Ice stood before Bubble's home, ignore the looks of the village as he entered the home of the Azumarill. It had been months since he last came down to the village and many were curious as to what he might want. He was a welcome guest the Bubble, who listened to Ice's story without interruption as well as his plan to figure out where the necklace had come from.

At the end Bubble hung her head. "Ice, Minny is gone. It's been three years, she couldn't survive out there this long. Not on her own."

"We at least have to try. If Minny is alive she's in danger." Ice pleaded.

"Ice her necklace got caught on the stick. She's gone." Bubble mumbled, shaking he head. "You're the only one who hasn't accepted it yet."

"Because she's not." Ice almost growled. "What if she's in trouble, what is she's hurt?"

Bubble shook her head again. "I'd like to believe it as much as you do but its just not logical. Besides, you're not going to get anyone to help you. Many still hold grudges against you and the few that don't probably won't help anyway."

"All I'm asking is that you accompany me in the stream. It's Cherri Berry wood which only grow in a specific area upriver but I can't search it all myself. You know the rivers better than anyone, and you know I wouldn't have asked for help unless I really needed it."

Bubble sighed and remained quiet, pondering on Ice's request. Minny had been gone three years now. She'd long ago given up on the hope Minny was alive, she was to young to survive and unable to see anything around her. But... Minny had one been her best friend and Bubble had already abandoned her once... if the little Buneary was alive, she'd owe her as much as to try. Azumirall's age faster then Buneary's so Minny would still be at a much younger age, probably scared if she did need help... If she was alive... If she was sufferings...

She looked up at Ice and nodded. "Fine, but not for long. It takes half a day to get up the mountain and another to get down. But I guess I owe Minny as much right?"

Ice nodded and turned to leave Bubble's hollow. "We leave tomorrow."

"Eesh Ice. Not everybody's a loner like you... Wait I meant that is a nice way... I meant that I have a family now and..."

Ice rolled his eyes. "Relax Bubble, I'm not going to eat you. I'll be waiting at dawn."

Bubble sighed. "See you then I guess."

The Beartic simply nodded, turning to leave and prepare for their journey.

"Unky Ice!" Bubble's daughter squealed in delight. The little Azuril, Bubble's daughter had been named Minnie after of course Minny after the first year she'd gone missing. The little Azuril waddled over to the Beartic on her tiny legs.

Ice gave the water type and small pat on the head before leaving. "I've gone way to soft." He mumbled to himself before he left. Without another word, making his way silently back up to his cave. New hope had ignited inside him. If Minny was alive, he promised himself he would find her, bring her home and protect her forever. The rest of the afternoon passed to slowly for Ice who spent the day pacing back and forth through his cave, thinking of the best and worst scenarios he'd find Minny in, if at all and went to sleep with the same thoughts on his mind.

❄️~*🌨*~❄️

The freshly fallen snow had made a think blanket of white over everything, crunching with each step the pair of Pokémon took. The suns rays reflected the light making every inch of the forest sparkle like a million diamonds. It was about after midday at the time that Ice and Bubble reached the Cherri Berry fields and it was immediately obvious that the task ahead of the two would be harder then Ice originally thought. The snow reached up the Ice's Elbows and nearly as tall as Bubble. She had been restricted to the rivers for a majority of their journey.

"So what now?" Bubble asked unamused by the travel up hill.

Ice scanned the surrounding area and saw nothing but white with the odd redness of a Cherri Berry sicking out like a beacon among the snow. "I don't know." He muttered. "Maybe we can find something."

Bubble rolled her eyes with a soft sigh. "You really had no plan for this did you?"

"None at all."

"Oh joy."

Ice growled slightly, raising his snout to the air and took a deep breath, sniffing in the scents the air had to offer but could smell nothing more then the strong sent of Cherri berries. It was then Ice realised how stupid it was for them to be doing this. But he wouldn't be beaten so easily as his sharpened sight surveyed the surrounding area once more. The cracking of a twig caught his attention. Ice turned around quickly, narrowing his eyes in the direction the sound had come from. He signalled for Bubble to remain behind him and stalked towards the source of the sound. He pushed aside a bush growling at the Pokémon he saw.

The poison-dark type snickered at Ice. "So nice to see you here Beartic."

"Drapion." Ice hissed, snow can veered fur standing on end.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Drapion snickered, old scares shone paily from his shell, reminders of his previous encounter with Ice gleamed in the sunlight. "I have claimed this field after all, or are you as blind as your blind little Buneary friend as to not see my marks claiming this as my territory?"

Ice let out a growl. "This is no one's territory Drapion and if I were you I'd be carful how you speak of Minny."

"Whatcha gonna do? Kill me?" Drapion sneered.

"I'm seriously considering it right now."

"And break your oh so important promise to that blind little Buneary friend of yours. I doubt it."

"Ice, let's go." Bubble said nervously, pulling at Ice's fur.

Ice didn't budge as his glare of Drapion intensified. Hate burned within every inch of his body but he suppressed it with the promise he'd made, the reminder of what he was doing here, who he was doing this for. Drapion seemed much content with the encounter, watching in amusement as Ice fought his conflicting emotions. Before he simply turned his back on the two Pokemon. "You two stay out of my way. If you poke your snouts where they don't belong, you'll find yourselves in territory you'd wished you'd never set foot in." With that he disappeared deep into the berry forest leaving both Ice and Bubble completely confused as to what just happened.

Drapion wandered from the main part of the forest, entering a vast stream of under ground tunnels that stretched far into the mountains. Few knew about it's location and fewer still knew its purpose. The Drak-Poison type navigated the maze of tunnels and cavern with ease, nodding in greeting to the many Poison or Dark type Pokémon he saw along the way. He stopped when he came to a room, nestled deep within the complex, looking past the barred window with a smirk. The small, unmoving figure within was one he'd found by chance, plucking her from river the years ago after she'd no doubt fallen in.

Drapion chuckled to himself making the form in the prison look up in fear, blinking her unseeing eyes as if trying to get them to work once more. Minny pushed herself further against the wall as Drapion left her, chuckling to himself of how easily things were falling into place, leaving the trembling, broken form to remain frozen for hours after he disappeared.

🌙❄🌟❄🌙
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I think anyone would have guessed this to happen but meh, MINNY'S ALIVE!!!
Will Ice find her? I don't know, probably.