MissingNo Virus

Something warm was settled on their chest. Something warm, and breathing- a rush of panic lit their nerves, their arms tensed as the sound of something breaking echoed in their thoughts. 'Espeon- still alive, still breathing...' relief hit so hard it made them dizzy. They slipped her Pokéball off their belt It felt wrong in their grip- too small for these fingers. Too smooth. Not Rica’s hands. Not Xavier’s either.

The headache started to worsen as soon as she was back in her Pokéball. On instinct, they raised a hand to their temples, then flinched as if they were expecting... expecting what? Chitin? An eye? Nothing. Just skin. Warm. Their own. Their own. They wondered why they checked in the first place. Of course it would just be their face, why wouldn't it be? Then, they tried to stand. Their legs felt... too long? And their arms-- too heavy... Despite the wave of nausea, they managed to raise themself from the ground.

They took one look at the path. Took one look towards Willowshade Village. Something in their mind screamed run away Another part of their mind demanded to stand still.

Ultimately, they ran the opposite direction from the village, vision blurring with tears they had no clue why they were shedding. Their legs ached, the sound of their footfall felt too loud and too heavy and too light and too quiet all at once. 'Xavier- I-I need to find Xav- ... what?' their run slowed to a walk, until they were standing still in the center of the path. 'Something is wrong,' the realization felt suffocating. Headache. The throbbing, terrible headache that made them feel like they were going to pass out. ...Water. They need to go get water. Something cold. Something to drink- to splash on their face and ground themself with. So, they continued their trek down the path. The lake should be close by now. They remember coming here and playing with... with Xavier? No, no- playing with Rica. 'I-Laughter. I remember laughter. I was with my favorite person. Always with my favorite person.' That was true. That part was always true, no matter which way they looked at it. Laughter. Playing with the only person in the world that mattered. Sharing pecha berries, watching Illumise and Volbeat when the fell, a promise shared and secrets kept.

They took another step toward the lake- Stumbled. Tripped? No- Their legs just... gave out. They collapsed with a wet, sucking squelch, knees deep in the cold mud.

Another shiver tore through their body, but that wasn’t what made them freeze.

It was their reflection.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. Their hair was too long- No. Too short? Their nose- off. Their jawline- had it always been so sharp? So soft? They couldn’t tell. Nothing was familiar.

And then they saw the other half of their face. Or- what should have been their face. It wasn’t missing, exactly. It was there. But smothered beneath... something. Static? Bone? Chitin? Smoke? It shifted when they blinked, never holding one shape long enough to understand.

Their throat tightened. The reflection twisted again- a cruel mirror to their pain. Of their pain. Their breath caught. They choked on a sob that never made it past their lips.

"Hey- Hey! Are you okay, man?" the stranger's voice was close. Too close. Who- A hand on their shoulder. Terror. A jolt. They ripped away from the figure, whipping around fast enough to send the other stumbling backwards. "D-don't touch me." The voice felt like static scraping out of their throat. ...Whose voice was that? It came from their throat, from their lungs, but that is not the right voice. Too high- too low. Too... wrong. Not theirs. Not anyone’s.

"Are- are you okay...?" The stranger's voice came again, hesitant. They didn't answer. Couldn't. Another beat passed. "...What's your name? I'm Damian." Their breath hitched. Their heart pounded. Ached. They tried. They really tried.

"Xav-" No. No, that wasn’t right. He wasn’t… he couldn’t be "Ric-" No again. Too soft. Too bright. Too not them.

Silence. Then, through a throat full of what felt like broken glass, a whisper. "Xaviric." It didn’t fit. But it didn’t hurt as much as the others. It would have to do. They raised their head to look up at Damian, lips parted to ask-

The moonlight caught on their face. Damian saw it fully, now. He took a step back. Then another. Turned, and fled. He didn't even scream. Just the sound of his retreating footsteps. Just the crunch of leaves. Just the slap of panic in the mud.

