1.6. Even Demons Can Hope

"Are we there yet are we there yet are we—" Reyes grabbed Dominic's muzzle and slammed him to the deck. "Reyes, that hurt," he complained, rubbing his jaw.

"Do I look like I care?"

"Why are you so mean today?" he whined before giving up, running to the railing to hop excitedly at the looming island holding Ever Grande City and the Hoenn League. Dominic—or was it the King, he wondered—never fell asleep. Most likely because, duh, he was nocturnal, but Reyes was not, and it was hard to sleep with Dominic's constant movement and noise. The sun on his back helped rejuvenate him a bit though. "It's like an island paradise!"

"Morning," Louis said, coming out of the main cabin with a plate of Berries. He handed them to Reyes, who took them gratefully. "Sorry, I wasn't sure what you eat," he said to Dominic.

"I eat those!" Dominic practically jumped over the railing, pointing at the rolling schools of Magikarp, Lumineon, and Feebas below them. "But I can't swim…"

"I can't dive down there, my fire will burn out," Louis said. Both turned to Reyes.

"I won't go down there to catch fish for you to eat. It's against my ethics."

"Please, Reyes?" Dominic pleaded.

"No way. Just eat Berries."

"Berries aren't a real meal!"

"On the contrary, Berries have more nutrients as a meal than a fish." He offered his Berries to Dominic, who pulled a face and shook his head.

"Meat," he said staunchly, setting his jaw. Reyes shook his head, avoiding eye contact in case he had any funny ideas. It was only when he heard a splash behind him that he remembered Louis didn't know Dominic's trick. He ran to the railing and saw him sinking below the surface, his fire creating a warm orange glow as it began fading. Reyes formed a vine and tied it into a loop, tossing it down into the water. It hooked around a body and he began pulling Louis free. He was more or less alright in the end—he hadn't been underwater long enough for it to have caused lasting damage—but he was a little shaky from the temperature. There was a pair of large Magikarp held in his tail that he dropped on deck. Dominic instantly pounced on them like a wildcat, catching them as they tried to flop away.

"Stop it." Reyes stomped on the bend of his elbow hard enough to hurt, but not hard enough to break it. "You need to stop treating other people and Pokémon so callously, because someday your karma will return full circle."

"The King does not believe in karma!" he declared. "But he believes in immediate gratification."

"Now I see why he's a rebel," Louis commented. Reyes sighed.

"He's not very good at learning lessons either." Reyes kicked the fish back into the sea. Then he angled his body towards Dominic's, and he met Reyes' eyes with a dispassionate expression. "But now you're hurting my friends, so you're going to be in another game. You'll learn respect, you'll learn restraint, and you'll learn to relent, or so help me I'll slice you up so badly Hell won't know what to make of you."

"The King doesn't find your threats amusing," he snorted. Reyes grabbed him by his nose, bringing him up until he could slice away the tip of Dominic's ear.

"They aren't meant to be." Blood poured down Dominic's face from the wound. He touched it in disbelief, then he grinned.

"That a boy, Sceptile. It's no fun if the prey doesn't want to fight back." Reyes released him and he landed perfectly on his feet.

"You're going to apologize to Louis."

"Why in hell would I—" Reyes slashed at his face, an attack he just barely managed to deflect with his claws. Sparks flew from the contact and Dominic's wrist made a painful snapping sound from the force he needed just to defend himself. He stumbled, and Reyes grabbed Dominic's head and forced him down into a bow. He grumbled beneath his breath, "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry what?"

"I'm sorry for almost drowning you Louis!" he repeated, breathlessly angry. Reyes released him and he slunk back to the railing. Reyes folded his arms and huffed in annoyance.

"He's such a pest." Louis, once he'd gotten past his chattering teeth, looked back at him.

"I mean, I can tell that he's somewhat of a good guy…at least, he never tried to kill us in our sleep or anything," Louis said to Reyes, twiddling his thumbs anxiously, "but it's not all that smart to make friends with him."

"Does it look like we're friends?"

"Sort of, yeah."

"It's a good thing your species isn't the Clarity Pokémon." When Louis headed below deck, probably to mull over his will, Dominic gave Reyes a curious look.

