He resolves to give her his best.[break][break]
Landing at their designated meeting spot atop Old Ironsides, a Skarmory far too old for what his trainer puts him through, Navy dismounts. A long scarf trails behind him, a mingled red/orange thing with a sync stone knitted into the fabric. The rest of his outfit is much as it was before, save his jacket is now long-sleeved and a deeper blue.[break][break]
“Dr. Reyes.” He says with a resolute smile. “It’s a pleasure. I’ve brought the best team I have with me today.” It really is an all-star line-up. Most of them will stay in their ball for now. This is a test as much as it is a battle. A trial by fire for him and the Pokemon he has chosen as his true partner.[break][break]
Ironsides is recalled in a flash of red. In his place, Navy pulls out a black and yellow pokeball. Inside slumbers a black dragon. It seems to stir from how the Pokeball rumbles. Oh how fear has gripped him with this ball in his hand before. That fear is absent. Trainer and dragon practically share a heartbeat while bound by the sync stone.[break][break]
“Guess I’m lucky that the League likes me. I put in for a sygna suit and my requisition request got approved.’ Out comes the black dragon, the biggest Garchomp most people have ever seen. The emotions felt by the dragon almost sweep him off his feet. He’s calm for now, although the scent of other Pokemon in the air threatens to agitate Vortigern.[break][break]
“Meet Vortigern, Dr. Reyes. He’ll be disposing of anything stupid enough to attack us.” Cracking his knuckles, he turns towards the rift and walks forward with a confident stride.[break][break]
“Let’s go get you your lead.”

[break][break]

+ illeana reyes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]his best team... perhaps they will need it, in the end.

her smile holds strong in the face of the unknown.

"congratulations on the sygna suit, navy. it is well deserved."

she has no doubt, really, of his skill. after all, his willingness to help and investigate speaks volumes to the head scientist. she is certain the league has a similar mindset to she, surprisingly.

her head dips in acknowledgment to his dragon. behind her, the trio of unown chitter through what seems to be a stuttering greeting.

"come, then... it is not much farther."

she does not wait for approval before beginning to lead them through the rocky terrain. thunder rolls lazily overhead. she can hear the bells within each low rumble. a warning or a greeting, however, is not discernible at this time.

at first, there is nothing...

and it starts with a crack of lightning, a flash of purple, and the raising of chaotic walls. her hair whips into a frenzy behind her, a makeshift cape for a spatial queen.

the look in her eyes, then, is wild when they turn to him.

"ready?"

edges of the distortion paint her in different hues of pinks and purples but one thing is clear: she transforms into another thing entirely.

Michael Navidson
surviving space-time.

How unnerving these things would be to the man he had once been. Unown stare at him – mysteries personified. It’s in their name. The detective in him wants to ask about them. The warrior he has become nods under their gaze. Let them look. Let them judge. They will not find him wanting.[break][break]
In him beats the heart of a dragon. A dragon does not back away from a challenge.[break][break]
“Oh, Professor Reyes, I could get used to this!” The road ahead is hard. As they walk it, basking in the protection offered by technology and infinity energy, it is soon caked with bodies. Many are tossed aside, knocked unconscious as a sign of respect to Melody Miro. The woman he loves loved in another lifetime has a soft heart. He tries to be merciful. There are some things that simply refuse mercy.[break][break]
“Damn, these things are big.” A Gallade skids into their path, twice as tall as a human. His arms seem to come to life, resonating with psychic energy. Like many Gallades before him, he is lost in the elegance of his own swords dance. Navy simply looks at the exposed throat of their latest victim. Vortigern clenches. Gallade is tossed aside.[break][break]
“What happens when we get there? Smeargle gonna do his thing?”

[break][break]

+ illeana reyes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]her grin is almost biting.

"there's more where that came from, unfortunately."

her unowns all chitter in an odd unison, one sound flowing into the next. and while they are wonderous, curious creatures, they cannot help them here - not yet, anyway.

she releases another pokemon into the fray without hesitation. a golurk rises to tower above them, discolored clay painted purple in the distortion's light. it's familiar enough to soften her eyes.

and the automaton, with little care, begins to clear a pathway for the scientist and navy to follow. she ignores the pained yelps of crazed pokemon as they're knocked away by large, swinging arms.

concern has no place here.

there is a duty, a purpose, and she will be unwavering steel until it is done.

"we need to get to the edges of the distortion by any means necessary."

at the edges of the world, of the galaxy, magic happens.

while her eyes do not turn away from the path ahead, her unowns do. they slowly rotate to face navy, eyes unblinking as they stare.

"understood?"

Michael Navidson
surviving space-time.

How unnerving these things would be to the man he had once been. Unown stare at him – mysteries personified. It’s in their name. The detective in him wants to ask about them. The warrior he has become nods under their gaze. Let them look. Let them judge. They will not find him wanting.[break][break]
In him beats the heart of a dragon. A dragon does not back away from a challenge.[break][break]
“Oh, Professor Reyes, I could get used to this!” The road ahead is hard. As they walk it, basking in the protection offered by technology and infinity energy, it is soon caked with bodies. Many are tossed aside, knocked unconscious as a sign of respect to Melody Miro . The woman he loves loved in another lifetime has a soft heart. He tries to be merciful. There are some things that simply refuse mercy.[break][break]
“Damn, these things are big.” A Gallade skids into their path, twice as tall as a human. His arms seem to come to life, resonating with psychic energy. Like many Gallades before him, he is lost in the elegance of his own swords dance. Navy simply looks at the exposed throat of their latest victim. Vortigern clenches. Gallade is tossed aside.[break][break]
“What happens when we get there? Smeargle gonna do his thing?”

