"I am perfectly fine. Now get the hell out of my house."

As usual, Shadi didn't seem to notice Inyssa's presence in the room. The young girl looked over her shoulder from the sofa, noticing the two women bursting into the room with angry steps. Shadi walked in front, and behind her…

"Oh! Hi, Siffa!"

But she didn't hear her either. The blue-haired girl was too focused on her stubborn friend to notice anything around her.

"Shadi, h–hey, listen to me!"

Shadi stopped in her tracks, shoulders tensing up. After a second she let out an irritated sigh and turned around to face her friend. Were it not for her fear of retribution, Inyssa would have gasped at the look on her face. Siffa, however, had no such restraint. Her pale red eyes went wide with shock and concern.

"D-dear Mew… have you been sleeping at all?" she asked, tone full of disbelief. "You look like a reanimated corpse!"

"That's none of your b–"

The ring of a Poketch filled the air. Shadi looked down at her wrist, scowling at what she saw. Inyssa didn't need to deduce it was a message from their mother; the look on her sister's face made that clear.

"Yeah, I'm going!" she yelled toward the staircase. "Give me a minute!"

Then she turned toward Siffa, lips pursed into a thin line. "Like I was saying, I'm fine. You don't need to come here for a fucking intervention or whatever just because I'm slightly grumpier than usual."

As much as Inyssa would have loved to think otherwise, she did not look fine. Siffa didn't seem to think so either. Shadi had always been on the lankier and messier side when it came to her own appearance, bags under her eyes not uncommon for her, but this was too much, even for her. The skin under her eyes was charcoal black. Her cheeks were more hollow than ever and even under her baggy clothes it was clear she'd lost quite a bit of weight over the past few months.

Shadi had always been the kind to run herself ragged, but it had never been this bad.

"Shadi, please… Ciro and I are just worried about you."

"Right. If he's so worried then why isn't he here with you?" scoffed Shadi.

"Because he's busy doing the work you asked him to do!" Siffa caught herself just then, eyes going wide. "I… I'm sorry. I didn't meant to raise my voice to you. It's just…" She closed her eyes and swallowed. "It's not just how you look. Lately, you've been acting…"

Shadi raised an eyebrow, a red blush rising to her ears. "Like what, Siffa? What exactly have I been acting l–?"

Another beep rang through the air. Shadi clenched her teeth, every muscle in her body tensing up at the sound. Then, almost imperceptibly, the lights in the room dimmed.

"Yeah! I heard you a minute ago!" she bellowed into the staircase. "Give me a second and I'll be there, god dammit!"

Inyssa couldn't help but shiver at the scream, unconsciously closing her eyes and bracing herself for something that never came. Siffa did the exact same thing. Yet neither of them noticed the other's reaction.

"H-hey, comeon …" The tone of Siffa's voice was one Inyssa recognized. It was the one she used when dealing with a Shadi that was having a bad day. "Ciro… he's still crossed about what you said to him the other day."

"What? Because I told him the truth?" snapped Shadi, rolling her eyes. "You'd think he'd have thicker skin than that after we've been teasing each other for so long."

"That's… that's the thing," said Siffa, voice tense. "It really doesn't feel like your usual banter. Lately, whenever you insult him, it's more…"

She didn't need to finish her sentence. Inyssa knew exactly what she was referring to, and judging by the look on Shadi's face, she did as well. Her comments had probably felt colder, bereft of humor. Much more personal.

He'll probably get used to it with time, thought Inyssa. She certainly had.

"Is that all?" asked Shadi. "You came all this way just to tell me that I made Ciro sad with one of my offhand comments?"

Siffa pursed her lips, fingers interlaced with each other. "Shadi…"

"Well, forgive me for being so… How do you say? So inconsiderate? Wait, yeah, of course!" Shadi slapped a hand against her forehead and let out a sharp, icy laugh. "You're right. It's not like you two are having the time of your lives, frolicking all over the region as a happy couple like you always wanted. But apparently one snide comment from me is too much, is that it?"

"W-we're just worried," Siffa hurried to add. "We don't want you to push yourself to…"

"Push myself? P-push…" She spat out a gulp of air in something like a mix of a chuckle and a scoff. "Oh, oh! No, don't worry, seriously! I already came to the c-conclusion that everyone's having the time of their fucking lives while I'm trapped here in this giant coffin of a house against my will!"

