Part 61: Blackwell Deception - Update 19 (Part 2)

With no idea what to do, Joey frantically floats downstairs...

Lisa's Ghost Theme



...and into the front room, where a familiar ghostly visage appears in front of him. Lisa. The music immediately cuts to a warped, distorted version of Lisa's theme, complete with a ghostly choir. It's actually pretty effective.

I guess... Lisa didn't make it?

Man, no kidding. I can't help but notice that Gavin's victims all seem to turn into ghosts. We've noted in the past that supernatural activity seems to commonly lead to ghosts. All four of Gavin's victims so far, three of the Countess' victims, and even Ally after she summoned The Deacon. Perhaps this explains why Gavin is so interested in Rosa? He might need her just to help clean up his messes.



Joey tries heading outside, but it's too far away from Rosa.

I can't move any further. Looks like we're getting out of here together, or not at all.



With nothing else to do, Joey speaks with Lisa.

Yes, I am Lisa Tenzin. Please, take a seat.
What are you doing here?
I'm glad you asked.
Yeah?

Like most ghosts, she doesn't seem to be aware of her death.

I work with life energy, mostly. Everything we do in our daily lives creates positive and negative energy.
Yeah, I've heard this speech already.
Positive energy keeps your spirit alive and healthy, while negative energy blocks it.
Yeah yeah. I know.
Think of it like exercise for the soul. Just like maintaining a healthy body, you also need to maintain a healthy spirit.



Man. Gavin really fucked Lisa up bad.

I can tell your spirit is weak, and could use my services.
Lisa. What the hell happened to you? The las I saw you, you were high-tailing it out of here.
Your blockage is strong, but not insurmountable. I can medidate tonight on the problem. That way the best course of action will be revealed to me.

Every one of Lisa's lines is a repeat of something she said to us while alive. It's a nice touch, even if it was most likely done just to make the voice acting sessions simpler.

Look, I don't have time to pussyfoot around this. You are dead.
Say no more.
Eh?
Being confronted with death - any death - makes you confront your own mortality.
Yeah. Nothing says mortality like being dead.

Hahaha, Joey is getting pissed here

But if you aren't careful, it can generate negative energy that weakens the spirit.



Yes. Something indeed is blocking your spirit. It can't function and flow like it normally would.
I'm functioning just fine. Can't say the same for you.

No matter what Joey says, Lisa turns it into one of her canned speeches, just like in real life. We'll need to pick a topic that will disrupt her usual thought process, and Joey knows just the one.

Look, Gavin sent me. He wants you to come with me right now.
Gavin?
Yeah. You know Gavin, don't you?
No, I can't talk about Gavin.
That's just not done.

Joey is not about to let up, though.

Did Gavin kill you?
I don't know any Gavin. Sorry.
Sure you do. Think harder.
No... no. I can't talk about Gavin.
That's just not done.



He keeps pushing.

No... no... I don't think so.
If that happened, I don't remember it.
Of course you don't.

Let's try a different tack.

Look, I want to talk to you about Danny Marconi.
... Sorry. I don't know who you are talking about.
Danny Marconi. Your grandfather?
No. Sorry. I don't talk about my grandfather. That's how it all started.

That's an odd response. Joey follows up on it...

How what started?
...
Please, won't you have a seat?

...but she's already gone back to her usual spiel. Like any other ghosts, she wants to avoid any topics which might remind her of her death.



I have never seen you before in my life.
That's because you were... Oh right. Never mind.

We'll need to jog her memory more forcefully.



Joey floats over to the picture he blew under the door earlier.

...



Lisa comes over to look at the photo.

Don't play dumb with me now.
That... shouldn't be in here.
How did this get in here?
Doesn't matter. We're talking about him.

Joey is pretty forceful here, and it works. Finally, Lisa opens up about Danny...

He's dead. He was a weak man.

...but her comment just incenses Joey further.

You take that back. Right now.
It's true. No denying that.
He wasn't weak. Just old.
No. It was more than that.

Furious, Joey lashes out at Lisa.

If anything made him weak, it was having family like you.
He was always weak.
And what makes you say that?
He told my mother and me stories. Stories about when he was young. He told us about a man he once knew.