"Yer winnin'."

"What are you talking about?" Reyes asked.

"Probably not for long."

"Are you going to make sense anytime soon?"

He turned away and his ears flattened against his head. "Against the King. He listens to you…mostly. He doesn't listen to anyone else though, not even me."

"That's not how it works. The King is you."

"He's not!"

He watched as Ever Grande's docks came into view and helped Louis moor the boat on the pier. Dominic didn't move for several seconds even after the boat was secured to a post, and it wasn't until Tex came down that he actually made any gesture, although it was one of alarm and surprise. "Tex, quit doing that, you scare the crap out of everybody," Reyes told it.

"P-P-Porygon-Z?" Dominic stammered, still in shock from his appearance. Tex immediately began buzzing about him, causing his mane to frizz out from his constant electric emissions. "O-Oi, that hurts," he complained, trying to move away. Tex just followed him, being the annoying virtual insect that it was.

"Tex, what are you doing here?"

"MEET-MEETING THE NEW GUY," it replied, finally backing away from Dominic. At that point, his fur was so out of sorts he looked like a red and grey fur ball. Louis had to cover his mouth with all four hands to keep from laughing aloud.

"The Sharpedo will be feasting upon your tongue," Dominic warned him. Reyes grabbed his ear, pulling his head down and earning a pained whinny from him.

"Let's go already, Tex," Reyes said. They walked up the carved stone staircases to a ledge, where they each had to climb ladder rungs made of rocks embedded into the stone wall to reach the downhill end of the city. They had to hike through some tall grass, fending away the natural wild Pokémon there (and also prevent Dominic from eating the smaller ones) before they reached the final checkpoint, which was the "gate" situated around the city. It was only seven feet long and seemed paltry, because the actual gate was a psychic barrier held up twenty-four/seven, barring the city from all types of Pokémon, and though he had never visited Sootopolis, he assumed that the rebels had something similar. A handful of Psychic-types maintained it at all times, but there was only one that gave them her full attention.

"Reyes, you've returned safely," Azalea beamed, throwing her arms around him when he came near. He returned the hug before pulling away, and she began examining the others. "And Tex, Louis… I'm assuming the one I can't sense is the King?"

"Yes, that would be Dominic. He is a Dark-type."

"Maybe if you took off that blindfold you'd see me," Dominic pointed out. Azalea just smiled kindly.

"That still wouldn't work. You see, my physical eyes were injured a long time ago. I can't see through them at all."

"Really?" he asked, eyes wide. A second later, that "King" expression crossed his face and he whispered something to Azalea, resulting in her slapping him so hard Reyes' jaw ached. Dominic whined and clenched his swelling cheek.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing that a proper lady should repeat." She held up a hand to the gates. They parted, and less visibly, a hole appeared in the barrier for them to go through—in fact, the gates were only a marker to know where the hole would be because of the barrier's consequences. Reyes, Louis, and Tex used the gates like normal effing Pokémon, but Dominic, extraordinary as he was, tried leaping over them. He received a face-full of barrier, then a face-full of the potent psychic energy it held, which manifested on him as a field of electricity. (The contact varied between Pokémon for reasons unknown. For Reyes, it was a strong Fighting-type punch in his reproductive organs…all both of them.) Dominic hit the ground in a larger fluff than before. He remained still for exactly three seconds before getting to his feet, followed by an almost obsessive preening to resettle his fur.

"What've we learned today?" Reyes said to him, making no attempt to hide his self-satisfied smirk.

"Sh'ddup."

Reyes waited for Dominic to stumble his way through the hole, then let Azalea seal it up behind them. He expected ten seconds of silence from Dominic at least, but he only got two.

"That Gardevoir was haaaawt."

"She's got a mate," Louis told him.

"Not that I care."

"Dominic, pretend to be a stable member of society." They had to walk a few more pathways and do a little more hiking, something he could've done without Dominic's never-ending complaints, but they finally reached the last ledge in the mountainous city. Dominic's head went back and his jaw dropped in awe at the sight of Ever Grande City.

