The snow falls softly around her, landing on her cheeks before melting on contact with her warm skin. It sticks to her hair and on her eyelashes, and she shivers alongside her sobs.

…They want to kill her.

She huddles up tightly, fingernails digging tightly into her arms. There are thousands of thoughts flooding through her head, swarming tightly within every inch of her mind. It feels like her heart is straining within her chest, and Yellow can't hold back the wave of tears that hits her.

It all makes sense, but she really doesn't want it to. Just that one thing, she had that glimmer of hope that it might not be as it seemed, and things could go back to normal and she'd live a normal life and everything would be okay, and nobody would have to suffer or get hurt and it would all just be okay.

You can't avoid it forever.

"I can," Yellow murmurs to herself, voice wavering and small. "I can, I can…I can I can I can…"

She remembers when she was so much younger, maybe eleven or twelve. And Green, he must have only been about fourteen, not much older than her in truth, but in his actions she saw him as a full grown adult. All the times she couldn't remember the answer, the times she hurt herself, the times she was uncertain…he helped look after her, like a doting big brother. There were moments that she even wondered whether he cared about her, as if she wasn't just a puppet to the leaders.

"We've gone through this before," Green sighs irritably, and Yellow purses her lips sheepishly whilst craning to get a look at the book in front of him. Before she can see anything clearly, he slams the book shut, making her flinch. "Yellow, you're not taking this seriously. Again."

"S-sorry," she murmurs, dipping down a little into her seat. She then notices a bandage wrapped around the boy's left arm, only just visible under the sleeve. "Are you okay? How did you do that?"

"That's not important," he says, adjusting his sleeve to completely cover the injury. He stares into her eyes firmly with complete authority and she glances at the floor. "Yellow."

She doesn't say anything in return. There's a small silence and she plays with her fingers nervously.

"You understand that I'm doing this only for your sake," he says at last. "For your own good."

"I do," she says quietly. Absentmindedly, she takes a strand of short hair between her fingers. "Sorry, Mr. Oak."

"…Let's continue." He opens up the book again, and questions her once more.

She shudders again, thinking it all over. There was always something, something frightening and threatening telling her that the life she was living wasn't a normal one. Even if was where she was brought up all her life, ever since she can remember. Maybe it was Green's subtle reactions to everything she said or did or maybe she just always knew better than that. Yellow isn't sure.

Dark, scary, lonely rooms. Sharp, angry, loud voices. The blood. The blood.

Yellow forces her eyes open, staring hard into the blindingly bright snow. She tries her hardest not to think about any of it, but she's spent nineteen years pretending that nothing was ever wrong and now it's just too much.

That's not all there was though. Amongst the nightmares, there were some moments where things were a little lighter, even for just a moment. Yellow takes a gasp, trying to slow her breathing and focusing on her nicer memories. The good things, the good things.

"Hey, are you okay?" he says to her, but she can't see his eyes. He might have been smiling, but her memory is too blurry to tell. "Don't worry, you-"

She isn't sure anymore. Maybe that didn't even happen, maybe she never did meet Red that one day, and maybe he never gave her any comforting words. But then why did she keep going? But he doesn't even remember himself.

It doesn't matter anymore. Red and Green found her again, but it wasn't because they wanted to see her again or to know her. They want to kill her.

It's obvious why, because she wasn't good enough and failed. She was a failure. She's still a failure. They called her The Doll whilst they shaped her into the perfect role to become one – the fifth Mystique. But it didn't work and now they know what's she seen and she knows she's seen too much and now they know they have to get rid of her.

For a moment, Yellow wonders back to her friendship with Blue. That probably wasn't much of a friendship either. Mystiques are immortal, and they have no time for human life like her. It was probably just a game for her, a game for all of them. They never really cared.

He was right. She really can't avoid it forever.

"I'm so sorry," she says aloud, pulling herself up from her spot in the snow. "I'll fix this. I promise."

The footprints she leaves are light and quickly covered up again by the falling snow.

"What are you talking about?" Blue exclaims, eyes wide and disbelieving. "Are you seriously trying to tell me that she's just gone missing?"

The two boys stand silently on the light snow scattered across the beach, a range of different emotions scattered across their faces. Blue just stares waiting, telling herself readily that if she could reach them she would have her hands around their necks right now.

"Something like this was bound to happen eventually," Green says eventually, arms folded and head just a little lower than usual.

"I'm sorry," Red murmurs, waves of conflict visible in his eyes. "It was my fault – I didn't realise she didn't know…I'm sorry…"

"Do you have any idea where she might have gone?" Blue asks, frowning. "She's nowhere in the ocean, so I have no clue."

"She always had a habit of isolating herself whenever she got upset," Green says lowly. Red tenses, turning to the boy sharply.

"What the hell kind of tutoring were you doing?" he asks, fists clenched.

"That's not important."

