Silver Notes: Welp, here we are. One of the most important chapters in the story and one I've been building up to for years. Hopefully it meets my readers' standars ;)

Tonight, No More Lies

It was a stormy, windy kind of day in Twinleaf, and Inyssa was grateful for that. It was the perfect weather to eavesdrop.

She sat curled into a ball on the last step of the stairs, eyes closed and attention focused on the conversation happening in the living room, at the other side of the wall.

"This is… this is absurd. You do realize this is absurd, don't you?"

"It sounds perfectly logical to me."

Inyssa had never heard her sister's voice so heated, so flustered. It sounded wrong, so unlike the usual strength she imbued it with. But here, facing against Sarah, she sounded… well, like a normal nineteen year old girl.

But that wasn't the worst of it. Earlier today, Inyssa had been nothing short of ecstatic at Shadi's sudden appearance. She hadn't expected her to come back home until after she challenged the Elite Four a second time, yet here she was, mere weeks after she'd started her training. However, the gravity of the situation hadn't dawned on her until Shadi had met her enthusiastic smile with a scowl cold enough to freeze the entirety of Lake Verity.

She hadn't come back willingly.

"She's sick, Sarah! Do you see me wearing a white apron and a stupid little hat? Do I have a stethoscope hanging around my neck? Do I get paid half as much as doctors for twice the amount of work!?"

"That's not…"

"That's right, I'm not a nurse! She should be in the hospital getting the treatment and medication she needs. And you shouldn't have called me back for something like this."

"How… how could you say that? She's your mother."

A dry laugh left her sister's lips, yet there wasn't an ounce of joy in it. "Yeah, for all the good that's done me."

Unconsciously, Inyssa hugged her knees and pulled them closer to her chest, feeling a sudden unease rise from her stomach, like she'd eaten something past its expiration date.

"Johanna doesn't need that. She… she doesn't need medicine, she needs her family to be there for her. To support her!"

"Like she's supporting my dream of becoming the Champion by shitting on it, right?"

"…Dear Mew, Shadi, listen to yourself. I would've thought you'd been raised better than this."

"Yeah, funny story, that. Want to know who raised me? The shadow of a dead man hanging over this house and his stupid bitch of a wife who can't even win a battle against a bottle of all th–"

Inyssa heard the sound of a step being taken, followed by what could have been a yelp of surprise. The atmosphere turned tense and cold.

"…Listen here."

There was no more patience in Sarah's tone. Her voice was a command.

"If there were anything I could do, any way I could take care of both Johanna and Inyssa by myself, I would never have called you here. But I can't. Between work and Barry, I've got our hands full enough." She breathed in deep, and Inyssa could imagine her closing her eyes in exhaustion. "Believe it or not, this hurts me more than it hurts you."

"I… doubt that."

"So this is what's going to happen." Sarah ignored Shadi's comment, a sudden, dangerous edge to her voice. "You're going to take that indomitable determination of yours and use it for something worthwhile for once. Believe me. The more work you put into looking over them, the earlier you'll be able to leave. This doesn't have to be as difficult as you're making it sound like."

It was incredible, Inyssa thought, just how much force and conviction a woman as constantly tired as Sarah could imbue into her voice without even trying. Shadi seemed to agree, if unconsciously. No further protest came from her. The silence that followed was a long, awkward one.

"... I have at least three, if not four Keter-class Pokemon at my disposal," Shadi finally said, her tone that of someone trying to negotiate up from a loss. "So even if I agree…"

"Which you will."

"…Which I will." Shadi masticated the words as though she wanted to spit them at Sarah. "This little home visit has a time limit. A non-negotiable one. The League clearly states that trainers can't hold on to such powerful Pokemon if they're not doing something with them that can be easily regulated. After two months…"

"I'll take care of that. You don't have to worry about anything except taking care of your family. Got it?"

Another short silence. Inyssa struggled not to start tapping her foot against the wood of the step.

"… They'll get restless, too. I need to train them for a certain amount of time a day or–"

"Perfect. Why not use that time to start training Inyssa, then?"

"I…"

"It'll be a good way to burn some energy off your Pokemon as well as look over her. And I'm sure she'd be delighted to be taught by you."

The more seconds that passed, the more Inyssa felt like the nervous energy running through her body would explode and she would end up revealing herself. Being trained by Shadi? After all the times she'd asked her, after all the times she'd been rejected because her sister was too busy…

Gods, say yes. Please say yes.

"…I guess it's as good of an idea as any."

Not letting out a squeal of joy was the hardest thing in the world just then. She was already formulating various ways to rub this new development in Barry's face when she heard Sarah reply, an air of finality to her voice.

"Well. We're in agreement, then." She let out a long sigh. "Do tell me if you need help, alright? You can do this. Just put your back into it and you'll be back in Victory Road before you know it."

"…Right."

Inyssa sat perfectly still, not even breathing, as Sarah walked past her on her way to the door. The barest hint of moonlight entered the house, and then it was slammed shut. Silence fell over the house once again.

Okay, thought Inyssa, gulping. Now to make my way to my room without aler–

"Niss."

Every muscle in her body tensed up. Shadi's dark silhouette appeared from the other side of the wall, facing her way. Her expression was unreadable in that darkness.

"It's impolite to eavesdrop, you know."

She sat still in perfect silence, as though that would cause the ground to swallow her. In this darkness, there was no way to know if Shadi was joking or…

"I'm guessing you're pretty happy," she said. "I finally have enough free time to train you, sis."

Inyssa swallowed. Part of her wanted to nod and move on, but something about the bitterness in her voice…

"A-actually…" she said, trying not to make her voice shake. "You can… you can go, if you want."

Shadi raised an eyebrow.

"I know how hard you've been working to become the Champion. And now, when you were so close…" She pressed her hands together nervously, looking down. "I can look after mom. I know how to clean and cook and… I can do everything else too! So if you wanna…"

Something flashed across Shadi's eyes. For a second, it almost looked as though she were considering it.

Then she closed her eyes, and sighed. Inyssa had never seen her sister so tired.

"Just… go back to bed, please. I need some time alone."

A sound like a cannonball against rubber rang through the outskirts of Twinleaf, startling a nearby group of Starly into flying off.

"That's another loss."

The gargantuan Snorlax fell on his stomach, all strength gone from him. The impact reverberated under Inyssa's feet, making her knees wobble and the ground around the beast crack violently. An even more fearsome creature stood before them, his eyes calm and cold like sapphires, his armor gleaming under what little sunlight filtered through the leaves above. The massive Aggron folded his arms with a smug look on his face, and his trainer Shadi did the same a second after.

"Dammit!" Inyssa threw her hands down, biting her lip.

There was a flash of light as both Pokemon were returned to their balls.

"No one likes a sore loser. If that's the attitude you're going to take during these practice matches…"

"N-no, I'm sorry!" Inyssa was quick to shrink into herself, panic clear in her eyes. "It's just…"

"Is this not what you expected?" Again with that phrase. Inyssa couldn't count how many times she'd been teased with it. "After a month and a half of studying and theory, I would've thought you'd be ecstatic at the opportunity to be in an actual Pokemon fight. And using one of my own, no less! So tell me, Niss, what part of all this is not meeting your apparently very high standards?"

Choose your words carefully, Shadi's expression seemed to say. She'd been rather testy ever since their mom's slow recovery had taken a hard relapse a week ago, but this was more than that. Usually, she'd a little more before chewing her out.

"T-that's… not what I meant," whispered Inyssa, raising her hands in front of her. "I'm just a little frustrated, that's all. Sorry."

"Why would you be frustrated because of something that's your own fault?" snapped Shadi, shaking her head. "That doesn't make sense."

Inyssa raised an eyebrow, but knew better than to answer that question. She figured that for someone who was so used to succeeding in everything she attempted, self-frustration at one's own failure was not something she was very used to.