The entire place was blooming with flowers, seeing as it was early spring, and when Ever Grande was in bloom it truly was grand. Roses, daisies, hydrangeas, clovers, rhododendrons, tulips, violets, et cetera all opened up to all colors of the rainbows and then some, peeking out with no shame whatsoever from every corner of the ground not taken up by the flagstone path. The buildings were revamped, all built from naturally-made products to give it the same appearance as plaster but eco-friendlier (and being duly appreciated by Grass-types) and none were as dilapidated as those within the rebels' cities or the humans' cities. Shops and stores abounded, national parks were all over, and very few walked around appearing downtrodden. In short, Ever Grande was as close to a paradise as that world was going to get.

"Since the revolutionaries are situated here, there are little to no attacks. Therefore, we're not constantly on guard or have to have weapons constantly at the ready," Reyes told Dominic, who still hadn't fixed his dislocated jaw. "Also, we're not always doing repairs and humans are free to raise families here. This is one of the nicest cities still remaining, if you couldn't see."

"I… Flowers?" He bent down to pluck one of the flowers from the ground, taking a sniff. "It's weird…so weird…" He stuck it in his fur so that the sunflower's petals stuck out and got down on all fours, sniffing at more of them. Remembering what happened the last time he had a taste of life, Reyes grabbed him by his ponytail, pulling him back. "How is this place possible?" he asked in awe. "How do ya get all these good supplies and stuff?"

"We—" He never thought about it, but the revolutionaries monopolized just as much as the rebels: They asked for a lot of cities in exchange for protection from the rebels including top-rate potential revolutionaries, the best food, and seventy percent of shipments that were supposed to head to the Pokémart. Considering that non-revolutionary/rebels lived within those cities as well with their own Pokémon that also required Potions, Restores, et cetera, it seemed demanding, but Reyes, he had never noticed. "…That's neither here nor there," he finally answered. "Alakazam is over in the Pokémon Center. You're going to talk to him, then you're going to get the hell out of here before you ruin our lives."

"Aye-aye," he muttered. Reyes steered him towards the Pokémon Center, getting a few unnecessary stares in the process. The glass doors pinged softly as they slid open, blasting them with cool air and the crisp scent of cinnamon as they entered. Nurse Joy and her Chansey were speaking to a young Trainer with his two Eevee, and there were only a few other Trainers within the lobby. Tex and Louis separated from them to attend to their own duties. Reyes released Dominic and he started sniffing around, not saying anything for a long while.

"Alakazam is in the basement area. And please, for the love of all that's holy, show some damn restraint. Despite your Dark-type, he is powerful enough to chuck you like a skipping stone."

"I…don't think I get the simile."

"Not that it matters. You'll probably get to see it yourself." Reyes opened the backroom's door for him, allowing him into the stairwell. They walked the short distance into the cold basement where a few revolutionaries lurked.

"Give him a minute," said the Meditite hanging in front of Alakazam's door.

"Is there a problem?"

"Maybe. I don't know. He said something about a plan before he started meditating—maybe the rebels are coming up with something new?" Then his eyes went to Dominic. "Who's this?"

"He is—"

"Dominic," he interrupted. "I'm Dominic." He seemed content to leave things there, then his eyes dulled before gaining that certain look Reyes had begun to dread. "Of course, most don't call me that. They refer to me as King." If possible, the air chilled even more. Reyes could feel all eyes turn on them, followed by waves of anxiety and hostility, while Dominic smirked and soaked it all in. "And I'm in your home base, roaming freely, able to do what I please…" Reyes didn't entertain his foolishness with a response. He just formed several thick vines and knotted them into his loud mouth.

"I'm not the only one that thinks Alakazam's off his rocker," a Raichu complained. "Bringing that guy into our home, our last safe place? Come on!"

"I've heard he can take out a room full of Pokémon without even moving," a Mightyena said, a growl beneath his words. "Can you, or are you all bark and no bite?" Dominic's smirk turned manic, like the curl of a skull, and he bit hard into the vines. "I say Alakazam's brought us a chew toy."

"Good—I needed a new one," a Mawile smirked with both mouths.

"Don't provoke him," Reyes said, then turned to face the rest of them. "Come on! Don't you all believe that Alakazam has his reasons?"

"I believe he has reasons," the Mightyena responded. "I don't believe they're good ones."

