—

In hindsight, she had lost Silver from the very moment he returned from the crack in time.

It was a slow process. Like a cancer, she thinks, reflecting on how it started off so small, so miniscule and unimportant and harmless before growing into a massive, ugly wreck. And, just like a cancer, it left nothing but pain and emptiness in its wake.

Blue warned him time and time again to never trust strangers.

"A past like ours," she had said to him for what had felt like the hundredth time, "reminds us of how people really are; don't interact enough with them to see what exactly they want with you."

He'd agreed. She didn't believe him; mere weeks after she'd left him alone in Johto, Blue had returned to see Silver interacting with, talking to, crying over-

Blue should've put an end to it back then, should've hammered it into him while she still had the chance, and while he was still so malleable to her, so dependent on his big sister's advice. But she didn't. It was so small; surely Silver wouldn't fall for such insincere affections. That boy had nothing to offer him.

That's what she told herself.

—

Three years later, she saw how the cancer had grown. They were freed from their stony prison and the world had been spared from evil once again. Blue turned to embrace Silver, but next to her instead was an open space.

He was with him.

Again.

Blue saw how his face lit up when he regarded Gold, the boy he saw something, something in, but she couldn't figure out what. He was a crude, vulgar, privileged brat- just some rich kid who barely had the depth to understand the mere surface of what had happened to them. His hand laid casually on Silver's shoulder and Blue could feel her stomach flip. She strode over and greeted Silver before slipping her arm through his and dragging him away. Gold's farewell call of "See ya, Silv!" had her teeth clenching behind a cheery smile.

Blue cornered him soon after.

"So," she smiled, "who's that boy?"

"An... acquaintance."

Hope spread through her system: not a friend, most definitely not an ally (like her), just an acquaintance. But even that was too much.

"You know, Silver, what I've always said about keeping away from strangers-"

"Gold's not a stranger."

"That doesn't mean he can be trusted." Blue watched as her little brother fiddled with his jacket, his face blank yet clearly mulling over her words.

Nobody could read him like she could. That was something Blue took pride in.

She was so deep in her head that she didn't catch Silver's quiet mutter.

"Whatja say?"

Silver took a breath. His eyes didn't meet hers.

"He invited me over to his house, and I said yes."

"Oh, Silver." Blue shook her head. It was too much. Far too much. She had been kind to even let Silver interact with that twerp, now he's inviting him over? And he accepted? Boundaries had to be made. Warnings had to be emphasized. "You barely know him! What's the use of going over there?"

"Well, last time-"

"You've been there before?"

Silver flinched at her, narrowing his eyes slightly as Blue nearly sprang forward in surprise. He remained stiff as she broke out into giggles.

"What's so funny?"

"What'd you take, huh? That kid just looks like he comes from money! How much could you snatch at once? Anything valuable-"

"I didn't go there for that, Blue!" He snapped at her. "Look, I... it's nice there. There's a bunch of domesticated pokémon, and he has a mother who's real nice to me, and didn't even mock me for being so dirty. I got to eat with them and they convinced me to stay the night. Blue, I've never felt- I've never felt so safe before."

"Haven't you been listening to what I've taught you? What did I always say about strangers, huh?"

"But he's not-"

"Yes, Silver! Yes he is! He's nothing but a stranger to you, and you're allowing yourself to get vulnerable with him. You got any idea of what he could do to you? He seems nice, great. How adorable. A lot of people seem nice, but if people were actually nice, then we wouldn't be hurt the way we're hurt."

"You won't let me get a word in!"

"Because you're being ridiculous! You're being weak!"

Silver's face fell immediately. Although she felt the pang in her chest from the way Silver looked so utterly defeated, Blue knew she had won; any mention of weakness immediately deflated his resistance like a pin to a balloon. 'Sometimes tough love is the best way,' she reasoned to herself, 'and I know what's best for him.'

His soft voice snapped her from her thoughts.

"I'm being weak?"

Silver was pale in the face and his shoulders sagged. She gently placed a hand on his cheek and offered him a warm smile.

"It's okay Silver. You get tripped up sometimes. Gold has... an interesting way of trying to trap you, so you fell for it. Now you know, okay? And you know," Blue murmured sweetly, "that I know what's best for you. Just stay away from him, he'll leave you alone soon enough."

Her warm arms wrapped tightly about him and she pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

In hindsight, she realized that it was around that time when he stopped hugging her back.

—

It wasn't that she wanted to quash his happiness- quite the contrary. The times she can remember when Silver cracked a genuine smile sent her heart soaring and made her hectic life just a bit easier. But it was rare- so rare, in fact, that Blue had only seen it a handful of times. So how, how could it be brought about so easily for him?