"It's not gonna happen again," she reassured her. "I… I know that I gotta learn how to deal with type disadvantage sooner or later. I'll beat Velstadt next time, for sure!"

An odd look crossed Shadi's face. For the first time since Inyssa could remember, her sister looked away from her, something almost like shame or pity showing in the way she pursed her lips. What was up w–?

A gasp left her lips.

"Did… did I actually have a chance to win with Aldrich?" she asked. "In any of those fights?"

"…No. Velstadt is too good at countering him. But you could've put up a lot more of a fight than that." Shadi shot her a side-glance, eyes narrowed. "Are you going to let that stop you?"

Inyssa's fingers curled into fists. She stifled a laugh, her lips forming an almost hungry smile. Of course. She should've guessed her sister would pull something like this.

"Like hell," she spat out with a hungry smile. "I'll keep at it and I'll win, even if it's impossible."

She didn't know what she expected. An amused look, a pat on the shoulder, maybe for Shadi to shake her head with a smile and tell her 'Good luck, kiddo'. She definitely didn't expect the cold, exhausted expression she was met with.

"… It's getting pretty old, you know," she said. "You shouldn't make promises you have no chance to keep."

Something hard and cold formed in Inyssa's stomach. "Wha–?"

Shadi's Poketch began to ring. Her sister looked down at the device with a bored look on her face, noticeable bags under her eyes.

"Siffa," she whispered to herself, then turned to Inyssa. "I have to take this. Use this time to go over the battle and all the mistakes you made."

Then she pulled a thin, long earphone from the side of the device and placed it in her ear, turning away from her. Inyssa just stood there, mouth slightly agape.

W-why… why does she never have faith in me?

Inyssa shook her head violently. No, this wasn't her sister's fault, she just wanted that to be the case. This was all on her. She just wasn't good enough. Bravado wouldn't buy her skill that she didn't possess.

"And you're sure about this?" she heard Shadi's voice from afar. "Was the Pokemon physically incapable of leaving the chateau or did it just choose not to?"

I gotta try harder, thought Inyssa, looking down at the palm of her hand. I'm not a prodigy like her. If I wanna be the Champion someday then I gotta work a lot harder than everyone else!

"…I'll take your word for it, though I'd really like to check for myself." Shadi clicked her tongue in irritation. "Keep watching over it. And tell Ciro to stop whining; it's not like he has anything better to do, and I need an extra pair of hands right now if I wanna get to the bottom of this." She paused, then sighed. "Make sure no one runs into the plate or that Pokemon."

Even if I gotta break myself… I'll do it over and over until I'm good enough! Until she…

Shadi pulled the earphone out absentmindedly, her gaze lost ahead, her eyebrows meeting over the bridge of her nose.

"…What the hell are you planning?"

I'll keep at it until she… until she's finally proud of m–

"Niss."

Her voice reeled Inyssa back to reality. She yelped and looked up in surprise, coming face to face with an even more irritated Shadi. Those shadows over her eyes couldn't mean anything good for her.

"One more practice fight," she said, a dangerous edge to her voice. "I have to get this out of my system somehow."

"What are you doing still awake?"

Inyssa yelped, foot hovering over the last step leading downstairs. In her sudden panic, it took her a couple seconds to locate Shadi in the darkness of the living room. She sat on the big sofa near the fireplace, wearing nothing but a pair of slippers and an oversized red t-shirt that reached down to her knees. Something small and rectangular rested on her right hand, but Inyssa couldn't make out what it was.

"I…" She swallowed, considering lying only for a moment. "I came down to study. Like… I do every night."

Part of her, the naïve part probably, expected Shadi to chew her out or reprimand her that she needed sleep no matter what. However, her sister simply nodded, still looking at the object in her hand.

"You realized that your performance during training hasn't been up to standard, so you want to do something about it," she said to herself. "At least you've got some common sense."

For a few moments, all that could be heard was the soft cooing of Murkrow outside. Inyssa looked down. Her fingers closed against the fabric of her pajamas.

"…I've been running you ragged, haven't I?"

A confused sound left her mouth. She looked up toward Shadi, eyes wide.

"I'm pushing you so hard that you need to lose sleep to keep up. Any other kid would've quit already." Shadi looked over her shoulder, a tiny smile forming in her lips. "I've fished out some complaints from you, but never willingly. You're taking it all in stride."

Inyssa gulped, then nodded.

"… Heh. You're diligent as hell, if nothing else," she said, turning her head toward the fireplace again. "That's good enough, sometimes. Honestly, for every prodigy like the Champion or me there's a thousand diligent idiots like you that together can accomplish more than we ever could. Dedication's nothing to scoff at."

"But… I want to be both," said Inyssa, weakly. "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't want to become the Champion someday, right?"

Shadi didn't reply for a few seconds. Inyssa couldn't see her expression from where she stood, but judging from the tilt of her head, she wasn't looking at the object in her hand anymore.

"You're a strong kid, enduring all this," she said. "But you'll have to work a lot harder and sacrifice a lot more than sleep if you want to reach our level. You might end up regretting it."

Inyssa stomped the ground, hands curling into fists. "Never."

"…Alright." Inyssa couldn't see the smile, but she heard it in her voice. "But don't come crying to me later if you don't make it."

Taking that as implicit permission to approach, Inyssa huddled over toward the sofa and let herself fall at her sister's side. From there, she got a better look at the object. It was some sort of plate made of a rock very similar to obsidian, only not as shiny. There seemed to be engravings on one of the sides.

"What's that?"

Shadi opened her mouth, surely to protest, but it must have seemed to her like too much effort, so she closed it again. The bags under her eyes had exacerbated. She looked as though she'd fall asleep on the spot at any moment.

"It's a puzzle," she said. "One I can't seem to make much sense of, unfortunately."

Raising her feet to the sofa and hugging her knees, Inyssa scooted over closer and began inspecting the engravings on the plate. Was that…? No, they clearly weren't letters from the Sinnohan alphabet, but they looked so eerily similar.

"Is that ancient Sinnohan?" she asked. "What's it say?"

"Yup, good eye," nodded Shadi. "And, er… no idea. It's a dead language, remember?"

"Oh. Right."

She'd braced herself for a 'What, can't you even realize that?' but none came. Shadi seemed too tired to chew her out.

"I got in touch with Rowan. See if he knows anyone that could interpret this for me," said Shadi, unprompted. "Might take a couple days, though."

Inyssa nodded, then used the opportunity to rest her head on Shadi's shoulder, which she didn't seem to mind. It'd been such a long time since they'd been together like this.

"What do you think it is? A relic or something?"

Shadi shook her head. "It's a type amplifier."

A gasp left her lips. "Oh! You mean like… the items people use on their Pokemon? Like a Mystic Water or a Twisted Spoon?"

"Yeah, it's the same idea. This plate amplifies the powers of dark-type Pokemon, although…" Shadi frowned, turning the plate on her hand. "It's… a bit more dangerous than that."

"Hm? Why, does it do something else?" asked Inyssa. "Isn't it like… you know, a buff from an RPG or something like that?"

"That's a good analogy, actually. Yeah, imagine something like that, only the buff is much stronger and it also inflicts the Berserk status on whatever Pokemon's holding it."

"Oh… damn, that kind of dangerous, huh." Inyssa pouted, furrowing her brow. "Is it like confusion? Or…?"

"No, it's more like they can't control the sudden outburst of power, and it instead starts controlling them," explained Shadi, showing her the blank side of the plate. "Well, unless…"

Inyssa perked up. "Unless?"

Shadi's lips quirked up. She looked down at her sister, seemingly trying to stifle laughter.

"There's a way of using it without risk, but I think that's enough for tonight, young lady." With her free hand she ruffled Inyssa's hair, earning a tickly laugh. "I'll figure this one out on my own."

Inyssa clung harder to her sister's arm, letting out a sigh. "But I wanna help you…"

"You already did that by being my metaphorical rubber Psyduck. Talking to someone about this got my brain working again," she said. "As a reward, you can take tonight off. Go up to your room now, alright?"