Deception Lament



Really.

Oh wow. That's how Joey died. Saving Danny's life. I'd like more details, but at least it's something. Lisa is not done with her story, though.

It ate away at him. The guilt. It tore his heart apart. Made him weak. Till the day he died, he never felt he deserved to live.
That's... just stupid.

Lisa is starting to get worked up now.

Every day. He told us every day.
Told you what?
That we weren't good enough. None of us were good enough to be worth that man's sacrifice.

Yet another tragic story in this series Joey died saving Danny's life, but rather than living it, Danny spent the rest of it ridden with guilt, and emotionally tormented his own family with that same guilt.

My grandfather spent his whole life feeling guilty. My mother? The same.



Life is too short for guilt.

Lisa is really emotional and defiant here. Joey can either agree with her:

You're right about one thing. Life's short. Shorter than you'd believe.

He can chide her about her chosen profession:

So you joined the phony psychic racket?

Or he can really rip into her:

And now you send innocent girls to die.

Lisa stands her ground, though.

No. I made my choices.
Yes, you did.
I will not end up like my mother.

Having finally heard enough, Joey gets a real menace in his voice.

Well congratulations. You didn't.
...
What happened on that fire escape, Lisa?

He starts raising his voice here.

Tell me.
Nothing! Please!



Joey is not going to let up on her, not one bit. He continues, getting more aggressive as he goes until he is eventually shouting at Lisa.

You're going to remember if I have to drill it into your dead skull. Fire escape. What happened?
I was climbing! Then... what are you- ...



The aggression works, as Lisa has the ignorance of her own death torn violently from her. Joey is not done yet, though, and he closes in on her, almost whispering in her ear.

So was it worth it, Lisa? All the shmoes you conned, all the sob stories who died. Was it worth it? Now, at the end of it all, can you look back and say "Yeah, my life was worth living?"
Leave me alone.
Wish I could, sweetheart. But like it or not, I'm here to save you.
I guess you could say old habits die hard.

Lisa is beaten, but not quite down yet.

... I need to lie down. Please come back tomorrow.
Sorry, sister. I know an aware spook when I see one. You can't hide from this.
No... I'm tired. So... tired.



Lisa floats back into the main room. After composing himself for a moment, Joey follows after her.



Surprisingly, Joey finds Rosa waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs, while Lisa is nowhere to be seen.

Where's Gavin?
I handled it. He won't be a problem.

She "handled it"? Last time we saw he had a gun pointed at her head. Joey is understandably skeptical.

You handled it.
Is that so surprising?
Yeah, frankly. So what happened?
...

Something is clearly not right with Rosa here.



She turns her back on Joey, prompting him to float over to her.



Right as Joey approaches her, Rosa spins around, grabs Joey's tie, and wrenches it. Joey is sent hurtling into Nodespace, while Rosa calmly strides through the portal. Joey is understandably confused and upset by what has just happened.

What the hell, Red?
Joey. You missed. I didn't fall this time.
Yeah. Bully for you. Now what's your game?
No, Joey. You don't get it. I. Didn't. Fall.



She's not wrong - both her and Lauren hit their head on the surface of Nodespace every time, but not this time.

It's all about mental control.
Gavin was right.

Motherfucker. Gavin has gotten inside Rosa's head. This is very fucking bad.

Gavin? Did he put you up to this?
This is my own choice.
I don't believe that for a second. Kid. Stop and think. You got whammied. Gavin slipped you a mental mickey. You're not yourself.

Rosa, however, displays the exact same signs as Tiffany and Jamie.

No. I've got a life, Joey. I need to start living it. I can't stay in the shadow of a ghost anymore.
Just what, exactly, are you gonna do?



Nonchalantly, Rosa turns around, bids Joey farewell, and strides right back through the portal. To Joey's horror, the portal, the light, and everything fades away.

Hello? Red?
This isn't funny.
Hello?



Well, fuck.



So now Joey's stranded on the wrong side of eternity, while Rosa is back doing God only knows what with Gavin. Things have gone from bad to considerably worse in very short order. Join me tomorrow for the dramatic conclusion of Blackwell Deception, and the final update of this thread!