2.4.2. Reyes, Part II

"My Gardevoir! My Gardevoir, is she okay?" Brendan tripped over a wave of people as he forced him his way to the counter with Reyes performing damage control in his wake. Nurse Joy flinched at his presence and so Reyes pulled him back. "Tell me!"

"Let me get your Trainer I.D.?" Nurse Joy said, recovering from the shock. Her Chansey, however, was giving Brendan the mother of all dirty looks, but he remained undaunted.

"#38005," he said breathlessly. "Now…?"

"Recovery room number thirteen," she said in a clipped tone. Brendan exhaled and started down the hall, Reyes keeping position at his heel.

"Damn Fortree damn people…"

"Your attitude isn't helping," Reyes said. Brendan gave him a weary look over his shoulder but didn't reply. A Chimchar running through the hall broke their step, then his young owner ran from her room to grab him. She looked up at them as they passed, and Reyes turned his head away from the fresh pink scar marring her face.

"Thirteen," Brendan said, coming to a stop in front of an ajar recovery room. Azalea looked almost like a doll as she laid motionless on the bed, her arms and face bandaged. Reyes had repelled the Mawile before it had done too much damage, and by then the rest of the rebels had been successfully purged from Fortree, however there were still dozens of Pokémon bedridden, some with the grim outlook of never waking up.

"Too slow," Brendan muttered almost too low for Reyes to hear. He took Azalea's hand, holding it so tightly his knuckles turned white. "I'm always too slow… Damn it all." Reyes could only watch, not knowing what to say. Before, he never had that problem, especially with Brendan.

The last two years were…original, really. He didn't hate helping people and Pokémon, not at all, but it was almost impossible to constantly stay on top of his game with the rebels seemingly creeping from every crevice at every opportunity.

For four years since Brendan turned ten and they went on their little League journey, every battle was executed carefully and under a set volley of rules, spoken or fundamental. Rebelling Pokémon didn't work that way—they fought to win, and their one rule towards that goal was "by any means necessary."

Together, the people had freed up Ever Grande City, Lilycove City, Fortree City, Pacifidlog Town, and Rustboro—everything else was either teetering in a war or just out of the question entirely. They weren't really losing, not yet anyway, but they weren't winning anything either. Reyes believed that war would continue long into his life, and of course the first time he was ever right about anything, it was that stupid shit. Then again, had that war not continued, he wouldn't have met a lot of his new friends, including Dominic. He couldn't say it was worth the trade, but at least there came some good from the terrible.

He released Azalea's hand and raised his head to take a deep breath, eyes closed. Reyes nearly spoke before Brendan gave a heavy exhale. "Sorry, Reyes," he said, sitting at the foot of his bed and hanging his head. "There are lotsa things I could've done differently, but I really should've just stayed near you guys…"

Reyes sat with him and ruffled Brendan's uncombed hair. When he was smaller, that was a lot easier. "It's okay," Reyes said, and he finally learned how to mean it. He learned a lot in his time as a revolutionary, but one of the biggest things he learned was how to not feel guilty at every event that couldn't have been stopped by anybody.

Brendan chuckled and pushed him away. "Stop it, I'm not a kid anymore." Reyes ruffled his hair more incessantly and Brendan broke out laughing. "Stop it already, Reyes!"

"You two…are so cute," Azalea said. Reyes and Brendan turned to her, surprised to see her untangling the blankets so she could sit up. They rushed to help but she waved them off. "I'm fine, see?" Her right eye and mouth, the part of her face left exposed, brightened with her smile. "I feel fine, if a little drugged." Then she put her arms around Brendan's neck, tugging him closer. "Thank you for caring so much."

He flushed bright pink and nodded quickly. "'m gonna get food," he said in a tight voice, standing up and quickly leaving with his hands in his pockets.

"He's such a cute boy." Azalea blinked then chuckled. "Well, not a boy anymore. He's taller than me now." Reyes had a certain nagging thought that wouldn't let him go. He didn't want to believe it, but something about the jagged scarring peeking out around her eye frightened him, and he had to see if it was true. "Yes," she said before he could open his mouth. He had forgotten she could see the future at times.

