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

[Karania]

Though I am anxious to see this next installment, please take your time. There's no hurry. It's not like the world is gonna fall into an endless suction black hole tomorrow.

[Chris 2.1]

I agree, You're already too professional to rush things, but i'd rather wait for a breathtaking chapter than just not have to wait and get some crummy 'Lisa falls down a hole and gets covered in concrete' ending or something...

Keep it up!

[Karania]

totally right. Take your time.

[Gavin Luper]

Thanks for being so patient guys.

I'd like to say that i've nearly finished the chapter, but the truth is that i haven't. Life has been flat out for me this entire year, which is why chapters are so slow in coming. But they will come ... there will end up being 50 - 55 chapters in total, and there is no way i am going to leave TPM without finishing this fic.

I can't really give an estimate for how long the next chapter will be in coming, but i expect to finish the entire book by September/October, if that helps in any way.

Seeya round guys!

[GeneChildMewtwo]

Even though you may take a long time to post chapters, you always come through with great material, so it's worth having to wait longer for. I understand that there are lots of priorities in life, so I'm fine with waiting. I'm happy knowing that you're willing to continue. As long as you do your best, it will always be good. ^_^

Thanks for sticking with it!

[Karania]

I'm looking forward to the next chapter, whenever that is.

[ZeldaFan20]

Hey, speaking of "time," I bet everyone here is excited about summer vacation! I myself am planning to spend more time at the beach this year----I didn't get much time last year because of my part-time job)!

[Karania]

Sounds great for you. Hopefully I'll be able to go and do something cool like that. Maybe like boogy boarding at the beach. I don't know.

[Master Kirby]

Hopefully with all the schools letting out, we will have more time to read these new chapters when they are done

I am looking forward to finding out where Gavin went to when he left the hotel.

Gavin: If you are getting writer's block, just re-read the better chapters to get the feeling back.

[ZeldaFan20]

Page 4?!!! Tisk-tisk-tisk......I didn't think you'd be gone THIS long! It's breaking my heart! I hope you come back soon .

[Gavin Luper]

Hi everybody! I'm back!

CHAPTER 39 IS DONE!

Not that i was really gone anywhere, but it's been a long time since the last chapter, and i did really think things would move faster after the last chapter.

Anyway, I spent like ... two months ... doing nothing with the next chapter, and then i sat down today and wrote the entire thing from start to finish! 5000 words in a day! I call that a success. It's in two separate posts, though.

I hope it was worth the wait ... I can only hope the next chapters move equally as fast!

Cheers!

---------------------------------------

Chapter 39 – Christmas Crush.


“It’s Christmas eve!” giggled Marina hopelessly, while Lisa stared at her watch in despair. “And you’re telling me you haven’t bought a single present yet?”

Lisa grunted, because she couldn’t even begin to say yes. The only present she had was a medallion for Aipom that she found in the enclosure at Moo-moo Farm during the Magnemite contest. The league battles with Hiro had basically washed everything else in the outside world off her mind completely.

‘It’s only two days since Hiro defeated Lance anyway,’ thought Lisa. ‘It’s not as if I dawdled here. Darius helped me out, of course. He got his Dad to hire some people to locate the buggy and take it back to Ecruteak, then gave Darius a car to drive us back to Ecruteak. How cool was that?’

“Lisa!” Marina cried loudly. She was quite flushed in the cheeks, and Lisa suddenly realised she had been daydreaming about Darius again. “Come on, I said. I don’t care if you’re depressed about where Gavin’s got to or what you’re going to do now that Kris gave you Vulpix back. We’ve got five hours before the shops shut, let’s make the most of it.”

Marina stood up, flicking her aquamarine hair away in a kind of symbol of motivation. Her eyes screamed ‘get up and go’ at Lisa, and the girl did just that. She grinned at Marina. “You’re taking me shopping?”

“Shopping in style,” said Marina, putting on a fake American accent. Lisa giggled.

“OK, you go get the limo ready and ask the chauffeur to have the doors open for us,” said Lisa, standing up and pushing the chair in at her dining room table. At least she was back home now. That was a start. “I’ll go get our credit cards and choose two tight dresses that we can both be falling out of the whole time.”

The girls dissolved into laughter and Marina ran up to Lisa’s room, where she had been sleeping since she had arrived in Ecruteak. Lisa clipped the lid back on her pink texta and closed the page of her notebook, where she had been trying to write a letter to Darius, but had ended up drawing about fifty hearts with their initials in it. Lisa looked at one and laughed again, suddenly noticing his initials.

“Ah well, he can’t help it,” she sighed to herself. “L.W. 4 D.H. – dammit.”

*********

The chauffeur turned out to be Tom and the limo turned out to be his rattly old Galaxia. The tight-fitting dresses weren’t dresses at all though, which suited Lisa perfectly – jeans and a shirt were her thing. Unfortunately, their credit cards were keycards with about three-hundred dollars. Lisa was suddenly thankful that she had worked for a short time at the pokemon centre – it had increased her bank balance, if only slightly.

The Lakeside Mall was a massive white shopping centre with a huge glass roof, a dome in the centre court of the structure. Tall Norfolk Island pines lined every spare inch of the carpark. Tom dropped the girls off outside the Mall and promised to pick them up in the same spot – beside the letter box – when the mall closed at seven. Marina grabbed Lisa by the wrist and dragged her straight into a department store.

“First things first,” she said quickly, flicking her aquamarine hair back. “Your pokemon.”

“Of course,” said Lisa, who had actually not even considered what she was going to get for Elekid, Dratini, Fiskmire – and now, Vulpix. The department store – Gracy’s – was massive and absolutely packed with shoppers doing their last-minute shopping. Lisa was not surprised to see that most of them were male. “You had something in mind from the department shop? Ugh – slow down.”

Marina was trying to move fast but failing miserably. Even in the aisles of Gracy’s, there was a throng of people battling to find ideal presents. Marina didn’t take any notice of Lisa, until finally she was shunted roughly into a shoe rack by an elderly lady (whom Lisa later recognised to be her Year Five teacher, Mrs Grinton) and pulled Lisa into a tiny cavity between the rack and a wall. This small space was, at least, free of mad shoppers.

“I bought my pokemon some presents at the Battlemagic Counter the other day,” she admitted finally. “If you ask me, it’s an ideal place to find stuff for pokemon.”

Lisa nodded. “Sounds alright, then. As long as it’s cheap …”

“If I can afford it you can,” said Marina, clutching her bag close to her chest, as an unscrupulous-looking, red-haired woman seemed to lunge for it, then back away guiltily. “I didn’t know Gracy’s was so big,” she added, after a pause. “We’ll never get to the battlemagic counter at this rate.”

Something was stirring inside Lisa’s memory. The racks of beach towels! As a little kid (and as a bigger kid, too) she had often ducked inside them to hide from her Mum or Tom, just for fun. The racks ran in a zig-zag line, but were roughly parallel to the main paths in the shop. If she could get behind the piles of towels … she could zip ahead of the crowd and make it to the battlemagic counter quicker.

“This way,” said Lisa, taking charge this time. She waited for a break in the stream of people in the incoming throng, but there wasn’t one, so she pushed her way through, accidentally elbowing a man in the nose – and not waiting around for him to regain consciousness. It occurred to Lisa that they might make it to their destination easily if she just hammered everyone, but decided against the violent option.

