[Guardian:
"Stop talking out loud, your friend might hear you and wake up."]
I placed my hand over my mouth in response, realising that this 'Guardian' was correct. Others couldn't see the system, so I would just look like I was insane.
[Guardian:
"Idiot."]
I stared in disbelief at the window in front of me. After all this time, I'd gotten used to the idea that the Regression System was a fairly mechanical and uncaring construct, but now it was talking to me-Even insulting my intelligence.
But if I'm not talking, how can I communicate? I thought to myself.
[Guardian:
"If you direct your thoughts at me, I'll hear it. Just like every other function in this system."]
I digested that for a few moments, still partially in shock from the sudden human-like way the System was communicating with me.
[Guardian:
"Idiot."]
I furrowed my brow in frustration. Hey, it's not like you came with an instruction manual! I've been trying hard to figure out what you are this whole time!
[Guardian:
"I am your Guardian, not the Regression System. Please don't confuse us."]
That only caused me to furrow my brow further. You're not the system? What are you then?
[Guardian:
"I am your Guardian. Didn't I just say that? Idiot."]
Do you have to keep calling me an idiot? My frustration grew.
[Guardian:
"Stop being an idiot and I'll consider it."]
I pinched my forehead. Never mind, just... What do you mean when you say you're my 'Guardian'?
[Guardian:
"I am the one assigned to watch over your second life. You could also say I'm partially responsible for you being chosen by the system."]
I blinked a few times in surprise. ...You're the reason I got sent back in time?
[Guardian:
"If you are upset with me, that is understandable."]
No... Thank you.
There was a long pause before the next window opened, which allowed me to begin processing everything that was happening. Whoever this Guardian was, they were somehow intertwined with the system. The system had been a huge boon to my efforts to survive, as well as gaining my second chance in the first place. If I had any questions, now was a good time to start asking.
[Guardian:
"...That is an unusual response. Why are you grateful?"]
Why wouldn't I be grateful? You've given me a chance to change the fate of all the people I cared about. I frowned. I already died once, having a chance to prepare for this long... I couldn't have even dreamed of something like that.
There was another short pause before I got a response.
[Guardian:
"I see."]
But there's something I want to know.
[Guardian:
"Stop. Don't ask me anything, let me finish my explanation first."]
I nodded, then kept quiet as the time began to tick past. I stared at the moon through the slits of the tent I slept in, wondering how well Chee was coping by herself. I felt empathy for her problems, but I really wanted her to overcome them instead of using me as security blanket. It would be harmful for her development if she couldn't deal with problems without me being around.
Although it was still an improvement on being unable to hand them at all.
Finally, a window with a wall of text materialised in front of me.
[Guardian:
"Alright, I'm going to explain everything I can with the points I've spent already.
First of all, I am your Guardian. I am able to see your thoughts and a bit of the world around you, including some things you are unaware of. My primary goal is to help protect you until achieve the system's goal.
As your Guardian, I am in charge of your Fate Points. Exactly what that means is complicated and hard to explain, but without Fate Points, I cannot do anything, so collect as many as you can. I cannot earn any points, only spend them.
...And before you go asking me all of the questions I'm sure you're burning with, I'd like to make something clear. I possess a wealth of information that you do not, however I cannot provide it to you without expending Fate Points. I will answer anything I can, but nothing beyond that.
Anything that you already know or should already know is free. Bear that in mind.
You can earn Fate Points by doing anything that alters fate. Positive or negative does not matter, as long as it alters fate.
Finally... For a certain event in the future, it would be wise to stock up on as many Fate Points as possible. As such, I will be conservative about when I talk to you and when I use them.
Got all that?"]
I read over the wall of text a few times, making notes in my book of the important details. I nodded once I felt that I'd gotten most of it comprehended. Alright.
[Guardian:
"Good. You should sleep soon, but I will listen to your queries first."]
...Why was I chosen by the Regression system?
[Guardian:
"You do not have enough fate points for me to answer that."]
I clicked my tongue in disappointment, thinking carefully. ...Where is Red right now?
[Guardian:
"You do not have enough fate points for me to answer that."]
You mentioned that I should gather Fate Points by either positive or negative influence... Does that mean what I think it means?
[Guardian:
"Most likely. Even bad things can alter fate, but the repercussions may not be something you enjoy."]
I nodded thoughtfully. I had only gained one Fate Point so far, when I rescued Nurse Joy with Brock's help. I could only assume my actions had caused Brock to step up earlier than he otherwise would have, thus changing fate somehow.
