There wasn't time to think. There wasn't time to make a plan. They had no time to tell anyone. They felt overwhelmed, only knowing that they had to act immediately. They grabbed what they could find and rushed downstairs and through the living room, past their snoring grandfather.
None of them noticed Charles stumbling through the darkness; dazed, hiccupping, and with his tongue sticking out. Cliff was in a similar state and leaning against the larger canine.
Seeing the bear rug with the golf ball in its mouth, the two giggled like hyenas on helium before the tipsy cat noticed the ball, swiped at it, and dislodged it. Mesmerized by the rolling white orb, the plastered pets staggered after it and soon found themselves tumbling down the cellar stairs.
They rolled past a shaking Luan lying on her side, and fell into a heap, still giggling and hiccupping, blissfully unaware that four of their owners were in mortal peril.
Out in the woods, Lincoln led the party, holding a flashlight in his hand. Lynn was right behind him, carrying a baseball bat and a rope wrapped around her shoulder, ready to clobber that little demon toy into a pulp. All Lucy managed to grab in their haste was a small silver knife.
"What do you think she's planning to do?" the goth asked idly. "Hang herself from a branch? Jump off a cliff? Walk into a bear cave?"
"Lucy…" Lynn hissed through clenched teeth, as the nightly gale blew through her shortened hair.
"Or drown herself? Did Lisa ever learn to swim?" Lucy continued before getting smacked over the head.
"Will you shut your trap!" Lynn snapped at her.
"Where is she? She's got to be here somewhere?" they heard Lincoln rambling frantically, while flashing his light left and right. "They couldn't have gotten far!"
"Ughhh! How could I have been so blind!" he ranted in frustration before feeling Lynn's hand on his shoulder.
"We'll get to her, don't worry."
"Do you hear that?" Lucy looked around. She thought she heard rustling; like something big was skulking around near them.
Failing to hear her, Lincoln let out a frustrated groan and walked on. "Come on! We have to hurry!"
Lynn followed him, as did Lucy. The latter couldn't help but note how this dark forest was the ideal backdrop for a savage monster or deranged serial killer to pop up out of nowhere and slaughter a bunch of innocent children wandering through the woods, which would be her and her siblings in this case.
Right as she thought that she heard another rustle and stopped, looking over her shoulder. Again, she saw nothing but couldn't shake off the feeling that she was being watched. Listening carefully, she could make out what sounded like a footfall.
"Will you come along!" she jolted as she heard Lynn yelling at her from a distance and followed after the jock.
Little did she know how right she was, as the beast stalking them smiled to himself and silently followed them, pleased with how they were distancing themselves from their home, heading deeper and deeper into the woods, where nobody could hear them scream.
Once Lynn and Lucy caught up with Lincoln, they stopped as their brother came to an abrupt halt and his eyes widened. Following his line of sight, they noticed a weak light, partially obscured by tree trunks.
A small figure was dangling the source of the light from his hand, while a slightly bigger one was sitting on a flat rock next to the former, under an overhang, and sporting an unusually large head.
She let out a sigh, "You needn't gawk, you can join me. Not like it will make a difference now."
There was a hollow, defeated quality to Lisa's voice, which encouraged her sibling to rush toward her, not knowing what to expect. None of the morbid scenarios Lucy hypothesized seemed to be at play, but Lincoln remained alert, trying to gauge what Lisa and her robotic assistant were doing.
The latter wasn't wielding any weapons, he was just holding a lantern. Lynn raised her bat but Fenton made no move to stop them, he just stood there holding the lantern and sporting his usual creepy, frozen grin, now enhanced by sinister underlighting.
"Master Lisa was hoping. You would join her."
"That's unsettling…" Lucy said simply. Lisa couldn't be that crazy?
Lincoln didn't focus on the robot, his eyes were glued on Lisa as he tried to figure out what was going on. Once they were right in front of her, all three realized that she was wearing some sort of bulbous, metal helmet. To Lincoln, it seemed familiar. Was that her universal translator helmet?
