A/N Hi guys! I'm back with the next chapter of this fic! Man, I can't believe only a few more chapters remain before the end! I hope you guys enjoy this!
R&R!
Chapter Twenty-Five: Scientific Building
"Ahh," Lana stretched as she pushed into her home, the events of the previous day still squarely on her mind. "Man… it was nice hanging out with them again," She smiled. "That as the first time I've had fun in months!"
"Kids! Dinner!" A familiar voice called, prompting Lana to turn and enter the kitchen. "Hey dad."
"Hi honey," Lynn turned around and gave her a small smile. "I haven't seen you all day."
"I was out with friends," She turned and hopped into her seat. "We played in the snow and stuff. It was pretty cool!"
Lynn Sr. turned to his daughter and flashed a small smile, before returning to his cooking. "That's nice to hear. You plan on going out with them again? And remember, no boyfriends until you're sixteen!"
Lana blushed madly. "Dad! Skippy's a nice boy!"
The man chuckled in reply. "Yeah, yeah, but what I've said still stands."
*Beep* *Beep* followed by the soft sands of little hands tapping away on a tablet soon filled the air. Lana quickly turned, only to find Lisa now focused on whatever mundane task present in that game of hers.
The young girl leaned over and glanced at the pad. "Heh, what game are you playing?"
"Super Plumber Brothers," She whispered. "It's a simple game about two guys running around fighting a giant turtle.
"Man, why are so many games built like that…" The thought crossed her mind. "Well… are you all right, Lisa?"
"Affirmative," She answered, her voice going slightly low.
For a moment, Lana considered her next move. Lisa had no doubt fallen back into the same habits she had from before pageant practice started. "But how can I help her now? I doubt she'd believe anything I suggest now that Lola didn't wake up…" Her mind jumped to ideas. "What would Lisa like to do? Study? Experiment maybe but…" She looked to her sister, the young girl focused solely on that device. "No, I can't give up! What would Lisa do? Stay inside all day right? Well then, let's do something out of her comfort zone!"
*Knock* *knock* Lana pushed open the door to Lisa's room, glancing inside a moment later. "Hey, Lisa, you in here?"
Slowly, the young girl glanced back. "What is it, elder sibling?"
She pushed in, careful to step over the canisters of deadly neurotoxin, before rubbing her arm. "I was thinking, wanna hang out today? I mean you really haven't done much besides play that game."
"I am playing Minecraft now!" Lisa pointed out. "This game allows me to test all my theories and it is amazingly fun!" She turned back and got back to building.
Lana rubbed her chin and smiled. "I know how to hang out with Lisa." She quickly turned and headed to her room, booting up the computer and typing away. "Come on, please tell me I know how to do this…"
Loading terrain…
"Haha! I did it!" She cheered, flaring her arms as the message "FrogsAndToads55 joined the game!" Appeared on the screen.
"Lana?! What are you doing here?!" Lisa immediately spoke up. "This is supposed to be my world!"
"Then why'd you leave it open to LAN?" She typed in response. "I just wanted to hang out with you and stuff."
She waited a moment for Lisa's reply, half-expecting her to simply tell her to leave. Yet, instead, Lisa teleported to her. "Well… I suppose you can stay."
Lana smiled at that. "Thanks Lisa. Do you have a home yet?"
The scientist hesitated. "No… I really haven't been playing to game to build anything… just testing modifications to the game code."
Lana raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Uhh, like what?"
Suddenly, Lisa's character lit up, as if one of the mods allowed the blocky characters to finally show some emotion. "Follow me and I'll show you!" Quickly, Lisa turned and ran off, with Lana following immediately.
"Looks like I found what gets her excited," Lana cracked a small smile, before she gave chase.
The scientist wasted no time climbing over a mountain, before jumping down and landing in what appeared to be a small dirt hut, set aside just for her work.
"Not much, I am aware," She went, no doubt in real life she would've scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. Thankfully, this was just a game and there was no need for such gestures.
"Well, for a start it's all right," The former plumber shrugged and stepped over to what appeared to be an orange head with grey lines going through it. What was odd however, was that the number 127 followed by a thunderbolt floated above it. "What's this?"
"Oh that's my energy regulator, it runs this whole power network!" She motioned towards the place, seemingly motioning towards the random blocks set out to try and mark where she had built.
"Energy?" Lana tilted her head in confusion. She hadn't played Minecraft in a while, but surely they hadn't gone this far with it… right?"
