[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]he will find one illeana reyes amongst scattered papers and dusty tomes, red eyes pouring over sentence after sentence. distracted, absorbed, desperate.

the bell over her lab's door chimes softly and it takes a moment for her head to rise. when it does, faint circles of exhaustion beneath eyes and a small smile greet michael navidson's arrival.

"hey, mr. navidson, right? i'm illeana reyes, head scientist. thank you for coming today."

she rises from her chair, lab coat swishing softly with the movement.

"please, have a seat. can i get you coffee or anything before we start?"

there's a slight distraction to the way she holds herself, as if her mind is half here and still mostly in the pages of the open tomes on her desk.

Michael Navidson

The woman looks tired, like her mind is on a thousand different matters. Navy is immediately sympathetic. He himself has many worries, many cases, many trials and tribulations. He hopes that, whatever this woman, the head scientist no less, needs, he can provide. Anything to lessen the load of a fellow person with far too many burdens.[break][break]
That the immense weight upon her shoulders does not crush her earns this woman his respect. Heading to the seat, he slides into the chair and looks up at her with an easy, confident smile. He doesn’t focus on holding it for too long, he knows a woman who isn’t going to be paying full attention to him when he sees one.[break][break]
“Only if you get yourself one, Professor.” His voice is kind, an unspoken implication that she needs the caffeine. He wonders how long this woman has been awake.[break][break]
“And you can call me Navy. Most people do.” Starting with a brother, lost to the stains of time, crushed in a space far from here.


[break][break]

+ illeana reyes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]her smile spreads slowly, languid as it curls into her cheeks. she has been awake since yesterday morning and there is nothing more than messy cursive notes to show for it.

"okay, deal."

she shifts to head for the coffee station to begin brewing a fresh pot for their meeting. the enticing aroma of fresh coffee greets their noses a few moments later.

"do you take your coffee a specific way, navy?"

a mental note written into his file urges the nickname to be used whenever opportunity arises. and while they haven't gotten into the brunt of this occasion just yet, she leaves the file open in her mind regardless with the understanding she'll need to add additional notes.

"while we wait for the pot to finish, have you been told what this is about yet?"

Michael Navidson

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]a soft hum of acknowledgement escapes as she fills two mugs. one, with a cute ditto pattern on it, houses his black coffee while the other, decorated with eeveelutions, holds a little bit of coffee and a lot of cream and sugar.

she returns to the desk soon after, the ditto mug extended out for navy to take. once he does, she settles back into her seat at the helm of the desk.

"you're half correct."

it will be dangerous. of the choices, however, only one comes close to the mark. she flashes a smile behind raising her mug before taking a quick sip.

"i have been looking for the god of space, palkia, for close to a year now."

sometimes she forgets how long it has been. and other times, she is painstakingly aware of how many failures she has under her belt because of it.

"after the events on mt pyre during the meteor plan, i believe palkia is somewhere in hoenn. it -- there was an instance that day where i think it had even helped me and i will do whatever it takes to locate it, to undo what the drk triad had subjected it to."

the faint first goes unspoken but it is palpable all the same.

Michael Navidson

Navy hides his smile in the coffee, drinking deep of its bitter flavor while he listens to her explanation. There is no joy in this act of consuming. It’s practical, and it burns his throat for his efforts as it goes down. It helps wake him up, an initial placebo that will soon be replaced by a genuine burst of energy bringing his eyes into focus.[break][break]
Palkia. His brother’s ace Pokemon died for that god, at least in part. One tiny part of the League’s war effort on that fateful day, which passed like a blur in Navy’s eyes. The day he choked. There’s an angle for him to pursue, redemption. He leans forward, looking this beautiful scientist in the eyes.[break][break]
“Can’t say I’m in as deep as you, but I was there on Mt. Pyre too, Professor. Helping keep Melody and the primal point safe. Not one of the big players that day, but I did my part.” He lies without really seeing it as a lie. Kohryu, the Gyarados his brother raised from infancy, did his part. All Navy did was fall victim to a panic attack on the mountaintop.[break][break]
“So, I may not have your clearance to know more about where Palkia might have gone, but I know this: we can’t let Rocket get their hands on it. Every god that joins up with Rocket is bad for Hoenn.” And what’s bad for Hoenn is bad for everyone Navy cares about, the civilians caught up in this fight.[break][break]
“No big deal, yeah? Just gotta hunt the god of space itself, who clearly doesn’t wanna be found that bad. Tell me ‘bout your leads, Professor.” His smile has the character of a bloodhound waiting to take a whiff of a scent.