"Lisa, what the hell is the meaning of this?" Lynn barked with an uneasy edge to her voice, still wielding her bat and keeping one eye on Fenton as she circled around the genius and robo-fox, ready to beat him into the dirt at the drop of a feather.
Lisa gazed at them sadly, no longer fighting the tears that were dripping down her face. "I suppose you demand an explanation, huh?"
As she said that, her siblings noticed small bolts of electricity sparking from the helmet. Lincoln and Lynn's felt their hearts skip a beat. Did she repurpose that helmet for a different use, Lincoln thought with dread?
Lucy's eyes widened behind her bags, having the same idea. "She…she wants to electrocute herself to death?"
"Excuse me?" Lisa made a face.
"No, Lisa! Don't do this!" Lincoln rushed towards her.
Fenton raised his free hand. "Apologies. But this procedure. Cannot be-"
Without a thought, Lincoln punted the robo-fox aside as he seized Lisa's helmet, not caring about any repercussions.
"Lisa, you don't have to do this!" he desperately tried yanking it off her head, but to no avail, and Lynn joined him.
"Please…" Lisa sniffed. "Let me explain-"
"This thing's wedged on tight!" Lynn grunted as she pulled with all her might.
Lisa sighed. "You won't accomplish anything. The safety locks won't' unhinge until the process is over."
"NO!" Lincoln cried. "You can't kill yourself, and we won't let you!"
"Kill myself?" Lisa was taken aback as Lincoln and Lynn kept pulling.
"Pardon me. But I think you are. Mistaken." Fenton politely stated as he got up and grabbed the lantern.
Growling at him, Lynn let go of the helmet and lifted her bat. "Back off, creep! Or you're scrap metal!"
"Correction. I'm 70% plastic."
"Let go!" Lincoln kept pulling on the helmet while Lisa pieced together what was going on.
"Lincoln…Lincoln!" she raised her voice, giving him and Lynn pause. "The purpose of this device is not to end my life."
Hearing that, Lincoln stopped yanking but his gaze didn't leave her. "Then what ARE you doing?!" he snapped at her in a vexed manner.
"So, you're not going to fry your brain?" Lucy asked for clarity.
"No, not even remotely…I was hoping that the end result would speak for itself." The genius admitted. "But I suppose the need for secrecy has passed."
"Get to the freaking point!" Lynn snapped at her, just as flustered and vexed as Lincoln.
"To put it simply, this is an IQ-tampering helmet." Lisa pointed at the device. "It is almost done loading, and it will lower my intelligence to that of a regular, unassuming toddler. In other words, it will render me normal."
"Positive. This is Master Lisa's. Way of preventing. Any unfortunate future incidents. Linked to her scientific. Ventures." Fenton added before turning to Lincoln, blinking his camera-like optic lenses. "She speculated that you. Would not agree with it. Subject Lincoln. Necessitating confidentiality. It seems her assertion. Was correct."
Now briefed on the matter, the others tried to process it and Lincoln felt his grip on the helmet slipping, too dumbfounded to continue the effort. His brow furrowed as he gazed at his little sister, struggling to make heads or tails of the revelation.
"So you want to….not be a genius anymore?" Lynn inquired. "And this brain drain helmet will do that?"
"Positive. It is the objective. Of Master Lisa's. Final scientific experiment."
Lisa just nodded, resigning herself to her fate as she heard a "ping" and the first third of the bar on her helmet lit up.
To nobody's surprise, Lincoln responded with, "Lisa, you h-have to stop this. This isn't the solution."
"I'm afraid it is." Lisa countered evenly. "I know you're upset, but you'll come to understand my rationale in due time, once the shock wears off."
"Lisa…" the flustered boy implored her. "Do…do you realize what you are doing? Will…will you even keep any semblance-"
"…of my original personality?" she grimaced, her tone blunt. "Most likely not, since the difference in intellect will be too great."
Lincoln exchanged a bleak look with Lynn. Would this mean the Lisa they knew would indeed be gone? Lucy had the same thought, though she wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing? None of the trio had the necessary time to mull over this, as they heard a second ping.