"So you're saying you don't have faith in him." Most of the room went silent, but Mightyena wasn't satisfied.

"We trust Alakazam. We don't trust your friend there."

Seriously. That wasn't the point. He didn't even care so much for what the revolutionaries were talking about, he knew where they were coming from, but he didn't want the King to do something stupid and get himself killed where he stood. "He's not my—"

"Mffm," Dominic said, rolling his eyes. He made more muffled noises as he gnawed on the vines until they snapped. Then, before he could react, Dominic threw his arm around Reyes' shoulders and brought him close. "This bastard right here is the most devoted out of all you idiots, and though he pisses me all the way off, the King likes his commitment."

"Get off me." Reyes pushed Dominic away, causing him to stumble before he could regain his balance. Which was odd, since he was usually more elegant than that. "You don't need to make things up to make this situation worse than it is."

Dominic's face was openly shocked and confused, and Reyes would've chalked it up as Dominic being Dominic if not for his posture. That was still his "King" attitude, Dominic never held himself that way, but why was he…?

A sound from within the room broke the sudden silence, then the door slowly creaked open. The Mightyena and Mawile dropped their ire with a scoff, heading up the stairs, and the rest of the Pokémon looked to Dominic and Reyes expectantly. The King schooled his features into a blank slate and straightened. "And I guess that's my grand cue— Oh, hey! You're coming with me," he said as Reyes walked away, seizing him by the tail.

"Why in hell?"

"In case he tries to…I don't know…smite me."

"This would have been something you considered at the beginning, no?"

"Considered, yes." It was an incomplete thought, but he let it hang and tried pulling Reyes backwards. Reyes, being a plant, was hard to move when he wanted to be.

"Stop it already. You're acting like a—" A child. "…a paranoid fuckhead."

"Paranoia is good. It keeps you alert, alive." Reyes couldn't tell if he was being serious. "And I—" His voice cut away and he straightened with an unnatural stiffness, quickly enough that Reyes heard his spine crack, and he fell backwards onto his rear. He looked towards the door with a growl building in his throat, but his ears were flattened in submission rather than anger. "…Fine, have it your way, asshole," he muttered. He stood, gave a groan while stretching his back, then loped into the room. The door quickly shut behind him.

Reyes was only half aware of what he did for the next couple of hours. He helped sort boxes of supplies and repaint a boat and find someone's lost Pokédex, but inwardly he kept wondering if Alakazam did call Dominic just to kill him. It made no sense in reality—why go through all the effort with the amount of power Alakazam had?—but the thought remained. Because, at the end of it, Reyes didn't know why Alakazam called him, the King, specifically. There were a few other integral parts of the rebel force, Pokémon with as much power and notoriety, but with Alakazam's intelligence, he must have picked Dominic for some key reason.

No more than two hours passed before Azalea approached Reyes on the streets. He started to smile, but he noticed something unusually tense about her expression. Her voice came out normal: "Alakazam wants to see you."

"Um…for what?"

"He didn't say." Wow, if that wasn't eerily similar to how he summoned Dominic… He frowned at Azalea's demeanor as she turned away.

"Are you alright?" She stopped and smiled at him over her shoulder, but it was tense and both knew it.

"I'm fine. Alakazam doesn't like to wait, you know?" His frown deepened, but she had a point. And, well, he thought, rubbing his neck, at least I can find out what happened to Dominic. Maybe then I can get some freaking focus.

The room was entirely empty save for a bright red pillow set in the middle of the wooden floor. On it was Alakazam, even though he was actually hovering a few inches above it, legs crossed and spoons poised as if for an invisible bowl of soup.

"Good afternoon," he interrupted, scratching his long grey whiskers. The spoon remained in the air even as his hand moved.

"It's actually morning." His response came a little slow when Dominic distracted him. Contrary to making his presence widely known, as Reyes had gotten accustomed to, he was seated in the corner and watching their exchange with a tight expression, much like Azalea's actually.

"My mistake." He cracked an eye open, looking at Reyes and then Dominic.

Dominic sort of mumbled something that sounded dangerously like "Revolutionary scum."

