Replies!

Brian: I'm stoked that you found this chapter so good. In regards to the grammar stuff, I fixed most of it but left the "k's" thing - that was one of the things I was referring to in the intro to the chapter, it feels better left like that. With the people telling Lisa where to go, it was like that - "Go to hell", and so on in that same vein. Frankly, I thought I might have overdone the emotion in this a little bit - at least from a rational, me-as-the-writer point of view. But when I looked at it as Lisa would, it felt right that she would be going through these feelings, so I knew I had to leave it in, and I'm glad I did. There was a feeling upon finishing this chapter that everything had come to a satisfactory close - not that all of it has been resolved, but it's reached an intermediate resolution of sorts in the storyline of the fic. I wouldn't call the end a cliffhanger in a conventional sense, but I do see what you mean by the broader sense of the term; and I tentatively assure you I won't be murdering anyone in the first sentence of Chapter 59.

MTR: Hey, good to see you back again. Thanks muchly for the reply, I'm really glad you felt it was worth the long wait, though I don't intend to spend so long on a chapter next time. (I've probably cursed it now. Yay.) Anyhow - thanks for the awe.

Oz: You know what, I quite seriously thought of Dr Blight (sp?) from Captain Planet when I wrote that too. It's quite bizarre actually. Moving on from our clearly very 1990s childhoods, good to hear your feedback, as always. As you said, it's setting the stage for a new scenario, aka, the rest of the fic. Darius and Marina are indeed part of it, and the full-on warfare wasn't a joke, either, as you'll see later in the next book. I felt quite Rowling-ish tying in that old floaties-drowning-flashback to this, but it was enjoyable, and it had been a long time coming. I left Gavin's story out intentionally: partly because I would have had some kind of breakdown if I tried to fit every aspect of the plot into one chapter; but mostly because he was still unconscious. There's so much more to come for Gavin, and it'll happen in the natural course of events, but right now it's about Lisa and the other two. Finally, don't ruin the last Ellie book for me! I'm convinced someone's finally going to get killed off or something. And it might even be Ellie, who knows? Anyway, I only just struggled through the mundaneness of that second one (skimmed it briefly), and I have yet to even buy the last one. *holds breath*

Ada: ^_^ Thank you. It's good to hear you could empathise with Lisa from a reader's viewpoint, I've always felt that I had trouble connecting her and you guys in the fic. Glad it all fitted together nicely, too. I see exactly where you're coming from with the whole Lance summing-up thing - truth be told, if there had only been a few months between these last few chapters instead of years, I might not have bothered with it. But, looking back, it seems right that he elaborated to the rest - it's not just about the continuity aspect, but about the realism of the story: some of the other people in that room had no idea what had taken place, and they deserved to be filled in. Lastly, your observation of the Guard's behaviour and motives is very interesting. I'm not going to give anything away, but I think you've pondered the politics more critically than Lisa has yet.

Master Kirby: You're spot on: that was kind of the pivotal chapter of LTL, the major turning point in the fic. Up until now, Lisa was essentially in the dark, and despite events, she could retain vestiges of (dare I say it?) nescience. But not anymore. Now, she knows the truth, she knows who she is, she knows the Legend, she knows who her enemies are and why they seek her: everything is set to change now. As you mentioned, there was a lot more swearing in this chapter, and it was wholly intentional; it would seem artificial to me to have people going through these strains, these emotions, and stay completely in control of themselves, to stay civil. That's not what I've noticed from my observation of life: people swear, they get angry and irrational when they are put under stress or trauma. You're right: I'm extremely relieved and satisfied to have this chapter finished and posted; the mysteries are all out there now. However, there are many more things to cover and work on - including the matters involving the Legendaries, and Gavin's mystery. As for Professor Oak, you'll see about that next chapter. Everything in it's own time ...

Phew!

*wipes sweat from brow*

OK, now to everyone, I've been kicking back and lazing around, just thinking about the next chapter and sequencing it all in my head. I'm actually thinking about making a Fanart request for someone to draw a few characters and maybe a scene from the fic; but I can't make up my mind because I don't want my imagination of these things to be ruined. I'll let you know if I follow this up or not.

As for the writing of Chapter 59, I haven't made a concrete start yet but I'm not bothered by this: it's going to be a short chapter; there's not much happening other than some thoughts, some loose ends tied up and a bit of important dialogue. Ultimately, it's the ending of Book Two.

Hopefully it will grace your screens shortly!

Cheers!