His heart and mind racing, and feeling powerless to do anything, Lincoln felt Lisa's little hand grabbing his own, and she gave him a weak smile. "Don't weep for me. Our lives will be much better with the new me. Darcy will surely appreciate it too."
Lincoln understood that there was nothing he could do to prevent this, the helmet was stuck air-tight on his sister's cranium, she was serious about this and made every precaution. Lynn thought the same, feeling a gnawing sense of guilt for pushing Lisa to do this.
Lucy stayed silent, when she heard wingbeats and saw a large vulture perch on a branch above them. Watching him, Lucy noticed the eager look in his eyes, as if he was expecting something to happen.
"Master Lisa." Fenton chimed in. "It has been. An honor to be. Your loyal assistant."
"Duly noted." Lisa nodded. "You've been a good and reliable drone."
Unnerved by the intrusive vulture, Lucy once more heard a footfall, making her turn around and gaze into the dark forest. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she made out a large form, his ebony fur illuminated by the moonlight and his one functional eye glowing.
Lucy was dumbstruck by his immense size, it didn't seem real. The beast locked eyes with her but regarded her like she was completely impotent. In Lucy's mind, there was no mistaking who she was looking at.
"Lisa…" the oblivious Lincoln sniffed. "I didn't want you to do this…I…none of us wanted…"
"You didn't force me to." Lisa was quick to clarify as her brother's voice trailed off, not wishing for him to harbor any lingering guilt. "This was my decision and mine alone. One that will benefit us all."
"One Eye." Lucy said hoarsely, feeling a mixture of fear and amazement.
No sooner did she say that, the wolf charged at them, fangs barred, and covered the distance between him and the kids in seconds. Snapping out of her trance, Lucy realized what was about to happen. Her brother's white head was right in the way of One Eye's gaping jaws.
"Lincoln!" she cried and tackled him, while Lynn had no time to react before a huge black mass flew past and barely missed her, causing her to lose her footing and drop her bat.
"What are you doing?" the startled Lincoln asked as Lucy lay over him, when both they and Lynn heard a scream. Lisa's scream.
"Master Lisa." Fenton reacted and the siblings gasped as they saw One Eye lifting Lisa into the air, her helmet the only barrier between her small head and the wolf's crushing jaws. Dangling like a string puppet, she cried and clutched the helmet as its left side caved in and jabbed her head.
"One Eye?!" Lynn blurted, scrambling back as the wolf shook his catch before feeling electric jolts, prompting him to throw her aside. He had caught the wrong one.
Keenly aware of where each child was, One Eye snarled and glared at Lincoln and Lucy, still on the ground. The white-haired one should have been dead right now! The wolf turned his fierce gaze at Lynn, who stepped back and realized her bat was lying right in front of the wolf.
Not far away, Fenton waddled up to the fallen Lisa, inspecting his master as she shook her head and saw sparks flying from the damaged helmet.
Lisa twitched as she felt a surge of electricity course through her body, then another one, a stronger one.
"No, no, no…" she hyperventilated.
"There was an unforeseen. Interference." Fenton informed her.
"You fool!?" Lisa managed to look at One Eye. "What have you done-AHHH!?"
Her helmet was blowing fuses and Lisa started shaking uncontrollably on the spot. Fenton didn't need to be a sophisticated A.I. to realize this was not the right development.
"How…how…" Lynn couldn't fathom what she was seeing. How was One Eye still alive?
Indecisive, the wolf kept shifting his gaze between her and Lincoln, the latter of which was paralyzed with shock, with Lucy trying to snap him out of it.
"Lincoln!" Lucy tugged her brother's shirt. "Get up!"
With a vicious growl, One-Eye made his choice and lunged at the nearer target. Lincoln screamed and hugged Lucy as the wolf's jaws snapped shut just inched away from them. They found themselves cornered against the rocky wall of the overhang and facing One Eye's drooling maw, who was snarling and reaching toward them.
"I've got him!" Lynn shouted, having lassoed the wolf around the neck but despite all her strength, she struggled to hold him back and found her feet being dragged through the dirt.