As pleasant as Shadi had been for the past few minutes, Inyssa recognized in her sister's voice when she was being serious. She let out a defeated sigh. It'd been nice while it lasted, at least.

She'd placed a foot into the first step of the stairs when she thought of something.

"Shadi?"

"Hm?"

"If that plate boosts dark-type Pokemon… does that mean there's another seventeen out there for the rest?"

Shadi looked over her shoulder at her, brow furrowed. "That's the theory I'm going with at the moment, yeah."

"Huh…" Inyssa placed a hand under her chin and smiled. "That plate isn't really like a puzzle, then. It's more like a small piece of one!"

"Hah. Yeah, I guess it–"

Shadi's smile froze, eyes shooting wide open. Inyssa reeled at the sight. She'd never seen such a look of shock and disbelief cross her sister's expression; she looked as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on her.

"A… piece?" she whispered to herself. "I…"

Suddenly, she shot up from the sofa as though pushed by a spring.

"The keys!" she shouted at no one. "That fresco… the ruins in Celestic… Shit! How did I not see it before!?"

Inyssa took a step back, frightened. "W-what is it?"

"So that's what you were trying to hide, you bastard?" She continued to talk to herself, a hungry, unsettling smile forming on her lips. "But now…"

In a flash, she jumped over the sofa and crossed half the living room toward the table, upon which rested her belt full of Pokeballs. She grabbed what Inyssa recognized as Midir's ball and headed for the door.

"W-wait, Shadi!"

She stopped, hand hovering over the doorknob. Just then it seemed to dawn on her that she wasn't alone in the room.

"…Right. I…" Shadi tried to think for a moment, but then shook her head. "Look, I need to make a quick trip to Canalave. You go back to bed. I'll be back before morning, alright?"

"B-but…"

"You did a great job," she said, flashing her a quick smile. "Thank you."

And with that she was gone, the door slamming shut behind her. Inyssa stood in the darkness of the living room, completely befuddled about what had just happened. On one hand, she was ecstatic about the fact that she'd been useful to Shadi, that she'd congratulated her and thanked her.

But on the other…

"Sis…" she whispered, letting out a sigh. "You forgot to put pants on."

Inyssa knocked on Shadi's door, and immediately the sound of a pen scribbling on paper ceased. She heard steps, and then the door slid open a bit. Her sister's exhausted, gaunt face peeked from the other side.

"What'd you bring?" she asked.

"Er… some pizza," Inyssa replied, lifting the plate toward her. "Sorry… between mom and training and our exams coming up soon I didn't have time to cook anything. So I got takeout."

Shadi took the plate from her hands, gaze lost someplace else. As she smiled the hollowness of her cheeks became more noticeable.

"It's fine. No offense but cooking clearly isn't your forte," she said. "Good day for pizza. I think this is gonna be another all-nighter, so…"

A month had passed since they'd talked in front of the fireplace, since Inyssa had given her a clue for whatever it was she was looking for. At first she'd ridden the high of her sister's praise for all it'd been worth. However, as the days passed, the moments of sisterly warmth between them became farther and farther apart as Shadi spent almost all her time locked inside her room. Her scribbling and murmuring could be heard all throughout the night, and during the day she was too busy sleeping or talking to people through her Poketch to properly train Inyssa or take care of their mother anymore. As such, in an attempt to ease her workload, Inyssa took to those tasks herself.

She still wondered about the calls, though. Most of the time she talked to Siffa and Ciro, asking for updates on whatever investigation she'd embarked them on and getting mad at the latter when he complained. A few times, however, she'd heard her address someone different. A grown woman, judging by what little Inyssa could hear of her voice through Shadi's Poketch right before she locked herself into her room for the rest of the call. A woman she talked to with the utmost respect.

True, Inyssa was full to the brim of responsibilities. Worrying about anything but studying, training and taking care of their mom would've been dumb, considering her circumstances.

And yet, her curiosity didn't care one bit about what she needed. It rarely did.

"How's your work doing?"

Inyssa regretted the question as soon as it came out of her mouth. Shadi sneered down at her, and the look on her face immediately told her this was one of her irritable days. You did not bother Shadi during one of her irritable days. In this house, such a rule was law.

"It's going," she said. "Not nearly fast enough, but it's going."

"O-oh… Well, I'm sure you can do it, whatever it is!"

Shadi scoffed. "I don't need your empty sympathy. Go."

She really should have. But, unsure as to why, Inyssa stood still in front of the door, swallowing down the fear that had suddenly risen from her stomach. Unable to stop herself, she took a step forward and looked through the sill of the door, toward her sister's room.

"Y-you know… If you need some help, I could…"

It was a mess inside. Pens, markers, measuring tools and disjointed mountains of paper were littered all about, only a single spot in the bed –one suspiciously shaped like Shadi– clean of any sort of object. The entire room smelled like ink and freshly printed paper.

But something stood out above everything else. Pasted onto the opposite wall, a huge map of Sinnoh formed the centerpiece of everything surrounding it, pins and annotations marking various spots in the region. There were nineteen pins in total. Eighteen red, with a black one placed slightly northeast of Lake Valor. Inyssa squinted. Points of Coalescence? was written above a few of the red pins, and above the black one…

"A-AGH!"

Shadi's fingers closed around her shoulder, sending a sharp, cold pain down her arm. She looked up in shock and protest, but her words died in her mouth.

The look on her sister's face was like a dark cloud before a storm. Inyssa froze, wishing with everything in her for the ground to swallow her, to take her away from this moment and place.

"Are you mocking me?" she seethed.

"N-no! I…!"

"If I want the help of a stupid highschool girl I'll ask for it. And trust me, I'm never going to ask for it!"

"P-please…"

"So I'd appreciate it if you kept your stupid sympathy to yourself and…"

"I-it hurts! Please...!"

Those words snapped Shadi out of whatever state she'd slipped into. She took her hand out of Inyssa's shoulder as though the touch had suddenly burned her and took a step back with wide, fearful eyes.

"N-Niss…"

They stood there for a few seconds that felt eternal, both unable to move. Inyssa tried to keep down the sob trying to claw itself out of her throat, wetness forming in her eyes. Shadi opened and closed her mouth, trying to think of something to say.

Then, her expression changed. It was almost imperceptible. In the pain and panic she was in, Inyssa wouldn't have noticed if she weren't already an expert at picking up the cues of danger in her sister's eyes. If before her face had been a dark cloud, now it was the first flash of lightning before thunder fell. Even without words, she understood perfectly.

No one could know about this.

"I… I'll…" Inyssa swallowed with difficulty, feeling like she'd throw up any second. "I'll g-go back to bed."

"Yeah," said Shadi, the green of her eyes so pale it could have passed for gray. "Goodnight, sis."

Snow fell on top of Inyssa's hat and nose as soon as she closed the door behind her. She shivered and dusted it off with a gloved hand, packed snow crunching under her feet as she walked through their backyard. A pillar of black and white stood on the opposite side; their old evergreen, its usually vibrant green dulled to a pale grey by winter's touch.

"Oh… hey. What are you doing here?"

Shadi sat against the base of the tree, her usually lanky figure blown up into a bulk of clothes and scarves so that her face could only be seen from the nose up. One of her hands was holding onto a can of cola. The other attempted, unsuccessfully, to give form to the bumpy mess of a snowman before her. Inyssa felt the urge to laugh, but she stifled it.

"I thought you were playing with Barry," she said. "It's not time for dinner yet."

"Oh, yeah, I…" Inyssa unconsciously rubbed her hands together, lips pressed tightly. "I started to get a little dizzy from the cold, so we called it for today. Guess I should've bundled up more, heh."

Shadi shot her a knowing look. You're not fooling anyone, her eyes seemed to say, though if she was concerned she didn't show it or voice it out loud. Inyssa had felt dizzy due to the cold. It had nothing to do with how many layers of clothes she was wearing, though, but the fact that lately dizziness and exhaustion had become second nature to her.