[break][break]

+ illeana reyes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]she flashes a rare grin, amusement bleeding into the expression with quick ease.

"as long as it is still within this plane of existence, there is a chance it wants to be found."

there has to be. she cannot believe otherwise for that would be betraying her year long path to reach this point.

"i don't have many leads aside from lucky chances of experiments working."

they had always felt like failures until mt pyre. and at the end, when the pink slash appeared before her, as if meant for her, the efforts meant solely for this god felt seen. they have never felt as acknowledged as in that moment. and there, she wants to exist a little longer.

"there had been a pink slash, similar to the spatial rend move palkia utilizes, at the end of mt pyre's events. it appeared before me, like it was purposely for me to see... that's the biggest lead i have to go on right now."

nothing else has fully stood out as much as this slash.

"there was also a pink cyclone of energy in a distortion that repaired the wall. it did also look similar to spatial rend."

oh, and...

"and i have a smeargle that has spatial rend now, but using it has not amounted to any success."

perhaps... if she were to... use it within a distortion, there would be some result... the cogs in her mind begin to churn, hypothesis after hypothesis coming into creation quickly.

Michael Navidson

This warrior masquerading as a detective crosses his fingers. He listens. Gunmetal eyes take in the movements of the muscles around her mouth as she speaks. Errant, ambient light dancing off of her eyes paints them with passion that matches her tone well. Navy’s mind turns, cogs and gears putting together his own postulation that might prove so straightforward as to be patronizing.[break][break]

Still, as he sees it, what she needs is not a mind capable of deductive reasoning. Her own mind is keen. A mere glance at this woman, a momentary study of her and the innumerable works to her name tells him that the light of his own intellect is but a twinkle of a distant star next to a bright, burning, beautiful sun. She can come to the conclusion on her own. What she’ll need is help when the inevitable happens.[break][break]

“So…he’s not anywhere obvious. If he was, we’d know about it. With how much they like to fight, the League and Rocket would be all over them. Huh. Let’s see. Again, I don’t have access to everything, but I’ve been hearing that there are more places like the Ultra Deep Sea. You think maybe Palkia and his blue buddy are hiding out in one of them?”[break][break]

He asks, trying with every urgent fiber of his body to resist the temptation to ask her about this Smeargle with Palkia’s power. Best to appear professional. All the same, there was an unmistakable twinkle in his eye when that subject emerged. It remains after he says his piece.


[break][break]

+ illeana reyes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]a soft hum escapes.

while she had originally hoped the primal rifts held clues for this search, she is no longer certain of such a thing. they hold something else, a plethora of somethings, even.

"it's possible, but i believe palkia is likely in its own dimension adjacent to ours at this point."

if it weren't, they would have more clues, more answers. instead... they have nothing but idle theories in the dark.

"i do, however, think it's not a coincidence that space-time distortions are still appearing. whether it's due to palkia and dialga or our own dimensions instability, i can't be sure... but that is where i would like to start."

back to the beginning. perhaps this time, it will be different.

despite herself, she recognizes the spark in his eyes. it reminds her of her own. her grin spreads a little wider and after a moment, she's tapping a pokeball open to place her smeargle on display. it looks no different, feels no different... but it holds a piece of the conundrum she aims to solve.

"i doubt the attack would even hold a candle to palkia's own, but it might produce something when used within a distortion's walls?"