Lincoln and Lucy pressed themselves against the rock wall as One Eye was inching closer. Lincoln heard Lisa's vibrating cries and to his horror, saw her convulsing some ten yards away from them, no doubt due to the damaged helmet.
"A genuine werewolf? Wicked." Lucy said as Lincoln clung to her, literally staring down the beast's gullet.
"I can't hold him much longer!" a crimson-faced Lynn sweated, struggling to hold on to her rope. Whatever adrenaline had kicked in was wearing off fast.
"What are you doing?!" Lincoln yelled at Fenton, as One Eye's hot, rancid breath blew into his face. "Shoot him!? Tase him!? Anything!?"
"I can't." Fenton replied. "Master Lisa has. Stripped me of all. My arsenal. In case I malfunctioned. At the last second."
"Are you shitting me!?" Lynn roared in disbelief before being pulled forward when One Eye bucked, kicking the girl back but she maintained her grip on the rope as One Eye flailed around and swung her in circles.
With Lynn's flying form nearly smashing into them, Lincoln and Lucy ducked and used the distraction to crawl away from the wolf. Once they distanced themselves from the improv rodeo and stood up, Lincoln pushed Lucy forward.
"Get out of here! He wants us!" Lincoln yelled at her, while looking back at Lisa. He had to help, either the helmet or One Eye would kill her.
"I won't leave you."
"I said RUN, now!" Lincoln forcefully pushed her away while Lynn was flung into the air and let go of the rope, dive-bombing toward and seizing One Eye in a headlock.
Snarling and barking, the wolf thrashed and jumped around madly, with Lynn holding on to him in the vain hope of wrestling him down, while Lincoln ran towards Lisa and Fenton, hoping the jock knew what she was doing.
"We gotta get this helmet off her!" Lincoln implored Fenton as Lisa calmed down somewhat.
"It's not possible. Can't be removed. Prematurely." Fenton pointed out. The safety feature was meant to ensure that the procedure went undisturbed but now the robot saw it as a fatal flaw in design.
"There has to be a way!" Lincoln blurted as Lisa started shaking again and the helmet sparked, so he searched for the nearest rock he could find.
Watching from afar and seeing Lynn struggling with the wolf, Lucy considered heeding her brother's order until she remembered what she was holding in her hand. Silverware! Silver was a werewolf's kryptonite!
As Lincoln grabbed a rock, he jumped back at the last second after almost getting trampled by One Eye.
"Move it!" Lynn shouted as Lincoln ran back and yanked Lisa out of the way. "I'm wearing him down!"
Holding her by the arm, Lincoln dragged Lisa away while Fenton stood where he was.
"Subject One Eye." He tried to address the thrashing wolf. "I must request. That you leave us-"
He didn't get to finish, as he was squashed into the dirt by One Eye's massive paw, as the latter snapped his jaws trying to get Lynn.
"Uncivilized beast." Fenton's muffled voice was heard from the ground with only his ears sticking out.
Panting, a desperate Lincoln dragged Lisa further when he was shocked and fell backward, while Lisa started crying and violently convulsing once more.
"No, no." Rubbing his aching hand, Lincoln tried to reach her when One Eye rammed into him, hurling him into the air and slamming him against the rock wall, while the wolf reared up and finally threw Lynn off him, causing her to tumble around.
Lying on the ground, bruised and with his head spinning, Lincoln barely made out One Eye's form looming over him and a dusty Lynn in the distance shouting, "No!"
Suddenly, he was jolted back to his senses as One Eye squealed in agony and Lincoln saw Lucy jabbing her knife into the wolf's left forelimb.
"Yield, foul beast!" the goth shouted as One Eye glared down at the puny creature with murderous rage.
"The silver shall poison your unholy bloo-"
She screamed as she was swatted away like an insect and slammed into a tree.
"Lucy!" Lincoln cried as his sister collapsed to the ground limp. Lynn, meanwhile, spotted the rope still attached to the wolf's neck and quickly grabbed it.
Lincoln struggled to get to his feet as One Eye pulled the knife out with his jaws and threw it aside. Grunting, the enraged lupine set his sights on Lincoln again and charged at him.
