2.4. ZOMBIE

"Reyes."

Reyes yawned, pushing away a crate to crawl out of his hiding place. Fortunately, nobody on the ferry spotted him, so he managed four full hours of sleep. He listened closely for footsteps outside of the storage room, and when he was sure that it was clear he pushed through the door into the wooden hallway. A lone human couple was walking the end giggling and holding hands, and he retreated into the room before they could spot him, the sight making him sick with memories. As he thought, those flashbacks were becoming annoying. Maybe it was because after so long, he was finally alone with his thoughts, and consequently, they overtook his mind whenever possible with old memories unimportant to the situation.

"Wait, did I just hear my name?" he wondered aloud, looking around the hallway again. The couple had left and so it was completely empty, even though he was certain someone else had spoken. "It sounded sort of like…" He ran down the hall and checked both corners, then he peeked onto the deck. Although they were plenty of people and Pokémon, there were no Zoroark. "He would be in the shade," he realized, and started checking the many dark corridors and corners of the boat, but still, he couldn't find Dominic. He grasped that he was making himself frantic and pounded the wall with his fist, trying to channel out his frustration.

"I'm losing focus," he muttered, pressing his fist into his cheek. "I just have to lay low on the boat until we reach Lilycove, then I can find a real hiding spot. It doesn't matter if worrying is my nature, I can't worry about—"

"Hey look at this!" Dominic said, pointing at Bug-type Pokémon scurrying across a tree branch. "There's Spinarak, Masquerain, Metapod, and Vivillon!"

"That's impressive to you?"

"Well…yeah. I enjoy the world and everything on it," he admitted. Reyes could've maybe figured that out from his overzealousness at seeing rocks and dirt. "It's just…the Legendary Pokémon have been doin' sorta a crappy job maintainin' crap, so I take what I can get, and what I can get is either some jacked-up rebel city or this kind of nature." He sat down on a flat rock and pulled his legs to his chest. "So, I try to enjoy everythin', cuz ya know what they say: ya don't appreciate somethin' 'til it's gone."

"Isn't that right," Reyes agreed, sitting with him and watching the Bug Pokémon.

"—him—"

"Reyes, c'mon!" Lilly laughed, splashing around in the small tide pool, bringing up little Staryu and Clamperl and Luvdisc as she went. Sunny was learning how to swim in the shallow depths, but as with a lot of things, she was quickly becoming an expert. Reyes remained firmly planted on an overgrowth of bright coral nearby, but at Lilly's urging he dipped one foot in the cool, sandy seawater.

"There. I'm technically in the water." He saw her laugh in response, Sunny mimicking her and flapping her little flippers. The beach was filled with people and Trainers and Pokémon all enjoying the crisp summer day, Frisbees flying and grills roasting and balls bouncing and towels snapping and battles firing. A cool breeze slowly wafted down the shore, bringing with it the tang of ocean salt and the smell of contentment.

"Oh, don't be such a stick."

"Actually, I'm a leaf, in case you've forgotten."

"Daddy," Sunny pleaded, widening her large eyes at him. He tried to steel himself, but when she put on the charm, it was all over.

"Fine," he grumbled, dropping to the sand. It crunched wetly beneath his feet as he made his way into the deeper end of the tide pool, the water reaching just below his shoulders. Sunny plowed into his chest with a torrent of giggles, slapping her flippers against his skin in a weak attempt of a hug. He chuckled and put his arms around her, holding her tightly against him. "Are you having fun, Sunshine?"

"Yeah, lots!" she said with a wide smile. "The beach is so fun, Daddy!"

"Really? But the sand…and the smell of meat is everywhere…"

"Too late," Lilly smiled. "She'll be asking to come back here all the time, and you know you can't refuse your little girl."

"I can't refuse you either, Lil," he grinned, setting Sunny on Lilly's shell to bend over into the water. "I think I saw some nice shells down here…"

"—anymore—"

His shoulder hit the wall, then he slumped down to the ground, head in his hands.

"No… I can't stop caring, and that's the problem…"

Reyes was shocked by a sudden tremor in the boat's skeleton. He lurched to his feet and, wiping his face on his arm, started running in its direction. He heard and felt the sound a second time when he was halfway down, almost causing him to topple down the metal stairway. It sounded like something big was trying to puncture the ship's hull. He tried to move faster, sprinting down a long corridor leading to the boiler room. To his shock, one of the portholes burst in a shower of fiber glass, throwing him against the wall with a sudden spout of water. He hit the ground a moment later, sputtering and coughing, and another tremor hit the boat. The rest of the portholes along the corridor broke, quickly submerging it, and a klaxon began ringing throughout the ship.

