Meyers hated the cold. He hated the mountains, he hated the snow, and he hated the fact that they were going to have to spend more than ten minutes up in this nightmarish domain.

A couple yards in front of them, a large, white shape was silhouetted against the mountain air. The Pokemon bustling at the foot of the mountain range had informed them that an illustrious ice healer lived up in the dangerous crags after getting a glimpse of Sheer's ruined face.

As they approached, the healer in question tilted his head so that the icicles under his chin caught the sunlight. He was a large, muscular Beartic, covered with so much shaggy fur it looked as if he were merely part of the mountains, come to life. As soon as he saw Sheer, his attention was honed in, his ears flattened slightly in the familiar pattern of curiosity.

"Greetings! We have to come to ask for your services, great healer," Bean said, bowing her head. Meyers did the same. "Our dearest friend has had a rather dangerous encounter, and we were told that you may be able to help us."

Without much acknowledgement for the rest of them, the Beartic got down on one knee and squinted at the gash across Sheer's face. Meyers thought it was a bit dramatic. His eyesight was failing, and he could still see half of her face missing just fine from all the way over here.

The ice healer's massive paws were surprisingly gentle as they traced the edges of the cut and felt along the undamaged side of her face for any other ailments. Sheer held perfectly still, though Meyers could tell she didn't like being touched.

After a few more moments, the Beartic rose to his feet and gave a sharp nod. "I can attempt to fix it, though you will never be completely rid of the mark."

"That's fine," Sheer said. "As long as I don't melt in my sleep."

The ice healer ignored her and continued speaking. "Hmph. I need one thing to complete the process, however." His gaze raked over all of them. Meyers met his cold eyes and bit back a growl.

"I am a creature of old. The cold healers have an ancient ritual they use to complete their process, and I choose to continue the legacy of this ritual."

Meyers's tail thumped on the ground apprehensively. A ritual? Who are we supposed to sacrifice?

"In order to complete the healing process, I must receive a piece of Nevermelt Ice from one of the travelers who approaches me. They will journey into the mountains and find this treasure, then bring it back to me so I may complete the process."

Something like relief made Meyers's chest deflate. Bean seemed at ease as well. Looking for a piece of ice on a snowy mountain was going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but the word ritual had made it sound like somebody was going to die. The rest of the group seemed half-relieved, half-apprehensive, suddenly shuffling and glancing at each other nervously.

"That's all? Here. You can have mine," Sheer said. She removed her tiny crown, now cracked and slightly dulled, and held it out to the Beartic.

Meyers couldn't help but cock his head in curiosity. The crown shape meshed so well with her colors that he rarely noticed it. If anything, he would have assumed it was a part of her, not a piece of Nevermelt Ice.

The Beartic, however, was not impressed. He turned up his whiskers and grunted. "No. There is no display of strength in receiving your goal on a silver platter. You will participate in the tradition, or you will not be allowed to stay here."

Meyers resisted the urge to snort in contempt. Waves of frustration emanated from Bean as well, but she kept her external appearance calm and respectful. "Tell us, sir, how long will it take to complete this goal? If we only need to stay for a night or two, is it worth the attempt?"

The Beartic's eyes slid from her to Sheer to Zero. "Not long. If you have strength," he said simply, which was terribly unhelpful. Meyers was just about ready to show him strength by dunking his head into the snow.

He could feel Bean weighing their options. They weren't exactly in a spot that could afford any more stress or injury, but some rest, as well as an ice healer to look over Sheer, was needed just as badly. The Swoobat pressed herself closer to him and asked quietly, "What do you think?"

"I think we need to find a way to take care of Sheer, and I think we need rest. I'll go out and get the stupid ice," he murmured back.

Bean sighed and shook her head in a begrudgingly affectionate way, before straightening and turning to the rest of the group. "What about you, darlings? Would you like to take up Beartic's hospitable offer?"

"I'm willing to stay," Golurk said almost immediately, and Rayzor nodded in agreement. Meyers had the feeling Golurk was going to try and volunteer to go freeze in the mountain wastelands. Zero and Sheer seemed just as willing to find a place to stop and rest, so Bean turned back to the ice healer and dipped her head respectfully. "If you are willing to take us, sir, we would be eternally grateful for your hospitality."

