Dear Sister, why do you not smile?

"Vicky… you can't mean that," Dean said as he looked at her, nearly spent and shocked by her proclamation. One that seemed to be the most shocking decision she had made thus far.

"I'm sorry Dean." She said with sadness in her voice. It was painful, even for her…

But she had something far, far more important to worry and think about.

"B-But… we can make this work. I'm always there for you, I've always been by your side, right? Surely, we can pull through, we've always pulled through, together." He replied as he stepped forward and wished to hold her hand, only for Vicky to step back and look away. She placed a hand on her other arm and tried to catch her breath, wishing to not make a scene.

"Not this time Dean. I'm sorry. I really am, but Amy needs me and I can't choose you over her." She said with a resolute but painful tone in her voice. Yet she remained steadfast and enduring in that proclamation as it was what her heart spoke in that given moment.

Even if Dean cast a tear right in her face, or even if he grew mad, and said words at her, Vicky would calmly let the currents hit her rather than let it sweep her feet up. She would kid herself if she found this okay or acceptable in the first place, but she would be lying to herself as well in thinking that she could maintain and keep up what semblance of a relationship she had left with him.

Dean was kind. He was the model boy that many would like in a relationship…

But as Amy got hurt and as her grieving and suffering continued, she would find herself having difficulty juggling aspects of her life that an older, earlier version of herself would find essential. Worse, when it came down to the wire, Vicky still carried within her the deep-seated guilt of being the sole reason why Amy nearly lost her life in the first place.

"So… this is it?" he asked, not in defiance nor even in anger, but in defeat and disbelief. He looked at her as if his entire world had just simply ceased and Vicky would have felt the same as well, but she knew he understood why she felt this way… she knew he understood why this also needed to happen.

Instead of saying anything else, she wished to step away and leave him but before she could even step any further, she turned around and embraced him. One final, genuine moment of thanks to him as they exchanged how much they cared for each other.

They separated after what felt like a minute as they stared into each other's eyes, Vicky nodding with a thankful smile as she quickly got out of his grasp and walked away. Dean looked at her silhouette as she left him, not even bothering to use her flight in that situation as she went home.

As Vicky walked away, she finally exhaled a good deal of emotions from her chest. The pain remained; all of the bottled-up emotions were only half-emptied but… it felt a bit freeing even for just a small minute moment to just be honest with herself.

Many things had changed…

Far too many since Amy was hospitalized.

Her entire life down to even the most personal of things as the devastating guilt in her system ate her entirely. It ate her so much that it took her mom and family to force her to pick herself back up again. It went to the extent that she found herself horribly different compared to who she once was and her aura started to become an issue to many of her classmates and the people around her.

She couldn't remember anymore how many times she was called to either the school's counselor or the principal's office for complaints about her aura, her current attitude, and her failing grades. She could still remember her mom nearly screaming in her defense as one of the few very vocal parents who filed a complaint had issued nearly something serious down the line.

Even the Wards that were in her school were trying their best to help her in a way that would seem beneficial to the people around her, instead of herself. Sadly, that included Dean.

In the end, Vicky found herself isolated and nearly far removed from everyone. She ate alone and by herself in many places around the campus, or when class was not in session, she would place herself out in the school fields, sitting by herself as she watched the horizon change every so often.

She barely even used her phone anymore, unless something important came up…

And sadly through her isolation, it was there that she realized how many true friends actually existed in her… social circle. Outside of the Wards and some people she knew, the only ones who even dared to come close to her in her depression were her family and Dean…

A few select others she once thought of as close friends came by, but they only did so once and never came back again.

She did not mind it, however, even as things grew worse for her. Since the only important thing right now was making sure her sister was alright.

"…" she hummed to herself in a yearning, almost hopeful tune as she thought about Amy.

Her dear, sweet sister. She was so happy after the news of her waking up was told to her by Aunt Sarah. She was so glad that she did not care at all and just wished to see her with all the love and compassion she could offer…

But even that became a complicated, complex affair because… Amy forgot everything.

