“Thursday’s perfect!” Eva had replied, while actively rearranging her schedule on her computer to accommodate the pilot. She wasn’t about to say no to Angelo or miss her opportunity to chat with him. It was too important to her current research and the longevity of Hoenn and the safety of its people in general.

A final click confirms the appointment, and until then, she would anxiously wait . . . and compile as much information as she could so she’s prepared for their meeting.

When the bell echoes through the beach front house, a loud, deep bark rings through the hallways. There’s a muffled sound of wrestling behind the front door as Eva wrangles the Shiny Lycanroc into submission. When she finally throws open the door, a rather rambunctious and happy canine lunges to greet him. Luckily, Eva has her by the collar, “Xena! Bad girl! Sit! . . . SIT!” with a sharp whine, the blue canine sits its butt on the ground, letting a soft whine show her excitement to see a new face.

“Sorry about that! We’re still learning manners,” Eva waves at Angelo to enter, “Come on in! Come on in!”

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Giving into the pressure, Eva relaxes, letting go of the Lycanroc’s collar and letting her leap towards Angelo. He bathed in a shower of wet kisses and a very enthusiastically wagging tail, “They’re a rambunctious group, aren’t they?” She’s referring to Lycanroc in general. Most seemed to be filled with boundless energy.

When the two were done with their greeting, Eva happily leads Angelo through the entrance of their home. Just before the step into a large living room with stunning beach view, she veers them left into the kitchen.

“Yeah! We’ve been good. Both very busy,” as always. Especially after the events of their travel through space and time. The League Scientists were working overtime. Both illeana reyes and herself were burning the midnight oil on a regular basis trying to keep up with everything happening in Hoenn, “It’s been exhausting but . . . thrilling,” she admits, throwing a knowing smile over her shoulder at Angelo, “Skyler doing well after all that? Yourself?” she continues the small talk while motioning to a stool at the counter.

The marble is covered in papers spread across the majority of its surface with a laptop as the centerpiece. There’s graphs, reports, countless lines of data readings, and descriptions of pokemon never seen before, “Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Water? Coffee with a little somethin’ extra?” no judgements here if he wanted a drink in the morning. Eva already has a fresh cup of black coffee near her previous seat, white wisps of steam curling around the edges of the mug.

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Eva smiles at the shared sentiments, nodding along with Angelo. It’s likely no one has stopped since the events. They are hard to forget. Each and every one of them encountered a version of themselves they didn’t know existed. Hell, it opened an entirely new train of thought that Eva hadn’t considered: Travel through space and time, different dimensions and realities. Each just as real to its inhabitants as the next. Despite the existence of Palkia and Dialga, she always doubted such pseudo-science.

Angelo’s second sentiment, Eva could certainly relate to. She’s never known a life without work. It’s unlikely she’d ever truly be able to ‘relax’. Especially not with the knowledge that weighed upon them now. The thought of sending a meteor to destroy another world with living beings made her shiver. It stunned her to believe that others thought it could even be a viable solution to their problem.

The pilot brings her back from her wandering thoughts as he comments on the chaos spread across the counter. Her gaze trails over the clutter. To her, every mound and canyon of the mess had a meaning, ones she had worked hard to separate from others, “To some it may be chaos but to others it is art,” and sometimes science is an art.

She reaches for the coffee, pouring a cup for Angelo with a shrug. Black it is. The mug extends over the chaos with a trust that he won’t spill it all over her hard work, “Here ya go,”[/font[ Eva then settles down across the counter from Angelo, taking her own coffee back between her palms.

For a moment, her emerald orbs scan over the piles, landing on a particular one. Eva hates getting to business so quickly, but with the unpredictable events of the region, she feels time is of the essence, “Thanks for making the time, Angelo. I really appreciate your help,” she clears her throat, shifting in her stool to lean her elbows against the cool marble, “As you know, illeana reyes and I are charged with studying these phenomena,” a hand leaves the mug to wave over a map. As a pilot experienced with charting, it shouldn’t take Angelo long to connect the dots.

It’s a map with only a few points. These point coordinate with the few portals that have surface over Hoenn before the events of the second AQUA Initiative. They correlate with the Megalopolan attacks, Blecephalon and the Nilhilego, Rayquaza and the events in Sootopolis, etcetera. Familiar points include recent events such as the Star Soiree and the AQUA Initiative, ”These are obviously not isolated events,” the hand retracts back to the comfort of the warm mug, “And they seem to be escalating,” her tone is laced with uncertainty, You’re a pilot, right? Experienced with charting and mapping?” it’s not hard to predict where she is going with this.

