they're out here to secure a research station. their exploration crews are still fanning out into hoenn's open wound. navigating down here had been a grueling task, but she'd been pleasantly surprised to see the good doctor Eva Morales on an expeditionary team. 

when the nearest research station pinged a quarter mile away, she'd offered to partner with her and investigate.

dense foliage drapes overhead, casting shadows. the tera crystals above them glow brightly enough to mimic sunlight. it puts her on edge. only an hour ago, she and Greyson Connors had been hunting the creatures this landscapes seems to birth. 

"i think i'm discovering a phobia," she says with a grimace. "i don't like being underground." even if it doesn't feel like they're underground, with how expansive the area is - this is not a place where her dragons herald.

KING WAYLAND Naomi Sato Eva Morales
eo0zq_vm

☉

Whispers of old research stations had been a hot topic of conversation amongst the early explorers of the Great Chasm. Naturally, Eva was anxious to get in there herself. The promise of knowledge was something that was impossible to ignore. She was nodding before freya morningstar even got the full suggestion out of her mouth. An eager Eva already had her pack slung over her shoulder and was hastily leading them in the direction of the pinged research station.

“It does get quite . . . uncomfortable,” she agreed with Freya. It was a stretch to call it a phobia but she couldn’t ignore the nagging tension as the distance between her and the god of the sky stretched along a tether. It was a familiar sensation she experienced when she dove in the Hoenn Sea.

The foliage parted ever so slightly and the flash of a metallic satellite atop a research station signaled their arrival, “There it is!” she smiled, giddy as a school girl. Her pace quickened, not even stopping to consider it may already be occupied.

---

freya morningstar & Naomi Sato & KING WAYLAND

aG0N6Mhn
Total: 33+120=153

eva's positivity is as infectious as ever. there are still threads that bind them, threads that are tangled and crossed, but that tether them nonetheless. they haven't gotten it all sorted out - not really. how could they?

the region doesn't leave much space for matters of the heart. 

work keeps her busy enough to avoid the complications, but it was only a matter of time before the last grains of paradise's sand hit the bottom of the hourglass. xen's shape comes into view first. calcifer doesn't hint at her that anything is amiss - why would he?

but she speeds up, terror snaking up her spine, frustration stuttering a thousand questions she most certainly can't pursue the answers to right now. just one thought - stop her. her hand goes out, grasping for her arm. 

"wait, stop. eva, someone's - "

and around the ferns, she sees him. her gaze narrows, anger taut in the thinning of her lips. and behind him is a woman she does not recognize, but she is standing amidst equipment and it can only mean one thing - she's with rocket.

betrayal twists her gut. 

Naomi Sato KING WAYLAND Eva Morales
AI6ZBGv3

☉

Stop… But it’s too late. In her foolish eagerness, she put them at risk. She skidded to halt as she rounded the large ferns that separated them from the . . . enemy?

Naturally it was the flash of pink that caught her attention first, “Nomi?” There was a curious brightness in her voice mixed with relief. It could have been worse, much worse. But Nomi wasn’t alone. Whatever hint of friendliness there was in her voice, darkened and faded completely, “King,” she growled between her teeth. Her sympathetic nervous system flared and adrenaline spiked in her veins.

Her hand hovered over a pokeball on her belt as she glanced between the familiar Lucario and the defector, assuming some sort of foul play, "What are you doing here?"

---

odH8j4qJ
Total: 45+300= 345

their reconciliation is gone. it hadn't survived the blanket that had swept over their memories. she gave him the notebook before she left, stained with tears and blood. he knows this woman saved them before. he knows now, too, that freya let her forget. 

he's with me. 

she can't help it. a furious red heat rises to her cheeks. her fingers twitch, claws scraping gauntlets. she does not understand why calcifer shows hesitation when she hisses a word of preparation under her breath. she does not understand why eva greets this woman with such blissful familiarity. 

the letter. the roaring moon. the unown floating behind her. 

the visionary.

a piece of the puzzle falls into place. her analytical brain puts together the relationship between her and eva. a complicated feeling, but one that burns up in the face of her anger when he calls her sweetie and tells her it's not what it looks like. 

at least, given the company, their secret will remain safe. on the other hand, and worse for him, she does not have to play pretend to save face.

she roars, "not what i think? you're working with a ROCKET AVATAR? BOTH OF YOU - " a furious look at eva, back at king, "START TALKING!"

Naomi Sato KING WAYLAND Eva Morales
AI6ZBGv3

☉

He was with Nomi? Of course he was. Nothing was ever easy. It didn’t surprise Eva he was still aligned with Rocket. It suited him. This little reunion wasn’t what she was expecting deep in the Great Chasm, but was starting to become clear that they all knew each other in one way or another, Nomi even saying Freya’s name and speaking of a letter.

“SWEETIE?!” she barked before she could bite her tongue. It was heartbreaking and infuriating all at once. Right, there was another reason she hated him. In another life she understood, she accepted her martyrship after years of happiness and wholeness. This Eva was bitter, she didn’t get any of it, only fractured memories that barely put together a cohesive picture.

For a moment, she considered if Freya knew he would be here. Is that why she tried to stop her? Did she lie to her? Slowly, Eva’s gaze traced a line from King to Freya. She took a step to the side to better watch them both.

No, she seemed just as surprised. That moment of doubt suddenly felt like a pit in her chest. She could trust Freya. She could trust Nomi. But King . . .

Eva knew better than to get in the way of Freya’s fire. She waited silently for an answer to Freya’s demand.

---

6BVpEypp
Total: 11+485= 496