So by that logic, the easiest way to change someone's fate would be... To kill someone.
[Guardian:
"Correct."]
...I won't be doing that.
There was no response to that thought, and I spent what I believe were the next thirty minutes asking the Guardian any other questions I could think of, without getting much results in terms of answers. Finally, I gave up and decided to go back to sleep.
...
Day 56:
I yawned and stretched, letting the morning sun wash over me through the fibres of the tent. As I was getting accustomed to, Chee was already awake and milling about outside when I made my way out of the tent, so I greeted her.
"Good morning Chee."
She had been crouching over something, but she turned to look at me long enough to smile and give me a small wave. Good morning!
I walked over to see what she was looking at, only to discover that the Nidoran from last night was still sleeping by the campfire with a satisfied look on it's face. "Seems to be an unusually docile one." I commented. "Perhaps it would prefer to get food from trainers, rather than hunting?"
We kept watching the sleeping creature for a few minutes before I got to work packing up the camp. Chee helped me put away the tents, but after a bit she got bored and started drawing by herself.
Yeller was sticking even closer to my feet than he normally did, maybe he felt threatened by the prospect of another Pokemon who would be willing to travel with me. I made a mental note to pamper him more often.
Although I'd tried to replace him at the start of my second life, I no longer had any interest in doing so. He was my partner, and even if I managed to get Pokemon far stronger than him, I had no intention of ever letting him go.
I'd just finished putting away my things when I heard a distressed squeak from behind me. I pivoted swiftly to see the Nidoran holding onto a piece of paper and a pencil as it landed beside Chee. It began to run away, but Chee was far too fast for it. With a powerful burst of speed, the young girl grabbed the Nidoran by it's horn, lifting it into the air and using her free hand to snatch back the paper and pencil from the Pokemon.
I sat in silence for a moment, before she turned to me, still holding the Nidoran by it's horn. Her eyes were cold and dark. Dinner?
The purple quadruped began to squirm uncomfortably.
"Stop joking around." I sighed. "You got your drawing back, just let it go."
The young girl complied, letting the Pokemon drop from her gloved hands to the ground with a dull thud. A moment later it ran to my side, hiding behind my leg and shivering. I gave it a pat. "We won't eat you, just don't try to steal, okay?"
It answered me by poking me softly in the leg with it's horn three times in quick succession. Then it rubbed it's face into my leg three times. Then the horn again. It had done that last night as well, perhaps this was it's way of showing affection? I didn't know a lot about Nidoran habits, but it didn't seem hostile so I let it be.
...My yellow Rattata seemed to be giving me a jealous look though, so I pushed the Nidoran away before too long.
It wasn't long after that we resumed our journey to Bill's House, the Nidoran trailing behind us. I made most of the journey while carrying Yeller and giving him some pats, since I wanted to maintain his affection and make sure he didn't think I preferred the purple marsupial I'd just come across.
Chee and her Bulbasaur defeated a wild Pokemon for us, which prompted me to realise that my Grass Proficiency had reached 100% now. We were already very close to Bill's place, so I decided to see what rewards that got me after we'd talked to him.
When we arrived, I took a moment to examine Bill's building. It was a pretty standard house with a lab attached to the side, and a fancy antenna on the rooftop. I could tell the attached room was a lab because it had a huge folding door that was currently open, and inside were a bunch of mechanical gizmos and contraptions, some similar to the ones I'd seen at Oak's lab. There was also a computer sitting in the corner which looked like it could be used to contact Bill.
"Looks like he's not here." I mumbled, scratching Yeller's chin as I held him in my arms. "But he just left the door open, so I imagine he didn't go far. Shall we wait for him?" I asked, turning to the place where I expected Chee to be standing.
But she wasn't there, because she was already poking around with the mechanical devices inside Bill's Lab. There was a large tube that looked like it could fit a person inside, and she tapped on it's metal case a few times.
"I don't think that's a good idea...!" I called out to my reckless companion, setting Yeller on the ground and stepping into the lab myself. "We don't know what any of this stuff does! What if it... Explodes, or something?"
Chee's eyes widened. Do you think it would do that?!
"This tech could be experimental, there's no real way to know." I answered. "I'm no scientist, I have no clue how any of this words."
Carefully, Chee retrieved her hands, making sure not to touch anything. Just as I was breathing a sigh of relief, I heard a clatter, and turned to see that the Nidoran who had been following us had leapt onto the table where the computer was.
"Hey! Nidoran, get down from there!" I commanded it as it stomped over the keyboard of the computer, waking the screen.