Spit flew out of as she yelled, her lips curled up into a furious, mocking smile. Siffa couldn't help but take a step back. From behind the sofa, Inyssa lowered herself until only her nose and eyes could be seen, muscles tensed in fear.

"And hey, why would I complain? I can't fathom a single reason why I'd maybe lash out at someone out of frustration because of the situation I'm in! But of course it's my fault! I'm just being selfish, aren't I!? After all, this way everyone wins except me!"

"S-Shadi, please…"

"Oh, what is it!? Are you two feeling worried over your exhausted friend? Is my poor mother not getting exactly the treatment she needs? Is my dear, stupid sister not getting as much quality time with me as she seems to think she fucking deserves!?" Her screams seemed to shake the house, an invisible cold seeping into the room, making the lights dim and flash on and off. "Well why don't you all come over and cry me a fucking river so I can drown in it!? Just what the hell do you all want from me!?"

She raised her hands, and for a second the other two girls in the room thought she meant to strike Siffa. They gasped and froze in unison, bracing for a hit that never came.

Shadi took a couple steps back, face buried into her own hands, the tips of her shoulders shaking with fury. Neither of the girls noticed due to their reaction, but the woman's eyes had flashed a pale blue just before she'd closed them.

"S-shut up! I don't need to hear from you!" Shadi whispered to no one, right before looking up at Siffa once again. "I'm not a doctor, alright!? I'm not a mentor or a good friend either; all I wanted was to have my own life but not even that–!"

Her Poketch rang for the third time. Shadi froze, eye twitching, and both Siffa and Inyssa knew what was coming.

"I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME, WOMAN!" Shadi bellowed with every ounce of strength in her voice. "I'M TALKING TO A FRIEND FOR FUCK'S SAKE, CAN'T YOU GIVE ME ONE SECOND!? I KNOW YOU NEED SOMETHING, WHEN THE FUCK DO YOU NOT!? WOULD IT KILL YOU TO HELP YOURSELF FOR ONCE, YOU SOUL-SUCKING GODDAMN PARASITE!?"

She grabbed the sides of her head, lurching down in pain as her eyes shut closed tight.

"YEAH LAUGH IT UP! I HOPE YOU'RE HAVING A REAL FUCKING HOOP WITH ALL THIS! HOPE IT WAS JUST THE REVENGE YOU WANTED!" Once again, she sounded as though she were screaming at someone who wasn't in the room. "I'M SO FUCKING SICK OF THIS! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE YOU USELESS CLINGY PIECES OF S–!"

Shadi's body gave out from under her. Eyes shooting wide open, she gasped and clawed at her chest for a moment before collapsing on a heap in the floor.

"W-wha…!?"

"SHADI!"

Inyssa jumped over the sofa as though propelled by a spring, reaching her sister's side in a flash and kneeling before her, feeling her own heartbeat in her ears. Siffa stood back, frozen, mouth gaping.

Shadi was still conscious, though barely. She lay face-down on the floor, her entire body shaking, hands clawing at the ceramic under her in a useless attempt to lift herself up. Inyssa hurried and placed a hand under her shoulder. A sharp, cold shiver ran up her hand through her arms but she ignored it, bent on helping her up.

"I… I'll try to get some help!" yelled Siffa.

"Go find Sarah," said Inyssa, voice thin and panicked. "Hurry!"

She was out the door in a flash. In the meantime, Inyssa used every ounce of strength in her to help her sister up to her knees, all the while trying her best to keep her from shaking so violently.

Only when she felt the wetness fall to her sleeve did Inyssa realize she was crying.

"I'm… I'm sorry," she sobbed, trying to keep herself from shaking like her sister. "I d-didn't know and because of us… I'm s-so sorry…"

Shadi fell back into a sitting position, her ashen hair falling over her face, hiding her eyes from view. Her breathing was ragged and wild. When she spoke, her voice sounded so strained it was a miracle she could get the words out.

A miracle Inyssa could have done without, as soon as she heard them.

"No, you're not," she spat out. "If you really were sorry then you'd do something about it."

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

Inside of the Dawn household, night had brought all of winter's sharpness with it, cutting into the atmosphere of every room, skewering all and any hints of warmth that could have been found inside. Everything was still. To Inyssa, at least, it felt as though the world itself had crawled into a dark corner to lick its wounds. Her steps down the stairs echoed loudly, mirroring the wild and anxious beating of her heart.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The air around her felt thin, stretched to its breaking point, like the calm sky before a storm.

