Why do I get addicted to video games...?

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The Shroud of Darkness

Chapter 05: Of Premonitions and Friendships

After I passed out, I ended up sleeping fitfully for the remainder of the day. I kept randomly waking up for a few minutes at a time, vague memories dripping from my lips as mere whispers of something...unknown. I was completely out of it however, so whatever I ended up muttering was a mystery to me. Ellie tells me that I murmured out many things, like Mido and Ian's names, other names she didn't recognize (like Samhwel...who I'm not entirely sure of either), also a few jumbled sentences, names of foods, and even humming a small number of little tunes that were unrecognizable.

The day continued on as normal from there on out, with Ellie checking in on me periodically. Soon, the sky began to darken, the moon chasing away the sun to cover the sky with her blanket of stars. It was getting to the point now where when I would wake up to mutter things, I would be a bit more aware of what was actually going on.

As the night drew on, daylight Pokémon snuggling up in their homes and dens for the evening and the nighttime Pokémon busying themselves for the night ahead. It was around then, that I woke up again, fully aware now.

"Gi plug pu melon nai-who?" I asked around my dark room groggily. I had heard a noise, but couldn't identify it.

Eventually, I made out a ghostly white figure standing near the entryway and something glinting in the faint moonlight.

[You, Cubone.]

...That wasn't my thought...

[This is Sylvie. I need to tell you something.]

I paused, understanding now. "Alright, shoot," I whispered towards the gleam.

[Remain quiet, no one must know we have departed.]

Well, alright then, I guess. But why were they leaving...?

[Understand, Cubone, that I have no love nor trust for you.]

Ouch.

[However, you leave me perplexed. I sense you have some greater role, some greater purpose to complete.]

A greater role...? I barely know what's even going on around here and with myself!

[I will discuss this matter further with others, as I feel this must go deeper than I can see.]

...What makes me so special? All I did was fall out of the sky and forget everything.

[I will leave you with this, however.]

I saw something being lifted kinetically to the table next to me, something shaped roughly like a lump.

[Do not lose this, as this will let me or any of my associates to contact you.]

The white figure and the gleam then went out the entryway.

[Goodbye, Cubone. Do not tell anyone of this meeting.]

I laid my head back down onto the mat, processing everything. What greater purpose could an amnesiac cubone have? I pursed my lips together, shaking my head. I then reached over to the item that had been deposited onto the table. Sure enough, it was wrapped up in some cloth, burlap perhaps. I carefully opened the cloth, finding some sort of...well, it was shiny, I knew that much. Pulling it fully out of the bag, I saw that it was a necklace or pendant of some kind. By holding it up just right, I could make out some of the details, my eyes adjusting to the dark.

The pendant itself was strange. A small disc of some sort of metal surrounded a pale stone, with some sort of flecking on it. The disc had some decorations around the sides, though I couldn't make them out. Other than that, there was just a leather cord connected to it, some sort of twine or string bound around the cord. Carefully, I rewrapped the pendant in the cloth, and replaced it back onto the table.

I pondered Sylvie's message for a few more minutes, wondering what she meant by a greater purpose, who these "others" she was going to contact were, and why she had to leave so suddenly and so discreetly. Soon after I started to think of these things, I found myself asleep once more.

::::::::::::::::::::

Soon, the sun decided it was time to send the moon and her starry cohorts scurrying, as dawn began to lighten the sky. The mountains gleamed with a halo of light as the sun prepared to make his long journey across the sky. Slowly, I cracked my eyes open. Blearily, I sat myself up a bit, rubbing the crusts out of my eyes as the remnants of my dreams floating away.

I sat there, recalling the events of the night prior. What Sylvie had said was still gnawing at me...or was that my stomach? Either way, I looked at the cloth-wrapped pendant from last night, removing it from the burlap as I gave it a better examination. Oddly, in the morning light, the flecks on the pale stone seemed to glow in a myriad of color. The designs etched into the disc were now more clear; there was 2 sort of sharp ovals crossing over each other, making sort of a plus-shape. Another, smaller set of these was set in more of an x-shape, making a sort of 8-pointed...what could've been a flower, I suppose.

There were also strange, somewhat circular markings around the edges. They...almost looked familiar, like I had seen them before. I racked my head for a moment, trying to see if I could possibly remember where or when I might have seen something like this before, but nothing was coming to mind. Sighing, I re-wrapped the pendant, placing it onto the table next to the upturned skull – my upturned skull. I grabbed that as well and looked it over, out of boredom and slight interest, considering I had examined the skull perhaps 5 or 6 times before. There were still the same cracks, the same shape, the same everything. This time, however, I searched my memories a bit, looking for anything familiar about the skull, but no brilliant memory of this being mine came to mind. Sure, I could feel that this was likely mine, but again, nothing concrete. I returned it to the table and dumped the bundle of cloth inside it.