She even forgot her and the rest of her family.

Amy was just, never the same.

What was there of her old sister was gone. Even as happy as Vicky was seeing and talking to her sister, it was painful seeing her so confused, so out of her depth like she regressed back to being a small innocent child who was so amazed and shy about everything.

Amy was even scared of her at times. In moments when they were alone, Amy would simply feel guilty as if she was trying to uncover a memory that would never come back and Vicky would nearly always wish to change the subject so that she could make sure her sister was comfortable.

She did her best, so much so that with each attempt of reminding and even talking about how she and Amy once were in their many memories, she would realize that the current sister she had just kept looking at her, lost as if she had never found her way back…

And that tore her to pieces, Vicky would never state it out aloud or even towards her in any fashion but instead, she shouldered on, to the point that the only thing that mattered was keeping Amy happy.

So… she did. At the cost of her school life, her social life, everything…

Vicky did her best to take care of Amy and be there for her so she started neglecting everything. When she was separated from her sister it was so jarring and empty that she begged her mom to just allow her to stay when the field trip for her school came.

But she didn't allow it, so the entire week where she was gone she was relegated to being alone, figuratively speaking as she waited for the day to see Amy again.

Vicky smiles faintly to herself, thinking that in some way it wasn't all bad.

It was strange that with all of the sadness it was her dad that came out of his depression and started being himself again. He was happy, even determined and resolute in making sure their family would be back up on their feet again.

The best part was seeing how much her dad had affected Amy.

She started to come out of her shell, out of her own loneliness and Amy looked better, happier.

It was like a spark of hope that was just ignited and to Vicky, that was the start for something good.

But… looking at Amy still left a few mixed feelings inside her head, chief among them was that one conversation they had before Vicky left for her school trip.

"I'm sorry Victoria," Amy said as she sat there on her bed looking at her with a face full of contemplation and guilt.

"Sorry? What are you sorry about?" she asked, nearly baffled.

"I'm sorry you lost your sister… and instead got… me," Amy said as she started to wipe her teary eyes off. Vicky quickly found herself getting to her and trying to calm her down as she held her sister's hand.

"Amy… you were never lost. Y-You came back to us a-and there's nothing to be sorry about that, okay? I'm here… Mom and Dad are here, we're happy. We're all happy you're here and well." She said as Amy's eyes never abated, the guilt still stuck in them as if she had made a grievous sin.

"B-But I'm not Amy…" she proclaimed with all the pain in her voice as Vicky found herself tearing up. It was there that she realized how much her sister was lost…

And that… how much impact this had on her as well as her family.

Because of just one… fatal mistake on her part.

Vicky recalled hugging her sister at that point in time. Amy remained cautious and friendly with her but even with the way she was opening herself up again, Vicky could still feel the inner depth of her feelings towards her and it just…

It just made Vicky completely torn inside.

Sighing, she hastened herself on walking her way faster back home. She may have chosen to just fly back, which was more efficient, but Victoria found the sanctity and peace of mind in walking quite comforting in some sense. It cleared her head in days where it was too much and with all the feelings bubbling up within her, she decided to simply forego flying for now.

Surely things would be peaceful on the way home.

Surely.

THUD!

"ACK!"

Victoria found her emotions flaring up to the extreme as she shoved the criminal into the nearest wall. The man was now bleeding from his mouth and his face, angry and scared as it could have been stared down at her as Vicky saw the pretty obvious Empire tattoo on the base of his neck.

She snarled after seeing the unlucky bastard accost a poor woman off the street.

He had a gun in his hand earlier but with the way she nearly screamed at this man as she held onto his throat, her grip tightening by the second, he had no way of fighting back, diminished as he was.

THUD!

She shoved him again as the man gagged with her hold. Victoria saw red as memories of screams and the day of Amy's hospitalization came to the forefront. This man had nothing to do with it, nor was he of the gang or of the villain responsible for the current state her sister was in, but the fact that Victoria just jumped in with her emotions as high as they were created a haze of horror and weariness that made even the civilians around her wary and scared.

