

“Eureka!” she exclaimed. “His transmitter is showing up! He’s within this very vicinity!”

“Cut cut CUT~!”

At this point, Dirk was completely beside himself with rage. I could literally see steam coming out of his ears.

“This is not one of Bill Buck’s inane fantasies!” he bellowed. “This was supposed to be my masterpiece, and you just ruined it!”

“Should’ve thought of that before you decided to mess with us,” said Lana. “C’mon, Lis’. Lead the way!”

“Gin, stop them!” Dirk ordered.

Ginny shook her head. “No, Dad. I’m putting my foot down here. In fact, I’m gonna go call the police, which is what I should’ve done in the first place.”

She made her way to the door, but Dirk grabbed her by the wrist.

“You will do no such thing!” he snarled. “One way or another, you’re going to wake up, Gin! You can’t live in Bill Buck’s fantasy forever!”

“And you consider your black stories to be reality, do you?”

Dirk yelped as Lucy appeared out of seemingly nowhere. Although she looked just as stoic as ever, I could tell she had a real bone to pick with Dirk.

“A-as if children like you could ever comprehend the nuances of a true literary genius!” he howled.

“Sigh. Never in my life have I come across a soul as black as yours,” said Lucy. “I may have surrendered myself to darkness, but I know better than to force everyone else to see the world the way I do. You, however, think that everyone should have your opinion. You disgust me.”

Dirk snorted. “I’m not looking for your approval, you petulant child!”  He raised his hand to strike her, but Lynn intercepted it and twisted his arm behind his back.

“Sorry, pal. But I promised myself that I wouldn’t let any of my other siblings get hurt, and I’m sticking by it,” she said. “Ginny, go! I got this!”

Considering that Lynn is literally trying to hold down a grown man, I think that’s just her pride talking. Even with her incredible strength, she was struggling to hold Dirk down as Ginny made a break for it.

“This is entirely against the script!” Dirk said, struggling to pull himself free from Lynn. “Why don’t you hooligans just do as your told?! You should’ve given up long ago! It’s against the…”

“Oh, would you just shut up about your dumb script already?!”

Lola suddenly leapt in and began helping Lynn wrestle Dirk to the ground. That normally would be pretty pathetic, but I know for a fact that Lola’s freakishly strong.

…

Oh, who am I kidding? It’s still pathetic. Because this is a grown man throwing a tantrum over not getting his way while screaming that we’re just a bunch of immature kids.

“Cut! Cut cut CUT~!” Dirk screamed. “When the director says cut, you’re supposed to…”

Before he could say anything else, Lily stuffed a dirty diaper in his mouth. Thank goodness for that. I don’t think I could take any more of his whining.

I rushed over to Lisa, who followed Lincoln’s transmitter to a trailer on the other side of the park. Luna tried the door, but it was locked.

“Dang it,” she grumbled. “Of course it’s not gonna be that easy.”

Lisa observed the door carefully. “Hmm. It appears to be locked from the inside,” she mused. “We’ll need another way in.”

“Trailers like this usually have a hatch on the roof,” said Lana. “Maybe someone can get in through there.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Luan. “But how do we get up there?”

“Ooh! We can use that ladder over there!” said Leni.

I looked to where she was pointing. There was a stepladder set up a few feet away. Lisa raised an eyebrow.

“Leni, that’s a stepladder,” she said.

Leni blinked. “There’s a difference?”

Okay, I’m shooting down this argument before it becomes a thing. Fighting over something this silly is literally the last thing we need right now.

“Luna, Luan. Give me a hand with this,” I said.

“I’ll do better than that! I’ll give you two!” Luan said with a laugh. “Get it?”

Ugh~. Well, at least she’s not giving us a round of applause. The three of us carried the stepladder over the trailer, and I climbed up onto the roof. Just like Lana said, there was a hatch in the middle of the roof. But there was also a lock on it. This guy really didn’t want us to save Lincoln.

“Leni! I need you up here!” I said.

Leni scampered up the ladder and saw the lock. She then nodded. “I got this.”

With a few clicks of her hairpin, she picked the lock with ease. I opened the hatch and leapt down.

***

The inside of the trailer was completely black. I could barely see my hand in front of my face. Maybe I should’ve gotten Lucy to do this. She’s more accustomed to the dark. Before I could get my bearings, I heard a voice.

“Ginny? Is that you?”

My heart skipped a beat. I knew that voice anywhere. I-is this nightmare finally over? Oh, he’d better be okay. Alright, there’s gotta be a light switch around here some—

“Need some help?”

Gah~! H-how did she get in here?! I just…  Ugh, forget it. I just got through saying that she should be here, anyway.

“J-just find the lights,” I said.

In a matter of seconds, the lights came on. I heard a familiar pained grunt as my eyes adjusted to the light. Once I could see, I could feel this big sense of relief washing over me. There was Lincoln, sitting tied up to a chair. Without another thought, I rushed over to his side.