"Damn it!" He took a deep breath before the hall was filled with water. He was a decent enough swimmer thanks to Lilly and Sunny, but he couldn't hold his breath forever, and even though he could take in carbon dioxide from the water, he still needed sunlight to perform photosynthesis.

A blue and grey blur raced at him from down the hall. He didn't have time to move before it collided with him and knocked him aside, bruising his ribs and stomach. He had to clench his jaw to hold in his air, and he couldn't recover before it came back. This time he gasped, his breath escaping him a flurry of bubbles. It had to be a Water-type with that kind of flexibility, but that made it harder for Reyes: if he couldn't catch up to or even see it, then he was all twelve types of damned.

Reyes tried to pump forward but he was cut off by that Pokémon again, tearing a gash in his leg and ripping some leaves from his nearly-healed tail. He tried to back up towards the stairs but that Pokémon returned, bashing him in the head so hard that he tumbled head over heels to the ground. He couldn't go anywhere, which was becoming a bigger problem by the second; he was running out of air. At that point, he had a very realistic chance of drowning to death. He put his hands together and put his remaining air into extending and thickening his leaf blades until they reached the corners of the narrow hall. The Pokémon slammed into them instead of him, finally coming to a stop.

"Good job," the Sharpedo said sarcastically, teeth bared in his ever-present scowl. "Ya stopped me." Reyes tried to talk before he remembered that he was underwater. "Don't forget, yer in my territory now, Sceptile. Nothing's ever beaten me under the water." He snarled before spreading his jaws, revealing three rows of needle-like teeth, and rushed Reyes. Reyes put his arm out automatically as Sharpedo's jaws clamped down, pulling his arm away from the elbow-down but cutting into the soft skin of his mouth and cheek with his leaf blades. He gagged into the water, a stream of crimson blood running out, and smashed his tail into the wall furiously. The steel dented with a heavy groan before it split into a huge crack, the water rushing through. He slipped past Sharpedo into the opening and fell into a large storage room. Although it was empty to begin with, the water was quickly swelling within, but at least he could breathe for another two minutes. That Sharpedo landed in the shallow water, giving him about a foot of swimming space.

"You can't hit me as long as I'm not in water." Reyes drew the seaweed floating outside of the ship, forcing it through the hull and around the room like the cords of an Ariados' web. He hated to puncture the boat even more, but it restricted the Sharpedo's movements further.

"I won't let ya reach the surface!" Sharpedo attempted to run through the seaweed but Reyes was smart enough to coil them together, thickening them. He worked his leaf blades into the ceiling as the room filled with water and felt them cut into the thick steel. He felt the water displace beneath him and raised his legs in time to avoid Sharpedo's ripping jaws. He slowed to turn around, then latched firmly onto Reyes' tail, shredding his leaves and then the trunk. The Sharpedo was close enough to take a chunk out of Reyes' leg when he finally sliced through the ceiling. He punched the circle of steel loose and pitched forward to let it fall on Sharpedo, knocking him loose and causing him to spiral through the water. Reyes lifted himself into a higher-leveled room that was halfway empty, giving him enough air to breathe, but it was quickly filling from water draining in through the halls and from the holes he made. He barely got his feet on the ground before the boat gave a great and heavy groan and started tilting to the left. He lost his balance and fell through the water and against the wall, jarring his brain.

Sharpedo leapt through the hole into the air, and while Reyes was still stunned he opened his mouth and fired a beam of icy cold. Reyes' leg was practically fused to the wall with ice, then his remaining arm, trapping him under. Then the Sharpedo rushed him again, jaws dripping purple mist into the water. Having already learned his lesson about poison, Reyes used his vines to break the ice on his arm and, quickly weaving a net with them, stopped Sharpedo inches from his body. He released the net, watching Sharpedo tangle his own jaws in it, and smashed the remaining ice with his fist. He pushed back to hit one of the room's portholes, but he couldn't smash the glass on his own. Sharpedo recovered, shaking out his thick head, and rushed Reyes again. He took a head butt right in his chest, knocking his breath from his lungs, and Sharpedo slammed his tail into Reyes, slamming his back into the porthole.