She snarled at him as she reared back her fist, just enough to hurt this man so that he could no longer hurt others… but before the anger in her head spiked up to further levels, she suddenly heard the ringtone of her phone unexpectedly turn on.

Her grip loosened and she slowly tried to calm herself down as realization finally dawned on her.

The stare and look of the people around her made Victoria understand as her ringtone continued.

She let go of the man somewhat gently into the ground as he looked at her, scared as some of the onlookers blinked at her actions. She then exchanged looks with the owner of the nearby shop for a second as he quickly understood what needed to be done.

He quickly called the authorities as Victoria looked at her shaking hands. There was a trickle of blood within them as she shakingly took her cell phone out and saw…

… that it was Amy that was calling her.

"H-Hello?" Victoria said as she answered the call, trying to calm her own voice down as people around her scrambled while sirens blared a few blocks away to get to her position.

"Victoria? Oh, is there something important going on?" Amy asked through the phone, a funny memory came up when Victoria recalled teaching her sister how to simply make a call. It was tedious, it was fun, but at the end of the day despite Amy's clumsiness towards technology, she was able to make simple calls that each day made Vicky brighten up before she slept in the trip.

"N-Nothing… I… I was just doing hero work." She lied as she tried to smile even as a tear trailed down her cheek. The sirens blared around her as police and medical personnel tried to get the man up.

"Oh! I hope everything is okay. It's amazing that you're such a dedicated hero, I think whoever gets saved by you is thankful for your service."

Victoria remembered how scared and wary some of the people around her were earlier, even the woman she saved as her grip on her phone tightened and her hands shook a lot more in the process. "Y-yeah… she's okay. I f-fought the bad guy off." She said as her lips quivered.

"That's amazing! I wish… I wish I was as brave as you." Amy happily said as Victoria's chest felt heavy while the sounds of a motorbike coming near her were heard. Eventually, Victoria saw the silhouette of Miss Militia sporting a concerned expression looking at her while the call was still taking place.

"Will you come home late? Mark and Carol are starting to get worried. I'm getting worried too, you haven't gone this late before." Amy asked.

"I-I'll be there soon, I j-just need to finish a few things up, okay Amy?" Victoria once again lied as she saw Miss Militia walk towards her.

"That's great! I have a surprise for you, or what amounts to a surprise, Mark helped me a bit but I assure you I did my best to make it as good as it could be and… maybe we can share it together?"

Victoria's hands continued to shake as she tried to smile. "S-Sure that sounds wonderful, I-I need to go now Amy."

"Oh I'm sorry… b-but please take care and come home soon!" her sister said as Miss Militia was now looking at her, barely a foot away with a sigh.

"Goodbye sis." Victoria mustered as she heard Amy ask how to turn the call off as it ended.

Miss Militia placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as they both walked away.

Victoria no longer remembered how much her mom scolded her that night in the Rig.

Sitting there in that white room as her mother and aunt tried to talk to their Protectorate and PRT colleagues had been tiring, very tiring. She even slept midway through until she felt a hand touch her shoulder. As she woke up, she saw her dad looking at her with a concerned face.

They quickly left the building without any word exchanged as she figured that her mom and aunt still had a few talks to go through. Her dad drove them home as she leaned on the window of the car and looked at the passing buildings passively.

It was then that her dad finally spoke.

"Are you okay honey?"

She hummed back, being enough of an answer on her part. A few seconds of silence roamed between the two of them as she heard him sigh. "Look honey, I'm not going to pretend that things are okay in your situation, but… I want you to know that I understand why you did it."

She hummed back as she turned her head to her dad.

"I'm mad too. More so now than before actually, but if we're going to get through with this with your sister, we need to do better. Do you understand me on that?" her dad said with a smile as they drove to their driveway and stopped.

She was finally home on God knows what hour in the night.