Michael Navidson

“You just might be right, Professor…” Navy’s voice trails off as he’s lost in thought, trying to think about how this could go. There’s distortions all the time, seemingly at random. When one happens again, not if, it’s not outside the realm of possibility to try what she’s suggesting.[break][break]
“You’ve got my help, Professor. This sounds important.” Looking over the Smeargle, he’s impressed at how he can look like any other member of his species while housing such an important clue for Hoenn – potentially one of the cornerstones of the region’s future, if he can truly lure Palkia to their location.[break][break]
“Just keep in mind, I’m not an avatar. I don’t have a sygna suit or anything like that. I think the biggest step we can take is prepping ourselves for when the next distortion happens. Gathering resources, being ready. When the moment comes, we seize it.” That said…[break][break]
He is talking to one of the smartest people in Hoenn, its brilliant sun of scientific advancement.[break][break]
“If you’ve got any other suggestions about how we can prep, I’m all ears. Guess in poker terms, I’m all in.”

[break][break]

+ illeana reyes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]eventually, her expression gives way to a pleased smile.

"great, glad to have you on board, navy."

and while she understands the art of preparation, of approaching this operation from a place of security... there is not much she'd advise him to plan for.

"it's entirely possible we'll receive no results from this endeavor so i suppose the only thing i can ask you to prepare for is failure."

her smile is easy, as if this is just another day in the office. and really, it is. she's used to failure in this year long endeavor. still, she keeps trying for a possible success to fall upon her shoulders at the end of the tunnel.

"as for safety in the field, i am a former avatar with some healing powers in tact. i can and will repair whatever wounds you or your team suffer on my behalf."

after a moment, she drinks the rest of her coffee and hums once the mug returns to an empty space on her desk.

"does that work for you?"

Michael Navidson

“A bona fide healer, huh? Good to know.” The detective nods, grinning ear to ear. When she says she was once an avatar, he almost chokes. It seems like everyone in any position of real import within the region was or is one still. Former avatar…[break][break]
He almost wants to ask if there’s something more she’s hoping to get out of this encounter with Palkia. That question is left unsaid. It’s too personal, too accusatory even if it isn’t meant as such. Whosoever manages to persuade Arceus’s children to their side will have powerful boons indeed.[break][break]
“Honestly, findin’ nothing is fine by me. People always get disappointed, but you can learn a whole lot from a ‘no’.” He supposes detectives and scientists have that in common.[break][break]
“Illeana, sorry if this is too personal, but I just wanna ask, what Pokemon were you the avatar of?” His eyes betray curiosity. He doesn’t keep track of who had what. His little brother would always run in telling stories about the big names of the region, but Navy never had time to listen. Too many practical concerns. Now, thrust into this battlefield of information, he needs to learn all he can.[break][break]
“What’s it like?” He doesn’t question why this woman, almost a perfect stranger, is the one to whom he asks that question. Not Kyle, or Thomas, or anyone else. Her mind eclipses theirs, she can explain it in terms he can chew on for days.

[break][break]

+ illeana reyes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]a handful of months ago, his question would have been deemed too personal. too painful to entertain...

now, she allows the concept to roll off her shoulders. a bond lost between human and deity no longer comes associated with hurt and for that, she's grateful.

"tapu lele."

it's spoken with the soft fondness of recalling a former friend, separated by time and circumstance and left to fester in the past as just another memory.

"it -- well, i suppose the best way i could describe it would be a sense of fulfillment?"

her smile shifts into slight embarrassment.

"or, perhaps, finding a missing piece you didn't know you had... if that makes any sense, anyway."

perhaps it does and perhaps not.

"it differs for every avatar, i believe, but my former avatarship had changed me in more ways than i could necessarily explain."

in fact, she's certain she'll never be the same now... but she looks to the possibility of a new patron to fill the void left behind by the old. going from being special and chosen to being nothing has never sat right with her. it never will, perhaps, now that she has had a taste of the power avatarship holds.

Michael Navidson