I'm thinking about taking a small break from this story. If I don't write another update some time next week, then assume that it is next next week.

With that said, RESPONSES!

Gamelover41592: Okay, I'll check it out some time.

That Engineer: We'll put in the 'under consideration' pile.

1: You'll see.

DarthWill3: HERE HE IS, THE RISING SUPERSTAR, LINCOLN LOUD! *CUTESY ANIME MUSIC*

Random reference aside, yeah, I got plans for the Hockers.

364wii: Haven't seen that episode yet.

DreadedCandiru2: Well, there's that option in the future.

DJTimmer: Thanks, dude. And yeah, the difficulties aren't over yet for Lincoln.

T: Yeah, Lincoln managed to exert that much pressure on them Thanks for the compliment.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Loud House.

...You know, when I said that it probably wasn't going to be that hard that day when we first did that practice down and the Defense made me their Captain?

I still stand by that statement, though I would change it.

In the past two weeks since my appointment, I slowly learned what it meant to be Captain, which really didn't mean much. Sure, it was like a promotion in terms of where you were on the pecking order of the team, but otherwise, there really weren't any official duties that the Captain had to do. Every day, I thank goodness that Terrence set me straight about what the position wanted from me.

I had already had to work my butt off doing homework in the spare time I had, and I honestly didn't need more work on my schedule. Well… at least more work that I had taken on.

I mean, even if there were no official things that the Captain had do, there was still part of me that still felt like I had to do something to justify their decision.

I yawned, my jaw opening so wide that I covered it with my hand as I leaned back in my chair. Feeling something pop in my spine, my eyes widened as I stayed still for a moment. Relaxing when I realized that I hadn't broken my spine, I stood up and stretched a bit, looking over all the work that I had done.

For the past couple of days, after I got done with my homework, I would research everything I could on the other team that were going to play tomorrow.

If there was anything that I learned from all the practice quarters that I had did over the past two weeks, it was that I still wasn't anything physically impressive compared to everyone else who had been already exercising long before the start of the season. Sure, I was improving, but overall, I wasn't going to be the next Usain Bolt. Honestly, though, wouldn't be surprised if Patrick was going to be the next 'Fastest Man in the World', come to think of it.

So, if I wanted to succeed in this game, to make my mark, I had to become the 'Man with the Plan' in a way that I had never became before. And every good planner knows, all the good plans start with information.

Take for example the team that we were going to play tomorrow, the Pontiac Punters. I have to admit, when I first heard about our opponents, I thought that they were a team that were focused around the kick, which when I thought about it, sounded pretty unfair. I had heard about a move called an onside kick, where the kicker in a kickoff kicks the ball short on purpose so that their team can get the ball back, and if they do that again and again…

Anyways, getting off track.

But turns out that the Pontiac Punters' main strength and claim to fame and their current 4-0 record was their defense. Reading comments and all the blurry youtube videos that I could find, I agreed. From what I saw, the Punters' defense was practically a brick wall, if the bricks were made of people.

Still, as fearsome as their defense was, I could still see a few weaknesses. And I didn't mean just the few holes in their formations and executions that I knew Terrence, Patrick and the rest of the Offense were going to exploit the heck out of.

The Punters' Offense were cautious, and I could see why they were, because it worked for them. From what I could tell, the Punters' Offense favored the run game, decreasing the chances for an interception and slowly making their way every time to a first down. Even if they never went for massive yard gain, they still gained yards, and I think it was also to buy time for their famous defense to get some rest.

It was a good strategy, though it did come with its downsides.

First, the strategy made the Offense way too timid to actually try anything more daring. When it came down to it, the Punters would value securing their own positions rather than trying to improve it. From what I gathered, the Punters led the Michigan Pee Wee Football league in the most 4th quarter conversions for a single team.

Second, they were focusing on the Defense. Sure, it was important to make sure that the other team didn't get any points, or at least make sure that the other team don't get as many points as you do (we have had plenty of times where if the Defense had stopped the other team's Offense from getting another touchdown, we would have had it so close to the wire). But you have to admit that trying to focus on Defense when the goal is to score points feels pretty dumb.

