Save State

By: Aviantei

File Eight: Data Corrupt

I had been left behind many times in my life. My father left shortly after the divorce without ever making an effort to stay connected with me. My mother had passed away the year before I started my journey, despite the trips to the hospital and medical expert's attempts. The Shrine Guardian had clearly given up on me, too, so that was another line on the list. Plus Fri wasn't going to have my back anytime soon, either. I was pretty alone at this point.

I was also pretty used to it, honestly. Not in that I expected it as the outcome, but in that I could take it when it hit me.

Too bad N's translation made me feel a whole lot like I was about to puke up that festival food I had eaten earlier. At least there hadn't been a floor left in, and the contents of my stomach would just hit the ground, so long as I avoided the table and chair. Lots easier to clean up than a stain.

N's eyebrows dropped in concern, and Nochi hopped to her feet. I raised a hand to mouth, taking shaky breaths into my palm. Wicker's nose nudged at my chin, but she didn't stop crying out notes, just smaller and quieter. I swallowed to keep my potential vomit at bay and looked back to N. "What's she saying?"

N narrowed his eyes further. "She's worried for you." Ah, I figured that much out. "She thinks that there's trouble because you're not being…guided anymore?" He paused for Wicker to nod. Guided? "At least right now. What you're aiming for can't be accomplished alone."

I frowned and managed to sit upright, my stomach sloshing to a settle. The Shrine Guardian then? What did Wicker know about the Shrine Guardian? Did legendary Pokémon have conferences or something? Lunch over tea and berries?

"She also says you're not feeling well, and I agree," N continued. Too bad I couldn't just will the look of queasiness away. That would be too convenient. I even felt shaky. "Do you need help to a medical tent? Or to go lie down?" He glanced around the room. "We don't have anything here, but I could take you somewhere."

"I think he needs a little fresh air," Nochi interjected, stepping forward, though she stopped a few steps short of standing by my armchair. "This isn't the breeziest space." N surveyed ceiling. Their mystic atmosphere was definitely lacking in any windows. "Why don't you step outside for a bit?"

I nodded, working my way into a stand. Wicker hopped to the table, twirling around to face me with a whimper. N stood as well.

"I can come with you," he offered. "I think it would be better if you had someone—"

Nochi held up her arm as a barrier, though her fingertips didn't even come close to providing any blockage. At best she was showing off their taste in furniture. N could have easily side-stepped her, but he remained still. "I'll go," the girl said, giving N a sidelong glance as she propped her free hand on her hip. "You'll just get distracted out there, and we need this place set up by morning. I can't reach the higher places like you can."

It was sound logic: Nochi easily stood a whole head under N, if not more. Making her hang up those curtains alone probably wasn't the best move, plus it looked like there was still a lot of furniture tucked in that side corner. N glanced around the room once before slumping his shoulders.

"You're right again, Nochi," he relented, toying with the brim of his hat. I adjusted my own, the rim still damp from Wicker's earlier assault. "I'll take care of the big stuff, and you can help me perfect the display equation afterwards!"

Nochi flashed a thumbs up with a giggle. "You know it!"

I looked back to Wicker. The small Pokémon blinked at me, and I wondered what else she had to say. She didn't seem to be happy now that she'd passed on her message, but she wasn't speaking anymore, either. It was hard to gauge. "Why don't you take a rest?" I said, reaching for her the Master Ball. She gave me one last "Naa" before being returned. I returned her ball to my pack and turned to Nochi. "Ladies first."

"What a charmer," she snickered. Yeah, not commenting on that one. "Let's get you into some air before you keel over, okay?"

No complaints from me. I stepped around the table, prepared to head back through the suspenseful corridor, but Nochi headed to the wall already covered in curtains. She tugged one back, revealing a door. I jogged up to the newly opened exit, inhaling the fresh breeze.

As I had predicted, the back room was stretched out behind several other festival stalls. There was enough space to give other stalls room for extra operations still, lending to the long length of hallway connecting to the back. It seemed practicality was at play, and not just atmosphere. As someone who had worked with the Festival Committee, it was kinda shameful that I hadn't known about this structure. Then again, I had only been involved for a day, so my transaction wasn't that bad.

I have the worst habit of defending myself.

Laughter and conversation bubbled over the tops of the festival stands as Nochi secured the backdoor with a key hanging from her neck. Even so, it was a lot quieter on the backside. What was more impressive was the near soundproof quality inside their stand. Just who developed that architecture anyways?

Nochi tucked the key down the front of her dress and stepped towards the trees, gesturing for me to follow. Not even kids were back in this chunk of trees, though the late hour probably contributed to that. I kept track of Nochi in my peripheral before the star glittered sky disappeared into leafy overhang.

"You grew up here?" Nochi called from several feet ahead.

