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Ch 3: Down with The Sickness

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"The world is a scary place, now that you've woken up the demon in me." (Disturbed)

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It was now getting rather dark on the ship. The sun had set and now the first beams of moonlight were beginning to take its place.

We all stared wide-eyed at the spot where just seconds ago, a tarot card hovered in the air. I didn't dare speak a word. Not that I could think of anything to say. What COULD I say. I was completely and utterly screwed.

It would have been fine if Arceus didn't go shooting his mouth off, but no, He basically just announced "Hey, he knows everything about this, so ask him for help." Which was completely untrue as I have yet to learn anything about my situation.

Still, I couldn't avoid it forever, so I spoke up. "Alyson...are you al-"

She held up a hand to cut me off, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "Ok...I'm fine...I'm fine. Now, Marc, if you would kindly explain to me what just happened, I'll try not to completely freak out."

I blinked in disbelief. Did she seriously just shrug that off?

Zorua decided to chime in at the worst possible time. "Yeah, I think that-"

"HOLY SHIT YOU TALKED!" Alyson shrieked as she jumped about a foot backwards.

I sighed. THERE'S the freak out I was looking for. I stood up and put my hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down. "Listen, I can explain everything, even the fact that you can understand pokémon, but not here, later when we-"

"BULLSHIT," She interrupted again. "A random...thing...just dissolved into my hand, I'm hearing voices in my head that aren't my own, and pokémon are speaking English so I want an answer right now!"

"What's that?" Said a deep voice coming from the side of the ship. I turned around to see a man approaching. He was rather old, and had thick white hair complete with handlebar mustache. He wore a blue sweater vest, a pair of black pants, and a trench coat. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was something about him that seemed familiar. Then...I saw it...well...them, more precisely.

As he stepped closer, I got a better look at his eyes. They were dull, grey, stern eyes. Last time I saw them they were kicking me out of the house. I knew exactly who he was, and my suspicion was only confirmed when Alyson spoke up.

"Oh, uh, h-hi Professor Rowan," She stammered. I tried to think of something to say, but my mind completely froze. I was trying, I really was, but I just couldn't get passed those eyes.

Luckily, Alyson was there to take over. "Just out of curiosity, how much of that did you hear?"

"Well," he started as he shoved his hands in his pockets, "I think I jumped in around the time you mentioned a talking pokémon. Ah, this must be it."

He passed me by without even noticing me and plucked Zorua off of the ground. "So then, you can talk, can you?"

She didn't say anything, but instead started to try and squirm free. Still, Rowan held her with a firm grasp. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you."

She whined a bit more, desperate to break free, until I just couldn't watch anymore. I snatched her out of his hands and cradled her in my arms, causing him to turn around and give me an awkward look. However, it was quickly replaced by a small smile.

"Ah, you must be my nephew. I'm Professor Rowan, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Marcus." He said as he extended his hand.

Careful not to drop Zorua, a hesitantly shook his hand. For a second, I thought he would be fine. After all, he hasn't pissed me off or screwed me over yet, and he had a good ten hours to do so. But then, he had to go and ruin it.

"I swear you are the spitting image of your father." He said continuing his grin.

I had a muscle spasm so bad that I nearly crushed his hand and I quickly jumped back.

His brow furrowed in confusion. "Quite a grip there, is something wrong?"

"Er...sorry." I muttered, trying not to make eye contact. "Muscle spasm, I get those sometimes."

It didn't seem like he bought it, but he accepted the answer all the same. "And, judging by your actions, I'm guessing the Zorua belongs to you."

"Yeah, she..." My voice trailed off as I looked down. What was meant to be something to calm her down had turned into something completely different, as she was now nuzzling against my chest with her eyes shut tight.

"Uh...Zorua?" I questioned. She opened an eyelid. "hmm."

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

I blinked before placing her on my shoulder. "You are acting so weird today."

"Hey, you hugged me first." She retorted.

I ignored her comment and tried to explain the situation to Rowan. "She just doesn't trust you and you freaked her out a bit, that's all. Don't take it personally. It took me about a year to break that shell."

He nodded. "Understandable, but as I plainly just heard, she speaks in her native tongue, so would you mind telling me what all the fuss was about."

...shit. Alyson shot me a worried look, knowing we were probably screwed. I racked my brain for an answer until I just randomly blurted something out. "Ventriloquism."

I wanted to facepalm as soon as I said. Was that really the best I could come up with?

Rowan cocked an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Ventriloquism," I repeated trying to just roll with it, "I heard about it, thought I'd give it a try, didn't have a puppet handy so I asked Zorua to do it."

_ Way to pull that one out of your ass, kid. _

HOLY SHIT!

I jerked once again as the Lucario in my head decided to make an unwanted entrance.

"Another muscle spasm?" Rowan questioned.

"Uh...y-yeah." I stuttered. "You know, I actually have some stuff that helps in my bag. I'll go get it and meet you when we dock. It'll be in, what, ten minutes?"