I quickly scooped the Nidoran off the table and put it on the ground instead. It responded by trying to leap onto the table again, but I stopped it. The purple creature shot me a dirty look in exchange, pointing it's horn towards me.
For a moment I worried that it was going to try and use Poison sting on me, but instead it repeated it's usual poking pattern. Three short pokes with it's horn, three long pokes with it's face, three short with the horn again.
Chee walked over to me, frowning at the Nidoran. ...Why does it keep doing that?
"Yeah, it's pretty weird behaviour." I admitted. "It seems like that's just a thing this Nidoran does, it pokes you three times, then with it's face, then three pokes, then it... Stops..." My thoughts began to trail off as I stared at the Pokemon in front of me.
"...Three Short, three long, three short." I muttered, staring at the Pokemon, and I felt as though it's eyes began to light up with hope.
This Nidoran had been very passive and willing to listen to us, except for two occasions. On the first, it had tried to steal a pencil and paper-Very unusual things for a Pokemon to desire. The second occasion, just now, was when it had tried to access the Computer. It was very strange.
And the pattern it used when it was allowed to touch me, three short taps, three long, three short... "That's exactly the same as the morse code for an SOS." I finished my thought.
Chee tilted her head at me. What's Morse code? And what's an SOS?
"Morse code is a code for writing letters with dots and dashes-Short sounds and long sounds. And an SOS is... Well, a lot of people like to call it 'Save our Souls', but it's basically a distress signal." I glanced down at the Nidoran, whose eyes were now shining. "...And if this Nidoran is genuinely using it, he might be trying to communicate with us."
The Nidoran immediately began to vigorously nod, which I took as a sign I was headed down the right track. "Chee, do you have any spare paper and pencils?!"
The girl was startled by my request, but nonetheless seemed to quickly understand my intentions. She rustled through her bag, pulling out a blank sheet of paper and a pencil which she thrust to the feet of the Nidoran, before pulling her hands back.
Although it was clumsy, the Nidoran grabbed the Pencil and began to write on the paper. It took almost a full minute before it stopped, and I picked up the paper to read the messy writing.
'I am Bill. Help me.'
"...What? You're Bill?" I frowned at the Nidoran. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chee making an equally confused expression.
The Nidoran met my gaze with an intense glare, and I swallowed my most burning questions. "...What do you need help with?"
Chee handed the Nidoran another slip of paper from her backpack, and we watched anxiously as it began to write directions. It finally stopped, and I retrieved the paper.
Following the instructions, I was able to locate a strange-looking syringe filled with pink liquid, and the Nidoran forced me to inject the liquid into it.
After doing so, the Nidoran began to erupt with white steam, nearly filling the whole room. Fortunately the door was still open, and it quickly dissipated, revealing a tall brown-haired man in a hastily fastened lab coat who was squinting harshly, and coughing profusely.
[Log:
Your meddling has altered fate! Fate Points +1]
"Good heavens." He said suddenly, his voice well-mannered and high-pitched. "I'm finally back to normal, I was beginning to worry I'd be stuck as a Nidoran for the rest of my life! Thank you for helping me out kid!"
Waving away the last of the steam, he smiled at us. "I'm Bill, inventor and experimenter. How can I help you?"
And as his eyes opened, both Chee and I instinctively took a step back in surprise. I'd seen many eyes in my years, but everything about the eyes I was staring into here just felt wrong. They were deep and black, with an almost empty feeling to them-But what was more disconcerting than that was the layer I saw over the top of that. Instead of the usual feeling of staring through a window to see their pupils, it was like staring through an assortment of shattered glass, reflecting different hues of the sunlight from their jagged edges.
Not only did it feel unusual, it somehow felt... Sickening. Like staring at something that had died a long time ago still moving as though it were alive.
"...Are you really okay?" I asked, a small shiver running down my spine.
"I'm all good now, thanks to you!" He smiled at me. "I'm so glad you knew morse code! I've been a Nidoran for almost a week now!"
"...I see..." I answered weakly, not sure how to explain my concern.
After leaving to get a full change of clothes, Bill returned, which gave Chee and I just enough time to calm down about the strange experience we'd just shared. When he returned, Bill brought us some folding chairs to sit in.
"So, what brings both of you to my lab?" Bill asked, sitting next to his desk. "I don't get many visitors out here!"
"Ah... We're Gym Challengers sponsored by Professor Oak." I started. "We-"
"Oh! Professor Oak! I haven't heard from him in such a long time! I used to be an assistant of his you know!"