The Beartic nodded and blew a cloud of vapor out of his mouth. "Of course. The sun is setting, so it is best we get started with the ritual."

"I'll go," Golurk and Meyers said in unison. The Druddigon gave him a stern look. "Kid, it's my job to keep the group safe. I can handle a little bit of cold."

"That's not what you said when we were in Twist Mountain," Bean tittered.

He snorted. "That was different."

The Beartic, however, was not amused. "No."

"Eh? What do you mean no?" Meyers grumbled, lashing his tail.

"I pick who will retrieve the Ice," he replied, looking over their group with sharp eyes once more. The group shifted nervously.

Hopefully, he'd just pick Meyers anyways and they could all be done with this nonsense. He didn't want to have to stay a week in the mountains while somebody floundered around in the snow.

"I have chosen…" The Beartic started, tapping his icy chin thoughtfully. Everybody leaned forward apprehensively.

"You," he finally said, pointing a claw at Golurk. Or, at a second glance, the Pokemon standing next to Golurk. Rayzor squeaked out something that did not at all sound pleased.

Meyers held back a groan of exasperation. It was going to be a week-long vacation in an icy cave in the middle of nowhere. Wonderful.

Golurk and Sheer seemed equally dismayed for different reasons, but as soon as they began to protest, the ice healer swept his arm in a motion that demanded they be quiet and jerked his chin at Rayzor. "You may begin."

Rayzor didn't move, still looking rather petrified. Meyers couldn't exactly blame the kid. Searching for a piece of ice on a snowy mountain wasn't how anybody wanted to spend their weekend.

"Are- are you sure? That you want me to do it?" Rayzor whimpered, tapping his heels together.

The Beartic glared at him from under his bushy eyebrows. "Very. The sooner you leave, the sooner you achieve your goal." He cast a quick look out into the snow. "And the darker it gets, the colder it is. So you'd better hurry."

Rayzor's mouth opened and closed a couple times, as he tried to think of an argument, but eventually he let his shoulders slump in defeat. Dejectedly, he turned and started to slink out of the cavern.

"You can do it, sweetheart!" Bean tried, giving him a pat as he walked by, but Meyers could tell by the emotion coming off of her in waves that she was a little relieved it wasn't her who'd had to go out into the frozen wilderness.

Rayzor turned and looked at them all once more before disappearing out into the snow.

As soon as he was gone, the ice healer rubbed his massive paws together. "The beginning of the ritual is complete. Thank you for your patience. Now, may I find you all something warm to drink?"

The rest of the night was painfully awkward, to say the least. Meyers was rather talented at blocking out secondhand embarrassment and the likes (probably courtesy of the fact that he just didn't care), but the evening in the cave made him want to physically cringe.

After Rayzor had left, the ice bear had led Sheer away to a different room that Meyers had glimpsed from a distance. It was entirely covered in bluish-white ice, with only a single protruding, flat rock structure to lay her body down upon. Just the sight of the completely frozen room made him shudder, so he was careful to keep his distance. The cold was too much for his old bones and scales these days.

Their host had then returned to the main room and offered them some sort of steaming beverage, to which both Golurk and Zero had refused. Bean had stared daggers into both of them, and tried to nudge Meyers into making them accept it. He knew it was only polite for them to take the drink, but he also didn't blame them, to a degree. He got the feeling that Golurk wasn't taking it because of Rayzor, who was sitting outside in the cold rather than drinking something warm. And Zero- well, he had no idea why Zero did anything, actually. Maybe he didn't like mint.

So Meyers sat clutching a clay cup with something warm and minty, letting the steam clear his nostrils, and the other three had sat and waited for him to finish it. By the time he had finished it, he was contemplating smashing the cup against the table they were seated around.

The rest of the evening dragged on at a painful pace. The Beartic wasn't much of a conversationalist, so he merely showed them to the room they were welcome to sleep in and told them they could go where they like. He then retreated to the ice-covered room.