I mean, I would understand if the Punters' Defense could also intercept balls and take it to the end zone to score. But, I was not kidding when I said that the Punters' Defense was like a wall made of people, because they were people that might as well be walls. Seriously, were they even our age? Still, there was no way that they could take it to the end zone, and even if they did, they would probably have to spend a lot of energy just to get it there.

Either way, they were the team that we were versing, and this was going to be the game that we are going to debut the new and improved Rooster Defense.

But that's going to happen tomorrow. For now, I need a break.

My stomach grumbled.

And a snack.

Walking to my door, I opened it up…

"LANA! COME HERE AND TAKE YOUR BATH!"

"NO!"

Out of the twins' room, an absolutely dirty Lana ran out with Dad chasing her. I stared at them running around the hall, while I heard everyone else wisely staying out of the mess. Finally, the two started running towards me, and I realized that the stairs were right next to me.

"LINCOLN, STOP LANA!"

"LINCOLN, COME ON, MAN!"

I weighed my options before settling on one. I shifted into position, bending my knees and bringing my hands out as wide as I could. I stared at Lana as she slowed in front of me.

"Sorry, Lana. You're getting in the tub."

For a moment, Lana looked like I had betrayed her, before her expression settled into determination. The world seemed to get blurry besides the two of us as we stared at each other, ready for one to make a move. She moved to the left, and I followed suit. She smirked as she started to cut to my other side, not paying attention to the fact that my feet hadn't moved. I reached out…

"GOTCHA!" Dad cried out as he grabbed Lana. Lana screamed out and tried to squirm out of Dad's hands, but Dad kept his grip tight as the two walked towards the bathroom.

"COME ON, DAD! I PROMISE I'LL BATH LATER!" Lana pleaded as she continued to squirm.

"NOPE, YOU'RE TAKING A BATH TODAY! AND I'M PRETTY SURE YOU SAID THAT SAME THING LAST WEEK!" Dad responded.

"GAH!"

I watched as the two entered the bathroom and closed the door behind them.

Well, then.

Walking down the stairs and entering the living room, I saw Lynn sitting on the couch, her eyes glued to the TV and the football game that was on. Around her, Lori was texting on her phone while Luan was practicing tying balloon animals. I waved to everyone as I reached to the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, guys."

I got a few greetings back as I ventured into the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, I looked around and considered my options. Then I shrugged and took out the sauerkraut and peanut butter. I looked down at the items in my hands.

I set the two items on the counter, before grabbing the whole wheat bread.

Taking two slices of bread on a plate, I spread the peanut butter on one slice of bread, before putting a heaping amount of sauerkraut on top. Taking the other piece of bread, I put it on top and pat it to make sure that the sauerkraut spread out throughout the sandwich. Taking a bite of the sandwich, I thoughtfully chewed for a moment before swallowing.

I guess this was okay.

"Hey, Lincoln."

I turned around. Lynn was there.

"Hey, Lynn. What's up?"

She raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. "What's up? WHAT'S UP?! You've been in your room all day, and we don't have much time!"

"Time?" I asked as I took another bite. Man, I really needed this sandwich. "For what?"

"What, did you already forget? I'm gonna teach you more of my good luck things, so you get more of an edge tomorrow. SO COME ON!"

Lynn grabbed me by the arm and started to drag me towards the backyard. I pulled back.

"COME ON!" Lynn said as she started pulling on my arm.

"Give me a moment!" I said as I put my sandwich back on the plate. "Okay, now I'm fine."

As the two of us entered the backyard, I did my best to hide my growing grimace as Lynn started to do some stretches. I really hope that what Lynn had in mind wasn't as painful as her other 'good luck ritual.' Speaking of which…

"Lynn, do I really need to learn this? I mean, I already do the whole 'no number two until number one' thing." 'Well, I don't, but what you don't know won't hurt me.'

Lynn turned to me. "Well...That's good enough for a start, but we can do better. Okay, here is the 'Good Luck Dance', patent pending. First, crouch."

I followed her movements, crouching down.

"Then bring your leg out like it…" She said as she stuck her leg out. I followed along, also trying to keep my balance as well.

"Then tuck that leg in and quickly switch to the other leg like...THIS!" Lynn said as she switched to the other leg. I followed along, only to fall onto my side.