She looked at her dad and still saw her hands shaking. "I… I don't know how to dad. It's so hard." She said with all the honesty she could muster as she felt her dad's hand comfortably squeeze her shoulder before putting her into an embrace.

"I know sweetie… but we're doing this for her and we should be there for her as it counts." He said as she nodded while Mark kissed the top of her head. They both got out of the car afterward and walked in silence as her dad thanked her uncle for staying behind to guard their house.

As the two talked, Victoria walked to their kitchen, wishing to drink a glass of water before going upstairs and sleeping. As she did, she stopped when she saw a heart-shaped object placed on a simple plate. As she stepped closer to see it, she saw that it was made of chocolate and there was a note placed right beside it…

"I hope it's not as sweet that it will ruin your teeth? But I do hope you enjoy it…"

Victoria nearly wanted to happily tear up again at this small gesture of love and kindness as she heard her dad's footsteps trail behind her. She took a small piece out of the treat and placed it into her mouth as she smiled, deeply this time.

Happy enough that despite her day, this small act of kindness redeemed it all in her heart.

She chewed lovingly as she thought about Amy at that moment before she turned to her dad.

"Is it good?" Mark asked.

She laughed even with her tears as she nodded. "It's too darn sweet." She said as they both laughed. Victoria embraced her dad as they both continued to giggle softly to each other.

Moments later as she prepared herself for bed she walked to Amy's room and laid down beside her sleeping sister who was holding her lion-stuffed toy far too tight in her arms. Vicky smiled as she stroked her sister's head while that small sliver of hair stuck out like a sore thumb.

She smiled deeply as she looked at Amy, who seemed to feel her hands as she whispered sleepily to her. "D-Did you like my chocolate?"

"It was sweet," Victoria whispered.

Amy's sleepy expression to which she did not even bother to open her eyes simply morphed into a cute frown as she held the stuffed toy tighter under the sheets. "Aw…" she moaned as she drifted back to sleep while Victoria giggled before getting into the blankets as well.

She slowly started to drift off as well until she felt her dad thinking of separating them again.

She then moaned in displeasure as she then whispered, "Please, just for tonight."

Victoria then felt her dad kiss both of their heads as the two Dallon sisters let sleep take them…

Whether they shared sweet dreams together was anybody's guess.

"Does this look good on me?" Amy asked as Victoria perked up, seeing her sister holding a dress in her hands as they both went shopping together in the mall. A feat that was only possible days later after Victoria was allowed to get out of the house again…

With supervision of course, and this time their mother came along as they needed to buy and do a few things. In this case, while their mother was busy with affairs in another shop, they were allowed to go around the mall in a limited sense.

One of these was getting into a nearby boutique that both Victoria and Amy were pretty much interested in. Of course, Victoria had to roll Amy around in her wheelchair as they checked the merchandise, but it was fine on her part, not even a hindrance as some of their shopping bags were dangling on the handles of Amy's chair.

The last few days while troublesome on Victoria's part were okay when it came to home.

A few missteps allowed her a week off from school and everyone even as her own image was tarnished somewhat to the public eye. Still, the relationship between her and Amy despite a few hiccups here and there was much, much better than they were before.

Even more so after talking to her father about what happened at the time she was away.

It was amazing actually, spending the time with her sister as much as possible and even small moments like this made it all the more worth it seeing that her bleeding heart was healing, even if slowly.

"You seem to like a lot of blues lately in your clothes… thinking of Legend perhaps?" she asked with a raised eyebrow as Amy blushed with a frown.

"No, I'm not… and why would I idolize him anyway? I got Mark and you. I don't need another hero in my life. Certainly not one that I haven't met before." Amy explained shyly as Victoria smiled even if a bit guilty with that amount of praise for her.

"Well, I can agree on Dad's part. He's been doing a lot more lately compared to me, but are you sure you really want another blue blouse? You've either been getting blue, white, or even soft yellow lately with your wardrobe… kinda boring don't you think?"