"Er, yes. We know, in fact, we're here because of that. My friend Chee broke her PokeDex and-"
"You broke a PokeDex!? Do you have any idea how valuable those things are?! You better be careful, hardly anyone can fix one of those... There's no use hiding it, you might as well just go back and tell Oak. I'm sure he already knows."
I took a deep breath, forcing a growing sense of frustration back beneath the surface. "Yes, we know. He told us to come see you."
"Ah! I see!" Bill nodded hurriedly. "Hold on one moment..." He turned to the computer, and began messing with the mouse and keyboard, presumably checking for messages from Oak.
After a few moments he slowly started nodding again. "Alright! Seems that's all in order, hand over the PokeDex and I'll see what I can do for you." He held a hand out to Chee, who flinched in response.
Bill frowned for a moment, but I pulled out Chee's PokeDex and handed it to him before he could look too deeply into it. "She's shy, don't hold it against her."
He nodded curtly, then turned over the PokeDex a few times in his hands. "Fortunately, the damage doesn't look too bad. Mostly superficial damage, and..." With a sudden tense, he popped open the red casing and gazed at the internals. "Mhm, some circuits and wires got popped out of place, but it shouldn't take too long to repair. Fortunately I shouldn't need to remake any key parts."
He placed it on the desk in front of him. "I'll get right to that, however I need to call Professor Oak first."
Without waiting for our reply, he started a call to Professor Oak. Chee and I shared a confused glance, but nonetheless decided to obediently wait. Chee gazed out the door for a moment like she wanted to go run outside, but seemed to decide against it, instead pulling out her paper and pencils and drawing some more.
I just decided to stand by and wait instead, since I didn't really have anything else to do out here. I considered doing some push-ups, but I decided I was probably still too young to be focussing on those kinds of upper body workouts.
"Professor Oak..." Bill's tone shifted in a way that drew my attention. Instead of the jovial and light-hearted tone he'd used with me, it felt somehow... Militaristic. Like an acknowledgement of Oak's station rather than using the title out of respect. Bill continued, his voice somber and matter-of-fact. "I've continued my experiments on M3, but-"
"Hold it." Oak cut off Bill before he could finish his announcement, prompting a raised eyebrow from the inventor. "Is Cyan there?"
I swiftly swivelled my head away as if I'd been watching Chee instead of Bill the whole time, but I continued to listen intently.
"Ah yes, he's right here. Do you want to speak to him?"
"No, I want you to make sure he's out of earshot."
Unfortunately, Oak had already figured out that I was more savvy of the military flavoured interactions that would happen around him, and it seemed he wasn't planning to let me gather more information about that. At least not for now.
I didn't wait to be told, I just walked to the other side of the building. From here, I couldn't make out the sounds very well anymore, however the computer screen was still in my line of sight. Ordinarily it would be much too far for that to matter, however...
Noctowl Vision!
I focused my gaze on the screen, trying to read what Oak and Bill were saying from their lip movements. I'd practiced lip reading a bit in my past life, but I'd never been particularly good at it, and I'd never been able to do it from a distance that was actually helpful. Noctowl Vision neatly compensated for that weakness, but I still only got pieces of the conversation.
Bill's lips were moving rapidly, and I was pretty sure that he was explaining something about how his experiment had turned him into a Nidoran. The only part I was sure about was 'still too dangerous for adults' , which didn't seem to be an answer Oak was hoping for.
Oak scolded him for something, and then mouthed my name, Cyan. Bill shot me a glance, then back to the computer, asking why Oak was wary of me.
The conversation turned boring from here, but my eyes drifted slightly to something that caught my attention. I probably never would have noticed if I wasn't already using Noctowl Vision, but visible in the corner of the screen Oak was displayed on was a smaller display. That in itself was nothing new, it showed the camera view with Bill dead centre.
But in the view on the Camera... Bill's Eyes were Brown. There was no sign of the black pupils, or the weird cracks that I had seen.
"What on earth...?" I mumbled.
I was beginning to question the things that I'd seen. Blue's eyes had turned sapphire, Bronze's eyes had turned orange, and now Bill's eyes were a different colour on camera than they were in person... The only issue was, I had absolutely no idea what that could mean.
The obvious answer would be that it corresponds to a skill being used. Bronze's eyes had changed right before I got the notice about being scanned, but Blue hadn't seemed to do that when his eyes changed colour.
Nonetheless, I found it easy to believe that a prodigy like Blue had some sort of skill that could be triggered. Chee had been able to use Noctowl Vision after being trapped in the darkness, just like me.