"That's alright. It took me a while to get the hang of it too. Try again."

At Lynn's encouragement, I got up and crouched down again. As I was stretching out my leg, I took a deep breath and concretated. One… Two… THREE!

I jumped up a little, tucking in my first leg and stretching out my other leg and landing on the ground. As I did, I wobbled a bit, nearly falling down. At the last second I regained my balance, holding out my arms for balance. Lynn grinned.

"That's it, Lincoln. Do that a couple of times and then do it rapidly!"

I blinked. "Huh?"

"Like this!" Lynn crouched down, before kicking her feet out, alternating between both of them while crossing her arms. I recognized it as the dance she would do before each pitch Lynn would do in softball. More than that…

"Wait, isn't that the Russian Kick Dance?"

Lynn looked at me confused. "What? No, this is totally something I came up on my own. Okay, I might have seen something like it on TV once, but it's totally all me. Anyways, this one really works before each pitch for me so… You'll probably have to do it every down you play."

...EVERY DOWN? Are you kidding me?

"Are you kidding me? I can't do that!"

"Lincoln, I promise it will work! Look, how about you do it every two downs?"

"NO."

"Three downs?"

I smacked my palm against my face before dragging it down past my chin, the skin stretching down before returning back to normal as I slid my hand off.

"Lynn… Why do you want me to learn this so badly?" I said, not really expecting an answer.

"Well…" I looked up. Lynn actually looked… vulnerable. And already, I know that Lynn would want me to never tell anyone, otherwise she would totally induct me into the Hall of Pain.

"It's kinda weird, you know. I'll be on the sidelines, while you will be playing on the field. It'll be my first time doing something like this. So you can say… I just want to know that I've done everything I could to help you on the field." Lynn looked at me, a plea in her eyes. "So...Can you please do it?"

I wanted to say no, but the look in Lynn's eyes made everything that I wanted to say stop in my throat. I looked away for a moment, staring at the leaves as they started to fall from the tree nearby, only to be swept away by the wind. It was starting to become fall.

"Look, how about every time that I come in to play, when Offense and Defense switch, I'll do the dance?"

Lynn stared at me before grinning. "Great!"

I smiled back. "Yeah, maybe they'll be impressed by my dance moves."

I cleared my throat.

"UH! HIS MOVES ARE JUST TOO FUNKY!" I said in a different voice. "REF, WE SURRENDER!"

"HA! Every time, I hope that doesn't happen. Alright, Lincoln, we got plenty of time to sharpen your dance, so come on! LET'S SEE WHAT YOU GO!"

Well… I could probably use a break out of my studies for the time being.

As Vanzilla rolled into the parking lot of the football field, I looked around and took in the energy that hanged in the air. Everyone was walking around, getting their seats and their snacks. Parents were talking with their kids, with other parents, and vice versa. The school bus that probably brought the Punters here was parked over by the corner.

I spotted Clyde with his dads carrying a bucket of popcorn and some drinks. He noticed Vanzilla and me sitting near the window and waved at me. I waved back at him.

Lisa sighed as she looked out the window. "You'll never see this effort and care lavished upon a science exhibition. What a waste."

I pointedly ignored her.

"Boy!" Dad said as he looked around. "Looks like this place is packed. How about you guys go find us some seats and I'll go find a parking spot?"

Everyone agreed, and soon Dad dropped us off before going off to find a parking spot that wasn't occupied.

"Alright, I'm going to go too. The rest of the team is going to practice. I'll see you later."

"Go beat the other team, Lincoln!" Lana cheered.

Lucy nodded. "May triumph bare you on her dark wings."

"Poo-poo!" Lily agreed.

"You better give a good showing out there. I'm not missing my shows just so I could see you lose." Lola said, pointing a finger at me.

"Break a leg, dude!" Luna called out, only for Leni to gasp in shock.

"No, she didn't mean literally, Leni." Lori said.

"Yeah," Luan chimed in. "Though, not exactly the best thing you could have said. I guess you can say that you kind of 'dropped the ball' on that one. HA HA, get it?"

I groaned. "Okay, I'm going now." I said as I stiffly turned around, mentally aching at that pun.