But the look on his face? The expression that Damian had? Would haunt Xaviric forever. Because now- now they know they weren't imagining things.

They didn’t move. Couldn’t. Just... knelt in the cold silt, staring at where Damian vanished. Lips still parted in an unasked question. Breath shallow. Like maybe, if they stayed still long enough, they’d disappear too.

The wind picked up. Cold. It caught on the wet edge of their sleeve. It almost felt like an embrace.

She went to grab her phone, gaze lingering on the dark screen for a moment. She debated with herself over calling her best friend Xavier, to tell him where she was going. Ultimately, she decided against it. Xavier was training today, and a big tournament was coming up. This was the first task she was assigned alone, and it was an easy one -- which is why everyone entrusted it to such a novice. Even though Rica knew that, she tried not to think too lowly of the task. There was still a chance she could discover something truly amazing! At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

The hike to the ruins was fairly easy, she called upon her Pokémon here or there to help her get through certain bushes, or to push large rocks that she just wasn't able to move herself -- you know, regular Pokémon Trainer things. So, soon enough, she was standing in front of the large ruins. The usually beautiful, welcoming archway had since been blocked off. Vines crawled up the sides, and the masterfully carved artwork and patterns had begun to fade. Rica paused, staring up at it, an onlooker may have mistaken this pause for hesitation, but in reality Rica was just figuring out the cleanest way to remove the caution tape that blocked her way -- preferably, in a way that would not damage the tape, so she could return it to its position after she was done. Even though she was given permission to explore these ruins and research the Unown in them, she didn't want to be disrespectful. She reached into her bag, and sent out her trusty partner, Xatu.

He didn't act for what felt like ages. Staring off, into the vast space of nothingness. The stillness of the ruins started to set in for Rica. The feeling of something watching her, the silence, as if there were no wild Pokémon around her... It was dizzying, and a pit started to form in Rica's throat. The sound of her Xatu's call snapped her back to the task at hand with a flinch. His wings outstretched as he parted the caution tape for Rica to enter through with his telekinesis. She delicately pet the top of his head, stepped through, and recalled him to his Pokéball.

Rica adjusted her bag on her shoulder once she stepped through, pausing to look behind her at the outside world one more time before heading into the dark ruins. She tried to reassure herself that it was normal for her Xatu to act that way, and that she was just nervous about going on her first solo mission. "One step at a time..." Rica whispered to herself. She took a deep breath, and continued onward down the dark stone corridor. Rica was silently grateful for her foresight to pack a flashlight, as she pulled it out and turned it on with a gentle 'clk'. The sound of it, though quiet, felt as loud as thunder in the silent ruins -- and it took Rica a moment to adjust the light, so instead of being a small focused beam she would have a wider ray to illuminate whatever chamber she may come across.

The sound of Rica's footsteps echoed uncomfortably down the long hallway, an uneasy metronome. Her eyes scanned the walls, intricate, swirling designs leading her further and further in, while unmoving, carved eyes watched her every move. She kept whispering the same mantra to herself, trying not to think too much about how anxious being here made her feel... then, she came across the first chamber. She paused, steadying her hand as best she could, and stepped forward.

The chamber was... disappointingly normal. Cracked walls lined with faded patterns of Unown -- it must have been a great mural, at one point. Now all that was left was a forgotten, empty room. It was relieving, to an extent. Rica pulled out her notebook and carefully copied the patterns down to the best of her ability. The sound of pencil sketching on paper filled the small room, the echo carrying down into the next corridor until it was swallowed by the silence. When Rica looked back up at the wall she had been copying the pattern from, her pencil stopped. The line she had just copied wasn’t there anymore. Or was it? It was there, just... warped. Curved. Like it had slithered when she wasn’t looking. Her stomach dropped.

The wall had changed completely. The more Rica stared at the same spot on the wall, the more it felt like the mural was shifting -- changing, right before her eyes. Curves that weren't there before now flowing downwards, eyes from the carved Unowns shifting to stare back at Rica. She let out a small, shaking exhale, and looked back at her notebook.

