Lisa the Legend: Chapter 82 - Last Night on Earth now up! (24th June 2013)

[Gavin Luper]

The second book is finally finished and I'm VERY happy to have it done at last! I've made a contents page for the two books, as well as official titles for all three books, which I'll put up for Christmas. In the meantime, consider this chapter a late fifth-anniversary-of-LTL present (it was five years since the first post on December 1 this year). I hope you all enjoy this chapter, the conclusion to Lisa the Legend: Book Two.

Expect Book Three early in 2007!

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Chapter 59 – Burnt Sunset.


War was formally declared at two o’clock in the afternoon on the sixth of March 2003. All the members of the Guard, including Lisa and Darius, were summoned down to the foyer of the Fairfax Inn to watch Lance’s televised speech to the rest of the world. There were a few aspects of the declaration of war that Lisa didn’t really understand, such as when Lance mentioned the government’s red tape and problems with bureaucracy, but her father explained most things to her afterwards; and in any case, it wasn’t difficult to understand that the Guard was now at war with the Union.

Lisa briefly encountered Derek, the Union defector, in the foyer whilst the Guard was gathered around the old television set. He kindly applauded her efforts during the previous night and apologised for putting her on the spot in regards to relaying his message about the O’Malley File to Lance. When Lisa explained that the message had never reached its target, Derek appeared unfazed – he said the Union had already succeeded in taking the Second Key, so the entire message was no longer urgent. Whatever the O’Malley File actually was, Lisa assumed, would remain a mystery.

Lisa’s parents escorted her back to the hospital ward after the speech. Everyone seemed to be a little unsettled after the declaration, and Mum and Dad were no exception. Mum, in particular, kept clutching at Lisa’s arm as though she expected Union agents to tear her away at any second. Dad was more rational, though for the next few hours every other sentence began with, ‘ From now on.’ “ From now on, we’ll need to be vigilant about any sign we detect.” “ From now on, we have to start looking out for each other.” “ From now on, we’ll need to be on hand at any hour of any day to go to battle if we need to.”

So went the visit that Lisa had with her parents after the speech. After Lisa had recounted her version of events during the battle on the mountain and the Sepulchre of Entei, her mother made constant efforts to talk about normal things – the new shops in the Ecruteak Mall, Tom and Miki’s upcoming wedding, how Wes and Jean were doing – but Dad could not be distracted from war. He spoke less than usual and when he did, his tone was rough and clipped, and his words were always pertinent to the war. It scared Lisa to see him so preoccupied with such a grave matter, but she knew that this was how it was going to be now that everything had changed. From now on.

The upside of the visit, at least for Lisa, was lunch. The Inn’s kitchen staff called in to the ward with trays loaded with sandwiches, pumpkin soup, juice and icecream. It was only after she swallowed her first warm, nourishing spoonful of soup that Lisa realised how long it had been since she had eaten anything: before she knew it, she had devoured everything on her tray, much to the mild amusement of her parents.

The other patients in the ward were not quite as enthused by their victuals. A medivac helicopter had arrived just before two o’clock and transported the four most critical patients to Redwood Hospital for immediate treatment. Lisa had been viewed as the fifth most serious, as her bullet wound was not compromising her status but only giving her moderate pain; she would be included with the next volley of helicopters at around five o’clock. There were now only eight people in the ward – five of whom, including Gavin, were either asleep or unconscious; the other two were a dark-haired man from the Guard, named Gideon, who seemed uninterested by his food, and the young woman who had tried to console Lisa earlier, who appeared disgusted by the quality of the food, and could be heard muttering the word “revolting” under her breath.

The food in her stomach, combined with the general exhaustion that seemed to be lingering over everyone, quickly sent Lisa off to sleep after her meal; the next thing she knew after draining the last of her orange juice was her mother shaking her arm gently.

“ Lisa. Lisa, wake up love. Lisa.”

She drifted back to consciousness very unwillingly: she had just been having a pleasant dream which involved her waking up on the very first morning of her journey only to discover that everything since – the war, the Legend, the Union – had itself been nothing but a ridiculous, horrible dream.

“ Mmmmmmph,” she groaned irritably.

“ It’s quarter to five, love,” came Mum’s soft voice, “ the helicopters are going to be here very shortly. I’m just waking you up so you can get ready. Dad and I are just going downstairs to pick up your pokémon and your backpack from the police, alright?”

“ Mmm hmm.”

As their footsteps faded into the background, Lisa opened her eyes and stared up bitterly at the wooden ceiling. Her dream had seemed so real. She had felt sure that when she awoke, it would be October again, she would never have heard of the Union and never encountered the Legendaries … she would still be home … Once again, Lisa felt the bitter truth sear her insides: there was no escape from this reality.