Screaming, Lincoln jumped back and barely avoided the wolf's jaws as the latter choked and fell back with a loud thud. Lincoln rolled away to avoid the wolf's thrashing legs.
"What the?!" he rose up as One Eye barked and squirmed violently on the ground next to him, before getting up and feeling pressure on his neck.
"Grab Lisa and get her out of here!" Lynn shouted from a distance and Lincoln saw that the end of the rope had been tied with a double knot to a birch tree. "I'll save the stupid Werewolf Hunter!"
Finally having some semblance of control over the situation, Lincoln hastily nodded and ran toward the limp and barely conscious Lisa, while One Eye was pelted in the head by rocks.
"Over here, you dumb mutt!" Lynn waved her arms and blew a raspberry. "Come and get me, fur face!"
Snarling furiously, One Eye chased after the girl only to once more get strangled and yanked back. Hearing Lynn laughing at him, One Eye seethed and started gnawing at the accursed rope, giving Lynn ample time to pick up the unconscious Lucy in her arms.
"Stubborn brat." Lynn grumble and looked for the nearest tree. "Step one, put the Duchess of Darkness out of harm's reach. Step two, help Lincoln and Lisa."
Wasting no time, Lynn pushed Lucy onto the branch of a pine tree and hoisted herself up just as she heard a snap.
"Shit!" Lynn dared not to look and lifted Lucy again as One Eye spotted them and bolted toward the tree.
Lynn shoved Lucy onto a higher branch, trying to make sure she wouldn't fall, when the branch the jock was standing on broke and she barely managed to grab onto something.
Dangling from a branch, Lynn paled as she saw One Eye running at her and jumping high. Lynn had to suck in her gut to avoid getting a chunk bitten out of her as One Eye's snapping jaws grazed her jersey and he fell past her.
Gaining her footing, Lynn pushed herself up and grabbed hold of Lucy.
Landing on his feet, One Eye spat out the small piece of clothing and glared daggers at Lynn, who was well out of reach now. Growling, his keen hearing picked up rustling farther ahead and he smiled to himself.
"Hey!" Lynn waved her arms. "Eyes up here! Try and get me!"
Her attempts at hackling failed miserably, as One Eye didn't spare her a second glance and ran off after Lincoln.
"Godammit!" Lynn slammed her fist into the trunk, too furious to care about the splinters, and put the K.O-ed Lucy into a sitting position, before jumping off the tree and running after the wolf.
Now alone, Lincoln struggled to carry Lisa to safety, who had remained motionless for the last few minutes. The boy felt dizzy, his vision was getting blurry, and he had a pulsating headache following two blows to the head in a row. He didn't know where the house was, he struggled to focus. For all he knew, he could have been heading farther away from it.
"Have to…go on…" he kept telling himself when he felt another electric shock and yelped in pain.
He dropped Lisa to the ground, in the middle of a small clearing, and she started convulsing and crying in pain once more, worse than ever.
"Make it stop hurting!?" he cried in a gargled voice, tears streaming down her face as she clutched the helmet, reduced to clawing at it with her nails.
"Lisa! H-hold on." Lincoln fumbled and searched for the largest rock he could find. He had to separate her from it, even if he had to smash this damn contraption into two!
He found a large one and struggled to lift it when he heard a shrill cry and a vulture swooped over him, making him duck. The bird flew up and hovered in the air, watching him.
The boy had no time to process the implication of its presence, before a large paw clubbed him straight in the face, cutting through his cheek and sending him tumbling around until he smashed into a tree trunk.
His whole body aching, Lincoln slumped to the ground, barely conscious, as One Eye walked up to him, confident that the feeble white-haired runt had no more fight left in him.
He sent the squirming Lisa a quick glance. Whatever was going on there, the wolf had a hunch that he wasn't needed to put the little vermin out of its misery and instead focused on Lincoln. He hadn't forgotten the pepper spray incident and was happy to return the favor.
Suddenly, he was bludgeoned in the face by a bat, making him stumble back and shake his head while his nose bled.
