I hit the water hard.
The cold punched the air from my lungs, and the world turned dark and weightless. Bubbles tore past my face as I sank deeper, the muffled roar of the waterfall above fading into nothing. My limbs felt heavy. I didn’t fight it. I let the pull of the current drag me down, deeper and deeper.

No one would know.
No one would care.

Up above, the world kept spinning.

Inside Galaxy Hall, Irida’s voice cracked through the heavy air.

“Wait. Where’s Mia?”

Commander Kamado frowned, turning away from his papers. “What do you mean? She left, didn’t she?”

Irida’s eyes narrowed. “No… No, she wouldn’t just leave. Not without saying anything.” She turned sharply toward the door. “She was just here! I saw her come in—”

Captain Cyllene stood up slowly from her place at the side. Her gaze darkened. “Guard.”

A stationed sentry stiffened. “Ma’am?”

Cyllene’s voice was ice. “Where did the outsider go?”

The guard blinked, shifting uneasily. “She ran past me. Said she needed to see something. She went toward the bluffs, by the falls.”

Silence crashed over the room.

Irida’s face went pale. “The bluffs…?” She didn’t wait. She bolted for the door. “Mia—!”

Cyllene’s chair scraped back hard as she followed, voice sharp. “Get every able-bodied man out there! Now!”

Kamado’s face twisted. He slammed a fist onto the desk. “Irida, Cyllene—bring her back. Alive.”

The wind tore at Irida’s clothes as she sprinted up the path. Her heart hammered painfully against her ribs. “Mia! Mia, where are you?!”

The guards were shouting behind her now, voices overlapping in panic.

Captain Cyllene’s longer strides closed the distance fast. She caught Irida by the arm and yanked her back before she could get too close to the cliff's edge.

"Don’t be reckless!" Cyllene barked, but her own face was tight, her eyes scanning the waters below.

Irida wrenched free. “She jumped, didn’t she?!”

The guard caught up, breathless. “S-Someone saw a splash! By the rocks!”

Irida staggered forward, tears stinging her eyes. She gripped the edge of the cliff so hard her knuckles turned white. “No… no, no, no—” Her voice broke. “Mia, please—!”

Cyllene’s jaw clenched. She turned on the guard. “Get ropes. Boats. I don’t care if you have to search every inch of that river—find her!”

The guard saluted and bolted.

Irida’s shoulders shook. “I should’ve noticed. I should’ve seen—she was listening. She heard them talking about banishing her, and I didn’t even—” Her voice cracked apart, and she covered her mouth.

Cyllene’s hand gripped her shoulder, tight and grounding. “Irida. Focus. We will find her.” But her voice was lower now. Gritted. There was something raw in it.

Below them, the water churned.

But there was no sign of me.

No splash.
No ripple.
Nothing.

The sky above was cloudless and bright. But the people standing on the cliff felt nothing but cold.

The search began. Shouts echoed up and down the riverbanks. Boats scraped against the rocks.

Irida didn’t leave the cliff’s edge. She stood there, tears running silently down her cheeks, hands balled into fists.

Cyllene stood behind her, arms crossed tight, her face carved from stone. But even she couldn’t hide the flicker of worry in her eyes.

And the water kept flowing.

And I did not surface.

I walked into Galaxy Hall and ran up the stairs to the Commander’s office… place.

He was already speaking.

“…She is from another dimension, though,” Kamado was saying. “Are you sure—”

Irida’s voice was sharp and immediate. “Sir, with all due respect, Mia is an amazing person. She scouted those Alpha Pokémon on your command. You cannot just vanish her because she’s from somewhere else.”

My heart drooped.

“But we cannot ignore the facts, Irida. She is from somewhere else.”

Then the Captain.

“I agree with Irida. And, sir, with all due respect, it seems you are trying to get rid of her. But she has been a big help to the town.”

There was a pause. A shift of weight.

Commander Kamado sighed. “Maybe. But then again, this all happened after she came. And we must take into account our town’s safety.”

I could not bear to hear any more.

With the quietness of a mouse, I slipped back down the stairs and out the front doors.

Outside, the sun was low. Warm on my skin. But I didn’t stop to feel it.

I ran through the crowd, dodging villagers and calls of “Mia?” and “What’s the rush?” Faces blurred past. Some curious. Some indifferent.