They made it to the very centre of the crowd, which was moving at a rate of one centimetre per minute. Lisa jumped up once, and realised the towel racks were very close, just on the other side of the aisle. “What are you doing?” hissed Marina, sounding as though she thought Lisa had lost her mind. Lisa was burrowing determinedly through the rows of people, and with a cry of relief she burst through the other side, straight into a shelf of towels hanging from metal bars.

“In here,” called Lisa, ducking between a green towel and a Thunderstroke towel. She found herself in the centre of the racks – shielded on all sides from noise and most light by the fluffy towels. Marina came bursting through a pink bathmat a moment later, her hair flying everywhere.

“WHY ARE WE IN HERE?” she hissed loudly. “That guy you hit is going off now. You shouldn’t have rushed so much!”

Lisa giggled despite herself. “I didn’t mean to,” she said. “But I just remembered a really quick way to get around the shop. If we go through the towel and clothes racks – and I mean through the inside parts of them – we can get pretty much anywhere, without being stuck in a queue and missing out. It’s three o’clock already, so we gotta work fast.”

There was a kind of awed silence from Marina, during which Lisa heard a muffled roar coming from outside heir towel-haven. “You’re brilliant,” said Marina. “I never would have thought of that.”

They set off at once, sprinting through the insides of the towel racks. The rack ended after about ten metres, and they had to weave through another very small aisle to get across to a rack of baby clothes.

It was quite a good plan, and after five minutes the girls stepped out through a rack of dressing gowns to come face-to-face with a sign that said ‘Battlemagic’. The crowd here was actually much thinner; the people were sparse enough to walk through without breaking noses of squashing feet.

Lisa had been to Gracy’s hundreds of times, but not once could she recall seeing the Battlemagic section. It was tucked away in a corner, with towel racks on all four sides. There was a purple-haired girl at the counter, handing a young boy a strange object which looked like a simple rubber ball. Lisa goggled when she saw the boy investigate the ball, whisper something, and smile, satisfied, when a soft ring of light began circling around it.

“Can I help ya?” the purple-haired girl asked, chewing very loudly on some gum.

“Sure,” said Lisa, and Marina came with her up to the counter. “Do you have any items for fifteen bucks or less that would be suited for a Fiskmire, Elekid, Vulpix or Dratini? And an Aipom?”

Lisa was actually expecting the girl to grunt, or say “Dunno”, but she looking a bit annoyed. “One thing at a time,” she said. “What was first? Fiskmire? Hang on a sec.” The girl ducked under the counter for a second. Marina wandered to the side to gaze into a static lamp which looked normal enough, except for the fact that it had no glass covering.

The purple girl reappeared with a handful of bluish goo. “This stuff’s so cool,” she said. “My boyfriend gave me some. Hold out your hands.” Lisa shrugged and tucked her bag back behind her shoulder, then cupped her hands. The bluish liquid plopped into her hands heavily. It settled still for a moment, and then, without warning, a burst of water poured straight into Lisa’s face, then stopped instantly.

“Oh, idiot,” snapped the purple-hair girl. “You gotta keep the Aquaflox moving, otherwise it attacks.”

“Aquaflox?” repeated Lisa.

“It’s so cool, hey. I use it as hair gel for my Vaporeon, as an advantage in battle, that’s what my boyfriend said to do … he’s like ‘Use it for your hair, Del’ and I’m like ‘OK’ and he’s like …”

Lisa was playing with the Aquaflox, not hearing a word of the dull conversation. If she held the goo still for more than about ten seconds, water would squirt out at her in a little jet. But as long as she kept it moving, it would not do anything more than glint in the light.

“How much?” interrupted Lisa. The girl looked highly affronted.

“Fourteen ninety five,” she said. “For 200mL.”

“I’ll take it then,” agreed Lisa, and forked over the money. The girl took the Aquaflox back and tipped it into an egg-shaped container, then sealed it. Lisa took the egg happily. “Now, what about my Elekid?”

The girl ducked under the counter again.

“Lisa, look here,” called Marina enthusiastically. Lisa turned. Marina had in a tiny Butterfree – barely the size of a tennis ball – hovering around her. Every time she took a step, it hovered after her. “It’s a Guardian Angel,” she said, holding up a small sign. “You can get a Butterfree, Beedrill, Pidgey or Natu.” As she spoke, she walked around in a small circle, and the Butterfree hovered faithfully behind her. She smiled and patted its minute head, her cherry lips in a grin.

Lisa clicked her tongue. “It’d probably annoy you, following you round everywhere.”

“No way, I’m getting one,” said Marina resolutely.

Lisa turned back to the counter. The girl was obviously trying to find something and not having much success. The Battlemagic Section was actually very cluttered and looked completely disorganised. The towel racks surrounded it on two sides, the other two sides were solid walls, painted black with hundreds of glittery stars.

“Here,” said the shop assistant, still looking annoyed as she handed Lisa the object. It was what she had seen the boy walking away with – a shiny red rubber ball, a bit bigger than a golf ball.

“What is it?” asked Lisa.

“A Buzzball. Great item to use. It senses your thoughts and reacts appropriately. For example –” the girl took the ball back, closed her eyes for a moment, and suddenly the Buzzball began expanding until it was the size of a Jigglypuff. “It has something like twenty different uses.”

The battlemagic section was looking to be like magic after all. Lisa bought the Buzzball, then decided to get two, one for herself and one for Elekid. She felt a bit selfish then, buying gifts for herself. Both the buzzball and aquaflox could be used by her as well. So she quickly bought every one of her pokemon a large chocolate bar, which the girl said had healing properties, on top of their other gifts. Dratini’s present was actually twenty dollars, but she bought it anyway because of how great it was. It was a glass orb, filled with blue light. The girl explained that its use was only revealed once the orb was broken over the pokemon – or person. Lisa bought a bottle of something called Jellimer for Vulpix, as well as a collar. Aipom ended up with a collar which was said to exercise control over the wearer. Lisa also threw in a few Magic Items for herself.

Her wallet was lighter, her basket filled with presents. Marina paid for her Guardian Butterfree, and Lisa said goodbye to the Battlemagic shop, which she definitely had a liking for. The girls made their way through the towel racks again, deciding what to do next.

The next two hours were very profitable. Lisa bought almost everyone’s presents in Gracy’s. Jean, a 110% Hits CD; Wesley, a huge supply of chocolates; Mum, a silk bathrobe (with her initials embroidered on it by very skilled Jynxes); Dad, an Ecruteak Fruitbats hat and jersey; Tom, a replenished supply of potions; Miki, a new necklace of beads which Lisa knew she had been considering buying. Lisa had a few more presents to buy; Charmaine, Tuscany, Marina, Gavin and Darius. She thought of Hiro and Kris, but almost immediately realised she would probably not see them again for a long time, especially if they were already on their new journey.

“How about CDs?” suggested Marina, and they raced through the towel racks again, getting much more able to see in the darkness. The crush of people in the rest of the shop had barely reduced.

Lisa bought both Tuscany and Charmaine a Julienne Brextar album. The three of them had loved the song ‘Get over it or get out’ at school, and Lisa thought it would be a perfect reminder of their friendship.

“Darius really wanted that book,” Lisa said to herself. “The one about the War in Kanto.”

“There’s never been one, has there?” said Marina, confused, as they ducked through the baby clothes.

“It’s fiction. Kind of like a ‘what if this happened to Kanto’?”

