Friends break up, friends get married. Strangers get born, strangers get buried. Foes make pacts, foes go wild. Family join in, family gets exiled. Carmelina and Witness; Isiah and Madame. Yuri and KHX. Judge and Akiko. Sam, Lydia, Doom Jazz… Lady Love Dies.

Trends change, rumors fly through new skies but I'm right where you left me. It felt like 13 all over again, whispers wondering how much longer 23 would last before the demons came in and they faced another Revelations, another apocalypse. It felt like 3 all over again, Crimson still at a Dead Nebula-sponsored lunch-place. The logos were the same, the colors were the same. The red candle in front of her, how many times had she seen it lit only to eventually flicker out and die only for a staff member to return and light it up again, restarting the cycle ad infinitum?

She flipped through pages of menus, books, and newspapers. The words all blurred together as life continued on around her, the staff just trying to make a living while she tried to digest all the lessons she'd learned since the Syndicate started so many eons ago. Even all the way back to Island 1, Crimson could remember this scene, dining at a Dead Nebula restaurant. How funny, how tragic, to think that she was still here, in the same place, frozen in the same time, 23 islands later. She watched the red candle's flame flicker. It was cold. Her heart was cold, also frozen in time.

All around her, other guests stared. Of course they did, she was blessed by the gods, bearing the head of a goat in place of a human. But they weren't just staring in awe tonight. As if by a very cruel hand of fate, it just so happened that she was the only patron dining alone that night. Everyone else in the diner had somebody else to share the meal with. Realizing that, Crimson felt her stomach churn and felt as if she stuck out like a sore thumb. She would've wished for companionship if only to take all the eyes off of her, for once!

They said, "What a sad sight!" and all Crimson could hear was the sound of her heart fluttering anxiously, embarrassedly. She tried to hide her face behind her menu, but she knew it wouldn't work. Her horns still protruded over the top of it; everyone knew who she was, and everyone knew she was alone, just like so many islands before. Even if, in the past, she had people to pretend to be with, people to string along and keep on her arm, tonight revealed the truth. She felt her fluttering heart shatter and she imagined crimson wine spilling from the glass and staining the white tablecloth, and her dress, the same burning red.

Even after everybody else moved on, finally done speculating on why their idol didn't have anyone in her entourage with her tonight, coming in and going out of the restaurant at their leisure, Crimson stayed there, dust collecting in the frozen air. It didn't matter how many patrons left the diner, she couldn't go with them, she remained trapped. She could tell that they expected her to find someone someday, somewhere to find some solace and perspective, but all she could do was sit there and stare unseeingly at the menu inches from her nose, right where Lady left her.

You left me… No! You left me, no! Her mind was still crying out in protest of that night so many islands ago. You left me no choice but to stay here forever. Was this her own exile? The words even repeated in her head as if the lyrics themselves didn't know how to move forward and move on.

She set the menu down again, rotating back to the newspaper. This was her life nowadays, just an endless jump from distraction to distraction as if hoping she'd finally find something that would take away the pain, or at least dull it into a hazy gray and make life a little less tragic. Even though her head was new (relatively speaking) the mind inside was the same as it ever was. She tried to focus on the article in front of her, but no matter how many times she read the words and pages, they all seemed to stick together.

Soon, she started imagining a new headline: Did you ever hear about the girl who got frozen? Time went on for everybody else, she won't know it! What a scandal for the island's idol to be the most miserable of all. She was blessed by the gods; shouldn't she be happy? No, because just like all the myths said, kindness and cruelty often overlapped for the beings whose wills were above the understanding of those still stuck on earth.

Even if this new head was supposed to be a gift, a symbol of her honest and honorable devotion to the deities, all it did was constrain Crimson even further. She was frozen in the past thanks to her memories, and frozen in the future thanks to her new status as the island idol. What little freedom and privacy she had in the past was totally gone now.