Lisa's eyes lit up. "Yes! Energy! Let me show you!" She grabbed Lana's hand and pulled her over to what appeared to be a furnace, brown block, and a blue glass block. "This is the most important system I have here! My resource maker!"
"Ok, I think I get it," She scratched the back of her head in confusion.
"Over there you see my solar panels, they're making sure that this thing has enough energy to run, while my robots on the other side of the mountain are hard at work using the cobblestone generators to actually get this machine to work.
Lisa scratched the back of her head. "I'm working on adding a coal farm to it, with robots to chop down the trees and then turn that wood into coal to power everything and stuff!" She shook her head. "You wouldn't believe how much coal this mod calls for. It's almost like every day I need to get eight stacks worth just to make one important item!"
"Wow…" The older girl went, surprise filling her voice. "From the looks of it, you've been pretty busy."
She nodded. "Of course! I want to make sure that I understand these modifications perfectly! I'm gonna go all out and figure out how to break this system completely!" For a moment, darkness seemed to overtake Lisa, as if her very thoughts had begun to overtake the world. "I will rule! I will-"
"Uhh, Lisa, not to kill the mood and stuff, but… have you actually enjoyed this game much?" Her older sister spoke up.
Lisa quickly recomposed herself. "Of course. I have made so many machines and devise that I plan to try and replicate in real life!"
Lana shook her head. "These mods are cool and all but… you haven't even built yourself a home yet," She glanced to the side. "You probably haven't even sorted out your chests yet, haven't you?"
"I'll get to it!" She snapped back. "As soon as I finish with my next machine!"
The older girl stepped over and placed a soft hand upon her sister's shoulder. "Well ok then, but how about we go calm down for now? People don't always play this game for the mods ya know!"
"Pish, posh, I love this the way it is! There's nothing more I would enjoy than to keep going at it like the way it is!" Lisa's character spun around, prompting Lana's to grab her.
"Come on, it'll be fun! Plus, solar panels don't work at night!"
For a moment, Lisa paused. "Dangit!" Before letting out a breath and raising a finger. "No matter! Once I make a system capable of autonomously creating uranium I will be able to sustain a nuclear reactor system constantly! And have no more energy problems!"
"And how long will that take you?" Lana raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
Lisa twiddled her fingers for a moment. "I dunno… a lot of work and time?"
For a moment, Lana thought of her response. No doubt trying to get her to do anything for her own good would just lead to her sister pushing it off for some crazy device or… whatever she was doing in Minecraft. And so, she stepped over. "Well, Lisa, I'm not gonna play this game much with you? Can we please build a house or something while I'm here? That way we have somewhere to live when I do come by?"
The younger girl considered declining the offer. After all, time wasted building shelter was time she could spend perfecting this already complex system! And yet, she stood by in thought. As much as she tried to deny it, playing this game by yourself in such a huge world… well, it got lonely. Oh how much she desired to have someone keep her company, even if it was nothing more than to have someone standing by.
And given what Lana just said… this wasn't going to happen too often. So, with a soft breath, she shrugged. "I suppose I could put off the construction of another system for now, in order to construct a dwelling place. Where would you like to start?"
Lana replied by turning and stepping over to a nearby tree. "Like all things in Minecraft start. By punching a tree!"
The scientist raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Err, what? How would-"
Yet, before she could finish, the tree trunk broken, leaving the rest of the tree floating in midair.
"Wat?" The younger girl's eyes went wide in confusion.
"Heh, don't tell me, how long have you been playing Minecraft?" She chuckled.
"A few days," Lisa spoke with amazement filling her voice. "I usually just spawn in the required resources."
"Well then, you don't know what you're missing out on," She turned the block of wood into a crafting table and put it down, before breaking down the rest of tree, quickly making some tools and handing a set over to her sister. "Lets get to work!"
It took them some time to build after that, calmly collecting the required maters, before setting them into the shape of a small hut. Of course, it wasn't much, but it was something. And as the sun set upon another day, the duo looked upon their work, and couldn't help, but smile.
"Wow… this experience has been… oddly calming," The scientist's voice was soft, at least Lana imagined it to be as such.
"That's how this game is, Lisa. You don't need crazy machines and stuff to make it fun," The older girl replied, imagining placing an arm around her sister.
"Lana," Lisa went, her voice filling with curiosity.
"Yeah?"
"Why did you decide to join me in this world?" She asked.
