1.3. Dreams Are for Heretics

As far as opinions went, Dominic's opinion of Reyes was…not good. He was a real stiff and had a twig shoved so far up his ass Dominic was sure he'd forgotten about it, as well as a chip on his shoulder so big all the salsa in the world couldn't cover it. Even so, Dominic was a good judge of character and decided Reyes was a good guy beneath all his stiffness. He had to be to have stayed with Dominic for over twelve hours and not attempted to kill him like many others have, and that was even before he became the King.

"Reyes…slow down…" He was a Dark-type, he wasn't made for daytime travel, let alone fighting, and unlike Reyes, he didn't have a healing factor. That was why he loved Mauville City so much: the ceiling blocked the sunlight so he could survive during the daytime.

"Excuse me? I can't hear his royal highness." Oh, yeah, he had a real sense of humor next to that chip, sort of like a cheese dip—yeah, cheese dip, it was cheesy enough to be that. Maybe he thought it was funny, Dominic didn't know, but it just made him look like a masochist.

"I…I said…slow down…please…" His neck wound ached, his blood felt slushy, and his brain was readying itself for hibernation.

Reyes the Dick pretended to be confused, looking all around. "What? I'm sure I hear something. It must be a Combee."

"Reyes, stop playin'… C'mon, I'm dyin' over here…"

"Hmm, that damn Combee just won't go away."

"Augh, please, I'll beg if ya want me to." Reyes finally stopped and turned, allowing him to catch up, but he only managed about three steps before he fell on his face.

"Dominic, are you okay?" He moaned, covering his eyes with his claws.

"S-Sun…" Reyes shuffled his feet then he gripped Dominic's shoulders, pulling him until he was on his shaky feet. He helped Dominic the rest of the way until the grass beneath their feet shifted to the dirt roads of Rustboro. "Thanks, Reyes…"

"Shut up." Unlike the majority of Hoenn, it was revolutionary-controlled, meaning Pokémon and humans could freely roam around together, as weird as it was. He went to the Pokémon Center and set Dominic on a chair. Being out of the sun revived him a little, but he still felt as roasted as a Grumpig on a dinner platter. Reyes gave up on him and approached the Chansey stationed next to Nurse Joy. She recognized him immediately.

"Oh, Reyes, what happened?" She fretted over his injuries, pulling at various body parts with no resistance from him.

"That bastard happened." He pointed at Dominic. She looked between them, her eyes anxious and perplexed.

"Your last mission?"

"Yes." It took a few seconds for the gears to click.

"Is that…?"

"Yes, he is the rebels' king."

"Sup," Dominic greeted.

"But he looks so…nonthreatening," she whispered, staring at him. He picked at his claws impassively. "He's still a ruthless killer though?" She was a good whisperer, to give her credit, but Dominic's ears were some of the best around.

"At least he looks innocent—it might save his life someday. But anyway, can I get some treatment, Meryl?"

"Of course!" She bustled him through the doors into one of the recovery rooms, leaving Dominic alone in the lobby. There weren't many others in the Pokémon Center, but the ones who were inside gave him three looks: the first was confusion, then the second was double-checking their Pokédex, and the third (reserved just for the revolutionary Pokémon) was pure contempt.

He groaned, dropping his head on the armrest. He wanted to eat more than just some damn Berries but didn't know how to go about asking it without getting pummeled—again. His ass-whooping quota had already been met and exceeded for the day.

"Alright, thanks." Reyes came out of the room with bandages over the ripped parts of his skin, the Chansey behind him. "Also, can you do something for him?"

"What?" He sat rigid and glared at Reyes, who unapologetically crossed his arms.

"At this rate, you'll either bleed out or die from infection. Alakazam wants you alive."

"I'll have ya know, I have a great constitution." Reyes made no effort to hide his rolling eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Meryl, please?"

She toddled over to Dominic, touching his face and chest. The contact made him giggle before he caught his wits and growled at her, spreading his claws in warning. Undaunted, she inspected the injuries on his neck and grabbed a first-aid kid from the front counter. She sprayed the open parts left by Houndoom's teeth with some antiseptic that stung and made him giggle a little more, then she wrapped his neck with clean white bandages.