"Get away from him, you flea-bitten cur!" He saw Lynn standing over her brother, disheveled and breathing heavily, wielding her bat. Locking eyes with her, the wolf smiled to himself. The hunt was almost over, now there was only one runt standing.
Letting out a fierce battle cry, Lynn charged at him and swung her bat, which One Eye dodged. Neither noticed the blue shockwaves that were passing through them, while the screaming Lisa had her whole body engulfed by a blue light, as the damaged helmet overloaded with energy.
"You think I can brawl!" Lynn roared and swung again. "You've seen nothing yet!"
One Eye sunk his teeth into the bat and Lynn struggled to free it before hearing the sound of wood splintering. Pulling on the bat, One Eye swung her back and slammed her into a tree.
Getting pelted by pinecones as she dropped to the ground, Lynn wheezed and tried to force herself up when she felt claws digging into the back of her head and her face was pressed into the pine needle-filled dirt.
Delirious and bleeding from his mouth, Lincoln rolled onto his side and made out his sister being pinned to the ground and One Eye looming over her, his vision getting blurry. He also heard strange buzzing noises and noticed a powerful source of light behind the wolf, growing brighter and brighter until it blinded Lincoln.
Lynn growled and struggled but her opponent restrained her with ease. Grinding her teeth, Lynn heard an amused chuckle as a deep voice said, "Pitiful, the ugly one put up more of a fight."
With a fang-filled grin, One Eye knew he was victorious. His quarry could not and would not escape him this time. Or so he thought.
He became aware of a strange force pushing at him again and again, getting stronger each time, and he too heard buzzing. But this wasn't wind but powerful shockwaves which were expanding in size with each beat. He looked over his shoulder but had to squint as he was met with a blinding light.
Right then, a dirt-covered Fenton flew in, dodging a fleeing Raza, and hovered in place as saw what was happening to his creator. Lisa was encompassed by a pulsating light, discharging it from her own body like a living battery. She screamed at the top of her lungs as her bloodshot eyes bulged out.
"Helmet overloading." Fenton assessed the situation. "Conclusion. Combustion imminent."
As soon as he said that, he, One Eye, and the kids were all caught in a powerful explosion of blue energy. A huge blast wave blew up into the sky and within seconds, it spread out far and wide, engulfing every animal within a 10-mile radius and flattening the trees.
As it mushroomed out, the explosion was seen by a particular boy and his cat as they walked along a cliffside. Ryan froze in his tracks and went agape at what he had just witnessed, while Marceline screeched and hid behind him.
Ryan saw the blast front heading their way but it petered out before it could reach him and his cat, and after rubbing his disbelieving eyes, he grew a broad smile, laughed like a lunatic, and jumped with joy.
"Yes! Yes! Did you see that, Marcy!" he told his cat, who peeked from behind the tree, confused. "You saw that big blue explosion too?"
"Meow?" walked up to him, sensing that the danger has passed.
"I know! Such a grand, inexplicable freak occurrence can only have one logical explanation!" Ryan slammed his fist into his palm. "Lizzie's mad science! We found them at last."
His joy waned with a realization. "Ughh…I knew the little shit couldn't keep her inner mad scientist in check for long. But what matters is that we found them!"
With that in mind, Ryan saw the reflection of the moon on the surface of a vast lake, overseen by a mountain, very similar to the one he saw in the brochure. That had to be Keweenaw Peek! Yes, he had indeed found them.
Wasting no time, Ryan headed toward the lake with Marceline trotting after him. He just hoped nobody he cared about was caught in the blast, the rest he could live with.
Lincoln saw nothing but complete darkness, only starting to stir awake as he faintly heard someone calling his name.
"Lincoln…Lincoln…"
Slowing coming to his senses, he felt his hands stroking rough grass, while his whole body hurt. His bloodshot eyes peeled open and were graced with a dim, early morning sky. He felt someone shaking his arm.
"Lincoln…are you alright?" Lucy asked, kneeling next to him.
"Lucy…did Pop-Pop…fall on me again?" the dazed boy mumbled, turning his head to his left to meet her gaze, and actually did.
