Whoever reads this in the future surely knows of my exploits. My feats. My rises and falls.

And most importantly, they will know about my final struggle against fate, throwing myself against an entire region in the hopes that their blood at my feet would quench the thirst for vengeance raging within me. They will know of my defeat at the hands of the three legendary siblings, their powers together at last.

All will know that tale; I made sure of that.

A tale of foolishness. Of suffering. Of hubris.

A complete fabrication. A lie.

Only once have the powers of the legendary siblings been brought together.

And it was by my hand.

----------------------------------------

Shadi lived by the motto 'If you want something done right, do it yourself'. Never was this clearer than right after someone she'd entrusted a task to fucked it up in the most moronic way possible which, lately, seemed to happen with increasing regularity.

The streets of Canalave made way for her as she walked, trails of curling darkness exuding from the back of her body like smoke, pooling in the air and obstructing what little moonlight there was. At her right, the ocean stood still like a sheet of endless black metal. Even the wind itself seemed to still at her presence, fearful of the furious blue gleam in her eyes and the frenetic rhythm of her steps, echoing as the only sound that could be heard in those streets.

There was no one out tonight. Good. She doubted she could have tamed her emotions at the moment, and it would have been a shame if any civilian had to pay for it.

No, only one person would be paying for this.

"Try again," she commanded. "Maybe she left town for some reason."

The eyes on her shadow gleamed, and so did hers. Shadi's vision went completely black and a moment after she saw a series of blurry images and garbled nonsense which made her head ache.

"Not possible," said Darkrai, his voice echoing inside her mind. "I cannot spy on her as long as she is near my partner."

Shadi clicked her tongue, hands balling into fists. "And her range is almost the whole fucking town. Great." She drove her one hand through her hair, starting to walk faster. "It's okay… it's okay. This isn't a problem, I can deal with this, Cyrus' fuck-up doesn't have to hurt my plan."

"Your panic is music to my ears. I hope with every fiber of my soul that this girl uncovers your secret."

"She won't," Shadi spat back, too fast for it to be a casual response. "And… and even if she does, there's no way she could stop me. Not in her current state. She'll…" Her lips felt dry. Her heart hammered in her chest. "She'll never master Uxie's powers. I'm sure of it."

"Then why are you heading with such panic toward the library?" asked Darkrai, a clear smile in his voice. "If this sister of yours is as incompetent as you believe her to be, then she couldn't possibly have stumbled upon it, could she?

Shadi swallowed, trying to keep her face as devoid of emotions as possible.

"Just in case," she whispered, lower lip trembling. "There's no way she… but yeah, just in case."

----------------------------------------

There was something about Candice, in the way that she acted and moved and talked, that Inyssa found oddly irritating, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Disregarding that strange moment where she'd mistaken her for someone else, every following interaction between them felt… cold, appropriately enough, she supposed. Not rude. Candice treated her with more politeness and attentiveness than anyone she'd ever met –a gesture she shared with everyone around her, clearly– but it felt somewhat forced and court when Inyssa was the recipient of that treatment.

Then again, it was just a hunch. It certainly wouldn't be the first time she'd over thought social interactions with new people and it sure as fuck would not be the last.

"Inyssa, please."

A steaming plate full of tomato soup was slammed in front of her, along with a rather heaping dose of homemade bread and a bottle full of deliciously clear-looking water. Candice stood at her side, arms crossed. The flower-patterned apron and rolled sleeves contrasted greatly with the demanding and honestly chilling look in her eyes. Hers was the kind of gaze that wouldn't take no for an answer. In that, at least, Inyssa saw something in common between them.

Not that she enjoyed being on the receiving end of it, though. She gulped and looked away toward Barry and Maylene –sitting at her left and right, respectively– both of whom seemed too fixated on their own plates to come to her defense, the bastards.

Candice placed both hands on her hips, frowning. "I made more than enough for all of us, so would you please help yourself to another plate?" Despite the tone she tried to put on, the concern was still clear in her voice. "You've recovered from some pretty serious injuries no more than a few hours ago. I don't care how much you usually eat; it isn't enough."

Inyssa slightly shrunk into herself, a pale blush forming on her cheeks. Who did this girl think she was? She didn't look much older than her, but here she was lecturing her as though she were an adult and Inyssa a misbehaving child throwing a fit.