Both of them knew the reason. And both of them chose not to call attention to it.

"Well, I don't blame you. I wasn't the kinda kid that liked playing outside much either."

"Hah. Yeah, I can see that," smiled Inyssa. "By the way, that's a nice… Er…"

"Aldrich, my Snorlax."

"Ah… I thought it was supposed to be a Gulpin with a bunch of tumors all over it."

Shadi laughed. Actual, heartfelt laughter from the depths of her stomach. Inyssa was so unaccustomed to the sound that she almost jumped back in fear, the hair on her arms standing up on end. Ever since that night, she'd been more than careful about what she said in her sister's presence.

Today seemed like one of her good days, though.

"I mean… hah, yeah, I can see it," she said, trying to stifle her giggles. "I've never been much of an artist, to be honest. I don't have mom's graceful hands."

Inyssa couldn't help but smile at the sight. Cautiously, she approached and sat at her side, taking her gloves off with a flourish.

"I could help you," she said, then hurried to add. "I m-mean…if that's okay."

And just like that, the illusion was broken. Shadi's smile dropped, and as their eyes met both sisters knew what the other was thinking. Inyssa had said the same thing before, when…

"Sure. Give it a try."

Silence stretched between them as Inyssa began working on the pile of snow. Her fingers numbed at the cold touch, yet she barely noticed, too focused on the wild hammering of her heart in her ears. Why had she said that? Why those words specifically? She knew Shadi didn't like to be reminded of that… mistake she'd made, so the least Inyssa could do was pretend it had never happened. She owed her that. And yet…

She shook her head. No, she shouldn't even be thinking about this. Throwing the matter out of her head, she focused all her attention on the task before her. The snow twisted and molded to her finger's touch with ease. Forming shapes and shaving off what wasn't needed felt as natural to Inyssa as breathing, and she almost shook her head at the fact that Shadi had been having so much trouble with this.

"See? It's starting to take form," she whispered, trying to break the silence. "You just need to twist your fingers a bit; treat it like you're making rice balls."

"…Right."

"You can use your knuckles too. It's like molding clay, only a bit more…"

Her words trailed off as she turned to look at Shadi. She'd brought her knees almost to her face, fingers interlaced in front of them, most of her face covered by the shadow of her hair.

Her hands were shaking.

"H-hey… Are you okay?"

Shadi nodded, and then it was gone. The shaking, the tenseness in her shoulders, the shadow over her face.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she whispered. "Just feeling a bit in over my head… which I admit I'm not very used to. A failing on my part, really."

"O-oh… Is this about…?" Inyssa swallowed, nervousness clawing up her throat. "About that thing y-you're investigating?"

Luckily, Shadi didn't seem irritated at her mentioning it, and simply nodded.

"I might've gotten myself into something a lot larger than I first anticipated," she confessed. "And… I guess even someone like me can freak out once in a while."

It was a gamble. At any other moment, Inyssa wouldn't have even considered stretching an arm toward her sister, grabbing her hand with her own, too fearful of retribution. But if she couldn't overcome her fear to even try to help her…then what kind of sister was her?

Once again, Shadi didn't seem angry at the gesture. Just confused.

"Well… I d-don't know much about that, but I don't think you should be doubting yourself."

Shadi's eyes widened slightly. "Well…"

"You're Shadi Dawn," insisted Inyssa. "You're the Queen of Cinders, the trainer that snatched up the first place in the annual trainer ranking like it was nothing. You're a prodigy. The strongest trainer to ever come out of Twinleaf." She smiled and shook her head. "Whatever or whoever you're up against… I feel sorry for them, really."

She expected Shadi to either smile or roll her eyes at such a cheesy declaration, but she did neither. Instead, she simply gawked at her. She studied Inyssa with her eyes, almost as though she were trying to find the sarcasm or doubt in her voice, yet she found neither. Then, something dark and cold crept up her expression.

Had it not disappeared a second later, Inyssa would have recognized it as guilt.

"… Thank you."

Shadi looked down, a sad smile swallowed up by the fabric of her scarves. A sigh left her lips.

"You're a good kid, Niss."

Inyssa beamed. It was hard to contain the yelp of glee trying to escape her lips.

But Shadi didn't share her enthusiasm. Her own declaration saddened her, in a way. The way she was looking at Inyssa… it was as though she was seeing her for the first time, and whatever it was that she found in her eyes disturbed her greatly.

"Hey…"

Inyssa perked up. "Yeah?"

"The things I've… What I do sometimes, and what I did before…" She bit her lower lip, taking a second to gather courage in order to get the words out. "I'm s…"

However, she caught herself just then. Closing her eyes, Shadi took a deep breath and wiped all doubt and guilt from her expression. When she opened them back up, no warmth remained in them.

"You know I wouldn't do any of that if you did as you should… right?"

Inyssa's smile dropped dead.

"Y-yeah… of course," she said. "I know it's because I'm not good enough. B-but… I'll keep trying, like I told you!"

It didn't look as though that was the answer Shadi had wanted to hear, though she herself didn't know what that answer would've been in the first place. So she nodded, and looked away.

"We should probably head inside," she said. "Mom's been getting better lately and I wanna keep the streak going with some nice dinner."

"Oh, y-yeah," nodded Inyssa. "Good thing that I… finished the snowman already."

Only then Shadi noticed it, raising an eyebrow at her sister's craft. It wasn't much bigger than a Bidoof, yet its shape was unquestionably that of a Snorlax, even its slanted eyes and tiny claws clear as day. She couldn't help but whistle.

"Well… if you don't make it as a trainer, then you've got a nice second option right here."

Inyssa smiled awkwardly. "Heh… I'm glad there's something I'm better than you at."

Shadi nodded absentmindedly, a sad smile forming on her lips.

"Yeah, me too."

Shadi collapsed in a heap under the sill of the door, hair slick with rainwater and frost covering her tattered clothes all over. Inyssa jumped back, placing her hands over her mouth. For a second that felt like an eternity, her sister didn't move.

Then she started to cough. Water splattered under her mouth as she pushed herself up with one hand, her entire body shaking with cold and effort. Every cough was amplified by the accompanying thunder of the storm behind them, rain and snow pelting the town with all the fury nature could muster.

"I… did it…"

"W-what!? H-hey… here!" Inyssa knelt next to her, hands shaking, eyes wide with fear. "Are you okay!? What…!?

"Heh… I did it!"

Rising to her knees, Shadi threw her head back and let out a laugh of pure triumph, arms extended at her sides, water starting to pool around her. Inyssa stood back, aghast.

Shadi had left the night previous. There was an important task she needed to take care of, and she trusted Inyssa with the responsibility of taking care of Johanna and the house until she got back, which she assured her would be the next afternoon.

But then said afternoon came, and Shadi was nowhere to be seen. Inyssa spent hours pacing in front of the door, occasionally taking a peek out of the window, fingers pushing against the glass with fearful longing. Finally, when it was almost five in the morning and she was starting to fall asleep on her feet, someone knocked at the door.

Inyssa had barely opened the door when her sister fell through.

"I… can you stand? Do you want a towel?" asked Inyssa, unsure of what to do, feeling like a complete idiot. "I mean of course you want a towel but…"

"Don't you w-worry," said Shadi, slumping a bit forward, chest rising and falling with the rhythm of her uneven breathing. "It's… all good now. Snowpoint was more productive than I could've hoped for." Another chuckle left her lips, her shoulders shaking from it instead of the cold for once. "Things have finally started to pick up."

Inyssa gulped. "T-then did you find what you were looking for?"

Shadi shone her a tired smile. Their eyes met, and for a second she could have sworn her sister's eyes flashed a pale blue. A trick of the light, clearly.

"Yeah… there isn't much that could make this day better," she said. "Though that doesn't mean I wouldn't welcome a towel right now."