She could tell that Silver was hiding something from her. She always could tell when Silver was acting off- that was what big sisters do best. But no amount of teasing or encouraging tones of her voice could get him to crack. That had never happened before. Silver couldn't keep a secret from her, and he didn't want to. Didn't he know he could always rely on her? Couldn't he see that there was no need to hide from her, unlike everybody else out to get him? Now it was her turn to hide- to hide her fear that she couldn't get through to him like she used to.

In the end, it wasn't Silver who cracked, but Red.

As always, Blue could count on getting what she needed from gullible, well-meaning Red. A relationship. That's what he called it. Silver was in a relationship- a romantic one!- with him?

How stupid. And unneeded. He didn't need romance. He shouldn't have had to bother with some asshole when he had all the emotional support and company right in front of him.

—

It didn't register at first. Silver, the boy so stiff that it took ages for him to simply hold hands with her, sat shoulder to shoulder with the very asshole Blue encouraged him to cut off. From her spot in the tree she saw them watching Red's robot show. Gold must've said something incredibly, unprecedentedly thoughtful ("Bullshit," Blue thought, "he hasn't had one valuable thing to say in his life.") because Silver turned to him and smiled.

For once, Silver's smile left her aggravated. That aggravation morphed into full-on horror as Gold took her brother's face in his hands and kissed him before pulling away. Another genuine smile, then Silver closed the gap between them once again. When the two toppled sideways onto the couch, arms wrapped around the other and Silver's lips at Gold's neck, Blue could have puked. Her distress was instead inflicted on her binoculars- they plummeted towards the ground, and she heard a lens crack vaguely as Jiggly lifted her away.

Once home, Blue dragged herself upstairs and flung open the door to her room. Even her happiness over the fact that she finally found her home and loving parents couldn't compete with the disgust from the horrible scene she'd witnessed. Blue collapsed on her bed. Minutes and minutes passed as she mulled over the situation in her head, feeling the heat of anger slowly overtaking her body. How could he? After all she had done for Silver: keeping him safe, fending off enemies, ensuring that he became strong and independent- he'd gone out and played his chances with Gold, played his chances of losing everything she'd taught him. All for some boy. All for that stupid-

Her seething thoughts were cut off by several thumps on the roof. Blue's breath instinctively caught in her throat, but even before she could release Blasty and confront the source of the sound, Silver emerged through her window and recalled his honchkrow. A pair of broken binoculars was clenched in his fist.

He outstretched his hand to her, offering the smashed device.

"I thought that you'd want these back," Silver muttered quietly. His voice lacked its usual softness it had when talking to her. "Since you obviously rely on them to spy on me."

Of all the times she'd have failed to be sneaky...

"It wasn't so much spying as it was..." Either denial or habit had Blue's mind immediately attempt to make up a clever story, a thorough excuse, something to make the situation less damning.

Silver was having none of it.

"Knock it off with the lies, Blue. You've got something to say, so just come out and say it. Why were you spying on us?"

She sighed and sat down on the bed, patting the spot next to her for her little brother to sit as well. He ignored her suggestion and stood arms crossed and waiting for her to speak. Stung by the rejection, Blue spat out,

"I told you to stay away from him and you didn't listen to me!"

"I tried to," Silver exclaimed. "But time went on and he didn't stop and... I didn't want to stay away anymore."

Blue stood up and strode over to him and firmly grabbed his shoulders. "Silver, are you listening to yourself? Look at what he's done to you! He was all over you, and you let him continue. You're not thinking clearly. I'm just trying to help you survive, is all... just like when we were little. I've always known what's best for you but I guess I can't force you to take my help and advice."

Silver's gloved hands took hold of hers and gently moved them off his shoulders. Confident in her triumph of wills, Blue eased a loving smile onto her face and gazed up at her little brother. Her smile faltered when she was met with a chilling glare.

"You're trying to manipulate me," his voice was low and icy, "and it's not working."

Blue was left stunned and silent as Silver tossed the device onto her bed, released honchkrow, and disappeared through the window and out into the brisk night sky.

—

If she couldn't reach Silver, then she'd reach Gold. From what Blue could tell, the object of Silver's nonsensical fixation was quite simple; he was a one-dimensional jovial jock who wanted to put his dick in whatever he could, whenever he had the chance. Silver was nothing but his next conquest. Well, if Gold was interested in somebody as off-putting as Silver, with his bony stature and (usually) cold demeanor, then obviously he'd be drawn to her even more. She had the assets and the ass necessary to expose Silver's manwhore for what he really was- a manipulative sleaze.

So she separated the two (which was incredibly difficult, they were disgustingly attached at the hip) and employed all her tricks on Gold- standing a bit too close, brushing her hands against his body, giving him sly looks and little slips of her tongue. When he took the initiative to get her alone, Blue was confident she'd have a damning fling and a crushing story to relay to her little brother, comforting him when he inevitably got upset and gently asserting that big sis knew best.