Reyes grabbed Sharpedo's dorsal fin and directed him down. He made a growling noise deep in his throat while smacking Reyes in the face with his tailfin. A few seconds later, Reyes realized that Sharpedo himself wasn't growling, but the water, and in the next moment, Reyes felt an immense pressure on his back as Sharpedo fired a pressurized jet of water that launched both into the ceiling. The pain in his back added up to his lightheadedness and pain in his emptied lungs, and right when he thought he would pass out from it all, the steel gave another groan as it started to bend. He lowered his body to use his feet and vines to attack the steel, and a few moments later it finally gave, the water pushing them through a room filled with vehicles being transported across the water.

Again, he hit a ceiling, but this time the steel was thin enough that he went through with minimal pain, and finally they were in the open air, the sun beating down on his back. He released Sharpedo as his seed pods bloat and open to the sunlight, then sprouts and vines rapidly grew from the stubs of his arm and tail. Sharpedo gave a mad barking sound that was more Manectric than Sharpedo as it launched at Reyes, teeth freezing over. Reyes pushed off his back and, looping his vines in Sharpedo's mouth like reins, pulled him in a loop and slammed him down into the wooden deck, scaring the passengers that were rushing to lifeboats. The impact buried him in the boards and kept him away from the biggest source of water.

Reyes used the opportunity to retreat away from immediate danger, letting his arm and tail grow back and the rest of his injuries heal. He was close to done when he heard an awfully familiar voice, although it was so poor that he almost believed he imagined it. Almost. A Unova Pokémon in Hoenn was easy to find after all, even if said Pokémon looked like he was hit by a truck, put through a can opener, and doused in gasoline to be set on fire. The Sharpedo wriggling his way free went unnoticed in his peripheral vision.

"Dominic!"

"Reyes!" Dominic exclaimed, eyes lighting up. That was all he got out before Sharpedo's jaws latched onto him and the both landed in the ocean. Reyes swore to himself and ran to the protective railing, spotting the blood painting the surface. Reyes took a deep breath before leaping over the railing and into the water.

Sharpedo was trying to drag Dominic to the bottom, but he was having a tough time swimming past the debris left by the boat while keeping hold of Dominic—not that that was a real effort with how battered he was. Reyes used the seaweed again, pulling it from the sand and knotting them together to net Sharpedo, but he shredded it easily with his fins and tails and continued unhindered. Reyes swam after him, however he could feel the water pressure increase by the moment. For Dominic, it had to be unbearable. His eyes were bulging, and he tried to hold his breath even as his nose started bleeding.

"Reyes!" It sounded like Dominic, but his mouth wasn't moving—it was presumably an illusion of his voice, like earlier that day when he thought he was hearing his name. He hated to do it, but he came to a stop, watching Sharpedo move faster into the depths before swimming to the surface, pumping his tail for extra speed. Dominic's bewildered expression was priceless, but the trust that was within it conversely bewildered Reyes. That pretty much sealed the fact that from then on, Reyes would screw himself over and risk his ass several times to save Dominic's.

He put his blades together and, gathering as much strength in his legs as he could, dove back down. The blades extended and hardened exponentially, cutting through the water for him so he met almost zero resistance, streamlining his body almost as much as a real Water-type. The water pressure hurt, forcing chlorophyll from his nose and eyes, and the speed tore leaves from his tail, but he was out-speeding even Sharpedo. He looked up in surprise as Reyes came close with a flurry of bubbles and nearby Water-types scattering. Dominic used the last of his strength to throw up an illusion, forcing his jaws open and his torpedo body to finally hold still, and sunk out of the way as Reyes slashed into his thick hide. It tore into shreds with Reyes' speed and strength, and as much as Reyes felt he needed recompense for what he did to the boat…he didn't end things.

"Bahaah!" Dominic choked, blood and air rushing out of his mouth and up to the surface. Reyes grasped his arms and backpedaled away from Sharpedo's sinking form. It took too long for him to reach the surface, but he found the boat had completely sunk and the lifeboats were filled. He couldn't swim either: the saltwater was visibly hurting Dominic and Lilycove's shore was some feet away, too many when Reyes had to be careful with his body. He swam in circles for a long time before he detected another Pokémon nearby. Before he could react, something surfaced beneath them, catching both on a slippery serpentine body.