She rubbed the back of her head in reply. "I dunno, I just saw that you were playing and decided that it'd be fun and stuff…"
"The reason I ask is because, well, this doesn't seem like something you'd like with me," She went.
"I could say the same thing about you," She chuckled. "Minecraft doesn't have any puzzles in it to solve normally," She glanced back at the machines. "I guess that's why you built those huge things, huh?"
Lisa hesitated in reply. "I suppose to, it was like one huge puzzle with so many ways to change and make it myself."
For a moment after that, the duo stood by in silence, with neither sure what to say.
"Hey Lisa," Lana broke the silence and looked to her. "When was the last time you went outside?"
"Yesterday?" Lisa raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Not with us," She continued. "Just yourself going out somewhere or just going for a walk."
The younger girl didn't answer.
With that, Lana hopped to her feet in real life and stepped over to Lisa's room, peaking her head through a moment later. "Hey, Lisa?"
The scientist took a breath and hopped to her feet. "Sure. I suppose it couldn't hurt to step out for just a bit…"
Lana cracked a smile with that, before she motioned for her sister to follow.
Lisa replied by taking Lana's hand and following, much like a normal child would. With that, they stepped downstairs and headed outside, walking along the block they had lived their entire lives.
"Lana, why are you doing this?" Lisa asked, her voice filling with apprehension. "I just don't get why."
"Doing what?" The older girl looked to her in confusion.
"Lana, you and I both know what's been going on, so please, tell me, what do you want from me this time?" Her voice filled with defeat. "We've already failed to awaken her before, and I know you haven't given up yet, so what is it."
Slowly, she turned to Lisa, the young girl's eyes filling with a begging gaze. There was nothing she could do, and months prior, had admitted as such. She was hopeful in their attempt and yet, in the end, found that it gave nothing towards bringing her back. And so, Lana placed a hand on her shoulder. "Lisa, I just wanna hang out with you today. You've been playing so many games that your eyes have probably turned red from overuse… heck, I haven't even seen you blink since you came out here!"
Lisa held her hand over her eyes to block the rays of the sun. "That's fine! It's normal!"
Calmly, she tugged her sister along, pulling her into their favorite fast food restaurant, before paying for a small meal. "Sure it is. Besides… I haven't thanked you for helping me out."
"Of course you have!" She tried to reply, yet, Lana waved her off. "I'm serious. If it wasn't for you, I don't think I would've been able to actually pull off making it as far as I did. You were the planner after all, making sure that traps and stunts would work."
"That was nothing. I could do that stuff in my sleep," She waved off the idea, as some workers brought out a tray with their food and placed it in front of them. She let out breath. "it was pointless…"
Lana reached over and placed her hand on Lisa. "No it wasn't."
"How can you say so?" She looked up. "We spent weeks preparing you. We took our valuable time and used it in the miniscule chance that she would somehow wake up by you winning a barely relevant contest!"
For a moment, Lana thought over her words. It was true that, in the end, everything they did just didn't matter. And yet, a part of her disagreed. "Lisa, it wasn't for nothing." She smiled. "When Lola gets back she's gonna be a regional champ."
"You think she'll be happy about that?"
"Course, she's still Lola after all," Lana chuckled.
Lisa looked away, and took a bite of her food.
A moment passed, with neither speaking, before Lisa broke through. "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why are you still trying? There's nothing left to be done. If this were a chess game, most people would've resigned," she looked into her older sister's eyes, a spark of curiosity filling them. "I see no more point in trying… at this point, Lola's basically a vegetable… in medical terms, she's entered a persistent vegetative state from which there's little chance of recovery. Yet, you're still hopeful, why?"
In response, Lana leaned over and wrapped her arms around her young sibling. "Because I know we'll see her again."
"What?"
She pushed back and offered the younger girl a French fry. "After talking to Lincoln, I realized that, well, Lola will wake up, and when she does, I wanna make sure she can smile at what she comes home to."
"That's a naïve way of looking at this scenario…" Lisa's voice trailed off.
"It's not like there's any other way to look at it," The former plumber hopped to her feet. "I know that she's gonna need all of us to help her out. She's not gonna be all there when she comes back, I know, but I wanna make sure that she'll have all of us by her side!"
Lisa raised an eyebrow. "So are you attempting to elicit our aid once again?"
Lana shook her head. "No. I just, wanted to thank you for helping me. And I wanted to return the favor. That way, you can smile too when she comes back to us!"