Tonight in specific, though, Crimson felt more trapped in the past than anything else. Still on Island 3, inside her fantasy, how it was supposed to be… The imaginary headline was still taunting her, trying to pull up as much juicy gossip out of her personal life and personal tragedies as it could. Did you hear about the girl who lives in delusion? And the rest of the island seemed to echo the paper's cynical, snide remarks.

"Breakups happen every day, you don't have to lose it."

Crimson finally lowered the newspaper, annoyed, and then she startled back, blinking in surprise. There she was, Lady, sitting in front of her at the restaurant… 20 islands ago, in the evening, about the same time as now. Crimson wore a nice dress, trying to impress Lady. Her human head was back, and Lady was smiling at her. She was wearing the same red uniform she always wore, but to Crimson it was the loveliest thing she'd ever seen. It was her favorite shade of her favorite color.

Crimson crossed her legs in attempt to keep them from bouncing up and down nervously. Everything was just right, a red candle burning in front of them as they ate and smiled together. Silverware clattered on dishware. Crimson's hands were shaking, but she pretended she was just going for another bit of food. She could still remember the sound of Lady's voice as if it happened only recently, but she couldn't make out any of the words. She was just lost in Lady's smile; the way the candle's red glow illuminated her face and her hair.

Then she showed Crimson her phone, a picture on it. It was of a man Crimson only ever really saw at Syndicate meetings, but she still knew who he was. And if she hadn't before, Lady's excited chatter definitely filled her in over the course of the rest of the meal.

I… What? How? When did you ever have the chance to get close to someone like him? He mostly deals with Citizens, doesn't he? Honestly, why would you even WANT to get close to someone like him anyway? I… thought I was the one you want…

"I just wanted to tell you first, Crimson, because you're my closest friend!" Lady said, eyes shining in the candlelight. Crimson was sure hers were shining, too, but for entirely different reasons, by water instead of fire. She could feel the mascara run, heart shattering on the white cloth and leaving it the ugliest shade of red she'd ever seen, worse than Lady's dress, worse than the candle. Then everybody moved on.

It was the same candle that was in front of Crimson now, on Island 13 and 23, the red flame slowly dying and sputtering out… again.

Help, I'm still at the restaurant, still sitting in a corner I haunt... Dust collecting in the frozen air.

Now she was back on 3, right after Lady finally moved on.

"Well, Crimson, it was lovely getting to have dinner with you!" she said as she stood up and waved, leaving her part of the bill on the table. "But I have to get going now, casework and all that."

"Yeah. Sure. Bye Lady," Crimson spoke so softly, and somehow, the sharp-eyed detective didn't see how heartbroken her old friend looked as she waved Lady goodbye. Lady didn't turn around even once as she was free to leave the restaurant.

Days turned into weeks into months into years and Crimson stayed at the restaurant, sometimes looking out the window to see Lady walk by. This time, she was with Isaiah, and they were always smiling at each other, so Lady never bothered to look into the old restaurant anymore. She never saw that Crimson was still there, right where Lady left her. Crimson watched enviously through the pane of glass. How happy and free Lady looked. I'm sure you got a life out there, joy and business, but I'm unaware 'cause I'm right where… you left me.

Crimson finally managed to tear her gaze away from the window. She didn't want to see it any longer. She would mind her own business. She had better things to do than peep in on someone else's love life, like trying to tell herself how much it didn't hurt…

If our love died young, I can't bear witness, she felt fears finally starting to run through her fur. She never got the chance to tell Lady. She was going to do it on the very same night Lady happened to find someone else. Now, Crimson would never get the chance, not with Lady stuck in exile and Crimson still stuck at the restaurant. And it's been so long, but if you ever think you got it wrong…

Despite herself, Crimson turned back to the window and imagined Lady walking past one last time. Briefly, in the reflection of the glass, Crimson saw a human face rather than a goat head staring back at her. The glass was ice, her reflection frozen in time.

I'm right where you left me… You left me no, you left me no…

A waiter came by to refill Crimson's food and drink and relight the red candle sitting in front of her. And so, the vicious, endless cycle continued.

You left me no choice but to stay here forever.