Walking towards our team's locker room, I opened the door to be greeted by the sound of my team, talking and laughing with each other as they got dressed in their uniforms. A few of the team noticed me and started to come over. I smiled as I greeted all of them.

"Yo, Lincoln, how are you, man?"

"Pretty good, Ray."

"WE'RE TOTALLY GONNA BEAT THOSE PUNTERS, RIGHT?!"

"Totally are, Jack."

Thomas came up and started to push back the others. "Come on, guys. Lincoln didn't even get a chance to get changed."

I mentally took a breath of relief as I started to go to my spot.

"Hey, dude."

I turned around to see Patrick fully dressed in his uniform. "Patrick, you're fully dressed?"

"Yeah." He said. "Figured I go ahead and warm up early. See you on the field."

With that, Patrick turned around and pushed the door open-

SMACK! "OW!"

The entire locker room went silent before looking at the the door, where Patrick looked stricken at the other person that just got hit by the door. Now that I thought about it, the person that screamed in pain sounded like a girl, and someone familiar. But who would try to go into a boy's locker room…

"LENI!" I shouted as I came out of the locker room. Leni was sitting on the door with Patrick fretting over my sister.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there! Do you need anything? I can run and get it for you!"

I held out a hand to Patrick, stopping him before he could run off. I knelt down and looked Leni over. From what I could see, there was nothing that looked like she was seriously hurt.

"Leni, you alright?"

Leni looked at me and giggled. "S-Sorry, I was looking for the ladies' room. Guess I should have asked around instead."

"Lincoln?" I turned around to see Patrick looking confused. "Do you know her? Oh, is she alright?"

"Yeah, don't worry. Also, Patrick, this is my sister, Leni. Leni, this is my friend and teammate, Patrick."

Leni lit up as she stood up and looked at Patrick. "Well, hello. I'm Leni, and I have to say, you look so good in your sports uniform, with the red and yellow. Very striking."

Patrick blinked as he seemed to get a better look at Leni. "G-Good? Y-Yeah, it's n-nice to meet you. It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

Leni quirked her head to the side as she looked confused at Patrick. "Ma'am? No, my name is Leni. L-E-N-I. Unless my name got changed in the past two minutes… did it, Lincoln?"

"No, Leni." I shook my head. "Patrick's just being polite."

Patrick nodded. "Dad did always tell me to treat a lady with respect."

Leni blushed goodnaturedly. "Aww, that's gentlemanly of you. Thank you."

Patrick nodded and smiled, still blushing a bit. "You're welcome."

Suddenly, a rumbling noise could be heard and Leni looked a little queasy. "Ohh… I really to find the Ladies' room."

"Oh, it's over there." Patrick and me said at the same time. I looked at Patrick and he simply shrugged.

"Oh, thanks guys! Bye, Lincoln. Good luck in today's game." As Leni started to run, she stopped and turned to face Patrick. "OH! Also bye, Patrick. It was nice meeting you and we should totes trade tips on your hair styling because I just love them!"

"Y-You do?"

"Yeah! Bye!" Leni waved over her shoulder before disappearing behind the corner.

"Bye…" Patrick waved back, staring at the spot where Leni was. He continued waving...and waving… and waving.

"Patrick?" I asked, seeing him still wave with a blush still on his face. "Are you okay?"

Patrick blinked before laughing nervously as he dropped his hand. "Y-YEAH, TOTALLY DUDE! Listen… I'm gonna go now."

Before I could talk more, Patrick sped out of the area, practically leaving me in the dust. Staring at the space where Patrick used to be, I weighed my options before shrugging and going back inside to change. He didn't look too sick, and I was sure that Coach would take him aside if he saw anything.

Besides, I still had to change.

"ALRIGHT, BRING IT IN!"

After we got done with our warm ups, we came together. As we did, I looked at the stands. The bleachers were filled, and in one spot, my family spotted me looking back and waved to me. I waved back before I looked back at Coach.

"Let's keep it simple, Roosters." Coach said as he took off his hat, before kneeling down to be with us at eye level. "Today… it's a new day. A new team. You all done your part to make this team better, and for that, you should all be proud of yourself."

A few murmurs of pride left some of my teammates' lips.

"So what do you say, Roosters?" Coach said as he grinned. "How about we celebrate with a win?"

