Author: Hey, people!

RAVFN: Oh, no...Not again...

Author: No, no, I promise it'll be quick this time!

RAVFN: Oh, alright, alright...

Author: To all who may have read the first chapter, I hope you liked it. If you recognize anything as being from a song or, well, anything, then I don't own it. That's about it. Happy reading! Review, please!

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Lilly looked positively giddy as the oddly-decorated house came into sight up the road. Crystal looked at it with an expression somewhere between confusion and amusement. It was the most interesting sight she'd ever seen, besides maybe that moment with Lilly standing in the snow. Yeah, that one had been funnier, but this was a close second. The yard was done up with images of anything and everything, from religious statues to a plastic cow and numerous lawn flamingoes. When she thought about it, she didn't think she'd ever really seen a lawn flamingo in real life. Maybe this fellow has the market monopolized, she thought, and couldn't help but laugh.

Yes, Crystal wasn't the sweetheart her sister was, and it was true that she intended to pick up where Flagg had left off, and avenge his destruction, but she was still quite joyous, sometimes to the point of seeming childish in her excitement over things. In a burst of perky genius, she scooped up a handful of snow. She squeezed it between her long and narrow, yet strong hands, seeming immune to the cold of the snow on her bare fingers.

When she was finally satisfied with her work, she stopped walking and carefully aimed. She waited, watched, adjusted her aim, turned the frozen ball over in her hand several times, and had to force herself not to start giggling. Finally, without warning, she flicked her right arm forward, sending the snowball flying straight into the back of her sister's head.

Lilly staggered slightly as she felt the blow, and then turned, trying to figure out what on earth had just happened. Crystal couldn't help it anymore. She erupted into a fit of giggling, doubled over with her hands on her knees.

A moment later, she saw Lilly's sneakers and bare ankles approach her. She stopped for a moment, seeing that the previously shaking legs were currently in a firm pose, like the stance of a fighter.

"What are you doing?" Crystal asked, pushing herself up slightly, though still bent over, to see her sister's face. Lilly smiled, her hands behind her back, thinking her response. Just returning the favor.

With a sudden jolt, she shoved an armload of loose snow down the back of her sister's shirt. Crystal yelped, and immediately jumped back upright. Lilly smirked. Her sister wasn't invulnerable to cold. She was just good at letting it look that way.

"Oh, you'll pay for that," Crystal said, starting to laugh again. Pretty soon, they were launching snowballs back and forth as they chased each other around the street. Lilly didn't mind, really. All the running was keeping her from feeling the cold so much. In fact, most of the snow on them was melting quickly.

Lilly launched a perfectly-aimed snowball at her sister, which hit her in the ear. "Revenge!" she cried, as she tackled the quiet sister to the ground, who landed on her bare knees in the snow. Crystal leaned on her sister's back, looking over her shoulder. She scooped up some snow, left loose, and dumped it over Lilly's head, completely covering the girl's hair in a somewhat thick layer of white powder.

In a daring attempt to break free, Lilly took up another armload of snow, this time dumping it down the front of her sister's shirt. Crystal jumped slightly, and went toppling backward. She landed on her back in the snow, and held up one hand in surrender. Lilly leapt to her feet, and did a quick little victory dance. Then, she began to really feel the pain of the cold. Actually, it felt worse than just what she'd dealt with on the walk there, it hurt really bad. She looked down to where's she'd been forced down, seeing the prints her knees had made in the snow. In the left print, the snow was reddened by blood. Looking at it closer, she realized that she'd hit pavement instead of the powder she'd expected first, before skidding onto the snow, but she must've been too numb to feel it. Her left knee and the right side of her left calf were scraped, cut, and bleeding. The rest of her was freezing, and soaked, thanks to the melted snow.

"Gee, I'm sorry," Crystal said, softly, as she got to her feet. Come on, lets go see that friend of everyone's. Wasn't it Tom?" Lilly nodded. "Okay, then. We'll go find Tom, and maybe you can stay there while I go take a look around, see if I can find you something warmer to wear, okay?" Lilly made an 'okay' sign with her right hand. Crystal smiled. She supposed she should be nice to her sister then, so she might not be so troublesome when the time came that they couldn't be on the same side of matters as Lilly's precious Free Zone heroes anymore. In the scheme of things, though, she knew it wouldn't be easy for Lilly to accept that.

And so, they continued on their path to the strangely-decorated house. Lilly walked with a bit of a spring in her step, still perky. Lilly limped slightly, her path marked by scattered drops of red in the snow.

- - - - -

Lilly knocked on the door. A moment later, it swung open, and the girls were greeted by an enthusiastic, "Hello!" from the answering man. He was a good bit older than they were, though they couldn't tell by how much, as there was something quite young-seeming about him. Crystal realized that this man had probably been fairly young when the epidemic struck. Actually, the ones who'd sent them to him might've been, too. She'd never realized how long it had actually been.

"Hi," Crystal said, brightly. She'd be nice to this one, she supposed. She couldn't sense anything from him that she didn't like. Actually, she couldn't sense anything from him at all, even when she got a tight grip on her pendant. He didn't seem a threat to her or her purposes. Of course, the thought that her sister knew of him from the old stories had left her mind in that enthusiasm. "Nice to see you." Lilly waved 'Hello.'

"I don't think I know you two," the man said, as much to himself as to the girls in front of him.

"We're not from here," Crystal explained. "We've come all the way from the east. We talked to some people earlier today, and they thought it might be good if we came to see you. Well, I'm not sure if it was you they meant, but my sister led me here, and she knows a lot about this place. I'm Crystal Thomas, and this is my twin sister, Lilly," she explained. "Is this the one, Lilly?" The quiet one nodded, and made an 'Okay' sign. "Oh, and by the way, my sister...Well, she doesn't talk. She can't."

Lilly was nearly taken aback by the seemingly well-practiced way her sister explained her silence. She'd rehearsed that bit at some point. It was a very unsettling thought, really...But there wasn't time for that just then, she realized, looking down and seeing how the blood was pooling around her feet. The girls were also both dripping wet from the melted snow. In truth, they really must've been a strange sight to see on someone's doorstep.

"Why, you got hurt, didn't you?" the man said, as more of a statement than a question. "That's a real shame...Lilly, right? That's what she called you. M-O-O-N, and that spells 'Lilly Thomas.'" Lilly smiled. "But, anyway, come in. It's freezing out here, laws, yes, it is. Come in, and we'll see if we can fix that," he added, looking toward the girl's injured leg. He walked back into the strange house, the two girls right behind him. "Name's Tom, by the way. Tom Cullins." Lilly nodded, 'I know.'