"Of course! I'll bring one right away!"

"Oh… and after that I'd appreciate some coffee," she added. "Make it as pure as you can. It's still a couple hours before the store opens and I can buy the energy drinks I need."

"A…Alright?"

By the time she got up and headed for the bathroom, Shadi was already up and fiddling with her Poketch. She heard the first part of her message before leaving the room.

"I got it, Fantina. Call me as soon as you hear this."

So distracted was Inyssa by the sudden mention of that name that she didn't notice the odd way the shadows behaved as she turned on the bathroom lights, uncoiling and crawling into themselves as though they had a mind of their own.

"That's quite the heated discussion they're having in there, don't you think?"

The sound of the girl's voice made Inyssa jump, the book she was reading almost slipping from her hands. Nervously, she looked toward the other side of the sofa. She sat still as ever, back straight as a plank and hands resting over the lace-like fabric of her violet skirt. Her eyes of the same color continued to stare blankly at the wall. She hadn't said a word over the course of the past ten minutes, just sitting at Inyssa's side while Shadi and Fantina argued in the other room.

Inyssa didn't know what to expect from the daughter of one of Sinnoh's most powerful and renowned Gym leaders, but this Sanbica girl really wasn't it.

"I… ha, yeah" She put the book down, swallowing. "Hope it's nothing bad…"

"Bad is subjective when it comes to people with such a varying palette of grays as paint for their broad strokes," said the girl. "But… yes, I hope the same."

"R…right." Inyssa blinked a couple times, unable to take her eyes off her. "Er… oh, do you know what this project of theirs is about? I asked my sis but…" Her expression froze for a moment, pain flashing behind her eyes. "…She didn't tell me anything."

If Sanbica noticed the sudden falter in her voice, she didn't comment on it. Inyssa doubted she even noticed what room she was in. She constantly looked as though her eyes could see into the fourth dimension.

"I'm in the same boat. Mother is a very secretive woman, even when it comes to the mundane and unimportant," she said. Then her eyes went slightly wide, and an eerie smile stretched her lips. "Same… boat. Hah! That's a good one. I'll have to write that down when I'm back home."

What the hell was with this girl? Part of Inyssa wanted to pick her book back up and hid behind it until she went away, but unfortunately the politeness instilled in her by Johanna prevented her from doing so. Stifling a sigh, she shone Sanbica a smile and attempted to continue the conversation.

"So… are you a trainer? You seem old enough," she commented. "Interested in surpassing your mom?"

Sanbica rolled her eyes, giving her a shake of the head. "Oh, dear, no. There's many things I've surpassed mother on, but Pokemon training will not be one of them." She puffed her chest out proudly. "Very soon I'll be able to leave home and use my abilities to earn all the money I could ever want."

"A-ah… So you're a woman of the coin," said Inyssa, trying to keep her smile up. "Well… there's all kinds of people, I guess. I wish you luck on that."

"I make my own luck, but thank you."

"By the way, what do you mean by abilities?" she asked. "You mean Contests or something else?"

At that, Sanbica flashed her a smug smile and turned her head to the side, looking toward the door leading to Shadi's room.

"I mean this."

"Wh–?"

Suddenly, it felt as though an electric current boomed through the air. Inyssa gasped, a sudden weight setting in her stomach at the sight of Sanbica's eyes dulling completely, all light disappearing from them.

When she spoke, her voice sounded different. Heavier, colder.

"She is the calm surface of a winter lake during a moonless night. An endless sheet of black, cold as the space between the stars and just as likely to suffocate you. Nothing can escape her grasp."

A strong shiver ran down Inyssa's spine. "W-what are you…?"

"And yet a simple touch is all it takes. A ripple to disrupt her and a light to shine her through. For there is nothing to fear when it is two against the darkness."

Sanbica closed her eyes, and the eerie feel vanished from the room. When she opened them again they'd gone back to their usual hue. She turned to Inyssa with a smile, seemingly unaware of the look of utter shock on the girl's face.

"Well?" she asked impatiently. "Did it rhyme?"

"W-what?"

"What I said while I was in that trance," explained Sanbica. "Did it rhyme or not?"

Inyssa opened her mouth to reply, but no words came to her. So instead she shook her head.

"Ah, damn it." Sanbica let out a sigh, leaning back on the sofa. "Can't seem to get the hang of that part. Guess I just gotta keep trying. You can't have a good prophecy unless it rhymes, don't you think?"

"What the hell are y–?"

The door flew open. Both girls looked over their shoulder to the sight of Gym leader Fantina standing under the sill of the door, her back toward them. It took Inyssa a moment to realize she was talking, too entranced by the woman's beautiful dress as well as the figure underneath.

"…then I'm afraid we're done here," she said, trying to keep the heat from her sultry voice. "I agreed to help you with your research as long as you kept taking care of Johanna, but this is a step too far."

"Are you lecturing me on taking things too far? Ha! You have to be joking."

"This is no laughing matter! Talking about this things hypothetically is one thing, but to actually go down such a path…" She inhaled deeply, shaking her head. "If this goes wrong, you won't get away with just a slap on the wrist. You're playing with forces you don't understand, and if you want to continue risking your own life like this then I won't abide by it anymore. I will not be responsible for Johanna losing someone else dear to her."

"…Then yeah. I guess we are done here."

"Shadi…"

"I'll do it myself if I have to. Goodbye."

The door was slammed shut on Fantina's face. The Gym leader curled her hands into fists, and even though she stood with her back to them, Inyssa could perfectly imagine the look on her face, and shivered. Fortunately, it didn't take her long to regain her composure. Relaxing her shoulders, she turned and faced them with a smile.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that, Inyssa."

"I… yeah, it's fine. Don't worry."

She nodded, then addressed her daughter. "Sanbica, we're leaving. Say goodbye. Oh, and Inyssa…" Their eyes met for a second. She could tell there was something Fantina wanted to tell her. "…It was a pleasure. Take care."

Inyssa could do little but stare as the woman left through the front door. Sanbica hopped out of the sofa with a flourish and followed suit, holding her hands behind her back.

"I… bye, then!" Inyssa waved from her spot, trying to keep up her smile. "Hope we meet again!"

Sanbica stopped under the sill of the door. She looked over her shoulder with a knowing smile.

"We will," she said. "Though by then neither of us will remember the other."

"What are y–?"

The door closed behind her, cutting Inyssa's sentence short.

"Shadi… I'm s-sorry. I'm so s…"

Inyssa froze on the spot. The wet towel she was holding began to drip onto the floor.

"M-mom…"

Johanna lay sprawled on the bed, eyes tightly closed and sweat dotting what little could be seen of her face and hands. A pale flush clung onto every inch of her skin. The only exception were her knuckles; they were a marble white from the strength with which she held on to the fabric of her sheets. Her limbs shook spastically.

"I…"

"I'm right here," said Shadi. "Can't even tell your daughters apart anymore? Well, it doesn't really surprise me."

Shadi stood on the opposite side of the room, mixing a pinch of white powder into a glass of water, her face expressionless.

"I-I… I'm g-gonna make it up…" Johanna inhaled sharply, lips pursed into a white line. "It w-won't… I'm n-not gonna relapse… again… I s-swear."

Shadi's eyes twitched ever so slightly. Her mixing became more vigorous.

"Yes, well. I'd be inclined to believe you if you hadn't said that same thing the past two times this happened," she said. "But it's fine. It's not like you actually care, do you?"

Inyssa bit her lip. "Shadi…"

"A mother who cared would just… stop drinking, easy as that." Her pitch went up slightly at the end of that sentence a bit of heat slipping into her voice. "But no, you can't even do that. So go ahead, keep relapsing, and I'll keep bringing you back from the brink. It's not like I have anything better to do."

Unconsciously, Inyssa's hands wringed the towel so strongly a splash of water fell at her feet, catching Shadi's attention.