She lay still and silent in her bed for some time, listening to the beeps and whirrs of the makeshift ward. She heard Emma and the Matron bustling about from time to time but they did not notice she was awake, a fact she was glad of, as she didn’t think she really had the energy to make small talk.

Loud footsteps heralded her parents’ return to the ward: looking around, Lisa saw Mum holding a plastic bag containing five red-and-white pokéballs, while her father had her grubby backpack slung over his shoulder.

“ There you go, darling,” said Mum gently, handing the plastic shopping bag to Lisa as she sat up in her bed.

“ This thing could do with a wash,” added Dad, dropping the dirt-caked rucksack to the floor.

Lisa shrugged dismissively at him as she returned the five pokéballs to her belt.

“ Well, we need to get going, Lisa,” said Mum, patting her arm as she kissed her on the forehead. “ The helicopters are due soon. Your father and I have to go collect our own packs, then we’ll be waiting in the foyer for you, alright?”

Lisa nodded.

“ By the way,” added Mum, “ the owner of the inn wanted to have a word with you. Something to do with the contest. He’s down in the foyer too, I think.”

“ Be careful, don’t tell him anything about the Guard,” growled Dad sternly. “ We’ll see you in a few minutes.” They left.

Lisa found suddenly that she wasn’t very curious as to what Paddy wanted to see her about. Yesterday, perhaps, she might have been excited at the idea of winning the contest’s first prize – after all, the buggy was what she and Gavin had entered the contest for in the first place – but it didn’t matter very much to her anymore. They’d found – and now, lost – the professor; they didn’t need to go to Dervine anymore. Even though Lisa was sure she and Gavin had managed to reach the summit of Mt Fairfax first, in light of what had taken place since then, it was a very hollow achievement.

There was a sudden cough from a bed to her left – a cough she had heard enough times to recognise in an instant. Her heart leapt; before she knew what she was doing she had slid out of bed and shuffled across to the bed in which Gavin lay.

His bloodshot eyes were open, a scratched, damaged-looking hand held over his mouth as he coughed. He was still covered, almost from head to toe, in thick bandages: only his face and hands had escaped last night’s ordeal with minimal damage. When he saw Lisa standing before him, a lopsided smile broke out over his face.

“ Thank God you’re OK.”

Lisa sank onto the foot of his bed and grinned back. “ Thank God you’re OK, you mean. I thought the Union were going to – you know …”

“ Me too,” croaked Gavin. “ After what they’ve done to me before …” He rubbed the scar on his cheek. “ I didn’t think I was going to make it out of there.”

“ We both did … it’s just so lucky.”

Gavin looked like he was about to say something, but as he so often did, he shut his mouth without divulging what was on his mind. “ So – what happened last night?”

For some reason Lisa found it very easy to rehash the entire story to Gavin. She explained her side of what had happened in the main battle on the plateau – how she had fought, seen a man die, and saved Gavin and the others from the incoming bomb thrown by the Union. She explained how she had seen the Union’s ranks being commanded by Joseph Sterling. She told of the journey into the Sepulchre she had taken with Veronica, the Union agent, and of what lay within. When she came to the next morning, Lisa was very blunt: she told Gavin almost in bullet points about her parents and the Guard, about Lance’s involvement, and Marina and Darius; about the Legend, how it affected her, and finally, about the new war.

Gavin was clearly affected by all this information, but he seemed, like Lisa, to have run out of shock for today. He merely nodded solemnly at the news and said nothing – it looked like he couldn’t find anything adequate to say at all.

Presently, a distant whirring sound began to tug at Lisa’s ears. It was coming from the open sliding door at the end of the ward and it seemed to be coming ever closer. She had a strong hunch as to what it was.

“ Hang on a sec, Gavin.”

She shuffled over to the door and pulled it open. It led out onto a small wooden balcony which overlooked the verdant grounds at the back of the inn, and beyond them, the tall, proud peaks of the Fairfax Ranges. Between two of the tallest peaks to the west, silhouetted against the burning orange-yellow orb that was the setting sun, were two tiny specks of black. Lisa stepped out onto the balcony. Leaning against the balustrade, she squinted into the distance, trying to ascertain what the objects were. The buzzing noise grew louder and the flying objects became larger, more visible, until Lisa was sure of what they were: the two medivac helicopters, approaching fast to take her and the other patients to safety in Redwood City Hospital.