She opened her mouth to protest, but froze at the sudden look that Candice gave her.

"I…" She gulped, leaning back a few inches. "Ugh, fine. I'll eat some more, whatever." She looked to the side and grabbed the spoon, pursing her lips. "It's not that big of a deal. Jeez."

A warm smile formed on Candice's lips just before she breathed out, the sternness disappearing from her posture.

"Now that's what I like to hear. Everyone feels better after a nice, hot meal and some shared talk, isn't that right?"

Maylene smiled, giving the girl a kiss on the arm as she passed by her side and headed for her chair. "Sure thing, though I don't know if you needed to strong-arm her so much, love."

Candice let out a Hmph, raising her chin slightly. "You need a sturdy hand for cases like these," she said. "I'll be damned if I let someone be hungry while on my house."

Barry and Inyssa exchanged a look, the amused look on his face pissing her off even more. How dare he not defend her? Spitting out a scoff, she leaned forward and went to town on the tomato soup, the rumbling of her stomach betraying her true intentions. There was truly nothing worse than admitting someone else was right. Especially when they were so annoying.

"You know you're like… not much older than me, right?" Inyssa shot her an icy glare, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief. "You're, what? Nineteen? Twenty?"

"Twenty-one this autumn, actually." Candice beamed with pride as she said that, showing a row of perfectly white teeth. "Third youngest Gym leader in the history of the region, and second youngest to work in a trainer school." She glanced to the side, toward Maylene. Her expression softened. "The two of us became Gym leaders the same day, didn't we?"

"Hah. Yeah, that was one hell of an afternoon." Maylene reclined back into her chair, letting out a dreamy sigh. "The test to become a Gym leader wasn't nearly as hard as trying to keep my eyes off this one while we took it, I admit."

Candice raised an eyebrow, the curl of her lips seeming to ask Oh? "Are you suggesting I sabotaged your portion of the test, love? You would have scored higher if I weren't there, is that it?"

"Dunno about that, babe. To me that was just another challenge, and I aced the test anyway, didn't I? You're underestimating me here."

"Am I, now?" She rested her chin on her palm, a tiny smile forming on her thin lips. "How rude of me. Then I guess I have to make it up to you somehow, eh?"

Both guests stared at the couple with similar looks on their face, though Barry's seemed more amused, unlike Inyssa who looked as though someone had brought a piece of Grimer under her nose. Awkward didn't even begin to describe how she felt.

This is the sappiest shit I've ever had to sit through, she thought. It's pretty much what I imagine mom and Fantina act like together, only a bit less annoying.

"Am I missing something?" Uxie's voice sprouted from the depths of her mind, making her gulp on her drink. "This is not unlike what young Barry and you act like when you're alone, am I correct?"

Heat rose to her face. Thankfully, she had the excuse that she'd almost drowned on her own glass of water to cover up for it.

I mean… yeah, but at least we have the decency not to do that in public.

"I see… how odd, these human relationships are."

Inyssa let out a dry chuckle. Yeah, you're telling me.

"Anyway…" She cleared her throat, wanting to change the subject. "You said something about working at the trainer school? I didn't think they'd let someone so young teach there."

"Oh, yeah!" Barry chimed in, shoulders raised and a curious look on his face. "How come you're a teacher there? Aren't most students close to your age or something?"

"Dear goodness, no. We do things a bit differently here in Snowpoint. Since we don't count with as many… resources, let's say, for putting their skills as trainers to the test, most aspiring trainers study here until they're fifteen and then transfer to a more prestigious school somewhere else in the region if they want to continue down that path." She placed a hand against her chest, smiling. "So I teach kids and young teens exclusively, which seems to be my specialty."

Maylene nodded. "If you become a Gym Leader you're automatically qualified to serve as a teacher in a trainer school. Though…" She looked toward Candice with a disgruntled expression on her face. "I don't know why you'd bother, really. Dealing with stupid kids as a Gym leader is already enough of a pain in the ass for me."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Both Barry and Inyssa protested at that, which drew a satisfied smile from Maylene. She had probably expected that.

"We're not kids!" yelled Barry.

"And you're not much older than us, for starters," added Inyssa.

"Can it, bean sprout. I'm twenty and you're not even of age yet, so don't go comparing the two of us."

"What'd you say!? I'll have you know I'm turning eighteen next week so you can shove that smugness of yours up your–!"