Lucy's dark eyes were fully exposed, while her hair stood up as if she was Frankenstein's bride.
"No…I…I don't really know what happened?" she tried to explain, evidently just as lost as he was. "I tried to fend off One Eye and-"
Lincoln's eyes bulged out. "One Eye!" he sat up but cried and fell back down as he discharged some remaining electricity from his body.
"Yes, it would seem he's not just a werewolf, but a zombie werewolf." Lucy stated. "It would be very cool if he didn't wish to kill us."
Shaking his head, Lincoln sat up a second time, trying to find his bearings. Gradually, his memory flooded back to him; them chasing after Lisa, the scuffle with One Eye, Lisa getting electrocuted by her own helmet, and finally…
Panting, his hand moved toward his usually neatly combed hair, and found that it too was bristling and he felt small zaps of electricity touching it.
"One Eye…Lisa…Lisa!" he recollected and stood up on wobbly legs, with Lucy helping him up.
"There was an explosion…" he rambled, trying to catch his breath. "Lisa…how long have I been out…"
"I would guess all night. The first thing I recall waking up was falling out of a tree and then I spent hours and hours looking for you?" Lucy explained. "You said there was an explosion? That might explain all of this?"
Lincoln saw her gesturing at their surroundings and noticed that all the pine trees around them were leaning.
"Where…where's Lisa? Where's Lynn?" he asked urgently.
"Sigh. I don't know about Lisa, but I did find Lynn on my way here."
"Lead me to her." Lincoln insisted.
Lucy obliged and took him to another tree, this one and all its neighbors leaning back even more than the ones Lincoln woke up to. There, he spotted Lynn trying to climb her way down, not needing to go far before she could just jump off it and touch the ground. Her hair was also raised and discharging small bolts of electricity, and there was a noticeable cut in her jersey.
"Lynn?"
"Lincoln? You're okay too!" she cheered upon seeing her brother and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug, but the two jolted and repelled each other, quite literally.
Shaking his aching head, Lincoln was quick to ask, "Has either of you seen, Lisa?"
"No, we haven't." Lynn rubbed hers too. "Wait? Last time we saw her…" the jock started to remember and felt sick to her stomach.
"Maybe the trees can lead us to her?" Lucy pointed and walked ahead.
Seeing what she was doing, Lincoln and Lynn followed her and the closer they got to ground zero, the more the trees were leaning until they eventually had to walk over or past fallen trunks piled on top of each other, forming a circle around the small clearing.
Once there, Lincoln, Lynn, and Lucy saw small shards of metal scattered everywhere, reflecting the morning light, and spotted a small figure lying in the center of the clearing, arms and legs sprawled out.
"No…" Lincoln said in a small voice as he and his sisters walked up to it. Sure enough, they walked past a pair of cracked glasses and found Lisa herself.
Her hair was even frizzier than usual and discharging electricity, and she was completely motionless.
Lynn placed her hand over her mouth and gingerly asked, "Is she…?"
Lucy was the first to grab Lisa's wrist and let out a small sigh. "She still has a pulse…"
Lincoln exhaled with relief. Once more, Lisa's crazy experiments going haywire managed to avoid any casualties, and he tried to stir her awake but to no avail.
"When do you think she's gonna wake up?" Lynn asked nervously.
"Maybe never?" Lincoln realized and felt his skin crawling but he refused to say it out loud. Lucy looked at him with a sullen expression, evidently having the same thought.
They heard the noise of a helicopter rotor spinning and saw a news chopper in the distance heading toward them.
"We gotta get out of here! Grab Lisa." Lincoln said urgently.
Lynn picked up the unconscious toddler, shaking off the mild electric jolts, and followed Lincoln and Lucy as they rushed out of the crater and disappeared between the trees that were still standing, not keen to appear on national television.
They had no time to worry about One Eye, or Kathleen, or even Ryan's whereabouts. They could only think about their little sister and whether or not she would wake up.
Is Lisa a gonna wake up or remain comatose? Well, this ain't no dark fic and it's also far from over, so you can draw your own conclusion XD But what I can say is that this event will have a lasting effect on her, and not just her.