"I wouldn't say that we're all scum," Alakazam countered evenly, twirling his spoon psychically.

"Oh, you are, trust me," he said dryly, but he sounded too exhausted for it to be biting. As a matter of fact, when Reyes looked at him again, he was shaking very slightly. What in the world could have happened in two hours that brought the King into that state?

"Alakazam, why did you want to see me?"

Alakazam didn't speak for a while, humming softly in meditation, then he raised his voice: "This revolution has been going on far too long, don't you think?"

He swallowed and clenched his fists. "Of course. If you asked anyone else here, they'd give you the same answer."

"Ah, but I'm asking you." His tone was loaded and Reyes stiffened. "As it began, I sought to abide by certain limitations…rules, if you will…in order to create a favorable outcome."

Dominic, whose shaking had increased since Alakazam started talking, snapped his head towards them. "That's what ya think?" He started growling, then his eyes popped wide and he turned away with a sudden whimper. Alakazam hadn't moved.

"As I was saying, I'd been working by some limitations, but time is drawing onwards with no sign of progression. The rebels refuse to yield and continue to press without yielding, so we must increase our defense and offense. That is why I had the King brought over here."

"Regardless of the risk," Reyes had to say. Alakazam let out a clipped laugh.

"I had faith in your abilities. You're very strong, Reyes. That strength is what attracted me to you." That tone again. Also, it had a memory niggling Reyes' brain, something Dominic said… "The King is the integral piece here, hence his presence." Dominic bristled and huddled further into himself. "He wasn't too willing at first, but after a while Dominic gave me the information I need." Dominic.

"Which is…?"

Alakazam descended to the cushion and fully opened his eyes. "We are going to strike at the rebels' weak points, their figureheads, and while they're down, we'll end things. We'll go through their cities and pick them off, ensuring that not even their ideals remain among the populace, and with that, the revolution will come to an end."

A cold feeling settled in Reyes' stomach. He wanted the revolution over—that was a given. And maybe—no, certainly, three years after it began when he lost his best friend, he would have followed along with genocide without a second thought. Hell, if he'd been presented the option a month ago, he might have agreed. Now, however, having seen a rebel that was nothing more than a confused and scared kid, he wondered how many more were like that, how many more Pokémon Alakazam couldn't reach in time and had to throw themselves at the closest side to survive.

"Your Alakazam is so strong, he could turn anyone he pleased to your side, whether by force or—whatever. But he doesn't. He picks and chooses the same way Blaziken does, and guess what? He didn't fuckin' choose me."

The King…had a point. Reyes was reluctant to admit it, but he had a point. Alakazam could have saved Dominic from whatever trauma happened in his past but he didn't, and Dominic was in this position now. Did that mean every rebel had once been in Dominic's position with his backstory? Certainly not, and the number of innocents was still less than half, but that still spelled out hundreds of Pokémon who didn't deserve a massacre.

He was digressing, and Alakazam was still awaiting a response.

"Alakazam, I don't think this is the right way to go about things. It's…not the right way to do things. For starters, how could you stop the revolution that way? No one's feelings would change—actually, they'd fight back harder if you did. There would be no stopping new rebels from showing up out of this—" Catastrophe.

"They would try to fight me?" He actually sounded amused. Reyes gritted his teeth.

"They would try." And you'd kill them for it.

"They will see reason after a while. They must. This thing has to end someway—it's already gone on long enough." Dominic chuffed but didn't speak up. What did Alakazam do to him?

"I will agree, it has to end. But not this way." Reyes knew his place in the strength hierarchy, falling several rungs below one of the strongest, if not the strongest, Psychic-types in the world, but he stood his ground and said his peace with enough steel in his voice ward off all doubt. Alakazam's eyes narrowed, betraying his annoyance.

"I'd think after what you endured, not to mention what the other revolutionaries have gone through, you would have been prepared to do anything to prevent more tragedies."

"I am preventing a tragedy!" He did look at Dominic this time, and his eyes were wide but he nodded in encouragement. Reyes stepped forward and continued in a harsh voice, "I know there's another way, something besides butchering the rebels and threatening the rest of the general public into submission! That's what the worst of the rebels would do, and I'm not one of them. That's something I'd never do!"