"S-stop…" she said, her voice quivering. "Sarah said we needed to be nice to her…"

Shadi rolled her eyes and placed the spoon on the ant table next to the bed, walking toward her with the glass of medicine still on her hand.

"Look at her." She tilted her head toward the bed. "Does it look like she can hear us?"

No… it really didn't seem that way. Johanna kept holding onto the sheets, arms and legs tensed up like coils, eyes tightly closed. Her breathing was so heavy it was a miracle she could even hear herself talking.

"She's going through the worst of the abstinence tremors," explained Shadi. "Delirium tremens."

Inyssa set her jaw, her lower lip shaking. "S-still…"

"If there's anything you'd like to get off your chest, I suggest you do it now. She won't remember any of it after tonight."

Her nails dug into the fabric of the towel. There were. Deep down, Inyssa could feel the familiar sting of that burning, noxious cloud of anger trying to expand from her stomach outward, consuming her whole. There was so much she wanted to say to Johanna. So many awful, hurtful words. So many truths as sharp as knives. And she'd be the one stabbing them into her, finally, after so long of…

She caught herself just before opening her mouth. Taking a deep breath, she stumbled backwards and set her jaw, shaking her head strongly.

"N-no… I can't," she whispered. "It's not right."

Shadi scoffed. "But forcing us to take care of her is?"

"That's not…"

"Whatever. Suit yourself." Shadi dismissed her with a shake of the head, turning toward Johanna. "Go get another wet towel. You already wringed all the water out of that one. Can't even do that right, it seems."

Inyssa felt a pang in her chest. Her lips began to quiver.

"I'm sorry…"

"Wanna make it up to me? Go get another fucking wet towel," snapped Shadi. She shook her head again, then turned to Johanna. "Come on, open your mouth. I mixed some sugar into the vitamins and lorazepam in the water, so it should go down more easily."

Johanna parted her lips, still shaking from head to toe. "S-Shadi… I'm s-sorry…"

The girl's fingers paled with the sudden strength of her grip against the glass of water. The green of her eyes turned cold and pale.

"…Just open your fucking mouth."

"I am perfectly fine. Now get the hell out of my house."

As usual, Shadi didn't seem to notice Inyssa's presence in the room. The young girl looked over her shoulder from the sofa, noticing the two women bursting into the room with angry steps. Shadi walked in front, and behind her…

"Oh! Hi, Siffa!"

But she didn't hear her either. The blue-haired girl was too focused on her stubborn friend to notice anything around her.

"Shadi, h–hey, listen to me!"

Shadi stopped in her tracks, shoulders tensing up. After a second she let out an irritated sigh and turned around to face her friend. Were it not for her fear of retribution, Inyssa would have gasped at the look on her face. Siffa, however, had no such restraint. Her pale red eyes went wide with shock and concern.

"D-dear Mew… have you been sleeping at all?" she asked, tone full of disbelief. "You look like a reanimated corpse!"

"That's none of your b–"

The ring of a Poketch filled the air. Shadi looked down at her wrist, scowling at what she saw. Inyssa didn't need to deduce it was a message from their mother; the look on her sister's face made that clear.

"Yeah, I'm going!" she yelled toward the staircase. "Give me a minute!"

Then she turned toward Siffa, lips pursed into a thin line. "Like I was saying, I'm fine. You don't need to come here for a fucking intervention or whatever just because I'm slightly grumpier than usual."

As much as Inyssa would have loved to think otherwise, she did not look fine. Siffa didn't seem to think so either. Shadi had always been on the lankier and messier side when it came to her own appearance, bags under her eyes not uncommon for her, but this was too much, even for her. The skin under her eyes was charcoal black. Her cheeks were more hollow than ever and even under her baggy clothes it was clear she'd lost quite a bit of weight over the past few months.

Shadi had always been the kind to run herself ragged, but it had never been this bad.

"Shadi, please… Ciro and I are just worried about you."

"Right. If he's so worried then why isn't he here with you?" scoffed Shadi.

"Because he's busy doing the work you asked him to do!" Siffa caught herself just then, eyes going wide. "I… I'm sorry. I didn't meant to raise my voice to you. It's just…" She closed her eyes and swallowed. "It's not just how you look. Lately, you've been acting…"

Shadi raised an eyebrow, a red blush rising to her ears. "Like what, Siffa? What exactly have I been acting l–?"

Another beep rang through the air. Shadi clenched her teeth, every muscle in her body tensing up at the sound. Then, almost imperceptibly, the lights in the room dimmed.

"Yeah! I heard you a minute ago!" she bellowed into the staircase. "Give me a second and I'll be there, god dammit!"

Inyssa couldn't help but shiver at the scream, unconsciously closing her eyes and bracing herself for something that never came. Siffa did the exact same thing. Yet neither of them noticed the other's reaction.

"H-hey, comeon …" The tone of Siffa's voice was one Inyssa recognized. It was the one she used when dealing with a Shadi that was having a bad day. "Ciro… he's still crossed about what you said to him the other day."

"What? Because I told him the truth?" snapped Shadi, rolling her eyes. "You'd think he'd have thicker skin than that after we've been teasing each other for so long."

"That's… that's the thing," said Siffa, voice tense. "It really doesn't feel like your usual banter. Lately, whenever you insult him, it's more…"

She didn't need to finish her sentence. Inyssa knew exactly what she was referring to, and judging by the look on Shadi's face, she did as well. Her comments had probably felt colder, bereft of humor. Much more personal.

He'll probably get used to it with time, thought Inyssa. She certainly had.

"Is that all?" asked Shadi. "You came all this way just to tell me that I made Ciro sad with one of my offhand comments?"

Siffa pursed her lips, fingers interlaced with each other. "Shadi…"

"Well, forgive me for being so… How do you say? So inconsiderate? Wait, yeah, of course!" Shadi slapped a hand against her forehead and let out a sharp, icy laugh. "You're right. It's not like you two are having the time of your lives, frolicking all over the region as a happy couple like you always wanted. But apparently one snide comment from me is too much, is that it?"

"W-we're just worried," Siffa hurried to add. "We don't want you to push yourself to…"

"Push myself? P-push…" She spat out a gulp of air in something like a mix of a chuckle and a scoff. "Oh, oh! No, don't worry, seriously! I already came to the c-conclusion that everyone's having the time of their fucking lives while I'm trapped here in this giant coffin of a house against my will!"

Spit flew out of as she yelled, her lips curled up into a furious, mocking smile. Siffa couldn't help but take a step back. From behind the sofa, Inyssa lowered herself until only her nose and eyes could be seen, muscles tensed in fear.

"And hey, why would I complain? I can't fathom a single reason why I'd maybe lash out at someone out of frustration because of the situation I'm in! But of course it's my fault! I'm just being selfish, aren't I!? After all, this way everyone wins except me!"

"S-Shadi, please…"

"Oh, what is it!? Are you two feeling worried over your exhausted friend? Is my poor mother not getting exactly the treatment she needs? Is my dear, stupid sister not getting as much quality time with me as she seems to think she fucking deserves!?" Her screams seemed to shake the house, an invisible cold seeping into the room, making the lights dim and flash on and off. "Well why don't you all come over and cry me a fucking river so I can drown in it!? Just what the hell do you all want from me!?"

She raised her hands, and for a second the other two girls in the room thought she meant to strike Siffa. They gasped and froze in unison, bracing for a hit that never came.

Shadi took a couple steps back, face buried into her own hands, the tips of her shoulders shaking with fury. Neither of the girls noticed due to their reaction, but the woman's eyes had flashed a pale blue just before she'd closed them.

"S-shut up! I don't need to hear from you!" Shadi whispered to no one, right before looking up at Siffa once again. "I'm not a doctor, alright!? I'm not a mentor or a good friend either; all I wanted was to have my own life but not even that–!"

Her Poketch rang for the third time. Shadi froze, eye twitching, and both Siffa and Inyssa knew what was coming.