“Oh. So what’s Darius look like?” Marina said, and though they were in darkness, Lisa thought she could see the gleam in Marina’s eyes as she asked.

“Really cute,” said Lisa, in her truthful opinion.

“Ooooh, crush on Darius eh? That’d be like dating the royals, with his Dad being Lance and all. The paparazzi will be all over you in seconds.”

“I don’t really have a crush on him,” lied Lisa.

“Scaaaaaandal!” giggled Marina.

“Shut up,” said Lisa, then decided to change the subject. “This basket’s really heavy. It keeps hitting on the metal bars.”

Marina didn’t seem to notice the subject change, or if she did, she decided to let it go. “Mine is too. I keep dropping the hat of your Dad’s. Let’s just leave them here, then. We’ll come back and get ‘em after we find the book for Darius.”

“Sounds good,” said Lisa, though she did flinch slightly when she heard Darius’ name come back into the conversation. Marina, however, didn’t persist with that train of thought, and instead dropped the shopping basket at her feet. The girls pushed their way through the jeans that were hanging in front of them and walked through the clothes section until they found a book display. It was nearly six in the evening, and at last the crush of people seemed to have thinned considerably. At the book display, Lisa located the book immediately and plucked it off the shelf for Darius. She would see him tomorrow probably – he had had to go see his Uncle urgently about something, apparently. Then, almost instantly, she found a book that Marina would love – a guide to the Waterways of Johto, Kanto and Kohtu.

“Look away, I found your present,” said Lisa. Marina closed her eyes and Lisa took the book, while Marina’s Butterfree hovered over her shoulder, blinking its beady eyes. Lisa hid the book behind her back, and told Marina she could look again. Marina opened her eyes, then was suddenly jostled roughly to the side by a red-haired woman; Lisa recognised her instantly from a few hours ago, when she had pushed tried to take Marina’s bag. The red-haired woman – who was only in her early twenties – probably would have walked straight on, but she glanced up and caught Lisa’s eye.

The red-haired woman’s eyes widened. “Lisa Walters!”

Lisa expected to suddenly remember the woman from somewhere, but she didn’t. She was sure she had never met this woman before, she would remember.

“You …” said the redhead, swinging her bag at Lisa and thudding it into her shoulder, where it cracked loudly. Lisa winced with pain as it began to bruise; the redhead simply took another vicious swing at her. Lisa caught her eyes once more – they were filled with fire, blazing in her iris. She was furious.

“Leave her alone!” cried Marina, moving into battle mode. But she never got as far as throwing out the pokeball of her Mudkip; the teeny tiny Butterfree had swooped down with a squeak from Marina’s shoulder and a Psybeam – about as wide as a pencil – shot from it’s antennae straight at the woman. It hit her in the eye and she cried in pain.

There was scarcely a moment’s hesitation. Lisa and Marina were pelting away, ducking around the occasional customer, until they finally found themselves facing a row of jeans, and leapt into them. The Butterfree followed, still squeaking angrily.

“Thank you!” Lisa gasped, rubbing her shoulder.

“My Guardian Butterfree …” she breathed. “It saved you.”

As a reply, the insect squeaked angrily, then hovered over to Marina’s shoulder and settled down again. Marina patted it in a kind of distracted way. The girls felt around in the dark for the baskets and found them quite quickly, then – not trusting their hiding place to be 100% secure, they ran back through them until they reached the towel rack where they had first begun their shopping spree. They paid for their gifts very hastily, looking around every five seconds to see whether the red-haired lady was going to come out from nowhere and scream at them.

It was only a little after six-thirty, so Tom wouldn’t be coming to pick them up outside the letterbox for almost another half-hour. The girls ducked into a small café and ordered a milkshake each. They dumped their bags down and sunk into a chair each.

“You sure you’ve never seen her before?” asked Marina, licking froth off her lips.

“Positive. I definitely didn’t do anything to offend her,” said Lisa, drinking her shake through a straw. She breathed out heavily and shakily. “At least that day’s over. I feel like I’ve spent the whole day either in a crowd or alone in the towel racks.”

“It was a stroke of genius, I reckon,” said Marina. “But you still have a present to buy, remember?”

Lisa did remember, naturally. Gavin. She was feeling a bit dejected, as though he had run off to have adventures with someone else and left her in the dust. He could be anywhere now – it had been two nights ago that Melanie had explained to Lisa that Gavin was gone.

They ended up doing a last-second shop in Tyrell’s Gift Mart, where Lisa settled on a bright red T-shirt for Gavin, along with a roll of film for his camera, that he seemed to take everywhere. She felt extremely dissatisfied with her choice for him, feeling that she could have done a hell of a lot better.

[Gavin Luper]

*********

Christmas morning dawned bright and warm. The sky was clear as it could possibly be, filled with a festive warmth. The bells of the Tin Tower rang twelve times as the sun came up, as they always did on a special day. It was the bells, though they were distant, that woke Lisa up.

She was sprawled on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. The sunlight was flooding in through the balcony door and window. Lisa threw off her quilt and pulled the door open, feeling a light morning breeze playing across her face. The scent of Christmas was in the air, for sure.

Marina lay on the soft, thick carpet – she had apparently rolled off her mattress during the night. Lisa kicked her foot and Marina stirred. Realisation spread across her face at once.

“Merry Christmas Lisa,” she said sleepily.

“Merry Christmas,” replied Lisa, and together they tiptoed into the hall, down the carpeted stairs, through the entry and into the lounge room. Marina’s baby Butterfree followed them the entire way, squeaking softly.

The Christmas tree was looking beautiful in the morning sun that streamed through the window; the tinsel shone and reflected every bit of light. The bottom of the tree could not be seen; it was completely obscured by the dozens of gifts which had been placed there last night. Carols were playing somewhere in the room, softly.

Across the sofas, there were four pillowcases filled with presents, all of them overflowing. Each one had a name embroidered on it. “No way! No no no …” Marina gasped, seeing her name sewn into the one beside Lisa’s. It was full up with presents. “Lisa, your parents didn’t …”

“We did,” said Lisa’s Dad, walking into the room. He had Gavin’s Ditto suctioned onto his arm, and was trying to flick it off, without success. “Lisa told us that you didn’t have a home; that you go everywhere by boat. So we thought we’d make Christmas a bit better for you. Don’t,” he added, as Marina began to protest. “Say that we shouldn’t have. We can afford it – our Omanyte expedition in Kanto was a huge success … I’d venture far enough to say we’re yuppies now,” he said, laughing.

Marina blushed scarlet at this.

“Don’t get used to him being so nice,” said Lisa loudly to Marina. “Make the most of it.”

Within five minutes, Wes and Jean were awake and were tearing open presents. Lisa joined in crazily, as did her father. Marina sat oddly still, almost afraid, opening each present very slowly. Lisa’s Mum walked in and tried to clean up the room – the floor was invisible beneath the wrapping paper – but everyone responded by throwing out more mess,

Lisa decided that it was probably best if she gave her pokemon their presents now, else it wouldn’t feel quite as Christmassy. Each of them popped out from their pokeballs and began chattering loudly and incoherently – except Aipom, who was still asleep. Lisa handed them presents in turn, as Marina did the same with her pokemon. Elekid took the buzzball and it instantly emitted two bolts of electricity at Mudkip, who looked highly offended, and turned away and spoke to Fiskmire in a very loud voice.