"You would have," he said eventually, having let the ensuing silence ring in their ears for several seconds. "Before, you would have. What changed?" And Reyes felt a distinct probing sensation around his brain.

"Stop—" He was cut off as his head exploded in pain, and Reyes fell back on the ground hard. Stinging pain went up his back as his tail snapped from the impact, but he was busy trying not to scream aloud as Alakazam combed through his thoughts. The sensation only lasted a few moments before a cold chill like death coursed through his body. He thought he was dead at first, it was so sudden, then he realized it came from a touch on his shoulder.

"Leave…Re-Reyes…alone." Dominic's voice came fragile and shaky, but his grip was strong. Alakazam sighed and set his hands in his lap.

"You've even befriended the rebel." Reyes didn't have the strength to argue, focusing on lifting himself from the ground. "You don't know him. You don't know what I've seen in the King's mind."

"I don't know him," Reyes agreed. "But Dominic wouldn't stoop as low as you have. That much, I know with certainty."

The psychic pressure of the room increased. "You're not going to side with me. Is that really your choice?"

"You're the one who went rooting through my mind, what do you think?" Alakazam's eyes glowed white.

"I think I've found another problem to staunch."

"Shit," Dominic whispered, and he turned and barreled into Reyes just as an unbelievable amount of pure psychic energy raged through the room. The walls split and plaster disintegrated, causing dirt to spill into the room as the foundation was wrecked, and the floor was torn away and fried with the heat of the energy. Dominic's reaction speed saved Reyes' life, but he was still clinging. Reyes stumbled to his feet to find Dominic's arms wound around his neck in a vise grip.

"Get off me!" Reyes yelled, running past the blown doorway to the stairs.

"Nooooo, I'm scared," he whined. Dominic was a little smaller but a good bit heavier than Reyes. He could barely move without stumbling, and he felt Alakazam's energy tingling on the back of his neck. He finally grabbed Dominic by the waist and pulled him free just in time to receive a particularly strong Psywave, knocking them to the ground and breaking the staircase down into chunks of rock. The demolition progressed to the supports in the wall and the ceiling, and this time Reyes pushed Dominic down, and they ducked their heads against the rain of concrete and insulation.

"Are we stuck down here?" Dominic asked once it was over, eyes wide and glowing through the haze of dust. Reyes gritted his teeth and forced his fists to relax before he punched him in the face.

"Why, now, are you so bearable? Had you been as annoying as you have been since I met you, I'd find this a lot easier—!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Shut up!" Reyes wrapped an arm around Dominic's waist before pushing off with his legs as hard as he could, using his prowess in digging through earth to his favor. He burst through the asphalt and onto the street, seeing a crowd gathering at the sounds that originated from the Pokémon Center and its basement—which had both collapsed, he now noticed. Dominic was still flopping in his grip when he turned and ran, but he could feel Alakazam's presence behind him. Still, he refused to turn away, and he ducked into the nearest network of alleys he could find.

"Reyes…?" Dominic's voice was still weak.

"You're a hell of a screw-up, you know? I wouldn't have thought of letting off on Alakazam like that before I met you. You just—you screwed up my beliefs! Fucking hell, Dominic." He skidded to a stop behind a stack of weathered crates and quickly dropped to a crouch, releasing him to the ground. "Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine…"

"The way you were cowering? You are not." Dominic cowered when he said it.

"He…ya know how it feels to have yer mind probed?" He shuddered. "It…he… He kept diggin' and diggin' until he had what he wanted, and it took a long ass time to get there." His eyes were wide from the memory of intense agony when he looked up. "There are lots of good people with the rebels, ya know. People that jus' wanted the protection. Is Alakazam really gonna slaughter them all?"

"He wants to," Reyes said in a low voice. "But I won't let that happen." Dominic let out a hard breath and squeezed his eyes shut.

"You…you, Sceptile…" His left ear twitched and swiveled to the right. "He's coming!" He was pulling Reyes' arm hard. "We've gotta—"

They broke apart as a column of flames burst between them, rising high into the air and singeing Reyes' skin. Dominic was quick on all fours as he darted under Reyes, causing him to get tangled in his mane, and sped past an ensuing torrent of fire that cut through the gravel like butter. Reyes tried to get as comfortable as possible on Dominic's back, which only meant he wasn't going to fall off in the next second.