"You may need to give him a canine collar as well," Reyes said. "You know, to discourage scratching." The Chansey found that a lot more amusing than Dominic did, and if he could've, he would've skinned Reyes down to the pulp.

"Now, I have work to do. Have a good day Reyes, and…you too, King." She hurried back to help Nurse Joy.

"Are all revolutionaries so…joyful?" Dominic asked with a scowl.

"What, is that a bad thing?"

"No, just weird. You're weird too."

"Are we really discussing oddities? because if so you should stop right now before your hypocrisy chokes you."

"I know I'm strange and I won't deny it. Well, not weird, but insane. I'm insane."

"So, you admit to it."

"I never denied it." He grinned and tapped his nose with his claw. "I'm very, very insane and that's why I was alone for years."

"Look. I'm not going to judge you because psychoses aren't uncommon, but I can't stand having yours so close to me."

"Well, since yer boss wants me, yer stuck with me!" He sighed as if it was a world-class effort to be with Dominic.

"And in any case, transport should be arriving very soon, so we should just wait patiently—"

"I don't wanna wait patiently," he interrupted, getting to his feet. "I wanna look around! I haven't been outside in a long time and it's all so amazin'!"

"This city is dirt and rocks."

"Dirt an' rocks're amazin' too!"

"I'm curious: did a larger-than-average rock ever fall on your head, either at birth or very recently?"

"Several, actually. Why?"

"No reason." They went outside and sat on the curb, watching cars drive by and waiting for Reyes' revolutionary transport.

"You guys are not that fast," Dominic said after forty minutes.

"Yes, because the rebels appear highly organized," Reyes replied dryly. Dominic didn't say it, but he knew the rebels were very organized and very well-trained—in fact, there had been dozens conspiring on even the teams of the Elite Four before the revolution began, making the plan plausible at the time. He just wasn't part of the strategic majority—he was more of a stupid-on-the-moment guy.

"Why did ya become a revolutionary?"

"I'm not required to tell you anything not pertaining to the mission."

"Says the guy who asked me every question."

"Yes, well, I'm a bastard."

"Yeah, I've noticed. Maybe you'll be more verbose if I use an ill—" Suddenly Reyes' leaf blades were against his jugular.

"That sentence better end with illiteracy."

"…It does now." He waited until Reyes moved his arm and sighed. "I'm not any happier 'bout this than you, ya know."

"I couldn't tell."

"No, seriously… I hate you guys. No offense." Reyes didn't miss a beat.

"No offense taken. We hate you too."

"When ya say things, they sound so cruel…" Reyes didn't respond and he sighed again. "Can I ask a question? It's not weird or personal, promise."

"Not that your word matters much, but what is it?"

"You Grass-types… Do you, like," he made a politically-incorrect gesture with his claws, "or do you pollinate with seeds like real plants? I'm curious."

"Did that really not strike you as weird or personal? You should get a brain scan."

"…Seriously, where is that transportation?" Dominic asked after an hour. Reyes shrugged a shoulder, then he turned away to make a call on his PokéNav. Meanwhile, Dominic started walking around to alleviate the boredom. He went around the corner behind Devon Corporation and saw a pair of human boys—maybe secondary school age, he wasn't sure—beating something on the ground. They were laughing too, although it wasn't out of happiness.

"Wait!" The tall one with red hair turned to his friend as he checked his watch. "We have to get going! Mom expected us home fifteen minutes ago!"

"Shoot!" the other one said, and they both took off down the path, passing Dominic. He turned to the bush and crept over, smelling it. There was blood, blood and some scent he wasn't sure of. He peeled away the leaves and saw a tiny Skitty trembling on the dirt. She was covered in bruises and mud and blood and she was very obviously dying. He tried to pick her up but she shied away from his claws, weak as she was.