The noise began to settle down after awhile in the spacious lounge room, until Wes and Jean both cried out loudly at once.
“OH MY GOD!”
“NOT JOKING?”

Lisa looked over at them to see what the fuss was about. Wesley was holding a pokeball, and Jean had just thrown one of her own, revealing a tiny Bulbasaur. Wes threw his quickly, and an Omanyte appeared slowly from the swirl of light which emerged from the ball.

“Merry Christmas!” screamed Dad at them both, and for once the discontented look dissolved from Jean’s face and she smiled.

Lisa considered that she had a good haul. Marina had given her a massive tin of musk-flavoured rock; her parents had given her a new pokegear, along with many new clothes, earrings, a fresh Recovery Kit, and the game Twister. She was foraging under the tree for more presents when her heart thudded. There was a small rectangular gift lying right at the centre of the tree. ‘To Lisa, Merry Christmas, From Gavin xo’. It wouldn’t have been so odd if it had been there earlier – but it had not been present last night, and now it was – a gift from Gavin. She stared at it for a moment, then sat down on the sofa amid Elekid and Vulpix’s play battle.

Lisa was tearing open the beautifully wrapped package from Gavin, when Aipom finally awoke. It was probably Jean’s Bulbasaur who did it, by standing on his tail, but all the same, Aipom awoke in the same hyperactive mood as ever, and began swinging wildly from the top of the Christmas tree, snatching Lisa’s gift straight from her hands as he went.

“Aipom! No!” Lisa yelled. “Come back!”

He swung off the light fitting, and swung right outside the door. Lisa didn’t waste time; she pelted right after him. The explanation she had deduced was that Gavin was back in Ecruteak and had sneaked into the house last night to give her a Christmas present. What it could be that was so important for him to emerge from his runaway status was beyond Lisa, but she absolutely had to find out.

She was chasing Aipom towards the pool when Marina yelled her name from the door. “Take this!” she called, throwing something to Lisa. Lisa put out her hands to catch it – her Buzzball. She felt that the Aquaflox would have been more useful, but she took it, gripped it tightly and waited for something to happen. The girl at the shop had said it picked up on thoughts – did she have to think at the ball, like telling it what to do, or just desire something for it to do.

Get the present back for me, thought Lisa, squeezing the rubber ball. Retrieve the present, somehow. Get it off Aipom.

The ball was annoyingly still, but just as Lisa was about to throw it down in frustration, a jet of electricity crackled through the air at Aipom, who was now scampering up a tree, arcing slowly until it connected with Aipom, zapping him. Lisa thought it must be like Thunderwave attack. Either way, she muttered thanks to the ball and ran to the tree, at the foot of which lay Aipom. The present was a metre away. Lisa picked it up, and quickly unwrapped it – there was a small box, one of the kinds that usually holds jewellery. She opened it tentatively, and saw a thin silver necklace, and a folded piece of paper. From Gavin.

She fumbled with the paper in her haste to open it and read. Eventually she managed it, and read:

Dear Lisa,

I found this a while ago. I just worked out what it is. Hold it. Say what it tells you to.

Merry Christmas,

Gavin.

“Thanks for telling me where you are, how you are and what the hell’s wrong!” spat Lisa, putting the necklace on. “Say what it tells me to? What would that be?” Just as she said that, the air around her crackled as though with electricity, and words formed in thin air, apparently made from concentrated light.

‘Porta Restrigere.’

“Porta res – restrigere,” said Lisa obediently.

Nothing happened.

“Porta restrigere?” she repeated.

And, without warning, Aipom, who was lying at her feet, stunned, glowed an eerie blue and disappeared, as though he had just decided to leave. But he didn’t; moments later, the words glowing in thin air rearranged and formed into a hazy picture of Aipom, strolling through a forest. Then, again without warning, the light which was showing the picture of Aipom concentrated into a dense ball of light, about the size of Marina’s Butterfree, and raced at Lisa’s neck; at the necklace.

On the necklace, there was now a small silver representation of Aipom, hanging off it like a charm.

And, though it came as a shock to Lisa at first, it took only seconds to realise that she now had one of the newest technologies – what Lance had – a special, hands-free pokeball.

The day passed very slowly. No news from Gavin. No word from Darius whether he was coming back to see Lisa ever again or not. Lisa fiddled with her Buzzball, which quickly became her favourite new toy. She was learning to use it more now. It needed accurate thinking, which she hoped she had.

Marina spent a lot of time in the pool on Christmas Day. Lisa joined her once or twice, but was annoyed after awhile by Marina’s Guardian Butterfree hovering everywhere.

That night there was to be a family gathering at the Walters’ household – the second one in a week. Tom and Miki were there, along with some of Lisa’s aunties and uncles and cousins, and her Nanna, who made a special trip from the Retirement Village in Tower Street.

Night fell at around eightish.

Lisa was sitting at a table with her cousins, Davis and Jamie, with Marina. Lisa was completely bored. She gazed around, tapping her fingers on the table and staring out into the dark extremities of the Walters’ property, as though Darius would appear from the shadows and join her at the table.

She was glancing out into the shadows, trying to conjure Darius up so he could be there with her. She was getting doubts – was he really with his uncle, or had he just rejected her like that. Not that he knew her feelings yet, but at that moment Lisa wanted nothing more than to be with Darius, cuddling into him.

From the shadows, perhaps only metres away, perhaps on the other side of town, Lisa didn’t know, but a streak of light came soaring from the ground. She saw it and noticed that everyone around her seemed to be still talking, but no sounds were coming out. The streak of light – a mixture of red and gold – arced up into the sky, looking purposeful and strong, then grew fainter and fainter, until Lisa could barely see it; then the streak had disappeared into the night sky; it was only a memory; an imprint in her golden eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next up on Lisa the Legend

Loneliness can be one of the worst feelings in the world – especially when coupled with rejection.

“Almost two months,” said Lisa softly. She felt weary, even though she hadn’t exercised for days. “No sign of Darius or Gavin.”

Marina nodded knowingly. “I’ll see what I can do.”

But even in the mood she’s in, Lisa’s can’t ignore the law.

“I don’t understand,” Lisa said, feeling faint.

“I’m sorry,” said the crisp voice from the other end of the phone. “But both you and Gavin Thomas Luper are needed for the trial.”

A trial? Lisa and Gavin in trouble with the law? It couldn’t be … or could it?

“I don’t really know much about it,” admitted the girl, sitting beside Lisa in the draughty room. “But it’s really serious. They won’t let us have anything from outside. Not even shampoo! Look at these split ends!”

Chapter 40 – Colour Blind.

[Hyperness is a Good Thing]

Yayies! TWo new chapters!!!!

Awwwwww......the liddle bitty Butterfree is sooooooooo cute!!!!!

Who is that red haired lady anyway?

Oh well......poor Lisa....no sign of both Darius and Gavin...awwwww.....

Nice Christmas chapter anyways..^__^

[Karania]

Good chapter, please continue!

[mr_pikachu]

Nice work! This was definitely work the wait!

Just don't have anyone butcher Lisa in jail next chapter, k? Then it WOULDN'T be worth the wait.

Wait could that golden streak of light be? I wonder...

And Baby Butterfree! Love the pencil Psybeam!

Great job! I'll make a real attempt to wait patiently for the next chapter! ... *twiddles thumbs* Oh, who am I kidding? Gimme another chapter already!

