Since their failures in the ULTRA DEEP SEA, they had found no rest. Their minds and their bodies had been plagued by a restless anxiety that seemed to grow every day. The burden weighed heavier and heavier on their shoulders providing a never ending discomfort. The energies of this world were shifting - and darkness loomed not far in the distance.

But within this darkness, they found some sense of comfort. For having never stepped within the bounds of this temple, Eva felt a sense of familiarity. Her fingers ran along the broken walls, dipping into the shallow carvings that were barely visible stains against the tan stone. A persistent, anxious presence pulsed through their tether.

The crumbling stone slipped beneath her, and she jerked to a halt before it gave way, tumbling down into the dark abyss that gave way to the bottom of the tower. Eva inhaled a sharp breath, her heart suddenly racing. The stone stirred beneath her fingertips as a surprised DREEPY dashed out and back into the darkness.

Eva peered over the edge of the tower’s high platform and down through the endless levels in need of exploration; a task that seemed impossible.

So lost in her own contemplation, the sound of boots against the stone startled her. She’s lived in a state of high alert since her trip to Kanto and the Ultra Deep Sea, so it’s not a surprise that her hand naturally slapped onto a sphere clinging to her belt. A crimson light flashed into the form of a Gallde, ready for battle. Both trainer and pokemon paused when the figure grew familiar, “Angelo?”

---

Restless, and not yet ready, Rayquaza took to the sky while Eva ventured into the temple of their behalf. It was never a place the dragon dwelled long. It held their history, stories of their power, the key to their past, present and future, but it was not theirs, in truth. It was made for the people. Rayquaza was never meant to face their duties alone, for their power had always been intertwined with the world around them and the creatures that contributed to that never ending flow.

Their serpentine body curled around the abandoned tower as if its presence itself was holding it together. Theri golden gaze followed the flash of blue that brought another to their temple. It was no ordinary presence. Latios was something new. They found themselves relatively unthreatened by the being. After all, there was little the god feared. A sense of familiarity resonated through their tether that reassured their assumptions.

Stone clattered beneath their claws and they uncurled themself from around the tower. Rayquaza rose from below like Kyogre would from the depths. Their golden eyes fixated on the stranger, a rather curious shine sparkled within them. Although intimidating by nature, the deep rumble that vibrated through their throat to attract Latios’ attention was rather neutral as they rose to meet the other in the sky.

---

angelo vestri

Eva ventured to the Sky Pillar on the whim of her anxious god. When she arrived, she found a sense of peace in the isolation of these sacred grounds she didn’t think she would. The last thing she expected was to find someone else roaming the broken darkness. Really, she should have. The appearance of the Sky Pillar would likely attract a lot of attention. Angelo’s appearance was surprising, but after a moment of recognition she really wasn’t surprised at all. In fact, she was happy to see him.

A smile pulled across her pink lips as a more relaxed atmosphere settled over them, “I didn’t expect to see you either,” she admitted as Blade also took a more neutral stance. His red eyes bounced back and forth between the two explorers, “I haven’t been here long,” she shrugged her shoulders while peeling her gaze away from Angelo and back to the tower around them, “Rayquaza was anxious to get me here,” she smiled, knowing that assumption could easily be made, “I get a sense they want me to find something, but I’m not quite sure what.”

She shuffled over to a stone wall. Her gaze remained fixed on the fading sketch of a Mega Rayquaza, Primal Groudon, and Primal Kyogre and in the center of it all: A meteorite. Her fingers traced over the shallow indent of the serpent’s curves, “Come to map out the island?” new was a relative statement. The tower and land itself was at least a thousand years old, “I wonder what kept it hidden so long,” she mused out loud, glancing back towards Angelo.

---

The other dragon’s confident curiosity is a strange thing to be met with. They weren’t used to such amicable greetings. Their reputation precedes them, and with it typically came quick hostility. Even their relationship with their siblings was a strained one.

Rayquaza twitched, the growl growing into a stronger rumble of surprise at the pressure of the other’s telepathic connection to their mind. The familiar curiosity set the god at ease, the threatening growl dying in their throat just as the winds around them seemed to cease to exist without their intervention.

The emerald serpent snaked forward, moving to curl around Latios in a wide circle to inspect the foreign creature. Though a stranger, the other legendary held a sense of familiarity that they just couldn't place. They allowed the consciousness to brush against the telepathic connection the other established.

WHO ARE YOU?

The eternity trapped in the frozen wastelands had dulled their mind. Even if they knew the Hoenn native in a past life, their memories would be fuzzy.

---

angelo vestri

Eva finds a familiarity in the other’s desire to explore, to discover. It's a similar fire that burns in her belly in regards to knowledge. Often, that required investigation into the unknown - much like what drew them both here. She smiles, nodding in understanding, “Ahhh yes, the draw is irresistible,” though for her, it was irresistible in a different way. The tower is familiar, but not in a way Eva could imagine. The familiarity comes from her link to Rayuqaza and it is still a mystery.

“Hm, yes, I think it was a burst of Primal Energy that brought it back,” at least, that’s what the data that flared across the sensors at the lab claimed. The Professor had yet to find a source, “I wonder where it was hidden for so long,” perhaps that’s the better question. The Interdream Zone? Another Hoenn? Is this even their Hoenn’s tower? The intrusion of the multiverse made it difficult to discern realities. It’s unnerving.

Eva quietly approaches him, fixating on the same worn carvings of the three primal beings. This question she can answer, “It is,” she simply states, “The METEONITE that powers Mega Evolution and the Primal Energy that flows through us is from a meteor,” her soft smile disappears as the intelligence of Sea!Hoenn getting their hands on that meteor invades her worries again, “Meteor Falls,” she muses out loud.

The Professor’s hand sweeps over the cracked stone, “They’ve been separated for so long . . . it is truly a blessing to have them all back,” she refers to the trio, Hoenn’s three guardians. Now Hoenn stood a chance, but even these three alone may not be able to prevent the RUINATION.

---

Hoenn Guardian.

Brother.

No, not brother. Their siblings are confined to the sea and land. The skies are their domain, a territory they do not share but allow others to exist in. They loom over Hoenn as a master, a force of balance and steady consistency like the winds that tear across the land and sea.

Guardian they could relate to and accept. A click of approval rattles through their throat as the Latios’ gaze turns skyward. Rayquaza accepts the other’s invitation. Their body unfurls against the rich blue sky and a green streak follows the fellow dragon into the heavens.

---

angelo vestri