[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she does not want to be here, that much is evident by the way her body language screams of discomfort.

this is a place with terrible memories, carved into the skin of her back and left to fester with time.

and yet, it is necessary. answers sought after will not be found by idle bodies and absent minds. no, they must seek the information out themselves and grab onto it with greedy fingers.

with a heavy hand, she shoves down the sensation of dread crawling up her throat and looks to Eva Morales with a neutral expression. after a moment, a small smile begins to peek through like sunshine after a storm.

"ready."

she has to be.

beyond their bodies, the abbiati sea temple ruins await. her eyes sweep watery rubble with caution and anxiety, darting in anxious patterns. beside her, a smeargle sits unbothered. after another moment of looking for someone she can't seem to find, her legs begin to slowly push forward. her steps are tentative, delaying the inevitable.

"the ruins do not look like they've changed so far."

an idle observation... one aimed to distract her mind and hold a small conversation.

Eva Morales

Eva draws her strength from others: their loyalty, their trust, their faith. Illeana has been a cornerstone of that strength. So when the small smile peeks through the wary expression, Eva feels a surge of determination, a spark to light a fire of hope.

Together, they can do anything.

“Alright then,” she smiles back, tugging one last time at the strap around her waist to secure her utility belt, “Let’s get going.”

Approaching the ruins is like walking into a dream. It’s surreal, but so clear. It had been quite some time since they both ventured into the unknown here. It really hadn’t changed, “Hm, at least that means this pocket is stable then,” Eva chooses to see the bright side of the observation. The darker side meant there was likely a way Sea!Hoennians could sneak back through it at any point.

Mew coos, fluttering ahead. They peer over the edge at the sparkling water below the broken stone stairs that lead to the temple’s main entrance. Eva and Illeana know what lies below. She wonders briefly if the Unown puzzle was still there, a portal to another world, “Should we see if it’s still there? Or explore the parts of the temple we didn’t before?” she glances towards Illeana, having her own reservations about each option. She remembers there being PRIMAL MARKINGS that matched Skyler’s but that chamber also flooded when they were activated. Perhaps there are more clues elsewhere.

---

illeana reyes

Sygna Suit DEACTIVATED
Reference thread: AQUA Assembly Part 2

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]while they can do anything, illeana isn't quite certain some things should be done.

there is hesitation in her body, right down to the bones.

with eva nearby, her trepidation is slowly eased away. it gets easier to breathe, to move, to push forward. without her, she might just lose her mind down here.

"for now..."

her eyes dart toward eva for a moment before retreating to look ahead.

"it's possible there's changes here we haven't come across yet."

there's no way to know what occurred here when the primal points backfired... not yet, anyway.

she has a sinking suspicion that will change.

and while she'd like to refresh on something familiar, the concept of the unknown beckons. she has never been able to ignore such a call.

"let's check the parts we haven't seen first. we can always come back to the familiar parts after."

around them, the pocket dimensional world seems quiet. it's unnerving...

Eva Morales

Something shouldn’t be done, and some thing needed to be done. Without knowledge, they would never understand and their world would be defenseless against the unknown threats.

The decision is made, and her gaze slowly climbs the stone stairs to the temple’s entrance. She leads the way, “We’ll be very careful,” she assures herself out loud for Illeana to hear. Eva had no intention of being warped to another world today, “Mega evolution and z-moves, be careful with them, alright?” they didn’t need to accidentally activate any sort of crystals secretly embedded in the shrine or destabilize the dimensional pocket they now existed in. In fact, Eva tapped the sync stone on her chest, ACTIVATING her SYGNA SUIT as a precautionary measure to keep her own PRIMAL ENERGY at bay.

The stone is worn as if beaten into submission by centuries of tides and waves. The entire structure seems to be coated in moisture despite not being beneath the water. The strange hue of the dimensional pockets is lost once they enter. To combat the darkness, Eva calls upon her ILLUMINA Mr. Mime. The pokemon’s white and pink coloring sparkle and ILLUMINATE their surroundings in a gentle white light.

---

illeana reyes

Sygna Suit ACTIVATED
Reference thread: AQUA Assembly Part 2

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she hums soft confirmation as eva begins to lead them forward.

careful... they have to be. this place is still unfamiliar territory despite having been here before. who knows what has changed since then?

"will do."

and where eva activates a sygna suit, illeana simply... tugs her cardigan a little closer around herself. it's snug, comforting, and most of all, concealing.

her back is hidden and in this moment, she feels more secure with that thought tucked into her mind.

she sticks close to eva and the light her illumina mr. mime provides. trailing a few steps behind, she shuffles on quickly to not get left behind.

"you know, i didn't think this place was even still around after last time."

after the primal crystals fired back at hoenn, she had thought this place lost. she remembers, briefly, the conversation with dahlia goode too. the lack of activity in this dimensional pocket still strikes her as odd to this very day.

Eva Morales

The age and wear of the ruins slowly begins to show itself the deeper they venture into their depths. The stress and pressure of this rift manifests as scars across the ruins’ sacred walls. Eva’s fingers glance over the fissures, as if they trace a long forgotten memory.

The doctor’s gaze hardens on the sharp contours etched into the stone wall. Despite the Mr. Mime’s soft glow, a faint red light trickles from them. Eva’s hand presses against the cold stone. Her other deactivates the Sygna Suit keeping her own Primal Energy at bay.

Small tendrils of gold spark from her fingertips like bolts of lighting. Suddenly, the faint red glow of familiar markings ignites into a vibrant, crimson red. She sucks in a breath of surprise, overwhelmed with both awe and curiosity.