[break][break]

+ illeana reyes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she allows him, his pokemon, and her golurk to carve out a path - bodies dropping like flies against solid ground not enough to deter the scientist from her path.

and as he takes care of the front, her unown observe their backs. unblinking stares observe as the once active pokemon exist in a state of unconsciousness before they fade out of this field. back to where they came from, perhaps.

"not quite."

faintly, there's a coy smile rising to her lips. it lingers as they reach their destination.

"we'll start with my first experiment and go down the list."

two unown first, then three.

with the last obstacle falling into dirt, she steps forward to greet the distortion's edge as one would an old friend. she is comfortable here, familiar even. it feels more like home than some places in hoenn ever did, perhaps.

"ready?"

she does not wait for his response. instead, her golurk and two of the three unown step forward. a moment later, z-move: never-ending nightmare and two sets of hidden power collide in the same spot against the wall. curiously, a pink cyclone-like energy emerges to repair the damaged wall. it fades as quickly as it comes and all that stares back at them is the distortion's wall.

Michael Navidson
surviving space-time.

“Yes, ma’am.” He returns the coy smile with one of his own, like they’re sharing some private joke. He’s not in on the joke, but he reckons he’ll understand where she’s going with this soon enough. As the battles subside, he takes solace in the silence. It stills his heart, brings order and humanity back to his soul.[break][break]
Vortigern feels it, too. It makes him content to pace in his odd, lumbering manner. Doubtless he’ll rush into danger at the first sign of trouble, but for now he simply watches. Golurk’s an interesting choice for her partner Pokemon. He doesn’t know Illeana, but he thinks it suits her.[break][break]
He’ll have to ask about that later. For now, he stands guard. Dumb muscle, watching someone with a functioning brain attempt an experiment. Gasping, he takes a half-step forward at the clash of energy. A moment later, he realizes that all is in order. Nothing seems to emerge to fight them, nor does trouble seem to be forthcoming.[break][break]
“So…that good or bad? That it seems like we’re still alone?” Palkia’s not there, and that seems answer enough for now. More experiments are sure to follow.[break][break]
Vortigern huffs impatiently, only for Navy to chide him through the sync stone.


[break][break]

+ illeana reyes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]a hum is his only response for a moment as she motions for her unowns to step back and regroup. the letters chitter idly, more foreboding hymns than simple existence.

and when her head turns toward him, there is no failure written into the expression - only understanding.

"neither good or bad, i suppose."

a smile spreads. it roots itself into her cheeks.

"gods do not come among us without reason so i highly doubt one would have appeared just now, but this course of experimenting has resulted in better understanding of both the distortions and the dome hoenn had previously been surrounded by."

the unown have moved. they float around her head now, unblinking as they stare at navy.

"the distortions have been caused by something - or, well, someone, perhaps - in the same way the dome had been. another experiment in a different location showed glimpses of other universes against both the dome and these very distortion walls."

but attacking them has always proved futile. to expect otherwise is to spell out the demise of dreams.

"yet, we still have not come to understand what's behind these distortions. not fully, anyway."

her eyes drift back to the walls, to where the pink energy had come and gone.

"perhaps one day, we will."

Michael Navidson
surviving space-time.

“Hmm.” He thinks. A rare notion, but it happens. Musing on what she says, he stares out at the edge of this distorted reality. On any other day, he imagines something banal would be on the other side. Maybe a storefront here in the outskirts of Slateport. Maybe just empty air.[break][break]
Today, it feels like anything, in all the worlds, could be on the other side. Turning his attention on the woman, he looks at the Unown which unerringly stare. His eyes move downcast towards her. They’re playing with fire – all of them.[break][break]
"Think it's our ole pals the dark triad? Pulling the strings, I mean. Doing all this." He asks the question so casually. No one can keep a secret in Hoenn. While he speaks the words, he ruminates on what she said.[break][break] Gods do not come among us without good reason.[break][break]
She is absolutely correct. He is but a humble man of low birth. A gutter rat who chews his way up the rope. Perhaps it’s good that nothing showed up.[break][break]
The thought was given too soon.[break][break]
A backlash from the wall blasts Navy, knocking him back before Vortigern or Illeana’s Pokemon can intervene. He’s knocked ten feet back, his launch only interrupted by a wall. If he was in his street clothes, Navy imagines he would have broken a few ribs. As it is, he stands up…[break][break]
…and another man looks at Illeana. The features are mostly the same. Dark blue hair faded to brown, a quirk of his family once they hit their 30’s. His hair, once styled by gel, now falls flat about his face. Lines are there where they weren’t before.[break][break]
His eyes are the same battered gunmetal. Nothing about them has changed. Whatever happened here may have took kindling from the fire of his life, but it did not stamp it out.[break][break]
“I’m fine.” He says in a voice aged like rum in a barrel. “Wanna have Smeargle pop out and do his thing before we head back?”[break][break]
If he knows anything is wrong, he doesn’t let it show.

[break][break]

+ illeana reyes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]