"YEAH!" Everyone cheered.

"OKAY, SOUND OFF!" Coach said as everyone put their hands together.

"WE ARE THE ROOSTERS! ROOSTERS! WE ARE THE ROOSTERS! ROOSTERS! AND THAT'S WHAT WE COCK-A-DOODLE-DOODLE-DOOOOOOOOOOO!"

With that, we raised our hands up, ready for the game to be played. Thankfully, it wasn't long before Terrence and me were called up to the center with the Punters' lead players. As the four of us arrived, Terrence turned to me as the Ref brought up the coin.

"You want to call it?"

"Sure."

The Punters' quarterback gestured to me. Nodding, I looked up at the Ref and the coin he was holding. Thinking of what side the coin would land on, I simply decided to hope for the best.

"Heads."

The Ref nodded before flipping the coin into the air. Flipping from Heads to Tails, the coin landed on the ground. The five of us looked over the coin.

Tails.

"We'll receive." The Punters' quarterback said. The Ref nodded before asking both of us to return to our teams.

"It's our turn to kick. Defense, get ready." I said as the Kick team got out onto the field. As everyone on the Defense warmed up, I thought I heard something from the stands. Looking up, I saw Lynn gesturing to me with her arms closed.

Right…

Looking back at the field, I saw the Kick team managed to get the Punters near their own end zone. That's a pretty dangerous position to be in.

As the Defense got onto the field, I took one more look at Lynn before sighing. Right, here goes nothing. Crouching down, I followed the dance that Lynn spent nearly all of yesterday afternoon drilling into my head as I danced my way to the rest of the Defense. I tried not to mind all the laughter that was coming from the stands.

'And apparently, Number 21 wishes to honor his newly found Russian heritage. Good on you, Loud.'

"All right, guys." I said as I stopped in front of everyone. "Here's the plan…"

I noticed everyone staring at me. "What?"

Thomas spoke. "Loud… What the heck was that?"

I sighed. "I promised my sister that I would do."

"You have a sister?" Number 63, Ray, asked.

I nodded as I pointed to the stand. "Yeah, you see the blonde woman and the brown haired man with barely any hair left? That's my mom and dad. Lynn, that's her name, is the brown haired one-"

Everyone turned to look at Luna.

"With a ponytail."

Everyone looked at Luan.

"Without braces."

Everyone looked at Lynn.

"Yeah, that's her."

A few seconds passed before Thomas' eyes bulged.

"Wait… Are they all your sisters?!"

"Yeah...All ten of them."

The rest of the Defense looked over at the group of people they now knew as my family before looking back at me.

"Dude…" Number 29, Glen, shook his head. "How do you have any room in your house?"

"We managed… But we're getting off track. We can talk about it later because it's game time right now."

Everyone nodded.

"Alright, remember what I said about the Punters' Offense. They're slow and cautious, so let's use that against them. Box them in, don't give them a chance to move, and tighten the noose. Alright, LET'S PLAY!" I said as I thrust my hand into the middle.

"YEAH!" Everyone said as they thrust their own hands into the middle of the group before going into our separate positions in the standard 4-3 defense. We stared across to the Punters' Offense as we waited for the whistle to blow.

TWEET!

The Defense rushed forward, as the Punters' Offensive line. One of the Punters' behind the Quarterback rushed forward, with the Quarterback about ready to hand the ball off. I was ready for anything.

Then the two line collided for a moment, before nearly all the members of the Punters' Offensive line fell backwards as our Defense crushed them.

The whole field was silent, their jaws dropping at the sight. I stopped and stared too, before realizing that the ball holder had stopped too. Rushing forward, I jumped over the fallen line and ran straight for him. The ball holder, realizing I was coming, tried to move but it was too late. I tackled him to the ground.

Right in their end zone.

The Ref blew his whistle and held up his hands. "SAFETY! ROOSTERS TWO POINTS!"

The stands erupted in cheers as I was swamped with the rest of my Defense teammates coming up to me and hugging me, smacking me on the back and helmet, and laughing and cheering all the way. Looking back up at the stands, I saw Lynn giving me a thumbs up as the Defense and me walked back to the the sidelines.

