[ti]worldevent[/ti]WORLD EVENT: NOONLIGHT RAID

”Alright everyone, you heard what the deal was. I kept you all abreast to this hype new Pokemon VMMO and today we’re gonna show you what this high quality raid looks like. Now, all we got was this quick message and we got booted for twenty-four hours and so, as soon as we log in, we’ll be right into the hype zone. Let’s go, friends! Thanks bigandblue44 for the re-sub, always appreciate you folks building our community.” Vincent’s introduction is long-winded and typical to the bullshit to that fake persona that most streamers put on.

”Thanks for the $10, kittendiscordgirlie.” He made sure to read every single donation out loud as the robotic voice read what the message said. ’ When will shirtless streams be a thing again? ‘ A foolish tipsy decision where half his stream drooled over him where the other half laughed that he was tiny.

”You know, we may not need that anymore and you’ll see why soon.” Vincent smirked as the countdown was ticking.

00:02 / 00:01 / 00:00

And in an instant, Vincent connected into the video game while sharing his view to the stream and immediately looked horrified. ”What on Earth is this hell?” his words were quick to judge as Serena, Wednesday, and Maverick all appeared next to him as the [NPC] Cygnus updated them on what was happening and what needed to be done.

”Alright, my team is filled with sweepers so, I guess we’ll just head over to the Greenhouse.” His large new avatar seemed to be getting donations and messages from his stream, he knew these idiots would love watching him prance around as a huge man that looked like he crushed watermelons with his thighs.

+Vincent, I don't feel so good.+ Wednesday's tiny voice cried out and she seemingly turned from her usual, fun-loving quiet self into a form with beady scarlet eyes and a darker tone to her overall mood.

"Uhhh! I don't think that was supposed to happen." His voice raises into the sky, stressed out as his other two pokemon back up and pull their trainer to do the same.

+We have to go now, Vincent. Let's head to the egg place. Leave her be and we'll come back to her. We're useless here.+ Luckily for them both, Serena had enough common sense to go around. That was, until, the hearing of clanging keys could be heard and a dripping klefki let out a haunting sound as it looked like it was attempting to rush forward to tackle them.

"Is there even a fucking door!!!" Vincent's truer self, a less brave version than the him he tries to put on, appeared as he ran towards the wall trying to find his way to anything that would get them out alive. The only thing he could find in the moment was a small picture frame that he quickly ripped off the wall, the force of his grab and his nerves cracked the glass in two and cut into Vincent's right palm. "Shit." He muttered, shaking off the realistic pain. "You folks dizzy out Wednesday and i'll deal with the Klefki." Who knew if this would be a good idea but he'd have to try it anyway.

Maverick and Serena (Noibat and Fennekin) keep their distance as they keep Wednesday in a tizzy, spinning her around to keep her from gaining her balance. Luckily, she hadn't been too strong yet so keeping her at bay wasn't too difficult.

It was the Klefki who zoomed in to Vincent's personal space attempting to claw at him with razor sharp keys. From Cygnus' advice, he knew he had to dodge it or he would be screwed over. After ducking under the floating key ring, Vincent used both hands (to the best of his abilities) and with the picture frame, attempted to slam the corrupt key directly into the wall. Klefki moved and it seemed that with enough force, it showed where the door out was.

"Well shit, isn't that lucky." He muttered, using the map to sneak out quickly into the hall of hammers and moving towards the door to where the Kitchen was. It seemed like others already had to get out as well and kept some of the corrupt pokemon at bay, which means his only concern was getting his two pokemon out for now.

"We'll come back for you, Wednesday." Looking back for a second, Vincent knew he needed to focus on what was in front of him as they moved into the Greenhouse to a flurry of people and action.

"Ugh look, Tuesday is here and her big stupid hands that nearly broke mine." Rolling his eyes as he called out her name with a wave, she was too stupidly strong to be outwardly mean to. Who knew the next time he might need her help, so for now he would be nice.

Vincent surveyed the scene within the GREENHOUSE with his two pokemon by his side, figuring out the best place he would be of service.