"Lea…"

"It's fine, really. I'm a Psychic-type—eyes are dispensable to me."

"But not to me." He felt along the curve of her cheek where the scars stood harshest. She held his hand with hers and closed her unseeing eye. The words came bursting from his throat like bile: "It should've been me who lost his eyes! Brendan wouldn't have it for me to tell him, but it should've! You're—it, not you, Azalea! It—"

"You were so cute, the way you followed him so much…" She chuckled. "You two would sit together for hours stuffing your faces with junk food and watching endless DVDs of movies even as his mother complained, and afterwards when you were sick to your stomachs you two would still be smiling together. I'm much less important to Brendan compared to you and your wellbeing, Reyes."

"Th…That's so untrue…"

"Eoin, rest his soul, changed Brendan in a lot of ways. What if you got injured or worse? What do you think would happen to Brendan then?"

"This isn't about me."

"Just think about it." Brendan returned with a tray of cafeteria food. He passed the tray with a salad and a cup of Berries over and saved himself a chocolate milkshake. Well, at least some habits never let up.

"You'll be here for the rest of the week while they run tests," he told Azalea. "But…they can't do anything about your eyes. I…sorry," he finished lamely. His knuckles turned white around the glass. Azalea smiled and rested her hand over his. The tension left his body in a long breath, and seeing Reyes smile made him smile too.

"We'll probably head down to Mauville after this," he said after a big gulp, his breath coming out frosty. "Oof, cold. But anyway, I got us some overnight rooms, Reyes," he said. "So we can stay here the night." An unintended sound escaped Reyes and Brendan looked over at him. "Huh? You don't want to?" Reyes shook his head quickly.

"No, I'm—it's fine."

"You're acting weird…"

He grumbled and tipped Brendan's cup when he took another drink, causing him to snort ice cream from his nose.

"Augh! Brain freeze! You dick!" Brendan yelled, but he was laughing at the same time. When he was in middle school Reyes used to do that trick with anything, including soda so carbonated it made his eyes fizz. Yup, some things don't change, Reyes thought, but he still had another "issue" to deal with before they left…

"What? You're leaving?" she cried. Reyes almost slipped down the soaked rocks as he rushed to cover her mouth.

"Quiet, Lilly, I don't want all of Fortree listening."

"Or you just don't want them to see you and me." She backpedaled a few feet in the dark ocean, the moonlight refracting off her moist blue skin. It was a thankful, thankful thing that Fortree was on the shore, even if it had rocks and bushes in lieu of a sandy beach. Still, there was too much distance between him and her all the time.

"You know that's not it. Remember, just talking to me makes you a prime target for rebels."

"I don't care about them."

"That's what worries me…" She swam closer, bumping her head against his. "You don't know how scared I am for your life. Scared enough for both of us and then some."

"All you do is worry, yet never for yourself. I am a very capable Pokémon, Reyes. I can handle myself. You, on the other hand, look exhausted. Your leaves are dying too. Have you been eating and sleeping properly?" He grunted, somewhat frustrated.

"I'm sorry we can't stay together now, but you can bet all my leaves I'll build a home for us we'll live in in the near future, close enough to the shore we can visit each other any time."

"Likewise, you're betting a lot you'll be able to just stop what you're doing to come back to me. You're such an altruist I doubt that you could ever stop helping people."

"I didn't say I would… Be stopping, I mean. You know, if you're okay with the idea. I'd still run around Hoenn trying to save one more human from slaughter, and I'm not guaranteeing I can see you all the time, but I swear on Arceus' name I'll make my best effort to."

"I believe you," she said honestly, closing her eyes. "…What was it again? Six months ago that we met?"

"Six months and three weeks. Don't underestimate my memory."

Sootopolis was, at the time, still a safe place to be in. Brendan was with Kim and Leroy in Petalburg, and so he was alone with Azalea for a bit of reprieve. She basked in the cool pools gratefully, sighing in delight. "Finally, a chance to relax."