[ZeldaFan20]

I can definitely see that it was worth the wait! Those were great chapters! Christmas shopping, Marina getting gifts, how cool is that? I can probably understand why Gavin wouldn't say where he was on the card: when you lose a family member, you tend to think that such matters shouldn't include your friends. I bet all Gavin needs is a little breathing space, and he'll be back.

[Mew Trainer Rose]

neat chappy! I'm wondering if teh Guardian Butterfree is an actual pokemon (which i doubt) or is some fancy technology (which i think would be more likely, but less cute ^_^)
hey, you never said what Dratini's present did. :/
I used to love ducking in the clothes racks as a kid, too. never went anywhere, tho, just stayed inside 'em. probably cuz i just went in the ones that were a circle, not rows.

Lisa goes to court? i wonder what's up.

[GeneChildMewtwo]

I liked the whole Cristmas shopping part. Those Battlemagic toys are neat. I want a Guardian Butterfree. ^_^ I've never been in a clothing rack myself, but it sounds like it would be fun. I wonder who that red haired woman is... I have some ideas, but I won't say anything yet. As for the next chapter, I hope that Lisa isn't going to get arrested for Grand Theft Library Book. ^_^

Although, I wonder how Gavin is doing. He's somewhere nearby, since he gave her that gift... But according to the preview of next chapter, he doesn't make an appearance for a while... Maybe we find out in a chapter or two?

It seems that Lisa really likes Darius. Although I think that Lisa and Gavin would make a better couple. (Hopefully this doesn't spark some kind of crazy shipping debate... ^_^)

Thanks for continuing the story! I'll be waiting to see what happens next.
Keep it up!

[Gavin Luper]

Hyperness: Hi! That was just one chapter, but what the hey. Yeah, the butterfree is cool hey. I like her anyway. And poor Lisa isn't really as hard done by as she thinks ... I mean ... well, you'll see!

Karania: Cheers! I'll keep goin!

Mr Pikachu: Thanks, i'm glad it was worth such a long wait! And don't worry, nobody's dying! I'm not going to have a crappy ending.

The golden streak of light is quite interesting, hey. Keep thinking.

Oh, Baby Butterfree seems to be a big hit so far. That's good. And pelase please please be patient ok. I know you're joking when you demand more, but consider being a little less demanding.

Zeldafan: You sound satisfied! That's brilliant. It was one chapter, by the way, not 2! You think the christmas shopping was cool? I actually quite enjoyed writing it, it all flowed very well for me.

Yeah, Gavin's being a bit quiet, but what else could you expect, he just lost his last family member.

Seeya soon!

MTR: Hey! Thanks again! I can answer your question about the guardian butterfree ... it's real. As in, living, breathing creature, just miniature.

Yeah, i haven't said what Dratini's present does yet, have i? I wonder why ...

When i was a kid I used to run around behind the towel racks and hide there because noone could find you there. That's why i added it into the story.

GCM: Thanks, i'm pressed for time now but i'll reply soon ok? Cheers!

Chapter 40 coming pretty soon!!

Seeya!

[Andrew]

Hey Gav, been talking to your mum. lol! BTW Great Chapter! Loved it! Lol the whole chapter was a lot of fun, a great uplift to read! Heh, the shopping in style. Classic fun and the car doesn't sound as bad as a Cameria. lol.

The rack hiding lol.... funny, I've never been that bored to try it lol. Oh well, lol.

The battlemagic = great concept.

Aquaflox - Wierd, I still don't really understand it! lol!

Baby Butterfree - Kicks ***! Jean and Wes and Gav should all get one.. I'd love to see the real natu fight with baby natu. But when it used that tiny Psybeam it was so cool!

Buzzball - Interesting, imagine it as hard as a rock and make it fly into someone's temple? lol!

Jellimer & Dratini Crystal - MmMmm I wonder what they might be!

Omanyte and Bulba - Oh oh.. a jean and wes spin off? I don't think I can take that kind of fic! lol! Nice Ditto Cameo however

Gav's Present - WTF was with Aipom? Did it know it was going to have a new hellish existance in a Pokeball But that's the necklace he had a while back! I remember it!

And was that streak Entei? Who knows! Talk to you soon and GREAT work

[Jon UKX]

Hey Gavin, excellent chapter although I must admit a Christmas chapter in June is a bit strange but still it was worth reading.
Just wondering, is Darius based on the singer Darius Danesh (U.K singer who was in Pop Idol) since the next chapter Colour Blind was the name of his first single.
I kinda wonder if the court case is about Lenina since she is the only reason I can think of on why Lisa and Gav need to go to court.
Toodle-doo!

[Master Kirby]

Great Chapter! After all that traveling, I bet Lisa really had fun going shopping.

What does a "fake american accent" sound like? Being american myself, I've never thought of an "American accent" before. I guess while Americans think Australians have an accent, Australians also think Americans are the ones who sound funny!

I loved the running through towel racks. I wish I could have been there too!

Lisa shouldn't be so upset about Gavin being away. I'm sure he has a pretty good reason for silence.

Is the Buzz-ball Psychic? How can you control it mentally?

Lisa really needs to give Aipom that collar she bought. Hopefully it will help calm him down.

What is the "Musk-flavored rock" that Mariana gave Lisa? Is it an edible rock? I don't understand.

It sounds like the necklace-pokeball is a better environment for Aipom than a regular pokeball. He gets to run around in an imaginary forest now.

Is that golden streak in the sky a rocket of some sort? I Guess we will find out.

[mr_pikachu]

Why is this in my mind...?

Ho-o-oh, the one and only, Cheerios!

Hmm... perhaps it has something to do with the golden streak? (Say it to yourself. THEN you'll understand what I'm saying.)

[Gavin Luper]

GCM: THANKS VERY MUCH FOR THE REPLY! Sorry, caps lock there ... i can't be bothered changing it. It's good that you like teh Battlemagic Stuff because you'll be seeing more of it in the later chapters.

You've never been in a clothing rack? You poor, deprived person, you have to try it out one day. Unless you're over the age of 14, then it's just sad. Grand Theft Library Book? Wait and see!

Gavin's floating out there somewhere. Yes, Lisa does have a bit of a crush on Darius (hence the double-meaning of 'Christmas Crush').

Oz: Hey, how ya goin? LOL! The chappy was one of the easiest things I have ever written, it flowed really naturally, just like Chapter 34. There must be something about those two chapters that make it happen.

A cameria? I dunno ... have you ever ridden in a Galaxia??? I haven't, but still ...

You've never been bored enough to try hiding in clothes racks? Have you ever stood around for three hours waiting for parents to hurry up and choose some DAMN TOWELS???

I already spoke to ya about the battlemagic, but thanks anyway, because it was actually a spur of the moment concept, I just felt like livening up the chapter a bit. So I created a heap of thigns as I went along ... but, believe it or not, some of them do play a part in the overall shape of the story. Aquaflox might make more sense later, and we'll definitely see more of the Guardian Butterfree and Buzzball. Don't worry about the Jellimer and Orb, all will be revealed ... one day!

If you're thinking of a jean-Wes spin off, think again mate!

You remembered the necklace! I wondered if you would ... if anyone would. Hold that thought ... oh, btw, my lips are sealed RE the streak of light.

Jon UKX: Hey Jon, how ya going? Lol I know a Christmas chapter in June is a bit odd, but that's the way the timing worked out ... the story is still following a timeline, afetr all.