CLEVERLY USE AN OBJECT TO DEFEND YOURSELF +10
INTERACT WITH ANOTHER PLAYER +10
SUSTAIN A PLAYER INJURY +10

SPOILER: Click to show

{BREAKDOWN}FENNEKIN (150/150) Active
Damaged by (opponent) for (x HP)
Damaged by (action) for (x HP)
Other

GOTHITA (150/150) Corrupt
Damaged by (opponent) for (x HP)
Damaged by (action) for (x HP)
Other

NOIBAT (150/150) Active
Damaged by (opponent) for (x HP)
Damaged by (action) for (x HP)
Other

She spawns in the doll room.

This, in itself, will set the creepiness bar for the whole raid from Domino’s point of view: the sight of dozens upon dozens of old porcelain dolls staring at her with dead eyes that are covered by a thin layer of dust.

<'Char!'> The Charmander exclaims, pointing at one of the older, creepier dolls. It’s bald and missing one eye. Domino’s multicoloured eyes roll.

“Calm down, Balerion, they’re just dolls.” She looks up towards the attic, but the stairs have been destroyed, so instead she decides to reach for a couple of the dolls (including the one that had apparently scared her oh-so-mighty Charmander) and tuck them under her arm just as she had done with Balerion only a day ago when leaving the Starter Lab. “Looks like there’s no enemies here. We’re headed to the garden. Fodder One, Fodder Two, take point.”

She hadn’t even bothered with giving them proper names.

After all, Fodder1 and Fodder2 is what the Gothita and Magnemite are to her.

The two pokémon she had caught just in case.

When opening the door to step out of the doll room, a fucked up and corrupted Thwackey stares at her. Or, rather, it stares at the Gothita that stands right in front of her. It had indeed taken point.

“Ha. Look at it. Corrupt pokémon just… hit different.” In more than one way. Still, amused and amazed as she may be, Domino is not oblivious to the danger this Thwackey may bring. “Run past it in three. One… Two… Three.”

One of the dolls is tossed right at the Thwackey’s face. Then another. The monkey screams, rushing into the doll room. She steps out and closes the door on it. First corrupt pokémon encounter and no casualties. Good.

“Remember what the old man said: if you touch them you’ll get corrupted too.” She tells her pokémon. Like a zombie virus. Apparently, some of the people around her hadn’t gotten the memo. Eyebrows raise when seeing Vincent’s Gothita wandering around while showing the first signs of corruption.

“See, Fodder One? That could’ve been you. Anyway, to the garden.”

At the foyer, someone seems to have been working on slowing down a corrupt Swanna, and Domino is quick to take advantage of all the effort they had put in that. “Good job with the Swanna.” She even tells althaea while doing nothing at all to help, heading right out the front door of Bronstanton manor.

And then she trips down the steps, rolling onto the grass where discarded solo cups speak of the remnants of a party.

“Oh for fuck’s sake…”

CLEVERLY USE AN OBJECT TO DEFEND YOURSELF +10
INTERACT WITH ANOTHER PLAYER +10
SUSTAIN A PLAYER INJURY +10

SPOILER: Click to show

{BREAKDOWN}
CHARMANDER (150/150) Active

GOTHITA (150/150) Active

MAGNEMITE (150/150) Active

Sparkling water in a My Melody tumbler, cut veggies and other snacks arranged on a plate, and kitty-cat headphones on over her headset. It's the perfect gamer setup! And definitely instagrammable. With new pink LED lights around her setup, Luka had taken more than a few selfies and cute photos to upload right before the raid begins.

Bunny loads back in right where she'd left off, with one key difference. Everything is on fire now. She blinks, staring into the flickering flames and wondering how everything could have escalated so quickly. Raids sure are wild, huh?

The rest of her Pokemon appear soon afterwards, little babies compared to the hulking figures . Once again Bunny wonders if she's too much of a noob to be taking part in a raid like this...but Monsieur Cygnus needs her, or something like that. It's a very literal call to action!

She listens to the UI instructions, but Yggy Br00ks sums up what they need to do a lot more succinctly. "I have a support!" Bunny chirps, eagerly waving her hand around. "Um, I think! That's what you are...right, Choux?

Her Ducklett chirps in agreement, waving her pastel wings around. "Okay! So use, um...hang on..."

There's a blip in motion. Bunny's avatar freezes in place as the player behind it quickly checks the game guide for a list of applicable moves.

"Erm...try water sport!"

Her little duck does as asked, releasing a spray of water that showers the burning egg with like...healing water, or something? Bunny doesn't really get it but it seems to be working! She grins and ruffles her little buddy's feathers as the water continues to deluge down on the five of them.