Inyssa didn't bother to knock. All fear had left her, replaced with a deep, empty sorrow spreading through her veins like poison. If Shadi got angry at her, if she wanted to hurt her… then she'd take it, like she always did. She'd gotten numb to it, anyway.

"…What?"

Very little moonlight filtered through the window, but she noticed the vague outline of her sister's body against the wall next to the bed. Only the green of her eyes was clearly visible.

"How… are you feeling?"

"Like shit. Is that all?"

Inyssa winced at the sharpness of her tone, but she didn't back down. After her outburst earlier that day, Siffa had arrived with Sarah in tow, who had insisted in calling an a doctor. Shadi, unsurprisingly, was against it. An awful lot of shouting had followed. In the end, a very irritated and disappointed Sarah had told Inyssa that she'd look into relieving Shadi of her caretaker duties, since she clearly wasn't physically or mentally capable of such work at the moment.

"Don't sound so bitter now," Shadi had spat out, tone full of poison.

"I'm not bitter in the slightest. Just disappointed," Sarah had replied. "I hope you're happy; you'll finally get to abandon your family like you always wanted. And all you had to give up in exchange was your dignity. Congratulations."

Shadi hadn't taken that well. She'd been holed up in her room ever since, making it very clear that she wanted to be alone.

And yet here Inyssa was.

"Shadi, I'm… I'm s–"

"If you say you're sorry one more time I'm gonna throw this bottle at your head."

Her brow furrowed. Bottle? What was she talking ab–

A gasp left her mouth. Empty bottles were scattered all around Shadi, a half-filled one resting on her hand.

"Yeah, go ahead. Laugh it up," said Shadi, trying to contain laughter. "Wanna know what the funniest thing is?"

Inyssa shook her head in disbelief. "N-no…"

"It didn't even work. I don't feel any better and I haven't forgotten anything," she said. "Whatever bliss our dear mother gets from these things, I haven't found it."

"Y-you can't! Don't do this!" Inyssa pleaded desperately, taking a step toward her sister. "You can't end up like mom!"

Shadi arched an eyebrow at her, shaking her head. "Are you deaf or just stupid? I just told you I gained nothing from this."

"S-still! You're… you're stronger than this!"

The utter contempt in Shadi's eyes as she said that sent shivers down Inyssa's spine. For a second she really thought the bottle would be thrown her way, but instead she simply shook her head and let out a scoff.

"This is revenge, I'm assuming? I don't blame you," she said. "After all I put you through, all those… impossible challenges, it only m-makes sense you'd place me in a pedestal too high for me to reach. Pretty devious, but like I said… I don't blame you."

"That's not it at all!" yelled Inyssa, throwing her hands down. "I'm… I'm sor–!"

"STOP APOLOGIZING!"

There was a sharp sound as the bottle shattered against the wall next to Inyssa. She froze, the muscles on her legs locking up. Cold alcohol splashed into the left side of her body, sending a shiver throughout her entire body.

Shadi now stood at the other side of the room, arm extended toward her. Just then, that familiar silence stretched between them, the same as back then, when Shadi had first hurt her that night. A silence that stretched way past a single moment. One that had seeped into Inyssa's throat, clogging it up, preventing certain words from being said. Preventing her from seeking help.

And, right at that moment, preventing her from running.

"You… piss me off so much, you know that?" said Shadi, a quiet, dangerous edge to her voice. "Sooo good and proper. The perfect sister! Tell me… is it fun for you? Taking in s-stride everything I dish out to you… smiling despite everything… always, always being so! Fucking! Kind! Is it fun mocking me like that!?"

Inyssa shook her head desperately. "N-no! I wasn't…!"

"You never complain!" she yelled, throwing her hand to the side. "You're… arguably having a worst time than me and yet… I can't… I can't be like you! Why can't you get that through your fucking head!? Why do you have to smile like that all the time!? Like you know you're better than me!"

No words came to her. Her throat felt dry, frozen by something sharp and cold. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Did she… did she really think that? It was… absurd. Shadi was so much better than her at everything, why would she…?

"Ha… haha… god, why am I even telling you this? I'm so fucking stupid." Shadi stumbled back, holding her face with her right hand, laughter blooming from her stomach. "Sarah was right. I'm such a piece of shit, I just wanted..." The laughter soon turned into what almost sounded like sobbing. "O-oh god, I'm sorry. I d-didn't mean to, I just... I just wanted to..."