"Head for the water!" Dominic's ear flicked to show he heard and he cut through onto the street heading west. As soon as they were in plain sight, the earth began to rumble ominously, and even Dominic wasn't fast enough to outrun a wave of energy that shredded the concrete and sent them rolling. He and Dominic shook it off quickly and raised their heads to the source of the impact, where Alakazam hovered and held his spoons crossed in front of his face. Energy was building in front of him and coalescing into a tiny white ball.

"Dominic—"

"Reyes—"

They looked at each other and nodded once.

Alakazam's Hyper Beam was a herald of death on a different plane than his psychic abilities. It obliterated the city block, disintegrating brick and asphalt until only a very smooth layer of dirt and pebbles remained several dozen feet below with a thin view of a canal cutting through. The two of them performed Protect at the last second, but even that only meant so much in the face of such raw power: they were sent backwards and crashed into each other, leaving Dominic to fall into the new ravine and Reyes to slam into a metal power pole with the full momentum of his attack. The steel dented around the shape of his body and he fell face-first into the last remaining chunk of sidewalk. It hurt, everything hurt beyond words, but he didn't have the luxury of seething. At least Alakazam would have to recharge.

Dominic's low moans echoed upwards, gradually increasing in volume. "D-Damn it…couldn't jus' be a Munna or somethin'…hadda be 'n Alakazam…"

Reyes looked over the damage caused before setting his eyes on Alakazam, gritting his teeth so hard it hurt. "You bastard."

All for the greater good, Alakazam said into his mind. Reyes supposed they had less than a minute before the onslaught continued, and he forced himself onto his hands and knees. Dominic returned to the surface and collapsed onto his belly with all the breath whooshing out of his lungs. It took more effort than Reyes thought he had left, but he pushed himself up to his feet and stumble-walked over to him.

"Dominic, come on…" He grunted at the effort to crouch down, slinging one of Dominic's arms over his shoulders.

"Reyes…" Dominic sniffed and rubbed his nose, streaking blood across his fur. "We can't win against him."

"We can't. So we run."

The only advantage that came with was a lot of pain was Reyes' Ability kicked in. He had an easy time creating a network of vines around Alakazam's figure, and since Alakazam was unable to fight them off, he was quickly encapsulated by layer upon layer of inches-thick greenery. When he was satisfied with the security of it, Reyes pulled Dominic along an undamaged road. It was slow going and every second felt like an eternity, but finally they ended up in the main plaza overlooking the docks. Pokémon instantly looked up at their presence, no doubt having heard the commotion they'd created.

"Reyes…?" Azalea's voice was quiet from shock as she looked between him and Dominic, eyes wide. His heart constricted and Dominic murmured a curse.

"Azalea, look—"

He felt a painful shock of energy run through his skull. Simultaneously, the revolutionaries around them looked up to something he couldn't see or hear. In the next second, they dropped whatever they were doing to begin advancing on the two of them. Dominic backed away, glancing at Reyes, but he couldn't focus on him. The revolutionaries formed a wave to lunge at them, the ground rumbling from Alakazam's immense energy—

—and the dirt quaking beneath his feet stole his focus from the scene ahead. What he could see of it through the massive amounts of dust in the air was not pretty. He blinked, rubbing his eyes furiously to clear them as a tight grip appeared on his arm. He was pulled away from the action as Brendan's Gardevoir, Azalea, led him to the side. Her large scarlet eyes were narrowed with worry. She pulled him away just as a humungous ball of red and orange fire slammed into the ground, decimating it until a large crater was left. "Pay more attention, Reyes." Her mouth was set in a grim line as she led him around to a half-destroyed Pokémart. An indistinct song occasionally shrieked out a few notes from the broken speakers, and a smashed fridge created a consistent stream to their side.

"I…I'm trying, Lea, but it's all so—" He covered his ears briefly as a boom! sounded from across Fortree City, felling yet another tree. Screams rose up alongside its impact, quickly followed by loud, disjointed sobs. "overwhelming," his teeth were a cage his voice strained through. Her brow furrowed with sympathy, but they were distracted by a sound worryingly reminiscent of a child's crying.