"How come we only meet when you're in trouble?" She gave a dramatic sigh. "I'm supposed to be the damsel in distress—it's not the other way around, stupid."

"Wilma, thank you… No, really, I can't even thank you enough," Reyes said to Lilly's girl friend. She didn't respond, silently swimming towards the shore. Reyes turned Dominic onto his back and regularly compressed his chest until he revived with a series of wet coughs, followed by retching a gallon of seawater tinted red. "Just hang on…okay? Just. Just hang on. We're almost to the shore." Reyes was sweating, and he had to swallow repeatedly to both ease his dry throat and repel the bile rising from his stomach.

"Aye-aye…cap'n…" The joke came as weakly as Dominic's appearance, his bloodshot eyes squinting a bit from pain.

"Hang on. You're okay. You're alright." He sounded calm, which surprised him; half of him was in the moment and the other half was staring at the extensive graveyard he called his life. Dominic would just be another tick on that list.

"Not okay." He laughed with barely any sound to it. "Not gonna be." Reyes' heart sunk.

"Dominic, you're going to live."

"Face facts," he said almost derisively before breaking into a coughing fit, more blood trickling out of his mouth. When he recovered, his eyes were dark from misery. "Tried to…tried to tell 'em…yer a good guy, tried to tell 'em…yer a hero. So, they beat the shit outta me." He stopped to inhale, and Reyes could hear the liquid still sloshing in his chest. "Mah friends…or I thought, at least…mah friends, they c…called me traitor…spy…two-faced bastard…n't believe me…" His words died and his head started to fall.

"You tried to be their hero. That's…that's admirable." Reyes dug his claws into Dominic's arm. He didn't stir, but his voice returned, sluggish and hoarse.

"I'm no…hero…"

"Maybe not, but nonetheless—" Dominic's coughs cut him off. Reyes frowned. "We don't have too long until we reach the Pokémon Center. Wilma, can you hurry?"

"If I go any faster, he'll fall off," she said defensively. "Anyways, you're just lucky that I was out here. I was invited for a swim by the most striking Kingdra—"

"I don't need the backstory too."

"Hey, take my help or leave it. I wasted a perfectly good date because I heard your screams!"

"I apologize… I really am thankful for your presence, Wilma."

"Humph."

He dropped his claws to hold Dominic's shoulders, ignoring the feel of dried blood on his hands. "Don't give up. Please, don't give up. You're amazing, and it would be a damn shame if you died here."

"I…" He started coughing again and his eyes closed. "The world…ain't losin' much…"

"I am." Dominic's eyes widened for a second, then he chuffed and grinned wide. It faded a second later into a grimace.

"Ouch…"

"What hurts?" In hindsight, that was a damn stupid question, but again, Dominic ignored that.

"Everythin'…'nd nothin', if th…makes sense…" It did, and Reyes hated what it meant.

"Dominic, don't die. A kid like you shouldn't be dying like this."

"You've been sayin' that, but…know what?" Dominic was the grimmest Reyes had ever seen him. "Kids…don't murd…" He gasped, then his head fell back. For a moment, he wasn't breathing at all, then he started again with a rattle even Wilma could hear. "'m not go…nna make…it…" Reyes looked up—Lilycove was practically a hop and skip away, and there were already doctors and Nurse Joys on the shore receiving the injured.

"It doesn't matter… Look, none of it matters," he said breathlessly, struggling to keep his eyes on Dominic's. "Just… Just keep talking, alright? We're so close, Dominic. Talk about Steven or Ali or whatever you want!"

"Reyes…" He closed his eyes for a long time, and just when Reyes was going to shake him again, he let out a whimper. He said, in the smallest voice Reyes ever heard, "Does dying…hurt?" Reyes blinked hard and raised an arm to wipe his eyes.

"D…Don't talk about any of that." His voice trembled but he couldn't be bothered to care.

"Said…keep talkin'…so I'm talkin'…"

"I meant… Oh, Dominic, just don't talk about dying. You'll get to the Pokémon Center and you'll be perfectly fine. We'll keep running and you'll keep being a pain in my ass and I'll keep beating you for it. Everything will be fine and just the same, alright?"