"No, no actually, I think it is right now," Blue says, narrowing her eyes at the boy. "I feel like there's just far too much that I don't know here. Why are you being so secretive about all this? I'm a Mystique; I won't allow you to keep secrets from me."

"With what power?" Green stares back at her equally as hard. "You can't direct the ocean."

"I've never tried," Blue hisses. "I'll happily let your village be the first to go under."

"Green, just tell us!" Red exclaims. "She's right; we need to know about this stuff. You're probably the only one that knows and I feel like there's something really serious going on here."

He stays silent.

"I've known you all my life! Do you seriously not trust me enough to tell me?"

"It's not that," he says sharply. "These are just things that I hoped I'd never have to talk about ever again. I wanted them to be behind me. I know it's foolish, but I hoped it could be so anyway."

"…Tell us," Blue says. "It's not like you can avoid it forever."

"I always used to tell her that," Green mutters. Then he pauses. "…Do you already know that she was supposed to be another Mystique?"

"Of course," Blue snaps. "Everybody knows that. But, I mean…I don't really know what that entailed exactly. Why, what did you do?"

"I knew I shouldn't have been working there," he starts. "I was too young, but I had the intelligence and they paid well. It's not like me and my sister would have had enough with just her working."

"Wait, who were you working for?" Red asks, frowning.

"…The same people we're working for now," Green mutters.

"What? N-no way!"

"Who are we talking about here?" Blue asks, feeling somewhat out of the loop. "Some kind of company? Who did you even say…just some high up officials, wasn't it…?"

"It wasn't a nice place," he continues without answering the question. "If it was suspected we weren't doing our jobs properly, we were threatened. One time she saw where they'd sliced in my arm, but I didn't tell her."

"Y-you just told me that you'd fallen over!" Red splutters.

"And you believed him?" Blue asks, shaking her head.

"They wanted her to be perfect at everything. Any mistake she made was treated with some kind of punishment." He stops for a moment. "One time when I arrived at the building, she had managed to get her hair caught in the cogs of the clockwork whilst attempting to clean them. She kept screaming and crying that she couldn't get free. Every time she pulled away, it dragged more of her hair into it. By the time I got her free, it had been severed to above her shoulders. They were furious. They said Mystiques had to be beautiful and without her hair she wasn't anything. Then they wanted me to hit her for it."

"Green, you didn't-"

"I didn't," he says firmly. "I couldn't. I was mad, but it was more so at them than her. She wouldn't stop apologising though."

"That's awful," Blue mutters through her teeth. "That's so awful. It's disgusting. Had I known, I would have drowned them all. Every single one of them."

"She told me she was playing with scissors like a dress up game and accidentally cut it off," Red says lowly, shoulders slumped. "Dammit, why did I say we were trying to…I'm such an idiot…"

"It's ridiculous that humans assume they can just make a Mystique anyway," she says. "It doesn't work like that. Why would they think it works like that?"

"But didn't you start off as a human?" Red asks, frowning uncertainly at her. "I dunno though…"

"Is that really relevant? Honestly, why does everyone keep bringing it up…"

"Is it true though?" Green asks with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, fine, okay! Stunning reveal that nobody cares about! It's not like it takes much to figure out."

"How do you become a Mystique if you don't make them then?" Red asks.

"You die," Blue says briskly. "That's it. You die. I died, okay? Someone kidnapped me, toyed with me and then drowned me in the middle of the night, and the next thing I knew I was the Ocean Spirit. That's all there is. Happy now? Why don't we talk about things that actually matter."

Blue stops then, irritated, and the boys just stare up at her with some sad pitiful look in their eyes. It annoys her even more, and she forces herself to think back to Yellow. That's what really matters right now, not herself. She doesn't need two humans feeling sorry for her. Drowning wasn't that bad, it was just maybe a little frightening when she saw the water all around her and feeling it rush up into her lungs and knowing at that moment she was completely going to die-

"Blue?" Red asks, and she doesn't bother to question why he thinks it's acceptable to use her real name. She's thinking about drowning.

Drowning. Someone's drowning.

…Yellow's drowning.

"…No," she whispers, eyes widening. "No, no!"

Without even answering to the boys' calls, Blue dives down far under the waves and makes her way as fast as she can to the dying body falling deeper into the water.

Crystal sits in Platinum's kitchen with a pottery cup in her hands. The steam pours out of the boiling liquid and she takes a sip of the tea, unfazed as it runs down her throat. Gold and Silver sit around the simple pine table in front of her, though they have yet to start their drinks.

"This is so weird," Gold mutters. "I mean, it's nice and all being able to visit the Sinnoh region, but I never assumed that it would be to visit a Mystique! Star Girl, hanging around with you was the best decision I ever made!"

"Never mind that," she says distractedly. "It's almost time for me to go back to the stars. I need to draft out more positions ready for tomorrow."