"Well, yes but-"

"Great, see you then." I said, spinning around on my heel and fast walking away as quickly as humanly possible.

Zorua nudged my cheek, "Marc, what's going on? If you had a twitching problem I would have-"

"Zorua," I interrupted, "I'm sorry, not to sound rude or anything, but I've only got ten minutes to think about this and I need every second."

She looked a bit hurt, but nodded anyways. I took a deep breath to calm myself as I neared my suitcase, but it didn't last.

_ Hate to break it to you kid, but you have a lot less than five minutes. _

What are you saying?

_ I'm saying we have a shadow incoming. It must have sensed the power surge when that girl awakened to her arcana. You have, give or take, thirty seconds. _

WHAT!

Instinctively, I unzipped my suitcase and started digging through it.

God damn it, where is it!

I ripped through all of my clothing and then finally, I laid my hand upon a switchblade I had swiped from my dad. I pressed the button and the sound of the blade coming out of its hilt already had a bit of comforting effect on me.

_ Kid, believe me, that's not gonna do shit. _

It's better than nothing. I retorted.

Before he had a chance to argue back, the boat began shaking uncontrollably. I looked up to see a huge wave heading towards us. It crashed into the side of the boat, and Zorua shrieked as we were sent sprawling to the ground.

When I looked up, I immediately took back my last statement. Instead of a wave, there was a humungous gyarados towering over the edge of the ship, but it was by no means normal.

First off, as far a gyaradosses come, this one had to be at least twice as big. The scales were a mix of crimson red a jet black and in the moonlit night, it seemed to be giving off some sort of dark aura. However, its change in color wasn't what threw me off. What freaked me out beyond belief was the fact that in place of its eyes were two empty sockets.

"What the fuck is that?" Zorua asked, not really seeking an answer, but more just out of shock.

I didn't have any time to gawk, though, as it wound up, charging what I'm guessing was a hydro pump or a dragon rage. Whichever it was, I wasn't exactly planning on finding out.

I, once again, scooped up Zorua and took off running. I didn't get too far, as another shockwave sent me stumbling to the ground again.

Turning back, I found that it was the latter of the two attacks and there was no a gaping hole in the side of the ship.

That is NOT good!

_ Yeah, ya think! _

The hull quickly began filling with water and I could slowly feel the ship start tipping sideways, turning the floor into a ramp. An alarm started to sound on the boat, probably signaling that it was time to get the hell out of here.

"WE HAVE TO MOVE!"

I began sprinting toward the other side of the boat. I saw crew members piling into the remaining lifeboats and that there were only a few left. Alyson and Rowan were each already in a lifeboat and they were screaming incomprehensibly at us before deploying. I imagine they were saying something like, "HURRY THE FUCK UP!"

I was running as fast as I could, but the floor was only getting more and more slanted and I found myself climbing a steadily increasing hill. I was almost there, and though I would make it, but one of the crew members slammed into me, knocking me to the ground. I kept trying to get up but I kept slipping and getting stepped on.

When I finally regained my footing, the boat was at a 45 degree angle, and there was no way that I would have made it before they had to drop. In one last attempt I burst forward towards the lifeboats, but they were already deploying.

I knew it was hopeless, but I'd be damned if I was going to let BOTH of us get stuck on this thing. I glanced down at Zorua for a split second.

"Sorry about this."

"What?"

Before she even knew what was happening, I took her small body in one hand like a football and chucked her towards the edge.

"HEY WHOA!" She screamed as she went sailing through the air. For a second, I thought I missed, but I saw a pair of arms reach up and catch her as she dropped over the other side.

At that point, it was becoming too steep to stay in one spot. I began slipping towards the water, but through a bit of luck, I managed to land on what was once the wall of the bridge. I scanned around the area.

Crew members who weren't as lucky slid helplessly to the water and the shadow gyarados was smashing them one by one with its tail. What was once a chorus of screams and yells was slowly dwindling as the number of survivors depleted.

I gritted my teeth in anticipation, knowing I'd be joining them soon if I didn't come up with something fast.

Hey, any ideas?

_ One, but don't expect it to work. _

I DON'T CARE JUST TELL ME!

_ OK...uh...you remember your arcana? _

Without even having to think about it, I pictured the card I had received earlier today. The lantern with the eye inside of it. With a familiar blue glow, the card appeared in front of me.

Was that supposed to happen?

_ YES! Now break it! _

What!

_ BREAK THE CARD! _

As if my hand moved on its own, I took my switchblade and stabbed it through the center. There was the sound of shattering glass and a bright flash of light that forced me to cover my eyes. When it subsided, a familiar jackal was standing beside me.

"How did you...HUH!"

It turned and snarled at me. "Do you want my help or not?"

The gyarados slammed the boat again and I almost fell off of my perch on the side of the wall.

"YES I WANT YOUR HELP!"