I turned my attention to the ground, stepping over stray tree roots. "Yeah."

"It's very nice here," she continued, floating back and forth between different trees, fingertips skidding over bark. "You're close to a lot of nature. If you didn't know about it, not many people would guess that a town was here." That's for sure. When I flew back home, from overhead you could hardly see any of the buildings for the forest, and I lived here.

"You guys didn't happen to get lost coming in, did you?" I teased.

"Unexpected complications."

Her clipped response knocked the smirk right off my face. Guess cracks at her sense of direction weren't appreciated. Nochi's tone lightened as she asked, "What about you?" right back at me. "When you were younger. I'd imagine it would be hard to get around by yourself."

Considering everyone I know has a story or two from their childhood about when they ended up on the opposite side of town, I wasn't too embarrassed to admit it. "It took me a few years to learn most of the paths. I definitely didn't go outside by myself much. I had to have a friend or an adult with me so I could make it to the right place. Errat wasn't allowed to go alone, but that's 'cause he'd end up playing in the trees instead of getting lost."

I breathed out a chuckle. Fri was the only one of us with a good enough head on her shoulders at that age. She tended to be the official escort when necessary. She managed to teach Fuji her good sense of direction, too.

"And Errat's your friend?" Nochi stopped by a tree, turning to face me. With only moonlight flickering through branches, I gave a verbal affirmation. She hummed, leaning against her chosen tree as I caught up to her position. "Did you know that Natural grew up in the woods?"

What kind of jump in conversation was that?

Nochi continued without waiting for a response. "He was left out in the woods and raised by Pokémon for a while. Probably the first six or seven years of his life." So was that why he could understand Pokémon? He'd grown up with them. "They were his only family for the longest time. This sort of place probably feels more like home to him than anything." The wistful tone of her voice melted perfectly into the evening, soft Hoothoot calls mingling in the trees.

"Is that how it feels to you?" I asked.

The whites of her eyes caught in a fragment of light. She had her own Deerling in the headlights expression, though Fri's won in the cuteness department. She looked down, obscuring her face in shadow. "No, that's not quite it," she said. "Places like this feel peaceful, but they're not home, either." She shrugged, her skirt bouncing in the process. "I…met Natural about a year after he came out of the woods. When I was brought to live with him. He didn't open up to people well, so they tried bringing in someone his own age."

It seemed that experiment was a success. That guy had talked so fast I could barely keep up with him. Nochi didn't say anything more, and I glanced around. We were pretty far from the festival at this point, more than necessary for the claim of getting some "fresh air."

"You really didn't have to escort me. I'm feeling fine." Without Wicker's worries and N's gaze on me, I felt a lot calmer. My stomach had even settled down. At this point the worst I had going for me was exhaustion. Professor Maple had been right; I should have gone home straight after the Ceremony. "I mean, thanks and I appreciate it, but you said you guys needed to set up your stand for tomorrow…"

Nochi kept her head down, leaving me without a clue to her expression. It seemed she wasn't about to take the out I had given her. She inhaled and held it for a few seconds before looking back to me. "I wanted to talk to you." Before I could protest, she added, "Without Natural. He wouldn't…really understand."

Well that didn't make me feel any better. "About what Wicker said?" I chanced. "Because if anyone can decipher that mess, I think N's the guy to do it." I didn't want to be rude, but something about talking to Nochi like this felt wrong.

Not instinct.

Deeper than that.

A primal feeling.

"You're the Champion, right?" Nochi burst out, earning my stunned silence. "You went on a journey and collected your badges and saved the region and became the Champion. You even captured a legendary Pokémon!" What was I supposed to do with that sudden rush of my accomplishments? I didn't even have the time to feel like I didn't deserve that praise. "You're the same as he was."

I cleared my throat and forced the question out: "As who?"

"The Unova Champion." I hadn't paid much attention to international leagues, which was probably a bad position to be in as a Champion myself. I had considered that as part of the things I would deal with after I went back to Victory. "Well, former Champion. He retired this year. But he was there when Natural and I needed help." I could just barely make out the smile sneaking onto her lips. "You're a lot like him."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"It's good," Nochi answered. I waited for the catch. "Well, it can be good. He was wonderful and courageous. Even when I was in his place, I couldn't compare." She laughed, a self-depreciating sound I knew well, even if I didn't get the situation I was in at all. "For you, it was a good thing. Until lately. You had a problem with the Shrine Ceremony, right?" I grimaced. "Sorry. That wasn't supposed to happen."

What sort of guardian would want to show up when it would just have someone try to catch it? Were you even thinking about what would happen if you just took our Guardian and left with it?

"You don't have to tell me that!" Tree branches rustled as a wild Pokémon sprinted away from my outburst.