Momentary celebration is interrupted Alice! , not that she minds. This is a serious raid, but to Bunny it's still just a game. Chatting is way more fun than just standing around and doing nothing! She too notices that the other avatar looks a lot like hers, though with different ears. Well, the character creator can only be so robust. It was bound to happen eventually! Besides, pink hair is totally top tier.

"Oh my gosh, you're right!" she squeals, her ears swaying as she bounces on the balls of her feet. "That's soooo funny. Well...great minds think alike, right? You look soooo cute, too!" She beams, bright teeth flashing in the firelight. "I'm Bunny, by the way! We should, like, totally hang out when this is all over..."

While she gushes, others around them focus more on defense. Right...that's probably a good idea! But Bunny's Pokemon aren't all that large or intimidating, and they still don't know that many moves. So that means it's time to get a little creative!

"Oh! That's a great idea. I'll help!" Bunny grabs some of the lawn chairs littering the garden and helps Laguna erect a barrier made of lawn furniture. The stack grows higher and wider with every addition, creating a decent, though makeshift barricade.

"Do you hear the people sing," she hums under her breath, panting slightly as she drags another chair over and hoists it onto the pile.

Only this one is a little too high, and balanced a little too precariously. Bunny watches, almost in slow motion as it comes toppling back down onto her head, a blow that might have left a nasty bruise if this wasn't a video game.

"Ouch..."

CLEVERLY USE AN OBJECT TO DEFEND YOURSELF +10
INTERACT WITH ANOTHER PLAYER +10
SUSTAIN A PLAYER INJURY +10

SPOILER: Click to show

{BREAKDOWN}Torchic (150/150) Active
Damaged by (opponent) for (x HP)
Damaged by (action) for (x HP)
Other

Ducklett (120/150) Active
Damaged by (opponent) for (x HP)
Damaged by (HEALING) for (30 HP)
Other

Snubbull (300/300) Active
Damaged by (opponent) for (x HP)
Damaged by (action) for (x HP)
Other

NOONLIGHT RAID: CYCLE 2

you're killing them. you're fucking killing them

The Briar Beast, with its captive rider, continues to grow.

Its branches tangle with the twisted frame of the greenhouse, pulling it apart like many-fingered hands. Strings of creepers arch like giant whiskers from either side, tough as steel, too wild for even a hedge trimmer to trim down. It screams, and CORRUPTION meters flash from every corner of your vision.

The stench of forest beer rises in waves, borne up by heat and haze. The world throbs with pheromone and fantasy.

Then comes the rain.

Flames sputter as Finnegan Fjord, its former master, calls down a RAIN DANCE to extinguish its burning heart. Droplets hiss and sizzle, killing some of the fire in this area. The searing temperatures go from ‘blast furnace’ to ‘sunny day’, and the ember-strewn ground is salted black.

The Briar Beast leaps and lurches in the deluge, as if part of it remembers what it used to be. It joins in the dance, clumsily, and roars its pain as it sees its precious brood ruined at the hands of nonbelievers.

Furrlicity Purrfection added his power to the Briar Beast, and what happens next has a distinctly Gardener flair. From the black soil of the now-extinguished greenhouse sprouts wicked Blackberry Vines, which wrap and twist and tear at their remaining assailants. Berries that stink of bitter liquor ripen and burst, dripping dark acid.

Finnegan Fjord, Tuesday, and orioncayge’s teams take 98 + 20 DMG.
If you used Recoil or Guard, take double
If you used Dodge or were Guarded, take half

Nestled in their newly-formed bed of greenery and slime, the click! sssss sound of little (k)eggs being tapped resonates through the Greenhouse.

Something slick, black, and feline crawls forth from each metallic shell, covered in albumin and juices. They are corrupted beyond recognition, but on six legs they move with the speed of cockroaches, star-shaped tails arched over their backs like scorpion stingers.

As one, marshalled by a single hive mind, the kegglings leap at the players, putting a thousand legs between their mother and those that would hurt her.

GARDEN

The garden has swiftly transformed into a bunker. Tables are tipped and chairs are stacked in tangled walls, bracing against Onix's icy bulk. The coiled construction is further reinforced by woven walls of light from Alice! and Laguna, creating a secondary barrier. Light Screens pulse as shadows collide with them in firework-bright bursts— then fizzle and fade, driven back into the forest.