“Lincoln,” I panted. “P-please tell me you’re okay.”

Lincoln blinked a few times and looked up at me. “L-Lori?”

I couldn’t stop my tears from streaming forth. “Y-yeah, it’s me. C’mon, we’re getting you outta here.”

I tried to untie him, but the ropes were a bit too tight. While I worked, Lucy opened the door to let the others in. Lana watched me work and cracked her knuckles.

“Stand back, Lori. I got this,” she said.

I did as she asked. Lana then went behind the chair and started gnawing on the ropes. As she worked, Lincoln looked up at me.

“Y-you guys all came for me,” he said.

“Um, duh. Of course we did, you silly,” said Leni. “Like, what kind of sisters would we be if we didn’t care about you?”

Lincoln smiled. “I knew you’d come.”

…

OMG, my heart is literally melting right now. H-he didn’t give up on us for a second, even though that’s what Dirk O’Donnell wanted. I-it’s so good to see him. After Lana finished chewing through the ropes, we didn’t give him a chance to stand up. We just piled onto him and gave him the biggest hug imaginable.

“Dude, you have no idea what we went through to find you,” said Luna.

“Indeed, it was quite an ordeal for all of us,” said Lisa.

“Looks like our missing Linc isn’t missing anymore,” Luan said with a laugh. “Get it? Lori taught me that one.”

Ugh, literally, Luan? You’re just gonna embarrass me like that? Eh, whatever. I’m too relieved to be mad.

“The dark veil over our house has lifted,” said Lucy. “The spirits are at peace.”

Lana didn’t say anything. She just held Lincoln tight as tears streamed down her cheeks. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if we were all crying at this point. Hey, can you blame us after everything we just went through?

Just then, we heard the sound of police sirens outside. When I looked up, I saw Ginny walk in, flanked by Lynn, Lola, and Lily. Before any of us could move, my remaining sisters joined the cuddle puddle.

“Oh, Linky~! I-I thought I-I’d never see you again!” Lola bawled.

“We were all worried sick about you, Lincoln,” said Lynn with a sniffle. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Poo-poo!” Lily cheered.

After a few seconds, Ginny cleared her throat to get our attention.

“Just wanted you guys to know that the police are here,” she said. She then sighed. “I’m… gonna be turning myself in, too. I still followed my dad’s script, and I need to take responsibility for that.”

“That is quite admirable of you, Ms. O’Donnell,” said Lisa, drying her eyes. “I’m sure you can arrange for a plea bargain, considering your circumstance.”

Ginny nodded. “Oh, before I go, I have something for you. Excuse me.”

We stepped out of the way, and Ginny draped a large Ace Savvy blanked around Lincoln. Lincoln looked over the blanket, and then up at Ginny.

“Are you sure I can have this?” he asked.

“It’s yours. Consider it a thank you for convincing me to stand up to my dad,” said Ginny. She then giggled. “Besides, it’ll save the police the hassle of bundling you up.”

“Wait, hold on,” said Lynn. “Lincoln convinced you to help us?”

Ginny blushed and twiddled her fingers. “Well, yeah. I mean, I’ve always argued with my dad, but I never had the courage to really stand up to him until Lincoln told me about all of you. It was so inspiring to hear him say that he knew you would rescue him in the end.”

I nodded. “And he’s absolutely right. We Louds might fight a lot, but when the chips are down, we look after our own.”

Ginny smirked, her own eyes getting all misty. “That’s exactly what Gin Rummy Prime admired about the Full House Gang of Ace’s world.”  She then nodded to Lincoln. “You’re really lucky to have a family like yours, Lincoln Loud.”

I get the distinct feeling that Ginny’s a bit jealous of Lincoln. Hey, considering how much of a sicko her father is, I don’t blame her.

“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?” asked Leni.

“I’ll be fine,” said Ginny. “I don’t know what’s in store for me, but at least I don’t have to follow a script anymore. I can’t thank you enough for that.”

“No need to thanks us. We would’ve done this anyway,” I said. I then smiled and ruffled Lincoln’s hair. “Lincoln just means so much to us.”

“I can see that,” said Ginny. She then sighed. “I know we just met, but I’m really gonna miss you guys. I wish we could’ve met under better circumstances.”

“Totes,” said Leni. She then gave Ginny a hug. “Take care of yourself, alright, Ginny?”

“I will,” said Ginny. Once Leni released her, she made her way to the door. After a pause, she looked back at us and smiled. “Oh, and next time we meet, call me Gin.”

With that, she left to turn herself over to the police. I think we should get going, too. Though I have no idea how we’re gonna explain this to Mom and Dad. Oh well, that doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is that we got our Lincoln back. At this point, I literally couldn’t ask for anything more.

“It’s good to have you back, little bro,” I said.

Lincoln smiled up at me and huddled up in his new Ace Savvy blanket. “Thanks, Lori. It’s good to be back.”

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