"I don't like it." Reyes grumbled up a storm from where he sat on the shore. "I should be helping Brendan with the fighting, but no, he says I've been working too hard and need a break."

"You do." Azalea gently grasped his hand, turning it so his worn and browning leaf blades were visible. He pulled his arm from her grip with a groan. "You're not a god. Even you need breaks sometimes whether you like it or not."

"Just know I really don't like it." Azalea laughed and smacked the water, dousing him. He recoiled with a groan. "Azalea!"

"A little water won't hurt."

"Aza—" He pushed himself up and fought not to clench his fists. "I'm going to take a walk." He went off before she could interfere, hiking up Sootopolis' stony ledges to its collection of caves and burrows. They were made from an interesting type of rock found only undersea, and the waters were so clear Water-types of any species and region could swim in them. He checked the plants that grew along some cliffs, the various species that could only grow in Sootopolis' unique ecosystem, and started wandering further from the shore without even noticing. He was so captivated by the environment he was almost too late to notice voices coming up from a series of out-of-the-way tide pools.

"—and he had these adorable red eyes—"

"Marla, you're colorblind."

"I mean, like, they looked pretty red—"

"Marla, Wilma already said it: you're colorblind. You're missing out on the good stuff. Now, there was this lovely Swanna who offered me one of his Magikarp—"

"Yes, after you begged him for it, I bet."

"Lilly, quit embarrassing Emmi already."

Reyes came to a stop on the mossy cliff that over looked the tide pool: it contained a Gorebyss, Milotic, Corsola, and the most beautiful Lapras he had ever seen. If he went by their voices, they were all female. He didn't want to intrude, and he learned at an early age that eavesdropping was a severe invasion of privacy—especially when eavesdropping on females—but that Lapras was just so…

"Okay, Lilly, what's your story?" the Milotic asked the Lapras, narrowing her eyes as she reclined in the icy-blue water.

"No stories here." Lilly smiled and turned away. The Gorebyss scoffed dubiously.

"C'mon, someone as gorgeous as you? Quit being coy and just tell us!"

"I'm telling you guys the truth. Trust me, when I find a guy, my best friends will be first to know."

Reyes lost his grip on the wet moss and started slipping down the cliff's incline. He tried to root himself with his vines but he couldn't get them inside the rock. He fell from the cliff and landed in the tide pool with an enormous splash. The next fifteen seconds were a huge blank as he was choked and battered by the Water-types in a confused panic, then he was finally brought back to land by Lilly. A loud argument ensued between her friends before she calmed them down. "Are you alright?" she asked him.

"Y…Yeah." He felt dazed and nauseous from the water he swallowed, not to mention possible brain damage. "Sorry to interrupt you guys'…chat."

"You better be," the Corsola grumbled.

"Marla, be a little nicer—he's pretty cute after all," the Milotic said. "Hi there, I'm Wilma."

"I'm Emmi. Sorry for, y'know, almost strangling you and all," the Gorebyss said.

"I like your friends," Reyes said dryly. "They're so polite after nearly mauling someone."

"We have our faults," Lilly smiled. "So, ah, where did you drop in from?"

"I was actually just enjoying…the city."

"How are those three doing anyway?" Reyes asked.

"Still searching for their own significant others. They just reached that point in their lives, I guess."

"And you hadn't?"

"It wasn't that I didn't," she said somewhat timidly. "Just… Well…"

"You were waiting for a guy like me, huh? The kind that makes you feel like you're swimming through the sky and up in space at the same time?"

"You and your words," she laughed. He grinned and cocked his head.

"I try. Anyway, it's late. I have to get back before Brendan notices that I'm gone."

"You could just tell him, then he could make me part of his team and we could stay together." Reyes sighed and shook his head.

"You need water, which we're not always near. I'd rather you're healthy."

"You too," she said in a similar tone. He grimaced.

"Also, thank your friends. If not for them serving as messengers, it wouldn't be so easy for me to call you."