Darius is kind of based on that guy ... I have no idea what the real Darius looks like, but my sister was going on about 'Darius' and 'Colour Blind' as I wrote chapter 35, so it just kind of fell into place.

Reason for the court case = top secret!

Kirby: Thanks mate! I dunno about Lisa finding the shopping trip fun, she might have liked it more if she hadn't been attacked by some lady!

You're american? WE have an accent? Well I suppose that makes sense, but to us guys, you yanks sound really different. But like you say, it works both ways. We think our voice just sounds normal.

Anyway, a 'fake american accent' is someone trying to put on an american accent ... i can't describe it really.

The towel racks were a hit! It would have been so much fun!

You're right, Gavin has a good reason for his silence. But what could it be??????

It's not psychic, it's BattleMAGIC, with the emphasis on the magic. oh, and good point about Aipom! He needs that collar something chronic!

You don't get rock in america? It's a lolly. Very hard ... not real rock, of course.

Mr pikachu: Interesting theory...

[GeneChildMewtwo]

Sadly, I don't think I'll be able to try the clothing rack thing, since I'm 20. I could just imagine people freaking out when a 20 year old guy starts going in and out of clothing racks... It would be really sad, for everyone involved.

[Mew Trainer Rose]

I'm 17, but smallish for my age. maybe i could get away with it...

[Gavin Luper]

LOL! Yeah, GCM, that would be pretty sad for all involved ... as for you MTR, why not? Of course, the rush of excitement that you get when you're 8 years old probably doesn't exist at age 17.

Chappy up soon ... tomorrow I'll be making an announement ... a good one at that.

Cheers!

[Chris 2.1]

Hey, i'm a-here! Geez, I want to burn school, I have to do coursework now, and it smells :0/. At least I can read fics like this to drag me through my two GCSE Years...*sigh*

Great chapter, it was really warming and magical. Visually the aquaflox was great, the guardian Pokemon is a great idea, but be warned: If that idea isn't patented in the near future then you could get sued by some dude pretending he pattented it long long ago...J.K Rowling was in a situation like that a while back...hmm...

But back on track, Wes and Jean's Pokemon are great! Omanyte...maybe Wes/Jean (forget which one got which >__<) can trade it for a sandwich on the school yard? I made awful trades like that, back in the 'day .... Glad to see Bulba, and Ditto's cameo was great!

I really like the clothes rack thing...I went under a load on a skateboard and got banned from the shop!!!!!!!! I wish i didnt, that place is the best for 3/4 jeans ... *whimper* and I rode a trolley through there, it was 4pm so it was near empty though...and I still get told off! Grr. Lisa and Marina's spree thing was great, too.

*reads above* I talk TOO.MUCH
I think I'll just say this:
great chapter, definitely worth the wait and it's got me in the mood for christmas!

ONLY 5 MONTHS LEFT, PEOPLE!

[Gavin Luper]

Shiny Marill: Hi! Thanks for reading, but I'm not concerned about the aquaflox or any of my ideas. If someone wants to steal them they can go ahead, but I sincerely wish that they feel incredibly guilt for the rest of their living days.

And me? Sued? On the internet? I'm a little more elusive than that!

Have fun with your christmas in july-ness!

[Master Kirby]

Master Kirby turns on his computer, and brings up the Pokemasters FanFiction Site to see if there is a new post for Lisa The Legend. Seeing that the newest post is by Gavin Luper, Master Kirby thinks to himself, Maybe he posted that announcement he said he was going to make today.

Upon loading the page, Master Kirby is met with a surprise. Huh? he thinks, seeing that no new announcement has been made. I guess he wasn't ready.

Master Kirby double-checks Gavin's post to see if he was remembering correctly.

.......
Chappy up soon ... tomorrow I'll be making an announement ... a good one at that.

Cheers!

Yes, I did remember correctly; there was supposed to a good announcement today. I will have to check back later tonight. Maybe Gavin has been busy.

Master Kirby writes a reply and plans to check for new posts later.

What news will this announcement hold? All will be revealed on Gavin's next post for Lisa The Legend!.................................................. ........(hopefully )

[Gavin Luper]

------ANNOUNCEMENT------

Ahem: As we approach the fortieth chapter, I thought it would be high time to make this announcement. Everyone should probably remember the crossover of LTL and EBTV which was posted much earlier this year. Well, brace yourselves for a sequel, guys, cause it's coming!

Yeps! Chapters 41 and 42 of Lisa the Legend are going to be Crossover chapters, again written by Oz Andrew and myself.

NEW CROSSOVER! HOORAY!

More details coming soon, but be on the lookout for this new installment in the story! Cheers!

PS: Kirby, sorry I didn't get much time yesterday!

[Gavin Luper]

About time I got into the swing of things! Chapter 40 is up and ready to be read! I cut it short but for good reason ... so the next chapter isn't the crossover, chapter 42 will be the beginning of the crossover.

Have fun with the next chapter. Oh, and yes, I have done away with the previews!

Cheers!

------------------------------

Chapter 40 – Missing.


Darius Hudson had occupied Lisa’s thoughts over the past two months. For her, they had been the loneliest months of her entire life. Every day she crawled out of bed, convincing herself that today he would call her on her phone; today a letter would arrive with her name written on it in curly letters; today a fifty-kilobyte email would appear in her inbox as she turned the computer on. Every evening she reluctantly trailed up to her bedroom and stared at a photo of them together – the only one – taken at Silver City before Christmas. By Gavin.

With every day that passed, Lisa too thought about Gavin, but she did not feel the urgency to receive some contact from him that she felt with Darius. Marina often made her feel guilty about this, but Lisa had convinced herself her feelings were justified.

“I know Gavin’s there … somewhere,” she replied, shortly before New Years. “But Darius seems to have just slipped off the face of the earth.”

Marina had chuckled at that. “Lisa, he’s staying with his Uncle somewhere in the city. He gave you the address. Go find his uncle and ask.”

But Lisa had blushed a dull shade of magenta and refused to talk about her two friends any further. She didn’t want to go and see Darius’ Uncle, what if Darius had just gone back to the Plateau with his Dad? Just abandoned Lisa. Not wanting to tell Lisa … He probably didn’t even like her anyway.

“It’s not like we were ever going out,” Lisa said dully to herself, lying in bed early one morning.

She was feeling particularly rejected now because Marina had gone to spend a week with her pokemon – apparently Mudkip and Starmie were getting ‘restless’ (“Worst excuse I ever heard,” snapped Lisa). She would currently be canoeing somewhere near Olivine, perhaps going east into the river systems of Tokor. The only bright spot was that she promised to come and visit again when the week was over; she was due back any day now.

It was a warm February morning and the post had yet to come, meaning Lisa still had a sliver of enthusiasm about her. She slithered up from bed, straight into the muggy February heat, and headed straight for the door. The pool would be perfect at this time of morning. It had been such a hot summer; she almost wanted winter to come back - almost.

The pool was lovely and cool, but Lisa couldn’t concentrate. Maybe it was because she was in such a reflective mood, but suddenly the pool – and indeed the entire backyard – felt foreign to her, separated from reality somehow. Memories were darting through her head. This backyard was where she had nearly drowned as a child, then been rescued by something beneath the water – but when she looked again, it was gone. In this backyard she had been told by Tom of his engagement to Miki (the wedding was barely two weeks away) and at the engagement party itself, she had seen the mystical beast Suicune appear from nowhere, and take something of Gavin’s. A little under two months ago she had chased Aipom through the backyard, until she had accidentally trapped him in a special poke-device, the name of which she still did not know. She had, however, discovered how to release him, and found he was much happier in the new device.