The young girl allowed the words to fill her thoughts. It was odd. Even though every fiber of her being disagreed, she couldn't help, but let the words fill her mind. There wasn't much else that could be done, and yet, she still wanted to try. "You know… those games are fun."
"I know," Lana chuckled. "If they weren't, I don't think you'd play them."
"I played them to distract myself. I needed to stop thinking about what happened…" She went.
Lana took Lisa's hand in hers and tugged, motioning for her to step out of the both and come along. "Lisa, it's not your fault and never was. You did your best, and that's all that matters."
Lisa looked up to her sister, hope filling her eyes.
"I'm supposed to be the smart one!" The thought crossed her mind. All those weeks ago, Lisa vented to her, and all she did was ask for her help! What kind of sister was she?! "Lisa needs my help too." And so, she ran her hand through her little sister's hair. "Lisa. You may be smart, but you have a limit. You're a scientist, not a miracle worker."
"But, but-" She started to stammer. Yet, Lana placed her finger over her mouth.
"But nothing. You did your best," She looked into Lisa's eyes. "And I know that Lola would be proud of you. You did amazing things for her. Nanites? Neurotoxin? Only you would be able to do these things! And you did it for her." She smiled and finished. "I know that she's gonna be happy when she comes back because of you."
For a moment, the younger girl simply stood by, seemingly unsure of what to say in response. And yet, she threw her arms around her old sister, her glasses hiding the soft tears beginning to form.
"You've done enough."
"Thanks Lana…" She wiped her face. "I… I tried."
"And she knows that, I can feel it," She finished, placing a hand on Lisa's cheek. "Ok?"
She nodded.
With that, the older girl pulled back. "So tell me Lisa, what have you done besides play those games of yours, and somehow sneak full gaming sets into class?" Lana nudged her with a slight chuckle.
"Nothing else really… I stopped attempting to find cures or repairs or anything after the failure to wake her up…" She sighed. "I saw no more use in trying. So I sent my findings to my colleges and just started playing games like Minecraft and puzzles…"
"Have you seen your friends lately?" The older girl tilted her head in curiosity.
"No. None of the children my age are able to play like I do so…" She rubbed her arm.
"Well then, let's go pay them a visit!" Lana pulled Lisa over to a small house, and wasted no time knocking. "This house, right?"
"Affirmative!" Lisa went.
A moment later, a young woman answered, glancing down at the duo. "Hello there!"
Darcy peeked her head from behind her mother's legs, before squealing in excitement. "Lis-Lis!"
Lisa blushed in embarrassment. "Hey Darcy."
Instantly, the young girl jumped over and threw her arms around her friend, prompting the scientist to do the same. "I missed you so much! Wanna go play? I have cookies and we can play with my new dolls!"
The sweater-clad girl looked to her older sister, who simply nodded in reply. "Have fun, Lisa. Those games aren't gonna help you, and you know it."
She nodded in reply. As much as she had grown to love them, it was true and she knew it. And so, she pushed back and nodded. "Sure, Darce, how about I get Ms. Fluffybuns this time?"
"Fine," Darcy went, crossing her arms. "But only if I get Acey!"
"Deal," Lisa poked her. Before the duo headed inside, with the young woman smiling. "Would you like some snacks too?"
Lana waved her off. "It's fine, thanks though!" Before she headed off, placing her hands on her head.
For the next few moments, she smiled, taking in the midday town. "Man, one sister helped already, only a few more to go." She took a breath and tugged at the ribbon. "Don't worry Lola, I'm gonna make sure the home you come to is worth smiling for!"
She then turned her head towards the nearby track field, the Royal Woods Roosters continuing their practice despite break still being on. "I wonder if Lynn is there? She might wanna hang out!" With that, she jogged over and took a seat under the shade of a nearby tree, before waiting for practice to end.
13-15-18-5 3-8-1-12-12-5-14-7-5-19 1-18-5 1-8-5-1-4, 2-21-20 12-1-14-1 23-15-14-'20 7-9-22-5 21-16! 6-15-18 12-15-12-1, 19-8-5 23-9-12-12 6-9-7-8-20!
A/N And there we go! Only a few more chapters remain until the end! I hope you guys enjoyed so far! As always, R&R!
Review Replies (C24):
Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, though who knows the answer to that?
SuperParkerBros: Yeah, no. I'd rather not have a six-year-old end herself.
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Gamemod: Thanks! Time for some brevity in a heavy story.
Tristen: Soon, soon!