"I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME, WOMAN!" Shadi bellowed with every ounce of strength in her voice. "I'M TALKING TO A FRIEND FOR FUCK'S SAKE, CAN'T YOU GIVE ME ONE SECOND!? I KNOW YOU NEED SOMETHING, WHEN THE FUCK DO YOU NOT!? WOULD IT KILL YOU TO HELP YOURSELF FOR ONCE, YOU SOUL-SUCKING GODDAMN PARASITE!?"

She grabbed the sides of her head, lurching down in pain as her eyes shut closed tight.

"YEAH LAUGH IT UP! I HOPE YOU'RE HAVING A REAL FUCKING HOOP WITH ALL THIS! HOPE IT WAS JUST THE REVENGE YOU WANTED!" Once again, she sounded as though she were screaming at someone who wasn't in the room. "I'M SO FUCKING SICK OF THIS! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE YOU USELESS CLINGY PIECES OF S–!"

Shadi's body gave out from under her. Eyes shooting wide open, she gasped and clawed at her chest for a moment before collapsing on a heap in the floor.

"W-wha…!?"

"SHADI!"

Inyssa jumped over the sofa as though propelled by a spring, reaching her sister's side in a flash and kneeling before her, feeling her own heartbeat in her ears. Siffa stood back, frozen, mouth gaping.

Shadi was still conscious, though barely. She lay face-down on the floor, her entire body shaking, hands clawing at the ceramic under her in a useless attempt to lift herself up. Inyssa hurried and placed a hand under her shoulder. A sharp, cold shiver ran up her hand through her arms but she ignored it, bent on helping her up.

"I… I'll try to get some help!" yelled Siffa.

"Go find Sarah," said Inyssa, voice thin and panicked. "Hurry!"

She was out the door in a flash. In the meantime, Inyssa used every ounce of strength in her to help her sister up to her knees, all the while trying her best to keep her from shaking so violently.

Only when she felt the wetness fall to her sleeve did Inyssa realize she was crying.

"I'm… I'm sorry," she sobbed, trying to keep herself from shaking like her sister. "I d-didn't know and because of us… I'm s-so sorry…"

Shadi fell back into a sitting position, her ashen hair falling over her face, hiding her eyes from view. Her breathing was ragged and wild. When she spoke, her voice sounded so strained it was a miracle she could get the words out.

A miracle Inyssa could have done without, as soon as she heard them.

"No, you're not," she spat out. "If you really were sorry then you'd do something about it."

Inside of the Dawn household, night had brought all of winter's sharpness with it, cutting into the atmosphere of every room, skewering all and any hints of warmth that could have been found inside. Everything was still. To Inyssa, at least, it felt as though the world itself had crawled into a dark corner to lick its wounds. Her steps down the stairs echoed loudly, mirroring the wild and anxious beating of her heart.

The air around her felt thin, stretched to its breaking point, like the calm sky before a storm.

Inyssa didn't bother to knock. All fear had left her, replaced with a deep, empty sorrow spreading through her veins like poison. If Shadi got angry at her, if she wanted to hurt her… then she'd take it, like she always did. She'd gotten numb to it, anyway.

"…What?"

Very little moonlight filtered through the window, but she noticed the vague outline of her sister's body against the wall next to the bed. Only the green of her eyes was clearly visible.

"How… are you feeling?"

"Like shit. Is that all?"

Inyssa winced at the sharpness of her tone, but she didn't back down. After her outburst earlier that day, Siffa had arrived with Sarah in tow, who had insisted in calling an a doctor. Shadi, unsurprisingly, was against it. An awful lot of shouting had followed. In the end, a very irritated and disappointed Sarah had told Inyssa that she'd look into relieving Shadi of her caretaker duties, since she clearly wasn't physically or mentally capable of such work at the moment.

"Don't sound so bitter now," Shadi had spat out, tone full of poison.

"I'm not bitter in the slightest. Just disappointed," Sarah had replied. "I hope you're happy; you'll finally get to abandon your family like you always wanted. And all you had to give up in exchange was your dignity. Congratulations."

Shadi hadn't taken that well. She'd been holed up in her room ever since, making it very clear that she wanted to be alone.

And yet here Inyssa was.

"Shadi, I'm… I'm s–"

"If you say you're sorry one more time I'm gonna throw this bottle at your head."

Her brow furrowed. Bottle? What was she talking ab–

A gasp left her mouth. Empty bottles were scattered all around Shadi, a half-filled one resting on her hand.

"Yeah, go ahead. Laugh it up," said Shadi, trying to contain laughter. "Wanna know what the funniest thing is?"

Inyssa shook her head in disbelief. "N-no…"

"It didn't even work. I don't feel any better and I haven't forgotten anything," she said. "Whatever bliss our dear mother gets from these things, I haven't found it."

"Y-you can't! Don't do this!" Inyssa pleaded desperately, taking a step toward her sister. "You can't end up like mom!"

Shadi arched an eyebrow at her, shaking her head. "Are you deaf or just stupid? I just told you I gained nothing from this."

"S-still! You're… you're stronger than this!"

The utter contempt in Shadi's eyes as she said that sent shivers down Inyssa's spine. For a second she really thought the bottle would be thrown her way, but instead she simply shook her head and let out a scoff.

"This is revenge, I'm assuming? I don't blame you," she said. "After all I put you through, all those… impossible challenges, it only m-makes sense you'd place me in a pedestal too high for me to reach. Pretty devious, but like I said… I don't blame you."

"That's not it at all!" yelled Inyssa, throwing her hands down. "I'm… I'm sor–!"

"STOP APOLOGIZING!"

There was a sharp sound as the bottle shattered against the wall next to Inyssa. She froze, the muscles on her legs locking up. Cold alcohol splashed into the left side of her body, sending a shiver throughout her entire body.

Shadi now stood at the other side of the room, arm extended toward her. Just then, that familiar silence stretched between them, the same as back then, when Shadi had first hurt her that night. A silence that stretched way past a single moment. One that had seeped into Inyssa's throat, clogging it up, preventing certain words from being said. Preventing her from seeking help.

And, right at that moment, preventing her from running.

"You… piss me off so much, you know that?" said Shadi, a quiet, dangerous edge to her voice. "Sooo good and proper. The perfect sister! Tell me… is it fun for you? Taking in s-stride everything I dish out to you… smiling despite everything… always, always being so! Fucking! Kind! Is it fun mocking me like that!?"

Inyssa shook her head desperately. "N-no! I wasn't…!"

"You never complain!" she yelled, throwing her hand to the side. "You're… arguably having a worst time than me and yet… I can't… I can't be like you! Why can't you get that through your fucking head!? Why do you have to smile like that all the time!? Like you know you're better than me!"

No words came to her. Her throat felt dry, frozen by something sharp and cold. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Did she… did she really think that? It was… absurd. Shadi was so much better than her at everything, why would she…?

"Ha… haha… god, why am I even telling you this? I'm so fucking stupid." Shadi stumbled back, holding her face with her right hand, laughter blooming from her stomach. "Sarah was right. All I wanted… I finally get to leave but I somehow feel like I lost, like I…" She shook her head. "I've been… I've done… what anyone would've done in my position. It's… it's not my fault that I had to…"

Her face dropped from her hands. Shadi took a step forward, toward Inyssa, and after a moment that felt like an eternity, she looked up at her.

Had she been able to move, Inyssa would've covered her mouth with her hands. Tears ran down her sister's cheeks. Red lines clawed at the edges of her eyes and her nose was scrunched up, occasional sniffles breaking the silence between them.

"I can't… can't s-stop thinking about what I did to you and mom," Shadi sobbed, lower lip shaking. "It w-wasn't my fault! But whenever I c-close my eyes I hear the voice… it feels like s-someone clawing at my heart, suffocating it. All the time… I can't b-be like you, I can't take this on my own…"

"S-Shadi…"

"I wish I'd n-never come back. None of us would've… I wouldn't have had to…" She sniffled and ran a sleeve through her cheeks, staining it with tears. "I just want to forget this ever…"

Shadi froze, realization flashing through her eyes. The silence that followed felt like the infinitesimal moment when the air thinned before the first clap of thunder.