"But I like those colors! They're elegant… a-at least to me."

"Says the little troll who accidentally bought an entire box of lion-themed pajamas from the internet." Victoria joked as Amy started to grow nearly crimson as she argued about it in embarrassment.

"I didn't know what shipping order meant! I… I thought c-clicking the number up meant how many days it would take to get to our destination." She said as she covered her face in shame while Victoria giggled.

"Stop making fun of me!" she shouted as she started to try and hammer my hands holding her chair while I continued giggling.

"I still remember how Mom looked at you, it was so priceless."

"HEY! STOP ALREADY!" Amy shouted until they accidentally bumped into a customer who lost her hold of her shopping bag. Victoria quickly picked up the said bag and apologized to the woman carrying it…

Who looked at her with the most forced and wary smile she could muster. "U-Uh… thank you?"

"Y-You're welcome, ma'am, sorry for the inconvenience," Amy said in my place as I froze.

The woman walked away as Victoria stood there, silent and nearly lost the mood as Amy looked up at her. "What was that about?" her sweet sister asked.

"Nothing… let's just move on." She said, trying to change the subject.

"Is there something wrong, Victoria?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just need some air."

Amy did not say another thing as they left the shop and sat at the nearby fountain in the middle of the mall. They both could see Carol finishing up on her negotiation with probably a possible client as Amy and Victoria remained near the fountain watching the sights around them.

"Victoria?" she heard Amy say.

"Hm?"

"Why do you not fly as often again? Or go out as a hero?"

Victoria looked at her almost unsure and shocked at the sudden question. A question she was unprepared entirely.

"I… I don't know sis."

"Is there a problem? I-I can help? Maybe it's a powers thing? Are you tired? Did something happen?" Amy asked in a series of questions that all had a tinge of worry in them.

Victoria just looked lost to her. "No, there's nothing wrong at all. Not in the sense that you're thinking of."

"Then what is it?"

Victoria then looked at the fountain while looking at her hands. They were not shaking anymore, nor were they covered in blood, but they still looked different to her. "I just don't know if I'm cut out for this." She admitted as she looked at two young kids who were playing near the edge of the fountain.

"I don't understand," Amy said.

Victoria then shook her head and looked at her sister. "It's nothing, sis, I don't think we need to talk about it that much."

She was about to say something else when she found Amy holding her hand.

"No, I don't understand what you mean by that. Y-You're a hero. A real hero."

"Amy I'm-

Amy squeezed her hand a bit. "The fact that you sacrifice so much of your time, effort, and compassion for me is enough for me to see you as one. You're kind Victoria. So, utterly kind that I feel… very unworthy of your love and effort."

Victoria nearly gasped as she was at a loss for words. Her lips parted ever so briefly trying to muster anything as Amy smiled, deeply and lovingly at her.

"It's not even that… you're brave, virtuous, and despite caring for me and your family… You still go to great lengths being a hero for others beyond that." Amy said as she patted my hand with her other.

"I… I could never do those things because I'm scared and I don't think I'm that brave, nor do I believe too much in myself… but you, you give me hope that I can despite it all…"

"Amy…" Victoria felt a sharp elation within the deep parts of her heart as she heard Amy's words.

"You make me believe I can be brave… You make me believe that I can be much better than what I currently am and… I could never see anyone be more worthy of being a hero than that."

"T-Thank you." Victoria reflexively said as tears managed to build up in her eyes.

The overwhelming gratitude and thankfulness in her eyes showed it all.

They both embraced each other as Amy held on to her.

"I know for a fact that Amy would have felt the same, dear sister." Amy finally said as Victoria nearly wanted to cry her eyes out.

As they separated, they both giggled at each other as the two kids near them started to argue on the ball they were playing together with. Their ball then accidentally flew out of their arms and crashed into the middle of the fountain.

They both complained and accused each other as Victoria and Amy watched.

The two eventually cried until Victoria, now feeling much more confident floated towards the ball and took it so that she could return it back.