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Eva didn’t think these phenomena were new to Hoenn, but she didn’t even think about what tall stories the locals may have been cooking up for years. With this realization, her eyebrows twitch up, curious and hungry to add more information to her arsenal. This is why multiple heads are better than one and collaboration elevated science.

Though Angelo says the occurrences vary from the old sailor tales, the word disappearing echoes through her mind. Too many things seem to be ‘disappearing’ as of late. However, as Angelo and Eva now know, things are not truly disappearing, just being teleported to alternate universes. Unfortunately, those universes seem endless.

Eva matches Angelo’s intrigued smirk with a smile of her own. The implication was not lost and she is happy to see he seems interested, “Sounds like I called the right guy then!”

Eva readjusts in her seat to lean forward over the counter, careful to not spill the coffee all over her collected information, “I would like to start mapping the distortions with better accuracy than I can provide,” she motions to a rather crude description of the most recent distortion, “It’s a dangerous request to ask . . .” though she doesn’t think Angelo minds that part of it, “I’m looking for patterns, anything that can help explain the sudden occurrences and predict where they may surface next.”

It’s also just too much for her to do all on her own. Mapping distortions, collecting samples, crunching the data. They need help, and Eva isn’t afraid to delegate tasks to those much more skilled than she is.

“Is that something you’d be interested in? The League can pay handsomely,” Hazard pay and all.

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Eva doesn’t miss the hunger in his smile and the promise of adventure in his eyes. She’s seen it in the mirror, herself. The promise of discovery and danger only fuels the fire that drives them both. Eva’s never been one to settle, always striving for more because she truly believes she can. More answers is what she seeks, more knowledge. The pursuit of science makes her heart drum a wild beat in her chest, “Of course, we’ll provide you with whatever you need,” she continues, Angelo’s own excitement adding a brightness to her tone. When it comes to Hoenn’s safety, The League spares no cost.

“Any help is always welcome,” she confirms, “Right now I’m focusing on the strange pokemon but am also collecting samples of the environment. If you see anything interesting, by all means collect it,” the more eyes, the better.

“So, we have a deal then?” Leaning back, Eva extends a hand out over the clutter to shake on it . . . formal contract to come later, of course. They couldn’t have Angelo suing The League for dashing into danger and getting hurt.

She’s not done with him yet though, questions still linger on her tongue for the Pilot.

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Eva returns Angelo’s smile with her own as his calloused palm meets her smooth, delicate skin, “Extra work deserves extra reward,” she confirms, assuming he’s not joking. Afterall, this isn’t a task for the faint of heart. He should get paid what he deserves for such an important and meaningful task.

Once the deal has been brokered, she leans back into her perch on her stool, giving the Dreepy a welcoming smile.

Oh. Right. Dragons.

“Before we part ways, I had another question for you, Angelo,” Eva’s hand dips into the mess of papers to extract a particular file. She sets the manilla folder atop the rest and opens it to reveal the contents. There’s a picture of Rayquaza pinned to the inside, the background blurred but recognizable as Sootopolis. A quick skim over the top page should spark a few memories in the pilot, “You were listed as a witness to these events in Sootopolis almost 1 year ago. Would you mind summarizing, in your own words, what happened to it,” her pointed finger floats over the photograph of Rayquaza. This was the last sighting of the Hoennian guardian. Although she has read the records of the event over and over, she can’t help but feel that something is missing. Perhaps with all that has happened since the events of Sootopolis, additional hypotheses can be made now that the multiverse is all too real.

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Eva watches intently as Angelo takes his time examining the photo and the files beneath his gaze. Memories seem to slowly creep back into the forefront of his mind which only make her more anxious to hear his story. The part she found most interesting, was the dragon’s possible grudge against the Sootopolis Lighthouse. It’s strange it chose that as a target. Did the building hold something it desired? Or a remnant of something that called to it?

“So it just . . . disappeared,” she repeats, with the same caution she uses when discussing Primal Energy, “Things don’t just . . . disappear,” It's something she's learned studying Primal Energy. Her hand moves towards the file, peeling back a page to reveal a marked photo. It’s an image of the Primal Crystal John Sullivan had in his pocket, “Looking back on it, do you think the beam came from this crystal rather than the sky?”

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