Bean and Meyers decided that the best course of action was to curl up in the corner of the room and wait for Rayzor to return. Meyers drowsed for a couple hours before something dragged his eyes open again. Bean was still asleep on the top of his head, but Golurk and Zero had disappeared from the room, leaving them alone.

Carefully, as to not disturb Bean, he rose to feet and prowled out into the hall. The cave was pitch dark now, without the daylight filtering in from the entrance. Meyers poked his head around the corner and saw the ice room was empty, except for Sheer.

A hushed voice from the direction of the kitchen area caught his attention. Carefully, quietly, he crept forward enough to see into the room with the shadows still shrouding his face.

Zero and the ice healer were standing behind the table, discussing something, but their voices were too quiet to make words out of. Zero's mouth was still moving, probably interrogating the healer on how exactly he completed his process, and the Beartic himself looked a little worn out.

Meyers bit back a snort of amused exasperation. Poor chump. Zero's got enough questions to make anybody want to tear their ears off. Neither of them seem angry or distressed, though, so he assumed everything was fine. Still, curiosity gripped him.

They were probably being quiet so as to not wake him and the others, but it seemed almost… secretive. In the clutches of a childish fascination, he started to lean forward, but Bean began to wake up and shift on his horns at the movement. He gritted his teeth and he hurriedly retreated from the hallway and back into their room, careful not to let his claws drag on the stone.

Bean gave a tiny yawn and leaned back as he settled down again. "What are you trotting around for, darling?" she murmured, paddling her little feet in the air.

"Nothing. It's fine," he grunted, resting his head on his talons.

Bean gave a little noise of understanding, but didn't go back to sleep. "Where did everybody go?"

"Zero's out in the kitchen, and Sheer's still in that weird room. Golurk-" He paused for a minute.

He hadn't seen Golurk anywhere, and there wasn't exactly anywhere for him to hide. Oh, great stars. This night could only get worse. "Damnit!" he snapped out loud, rising to his feet again.

Bean squeaked as she attempted to sit back up. "What? What's wrong?"

"Golurk's gone. I can only wonder where he went," he growled sarcastically. If he got caught helping Rayzor, then all of their wasted time would be for nothing. He was going to tear them both in half when they returned.

"Oh, dear," Bean said sleepily, shaking herself. "That's not good, I suppose. Or maybe it is? Hopefully Beartic won't be too angry about that. There's not exactly anything we can do, though."

Meyers snorted and paced back and forth in the little room, lashing his tail, but he couldn't find the energy to begin another rant. He gave a last snarl and flopped to the floor defeatedly.

"Well, on the bright side," Bean continued, "at least they'll be back quicker now that they're both out there."

He snorted and scraped his claws on the stone. "Yeah, right. Well, they'd better make it quick. The healer's not going to be pleased if he realizes Golurk's gone to help him. We don't need anything else jeopardizing our chances at getting Sheer healed up."

Bean sighed and nestled deeper into the space between his horns. "Well, then… they'd better be back by sunrise… Let's just get some rest, and then we'll worry about it in the morning."

Meyers wanted to argue, but he knew it was futile. Bean's breathing was already slowing as she slipped back into sleep. He huffed a heavy sigh and lowered his head once again, staring at the stone wall in front of them and preparing for a sleepless night.

On record, this had to be the worst week of Rayzor's life. Like, yeah, some of the days in the orphanage were rough, but he had been so young he couldn't remember most of them now. But of course, of course, that damned Beartic had chosen him to go dig around in the snow for stars knew how long. This adventure was already emotionally and physically draining, but add some attempted murder, attemted framing for attempted murder, and getting sent to retrieve a literal chunk of ice really topped the whole grand time off.

Just think positive, he tried to tell himself as he shuffled through the snow, his scarf wrapped as high around his face as he could manage to protect from the bitter cold. It's not that bad. You're just- at the top of a mountain. Alone. Looking for something that you have no idea how to find.