The Knights of Mythstar have weathered their first threat, and created a defensible position, and as rain sparkles down like tonic water the group finds a moment to catch their breath.

Domino, amanita, inari, Allotta Bambooga, and althaea clamber over or around the barrier, arriving just in time to see Cygnus unveil his work. "Well done," Cygnus says assumptively, oblivious to the details of the combat around him. His attention has been completely focused elsewhere. "It is complete." He wipes his head with a monogrammed handkerchief and steps back to reveal the fruits of his mechanical labor.

The shining silver creation sits on a stand made from reinforced lawn chairs. Three long intake-tubes of fused and hammered metal pipes curl together like triple-stranded DNA, merging into a single, triangular barrel.

Cygnus pulls aside his coat, revealing a bandolier of test tubes, each filled to the brim with metals suspended in brightly colored, non-reactive oils. "Germanium, Americium, and Ytterbium," he says as he pours each of the three ingredients into their respective tubes and seals the caps. "I call it the G.A.Y. beam. And it's the only thing I know of that can fight off corruption."

The G.A.Y. Beam is now active

Each player in the Garden may use the G.A.Y. Beam once during their turn to empower one of their Pokemon with the power of science! It provides a +10 bonus to all attacks and healing, and any max roll on a dice will EXPLODE, allowing you to roll an additional dice afterwards!

A horrid screech interrupts his lecture as the Corrupted Pokemon that the mansion players didn't disable ooze and claw their way into the garden: Mudkip, Grookey, Incineroar, Zorua, Dunsparce, and Gothita.

The creatures collide with the barrier, their blackened bodies sizzling as they bite and claw against the Light Screens, thrashing to get at the Pokemon and trainers on the other side.

Cygnus whirls into action. He grabs the handles of the cannon, but instead of pointing it at any of the oncoming Pokemon, he turns the device towards Alice!’s Mareep and fires.

A narrow, gleaming beam of technicolored energy soaks into Mareep’s fur, and all around can see a new, glowing energy pulsing deep within the Pokemon, beating like a second heart.

“You’re powered up, and those metals aren’t cheap!” Cygnus shouts, “Do as much as you can before it wears off!”

The Moltres Core sits in the grass, crackling as the spark of life inside it is kindled by healing energy from the Knights. What was once a dull smolder is now a gleaming coal, and a popup appears in the UI of anyone nearby.

> Pray or Sacrifice?

But as life returns to the Core, so too does the corruption within it spread. The dark veins around the outside of the burning sphere thicken, pumping poison into the heart of the unborn Moltres.

STAKES

MOLTRES CORE

• If the core is not healed to 100% by next cycle, it will hatch into CORRUPTED MOLTRES and join the fight against the players. The power of the Birchwild Grove will be tainted. All wild Pokémon spawns on the route will become corrupted.
• If the core is healed to 100% by next cycle, ASCENDED MOLTRES will hatch and join the fight on the players' side. If it is defeated for any reason, the power of the Birchwild Grove will be tainted as above.

BRIAR BEAST

• If the Briar Beast is not destroyed by the end of Cycle 3, it will grow to disproportionate size and effectively become indestructible. It will completely overtake the Asper Settlement and the unnamed town will become an overgrown Corrupted Zone crawling with kegglings.
• If the 30 kegglings are not defeated, they will spread across Asper as hostile random encounters.

UPDATED POST TEMPLATE

[div style="opacity:.5;text-align:center;"]CORRUPTION: 0/3 | THREAT: # | INSIGHT: 0 | CURRENT ZONE > MOVING TO[/div][blockquote]
Post here

[spoiler]{BREAKDOWN}
[u]POKEMON 1 SPECIES[/u] (Current/Max HP) Active
Damaged by (opponent) for (x HP)
Damaged by (action) for (x HP)
Other

[u]POKEMON 2 SPECIES[/u] (Current/Max HP) Active
Damaged by (opponent) for (x HP)
Damaged by (action) for (x HP)
Other

[u]POKEMON 3 SPECIES[/u] (Current/Max HP) Active
Damaged by (opponent) for (x HP)
Damaged by (action) for (x HP)
Other
[/blockquote]
[a href=""]Link to Roll[/a]
Total Damage: x to (TARGET NAME)
Total Healing: x to (TARGET NAME)