I laid myself back down, staring at the ceiling for a long while, my eyes blinded by me flicking through memory after memory, seeing if anything was of any interest. Despite the recovery of my memories, nothing seemed very clear; It was as if a shroud of darkness had blanketed everything.

::::::::::::::::::::

"So you are awake," said Dr. Bronson.

I jumped a bit, not expecting a sudden voice. I sat myself upright slightly, looking towards the door where the doctor had stuck in his head.

"Uh, yeah, I've been up for a little bit now," I said, yawning to emphasize my point.

He gave a slight nod as he hummed to himself. "Well, I think you have some visitors," he said.

I gave a slightly confused stare. Visitors at this hour? And who would be visiting me? My thoughts were soon answered as I noticed a green blur whiz pass Bronson and to my bedside.

"Sky, we're back!" exclaimed a familiar voice as he placed his hands on the bed. It took my mind a moment to register that it was Mido standing next to me.

"...Oh, hey!" I said back.

"And where was this energy earlier?" said Ian in a grouchy tone as he entered the room. I could see dark circles under his eyes, so I safely assumed he was pretty tired.

I was suddenly grabbed by Mido, who clasped his arms around me in a firm grip. The motion caught me by surprise, and I sat there like a dead fish for about a second before I realized he had just hugged me. I awkwardly put up an arm to return the favor. As I did so, he tightened his grip, squeezing me.

"OwowowowOWOWOWOWOW!" I exclaimed, lowering my arm. Suddenly, I was released, and I flopped back onto the mat with a soft thud.

"Ow."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Sky!" said Mido, with an expression like he'd just killed me.

I moaned a bit and shook my head, waving it away with my hand. "It's all good, don't worry," I responded, polite despite my pain.

"Please, be careful, Mido," scolded Ian, whacking Mido lightly with his wing.

I gave Mido a thumbs-up and a grin, which seemed to put him a little more at ease. Ian strolled over to Bronson.

"So how has he been doing?" he asked.

Bronson, who was biting his lip (likely due to the assault from Mido) then turned to the duo. "He has improved," said the doctor, looking at the two of them, "We recently had a specialist come to look at his memories. I assume she succeeded," he paused, looking perturbed for a moment, "but I think it will take time for his memory to recover fully. However, he has regained some measure of mobility, and I believe he will be able to move himself around unaided in a few days."

Ian nodded as Mido gave a slightly sad stare in my direction.

"Huh...alright," I responded.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I would like to speak to Sylvie for a moment," said the doctor, stepping away from the door slowly as he left.

After a brief moment, Mido spoke up. "So you're gonna be stuck here for a few more days, Sky?"

"Sounds like it," said Ian.

"Jacob," I responded back, realizing that they didn't know yet.

They both turned to me, staring for a moment. Mido soon found a smile and was wearing it in no time. "You remembered your name?"

I nodded.

"Yaaay!" he exclaimed, dancing around in a small circle.

"That's a weird name," said Ian, "still, that's awesome that you remembered that."

"Danke," I responded.

Ian gave me another weird look. I, myself, had a confused look as well. Danke? Where did that come from?

About then, Dr. Bronson stuck his head back inside the room, a worried look laying heavily on his brow. "They're gone!" he exclaimed.

I knew immediately what he was talking about, though I feigned confusion to match the expressions of my friends.

"Who's gone?" asked Ian, tilting his head.

"Sylvie and her assistant. They've both disappeared!" he responded.

Me and Ian's confused expressions soon turned to surprise.

"What?" I asked, trying to sound as surprised as possible.

Dr. Bronson thought for a moment, then spoke. "Did you, by chance, see them leave last night, Sk-er...Jacob?"

I shook my head. The doctor drummed his fingers along the doorframe, pursing the corner of his lip, before pushing himself away and turning to locate their whereabouts. As he left, Mido suddenly piped up.

"Hey, what's this?" he asked.

I turned my head, surprised to see him holding the cloth bundle. I hid my momentary shock behind a confused façade.

"Heck if I know," I said, shrugging a shoulder, "where did you find that at?"

"Inside this skull," said Mido.

"...Huh...can I see it?" I asked.

"Sure," he responded, handing the thing over.

I unwrapped it carefully, looking at it with a curious eye. As the pendant was slowly revealed, I faked awe at it, marveling again at the details. That being said, that wasn't too difficult considering that this thing truly did interest me.

Ian joined us as we looked at it. He then pointed a claw at the symbols circling the edge.

"That...that looks like those markings we saw at those ruins, Mido!" he exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, it does!" said Mido.