"…You should leave it," Silver says quietly, so quiet she can't even be quite sure she's heard him.

"Leave it?" she repeats, blinking.

"Oh yeah, I was telling Silv this the other day," Gold starts, holding his head up proudly. Crystal connects eyes with Silver, and it seems they both simultaneously think 'liar'. "I've always kinda thought the original stars were nice, you know? I think you should just stick to how things were before you changed everything, Star Girl."

She sighs, looking back down at her drink. Across the room, she can see through Platinum's window the darkening sky outside, with the snow still drifting down, so slow it's almost invisible. There are no stars, no twinkling in the distance. Crystal had assumed that it would be less cluttered for now, at least until she can draft out all the stars' positions and adjust their brightness based on that…but now it just looks empty. The sky is just dark and sad, a plain pitch black. It makes her frown a little.

"You really think I should put everything back to how it was originally?" she asks after a few more seconds of staring. "Do…do humans really enjoy the clutter?"

"It's not really clutter," Gold says, pulling a face. "I do like it being simple…and isn't what it was before already pretty simple?"

"It's not like everything has to be symmetrical to look nice," Silver mutters, and Crystal stares down into her drink, pondering. Before she even knows what's going on, there's a gentle tug on one of her pigtails, and when she looks up, Gold is holding the piece of ribbon with a smirk.

"See? You looked nice before I took it out and you still look fine now! Silv, don't you agree? C'mon, she looks nice!"

"Uh…" Silver says awkwardly, looking away. Crystal is about to yell at Gold to give her her ribbon back, before he holds up the metal spoon in front of her face. She glances at her reflection, raising an eyebrow at the unevenness of her hair.

"Gold, please give me my-"

"Don't you think it looks fine?"

"It looks ridiculous," she mutters, rolling her eyes. She grabs the loose hair to shape it back into a bunch, before letting it go. "I don't really think you're making your point very well."

"C'mon, Star Girl, what do we have to do to show you?"

"You said you liked the simplicity before," she points out, frowning. "There's just a constant rotation of opinions here."

"Final word: put everything back to normal," Gold says. "I don't mind if you're gone for a bit! We don't mind that much, do we, Silv? Hey, but next time you come down, I might be a bit older and even more attractive, so watch out."

"Haha," Crystal says in a flat tone. "How many times do I have to tell you that Mystiques really aren't interested in humans?"

"Looking at all the others, I'm prepared to argue with that, Star Girl," Gold says with a grin.

"Did you really make advances on a Mystique?" Silver hisses at the boy, shooting him an incredulous look. "Are you completely shameless?"

"Don't be jealous just 'cause I got there first, Silv!" Gold laughs loudly as Silver just sighs, and Crystal rolls her eyes. It's annoying, but definitely amusing. She never really expected that she could have fun with humans, or even anyone at all for that matter. Letting people into her life never really seemed necessary, more like just a distraction from her work. But it's nice to have other opinions, and someone to share the burden with. That's okay, she thinks. That's fine.

"Fine then," she says eventually, before standing up and going to wash her now empty cup. It doesn't take very long, and when she turns around, the two boys are staring at her expectantly "I'm going back up then. For a while, it would seem."

"Really? You're gonna fix it all?"

"You say that like something's broken," Crystal says, raising her eyebrows. "Anyhow, there doesn't seem a lot of purpose for me to stay down here much longer if there's work that needs doing up there. The Snowflake Enchantress seems to have healed alright and there's nothing else going on…"

"You're really going?" Gold asks again, before stopping. "Wait, how are we supposed to get back to Johto? Oh man, they're gonna dismiss me for sure if I don't turn up with a good excuse after being gone for so long…"

"I'm honestly in awe that you kept a job for so long already," Silver mutters.

"What? Those kids love me!" He turns to Crystal with hints of panic reflected on his face. "C'mon, Star Girl. You gotta get us back home if you're leaving. Besides, Sinnoh's so cold, I'm sure that we're gonna freeze to death!"

"I can't take you anywhere," she says. "Unless you want to come back to Earth as some hideously distorted lump of bloody flesh."

"...Is that a no-"

"Of course it's a no!" Silver exclaims.

"I'll have to ask the Ocean Spirit to send you back home, since she was the one who brought you anyway…How about tomorrow? If you get into the Sinnoh oceans at this time of the night, you're definitely going to catch a fever."

"Thanks, mother," Gold snickers sarcastically. Crystal flushes and rolls her eyes.

"So, I'm guessing when I next see you, it'll have been quite a long time in your time…a year, was it…?"

"Nah, that's not that long!" Gold says lightly. Silver nods a single time beside him. "And if you end up missing up all that much, you can always come back and visit us, right?"

"If that ever happens," she says with a small smile. "I'll go and make sure Blue can take you back tomorrow, but then I'm going. I have a lot more work to do, it seems. I'm sure not sure how well I can pull off random, but I'll try my best."