"I always do." She pressed her cheek against his. "Bye for now, Reyes." He hugged her neck for a long time.

"Bye…" He practically ran before he was compelled to stay with her.

Brendan was asleep with the pillow over his head when Reyes returned. Thanking Arceus, he shut the window and crawled into the other bed, just about to let his guard down before Brendan spoke up: "Had a nice time?"

Reyes sighed. Brendan did too, the moonlight making his eyes look grey rather than their usual blue.

"So? Where'd ya go?" Reyes nodded towards the ocean. "Huh? Why?"

"Don'wannatalk'boutit," Reyes murmured into his pillow, drawing the sheets over his head to hide the blush creeping over his skin.

"What? C'mon Reyes, what is it?"

"Nothing…"

"Okay," he said, turning away for a moment before looking back at him. "Hey, if it was serious, you'd tell me right?"

"Uh-huh." He heard Brendan lie down again and sighed in relief.

"She's really something, huh?"

"What?" Reyes practically jumped out of his skin as Brendan laughed.

"Dude, you've snuck outta bed in every city we've been in. Did ya think I'm that oblivious? Come on."

"I—I—"

"Look, you don't have to sneak around with it," he said, then he sobered. "And if you…y'know…wanna stay with her…"

"I couldn't, not for a long time to come," Reyes said, kicking the sheets away. "Not as long as I can be by your side."

"Heh…thanks. You're a real bud 'til the end." Brendan sat up again, his hands mussing his hair as they always did when he was nervous. "And I should apologize for just being so…in my feelings these last two years, especially when you and Azalea and Kim and Leroy are still fine."

"I don't blame you, you're still young," Reyes said. He walked over to Brendan and grasped his hand. "And I'll always be here too, as long as you'll have me as your best friend." Brendan grinned like he hadn't in years.

"Always!"

REYES! BRENDAN! Reyes clenched his head as Azalea's voice rang through it, and Brendan imitated the gesture as she spoke to him too. MOVE!

Not a second later, an explosion rocked the floor beneath their feet, then there was a sickly shift in Reyes' center as the tree the Pokémon Center was based on started to fall. He instinctively reached for Brendan, who was wide-eyed with panic, but another explosion came, blowing the western wall in and throwing him onto his face. He was disoriented and felt a surge of pain run through his body as the tree hit the ground.

"Reyes… Reyes, wake up!" Leroy's claws were digging into his shoulder. He was awake, but his eyes wouldn't open and his throat was too backed up with chlorophyll to let him speak or breathe. His left leg was gone, his head leaf had been torn, and there were weird weights on some parts of his body. Leroy was still shaking him and saying his name, and he was starting to get tired of it…

"Leroy, move!" Reyes felt a warm breeze caress his face right before a much more powerful one raked over his body, stinging his skin but clearing the weights from him and allowing him to move. He felt a hand on his face, then his chest heaved and he was throwing up his own body fluids, his eyes tearing up from the pain and pressure. "Reyes, talk," Azalea said, bringing his eyes to hers.

"W-Whuh…?"

"The rebels." Her tone was clipped by pain, instantly silencing him, and she nodded in another direction. The Pokémon Center was reduced to a collection of rubble just as the tree it was once standing on, and there were still more buildings falling. The air trembled with noise as hundred-year-old trees were toppled in seconds and people and Pokémon alike screamed with their last breaths. Bodies flashed in and out of his peripheral, looking like apparitions in his blurred vision. "I had a vision, b-but it didn't come fast enough…"

"I'll go help the fight, you get Brendan," Leroy told Azalea before taking off towards the main battle. His words sobered Reyes up.

"Where is Brendan?" He tried to stand before Azalea pushed him down.

"Reyes, please, you're hurt—"

"Where is he?" He started coughing again, more chlorophyll and little bits of his organs coming out. "Azalea I swear—" Suddenly his voice wasn't there anymore no matter how hard he tried to speak.