"Come on! We have to find Brendan!" She grabbed his arms and shook some sense into him. He covered his eyes for a moment, taking deep, shaky breaths. "You're the one he trusts most, Reyes. He needs you!"

"You…You're right, you're right. Thank you, Azalea." She smiled, then she gasped and pulled him to her chest as a bolt of lightning struck feet away from them. He felt his skin get charred from the intense heat, but he could regrow it easily. "I hope…we can both make it through," he said to Azalea.

"Me too," she replied, releasing him. Not a second later a Mawile's huge jaws clamped around her body, her eyes widening in alarm. Reyes grabbed her arms, pulling her back, but the Mawile was like a dog with a bone. She cried in pain, and he realized at that moment that it was smarter to let go of her. The Mawile pulled her away—

"You stupid Sceptile, snap out of it!" Dominic shouted, clutching Reyes' forearm hard enough to dig into his skin.

"This is…just like…back then…" His throat was so dry it felt as if it had been razed by Groudon's claws. His heart was racing and he could barely focus on the scene ahead of him. "Just like…"

"Oh, god," he complained, grabbing Reyes' shoulders and spinning him around. He nodded once, then jumped to ram his forehead into Reyes'. The pain made him cry out but returned him to the present moment. "This is no time for it. Let's get out of here!" He turned to the others and raised his arms. A wall of hellfire erupted between them and the revolutionaries. He pushed Reyes backwards and they started running, heading back to the port. On the ledges leading to the piers, the King stumbled, and Reyes caught his arm before he fell face-first into the rocks.

"Are you ok—"

"You're the biggest fucking idiot I know!" he yelled over Reyes' concerns. He spun around and punched him in the chest, knocking the breath from his lungs, then shook his hand out with a clipped whine. "You should've just gone with it. You should have kept your stupid mouth shut. Now Alakazam—one of the worst possible Pokémon to get on the bad side of—and his whole gang of happies are after your ass. God-fucking-dammit, Reyes, why are you so nice!?"

"You know…that's the first time you've said my name." It was the first thing that struck him. The King frowned and narrowed his eyes.

"Shut up."

"Why do you care what happens to me anyway?" He shook his mane out and chuffed.

"Because—" He turned, eyes scanning the water, and finally pointed out a small motorboat. "—you're the first person in a long time to risk yourself for me, and I'm…indebted." They hopped and skidded down the ledges as the revolutionaries advanced, headed by none other than Alakazam himself.

"Reyes, why you?" he called, a genuine expression of disappointment on his face. "You're one of my most passionate revolutionaries, always looking to help the people. Why are you hurting them now by aiding this one?"

"First of all, we're the people's revolutionaries, not yours," Reyes called back, feeling a bit of his self-assurance return. "And while it's certainly crazy, I know I'm still working for the people, unlike you." Azalea's small distressed noise brought his attention back to her and he bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Azalea, and Louis too, but…" He backed away, stepping onto the pier and unravelling the motorboat's knot. Suddenly there was a strong Psychic-type grip on him, not just one but two Pokémon's energy. He felt himself being lifted, and he probably would've been tossed into the water like a rock if Dominic hadn't taken his arm, cancelling the energy transfer. They jumped onto the boat and Dominic immediately fired up the motor. It spat water out angrily as it worked, then they were tearing away from Ever Grande City.

You won't get away, Reyes, Dominic. It may not be today, may not be tomorrow, may not even be next week, but eventually, we willcatch you two, and your penance will be slow and painful.

"What are you thinking about?" Dominic asked. Reyes sat down on the bench, clenching his hands to prevent them from shaking. Alakazam's ethics had gone to shit—or maybe he didn't have them to begin with, from the sounds of things—but one way or another, he still had all the others fooled. God, he loathed to think he'd have to fight any of his old friends, and if he ever had to go face-to-face with Alakazam, he'd be kissing his ass goodbye in an interdimensional second.

"I hate to say it, but now I'm just like you."

"Huh?" Reyes raised his head, a dark smile on his face.

"We're both enemies of the world."