Then she turns to Gold and gives him an expectant look.

"What, do you want a kiss goodbye?" He leaps up, eyes shining brightly. Crystal resists the urge to slap him across the face, or maybe even deliver a swift kick. He's all but asking for it.

"My ribbon," she says. "You can give it me back now."

He glances at the gold ribbon in his right hand, before grinning again and closing his fingers around it tightly. "This can be our keepsake! I'll tie Silv's hair up with or something like that."

"No," the boy says, but his voice has the hollow ring of defeat already in it.

"What am I supposed to do with this then?" She holds up the loose strands of her hair. "I know you were trying to prove a point earlier, but I can't be up in space doing my work with my hair flying all over the place. It's just inefficient, and probably more than a little dangerous."

"Tie your hair up in just one bunch then," Gold suggests "I'm sure it'd look nice on you, Star Girl."

Crystal goes to rebuke this comment before letting her shoulders and slump, giving in. She has a feeling that this is an argument she won't win, and one much too petty to start getting too angry about. With that, she pulls the other ribbon out of the remaining pigtail, before briskly tying it up into a ponytail. Gold whistles at her and she shoots him a glare.

"You really are shameless," she says, before turning away again. "Anyhow. I'm going. I'll see you another time, I guess. Please try not to get into too much trouble."

"No promises," Gold says, elbowing Silver.

"Bye," the boy says lamely, seemingly fumbling for more words. "Uh…good luck."

She gives them a brief wave before exiting Platinum's house, leaving the two behind. It leaves her with a little wistful feeling, never having really experienced such a friendship with humans before.

Blue is lounging around by the shore when Crystal reaches the beach, treading through the thick snow to reach the water. She moves her head just a little at the noise of her footsteps, before flipping over onto her front and grinning, before quickly gaining a refined look.

"I thought everyone had forgotten about me," she says, pulling a face. "I get that there're interesting things up on land, but the ocean is much better, don't you think?"

"Sorry, Blue," Crystal laughs sheepishly. "Things got kind of hectic."

"What's with the new hairstyle?" she asks, angry demeanour now gone. "I like it! It's cute. You should try wearing it down sometime. You have pretty hair, so it would probably look nice no matter how you wear it."

"Oh, th-thank you," Crystal says, suddenly a little more conscious of herself. "Um, aside from that, can I ask a favour of you please?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"Could you send the two boys I came here with back to Johto tomorrow? It feels a little cruel leaving them all the way up here…and I wouldn't want them to get into trouble because of it…"

"Those two boys!" Blue perks up, eyes brightening. "Actually, I have a fun story about one of them! The one with the red hair…um…what was his name…"

"Silver?"

"Him! Did you know." Blue pauses, obviously trying to build some dramatic tension. Crystal readies herself for a very anticlimactic story. "When he was younger, like very small, I saved his life. He was drowning, but I saved him!"

"Is that so," Crystal says, smiling a little. "How do you know it was him though?"

"I remembered when I took them over here," she explains. "I never forget things like that, you know."

"How come you saved him? I thought you normally didn't care about things like that."

"Well, it was a similar situation." Blue looks thoughtful, but doesn't say any more. "Anyway, I'll take your friends back to Johto come tomorrow. Just for you. And maybe whatever riches they have on them."

"Thanks," Crystal says, nodding a little. "Well, I'm going back up to the stars for a little bit. I'm going to put things to how they were."

"Really?" The girl shoots her a wide grin. "I'm so happy! I was really getting bored of the empty skies, you know? It was getting depressing too. I always enjoy staring up at the night sky, because it's never really the same each time."

"…I see," Crystal says with a smile. "Anyway, I'll be seeing you. Please don't get too bored whilst I'm gone."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that," Blue says as Crystal begins to walk away. "I have some new friends to play with now."

"That's good," she says, before waving one last time and setting off towards a high place, ready for her jump back up to the stars.

The journey comes to an end in the early days of March, but there's still snow pouring down from the sky. Sapphire frowns at the white landscape around her, unsure of how exactly to deal with it. She had assumed by this point it would have stopped, but it seems Snowpoint's winters are relentless. It would make sense, based on the name.

"This is our last stop!" Ruby cries happily as they reach the edge of the forest, stood by the tall pine trees. "Then we can just get one of your Mystique friends to send us back to Hoenn, simple as that. We're having a great finale in Lilycove so-"

"What make yer think they're gonna agree to that?" Sapphire asks, narrowing an eye. "What makes yer think I'm gonna agree to that?"

She was hoping it might make the boy stumble just a little, but he replies back in a suave tone without missing a beat. "Well, we came all this way. I think your friends would be happy that we came so far on foot just to see them, and then they'll send us back. The same for you – are you really going to drop out of our little tour with only one show left to go?"

"I might do," she says, pulling a face.