As we did, we passed by the Offense, who were getting ready for their own attack. I raised my hand and high fived Patrick as we passed by each other.

"Break a leg, man."

"I intend to."

I looked at him weirdly. Patrick realized what he had said.

"I mean, I plan to do great out there, you know what I mean."

I nodded and got out of his way. As I got back to the sidelines and watched the Offense get into formation for the kick, Coach came near me.

"So Loud… When did you get into Russian dancing?"

I shrugged. "Just did it as a favor for my sister. Supposed to be a good luck thing."

Coach nodded. "Alright, just be sure that you don't try to substitute good luck for training."

"Don't worry, I don't plan to."

It was then that the Punters kicked the ball towards the Offense. Patrick looked up and reached out, catching the ball. As the Punters' Defense came closer, they were blocked by the rest of the Offense. Bit by bit, second by second, the Offense left a path open for Patrick.

Then… Patrick ran.

The Defense might as well have been rocks. When one tried to block Patrick's way, he quickly changed his direction. When another blocker tried to reach out to catch him, his hand was short by feet.

Either way, it made no difference. Patrick ran onto the end zone and dropped the ball as the Ref blew his whistle and held up his hands.

"TOUCHDOWN!"

As the rest of the Offense came to cheer on Patrick, Patrick held up his index finger in the air, letting the crowd cheer him.

I saw his dad in the stands, cheering just as hard as everyone else. From what I could see, he smiled at his dad before seemingly looking for something or someone else. Apparently, he found it and started to blush again.

I thought he was looking in my sisters' direction before clearing my mind. The Defense were up again, and it was clear that the Punters' Offense were getting antsy. They knew that this was a game where being passive was not going to work. If they wanted to score points, they had to get aggressive.

Problem was, as the kick was confirmed and everyone was getting into position, it was clear that the Punters didn't have much experience being aggressive. There were too many holes in their formation, and the Quarterback didn't look comfortable in this new mindset.

Part of me felt sorry for their position, before I shoved that feeling down. Now wasn't the time to be sorry for them. At a disadvantage or not, they were our opponents.

And we were here to beat our opponents.

I stared at the scoreboard in between saying 'good game' to the players of the Punters as we crossed each other in single file.

47-0. What a debut.

I looked back at the lines and the expressions on both teams' faces. The Roosters were practically on cloud nine, understandable since they had gotten the best score they gotten in the season so far and everything had gone absolutely smoothly. The Punters, on the other hand, looked absolutely humiliated. Their Defense, their greatest strength as a team, had been completely unable to stop our Offense and their Offense had been completely useless.

The part of my heart went out to them.

Finally, after everyone else, I came across the Quarterback of the Punters. I offered him my hand. "Good game, man."

The Quarterback stared at my hand before looking at me. In his eyes, I saw humiliation, but also a desperate want, no, need to improve himself.

"Good game. But watch yourself. Next time, whether that will be in the finals or next season, we'll be better."

With that, the quarterback walked away.

"Hey, Loud." Terrence walked up to me. "You okay? The guy didn't give you a hard time, did he?"

I shook my head. "No." I was thinking about what he said.

"Hey, Terrence?"

Terrence looked at me. "Yeah?"

"What's the finals?"

Terrence whistled. "What, you forgot?"

Must have been something that was said at the beginning of the season. "More like wasn't paying in the first place."

Terrence nodded as he got what I was telling him. "Well, the finals is the best 16 teams of the Michigan PeeWee League playing it out for the championship title. That...is where we're heading."

I considered his words. "Championship, huh?"

Terrence nodded. "Yup."

He looked to the side, before grimacing. "Aw, man."

I looked at him puzzled. "What's wrong?"

He turned his head, shielding his eyes. "Those guys are here. Just… don't pay attention to them."

I looked over at what Terrence was looking at. Over at the stands, two guys stood out, mostly because I thought they were twins. One was brown skinned and had bangs that hid his eyes from view, while the other was lighter skinned with a mohawk. They looked more like boulders than people, with the thickest bodies I think I've ever seen that were Ross' height.

They noticed me and sneered, with the mohawk'd one showing that he was missing one of his front teeth.

I looked away.

Whoever they were, they could wait.

For now, it was nice to enjoy our victory.