Nochi stood her ground, not even flinching. "That's not what I meant," she said evenly. Her nerves were something else. "The sequence of events wasn't supposed to go this way. The Shrine Guardian was supposed to show up for your challenge. Something happened that caused it to fail to appear. Natural and I were here to celebrate that, but we were also delayed…we encountered an error."

At this point Nochi was almost muttering to herself. Even if I could hear her words clearly, I doubted they would make much sense. "Not to be rude, but what the hell are you talking about?"

Nochi stood upright, taking a few steps towards me. "Has anything strange happened to you lately?" she asked. I was too stunned by her proximity to point out she had completely avoided the question. "It doesn't have to be something big. Just any little thing at all." She took hold of my hand, thin fingers pressing against my palm.

I tried to read her expression in the dim light, but my night vision could only pick out the edges of her set jawline. Had I had anything strange happen to me lately? How about my sudden self-imposed house arrest after I caught Wicker? My dreams? That nagging feeling I was missing something?

Something important.

"I can help you, Jijri," Nochi said, almost pleading. "At the very least, I can help you understand. So please."

I unstuck my tongue from my mouth and did my best to explain. The fear of getting blown off had stopped me from talking to anyone else, but Nochi only took a few steps back and listened. She didn't interrupt or call me crazy. Just listened.

"I mean, all that weird stuff I can understand," I panted, wondering just where all my air had run off to. "I was tired and stressed from the Festival. Maybe I needed a break? But like, the first dream. It felt like I lived through that one. I woke up exhausted and everything."

"What was it like?" Nochi prompted, blending curiosity and concern. "You said the others were like repeats. This one was different?"

I tugged at the collar of my shirt to let in the cooling air. A damp smell of dirt and grass drifted up from the ground. "Completely. In the others, I didn't even have a body. I was just seeing the Professors, and they would talk over and over. But the first one." I scoffed a little. "It felt real. Like I really ran for miles only to chase down this weird…I don't know how to describe it." At this point, the details were fuzzy, like any other dream, but the sensation in the aftermath hadn't faded.

Nochi smoothed out the hem of her dress with a concentrated hum. "That might be the error," she said, like she was locking a puzzle into place. I was the guy on the sidelines who didn't even have an idea what sort of picture we were supposed to be making. "Try to remember as much as you can from that point. We might be able to—"

"Easy there."

I jumped at the voice, my spine colliding with a knot on the tree behind me. Nochi jumped, too, except it was much more graceful and put a few feet between her and the newcomer. She reached for her hip, only to find empty air. Was she going for a Pokéball? Trying to follow up on the threat, I reached for Wicker's own ball.

"Do you really wanna do that?" the newcomer asked, smirking at me. He was dressed in a pure white suit, which looked just as out of place in the middle of the woods as it would have in the festival crowds. His eyes were a bright orange, only matched in oddness by the multiple blue tones in his hair, like someone had dumped mismatched mosaic tiles over his head. No, scratch that, the oddest part was that I could see him clearly, despite the lack of light.

He was glowing.

Not in the metaphorical sense. In the giving-off-enough-illumination-to-brighten-the-surrounding-area sense. I could even see the little vine patterns on Nochi's skirt through this guy. It was a wonder my eyes had adjusted so quickly.

My gut twisted just looking at him.

I had thought I had been overreacting to Nochi because of my irritation, but that wasn't the case. Whoever the hell this guy was, he was the actual bad news. Scanning my newly brightened surroundings for an out, I shuffled back a step.

Countering my attempt at stealth, Nochi bounded forward to stand between me and him, arms spread. She didn't have a Pokémon with her, but I could recognize someone trying to protect me. She had treated me like a hero, but this girl was the real MPV.

Our phosphorescent guest looked more amused than impressed.

"You think you can help him?" he asked, glancing back to me. I shuddered while Nochi endured his scathing tone. "Seriously? You didn't even help yourself out of your last mess. You'd still be sitting in Dragonspiral Tower if it weren't for me."

"Shut up," Nochi snapped, all traces of her earlier light tone gone. "I'm not going to let you corrupt him anymore. He's still in the early phases. Things can be fixed." She glanced back to me, the shadow of hope in her eyes. "I know I'm broken beyond repair, but you're not going to touch him, do you understand me?"

The glowing guy shrugged, rolling his neon orange eyes. "Still playing the hero, I see. I thought you knew you're not fit for that role." Nochi's shoulders stiffened, and the guy untucked one of his hands from his pocket.

And pointed it straight at me.

"You see, I don't have to touch him to get my way."

I might have said something in return, or maybe that was Nochi. Either way, I couldn't hear it properly. There was a flash of light, and something inside me sparked—

In other words, I whited out.

In this particular dream, I didn't have a body. At this point, I was almost used to it. The odd part was the near silence. By now, one of the Professors would have been asking me questions. All I had was darkness and a slight ringing in my ears. I remained in my suspended state for several minutes until sparks pricked inside me.