Amy watched with a smile on her face as that one random act of simple kindness solidified her feelings of idolization for Victoria. At the same time, as Victoria calmed the two thankful kids she smiled back with fondness, thinking about what she did. A great big smile expression of relief on her face emanated as she floated back to Amy who was similarly smiling. Their auras glowing with all the bright colors to people who would similarly feel it as they passed by…

"I wish I could fly like you… soaring towards the clouds, the stars, the sky as the wind blows around you." Amy said dreamily as they both saw their mother wave at them so that they could all go home.

"We used to fly together as I held you in my arms back in the day," Victoria said.

"Was it amazing?" Amy asked.

"Yes… in a way," Victoria said, nearly lying knowing how much of a mundane thing flying was to her and Amy back in the day.

"I wish I could experience that as well, what I would do to also fly with you as we both reach for the stars." Amy dreamily said as Victoria rolled them away.

"Amy… hey…" Victoria whispered as she tried to wake her sister up.

The poor girl groaned as she opened her sleepy eyes. Both sisters wearing the lion pajamas that Amy accidentally ordered from the internet.

"Hm? What is it… Victoria?" she said with a yawn.

"Come on… grab onto my shoulders and neck, I'll do the rest," Victoria said as Amy looked confused. She did what she was told, slowly this way, as her arms snaked around her sister's back. She held onto her tightly as Victoria held onto her backside as support with her own arms.

"What are we doing?" Amy whispered.

"You'll see."

Victoria slowly opened Amy's window and they flew.

They flew towards the full moon, the wondrous starry sky at speeds that were just enough to be safe for both of them.

Victoria smiled as she heard her dear Amy gasp in amazement and excitement as her eyes, now as wide as saucers glimpsed the beautiful skyline, the bountiful clouds…

And the sheer wonder of the world being shined on by the far, lonely stars in the beyond.

Amy laughed…

Giggled…

And cheered as Victoria flew freely into the air, tasting the breeze as it passed them, feeling the joyful sight and wonder of their world in full picture.

"THIS IS AMAZING!" Amy shouted at the top of her lungs as Victoria smiled.

This was amazing. This was…

Wonderful in the best of ways.

"Wow." She mouthed to herself as the bountiful joy between the two was so immense that at that moment nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Nothing seemed sad or problematic.

It was just two girls flying freely into the starry landscape with nary a thought of the world around them. Hope burned bright in their hearts…

A powerful gust of hope within their free souls that would never waver even as the world was against them.

Amy at one point even removed her arms from Victoria's shoulders and freely cheered at them both as they flew by several feet up in the air above the buildings and rooftops. She cried out like a girl who escaped into freedom both literally and figuratively despite all the things that happened around them.

Victoria felt the same as she could finally breathe with relaxation and comfort after so long…

It was amazing.

"High-ho Silver, away!" Amy screamed as she laughed afterward.

Victoria then grinned at her and said, "What was that?"

"It came from this scary book I read… it just felt appropriate," Amy said as they flew.

"Sounds corny…"

"No, it isn't"

"Nah, it is Ames, just like the rest of you." She joked as Amy started to turn red again.

"I am not Vicky! How dare you say that?!"

They laughed together and argued as the two free spirits continued to fly into the night.

They thought of nothing else but the joy in their hearts…

And to Victoria, things might not have been perfect still, but the fact that she enjoyed this moment with her sister was enough…

It was enough to be herself again.

It was enough to somewhat be Vicky again.

AN: Bonus happy chapter, for happy thoughts because I need a happy week.

I initially intended to have another looming presence for Carol here, but I decided to hold it off for another chapter. They earned this moment, and I didn't want to ruin it at all.

As for any continuation forward, I don't know how this'll work with my main fic, since that's nearly finished now and the new chapter for the main fic is ongoing in the creation process, but we'll see. We'll see.

Hope you all enjoyed this very short sweet ride and I wish you all a good day.