BRIAR BEAST DAMAGE: 366/10000
KEGGLING SWARM DAMAGE: 0/600
CORRUPTED PKMN DAMAGE: 0/1200
MOLTRES CORE HEALING: 245/1000

ZONES & BATTLE MAP

• This raid is divided into three zones: Greenhouse, Garden, and Mansion.
• As the mansion has been cleared out of Corrupted Pokemon, you may now bypass Zone 2 and move directly between Zones 1 and 3. Players will reach that zone next turn unless they have ESCAPE.
• Players and their Pokemon must be in the same zone.
• Each zone has its own objectives, which may or may not involve mechanical combat. Please see the battle map for details.
• Players who completed the R2D2 Dungeon have a +10 Bonus active due to increased INSIGHT. This applies to all attacks or healing moves.
• All players must roll a D10 at the end of every post. If your result is lower than your current THREAT score, one of your Pokemon is Corrupted and will be unusable for the rest of the dungeon. All players have been assigned a starting Threat score based on team composition and actions taken.
  
  
  SPOILER: Click to show
  {Important: Threat Levels}
  GREENHOUSE
  Finnegan Fjord: 5
  Tuesday: 10
  Furrlicity Purrfection: 6
  manish: 6
  Bronze: 3
  Bergamot Gristleborg: 4
  Vincent: 2
  Sarah Lee: 6
  Fairytale: 5
  orioncayge: 7
  diva: 3
  
  MANSION
  Big Bee: 4
  
  GARDEN
  Alice!: 3
  Laguna: 3
  Yggy Br00ks: 4
  Moon Bunny: 1
  inari: 3
  amanita: 1
  althaea: 2
  Domino: 1
  Allotta Bambooga: 3

ZONE 1: GREENHOUSE Furrlicity Purrfection, Tuesday, Finnegan Fjord, Fairytale, orioncayge, manish, Sarah Lee, Bergamot Gristleborg, diva, Vincent, Bronze SPOILER: Click to show {OBJECTIVES} Defeat the Briar Beast HP: 10,000 Weaknesses/Type: Special Immunity: Fire Destroy Kegglings (30) HP: 600 Weaknesses/Type: None

ZONE 2: MANSION Big Bee SPOILER: Click to show {OBJECTIVES} Move to either the Greenhouse or Garden. As there are no Corrupted Pokemon left in the mansion you may move unobstructed.

ZONE 3: GARDEN C0D13:Cygnus, Yggy Br00ks, Alice!, Laguna, Moon Bunny, Domino, amanita, inari, althaea, Allotta Bambooga SPOILER: Click to show {OBJECTIVES} Heal the Moltres Core via Support actions, Prayer (+20), and Sacrifice (+100) HP: 245/1000 Defeat the Corrupted Pokemon (Mudkip, Grookey, Incineroar, Zorua, Dunsparce, and Gothita) HP: 1200 Use the G.A.Y Beam to empower your or an ally's Pokemon +10 Bonus, Dice Explode (see link) Note: Take additional -10 DMG for each Explosion. Still receives +10 bonus.

ROLLING THREAD | BATTLING GUIDE | TANK | SWEEPER | SUPPORT
R2D2 DUNGEON | SIGNUPS

THIS ROUND WILL CLOSE IN 36 HOURS - 10:00 PM Thursday 11/17 (Tokyo Time)

"CHU-E!" Finn yells, forgetting to use his best friend's username (Furrlicity Purrfection) in the heat of his anger. "What the hell do you think you're doing? STOP BUFFING THE ENEMY."

Alas, the bonds of friendship seem to mean about as little as the bond between Finn and the poor Shinx he'd sacrificed to the KEG. Though the beating core of the BRIAR BEAST seems to struggle against its fate, Finn himself feels little guilt in preparing to bring the creature down. If it was no longer of use to him, it was no longer something that needed to live.

Unfortunately, living proves to be quite a difficult concept for Finn's remaining party, as well. Blackberry vines sprout from the earth and tear at their ankles, and Finn staggers back through the rain-damp nest to avoid being snagged. His Pokemon are not so lucky. Vines force their way into small cracks in Golisopod's shell. They burst in Meowstic's soft fur, the psychic Pokemon yowling in pain. Klefki seems, at first, to be all right, until the foul liquid splashes up to corrode some of its metal.