Lisa closed her eyes and felt the cool, pine-tinged mountain breeze blow across her skin. She opened her eyes again and surveyed the world before her: green, sloping lawns below; a bubbling, crystal-clear mountain stream to the right of the grounds; the jagged, rocky outcrops of the upper reaches of Mt Fairfax; the awesome beauty of the sunset. She felt a serene smile emerge on her lips. Some of the worst things in her life had happened in this place; she had suffered more terribly here than anywhere else. Yet, basked in the sun’s golden rays, it was still a place of peace and beauty: gazing out over the mountains, there was no sign that such violence had occurred here less than twenty-four hours ago. It was as though nature had found her own way to heal the scars of battle.

Lisa returned to the ward a moment later, the pure scent of pine and fresh water still lingering with her.

“ Well?” said Gavin. “ What is it?”

“ Helicopters,” explained Lisa. “ They’re taking me to the hospital in Redwood City for treatment. I suppose you’ll be coming too.”

Gavin nodded slowly.

They sat in silence for a few seconds. Lisa knew she had to go, that Paddy and her parents would be waiting for her in the foyer, but she felt that something needed to be said.

Gavin beat her to it.

“ We never thought it would end up like this, did we,” he said, and it wasn’t a question. “ We started off like normal people, normal kids, with simple ideas. We just wanted to be pokémon trainers. But now stuff’s happened and it’s changed it all.”

Lisa smiled at the fact that he felt the same way, but she had never been less humoured in her life.

“ I know,” she said sadly.

She touched each of the five pokéballs on her belt silently, a lump growing in her throat. It had been a longstanding dream of hers to be a pokémon trainer. She had worked towards it, lived for it, really, for four months. But she realised now that the outbreak of war, and her involvement in it, spelt the end of those innocent dreams she had cradled for so long. She could keep her pokémon still, she could train them for the rest of her life, but never again could she identify herself as Lisa Walters, pokémon trainer. She was changed now. For better or worse, she was more than she had been before, more than she had wanted to be. She was no longer an innocent adventurer: she had become a fighter.

“ I’ve got to go, Gavin,” she said abruptly. She knew she couldn’t stay any longer – she had matters to attend to.

He seemed to understand. “ I’ll see you in Redwood, then?”

“ If we’re not on the same chopper, yeah.” Their eyes locked and they shook hands. “ We’ve got so much more to talk about.”

“ Yeah,” Gavin agreed.

“ You can be on the same helicopter if you want!”

Lisa and Gavin both turned around; Emma stood beside them, an earnest expression on her face.

“ I’m going with one helicopter, and Matron’s going in the other one with the last of the patients. I can get both of you onto mine, if you like!” She held out a clipboard and pointed to the middle section of a complicated-looking form. “ Just write your names in there.”

They didn’t have to be asked twice: Lisa scribbled her name down quickly, and Gavin followed suit.

“ I’ll see you both on the helicopter, then!” said Lisa swiftly, slinging her backpack onto her back and heading for the door. The buzzing of rotor blades was closer than ever now, and she still had to find Paddy.

The man in question was down in the foyer of the inn, serving frantically at the bar, which was still packed with an assortment of policemen, Guard members and ex-contestants. Lisa looked briefly at the long queue for drinks before she decided to take a short cut: she ducked behind the counter to where a red-faced Paddy was pouring pints of beer.

He looked bewildered when he saw her.

“ You sent for me?” Lisa asked.

“ Oh, yes, thank goodness you’re here!” he cried, slamming two pints onto the bar before hauling a large metal screen down over the counter and locking it. “ No drinks for five minutes!” He bellowed to a throng of angry people. “ I need a break!”

The cries of indignation followed them as Paddy led Lisa to a small table in the corner. A boy and girl were already sitting at the table. When Lisa arrived, they looked pleasantly surprised.

“ Lisa! You’re alright!”

It was Daniel and Nova, fellow ex-contestants who had escaped the Union’s clutches last night. They had saved Lisa from death at the hands of a Union agent on the plateau, and she had saved their’s from the bomb thrown by the Union.

“ Hi guys,” Lisa said blankly.

They quickly relayed stories before a bemused Paddy. Lisa launched into a heavily edited version of her story: The Union knocked her out. When she awoke, she was in a cave and the entire Union army was assembled there. A battle broke out soon after and she was rescued. She couldn’t see any reason in delving into the truth about the Guard or the Legend with Nova and Daniel, nor did she have the time – the buzzing of the helicopters was growing even louder. It turned out that Daniel and Nova had a similar experience to her: After the bomb exploded on the plateau, smoke and dust had been thrown up everywhere. They’d lost each other and tried to escape in the chaos that ensued, but the Union closed in on them and stunned them, as they had tried to do with Lisa. The next thing they knew, policemen were untying them in the tunnel that led to the big cavern.