But, most significantly to Lisa, in this backyard, on Christmas night she had seen something nobody else appeared to have seen. A streak of light – like a flame – had darted through the sky, up towards the heavens, then dissipated until it was gone. In amongst worrying about Darius and Gavin and Aipom, Lisa had been trying to determine what this was. Her very first thought had been The Great Phoenix, but she realised very quickly that the streak had been far too small for the Phoenix. She had, after all, ridden on its back once, and knew it to be far bigger.

Lisa actually giggled to herself when she thought about this, because it was something she did not go talking about. About 95% of people did not believe in Legendary Pokemon, and about half of those who did were under the age of five. People were sceptical … some thought people who believed in Legendaries were mad. Therefore Lisa had not shared her experiences with anybody – excluding Gavin, who went through most of it with her. Even Marina did not know how strange the last four months had been for Lisa. The only other human being who knew was Anna, and she had died shortly after working everything out. At the hands of a vengeful firebeast …

“Entei!” the words burst from Lisa’s mouth and it seemed so obvious that she had no idea why the thought had not occurred to her some time before. Of course. Entei! The rogue Legendary Dog, who turned against his brothers Suicune and Raikou, tried to kill them, then raged at Anna instead … Lisa winced painfully as she saw terrifying images in her mind … flames licking at a tree, screaming girl, panic, cloak of darkness … three shining, deadly orbs … tearing into Anna’s heart …

“STOP IT!” said Lisa firmly to herself, and realised that she was sweating heavily, panting like a dog. She instantly threw her head into the cool water and felt her mind take get a grip. She breathed very slowly, her mouth drooping, voice shaking as she said. “I’ve moved on.”

And with that, Lisa wrenched herself from the pool and sprinted back inside.

*********

Darkness had fallen over Ecruteak and the regions nearby. In a very small, very cold room, a man was writing at a desk, a lamp on his table – an eerie static lamp, without a glass covering. It flickered dangerously, washing a small amount of light over the room, but the waves of electricity seemed to know when to halt; it was as though they knew not to overstep their bounds.

A phone shrilled in the dimness, and the man instantly flipped open a mobile phone and said, without reserve. “I hope they’re dead.”

A woman’s voice replied very shakily. “Only … only one is …”

The man at the desk did not need to be in the presence of his underlings to have control over them. Not these days. He hissed in a low voice, venomous words at the Lamp. Its flickering increased for a single moment, then a bolt of light broke free from the cluster and shot straight through the wall. The man did not need reassurance; he laid back and smiled without a hint of mirth.

*********

“URGENT NEWS FOR LISA WALTERS!”

It was obviously Marina. Lisa leapt up from the barstool at which she was eating breakfast. She was watching TV and feeling quite relaxed – she had put yesterday’s pool drama behind her. She made it to the door in record time and opened it to see Marina dripping wet and grinning. Her Guardian Butterfree squeaked happily and buzzed around Lisa’s head three times, evidently happy to see her. Lisa reached out and patted it before Marina could talk.

“Yes, I had a great time,” Marina said, laughing quietly as Butterfree buzzed back to her shoulder. “Tokor isn’t quite as it used to be, though. Mudkippy loved it though. He got a crush on my brother’s Pichu, which I honestly found really disturbing. The river was so nice.”

“Where’d you leave the canoe?” Lisa asked enthusiastically as they walked inside the hallway, Marina slipping on the tiles.

“Stashed it under a little outcrop at the Lake,” replied Marina, still soaking wet. “By the way, I’m not wet from the canoe ride, your neighbours have sprinkler issues. Towels?”

Lisa went to get one from the linen closet, noticing that Marina was a lot chirpier than when she left. She had not been boating for a few weeks – Lisa had tried canoeing with her one weekend at the Lake but she couldn’t get the thrust of it. She returned and gave it to her friend, then remembered her original greeting. “What’s your urgent news?”

Marina was drying her hair vigorously, and Lisa was pleased to see it was a brighter, healthier aquamarine colour. Lisa had asked her what dye she used once, and Marina explained that she didn’t. “It’s not natural either though … it comes from drinking the cerutea we make back in Tokor … it’s very rare, though.”

“My urgent news,” said Marina triumphantly. “Is this. Or these, I should say.”

She pulled two envelopes, one much thicker than the other, from her backpack, which was thankfully dry, and handed them to Lisa. Both had Lisa’s name on; the major difference was that the thinner one was typed and had a Johto Ministry of Justice emblem on it – the other was handwritten, very messily, in familiar handwriting.

“Gavin?” Lisa breathed. “Where’d you get these?”

Marina threw the towel onto the bench as the girls came back into the kitchen. Lisa’s bowl of Coco’s Crunch was still only half-eaten. “I got the legal letter from your letterbox,” explained Marina. “But the other one … well, I slipped on the wet paving – stupid sprinkler – and fell over the garden gnome, you know, the yellow one with the big nose? The envelope was just lying there … wonder how long it’s been there?”

Lisa was already tearing it open, but her Mum suddenly breezed through the dining room from upstairs. “Marina! You’re back!” she called pleasantly, swathed in a bathrobe. Lisa didn’t know why, but she found herself tuck the envelopes away in her jeans, and back away slowly towards the staircase.

Marina met her at the top of the stairs. “What was with that?” she asked curiously, walking into the bathroom and dumping the towel in the basket there.

“I dunno,” Lisa replied lamely. “I didn’t want Mum to see the letters … I want to see them first.” Marina shrugged and closed the bathroom door to have a shower – after asking for a towel in the first place. The Butterfree only just squeezed in after her before the door slammed shut. Lisa headed for her room.

The bedroom was bathed in a warm morning glow. Lisa sat down on her bed and plucked the letters from the pocket of her jeans and opened the envelope of Gavin’s letter. Thick pages of paper unfurled from it, along with another, smaller envelope, which was padded. Lisa took the first page and began to read.

Dear Lisa,

Hi it’s me. How are you? I’m alright, if you’re wondering – (“IF I’m wondering,” snorted Lisa) I haven’t spoken to you since we were at the hotel in Silver City a few days ago, and I don’t know if you know what happened. I’d like to explain everything to you in full at the moment, but … well, I don’t want to. You see, my Uncle died … look, I’ll explain it to you one day, later on. But I just don’t feel like it right now OK?

Anyway, I’m gone but I’m fine. I won’t tell you where I’m living at the moment because I know you’ll try to chase me up and I really just want to be left alone right now. DON’T GO SEARCHING FOR ME, alright? I’m fine … besides, the police probably don’t like me very much at the moment.

How’s Staryu and Lanturn? And Ditto, come to think of it? They’d better be good because I left them in your care. Wes and Jean can take care of Staryu and Lanturn if they want to. Until I get back … I’ll see you again one day, alright? I don’t know when … Oh yeah, Merry Christmas. Did you get my present? I got Natu to teleport into your place last night and put it under the tree.. I hope you can work out what to do with it though … just remember what Lance did. The rest of your present is in here, in the envelope. Hope you like it.

I’ll speak to you again.

Gavin.

Lisa blinked. She had waited two months for this? She had been so excited about getting a letter from Gavin, hoping it would have been placed under the gnome just recently. But by the sounds of it, he had quickly rushed it there some time on Christmas day. The last six words were very messy and had obviously been rushed. Gavin himself must have been in a rush … how had he delivered it to Lisa without her seeing?