Health bars flash red. "Shit, shit, shit..."

Finn pulls up his SKILL TREE screen in mid-raid panic, cursing under his breath as his normally helpful EXTRA UI ELEMENTS from the BETA TESTER class clutter his vision. "I don't care about that!" he snaps at the screen, as if it can understand his frustration, and swipes to dismiss the tooltips as he frantically presses buttons.

ARE YOU SURE YOU W...

The prompt doesn't even get the chance to fully form as he mashes ACCEPT.

Health bars turn from red to orange. Klefki jingles its keys, providing a further BUFF to Golisopod before it HEALS itself and the injured bug with another deluge of RAIN DANCE. Orange turns to yellow.

Finn exhales relief.

"Get at 'em, Goli!"

Hissing (whether from pain or anger, we'll never know), the Golisopod executes another SWORDS DANCE before CURLING INTO A DEFENSIVE BALL, rolling toward the BRIAR BEAST with determination. Meowstic darts forth to GUARD her intreped ally as its RAZOR SHELL cuts toward their foe, the bug uncurling to deliver a decisive SLASH. Liquid burns at its shell as it attacks, but Finn's upgrades keep it standing.

Meanwhile, Finn himself is back in his UI: this time on the message screen. The message he sends to Derk_TheJerk is not eloquent.

HLEP NOONLIG HT RAID

INVITE A PLAYER (IC OR OOC) TO THE RAID +10
INTERACT WITH ANOTHER PLAYER +10

SPOILER: Click to show

{BREAKDOWN}
MEOWSTIC (357/500) Active/Guarding
Damaged by BRIAR BEAST for 118 HP
Damaged by ATTACKING for 20 HP

GOLISOPOD (81/200) Active/Guarded
Holding LEFTOVERS (+5HP at round start)
Damaged by BRIAR BEAST for 118 HP
Damaged by ATTACKING for 20 HP
Healed by KLEFKI for 31 HP
Healed by LEFTOVERS for 5 HP

KLEFKI (94/200) Active
Damaged by BRIAR BEAST for 118 HP
Damaged by HEALING for 30 HP
Healed by KLEFKI for 50 HP

As he scrambled over the makeshift wall he realized that he couldn't see manish anywhere around. Had he made the wrong choice? Had he gone in the other direction? Part of him wanted to leave and go check but he couldn't. There were too many Pokemon around now swarming the outside. Maybe he could ask someone if they had seen him. "althaea have you seen a player named Manish here? He's about this tall? Looks terrified of his own shadow?" That was a good enough description right? Probably. He didn't know. All he knew was for some reason this strange guy was handing out G.A.Y. powers. He didn't want to think about that either.

When the battlement started to actually get active. That's when he really started to panic. Everyone else seemed to already know what they were doing and for a moment he struggled with a popup as more of the gooey Pokemon started to throw themselves against the battlement. Hard. Without thinking he smacked the sacrifice button. Only noticing a moment later his Glaceon that he had just gotten dissolving into a puddle of goo and ooze. And... Being... Gone? "FUCK!" Instinctively he looked to see if Manish was around when he screamed that.

But then he started to calm himself just a bit. There were other people who could fight. But his dumb little tepig had at least been slightly spec'd to do healing. He really needed to get better at this game. He was playing like absolute dogshit. "Champignon, heal the egg as much as you can!" The tepig snorted and then snorted again, smoke releasing from it's nose in a consistent stream. It looked strange but it sparkled around the egg. Letting Amanita know that it was at least trying to heal it up a bit. For all the good it would really do them.

INTERACT WITH ANOTHER PLAYER +10

SPOILER: Click to show

{BREAKDOWN}
TEPIG (170) Active
Damaged by (opponent) for (x HP)
Damaged by (action) for (x HP)
Other

GLACEON (150) Active
Damaged by (opponent) for (x HP)
Damaged by (action) for (x HP)
Other

POKEMON 3 SPECIES (Current/Max HP) Active
Damaged by (opponent) for (x HP)
Damaged by (action) for (x HP)
Other

TUESDAY
THREAT LV. 9

She’s no stranger to the feeling of being watched. Mars himself has never been. ’All eyes on you’. This is different, however. This is wrong. This is unsettling, crushing, and impossible to ignore. It’s the same sensation that comes when stepping close to the Precipice Shrine, but twisted and wrong. The Briar Beast is after her, just as it had been before. The Briar Beast wants her dead. The Briar Beast sees her as a threat.