"It- it must be the shadows... a trick of the light, yeah." she tried to reassure herself, her voice broke, sounding small and all to sharp in the empty room. She held her pencil to the paper once more, but couldn't bring herself to copy the pattern anymore. Especially with the feeling that it was changing anyways, sketching down the symbols felt like an exercise in futility.

So, she put her notebook away. She kept her gaze in her bag for a moment, scared to look up. She knew something was watching her, she hoped it was just the strangely fluid markings on the wall. One more deep breath.

Her breath caught in her throat. Something shifted in the air. Heavy. Watching. Waiting.

Rica swallowed. Finally looked up.

And an eye stared back.

An Unown. Not one of the patterns from the wall, but an actual Unown. Staring right at her. It looked... sickly, and wrong. It wasn't any shape Rica recognized, the closest thing she could think of that matched it were the punctuation Unowns, but even then... they still had phalanges. This Unown didn't, it was a single eye floating in front of the wall. Looking into its wide, quivering eye, Rica's heart ached. The poor thing was looking left and right, looking for someone... or something.

'It's scared,' Rica realized. Her shoulder tensed at the thought. Her fear quickly gave way to concern. She was very slow in her movements, restrained, taking care not to spook the frail Pokémon. "Hey there little guy..." She spoke softly, gently, sweetly, "You don't look so good... are you hurt?"

The Unown didn't respond, of course it didn't, but it's eye fixated on her. It floated there for a moment, then, it turned, slowly. It drifted towards the next hallway, and paused there. As if it were waiting there. Rica hesitated, her rational mind at war with her compassionate instincts. Her hand slipped into her bag, resting on Espeon's Pokéball. 'I'll be okay. I have my team with me... Everything will be fine.'

The only sound that accompanied her was that of her footsteps, and the deafening pounding of her heart. She would pause now and then to gaze at the wall, and made a small mental note that everything was becoming... 'Newer? No... maybe, it's just less touched by time?' Rica decided to stop pausing to look at the wall, and to focus on the little Unown in front of her. It swayed while it floated, and kept pace with her. Too far to touch, but too close to ignore.

Then, she saw it. Another Unown, writhing face down on the ground. This one was bigger than usual, and a completely different shape -- another shape she had never seen documented before. It almost looked like an 'A' Unown, but it's eye had four extra prongs, like an 'X'. It... was crying?

Rica felt a pang in her chest, and the knot from earlier started to form in her throat again. The single 'dot' Unown had left her mind momentarily, and she knelt down to the XA Unown. Her hand shook slightly when she reached out to it -- she had no clue what was ailing it, or how to comfort it, but she had a gut feeling that a potion or Oran berry wouldn't help it. So, she did all she knew... she quietly placed a hand on it, and helped turn it over.

She tried, and failed, to quiet the horrified gasp that left her lips. This Unown had two pupils, staring up at her in a wide, terrified gaze. Tears dripped out of it's eye, and it let out a shrill sound that made her head throb and vision blur. She sat there, frozen for a moment, before she heard another cry -- something responding to the XA Unown's cry.

And it was getting closer. Quickly. It was enraged, but, as soon as Rica spotted it, she realize it was also similarly ailed. However, instead of fear, or sadness, it was angry. This -- this VI Unown had already started to summon it's Hidden Power. Rica had no choice but to flee. She ran down the closest hallway, narrowly avoiding the attack. She was running blindly. Tears blurred the corners of her vision, fear gripping her chest. She wasn't supposed to be here, and she knows that now -- if only she had figured it out sooner.

She hoped it wouldn't be too late. That she wasn't in too deep. Something in the back of her mind told her that this hope was terribly misplaced, that it would be better to give up now, let the Unown rip her apart. She kept running. As far as her legs could take her. Into the depths of the ruins.

'I should have stopped running' was the only thought in her mind when she came across it. If it were just the ER! Unown, maybe it would have been okay. Maybe she would have been okay. But it wasn't just the one fusion of three.