He gave an exasperated sigh of defeat and sat down on the only snow-less patch of land he could, cradling his head in his hands. Who am I kidding? I'm never gonna be able to do this. He'd been wandering in circles for the last hour or so, unwilling to stray too far from the ice healer's cave lest he get completely lost. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any Nevermelt Ice within twenty minutes of the dwelling. Well, maybe there was, but he had no idea how to find it.

The sun had fully set by now, and the chill of air was already becoming unbearable. Miserably, he wondered if there were any mountain-monsters that could come up and eat him just so he could be done with this disaster.

He moped for a few more minutes before a sudden surge of frustration cleared the fog in his head. You know what? No. He wasn't just going to sit here and wait for something to eat him. He was going to stand up, find that stupid ice, bring it back, and prove himself to-

"Rayzor!" somebody whispered from behind him.

Rayzor shrieked and almost toppled forwards into the snow. "What- Golurk?!" He hadn't heard his traveling companion approach, but the spirit was standing behind where he had been sitting.

Relief was chased by the sensation of his stomach turning over. Oh NO. Was I talking to myself out loud? How long was he standing there? Oh stars. This is so embarrassing.

"I mean- Golurk!" Rayzor said nonchalantly, tilting his chin and trying to appear the least bit composed. "What- what are you doing here?"

"I came to help," Golurk told him. "I snuck out through the wall. Have you found anything yet?"

"Um- not… really…" Rayzor said, trailing off awkwardly. It was a little embarrassing to admit he hadn't really started looking in the first place.

"Well, I think I know where we can start." Golurk pointed at something over the hill.

Rayzor craned his neck, but he was too short to see whatever was out there. "I- uh, I can't see it."

"Oh- sorry. Here." Golurk knelt and held out an arm. The spirit was almost twice his height, and his hands alone were almost as big as Rayzor was tall.

Tentatively, he placed one foot on his outstretched palm and hoisted himself up, wobbling as Golurk stood up and stumbling to a stop at his shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I- woah." Just beyond the valley of the healer's den, the mountain crags curved steeply downwards around a circular area and coalesced to form a small, white island surrounded by a moat of icy water. On the center of the little island was a massive, frozen tree. Rayzor could see the ice glittering on its bark from their vantage point.

"I thought it looked important," Golurk offered.

"Uh, yeah. Definitely something we should check out." Rayzor glanced nervously at the dropoff again. "But… how are we supposed to get down there?"

"I think I can manage." Golurk moved up to the edge of their little corner of the mountain and looked down. "Hold on tight."

"Wait, no nonono-"

There was a feeling of weightlessness for a split second as they stepped off the edge of the cliff, and then Rayzor was shrieking again as the ground of the mountain valley flew towards them at a terrifying speed. After a few moments of falling, there was a jolt and grinding sound, and their pace began to slow. Not by much, but just enough that when they hit the ground, the impact was only bone-jarring and not bone-shattering.

For a moment there was silence, silent snow falling around them, and then Golurk started laughing.

"WHAT were you THINKING?!" Rayzor squawked, not caring that he sounded like a Tranquil that was getting its feathers plucked off. Above them, he could see long gashes in the wall where the ghost had dug in his fingers to slow their fall.

"You have to warn me before you do something like that! How are we going to get back up? Stop laughing!"

That only made Golurk laugh harder. "I didn't make any promises! I just said I'd get us down here!" He glanced down at Rayzor, who was curled in the crook of his arm, giving him a watery-eyed glare and keeping his mouth firmly shut. "Aww, come on, now. You lived to tell the tale, didn't you?"

He shifted his arm to move him closer, and Rayzor squeaked in protest. "Um-! You can put me down now!" The spirit obliged, and he scrambled down, trying to keep his heart from pounding.

It's just the adrenaline, he told himself, but it sounded like a poor excuse even in his head.

"So… what now?" Golurk looked out over the lake, towards the tiny island.

Rayzor tapped his hands together. "Umm… now might be a bad time to tell you I can't swim." "Me neither. Well, I've never tried, but I don't think it would go over very well."

That gave Rayzor an idea. "Wait! You're really tall. Maybe we could just- walk through it? I can't tell how deep it is."