"Not you too…just not you too Reyes," she whispered, tears streaming down her dirty face. "Look, I tried to… I tried, but it…it's just…" She covered her face, sobs muffled by her palms. Reyes was struck by a numbing cold so deep it reached the very core of his being. Slowly, his voice returned to him.

"Let me see…" She sniffled and nodded, standing and taking his hands. The world slowed to abysmal proportions, seconds stretching into hours and hours stretching into weeks. He didn't know how he managed to get thrown so far from the Pokémon Center, or maybe they weren't far at all. After days, Azalea slowed to a stop, her hand over his. There was a pile of wall plaster and insulation and the big Pokéball logo, and there was half a body sticking out from all of that. Brendan groaned, wiping his eyes with his one good hand.

"Ugh… Reyes?" Reyes fell to his knees, the world becoming brighter on top of slower. Azalea kept her hand on his, maybe to keep him from going away. "Damn… That hurt," Brendan said with a broken laugh, his dirt-streaked face twisting a little in pain.

"B…"

"At least you're mostly okay." He took Reyes' free hand. "That's great… Still gotta chance at love if you're alive."

"Brend…"

"Hey, don't talk, you'll hurt yourself," he said with concern.

Reyes found that so funny he had to laugh, but he sounded manic and hollow. You're half a person! Why worry about me? Why are you still worried about me? Reyes wanted to scream it in his best friend's stupid face.

"Look, let's face facts."

"I don't…I can't…" Azalea squeezed his hand reassuringly as Brendan groaned again, his hand going to his forehead.

"Two years ago, I made the wrong choice…good intentions, yeah, wrong choie…and again and again I made more wrong choices… I think Eoin's turnin' in his grave at this. But this isn't about me…" He tightened his grip on Reyes' hand, his eyes bright and alert. "Tell Mom that I'm so, so sorry, and tell the guys that too, that I couldn't be the kind of Trainer that—"

"No, just stop," Reyes interrupted, his hand trembling within Brendan's. You're the best Trainer we could've asked for, so don't leave us here now! "D-Don't talk anymore…"

"Face reality," he said a little harshly. "C'mon Reyes, smell the smoke in the air." He turned a little to look down at the rubble obscuring his legs. "Can't feel them anymore…"

"J-Just…hospital, okay…" Brendan shook his head.

"Had a good run…the two of us." He smiled, squeezing Reyes' hand one more time. Reyes became choked up and Azalea's quiet sobs didn't help. Late nights spend watching movies, starry skies and sleeping bags, wild sugarcane, his first Gym badge, the clear blue water around Sootopolis, sleepy promises to stay together always and forever—

"I'm not going to leave you here to die!" Reyes pulled from Azalea's grip to push away the large chunks of concrete from Brendan's body, but he wasn't making progress with his one arm and one leg. Brendan frowned at him, shaking his head.

"Reyes, you're gonna hurt yourself even more."

"Reyes, that's enough," Azalea said mournfully, taking his hand. He pulled away even harder and gave the task his all. He's not dead yet, don't give up yet! He pushed harder and harder, his frustration growing each dreadful second.

"You're wasting your time. Just go!" Brendan said, clenching his fists in frustration. He wasn't going to leave Brendan to die, not now and not ever…

A warm sensation filled his body, something akin to hot chocolate in the wintertime. He felt the warmth grow within him, filling his useless limbs and restoring them and making them stronger. He felt his two tail leaves merge together into one large stem, and from them came many more leaves that itched as they grew in. His leaf blades hardened and grew strong again, and although his head leaf fell away he could feel new growths surging on his back, seed pods that itched just as badly as his tail as they pushed through his skin. He kept pushing through all of that, and finally the largest of the rubble moved. Vigor renewed, he cleared more of the waste as the warmth slowly faded, feeling much stronger than ever. Tears ran down his face when he pushed away the last of the debris and saw blood soaking Brendan's pants and the dirt beneath them—still, Brendan smiled at him.

"Sceptile… I've got a Sceptile now."

"Reyes," Azalea said quietly, taking his arms. He fought against her grip, his new muscles working twice as well as his old ones.