"N…No," she whispered, her voice raspy. "I'll be…I'll be fine…" Her eyes fell shut, and seconds later her small chest stopped moving. She smelled like blood, which he knew, but…she smelled like a mother too, the other scent. Dominic crouched down and dug a small hole in the ground, placing the Skitty inside and covering her up, then he marked the spot with a ring of pebbles and closed his eyes, giving her a moment of silence. When he opened them, he saw Reyes was still busy with his call. From the severity of the conversation, he would be held up for another few minutes. That was good.

He found her cubs, also, a few feet away. A bush mostly concealed them, two Skitty and a newborn Azurill, whose skin was greyish from sickness. They weren't dead, but they were malnourished and ill from the elements—nature wouldn't be lenient with them for that, so he spared them by causing them to bleed out. He buried them next to their mother, and although he didn't believe in any sort of afterlife, he imagined there was one for their sakes. As an afterthought, he added baby carrots. He could've put pomegranate seeds, but where they were going…maybe Arceus liked carrots.

The redhead's name was Kenny and his friend's name was Harris. They were at Kenny's house playing some video game. Harris was winning and Kenny didn't like it. Kenny's home was an apartment near Devon Corp. and was clean and organized, except for his room. He and Harris went to the local middle school and liked video games, Bronzor Bomb ice cream, and playing around with stray Pokémon.

"Hey, did you hear something?" Kenny asked.

"Stop trying to distract me."

"No, I'm serious. It sounded like someone else is home."

"Nah, it's just your Mom in the kitchen."

"You're right…but you're still not winning this game." Harris yelled triumphantly as their game ended.

"I already did, loser!"

"I hate this game anyway," he complained, throwing his controller at Harris.

"It's your favorite game. Quit being a sore loser."

"I'm not… Mom, is dinner ready?" he called. He looked confused when he didn't get an answer. "Mom?"

"She probably got her headphones in again," Harris muttered. "Tell her our music is for us, not her."

"Why don't you tell her, bastard?" Harris just snorted. Kenny made a face, then he looked towards the kitchen.

"That sound definitely wasn't Mom." The electricity went out, bathing them in darkness.

"This is creepy." Harris quickly moved to his feet and began backing towards the door. "I'm going ho—"

"Harris?" Kenny whispered, walking around blindly in the dark while Pokémon could see quite perfectly. Dominic created a Will-o'-Wisp, giving Kenny just enough light to see Harris' severed head in his claws. Kenny screamed in terror, slamming against the door but finding it jammed. His eyes bulged until they nearly popped out of his skull and he stumbled backwards, his back hitting the wall. Dominic squeezed Harris' head between his claws until his skull cracked. Kenny turned pale like he was going to die on the spot.

"P…Please… Is this…" He was crying, snot running out of his nose and everything, and he was urinating himself. "Is this…b…because of the stray? It was…we were playing…" Dominic pinched Kenny's nose with eyes shining through the gloom.

"Then you should've played a little smarter, bastard."

"Dominic, confess."

"Confess what?" Dominic only made it to the Pokémon Center two seconds ago and Reyes was already giving him a dreadful look.

"Whatever you did that got you covered in blood."

"Oh…" He looked at his fur, which was crusted with red. "Maybe I should've taken a shower?"

"Or maybe you should regrow whatever part of your brain you're missing. What did you do?"

"Ugugu… Some kids were messin' with a stray Pokémon."

"…And?"

"I…The King taught them never to do it again." He straightened his back but couldn't quite take the tremble from his voice. "And they won't."

Reyes stared at him for a couple of seconds with this not-very-suppressed rage in his eyes—like, he really looked a hair's breadth away from doing Dominic in on the spot. Then he sort of cursed-cursed—really cursed—like, Dominic wasn't even sure most of them were words. He grabbed Dominic's wrists in one hand and bound them with a thick coil of vines tight enough to leave bruises.

"Oi, I don't like dominants." He felt his mane getting pulled as Reyes tugged his ponytail's band free, then Reyes spun him around to shove it over his muzzle, clamping his mouth shut.

"Just shut up." That made Dominic shut up immediately. He looked Dominic in the eyes for a long time, genuinely scaring him. "I was an idiot for thinking any more of you," he finally muttered, then turned away and redialed his PokéNav.

Okay… Dominic thought. Reyes can be scary. Revolutionaries are scary too.