A chill passed through the room. It felt as though the walls had disappeared for a moment and the blizzard outside had fallen onto the table. A shiver of panic ran down Inyssa's back. She clamped her mouth shut, almost biting her own tongue. Judging by the way Barry and Maylene stiffened, eyes wide, she figured they'd felt it too.

Slowly, nervously, she turned toward the source of that feeling. Candice sat with her hands in a steeple, chin resting atop her fingers, nothing short of a Seviper's glare in her eyes, directed straight at them. It reminded her of Sarah. The way her mere glance could paralyze someone to their core if she happened to be on a sour mood.

"Now, now," she said, voice cold and smooth. "You're not all going to start a fight in my living room, especially after I went through the trouble to cook a delicious meal for the express purpose of all of us getting along, are you?"

Barry was the first to react, leaning back, his back as straight as a plank. "N-no, of course not! Right, Niss?"

"I… yeah." She gulped, unable to find any will to protest. "Yeah, sorry for yelling."

That's all it took for the oppressive atmosphere to disappear. Candice let out a relieved sigh, her expression changing so smoothly into a pleasant one that Inyssa wouldn't have believed the one she had before if she hadn't seen it first-hand.

"Good. A meal is much more enjoyable when everyone is friendly toward each other."

Okay, I can see how she handles all those brats, thought Inyssa. That glare could stop a rampaging Tauros.

Maylene swallowed. She looked the least worried out of them, though only by a hair's width. "The blood-lust wasn't really necessary, babe."

"Of course… I'm sorry. It's a bad habit of mine." With a gentle push she moved her plate to the center of the table, leaning back on her chair. "Going back to what we were talking about before, it really isn't that much of a bother, regardless of me being fond of kids and teaching. We don't get many challengers here as it is, so I'm rarely busy as a Gym leader."

Barry and Inyssa perked up at that.

"Why not?" asked the first. "Shouldn't all the leaders have the same amount of challengers?"

Candice smiled. "That's a common misconception. Most trainers actually…"

"Quit." Inyssa nodded, grabbing her chin with one hand. "Of course. Only a fraction of the trainers that start their journey actually get to visit all eight gyms."

"Oh, right!" said Barry. "And most of them leave this place for last, right? Because it's so hard to get to?"

Candice nodded. "Not to mention the inhospitable weather conditions. And… I admit I'm not the most enticing challenge when it comes to Pokemon battles; I still remain at the bottom half of the Gym leader ranking."

The official League ranking… Inyssa remembered looking it up a few weeks ago. Candice was the sixth strongest, standing only above Roark and Gardenia. Then came Crasher Wake, followed by Fantina and Byron, whom usually traded places with one another every few months. Maylene had quickly risen in the ranks and now stood as the second strongest Gym leader in the region, with only Volkner of Sunnyshore as her superior.

She shivered at the thought of the man. There was a reason they'd left him for last; he was the first Gym leader to have not only remain in first place for so long, but to have also challenged the Elite Four multiple times in the past ten years, facing the Champion herself a total of five times so far. The mere thought of facing him sent a spark of excitement throughout her body, forcing her lips to curve into a smile.

Still, these two aren't bad for now, she thought, almost hungrily. As a matter of fact…

"Well, regardless of her low spot in that ranking, Gardenia gave us one hell of a fight nonetheless," she said, leaning forward on her chair. "So I hope you'll make this visit worth our time too. You know why we came all the way here, don't you, Candice?"

Both Gym leaders raised an eyebrow in such a similar way that Inyssa wondered which one had gotten it from the other. Maylene's lips quirked up, a defiant spark in her eye. Candice's wasn't as noticeable, but it was definitely there too, for the first time since she'd met the girl.

"I assure you I have no intention of being either of your punching bags. Despite my demeanor and proclivity toward Ice types, I still got that characteristic flame of a trainer." She met Inyssa's glare with one of her own, sharp and fierce, like an icicle. "I will give it my all during our battle, Child of Thorns."

Inyssa recoiled at the sound of that, making a face as though she'd been punched in the face.

God did she fucking hate that name.

"I… see you've heard of me," she said, frowning.

Maylene chuckled. "Well you're certainly not someone that's easily ignored, that's for sure."