She closes her eyes, opening herself up to structure and her surroundings. She feels the cold stone, tastes the dry air. There’s a hint of salt, as if standing on a beach. Beneath it all, a familiar power pulses through the cavern like blood through veins. Her heartbeat syncs with the flow of the PRIMAL ENERGY, becoming one with the force that vibrates around them.

“This place is rich with PRIMAL ENERGY,” Eva licks her lips, her eyes fluttering open. Her stomach twists into a hollow knot, overcome with the hunger of her patron.

---

illeana reyes

Sygna Suit DEACTIVATED
Reference thread: AQUA Assembly Part 2

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]around them, the ruins begin to settle into the senses. the further they go, the stronger the feeling - this place has been changed.

"eva."

her eyes turn from deep cracks and dried up water canals to find eva's. she takes a step forward but it falters - odd, she notes with a hum. she tries again, the way a sailor would after being out to sea for too long.

"this place is different, i think. it feels - how do i explain it? - off center, somehow."

like space has shifted around them... but another question pops up rather quickly: how can she even tell?

she pushes through the sensation to keep surveying the surroundings. the primal energy paints them in a faint red glow, brightening with eva nearby.

"it wasn't like this before... was it?"

between the altered space and the richness of primal energy, she doesn't think so but then it begs more questions than answers.

she moves along toward the inscription and once her eyes catch sight of it, her head is snapping back toward eva.

"hey, there's some writing over here."

Eva Morales

Eva can’t ignore the hunger. It bubbles in her belly with sickening demands. Painfully so. Her fingers curl, nails digging into the stone until she feels her nails bend beneath the pressure. It certainly wasn’t like this before.

Or was it?

The same marking glowed under the touch of skyler dross if she remembered correctly. Perhaps she couldn’t feel it before without Rayquaza’s patronage. Now, it is unmistakable and only made more sharp by their insatiable hunger for PRIMAL ENERGY.

“It’s wha-” Eva seems to snap out of her trance when Illeana’s words reach her. Reluctantly, she tears her touch away from the wall. The brilliant crimson light fades back to the dull red, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Off center? Eva feels quite comfortable here. Steady and grounded with purpose.

The professor’s gaze follows Illeana for a moment as she moves past her. It’s curious, and sparks more questions that simmer in the doctor’s mind. How would she know that?

Eva follows without question, encouraging the Mr. Mime to stand closer to the inscriptions so they could read them clearly.

With each line her gaze narrows, hardening with the reality made clear, “Sea Hoenn,” she speaks aloud, a bitter tone laced into the two words. Understandably, she focuses on the line that speaks of losing the wind. It’s not their world, but a loss of balance, nonetheless, causes bile to rise in her throat. Rayquaza’s sentiments echo through their tether.

SEAL HOENN AWAY FROM THIS ABHORRENT WORLD.

IT IS NOT OUR TIME TO CORRECT THEIR SACRILEGIOUS WAYS.

THEY WERE DOOMED EONS AGO.

A WARNING TO GUARD OUR WORLD FROM A SIMILAR FATE.

---

illeana reyes

Sygna Suit DEACTIVATED
Reference thread: AQUA Assembly Part 2

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]”i — this place feels like it’s been moved, like gravity is slightly off center.”

she blinks, the concept settling further into her bones. it causes her head to tilt, eyes narrowing in confusion.

”do… you not feel it?”

is it just her? is it all in her head?

she glances between eva and the inscription, the words quickly foreboding echo the longer her mind absorbs them.

”kyogre’s primal power became endless…”

it settles in her stomach like a stone, wrapped in nauseating dread.

”that’s how sea hoenn’s people share the powers — the endless primal energy is like a constant battery pack for them, then.”

but… how can they sever it?

her eyes drift toward the remainder of the ruins, the space around them still throwing her body into disarray. the fissures in stone stare back at her. if she didn’t know better, she’d almost say they were laughing.

Eva Morales

Eva listens carefully, attempting to sense whatever it is that Illeana is feeling. No matter how hard she tries, it escapes her. Perhaps she’s too distracted by Rayquaza’s hunger, or the pull of the PRIMAL ENERGY.

“I . . . Don’t.”

She sounds a bit disappointed in herself, like she's missing something important. The worry is quickly wiped away as the conversation dips into a looming threat, “Hm, I think you’re right,” Eva tries to imagine what that would be like - PRIMAL ENERGY surging through the world endlessly around them. It sounded dangerous . . . and wasteful.

“Every battery can be switched off.”

She speaks life to the thought they are both having, “Perhaps the key is somewhere in the ruins,” she glances briefly to Illeana, a grin twitching at the corner of her lips. Do they dare venture further? Fueled by faith and a desperate hunger for answers?

---

illeana reyes

Sygna Suit DEACTIVATED
Reference thread: AQUA Assembly Part 2

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she doesn't?

after a moment, illeana glances down at her hands.

"how can i tell, then?"

a look of confusion - no, anxiety - rises quickly. it looks to drown her as her head raises and her eyes meet eva's.

and quietly, softly, she asks another probing question:

"is it real?"

this place, the connection it has to those people... she wonders if it will turn her into someone else - more monster than human. the mere thought of their invasion, even just a fleeting glance of their faces, and she snaps. is this the same?

eva's voice is a beacon back into reality, a pathway to the present she clings to with white knuckles.

"if they moved this place for their own purpose, perhaps they left something behind we can use against them?"

it's the only logical thing she can think of: they did this.

and she drifts away from eva to run a hand along a fissure. it's cool to the touch - almost calming. a grin rises to mirror eva's.

"let's go exploring."

further into the unknown...

Eva Morales