When I reached the front gates, a guard stepped in front of me.

“Where are you headed?”

I shook my head, trying to catch my breath. “Nowhere. I just need to see something. I’ll be back quickly.”

He hesitated. But nodded.

And I ran.

Past the farms.

Past the bridge.

Past the trees.

To the edge of the cliff.

I stood there, looking out over the sea. The sky was streaked orange and purple, and the wind caught my hair, tugging gently.

I picked up a rock and threw it. It splashed the water far below. A second later, thunk, it struck something deeper and disappeared.

I let out a shaky breath.

…That was a far distance to jump.

I looked around.

No one.

Not a soul.

I made my choice.

I backed away.

One step.

Two steps.

Ten steps.

And I charged.

The cliff rushed toward me—

And I jumped.

And did a backflip.

The wind roared in my ears. The sky spun. The world flipped upside down and then right side up again.

And I did not surface.

-----

“Where’s Mia?” Irida asked later that evening.

They had just finished the strategy meeting. Plates still full. Chairs still warm. But Mia’s seat was untouched.

“Didn’t she say she was going for a walk?” the Professor asked.

“I don’t think she came back,” Cyllene said, already standing.

They checked the hut.

Nothing.

They checked the farms.

No one had seen her.

It wasn’t until the guard at the front gate hesitantly stepped forward, wringing his hands, that anyone had a lead.

“She said she just needed to see something,” he murmured. “Said she’d be back quickly.”

“Where?” Irida demanded.

He pointed. “Toward the cliffs.”

No one said a word.

And then the running began.

Through the fields.

Across the bridge.

Past the trees.

To the edge of the cliff.

Only the wind waited.

And a wet stone.

And silence.

The water swallowed me. No sound. No splash. Just silence.

I didn’t surface.

Time passed.

No one noticed.

Not at first.

Inside Galaxy Hall, Irida folded her arms, exhaling slowly. “She deserves better than this. At least let her speak for herself.”

Commander Kamado rubbed his temples. “Where is she now?”

The Captain glanced at the door. “She was here earlier…”

Irida frowned. “Wait. She was?”

The room fell quiet.

“…Where’s Mia?” Irida asked, stepping back. “She should have said something—she wouldn’t just leave.”

The Captain stiffened. “She overheard us.”

Kamado stood quickly. “She was eavesdropping?”

“She must have,” the Captain said. “She was here. She came upstairs.”

A sudden knock at the door.

A guard stumbled in, out of breath. “S-sir—Captain—Lady Irida—!”

Irida rushed to him. “What is it?”

“It’s— it’s Mia. Someone saw her run out the front gate. Toward the cliffs.”

The Captain’s eyes narrowed. “Which cliffs?”

“The southern ridge. The high one. They said—she said she’d be quick. That she had to see something.”

Kamado’s eyes went wide. “She jumped, didn’t she?”

“I— I don’t know. But no one’s seen her come back. I— I went after. I found her satchel. Just sitting by the edge.”

Irida was already out the door.

The Captain wasn’t far behind.

The cliffs were high.

The wind howled up there, sharp and cold. Irida reached the edge first, heart pounding, boots skidding against the grass. She stopped.

The satchel.

Left gently on the rock, open just slightly.

The Captain arrived seconds later, eyes sweeping the edge. “Mia—?!”

No answer.

Only the ocean.

Irida looked down.

Only the water.

Ripples. But no figure. No movement.

“MIA!!” Irida shouted, voice cracking, echoing off the cliffs and the sky.

Silence answered.

The Captain’s jaw clenched. “Search parties. Divers. Now.”

“I’ll go,” Irida whispered, already turning, legs shaking.

“No,” the Captain said. “You’re not thinking clearly.”

“I don’t care! She was trying to help us, and we treated her like—like she was a burden! And now she’s gone, and—”

“She isn’t gone,” the Captain snapped. “Not until we know. MOVE.”

They ran.

Below, in the deep blue waters, the sea held its secrets tight.

The water closed over me like a curtain. Cold. Dark. Final.
I didn’t fight it. I let it take me. Let it pull me deeper, past the sunlit shimmer into the silence.

Above, nothing stirred.
Below, everything was still.
The world grew quiet.