"I think you enjoyed looking pretty really," he continues seamlessly. "Every girl, mortal or immortal, needs a chance to show off their true beauty once in a while."

Sapphire doesn't say anything, looking around. She's been here maybe once or twice…it's hard to remember exactly. She's sure Platinum's house is around here somewhere, and that's it's close to the trees, since she's seen the house before.

"Do yer really think she's okay?" she asks, suddenly scared. "What if somethin' happened whilst we were travellin'?"

"I'm sure somebody would have mentioned it," Ruby says dismissively. "Where does your friend live, anyway? After all this travelling, I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of fancy place she lives in. And don't try to lie to me – I know the Snowflake Enchantress only accepts the finest of everything."

"It's not exactly hard to see," Sapphire mutters, still glancing around whilst moving through the forest as it gets thinner and thinner. Then she stops. "There!"

She glances up at the simple yet aesthetically pleasing house balanced carefully on a steeper part of the hill, surrounded by piles of snow. It's separated from all the other houses down by the village, away in the distance, and has an unspoken magnificence about it. It's definitely Platinum's house.

"Interesting…" Ruby says, craning his neck to get a better look. "Hm, it's a little less than I imagined, but still nice. None of the other Mystiques have houses, do they…so this is the only one?"

"I hate to ask this to yer, mostly because I'm afraid of how yer'll handle it," Sapphire starts regretfully. "But can yer go up and tell anybody who's there that I'm here? Just…act normal. I'm beggin' yer."

"Why, of course." Ruby takes a step forwards. "Wait, I might be meeting a Mystique here. D-does my hair look alright? My outfit? There's no mud anywhere, is there…"

"Who cares?" She gives him a push forwards. "Just go!"

Sapphire leans against a tree whilst watching the boy stride off into the distance, and stumble up the hill. He glances back at her before knocking on the door (with the most overdone knock she's ever heard). She holds her breath for a few moments whilst waiting for it to open.

Someone opens the door, and it's not anybody she recognises. Sapphire narrows her eyes, suddenly suspicious, and watches carefully. Ruby is talking, and then he turns and points at Sapphire hidden amongst the trees, before turning back. He seems to laugh about something and her suspicion only grows. It clears when she sees Platinum exit the house, look the same as always. She lets out a sigh of relief - everything was okay after all.

"Sapphire," she greets upon walking down the hill to the trees. There's a gentle and polite smile on her face, and Sapphire feels a little comforted just seeing it. "It is a pleasure to meet with you once more."

"Oh, yeah, same to you!" Sapphire lets out a quick bark of laughter. "I thought yer might be all beaten up…I was really worried, but it looks like yer okay now!"

"Yes, I am," she says with a graceful nod. Then she seems to hesitate. "I would invite you in, but…"

"It's fine, it's fine," she says with a dismissive tone. "I get that yer not being rude or nothin'!"

Platinum seems to study her for a moment, and she notices Ruby coming back down beside them. He's just coming down behind them as the girl speaks again.

"You have changed," she says simply. Then she seems to reconsider. "Oh, forgive me if I am being too forward."

"Changed?" Ruby cuts in, looking between the two. Platinum startles a little bit, but it's so subtle Sapphire hardly notices. "Oh, but I apologise! Snowflake Enchantress, it's an honour to finally to see your beauty and mystery in person!"

"Mystery," Platinum repeats. "No, I am no longer to be shrouded in mystery…Would you like some bread?"

"Excuse me?" Ruby blinks. "But…surely being a Mystique refers to the element of mystery? Or the name would fall apart."

"It is just a title," Platinum says, head held high.

"…I see."

"Ruby, why don't you go away somewhere?" Sapphire asks irritably. "We're tryna talk."

"There are nicer ways to ask a person to leave, you do realise," he mutters.

"Yes, I have been made of this." Platinum turns to Ruby. "Would you mind fetching me a basket of bread; I left it indoors."

"Again with the bread?"

To Sapphire's relief, the conversation doesn't continue before it become any harder to follow, and Ruby trudges back off the hill, murmuring about things she doesn't care about. Probably more fashion and how it connects to Platinum.

"It seems you have also befriended a human." Platinum laughs a little. "They are quite amusing, are they not? I have become very fond of the two that frequent my house."

"I'm not fond at all," Sapphire says, huffing. "That guy couldn't be any more annoyin'! Yer lucky with the humans that chose to pester yer, 'cause I can't stand him!"

"…Yes, there's definitely some change here," the girl says, a glimmer of concern in her knowledgeable eyes. "Even to the basis of your speaking style."

"…I guess it really has been a long time since we last met, huh."

"Merely a few hundred years. Would you care to discuss the cause of your change, or is it more of a private affair?"

"It's nothin' really," Sapphire says with an uncomfortable shrug. "I haven't changed that much, have I?"