"What ruins?" I asked with genuine curiosity.

Ian looked at me, his stare slightly uncomfortable and long. "Mido and I had to rescue someone out of some ancient ruins of some...temple or something. Anyway, we saw weird marks on the walls, and some of the marks even tried to attack us. These look like those markings."

"...Huh..." was all I could say.

"Yeah..." responded Mido.

We all sat in silence for a moment. I began carefully wrapping the pendant in the burlap once more.

"So, once you get out of here, I think we should check the Post Office to see if they know about anything," said Ian, "But right now, Mido, I think we should check in with Dr. Bronson and see if we can crash here for a little bit."

"Why...is that?" asked Mido, yawning mid-sentence.

"Because I want to sleep, and I don't want to hike a step further," said Ian. He then left the room abruptly, his stride leaving no room for any argument.

"Okay...alright," said Mido, slowly shuffling towards the door. "We'll see you later...Jacob!" He waved at me as he left the room.

After the two left, I began to think. Could we really find my home again? I still felt doubtful, having the strange sense of...distance from home. Honestly, it felt like home was worlds away. Family I had left behind only to forget...oh how they must worry about me. Would I ever see them again? In fact...would I ever remember them again? Suddenly, I began to feel sad, alone. As the light of a new day beamed brilliantly across the face of the earth, filling the world with a brilliant light and the hopes of a new day, tears fell to the ground. Silently, I wept for the family I had lost, and I knew those empty faces in my mind wept as well, silently mourning their lost son and brother.

I had lost my family, they had lost me, and I was almost certain we would never again see each other again.

Okay, wow, that took a sad turn there at the end that I did not actually plan at all.

Also, I apologize for not posting that one week. In my defense, I thought I had already posted Chapter 4, and also because some of my coworkers have been leaving lately for school, I've had to step up my hours every week, so I do apologize. That being said, it was actually a good idea for me to write in advance, because I've actually had little time to write, so I've basically used all of my buffer room up. So, I'll stay up late on occasional nights writing just to make sure I'm still ahead of the game.

But...not too much...because I don't want to work myself to death. I'd just do this until I got caught up with everything.

Also, next week is a week I have off with family, so I don't know how much writing will happen there either. I apologize, but my schedule varies wildly from week to week, so I barely ever know what I'm working for a week until about half-way through the previous week.

On the plus side, extra hours = extra money...so that's cool.

Oh, and I think another reason I've been slacking off so hard on these chapters is because I've found that Hammerwatch is really quite addicting. And so is Starbound. And so is Golden Sun (which I've never played until recently, and I'm having a blast, so I would highly recommend it). Yeah...if I'm gonna do this thing, I need to stop playing so many video games, I guess.

...Plus that probably doesn't help my carpal tunnel very much to play so many games...and if I stay up late playing them, then it's hard to wake up in the mornings...yeah, I just need to not play so many games. Sorry about that!

Alright, onto more positive matters, I'm thinking I'm writing a little better. At least...I hope I'm writing better.

That's...actually probably all I have to say.

Oh yeah! I forgot!

So, because I failed that one week in getting Chapter 4 out, I think it'll take me a bit, but I'll post 2 chapters in one week coming up soon, probably the week after I come back from my aunt's house, since I'll need to write the chapter for that week in advance so I have something to post while I'm up there. Or, if I just was a writing machine for the next little bit, I could probably do it this week, but that would be me trying to write 3 chapters in a week. I know I've done that in the past, but also in the past, I didn't have to worry about a job, and my chapters were a lot shorter, so that might be a bit of a tall order, but I might be able to do it.

...Also, if anyone has any ideas on how to code a physics engine, hitboxes, solid controls, a combo mechanic, or basically any other part of a game, that would be pretty swell, because I think I should at least try and start coding this game idea before I push it off forever...which I would hate, because this idea has been developing in my head for over 7-ish years, and I don't want to put it off very much longer.

...Alright, sorry for ladening you with personal woes...

Okay, so that probably wraps up the note stuff for this chapter...

Oh right, one last thing.

I have a question for you guys:

Would you like me to do the Reviewer's Corner segments again? I'd do it in a way so that when a chapter posts, I have the reviews from the previous chapter up, and not the reviews from whatever chapter just went up when I was writing that chapter. Thoughts, opinions, questions?

That being said, I really, really enjoy reading your reviews. Like...seriously, they do make a difference. I don't want everyone to write a review, that just sounds mean, but I do love to read reviews.

...Sorry if I'm being a bit too personal here...

Anywho...yeah...

Anyway, if you're here reading this part, thanks for bearing with me while reading that text wall.

Yeah...I'll just go ahead and throw in my customary foreign "farewell" and save this to my computer...

Гарного дня!

- JacobDaGun