His snarl turned into a smirk, and without a response, he was off. Using what I'm assuming was extreme speed, he somehow managed to run across the now perpendicular floor toward the shadow.

It didn't even have time to react as the lucario jumped on its head and latched onto its head crest.

It began freaking out and thrash around, desperate to shake off its attacker, but he held a tight grip.

I was wondering what he was doing but after a few seconds I realized he was charging an aura sphere.

With one final lurch forward, the lucario finally let go of the shadows head. He flew forward and spun around to face it as he fell, releasing his aura sphere sending it straight into the shadows wide open jaws.

I shielded my face as the shadows head, quite literally, exploded. I still didn't like that guy, but he sure as hell knows how to fight.

I was about to cheer for him until I saw two things. One, was that before he hit the water, he dissolved into thin air. Two, the gyarados was now falling...in my direction.

"Oh SHIT!" I screamed. Without thinking, I jumped from my platform seconds before it came crashing down. I barreled down toward the water, unable to make my body straight enough for a safe landing. I hit the water in a full on belly flop, knocking the wind out of me while effectively sending my body into a state of shock.

Out of reflex, I gasped for air, only to have water fill my lungs. I desperately tried to swim to the surface, but the combination of my temporary paralysis and the force of the ship sucking me under made that impossible and I only sank deeper.

Having no air, and no way out, I completely blacked out.

Zorua P.O.V

"Let me go!"

"Geeze, stop squirm'in, yer safe now."

After Marcus literally chucked me into a lifeboat, I was stuck with five crewmembers who really should have been keeping their hands to themselves.

I don't care if he saved me, if I wasn't leaving him when he left the island, I sure as hell wasn't going to bail on him now.

After finding a point of leverage against his elbow, I pried myself loose from his grip and dived for the water.

"Gah, fine then, go get yurself killed, then." The man yelled after me.

I wasn't paying attention though, I was busy kicking my way back to the ship.

As I neared the end of the ship, I heard the familiar sound of shattering glass, and a few seconds later a large explosion. As I turned the corner around the ship, I actually had to stop and stare to take in what I was seeing.

A now headless gyarados, slamming into the side of the ship and Marcus jumping headfirst into the water.

Even over all the confusion, I still heard him hit the water with an sickening crack.

"MARC!"

I dove underwater and hopelessly tried to paddle my way toward him. It was pitch black underwater, but being a dark type, I could still see perfectly. He was sinking fast and I wasn't swimming quickly enough.

The water stung my eyes, my lungs felt like they were going to burst, but I didn't care, I was going to save him or die trying.

Unfortunately, It seemed like the latter at this point. My vision was starting to blur and my muscles were about to give way. As I clenched my eyes shut, I heard another shatter, this time right in front of me.

I would have gasped were I not underwater. Another one of those weird card things was in front of me, but it was different than the one before.

It had a picture of a crescent moon on it along with a sky full of stars. For some reason, every bone in my body was telling me to try and break it. With my last bit of strength, I opened my mouth, ignoring the bitter taste of salt water, and bit down on it hard.

Out of nowhere, I felt some sort of rope wrap around my waist, and I was zooming through the water. The next thing I knew, I was on a lifeboat with Alyson, an unconscious Marcus, and a very confused crew.

How did I...

I turned around to see a Milotic peaking out of the water and watching over us.

"I...you...saved us?"

The large sea serpent smiled at me. "I wouldn't be much of a guardian if I didn't, now would I?"

"Guardian?" I repeated.

"Not now, later. Now, you have other things to worry about." She answered as she pointed at Marcus.

Alyson bent over him and checked his pulse. "He...he's dead."

She desperately looked to the crew, but they all looked at their feet, not sure what to do. I turned back to the milotic to see if there was anything she could do, but she was already gone. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.

"That's it...THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO!" I shouted.

Alyson turned to me. "Zorua, I'm sorry."

"NO! I just got him back, I'm not losing him again!"

I hopped up on his chest and stomped down, hoping to Arceus that she was wrong and he was just unconscious.

"Come on! WAKE UP!" I screamed, on the verge of tears.

I took a swipe at his face, slapping his cheek, but his head just lolled off to the side.

"NO, ARCEUS DAMN IT! WAKE UP!" I brought my front paws up and slammed them down on his chest.

I was half scared, half relieved when I saw that it actually worked. All of the sudden he went into a coughing fit and a ton of water came shooting out of Marcus' mouth. He didn't even wake up, but he was breathing, which was good enough for me.

It seems like everyone let out a breath they had been holding in, including myself. Knowing he would be alright, I hopped off of his chest, and looked around. For the first time in ten hours, I saw dry land, and was never more grateful that I lived on it.

I wasn't sire if she was speaking to me, or an unconscious Marcus, but Alyson spoke up. "Well, it wasn't exactly the welcome you were expecting, but we made it. Welcome to Sinnoh."