"I remember you used to wear this delicate and wonderful dress made entirely of flowers, with your hair down to your waist. You spoke like a nymph and treated all the wanderers of the forests as if they were all your dearest friends. Why has it changed?"

"I-I was weak back then!" she exclaims, flushing as she remembers her past self. "Too gentle. Too nice! Yer can't do anythin' like that."

"…I see," Platinum says, voice tinged with sadness. "But-!"

The girl stops suddenly, and Sapphire follows her gaze up to the sky. It feels like the air has grown a thousand times colder, despite the already icy winds blowing past. A heavy feeling of dread falls over her, as if she could die at any moment, as if all hope is gone and she has been reduced to nothing. She can hear Platinum's hitched breath, but she can't see her lips or her eyes or her face. Sapphire can't see anything.

The sun has flickered out.

There are clear indications of something being very wrong all over the place, and Platinum isn't quite sure which one to begin with. The most prominent one seems to the fact that a heavy darkness has set down all across the world, causing a terrifying, nightmarish atmosphere to lurk in at every moment. It's all somewhat of a rush, and Platinum ends up leading Sapphire through the dark forest. They work as a pair, with her leading the girl through the snow, whilst Sapphire leads her through the dense trees.

"I don't understand," Platinum mutters, stumbling a little over a root. Sapphire places a rough hand on her bare shoulder and guides her carefully. "This is…what is happening?"

"It's freezin'," Sapphire mutters, pulling Ruby's jacket around her. "Freezin, freezin'. I've never experienced this kinda cold."

"For me, there is no change…" the girl says. "But still, I am worried. This should not be happening, should it?"

"Nah. There's somethin' seriously not right here."

"Here, this stretch of trees reaches down to the edge of the ocean. You will not be able to get particularly close, but I hope it is better than nothing."

"Yeah, it's fine," Sapphire says, nodding. Platinum nods (even though she doubts it can be seen) and sets off on a smoother path towards the ocean. They are all meeting up together, which is another thing that indicates things are wrong. There has never been an instance where all four Mystiques have met up before - there was never any need for it before.

When Platinum hurries down to the beach, she can already see Blue and Crystal stood by the water, alongside a range of their human friends. Again, things are wrong. Crystal was supposed to be up in the skies, she had told everyone so yesterday, but yet she is already back. Nothing can draw the girl away from her work without good reason.

"Platinum!" Blue cries, and she startles, unaccustomed to such a casual use of her name. The feeling stops though, when she sees the dark figure of the girl from the other week - the one who had wrapped her bandages - led lifelessly on the floor. She comes to a stop, withdrawing a little from the scene.

"Why…what is going on?" She glances around the group. When she looks towards the trees, it's too dark to see if Sapphire is there or not, but she assumes as much. "What has happened to the sun? Star Girl?"

"I-…it wasn't me," Crystal says in a whisper, voice trembling. "I didn't…I saw it suddenly…but when I tried to brighten it again, there was nothing. Like I had no control over it."

"This is awful," Blue sobs, reaching out and touching Yellow's cheek. "It's so awful…"

The boys stand quietly, and Platinum seeks out Pearl and Diamond, holding one of their hands in each of hers. Almost at the same time, they squeeze her hand in comfort.

"…What happened?" Platinum asks, her voice feeling like a knife in the thick silence. "Is she really…?"

"It's all my fault," one of the boys chokes from beside her, bent down next to the girl's body. "It's…this was my fault!"

There's another tense silence, and Platinum is unsure of whether to ask any more questions. Exactly what happened still isn't clear, but she decides on asking it another time. Right now feels too delicate to start asking any questions. She can hear gasps and sobs from around her, and the atmosphere is almost too much. It's like she can hardly breathe.

"…I'll go and tell the Forest Guardian," says the boy who had been shooed by Sapphire earlier, and stumbles off across the beach, probably in a desperate attempt to escape the scene.

"Her name is Sapphire," Blue whispers after him, tears still running down her cheek. "And this girl's name is Yellow. She's not a doll…she's not just a lifeless failure of a person…"

"Blue," another boy says, one with a sharp analytical voice. "…The sun."

"…Do-do you think…?" Crystal starts. "…But there's no way that…"

There's yet again another strained silence in the group, as the ocean sways gently behind them. Platinum stares back down the body, barely visible in the darkness. She had heard that the girl was often referred to as 'The Doll', and right now, she does look like one. Her arms limp, her hair draped over her unmoving face. The boy knelt down by her body is grasping one of her hands, and she wonders if maybe he's crying. It would make sense, if they really were so close. Suddenly, he gasps and sits up, and the others turn to look at him.

"H-hey," he says unsurely, voice still tainted with hints of grief. "…Her-her hands are…warming up…"

"…What?" Blue gasps breathlessly. "Red, what're you…"

Crystal bends down beside her and holds a hand to the girl's neck. "…Th-there's a pulse!"