"Yes, that's true," nodded Candice. "I'm not sure what kind of region this one would become if under your thumb, Inyssa, but I'm not one to cast early judgment on others. Besides, if Maylene's words are anything to go by, you're not the same girl she met a few months ago."

"You're a lot less hotheaded and self-destructive, for one thing. Or you've gotten better at pretending, one of the two."

Inyssa glared daggers at her. "Shut it, pink hair."

"She's right though!" exclaimed Barry, raising both fists, smiling. "You're obviously the best, Niss!"

"You shut up too."

She looked away from both, trying to hide the reddening of her cheeks, and just then caught the strange, almost somber look on Candice's face. It was gone in a moment, though.

"Yes… I've certainly heard of you," she said, almost in whispers. "Though I have to say…"

Inyssa perked up. "Hm? What is it?"

Candice looked straight at her, a serious look on her face.

"You're a lot shorter than I imagined."

It was a good thing Candice had fast reflexes. She barely flinched, catching with her left hand the piece of bread Inyssa chucked at her.

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Post-lunch idling in front of the fireplace was significantly more peaceful, partly because everyone was full and dozy and also due to the hot chocolate Candice prepared for everyone as dessert, along with a bowl of homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Inyssa and Barry looked with awe and confusion at the Pokemon that brought them the cups in a silver platter, a warm, sweet smile on his face and a matching apron tied around his body. He was short and stout, with stubby legs and ribbon-like ears. Most of his body was cream-colored, with the exception of the top half of his head and the jacket-like patterns on the sides of his torso, which were pink.

Neither of them waited to bring their Pokedex out, the dual electronic voices breaking the peaceful atmosphere of the living room.

"Audino: The Hearing Pokemon – Normal Type. A natural healer and empath; this Pokemon is often employed to work in Pokemon Centers in regions that don't have access to Chansey or Blissey. The feelers on the tips of its ears emit a radar-like wave which is capable of discerning almost any ailment affecting a Pokemon or human, whether it be mental or physical, with the greatest of ease."

"Auuui!" The Audino let out a spirited cry, smiling from ear to ear. He seemed to have liked hearing his own name. "Auui-no!"

"Whoa, that's amazing!" Barry leaned down on his chair to get a better look, awe sparkling in his eyes. "Imagine how awesome it'd be to have one of these in a team! They'd be able to heal everyone no problem!"

Inyssa furrowed her brow, nodding slightly. "I'm guessing he's the one that healed me, then."

"Auii!" The little bugger threw his hands up in the air, smiling at her.

"Now, now, keep it down, Kaguya." Candice started patting his head, earning a multitude of cute noises from him. "There'll be time for praise later. And yes, it's a good thing I have him; otherwise you might still be in a hospital, Inyssa. I'm sure Maylene already told you this, but you were in pretty rough shape when she brought you to me."

"Yeah, no kidding," nodded Maylene.

Inyssa pursed her lips, looking away. God, what must she have looked like, all beaten up and half-unconscious like that? Why did everyone have to meet her like that? How embarrassing…

"I don't know much about Pokemon that specialize in healing, since they're rarely used in competitive teams," she said, trying to change the subject. "But her Heal Pulse must really be something else if it could cure me overnight, considering… you know."

"Considering you had a boiling fever, a broken nose and a bruise in your stomach the size of a football?" said Maylene.

Inyssa was about to spit something back at her when Barry spoke. "Yeah, that's true! And she even closed up that cut in my forehead like it was nothing, look!" He grabbed a tuft of his hair and lifted it, showing a minuscule silver scar running from his scalp down to the start of the right side of his forehead. "That's some super strong healing!"

It was subtle, but Candice's chest seemed to puff slightly at that, her hand petting Kaguya's head a bit more enthusiastically.

"She's always been strong, even before I trained her, so it comes as no surprise," she said proudly. "Though her healing isn't a one-for-all solution. She poured pretty much all of her energy into restoring you, Inyssa, and I doubt she could pull something like that off more than once a day, if even."

Her voice staggered slightly as she said that last part, and for a moment Inyssa noticed something strange in her expression, a slight furrow of her brows, though it was gone a moment later.

Hold on, she thought, frowning. Why would an Ice-type master have an Audino as one of her main Pokemon? And those bags under her eyes... Not to mention she's blinking a lot, as though her eyes were very sore.