Without thinking, she read it through twice more to memorise its contents.

“Let me read!” pleaded Marina loudly, and Lisa suddenly noticed she had apparently finished her shower … a world record timing for Marina. Lisa handed the page over to Marina, who picked it up and read it eagerly. Lisa turned to the other sheets of paper and her eyes bulged. She read the piece of paper very slowly, her Guardian Butterfree peering over her shoulder.

Curse of the Luper Family, said the title at the top. And following it were pages and pages of symbols and runes, which Lisa could not understand at all. They were completely foreign to her. One sheet of paper had each type of rune printed on it once – Lisa decided it must be the cipher. Five of them had been deciphered; G, A, V, I and N, probably by Gavin himself. As for the others … Lisa didn’t see how she could begin to decipher the pages. Some of the pages were text, one looked like a family tree.

“Oh, why didn’t he say more?” Marina said after reading through the letter.

“Ditto,” muttered Lisa, not referring to the pokemon. She had hoped for this letter to prove to her that Gavin was currently perfectly fine, living in Ecruteak, maybe asking for them to meet again. But it was dated from last year. For all she knew, Gavin could have tripped and fallen over a cliff on Boxing Day. It was very unsettling. She almost wished he had not sent anything.

Marina seemed to pick up on her mood. Even the Butterfree on her shoulder stopped squeaking. “You’ll see him soon. He said ‘I’ll speak to you again’.”

“How soon is ‘again’?”

Clicking her tongue, Marina placed the letter back in the envelope. “I don’t know,” she said dumbly.

Lisa exploded. “IT’S BEEN NEARLY TWO MONTHS! NO SIGN FROM DARIUS OR GAVIN SINCE THEN! HOW DO I KNOW THEY’RE NOT BOTH DEAD?”

Marina stood up and Lisa mirrored her. “Lisa, I think what happened to Anna has got to you! Not everyone gets killed by Entei!”

“I didn’t say they had!” yelled Lisa. “Besides, Entei does kill some people!”

“You’re completely paranoid!” Marina cried.

“I’m not!”

“You are! Just because Anna died you think Gavin will too!”

“You weren’t there!” spat Lisa. “You didn’t see the attacks. You didn’t see her chest getting torn open! YOU DIDN’T SEE HER BODY FALL INTO THE FLAMES!”

Marina’s breathing was laboured. She looked flushed. “Lisa, get a grip!”

“How about around your neck?” cried Lisa savagely, looking for something to throw in her temper. She found Aipom’s now unused pokeball and threw it at Marina. Marina yelled and flinched, but a thin jet of lavender light shot out from her left shoulder connected with the pokeball and pushed it off course.

The Guardian Butterfree squeaked angrily at both the girls and zoomed off to sit by itself on the windowsill.

Lisa blinked, feeling the anger ooze out of her like Aquaflox. Marina blinked too, then suddenly they both rushed in and embraced each other, sobbing hopelessly.

“I’m sorry,” they said simultaneously.

Marina parted, wiping her eyes. “Let’s go to the lake. I need some time to calm down, a change of scenery, don’t you?”

Nodding, Lisa followed her out through the door, as did the Butterfree, though reluctantly.. They decided to head down to the lake, go fishing, go for a swim in a lake instead of a pool, maybe even test out their battlemagic tools. For the first time in nearly two months, Lisa felt actually happy. She went with Marina to the lake within half an hour, the letter from the Johto Ministry of Justice lying on her bed, completely forgotten.

[Andrew]

Ya know, I know why I realized why I love LTL. It doesn't try to be a trainer fic, it does its own thing when it wants and your writing style compliments it so well. Great work!

Still 2 months later... how unsettling it is to rejoin them so much later!

Seems Lisa's getting more unsettled as time goes by ain't she. Poor thing. She's got too much time to think and not enough doing of things. Get her mind off of things.

Marina's hair colour explained, well I wasn't expecting that! But still its a nice explanation! The sprinkler comment was hillarious too.

Ooh it'd seem Gavin's dead... or locked away safe somewhere to avoid that curse Ala Final Destination 2. Oh well, We'll miss you gav! But not Darius, we never really got to know you as well lol.

And once again Baby Butterfree steals the show! Its amazingly charasmatic without saying a thing. The little touches make it one of my favourite characters.

Anyway, have a great holiday in Perth and I can't wait till you get back! TTYL! Great work!

[Mew Trainer Rose]

A mysetrious letter from Jhoto Ministry of Justice (whatever that is)? it must be somethgin importaint, she completely forgot about it
bit of a short chapter, but I'm looking forward to teh always-exciting crossover chap that's coming up.

[GeneChildMewtwo]

That Guardian Butterfree is just so cool. I agree with OzAndrew about how it can be a neat character without saying a word.

Although... I wonder what that other letter is. I guess we'll find out soon. (Could it be the notice that Lisa's library book is excessively overdue, and kind of stolen? ^_^)

Another crossover? That sounds fun. I really like crossovers and such. It's interesting to see two seperate stories that take place in the same world, especially when those characters meet up with each other.

This chapter was interesting as it just showed what Lisa had been doing, and how she felt. (and Marina too.) Besides the letter from Gavin, Lisa didn't do a whole lot, and yet it was still a interesting chapter to read. I like seeing things like this, where we can get insight on the normal lives of the characters. (Well, as normal as Lisa's can be.)

I'm looking forward to the next chapter, and the crossover as well. Keep it up!

[Master Kirby]

That must have been very frustrating for Lisa to find the letter that had been waiting for her for two months. With those weird runes and symbols to decifer, it looks like Lisa is going to have to get back to work, and stop laying around the house feeling sorry for herself.

Earlier you had said that doing crossovers are too much trouble. Well, I am glad you changed your mind. Crossovers add a new dimention to the story, linking two stories together, making them better.

Are there any other "Guardian Pokemon"? They sounded like they were all flying pokemon. Could they breed any other midget pokemon, like Squirtle?

[mr_pikachu]

Originally posted by Gavin Luper

muggy February heat

lol, we don't hear that much here in the good ol' USA! I guess things are a lot different over in Australia, huh?

Only one is dead? What the heck? And who is that new nemesis we've now learned about? If he can control the elements, he might not be the easiest thing to overcome...

And sweetness! A new crossover! YAHOO!


P. S. By the way, does anyone know who changed my sig to say "owned."? I'm a little bit ticked off...

[Andrew]

Well Mr. Pika, suzie owns your sig and erases it if its too long, too obscene or she just doesn't like it... So I'm afraid that's what's happened Oh well, if you need more of an explanation, PM her.

[Chris 2.1]

A quickly posted, but still amazing chapter Gav!

the Guardian Butterfree is pretty kool! He/she/it/whatever's getting some nice spotlight here! Liking it! erm, sorry for sounding stupid but what other Pokemon does Marina have? Mudkip, Starmie, Tentacraw....Golduck? I can't think :- /

Perth, eh? Nice My friend's going travelling to Australia, she's heading to Melbourne, Perth and so forth, i think she wants to go to the barrier reef too!

That's all, cya!

[ZeldaFan20]

Sorry I haven't replied yet, but it's extremely hot over here, and I haven't been in much of the replying mood. Anyway, It's an interesting chapter; I wonder what the other letter says. Post soon!