"That's not possible," the boy with the sharp voice says, bending down. "Blue said she was definitely…-there's no way she could have survived."

"Guys, I seriously think…"

They wait silently, and Platinum feels her hold on the boys' hand tighten once more, her heart beating hard in her chest. A few minutes pass, and she isn't sure what exactly is happening or what they should do. Maybe the girl wasn't actually dead? But then when before has Blue failed to recognise something within the ocean?

"H-hey, Yellow?" Red whispers, voice quiet but feeling loud in the anticipating silence. "Hey, can you hear me?"

Platinum holds her breath. Nobody says anything, staring down at the girl. Suddenly, there's a burst of light throughout the sky, slightly blinding in her eyes. When she blinks, everything as it was before.

"…Hnmmhm…"

"…Y-Yellow?" Red breathes, eyes wide. Platinum can see now - he had been crying.

"…G-good morning," she whispers, sitting up slowly. The girl blinks and looks around at everyone as if she had just woken up from a slumber, before Red wraps his arms around her tightly, making her eyes widen.

"Yellow…!" Blue says, holding her hands over her mouth. "Y-you're okay!"

"…What happened…? I don't remember…" She glances around, before brushing her fingertips against the snow layered over the sand. "Why is it so warm?"

"…Warm?"

"I'm sorry," Yellow murmurs, her knees drawn up to her chest. She doesn't have the confidence to look the others in the eyes at this moment, even though it's only Red, Green and Blue. "…I'm really sorry."

The others have gone back to the house by this point, leaving just them sat down by the ocean. She feels strangely warm despite the snow all around her, as well as slightly scared of the implications of that. Overall, the main feeling flooding her body is guilt and regret. She remembers what she did. She wished she didn't have to remember.

"It's not your fault," Red says, frowning. "Seriously, it's all mine. I shouldn't have just said outright that…I mean, it was too much for you to deal with and I didn't know all that stuff and-"

"It wasn't anybody's fault!" Blue snaps. "Why do you have to assign blame for a problem with multiple causes? Are you trying to make yourself feel worse on purpose?"

Yellow frowns and shifts slightly, placing her hand back on the sand. Then she realises something.

"…Why has the snow…" When she looks around, a small patch of the snow has completely melted in water. She stares at it, confused.

"I think it's about time we addressed this issue," Green says with a sigh. He looks stressed, and it worries Yellow. They all look somewhat stressed, and she bites her lip when considering that it's her fault. "People just don't come back to life. You jumped into the ocean in the south of Sinnoh and were under for a good few minutes. When we checked, you had no pulse. But yet you're still alive."

"Maybe it's just some kind of good luck?" Yellow suggests, giving a small shrug. "...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have jumped-"

"No, we understand," Blue says, but she has this sad, distant look in her eyes. "I guess everything just pushed you too far, huh?"

"It was my fault for running away from it for so long-" she starts.

"No, I've known you for the longest amount of time, I should have noticed sooner-" Green cuts in, before Blue rises up out of the water, glaring at all of them.

"Stop it with the blame! You guys are ridiculous! Can't you just accept it was nobody's fault? I see people drown every day, and there's not always gonna be a clear cause for all of them. Just…leave it."

"Yellow," Green starts again, turning to the girl. She almost flinches under his serious gaze, even though she knows this is a time where she needs to be serious. "You didn't die."

"Yeah, we got that," Red says, rolling his eyes. He's sat close to Yellow, so close that she almost wants to hold his hand. It would probably give her some comfort - but she probably shouldn't, not now. "What point are you trying to make here, Green? Are you gonna imply something like she's a ghost?"

"A ghost?" Green shakes his head in exasperation. "No, of course not something like that. What I'm trying to say is-"

"You think she's become a Mystique," Blue finishes, crossing her arms.

"Wh-what?" Yellow glances around at them. "No, I'm not! That was the whole point of everything; I was supposed to be but I couldn't. I wasn't good enough to become a Mystique."

"Look at the snow," Green says, and she notices it has only melted around her.

"B-but that might just be a coincidence!" Yellow protests. "It's impossible. Blue already said you can't make a Mystique."

"No, it wasn't those years you spent in that institution or whatever it was," the girl says, a look of clear disgust on her face. Yellow tries not to think too hard about it. "When you died. That must have been when the transformation took place."

"But…Mystique of what? The ocean, because I d-died there? But you're already the Ocean Spirit so…"

"Remember how Crystal said she lost control over the sun? And then it pretty much went out during the time you weren't conscious?" Blue watches her carefully. "Maybe that's it."

"The sun is a star," Green points out with narrowed eyes. "Is it possible for Mystiques to share such things?"

"I-I don't really think…" Yellow says, glancing up at the sky nervously. She runs her fingers over her other hand, trying to figure out whether her skin feels any warmer or not. It's hard to tell.