I tried to reach for my chest, but nothing moved. There wasn't anything to move, despite the sensation of an overexcited heard of Zebstrika stampeding through my insides. One spark multiplied to two, then four, multiplying on each other and rippling across what little existence I had before fanning out further.

The darkness flickered before lighting up into a dull grey. Jagged lines of color flashed across my vision, leaving words floating in their wake.

[Game has encountered an error.]
[Continue play?]

A yes-no option appeared, selecting the affirmative without me having to do a thing. White light blossomed from the selection, blocking out my vision. When I opened my eyes again, I was left standing in my bedroom, the weight of my body returned. On top of that, a heavier presence rested in my mind, reminding me that I shouldn't just be standing around.

I should check out if the town's okay.

It was instinct.

I didn't have to think any farther than that. I didn't have room to think. I set off down the stairs, pack bouncing at my side. No matter what I might run into, I was ready to face it. The pure amount of confidence having my instinct back in gear gave me let me jump of the porch and set off at a jog down the paths into the trees.

The event was supposed to be at the Shrine.

Even without guidance I could get around town with my eyes closed. From my house, I needed to head east, then keep along the south side of town to end up at the shrine. Wild Pokémon rustled in the trees, the paths bathed in sunshine. A day like this was perfect for travel. With this much determination inside me, I could even see myself hunting down some Pokémon in the edges of the region once I was done in town.

Making the turn to the farther edge of town, I stopped. The path up to this point had been fine, and I hadn't made any weird moves. I blinked, turning around and checking my surroundings. Somehow, I had ended up by Errat's house near the center of town. Mixie sat on the front porch, scribbling recipe ideas in her notebook. Catching sight of me, she waved, and I waved back before heading back towards the south end.

I should have passed the Noda restaurant, but instead I ended up closer to the Professors' Lab. They were on the far northwest side, a good five minutes' jog, but I had made it there within a matter of seconds. Repressing a growl of frustration, I went east, popping up towards the Pokémon center closer to my house.

What's going on here?

Even for a dream, this mix up was more than a bit much. Surely my subconscious wasn't as torn up as to make me forget how my hometown was arranged. Heck, the whole mess would have been cool if the jumps in direction actually got me where I was trying to go.

Following the urge of instinct, I picked paths at random, not even paying attention to where I passed—nowhere logical in my path, that was sure. Several irritated minutes later, I found myself outside the Shrine. Still trying to catch my breath, I stepped inside the gates, relieved that those still took me to where I needed to go.

There were a few followers here and there, but the crowds of the festival had long passed. Without an official service going on, guests were free to pay their respects at the Shrine without much wait. Heading that direction, I spotted Fri and Fuji off to the side. Instinct pushed back the doubts swelling in my throat and stepped forward.

"Hey."

"Jiiiijriiii!" Fuji cheered with extra trill than normal, detaching from her sister and clinging to me instead. Not having much choice in the matter, I stood my ground. "You were so cooooool catching the—! Nee-chan — suuuper impressed."

"Don't — talking — — you don't —," Fri said, her voice cutting in and out on its way to my ears. I wasn't sure if that was more confusing or the smile she gave me. There was even a blush scattered across her cheeks. "I really — — — —, Jijri. You — —"

The world blacked out without warning. Hot dread tumbled throughout my stomach. Electricity surged across my palm, and I snapped it up to my eye level. For a moment, pixels scattered across my hand, blurring my vision, before I, too, vanished into the darkness.

Once again bodiless, I tried to get a grasp on where I was. Something had shut down, but I was still present, instinct no longer guiding me. No, it was there, just not interested in my anymore. This place, blank and empty as it was, was where I was supposed to me. But instinct didn't know that, and I understood its intentions very clearly.

No, wait.

My voice didn't emerge, didn't reach anyone's ears. I didn't have any control anymore, and the excitement of a journey was gone. Disappointment flooded into me, not enough to erase my terror as high pitched, singular note tones prompted another flash of text across my vision.

[Are you sure you want to reset this data?]

No. Please don't do it!

Against my will, the answer selected was [Yes].

[Avi's Somehow Still Spacey Notes]

Oh, whoops. This story just got unnecessarily meta. My apologies. To be fair, that was always the plan but...hey, this story is a more experimental one, anyways.

Once again thanks to those that took the time to read this story over the past week. If you have any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

Anyway. No more new characters. Except for one, but they've already been mentioned enough times so it doesn't matter. Jijri will be working with what he's got now. How that leads to things sorting out, you'll have to wait and see.

This week has been particularly spacy for me, and I'm not sure it's gonna get better. We'll see. Maybe one of these days I'll get my brain back on straight, and then we can have coherent author's notes again. Until then, I'll see you next week. Please look forward to it!

[03.25.2017]