Together, they walked up to the edge of the lake. The icy water was somewhat opaque, but still clear enough for them to be able to see the bottom. "It doesn't look deep at all!" Rayzor said, relieved that something was in their favor. "I think we could totally make it." He frowned and squinted into the water again. "I wonder what those weird ice formations at the bottom are, though."

When he glanced over at Golurk, he saw that he was completely still, and a sudden unease overcame him. "What? What's wrong?"

"I- I don't know. When we got close to the water, I got a bad feeling about this place."

Rayzor frowned. "What do you mean? Is- is there somebody else here?" He spun in a quick circle, anxiously looking for any creature that might be stalking them. Now that Golurk was here, he decided he didn't really want to get eaten by a mountain-monster anymore.

"No, I don't think there's anything else here. But… the lake…" His gaze became distant again, focused on some point in the water Rayzor couldn't see.

A rather unnerving thought occurred to him. If Golurk was a spirit, then… "Could it be… ghosts?"

"Well, that's what I thought!" Golurk said, which did nothing to ease his anxiety. "The feeling's weird and familiar, but at the same time, kind of… distant. Like I can see it, but only through a wall made of ice."

"Or… water," Rayzor murmured, suddenly on high alert. Could there be spirits waiting at the bottom of the pool, eager to drag them in? He watched for the slightest flicker of movement, the barest trick of the light, but the icy water was as silent and foreboding as ever.

He reached for a pebble on the shoreline and held it in his hands, debating. He wanted to throw it in the water, but if there were murderous ghosts lurking in the depths he wasn't exactly keen on disturbing their slumber. When he glanced over again, Golurk was looking at him expectantly.

With a resigned sigh, he gave the pebble a gentle toss and watched it arc over the water, waiting for something to leap out and drag them under. The outcome was not quite supernatural, but still disturbing nonetheless.

As soon as the rock touched the surface of the water, there was a violent cracking sound. The pebble was frozen before it could be completely submerged. They both stared in shock as it began to sink again, but much slower than before. For a moment, they could only continue to watch in terrified fascination.

"So… no swimming," Golurk said quietly. "Absolutely not," Rayzor murmured back. As the frozen rock drifted to the bottom of the lake, a sudden stab of cold- not from the mountain air- ran through him.

"Oh, stars. Golurk- do you think those ice sculptures- what if-" They both stared down at the frozen lakebed in awed horror. In the previously-ambiguous icicles, Rayzor thought he could make out the frozen shape of a Pokemon reaching for the surface here, one sunk to the bottom and laid on its side there…

"No swimming," Golurk said again, hooking two fingers around Rayzor's shoulder and backing a safe distance away from the deadly water.

"This is terrible!" Rayzor gasped, trying not to let the fear overtake him. "What kind of sick death-trap is this?! Why would that stupid healer send me to do this? He wanted me dead!"

"He did not!" Golurk hurriedly tried to assure him. "He just- he, uh…"

Rayzor crouched in the snow. "This was a trap! Now the others are going to be stuck there until we do an impossible task, and we're going to freeze to death in one way or another…"

For a moment there was silence, and then a creaking sound as Golurk dropped down next to him. "Hey. I'm sure we can figure it out." He glanced at the spirit from beneath his arm. When he didn't say anything, Golurk continued. "We've gotten ourselves out of a lot of scrapes. Personally, I think this is nothing." It was apparent the overconfidence was meant to make him smile, but he stubbornly kept his expression even.

"And- also…" The teasing tone subsided. "I know I can always trust you."

Those words had an annoying habit of tugging violently on Rayzor's heartstrings. In a single sweeping move, mostly to keep himself from simmering too long in his suddenly-electrified thoughts, he pushed himself to his feet and placed his hands on his hips with a frustrated huff.

"Alright, fine. We'll- I dunno- look for something. A way," he grumbled, shuffling through the snow and staring out over the water once more.

"Then let's start walking."

The answer presented itself soon enough in the most unpleasant way possible. On the opposite bank of the pond, almost entirely submerged beneath the horrible water, a path of unsteady stepping stones led straight to the island in the middle. Naturally, because of his smaller and more agile size, Rayzor was the one to make the perilous journey.