"It'd suit your blonde hair," Red says, smiling at her. She instinctively touches a strand and swallows. Now her face feels warmer, but that's probably something different.

"But…but what do I have to do with the sun? What am I supposed to do with it? Look after it?"

"Maybe just be there, watching over," Blue says, gazing up at the sky with thoughtful eyes. "Lucky…I wish I could just walk around freely and do whatever I want."

"Don't you like being the Ocean Spirit?" Red asks, frowning. "I mean, the ocean is a pretty big place and there's lots of stuff to do, isn't there?"

"I suppose." Blue moves her hand around in the water easily, causing ripples around her fingers. "Not a lot of company, unless you like sharing secrets and gossiping with fish."

"Back to the original topic," Green says, still staring at Yellow with the cautious look. "Is there any certain way to test if a person has become a Mystique or not?"

"Hmm…" Blue shrugs. "No idea. I just kinda figured it out because I wasn't dead and I wasn't dying, even when my entire body was submerged in the water. It's pretty obvious from that. And there's no complete shared attributes between us, other than we don't age. Me and Crystal don't need oxygen, and only me and Sapphire are bound to specific places. Obviously Platinum can't leave the colder regions…and all of us but Sapphire can't really feel temperature."

"Huh, that sounds kind of complicated," Red says, before taking a hold of Yellow's hand. She tenses and feels her face warm up, almost wanting to pull away but not quite. "Her skin's unnaturally warm though. Would that make sense?"

Blue lets out a small laugh. "Well, I think we might as well just accept that we have a new Mystique. Welcome to the club, Yellow."

"A-are you sure?" she says. "I mean…what if I'm not? It seems a little awkward to be making assumptions now at this stage…"

"I'm pretty sure," Blue says with a wink. "Ocean Sprit's intuition isn't normally wrong. I know a lot of things about lots of things!"

"Of course you do," Green says, but the tone isn't as much annoyed as it is amused. Yellow wonders whether they might finally be getting along, but it's a little hard to tell.

"So now you get to pick your very own special Mystique title," Blue carries on, grinning brightly.

"Huh? You picked them yourself?" Red blinks. Yellow notices he still hasn't let go of her hand and wonders absentmindedly whether it's intentional or not. "I always assumed that you just kinda…had them."

"Of course!" Blue seems to think about this a little more, before pouting. "Obviously, people tend to change them up a little. Key example, I originally attached maybe ten, twenty adjectives onto my name, but people just call me Ocean Spirit. I suppose it works though."

"…I don't know," Yellow says. "Nothing really suits me. Can't I just stick with The Doll? Since people have always called me that.

"No, no way." Blue shakes her head firmly. "No more of that. If you really are the sun Mystique…how about we call you the Sun Maiden? I think that's pretty."

"…Sun Maiden?" Yellow repeats it, feeling a little awkward. "Wa-wait, if I really am a Mystique, does that mean I'll never grow any older?"

"Never any wrinkles," Blue says, sounding a little wistful. "I hope you like the height you are now."

Yellow thinks over this for a few moments, but her gaze falls on Red's hand (still holding hers) and she frowns just a little. "Doesn't being immortal get lonely though?"

"If you ever get lonely, you just look at what you have around you, I guess." Blue smiles but it doesn't reach her eyes. "Maybe everyone will forget about me and maybe everyone I like will die in what seems like seconds, but at least I have the ocean. I'll always have the ocean. Crystal will always have the stars and Sapphire will always have the trees. Platinum will always have the snow and you'll always have the sun."

"That doesn't sound good at all," Green says, frowning.

"Hey, if you don't like it, you could always try your very hardest to-" Blue stops, pursing her lips. "Never mind. Y'know, we shouldn't be talking about bad occurrences, since a load of good occurrences happened! Hey, actually, when you guys first met me, you bowed. So bow now! You're in the presence of two Mystiques."

"Like we would do that again," Green mutters, at the same time Red hastily lets go of her hand and ducks his head.

"Wh- n-no, don't do that! You really don't need to do that!" She laughs just a little, feeling a little embarrassed. "It's strange, because even though I've been trained for this all my life, I don't really know what I'm supposed to do."

"You don't really have to do anything," Blue says, shrugging. "Just enjoy it, I guess."

"…Okay," Yellow says uncertainly. She scoops up another handful full of snow and watches as it melts slowly in her palm. It's a little sad to watch, but she's happy that in the end she managed to make it. Even if it means staying like this forever. Even if it means never falling in love and growing up and getting married and having a family. It might be okay from now on. At least she didn't fail. She wasn't a failure. She was more than the doll they said she would be. "Okay."

whew, it's like two minutes to midnight but I think I made it!
and if I didn't well...time-zones and that ouo""""""
and that's it for this fic! ovo
pretty sure anyone who read any of my old stories would know that death was coming heh
but i hope you enjoyed! merry Christmas!