"No! I won't go!" He stumbled towards Brendan but a nearby noise startled them away. Reyes watched an indistinct Pokémon hide in the shadows as it crept on Brendan. He looked a little scared, but otherwise accepting. Azalea covered his mouth when he tried to shout, then she covered his eyes. "He wants this to happen…" He was completely still for a long time, then he pushed her away, feeling sick to his stomach. She looked horrified and there were tears streaming down her cheeks that she couldn't wipe away. "Rey—"

"No," he said hoarsely, disgusted with himself. "Just…I have to go." He ran from her before she could stop him, pushing through the trees surrounding Fortree. He was slapped in the face by more branches he could count and tripped over by several coils of vines and roots, but he continued until he reached the rocks overlooking the shore, then he fell to the ground and started crying until his lungs were burning and his throat hurt from all the retching he did.

"Can't believe I missed one," a rough voice said behind him. Instincts kicked in and Reyes pitched forward into the water just as a flaming fist crashed into the stone where he was seconds ago, smashing it into dust. A Blaziken was standing there in all his flaming glory, wrists and ankles ablaze as he balanced lightly on one foot. "Lemme guess… You're the same Sceptile I just saw with that half-dead human?"

"That was you," Reyes said flatly.

"'Course. It felt great to see a human like that, and even better to sink my claws into 'im. Wanna know what it felt like?" He jumped forward without a warning, leg out for a kick. Reyes ducked and he instead sunk beneath the surface, great plumes of bubbles rising from his intense heat. If Reyes expected him to be weakened by the water at all, he wasn't, and may have been even faster in swimming towards him. Reyes swerved out of his fist's path as he raced towards the surface, hauling himself onto the stone and running down the edge of the city. "You're not goin' ta outrun me, Sceptile!"

I know I can't, Reyes thought, running even as the Blaziken's heat searing his tail. The weight of grief pulled like shackles on his wrists and ankles, and his speed was cut fractionally. But maybe I don't want to…

A sudden psychic pressure rippled through the air, quadruple times as strong as anything Azalea could've produced. It passed by Reyes harmlessly but tossed that Blaziken dozens of yards backwards until he smashed into the water at about eighty miles-per-hour. Reyes looked forward and saw an old Alakazam floating in a meditative state, eyes open and spoons twirling idly in the air. "Are you alright?" he asked, then he before Reyes could open his mouth, "No, you're not. You've lost your Trainer."

"Who the hell are you to be prying into my brain like that?" Reyes shouted, blindly rushing towards him. His punch shot wide even though it was aimed at his lined face, and his vines bounced off an invisible barrier and bound his own arms instead. The lashing force took him backwards and he landed on his back with his legs in the air. He pushed off to his feet and yanked the vines apart, rushing the Alakazam's throat.

"Please, Reyes, haven't you seen enough death for the night?" Reyes' entire body went numb, then slack, and he fell to his knees. Even if that hadn't happened, the fight had already left him. "I am just another hero like you, my friend. I'm trying to bring us all together, because an organized force is better than a disorganized one." He was right, but Reyes didn't feel like fighting anymore. "It's a sad thing to lose one you're so close to. I want to help stop that from happening to anybody else. Do you?"

"Of c… I do, of course I damn well do," he said. "I just…my mind…I can't…"

The Alakazam raised one of his fists, his spoon facing upwards. Reyes looked over his shoulder and saw the Blaziken freeze mid-jump, eyes blazing. "Nice surprise attack, old fart," Blaziken said, struggling in Alakazam's psychic grip.

"And I say the same to you," Alakazam said calmly before returning to Reyes. "I will give you time to escape, then. If you should change your mind, come to Ever Grande City."

Reyes didn't know what to say and just returned to the city, watching the rebels finally falling back in the face of the revolutionaries. Kim and Leroy were heading the battle and Azalea was helping tend to the wounded even as her psychic abilities wore thin. He worked his jaw, staring at his teammates, then he turned and fell silently into the shadows. He would return to them, and he would help put the world back in order, but…not that day, not until he got over himself. That was four years ago.