Shadi's hands dropped from her face. She took a step forward, toward Inyssa, and after a moment that felt like an eternity, she looked up at her.

Had she been able to move, Inyssa would've covered her mouth with her hands. Tears ran down her sister's cheeks. Red lines clawed at the edges of her eyes and her nose was scrunched up, occasional sniffles breaking the silence between them.

"I can't… can't s-stop thinking about what I did to you and mom." Shadi sobbed, lower lip shaking. "Whenever I c-close my eyes I hear the voice… it feels like s-someone clawing at my heart, suffocating it. All the time… I can't b-be like you, I can't take this on my own…"

"S-Shadi…"

"I wish I'd n-never come back. None of us would've… I wouldn't have had to…" She sniffled and ran a sleeve through her cheeks, staining it with tears. "I just want to forget this ever…"

Shadi froze, realization flashing through her eyes. The silence that followed felt like the infinitesimal moment when the air thinned before the first clap of thunder.

"Niss…"

Inyssa gulped, feeling her own eyes wet with tears. "W-what?"

"…You love me, right?"

"Wh– of course I do!" she hurried to scream, grabbing at her chest with both hands. "More than anything!"

"I see… and would you…" She turned to look at Inyssa. "Would you do anything for me?"

"I-I… yes. Anything."

"… Thank you."

Shadi's eyes flashed a deep, calm blue. The air felt like it solidified, a sudden, sharp cold crashing into the room like a flood.

"W-what the…?"

"I figured out a way to fix this… all thanks to you."

At first, Inyssa thought something had blocked the windows. The little moonlight that filtered into the room vanished, plunging them into sudden and utter darkness. She blinked, confused as to what had happened, then looked past Shadi toward where the windows should have been.

Her breath caught in her throat. A massive, swirling lump of shadows had coalesced behind Shadi, its long and sharp tendrils slowly extending toward Inyssa, its icy blue eyes set on her. She couldn't scream. Couldn't move. And so caught up she was in the horrifying figure that she never expected Shadi to be the one to attack first.

"GHK!"

The back of her head bounced against the wall, soon followed by the rest of her body. She barely had time to react as her sister's fingers closed over her mouth, preventing her from making any sound, her pale, gaunt face inches from hers.

"I'm going to fix this," she said, the scent of alcohol in her breath making Inyssa wince. "This… is going to benefit both of us. I'll stop hurting and y-you… you'll forget it ever happened."

"HRNGH! GHRK!"

Inyssa tried to shake herself free with all the panic-fueled strength she could muster but somehow, impossibly, Shadi was stronger than her. No… no, that wasn't it. It felt more like her own body was slowly losing strength, a cold, deep exhaustion overtaking her.

Please… please, stop…

"D-don't struggle… it's all going to be okay," Shadi whispered, a maddened grin forming on her lips. "I'll make it so it won't hurt anymore, so just stay still…"

The nightmare creature behind Shadi moved. Its shadowy arms began to close in around Inyssa, warmth and energy being drained from her body, her vision blurring before her. Her limbs began to numb. The sound of her heartbeat in her ears dulled.

Don't, please… please, god…

Inyssa looked toward her sister one last time, pleading, seeking mercy, but there was none to be found in those eyes of hers. All that could be seen on them was a cold, dispassionate relief.

And so, she let go. The entire world went black, and she heard her sister's voice one last time before consciousness left her.

"That's it… by the time you wake up, this will all be just a bad dream."

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

"Well… I guess this is it, sis."

Shadi stood under the sill of the door, warm sunlight hitting her back, framing the outline of her body. She looked almost angelic. But of course she did, thought Inyssa. If there was a single person in the planet more amazing than her sister then they were probably a saint in disguise or something.

"I'm going to miss you so much," pouted Inyssa, feeling an itch in her eyes. "Can't you… stay a couple days more? Please?"

Her comment was met with the smile she loved the most. A bit curved an awkward. A bit out of place in the geometry of her face. Beautiful.

Shadi lowered herself until their eyes met.

"I promise I'll be back as soon as I beat the Champion." She spoke with a somber tone, trying to maintain her smile. "Don't worry; I'll have my friends with me. Nothing's gonna happen to us."

Something caught in Inyssa's throat. She tried to speak, but found herself anxiously chewing at her lower lip. This was it. There was so much she wanted to tell Shadi, so many thanks for all she'd done for her, but now that she finally had the chance to, her tongue felt like it'd been tied into a knot.