She didn't know how many Unown were stuck together in this macabre mockery of what she thought she knew. Eyes stared out at her, some looked angry, some looked sad. Others, lost and confused. Painfully so.

The cry that it emitted sent a wave of nausea through her, made her dizzy. She fell backwards, landed with a thud that she didn't hear. Trembling, she dug through her bag -- she never took her gaze off of the amalgamation in front of her. She wasn't sure which Pokéball she grabbed until she sent it out -- her Espeon.

It bristled, but made no noise other than frightened panting, and a low, growling hiss. Rica whimpered out her command, "E-Espeon, please..." was all she could mutter. Please what, exactly? Rica didn't know.

Which is one reason why Espeon did not move. It stayed between her and the amalgamation, still. It was guarding her, but without a command being issued... Rica's espeon took a brutal hit. The sickening sound of her gemstone cracking rang through the ruins, but even worse than the sound of gem cracking like glass, was the way her Espeon cried out in pain. It sounded wrong. Yes, it was a sound of pain -- but something was off about it. The cry sounded distorted.

Rica couldn't dwell on it. Another attack was incoming. Rica tried to recall Espeon. She wasn't fast enough, her hands kept trembling and she couldn't grip the Pokéball properly. She closed her eyes, bracing for impact... only to hear the sound of one of her other Pokéballs breaking open.

Her Hypno. He broke out of the Pokéball -- to protect Rica. Took the brunt end of the overpowered Hidden Power. Rica thought she may have heard the sound of a bone cracking. It was enough to snap her out of the petrified state she was in. She acted -- quickly. Faster than she had before. She recalled her Hypno with a shaking hand, scooped up her Espeon... And ran. Ran as fast as she could.

Through the corridors, through the empty rooms with walls that watched her leave, through the caution tape. She didn't stop running, not even when she collided with something- she didn't stop running until she got back to Willowshade Village. She knocked on the door, panic in her voice as she cried out for help. No one answered. She went to the next house, louder this time- Lights shone through the window... before going dark. She heard the unmistakable 'clk' of a door locking.

The next house. Her hand trembled when she knocked this time. Her hair was soaked and her body felt heavy and her voice raw. No one answered. No one answered the in the next house either, or the next. It wasn't until Rica saw her reflection staring back at her in the darkened window that she realized why her cries for help were never answered. There, sitting under her brow, over her left eye, was an Unown - no... it wasn't sitting there...

It was part of her face, now. Fused with her flesh. A sob tore itself out of her throat. She stopped looking for help. Rica's arms tightened around her Espeon's form. It still hadn't woken. She wasn't sure if it ever would. She refused to think about her Hypno's state, too. Couldn't think about it's state. She just trudged onward. To the treeline on the other side of the village. She didn't know where she was going, not really. Just that she had to leave.

Her legs gave out on the path. She didn't even remember what happened, had she tripped or...? Her vision went dark as the world tilted.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Xavier had been training. He returned earlier than usual, because Rica didn't answer her texts, and he was getting worried. He found her on the side of the road. He didn't notice the unown fused to her face- or didn't care. She looked like she was in pain, and that's the only thing Xavier recognized in the moment. So he lifted her in his arms and carried her off the path.

Xavier only realized something was wrong when he tried to put her down and realized that he couldn't. Realized that she was... stuck? Rica's hand twitched. Xavier felt it as if it were his own.

Something in his chest stuttered. Something close to dread.

Xaiver couldn’t tell where Rica ended and he began anymore as the realization sank in.

Her pain burned in his chest. Her memories blinked through his mind. The way she used to point at constellations he couldn’t name. The way her hand would tremble when she was nervous, even when she tried to hide it. The way she clutched her clefairy doll close even when they were well past the haunted well.

And now... he wasn’t sure if he was even Xavier anymore.

Or if she was Rica.

They were something else now. Something new. Something broken, and rebuilt in the shape of a bond too strong to unmake.

One body. One soul. Split once. Now whole.