But there was no fling. Gold held her away when she practically launched herself at him, a disgusted look on his face.

"Dude, what the fuck, Blue? I'm already with Silver!"

Blue pouted. "Oh c'mon cutie! Don't pretend you haven't thought about me. We both know he can't satisfy you like I can."

She leant up for a kiss and was met with his hand over her mouth, keeping her away.

Gold's eyes were narrowed and his posture was stiff and awkward.

"What's with you," he sneered. "Why are you doing this to him? He's your brother and you're trying to hurt him!"

Gold's hand flew off her mouth when she playfully licked it. He stuffed them into his pockets with a revolted sound.

"I'm out, man. Fuck this."

"Fine. Good luck finding something real."

"I have something real," he spat, turning to face her. "I have something real with him, and it's way too valuable to throw away- especially for the likes of you."

Blue watched him walk away, mentally crossing out yet another promising scheme, depleting another strategy of killing the ever-growing cancer.

—

The next time he approached her, Silver didn't let Blue get a word in before letting loose.

"Why do you hate me?"

The utter defeat in Silver's voice almost made her hesitate, but Blue immediately fought to oppose his ridiculous assumption.

"Silver? I- I don't-" Blue shook her head in an attempt to gather her thoughts. He backed away as she strode towards him. "-you know I don't hate you! You know how much I love you!"

"You don't fucking love me. If you loved me you wouldn't be pulling this shit! How could you? All over him, trying to prove some point, trying to take him away from me!"

"How did you-"

"You're not as clever as you think you are," Silver snarled, "And you're not the only one with access to a recording device. I heard everything!"

"I'm just trying to-"

"Just trying to what, huh? You got your happy family, your house, and your normal life. Is that not enough?"

Blue shook her head. "What are you talking about? What're you trying to say?"

"It's never enough for you, is it?" Silver's voice was quiet yet loathsome. He stepped up and leaned down so they were nose to nose, his gray eyes ablaze with fury. "You never stopped being a thief. You have your happy life now but it's still not enough for you. I find somebody who makes me happy despite having a fucked up life, and you try to take him away. You're a fucking thief, Blue, but now-" his voice broke. Silver shook his head and started backing away. "-now, instead of stealing clothes or food, you're trying to steal people."

When he had no room left to back up, Silver crossed his arms and leaned back, far away so that Blue couldn't get too close to him. But he could still see her face; her clear eyes and determined expression and clenched fists and set mouth. He could still hear her voice. He could hear all the times she'd spoken to him throughout the years, comforting him after Pryce left him beaten on an icy floor, teaching him how to subtly swipe wallets in seconds, singing him happy birthday. Her warm hands holding and hugging and gripping him close during the hard times.

But Blue changed. Her face was familiar yet terrifying because he knew that she hid her hatred behind a smile. Her voice was melodic yet jarring because he knew that she lied. Her touch was comforting yet torturous because he knew that she couldn't let go.

And Silver didn't realize he was crying until suddenly there were tear tracks on his face and Blue's expression softened; she seemed to move in slow motion, creeping closer and closer and closer until he could nearly make out every crevice of her face and crack of her voice and scorching of her-

"Don't touch me! Back off!"

She kept coming. Blue saw Silver's gray eyes in the light and recognized fear in them. One moment she raised her hands to cup his face...

...and the next she was on the ground, her shoulders stinging from his shove. Her eyes narrowed and she bared her teeth.

"I see," Blue bit out, "you chose your little sex buddy over your big sister."

Softly, "I love him."

One last attempt at submission. "What a shame. He's made you soft. Weak." She emphasized the final word with as much malice as she could muster.

Silver crouched down to where Blue was still sprawled out on the ground.

"I'd rather be weak with him than strong with you. Stay away from us. This is your final warning."

—

Blue was not a girl keen on compromising, especially on pressing issues such as these. She always had a plan in mind.

She would wait. Let Silver make his mistakes. Let him screw up just like in their early days of training together. He'd get hurt, get bruised and battered, then finally realize the error of his ways. He'd come crawling back to her. She knew he would. Blue knew Silver like the back of her hand, and no boy could ever change that.

So Blue kept her distance: trained her team, got used to living a "normal" life at home, and desperately tried to remain confident in her new strategy.

Such confidence was tested because whenever she saw Silver- from far away, of course- he was never alone. Gold was always at his side, with an arm around her little brothers shoulders or his hand clutched in his. Silver was all smiles and Blue was nauseated to see him so happy. He was being fooled, and going willingly along with the person playing him. Silver was no fool.

'What happened to him?' She wondered.

Gone was the stoic and careful boy she'd lovingly raised. The young man who replaced him wanted nothing to do with her.

—

Years had passed by the time Silver reached out to her, and for one reason:

Gold was dead.