"If I survive this, you owe me big time," he grumbled to Golurk before cautiously placing one foot on the nearest stone. It was freezing cold and slippery, but had a wide enough surface for him to precariously balance on. After a few minutes of wobbling across the lake, with Golurk gasping every time he stumbled, he nearly collapsed with relief when he touched snow-coated ground once more.

"Are you okay?" Golurk called from the other side of the lake.

"I mean, I'm still alive," Rayzor snorted back. "Now where do I-? Oh."

The dangerous trip had been worthwhile after all. The massive, icy tree that took up most of the island appeared to be frozen to the core, all jagged bark and shimmering, spindly branches. Under closer inspection, it was also apparent that the trunk was dotted with small, three-pronged shapes that were much more familiar.

"They're growing- uh, growing?- all over the tree! I just have to cut one off!"

Unsheathing a blade, he brought it down on the nearest bud of Nevermelt Ice. A few tiny pieces of ice splintered off and fell to the ground, but the Ice didn't move. Rayzor hissed through his teeth and struck it again. A miniscule cut appeared between the ice and the tree, but it would take a hundred more slices to completely sever it.

"Rayzor?"

"I've got it. Just- give me a sec-" he shouted back between blows. Something creaked behind him.

"No, Rayzor-" Golurk's voice was lost in the sound of shattering ice. The Ice began to loosen from the tree trunk. "Rayzor!"

"WHAT?-" Rayzor's shout died in his throat when he turned to see the roiling surface of the lake. The calm waters had suddenly turned into a raging mess of waves. Something within them was glinting underneath the foam of the water. The frozen figures were moving.

Rayzor's heart dropped straight out of his chest. Panicked, he turned back to the and continued to hack away at the branch, his frantic movements jarring shards of ice and frozen bark in every direction. "Agh! It- it won't come off!" There was the sound of water bubbling, and then a horrifying crackling that sounded like ice settling into a glass of warm water. He didn't dare look behind him, or out in any direction but the tree.

A dreadful feeling of cold occupied the empty space behind him, and Golurk shouted out again, this time with more urgency. Gritting his teeth, he dug his claws into the bark of the tree and pivoted out of the way as the icy paws of some long-gone Simipour struck the tree where he'd been standing. Rayzor squawked in terror and kicked out, feeling frost crawl up his foot where it had made contact with the monster's body.

The sudden movement made something click underneath his hands. The Nevermelt Ice fell away from the tree, and he landed awkwardly in the snow as the Simipour reached for him again.

Deciding he'd rather take his chances with the roiling waters, he slid under the frozen Pokemon and leapt for the first stepping stone. He landed heavily and his unbalanced weight nearly sent him toppling into the water, but he took a hold of his momentum and lunged across the lake, feeling the deadly water lash at him with every step.

"Come on!" Golurk roared from down the bank. Rayzor could see traces of frost on his fingers, and many more shapes were heaving themselves up the bank towards them as he waited.

Breathless and shaking, the Bisharp stopped next to him and spun in a circle. "How are we supposed to get out?!" The walls were steep and smooth, not a handhold in sight. Golurk slammed one fist into the wall, leaving a sizable, crumbling dent and making him jump. "Uh- like this! Hopefully!"

Grabbing Rayzor by the arm, he put one foot into the indent and hoisted them up, leaving the horde of ice-monsters below them. In just a few more heaves up the wall, Golurk's size had given them the opportunity to hop up out of the canyon.

Rayzor collapsed in the snow as soon as they were on solid- unhaunted- land once more. "What? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Golurk knelt beside him.

The Bisharp thrust one arm in the air, with the Ice still clenched his fist, and groaned into the snow. "We did not just do that."

The ghost sat back, amused. "I think maybe we did."

Rayzor snorted, and sat up, the remnants of adrenaline still making his hands waver. "Great. Well, let's never do it again. I have some choice words for that stupid Beartic, setting us up on a cursed lake and acting like it's not a big deal-"

He paused to shield his face from the sudden light peeking through the mountain crags. "What-? Oh!" The sun was finally rising, painting the mountain air with purple and gold swatches.