But Bill didn't seem to be using any sort of skill or ability, in fact his eyes felt broken to me, although I couldn't really put into words why I felt that way. But if Bill wasn't using any skill, why was I seeing a difference between his eyes in real life and what the camera showed?
When Bronze had interrogated me, he'd asked me what colour his eyes were... Perhaps there was a reason for that?
I spent a while contemplating that, but I didn't come to any answers.
"Alright kids! The PokeDex is fixed!" Bill waved over to us, jerking me out of my contemplation.
The Device was still cracked, but he'd replaced the screen and fixed the internal components, so it once again turned on. He handed it back to Chee, who gleefully retrieved it.
She shot a joyful look at me. Now I can contact you again!
"Yeah, it'll be a lot easier to talk now!"
[Log:
Your actions have caused a positive change! Fate Points +1]
...Huh? I frowned at the pop-up in front of me. I'd understood that saving Bill from being a Pokemon early would probably earn me a fate point, but why was I getting another one now?
"Now," Bill cut my thoughts short. "Is there anything else you need me for, or shall I get back to work?"
"Oh, there is one thing!" I announced, remembering that Team Rocket had been on Nugget Bridge.
I proceeded to tell Bill about how I'd recognised the Team Rocket grunt, and asked him to pass the message on to Professor Oak and the relevant authorities. After that, we bid a fond farewell to Bill and began the journey home.
As we walked back down Route 25, I heard a beep and a buzz from my PokeDex, the indication that I had received a message from Chee. I shot her an incredulous look, but she hit me right back with a pure-hearted smile that made me feel bad for acting cynical.
'Thank you for saving me in the cave.'
"Are you still on about that?" I raised an eyebrow at her as we walked. "I thought we agreed not to talk about that anymore."
'I just wanted to say it properly. I was so scared, but you came to rescue me. Thank you.'
"Don't worry about it." I smiled back at her.
...
The sun was already beginning to set when we got back to Nugget Bridge, but when we stepped onto the bridge a trio of trainers stepped out from hiding. In the Centre was the blond-haired man I'd elected to escape from on my way through before.
"Hello Cyan and 'Chee'. We've been waiting for you." He grumbled.
"...Bronze." I responded calmly. "Haven't seen you since Mt. Moon!"
"Don't play dumb." The lanky man growled, grasping at the Pokeball by his side. "You both recognised me on the Bridge yesterday!"
I examined the situation in front of me. There were three grunts in front of me including Bronze, but it didn't seem like he was with Shasta and Simon this time. Perhaps he'd been given this mission because he'd gone too far with me in the cave... I vaguely remembered Shasta saying she was going to report him.
"Murkrow! Time to prey!" The blonde exclaimed, throwing his Pokeball onto the bridge in front of us. In a flash of blue and white energy, the figure of a medium sized bird appeared. The bird had black feathers, mean eyes and talons with a curved beak. The crown on it's head made it look like it was wearing the hat of a mobster, and it quickly began to fly a few feet off the ground, menacingly.
The other two grunts sent out their Pokemon as well, a Geodude and a Zubat. Fortunately neither of them looked to be particularly strong.
"If you don't hand over your Pokemon willingly, we'll just have to get our Pokemon to beat you up, and take them by force!" Bronze postured at me.
"Hah!" I scoffed. "Listen, if you were just fighting me, three people would be more than enough, but my friend is a different story." I gestured vaguely to Chee. "She's an incredible battler from Pallet Town, and she can probably beat all three of you even without my help! But it's not a 3v1, it's a 3v2!"
I could see a hint of worry appear on Bronze's face.
I crossed my arms proudly, waiting for Chee to send out her Bulbasaur.
And waiting.
And waiting.
"...Chee?" I turned to look at my compatriot. Her eyes were wide, filled with fear, and she was shaking uncontrollably. Her arms were crossed across her chest, with her palms placed covering her shoulders. Her breath was ragged, and she didn't even seem like she could hear me.
Her reaction was similar to how she'd acted when we entered the cave together, but it was far more severe. "What? Chee, what's wrong!?"
I traced her gaze, to see that she was shooting her gaze between the Zubat and the Murkrow, mostly focussing on the latter. Whatever she was thinking about... It terrified her. Finally, she turned her eyes just enough to meet my own.
Save me!
And she slammed her eyes shut, hiding behind me without taking her hands off her shoulders.
There was nothing for it, so I turned to face our enemies alone.
Ah.
Maybe it was going to be a 3v1 after all.