Could it be that Candice needed the Audino for some medical reason? She didn't look as though she suffered from any kind of ailment, but Inyssa knew that such things could be easily hidden, especially for someone as energetic as her. And if that was the case, and if the Audino had used all of his energy for the day healing her…

Guilt formed in her throat like a solid clump, forcing her to look down. Well… it was already done. Not much she could do about it, except give Candice some respect and not bring up what she'd just…

"Oh, why'd you have that Audino anyway?" asked Barry, an oblivious smile on his face. "Aren't you an Ice-type trainer?"

Inyssa punched him in the arm.

"Agh! What was that for!?"

"Have some tact, dumbass!" She shook her head at him. "And you're supposed to be the empathetic one…"

"What are you…?" Realization dawned on him as he noticed the awkward looks on Candice and Maylene's faces. "O-oh… I'm sorry, I…"

"It's fine. Curiosity isn't something you should be ashamed of."

Candice leaned back on her portion of the sofa, softly placing a hand over her stomach. Her expression was hard to read. Maylene held her other hand, looking at her girlfriend with a mix of concern and remorse.

"I am… somewhat frail, you could say." She grabbed the fabric of her shirt, frowning. "And I suffer from a very persistent form of insomnia, which makes it very hard to function on a daily basis. Or… it would, if it weren't for Kaguya." She shone a smile at the Pokemon, who now rested peacefully against the foot of the sofa. "Her Heal Pulse makes me feel as rested as I would be if I got a full night's sleep, without actually sleeping. It's certainly more convenient than drugs or meditation."

Inyssa and Barry shared a look, their shoulders similarly slumped, an equal look of guilt on their face. It mustn't have been very subtle. Candice picked up on it right away.

"Oh, you really needn't worry about me," she said, morphing her expression into a court smile. "I'm a teacher, remember? Sleep deprivation is pretty much in my job description. Going without Kaguya's help for a day isn't a problem at all."

"I…" Inyssa looked down, fingers closing more strongly around her cup. "Thanks. For the help, and for letting us stay here."

Candice flashed her a quick, tired smile. "My pleasure. It's nice to have company once in a while."

She leaned back, folding her arms, expression turning pensive for a few seconds. Tilting her head, she looked past the living room and toward the window next to the door, past which only a slow, persistent hail could be seen. Her eyes narrowed.

"I have to go back to the academy in an hour or so, for the afternoon classes," she said. "I'm guessing you two want to explore the town and find a place to train your Pokemon?"

Barry nodded. "We didn't get to see much of the place when we came in, so we were thinking about doing some sightseeing."

"Is there a good place to train outside of town?" asked Inyssa. "We could…"

"I wouldn't recommend that."

Both of them startled at the suddenness of Candice's interruption. Her lips were pursed, pale.

"There are a lot of very aggressive and dangerous Pokemon on the outskirts of town, not to mention the hail will be much stronger and it will be easier for anyone to get lost."

Maylene chimed in. "That and we can't discount the possibility of more Galactic grunts waiting for you to leave town so they can attack you."

Inyssa opened her mouth to argue, but couldn't find anything to say. She was right. A few hours ago Barry and her had explained all they knew –a.k.a. very little– about that strange device which had been used to forcefully return their Pokemon to their balls, which seemed like a more advanced version of what Cyrus had used in Celestic. With something like that at their disposal, there really wasn't much they could do if they were attacked again.

"There's a dojo north of town that I had built a couple years ago for Maylene. You could train there," said Candice. "Or you could use the open space where the old docks used to be, either would work fine and are still within city limits."

"Oh! I'll take the dojo!" Barry raised his hand high, as though he were a student wanting to get a teacher's attention. "I've got a super secret strategy I wanna develop for the Gym fight. Niss you're okay with the docks, right?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "How gentlemanly of you to leave your girlfriend in open air right after she recovered from a fever. But yeah, I'll be fine. I prefer open spaces to train anyway, so…"

"Oh, and one more thing."

They both turned toward Candice, who'd folded her legs and rested her cheek on her hand in what almost seemed like an attempt to appear aloof.

"There's a tower north of here, at the very center of town. It's very tall and made almost entirely out of obsidian, you can't miss it. Used to be some sort of temple." She paused for a second. "It's closed due to structural damage and there's also rumors of Froslass infesting the top floor. Don't try to go in there, unless you want to die."