"It's beautiful!" Golurk murmured. "It was hard to see the sunrise from the tower, with the forest in the way."

Rayzor started to agree, and then remembered why they were sitting in the snow half-nod. "Oh, no! It's morning! We've got to get back! Well- you do, anyways. I guess I can take my sweet time," he grumbled, wringing the melted snow out of his scarf as he pushed to his feet.

"I guess so," Golurk said, though he seemed disappointed. "Well, I'll see you in a bit. This was fun, by the way," he added, making Rayzor scoff. "Well, minus the almost-getting-drowned-by-ice-ghosts part. But, like- doing stuff together. It was cool."

Rayzor froze, feeling a bit of adrenaline leak back into his blood. "Yeah. Yeah. Y'mean, like as friends, or…?" He regretted the awkward question as soon as it came out of his mouth.

Stars. Why did I say that… What else would he mean? Where had that question even came from?

"Uh- I mean, I was under the impression we were friends," Golurk replied jokingly. "Unless you secretly don't like me, which would be unfortunate."

"No! I- I lo- of course I like you. We're friends." The last part felt stupid and forced, and he winced internally as Golurk looked over at him. "Ah, sorry- it was a joke. I didn't mean to- uh-"

Rayzor snorted and gave a lopsided smile, trying to mask his panic. "No, it's not- it's not that big of a deal, dude. Man. I just-"

Golurk gave him a look. "...You're acting really weird."

"What? No! I'm definitely not." He reached out a hand to lean against a nearby outcropping of rock and missed entirely, nearly falling over in the process.

"Are you alright?" the spirit pressed. "Seriously. Did something happen? Did I say something? You were fine just a second ago-"

"No! It's not you." Rayzor opened his mouth to say more, but fell silent instead. Well, the issue was that it was him, actually. But not in a bad way. Or… Maybe it was a bad way. He wasn't sure.

It was all clicking painfully into place. The denial and haze was disappearing as the air grew warmer, and he suddenly wished that they would come back and cloud his vision once more. Sheer's scoffs and sidelong glances and Bean's knowingly smiles floated in and out of his thoughts.

"Well, I mean- I- like- you…" As soon as it was out of his mouth, his stomach dropped. STARS. WHY DID I SAY THAT. He sucked in a breath through his teeth and turned away from Golurk, sure he could hear the pounding of his heart or feel the heat coming off his face.

Behind him, Golurk was silent for an agonizingly long moment. "...What?"

"Nothing! Nothing. Nothing. Nothing-"

"No, I thought you said-"

"It's-! Not important right now!" Rayzor hissed back, terribly aware of how rude he was being but not emotionally stable enough to fix it. "We need to get back. Like, right now, I think. I'm leaving. Bye. Um, well I guess we're going to the same place so I'll just meet you there-"

Now he was just rambling. Oh, stars, it was getting worse by the second. Without another word, he hurried off through the mountains, trying to keep the embarrassment from tripping up his feet as he left Golurk standing bemusedly in the snow.

His face must have been ice-pale when he stepped back into the cave, because both Meyers and Bean made noises of surprise when they saw him return. "Oh, sweetheart! You're back! Are you okay?! You look as if you've seen-" She paused and gave an innocent whistle. "Oh, no ghosts out there, I'm sure…"

She winked once, but frowned when he barely gave an inch of reaction. "Hon, what's wrong? Did you find the Ice? The healer's still with Sheer, but-" Rayzor gave a dejected grunt and held it out to her. The shape and temperature had stayed perfectly intact, even when clenched in his burning hands.

The Swoobat gave a crow of triumph and fluttered up onto his shoulder. "Incredible job! Let's go give it to the healer!" Rayzor dragged his feet past Meyers, who was sweeping his tail back and forth to enthrall Zero, and stopped at the edge of the ice-covered room.

The Beartic glanced up and nodded sagely when he saw the Ice in Rayzor's hands. "Good. Bring it here. I will not be able to hide the scar, nor bring back the eye, but I can seal it so that it does not harm your Cryogonal further."