My limbs felt heavy, my ribs ached. My eyes closed.

I didn’t plan to surface.

Meanwhile...

“I still think this is unfair,” Irida muttered, arms crossed, staring at the map table. “She’s not a threat. She’s… she’s not.”

Kamado paced, his expression unreadable. “Whether or not she is a threat is not the point—”

“No, that’s exactly the point!” Irida slammed her hand on the table. “We’ve seen how she’s fought for us, risked herself, scouted Alphas when no one else would even try. You said it yourself—you commended her work!”

Captain Cyllene, standing with arms behind her back, added, “She has been more committed to this village’s safety than some who were born here.”

Kamado rubbed his temples. “Enough. I need time to think.”

Irida huffed. “Fine. I’m getting some air.”

She left the room, footsteps brisk and tight with frustration.

Outside, the sun was beginning to sink.

She scanned the grounds. The usual bustle of townsfolk. The market. The practice fields.

No Mia.

Rei sat under a tree, tossing a berry up and down.

Irida walked up to him. “Have you seen Mia?”

He blinked. “No, not since morning. Why?”

She frowned. “She left the Hall earlier, but no one’s seen her since.”

Just then, the front gate creaked open. A guard jogged in, looking shaken.

The guard glanced around, then spotted Cyllene striding out of Galaxy Hall. He rushed up to her.

“Captain! There’s a problem.”

Cyllene’s eyes narrowed. “What is it?”

“It’s the outsider—Mia. I saw her run past the gate not long ago. She said she needed to see something. I thought nothing of it. She said she’d be back quickly.”

Irida’s heart sank. “Where?”

“The cliffs. I—I thought she just needed air. But I found something…” He reached into his pouch and pulled out a familiar satchel. Mia’s satchel. Soaked.

Irida took a sharp breath. “No…”

Cyllene grabbed the satchel, her voice low. “Send a search team. Now.”

Rei was already on his feet. “I’m coming with you!”

The guard nodded and took off.

Irida stared toward the distant cliffs, chest tightening.

She whispered, “Please… no…”

The water below the cliff rippled gently. A single ribbon floated in the waves.

There was no sign of Mia.

The water swallowed me.

Cold.

It hit like ice and dragged like hands. The current pulled me down before I could blink.

I didn’t resist.

I let it.

The light above wavered. Blurred. Danced.

Then it disappeared.

_____

Hours later, Irida sat at the table across from the Captain. She pushed her untouched tea aside.

"She’s been gone too long."

Cyllene raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

Irida frowned. "Mia. I haven’t seen her since this morning. She was supposed to meet me to check on the Alpha sightings."

The room stilled.

Cyllene stood slowly. "I assumed she had errands."

Irida shook her head. "No, she said she’d be here. She always shows up. Especially for assignments."

Footsteps rushed up the hall. A guard stumbled in, pale, breathing hard.

"Captain! Lady Irida! It’s Mia—she’s gone. She told me earlier she was going to check something and she'd be back quick but she never returned. That was—hours ago!"

Irida stood fast. "Where did she go?"

"Toward the cliffs."

Cyllene didn’t hesitate. "Gather the survey corps. Now."

The guard bolted.

Irida's breath hitched. "The cliffs?"

Cyllene's eyes darkened. "That’s where the rock pools are. There’s a strong undertow this season."

They found her shoe first. Caught between two rocks.

Then her satchel. Floating half-closed, waterlogged, the contents spilling.

The waves lapped like whispers, pulling away from the search party.

Irida stood silent, her arms wrapped around herself, eyes wide and distant.

"...No."

Cyllene didn’t speak. She knelt, reaching for the satchel, pulling it free. Water poured out. Inside—
A berry, a broken brush, one of Rei’s notes.

And a tiny carved charm. Hand-shaped.

Irida trembled. "She—she wouldn’t have—"

"No body," the guard muttered. "The sea might’ve pulled her out farther."

Cyllene’s hand tightened around the charm.

"Keep searching."

"But Captain—"

"Keep searching!"

Irida sank to her knees beside the tide.

“She was right there. And no one saw her leave.”

“No one noticed,” Cyllene said quietly. “Until it was too late.”

They searched until night fell.

Then the next day.

And the next.

And the sea remained silent.