Daniel had just finished his tale when there was a sudden, very loud chopping noise that reverberated through the entire inn: it seemed the helicopters had finally landed.

Lisa spun round to Paddy.

“ I have to go on those helicopters,” she said. “ Would you be able to hurry?”

“ This would have only taken a second if you hadn’t all wanted to gasbag!” protested Paddy vehemently.

He pulled a small velvet bag from his coat pocket and placed it on the table before them.

“ What happened last night was terrible, traumatic,” he said quickly, “ but no militaristic siege is going to stop me declaring winners for my very first Fairfax Contest!”

Lisa jiggled on the spot. Hurry up!

“ Now, the attendants for the contest told me that you, Lisa, and your friend Gavin, and Daniel and Nova were the only people to pass the final checkpoint and reach the summit of Mt Fairfax. Unfortunately, the first prize for the contest, the new Solara Buggy, was set alight by the Union in their attack last night!” He frowned. “ Which leaves only second and third prizes available. Now, I don’t have a means through which to verify who arrived first, so I will let you choose between yourselves.”

With that, he pulled loosened the cord around the top of the velvet bag and tipped the contents onto the table. Four small items fell out: two were identical, platinum-coated, state-of-the-art pokédexes; another was a blue and silver pokéball; the fourth, a tiny glass bottle filled with a purple liquid.

“ Second prize is a two-of-a-kind, luxury new pokédex each; the Dive Ball and Max Repel go together as third prize.”

Lisa eyed off the pokédex. In the background she could hear her father calling out for her above the roar of the nearby helicopters; there was simply not a second left to waste.

“ Oh, Daniel, the pokédexes would be SO cool!” gushed Nova enthusiastically. “ That is, if you don’t want them, Lisa.”

“ Fine, take them!” Lisa bellowed frantically; she grabbed at the Dive Ball and Max Repel and shoved them into her backpack. She gabbled a hasty thankyou to Paddy, who looked taken aback, and rapidly scribbled down her email address for Daniel and Nova so that they could keep in touch. Then, she was sprinting – away from the contestants, away from the bar … Mum and Dad were standing by the door, looking frantic. When they saw her, they each grabbed one of her arms and hauled her out into the grounds, in the middle of which were stationed the two helicopters.

It was obvious that the choppers were not going to linger: one had clearly already been loaded up with patients and was preparing to take off. The second still had its doors wide open: a medic was pushing Gavin through on a stretcher; Emma stood just inside the helicopter, clutching her clipboard tightly as her auburn hair flew around wildly in the eddies caused by the rotor blades.

“ Oh, thank God!” she nearly screamed when Lisa and her parents appeared by the entrance. “ Get in, quickly, we need to go!”

Lisa wasn’t quite so sure why there had been such a rush until she and her parents were safely in the cabin, the door had been slammed shut and they had begun to lift off. Through the wide glass window at the side of the cabin she could see a throng of reporters and cameramen descending down the slope from the inn, cameras and microphones held aloft as they ran, as though they expected the vehicle to wait for them.

Lisa turned away from the window. “ I wonder why there’s so many jour–” she began to her parents, before she fell silent in total shock.

Dad, Mum, Emma, Gavin, one of the co-pilots and three other medics were staring, transfixed, at a stretcher that had been tucked away in a safe position just inside the door.

It contained not a patient but a silent black body bag.

A square of white paper taped to the end of the stretcher bleakly proclaimed:

Victim: Professor Samuel Oak.

Time of Death: 4.30 am, 06/03/2003.

Cause of Death: Stabbing.

Lisa stared in numb silence, like all the others present, at the body bag in the cabin beside them. The man within was the man she had been looking for; the man who had given her answers; the man who had bravely fought against – and died at the hands of – the Union. Yet, in the presence of the dead Samuel Oak, Lisa found that she did not feel as shocked as she ought to have.

Something in her heart had hardened. And something in her brain had made her recognise the brutal reality.

This was war. And in any war, there were invariably casualties. Some were knowing soldiers, willing to put their life on the line for the cause they believed in. Some were innocents, cruelly caught in the crossfire of something beyond them. But there were always casualties, and Professor Oak was merely the first of what she knew would one day become many.

And as Lisa Walters reconciled herself with the dark truth of her changed world, the helicopter rose sharply through the air and began its fierce flight away from Mt Fairfax, and into the burnt red light of the setting sun.

END OF BOOK II