Can't even do this right, she thought bitterly.

"I'm… sorry about what I did."

That caught Inyssa off guard. She looked up at her sister and tilted her head in confusion.

"I promise I'll atone for it."

Inyssa shook her head. "S-sorry for what? What are you…?"

But Shadi had already stood up. She turned around, hoisting her backpack over her shoulder, back to Inyssa.

"Take care, will you?" There was something cold and detached about the way she said those words. "And make sure to keep training and get stronger. That's all that matters. I trust you."

Steeling herself, Shadi looked over her shoulder, flashing her sister one last smile before heading off. Inyssa watched her and Midir disappear past the horizon. And that was it. Her sister was gone.

The memory ended. Everything faded to black.

Inyssa opened her eyes to the sight of a dark, dilapidated room. The scent of dust and moss assaulted her nose. She found herself once again in the top floor of the mysterious tower, Darkrai and Cresselia chained behind her.

"You're… back."

Uxie's silhouette appeared behind her, its golden ethereal form shifting ever closer to her. Behind it, Cresselia raised her head.

"Oh, child…" she whispered, pain in her voice.

"Inyssa, I am so sorry," Uxie followed. "I had no idea…"

Inyssa blinked. Or she would have, if she actually had a physical body in this state.

The legends' words phased through her. She refused to listen, to move, to speak or do anything that would acknowledge what had just happened. Her mind was frozen. A thin, frozen sheet of ice resting atop a lake, cracks slowly spreading through its surface. She feared that if she were to muster a single thought, everything would shatter around her.

If only it could have been that easy.

She felt the touch of leather against her fingers. Looking down, she found the old tome they'd retrieved from the library resting on her lap. Maylene must have retrieved it from her room and left it here while Inyssa…

While she…

A gust of frozen wind traveled down the room from the window, seemingly picking up and carrying the room's shadows with it. Darkness began to coalesce in front of Inyssa. It took a familiar shape, that of the shadowy creature with a pale arm and dull, faded green eyes. For the first time, she recognized it for what it was: the piece of Darkrai Shadi had sealed inside of her. She winced at the sight of it, her muscles tensing up in panic.

No, no, no, she thought desperately. Just a little more, a bit more time…

The figure didn't need to repeat itself. Inyssa remembered what it had said the last time they'd spoken, what it'd asked of her. The toll in exchange for what it'd been keeping from her. It was time to pay up.

She looked over toward Uxie and Cresselia, but they said nothing. She knew they wouldn't force her to do this, but with so much at stake, they probably knew she'd never forgive herself if she ran away from this. From the truth.

"Truth," nodded the figure, seemingly reading her thoughts. "The most painful one. Speak it."

Inyssa closed her eyes. She knew this had to happen. She even knew that the figure before her wasn't actually hemmed in shadows, that she only perceived it as such because she didn't want to look underneath. But it wasn't like she could run away from it much longer. The band-aid had been ripped off. It was time to grit her teeth through the pain.

Her chest felt hollow, cold. As though someone had dug in and forcefully ripped her innards out with a hand made of ice. She couldn't stop her limbs from shaking. Couldn't stop the tears from falling or the sobs from leaving her mouth.

But there was one thing she could do.

She opened her eyes, and the shadowy figure before her changed. Darkness evaporated from her body, and from within it emerged Shadi, glowing and ethereal. She looked just as Inyssa remembered her in her mind's eye. No bags under her eyes, no missing arm, no scar running down the length of her neck. She was perfect and beautiful. She was the one who'd protected her from these memories for so long, the one who'd tried so hard to keep them at bay. She was a lie that Inyssa needed to kill with her own hands.

The most painful truth…

Inyssa opened her mouth, and the words that came out sounded as though they were broken and bleeding.

"You don't love me," she said, a sob stuck in her throat. "You never did."

Everything after that became a blur. The ethereal Shadi smiled, then disappeared in a puff of light. The roar of thunder boomed in Inyssa's mind and her eyes flashed a pure, beautiful gold, newfound power rushing through her, exuding from every inch of her body like a mantle of light.

Her untainted mind, her full potential… finally within arm's reach.

"Gh…ghk…"

Inyssa fell to her knees. And there, with all the power she'd ever wished for rushing through her veins, she hid her face in her hands and broke down into shaking, sorrowful sobs.