"I believe you." His smile was shaky and Reyes knew he was lying. Lilycove was so close he could practically touch it. Reyes stopped Wilma and, carefully hoisting Dominic onto his back, leapt from Wilma's body. Her skin was slick, however, and Reyes slipped when he jumped, causing him to hit the sand bodily and roll across it. When he opened his eyes, Dominic was sitting a few feet away in an awkward position. He wasn't moving to correct it.

"Help!" he called to the Nurse Joys. A Chansey was the first to notice him, tapping her Nurse before shuffling over in concern. Two more Chansey and another Joy joined them as they huddled around Dominic's…body. No, he wasn't going to say corpse. Reyes felt the memories almost literally pricking at his skull and fell over onto his hands, panting and gasping for breath. It hurt…it hurt on all new levels of hurt… The battlefield covered in blood and bodies and combat nurses… Pain… Trying to pick who was alive and who was a carcass—pain—trying to salvage belongings from razed homes—pain pain—trying to gain friends from wary enemies—pain pain painpainpain—

"Him too!" a distant voice said. It almost sounded underwater, so distorted he couldn't get the gender. There were hands and paws going on him and he pushed them all and stumbled away, the pain in his head intensifying. He finally collapsed on the boardwalk, his heart racing and head pounding. He looked through his claws at the pandemonium on the beach, the people and Pokémon talking to authorities and trying to figure out what had happened, injured getting medical help. He couldn't go on like that, but he didn't think he'd be in any decent shape for a while, not if he stayed in that place. He used a street light's pole to pull himself to his feet and headed towards the city.

Despite the perils on the beach, Lilycove itself remained the same, even compared to when he had last visited. It made him feel strange that while he had changed, the world ultimately hadn't. He felt the pain reach his body as well and winced: if he stressed any further, his leaves would start dying again. He was still dazed as he made his way around the city, the Pokémon around him barely giving him a second glance. It helped that he was just a forgettable Sceptile, making it harder for anybody to recognize him. He passed by the Cove Lily Motel, the same one that he had stayed at for several weeks, and then the Lilycove Museum, which he visited several times for the art pieces within. He passed the Pokémon Fan Club, in which the owner frequently asked him for an autograph and he politely refused, the Pokémon Contest Hall, which he religiously avoided, and then the Memory Girl's house, which he also religiously avoided after one particular run-in…

He reached the Pokémon Center but couldn't find an opening to enter with the Nurse Joys and Trainers and Pokémon rushing in and out. He bit his tongue trying to keep his patience, which was already thin as an onion's skin, and finally he just lost it and shoved a Chansey out of the way, where said Chansey huffed and waddled away angrily. The waiting room was packed with Trainers and their friends waiting anxiously—the air even smelled tense, if that made sense. Reyes went up to the counter where the Nurse Joy receptionist and her Chansey were trying to placate a young man and woman asking about an injured Pidgeotto. He could barely get a word in edgewise, but he tried anyway.

"T-There was—Zoroark—need to see him—" As he expected, they didn't answer. He didn't even have the energy to try and just walked past them to the recovery rooms. In a city like Lilycove, the Pokémon Center was big enough to have dozens of them, but apparently Reyes had decent guessing skills: it took him less than a handful of tries to find Dominic's room. He was strung up with bandages and had three different medications going into him. He was curled into a furry ball on the bed so he couldn't look around, but thankfully he was still breathing, albeit faintly. Reyes sat on a chair next to the bed, his head still sore and his body shaking, and he sighed into his hands. Dominic's ears perked at the sound but he didn't move otherwise. It seemed to be an automatic reaction.

"This place…it hurts. I haven't been here in so long, and the last time that I did it was still ravaged by the revolution. Everywhere I turn, all I see are the bodies of friends, of innocents…" What would Dominic say to that? Get your head outta yer ass, probably—though that might've been more up the King's alley. Dominic would have something massively silly to say. The thought made him smile through his pain a little. He reached out to pat the kid on the head. His ear twitched again and he frowned, growling lightly and shifting under Reyes' touch. Reyes looked at the cocktail of drugs going into Dominic's system and sighed.

"Doesn't seem like you can talk for now… That's fine. Your job as of now is to rest and recover. You're in the perfect place to do so, and I won't let you get hurt. Not on my life." He retracted his arm and Dominic whined a bit at the loss of contact, getting a small smile from Reyes. "And…I think I'll do the talking now."