"Niss…"

Inyssa gulped, feeling her own eyes wet with tears. "W-what?"

"…You love me, right?"

"Wh– of course I do!" she hurried to scream, grabbing at her chest with both hands. "More than anything!"

"I see… and would you…" She turned to look at Inyssa. "Would you do anything for me?"

"I-I… yes. Anything."

"… Thank you."

Shadi's eyes flashed a deep, calm blue. The air felt like it solidified, a sudden, sharp cold crashing into the room like a flood.

"W-what the…?"

"I figured out a way to fix this… all thanks to you."

At first, Inyssa thought something had blocked the windows. The little moonlight that filtered into the room vanished, plunging them into sudden and utter darkness. She blinked, confused as to what had happened, then looked past Shadi toward where the windows should have been.

Her breath caught in her throat. A massive, swirling lump of shadows had coalesced behind Shadi, its long and sharp tendrils slowly extending toward Inyssa, its icy blue eyes set on her. She couldn't scream. Couldn't move. And so caught up she was in the horrifying figure that she never expected Shadi to be the one to attack first.

"GHK!"

The back of her head bounced against the wall, soon followed by the rest of her body. She barely had time to react as her sister's fingers closed over her mouth, preventing her from making any sound, her pale, gaunt face inches from hers.

"I'm going to fix this," she said, the scent of alcohol in her breath making Inyssa wince. "This… is going to benefit both of us. I'll stop hurting and y-you… you'll forget it ever happened."

"HRNGH! GHRK!"

Inyssa tried to shake herself free with all the panic-fueled strength she could muster but somehow, impossibly, Shadi was stronger than her. No… no, that wasn't it. It felt more like her own body was slowly losing strength, a cold, deep exhaustion overtaking her.

Please… please, stop…

"D-don't struggle… it's all going to be okay," Shadi whispered, a maddened grin forming on her lips. "I'll make it so it won't hurt anymore, so just stay still…"

The nightmare creature behind Shadi moved. Its shadowy arms began to close in around Inyssa, warmth and energy being drained from her body, her vision blurring before her. Her limbs began to numb. The sound of her heartbeat in her ears dulled.

Don't, please… please, god…

Inyssa looked toward her sister one last time, pleading, seeking mercy, but there was none to be found in those eyes of hers. All that could be seen on them was a cold, dispassionate relief.

And so, she let go. The entire world went black, and she heard her sister's voice one last time before consciousness left her.

"That's it… by the time you wake up, this will all be just a bad dream."

"Well… I guess this is it, sis."

Shadi stood under the sill of the door, warm sunlight hitting her back, framing the outline of her body. She looked almost angelic. But of course she did, thought Inyssa. If there was a single person in the planet more amazing than her sister then they were probably a saint in disguise or something.

"I'm going to miss you so much," pouted Inyssa, feeling an itch in her eyes. "Can't you… stay a couple days more? Please?"

Her comment was met with the smile she loved the most. A bit curved an awkward. A bit out of place in the geometry of her face. Beautiful.

Shadi lowered herself until their eyes met.

"I promise I'll be back as soon as I beat the Champion." She spoke with a somber tone, trying to maintain her smile. "Don't worry; I'll have my friends with me. Nothing's gonna happen to us."

Something caught in Inyssa's throat. She tried to speak, but found herself anxiously chewing at her lower lip. This was it. There was so much she wanted to tell Shadi, so many thanks for all she'd done for her, but now that she finally had the chance to, her tongue felt like it'd been tied into a knot.

Can't even do this right, she thought bitterly.

"I'm… sorry about what I did."

That caught Inyssa off guard. She looked up at her sister and tilted her head in confusion.

"I promise I'll atone for it."

Inyssa shook her head. "S-sorry for what? What are you…?"

But Shadi had already stood up. She turned around, hoisting her backpack over her shoulder, back to Inyssa.

"Take care, will you?" There was something cold and detached about the way she said those words. "And make sure to keep training and get stronger. That's all that matters. I trust you."

Steeling herself, Shadi looked over her shoulder, flashing her sister one last smile before heading off. Inyssa watched her and Midir disappear past the horizon. And that was it. Her sister was gone.

The memory ended. Everything faded to black.

Inyssa opened her eyes to the sight of a dark, dilapidated room. The scent of dust and moss assaulted her nose. She found herself once again in the top floor of the mysterious tower, Darkrai and Cresselia chained behind her.

"You're… back."

Uxie's silhouette appeared behind her, its golden ethereal form shifting ever closer to her. Behind it, Cresselia raised her head.

"Oh, child…" she whispered, pain in her voice.

"Inyssa, I am so sorry," Uxie followed. "I had no idea…"

Inyssa blinked. Or she would have, if she actually had a physical body in this state.

The legends' words phased through her. She refused to listen, to move, to speak or do anything that would acknowledge what had just happened. Her mind was frozen. A thin, frozen sheet of ice resting atop a lake, cracks slowly spreading through its surface. She feared that if she were to muster a single thought, everything would shatter around her.

If only it could have been that easy.

She felt the touch of leather against her fingers. Looking down, she found the old tome they'd retrieved from the library resting on her lap. Maylene must have retrieved it from her room and left it here while Inyssa…

While she…

A gust of frozen wind traveled down the room from the window, seemingly picking up and carrying the room's shadows with it. Darkness began to coalesce in front of Inyssa. It took a familiar shape, that of the shadowy creature with a pale arm and dull, faded green eyes. For the first time, she recognized it for what it was: the piece of Darkrai Shadi had sealed inside of her. She winced at the sight of it, her muscles tensing up in panic.

No, no, no, she thought desperately. Just a little more, a bit more time…

The figure didn't need to repeat itself. Inyssa remembered what it had said the last time they'd spoken, what it'd asked of her. The toll in exchange for what it'd been keeping from her. It was time to pay up.

She looked over toward Uxie and Cresselia, but they said nothing. She knew they wouldn't force her to do this, but with so much at stake, they probably knew she'd never forgive herself if she ran away from this. From the truth.

"Truth," nodded the figure, seemingly reading her thoughts. "The most painful one. Speak it."

Inyssa closed her eyes. She knew this had to happen. She even knew that the figure before her wasn't actually hemmed in shadows, that she only perceived it as such because she didn't want to look underneath. But it wasn't like she could run away from it much longer. The band-aid had been ripped off. It was time to grit her teeth through the pain.

Her chest felt hollow, cold. As though someone had dug in and forcefully ripped her innards out with a hand made of ice. She couldn't stop her limbs from shaking. Couldn't stop the tears from falling or the sobs from leaving her mouth.

But there was one thing she could do.

She opened her eyes, and the shadowy figure before her changed. Darkness evaporated from her body, and from within it emerged Shadi, glowing and ethereal. She looked just as Inyssa remembered her in her mind's eye. No bags under her eyes, no missing arm, no scar running down the length of her neck. She was perfect and beautiful. She was a lie that Inyssa needed to kill with her own hands.

The most painful truth…

Inyssa opened her mouth, and the words that came out sounded as though they were broken and bleeding.

"You don't love me," she said, a sob stuck in her throat. "You never did."

Everything after that became a blur. The ethereal Shadi smiled, then disappeared in a puff of light. The roar of thunder boomed in Inyssa's mind and her eyes flashed a pure, beautiful gold, newfound power rushing through her, exuding from every inch of her body like a mantle of light.

Her untainted mind, her full potential… finally within arm's reach.

"Gh…ghk…"

Inyssa fell to her knees. And there, with all the power she'd ever wished for rushing through her veins, she hid her face in her hands and broke down into shaking, sorrowful sobs.