Ding!

TUESDAY
THREAT LV.̴̩̀ ̶͍̓1̶̦̓0̵̲̃

"Oh yeah? I’ll show you a fucking threat."

Are words all she has? Her team has been weakened, two of them already taken by corruption, and soon enough three or four judging by how Orm is struggling with the strange hatchlings and how little damage Ancile is doing to the beast. Her earlier traps and tricks had only managed to stall things. Her blaze of glory had apparently only made the beast stronger. So, what now? What’s the next move? What’s her play? Does she have an ace up her sleeve?

There are many ways to fight a battle, and words… words can be powerful.

Casting the broken hedge trimmer aside as if a broken toy (now useless to her), Tuesday jumps off the wheelbarrow and opens her UI while others distract the Briar Beast. She looks at her contact list, mismatched eyes scanning names to see who is nearby and who isn’t. A message similar to the one Sarah Lee had received a day ago is quickly sent to Lucky Guy, Derk_TheJerk, butterfly, Kath Ulu, Ruby, TheMorningStar, and every single member of her guild – including The Creed’s guild leader, System Admin:Claw herself.

NOONLIGHT RAID. WE NEED BACK UP. COME RN.

”Ancile, guard Finn’s pokémon.”

The command is spoken solemnly just as her UI is closed, and at that moment, her gaze falls upon the beast and all those who have already made it to the dilapidated greenhouse. Finnegan Fjord, orioncayge, Sarah Lee, Bergamot Gristleborg, manish, diva, Fairytale, Vincent, and Bronze There’s a deep breath, and taking her gloves off, Tuesday reaches for a discarded shovel. It begins to turn gold upon contact.

”EVERYONE! LISTEN! THAT THING’S AFTER ME. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT BEING DISTRACTED TO HIT IT AS HARD AS YOU CAN.”

That’s it, then.

Is that her great move?

Gather as many allies as possible, do her part, and hope that together they’ll have enough combined strength to defeat their enemy?

In a battle, sometimes numbers can make all the difference, and yet, so can belief.

That’s the game within the game, isn’t it? PRAY OR SACRIFICE? Worship the shrines. Praise the keg. The part of Mars that long ago renounced all religion is repulsed at the thought, but Tuesday knows that this is an essential part of what UNOVR is, for isn't a shrine one of the things she likes the most about it?

A golden shovel stabs through the scorched and muddied ground.

Her hands clap twice, her eyes close if only for a second, and right there and then, in the middle of this chaotic virtual battlefield, Tuesday whispers a prayer:

"O Precipice. O Abyss. O master of illusions and dreams, bringer of the all-consuming mist… Grant us the strength to defeat our enemies and I swear I’ll sacrifice to you every single juicy Magikarp I catch."

If Tuesday is going to have to pray, only one shrine feels right, and of course, businessman as Mars is, even prayers must be transactional.

When eyes of ruby and sapphire fall upon the greenhouse once more, it is just in time to see her Dragonair be captured by the crawling creatures: overwhelmed by them. They don’t consume Orm. They change him.

She’s running out of pokémon, and running out of pokémon means running out of time.

Loud, even louder than before, Tuesday yells over the sounds of the battle while pointing her golden shovel at the Briar Beast.

"HEY, FUCKER! COME AND GET ME, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! I SWEAR I’LL BURN ALL YOUR CREEPY LITTLE BABIES."

With that, she runs.

Internally, Tuesday promises to herself that she’ll get revenge on Furrlicity Purrfection and all of Round 2 once this is done.

INVITE A PLAYER (IC OR OOC) TO THE RAID +10
INTERACT WITH ANOTHER PLAYER +10

SPOILER: Click to show

{BREAKDOWN}
CRYOGONAL (495/500) Active | GUARDING Finnegan Fjord's Klefki
Damaged by BRIAR BEAST for 118 HP
Damaged by ATTACKING for 10 HP
Healed by DRAGONAIR for 133 HP

DRAGONAIR (42/200) CORRUPTED
Damaged by BRIAR BEAST for 118 HP
Damaged by ATTACKING for 30 HP

WHIRLIPEDE (190/200) CORRUPTED