He pinched the ice between two huge claws and dropped into a bowl of something viscous and blue. It melted into the liquid, much to their surprise, and then the healer gently laid it across the gash in her face. Before their eyes, the mixture began to pale and set smoothly onto Sheer, turning just as cold and hard as the rest of the ice.

As they waited, the ice healer looked up at Rayzor. "You got your mission done quickly. Perhaps I underestimated you."

Rayzor, who had been stuck in a mortified haze since he'd walked into the cave, snapped out of it long enough to snarl, "You sent me into a TRAP! I almost died! How could you expect anyone to survive a lake full of frozen, dead Pokemon?!"

For once, the Beartic looked bemused. "What? Of course not. Nevermelt Ice is found in caverns deep within the mountain. How far did you travel?" He pinned his ears back in confusion.

"Are you serious? I walked five minutes and there was a huge valley with a lake and an island, and anything that fell into the lake froze instantly."

The healer cocked his head. "Hm. Interesting that you would find such a place." More to himself, he murmured, "Sometimes I doubt its existence."

Rayzor blinked and shook his head, too tired and embarrassed to argue. "Whatever."

Bean tittered and brushed his face with one wing. "Now, dear, you're just tired. You've been awake all night. Perhaps you should get a bit of rest before we move on. There's a cave down the hall where we were sleeping…"

Zero's voice echoed from the main room. "Golurk! Welcome back-" a sharp noise as Meyers cleared his throat- "...to the waking world."

Rayzor tried to bite back a groan, but Bean twitched her ears. "Dearest, what's wrong? Did something happen?" She fluttered out onto an icy perch on the wall, hopping up and down as the cold bit into her feet. The Beartic ignored them and returned to his work.

"It's fine," he sighed. "I just- embarrassed myself, I guess. I…" For some reason, he couldn't find it in himself to tell Bean the entire story. He tried to blame it on the fact that the ice healer was rather unsubtly eavesdropping from his table.

Bean seemed to understand enough to be sympathetic. She fluttered back down to his shoulder. The weight was somewhat reassuring. "It's alright, honey. I understand. I just don't want to see you two fight, okay? If you need help fixing something, or solving an argument, you can always call me."

She puffed out her chest in a teasingly prideful way, and Rayzor felt himself smile despite the haze of tiredness. "Thanks, Bean. I- I really appreciate it."

"Any time, dearie!"

There was a crisp, icy sound from the table, followed by Sheer's drowsy voice. "What a disgustingly soppy conversation to wake up to."

"It- it was here! I swear to all the stars above!" Rayzor rubbed at his eyes as if that would make the frozen lake disappear. The valley below stayed silent and empty.

"...Right." Sheer was floating next to him, looking down at the empty slope with disinterest.

Zero leaned on his shoulder from the other side. "There is no scientific explanation for that." After a few moments of contemplation, he tried "A mirage, perhaps? A trick of the light? But that would not explain why it is so wholly invisible now, or why it was tangible before."

"You say that as if magic doesn't exist," snorted Sheer, turning around. "Well, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm ready to get out of here. Didn't like that old bear."

Zero frowned. "Why not? He did nothing to arouse suspicion."

The Cryogonal gave a narrow, one-eyed look. "I never said anything about suspicion."

For a tense moment there was strained silence, but Zero simply blinked and continued moving back towards where Bean, Meyers and Golurk were waiting for them.

Sheer glared at Rayzor, who put his hands up in mock defense. "What? I didn't say anything."

"That was weird. Zero's weird. He's hiding something."

"I like to imagine he's saying these things just because it gets a reaction out of you," Rayzor said.

She gave him a particularly cold huff. "Hilarious."

Rayzor dawdled behind her as they returned to the rest of the group until she turned around and stared at him with an air of frustration. "What? What did I do?"

After a few more moments of a long look, she sighed. "I cannot believe I'm going to ask you this, but if you're going to whine and sulk the rest of the journey then I'm going to go mad."

Rayzor shifted uncomfortably. Ask him what? Oh, if it was about Golurk, he thought he might as well just sink into the snow and never return…

"Do you want to talk about it?"