The Everworld: Life After Death.

Her relation to the Everworld was complicated at best, but she knew nearly nobody else who had gone in as many times as she had and successfully rescued her Pokémon. Of course there were a few. Some people who were setting up this panel had clearly gone in multiple times.

But today, she wasn't here as a speaker. She was here to help set up the panel itself as part of her job. And quite frankly, she was excited that she got to listen into it.

She had already written out several descriptions of her experiences for the panel, giving them a few talking points, but the rest was up to them. Helped set up the stage, even provided her drawings of Seta for the cause.

Abby knew plenty well that she was no public speaker, not even close. But that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the panel for what it was worth. The discussions alone would be interesting, maybe she'd even learn something new.

But before the panel could really start, she'd roll out of the stage room to grab a quick bottle of water. Or, perhaps some coffee.

Stopping right outside the stage, she paused seeing the Kiosk. There still weren't too many people here yet, and she had no idea when she might have another chance with the huge crowds for all the panels.

With a soft hum, she pulled out her phone to scan it, claiming the Seer stamp as her own before swiftly moving to grab her coffee and head back.

She was so excited for this panel.

Abby took in a deep breath as she rolled into the Artist Corner, smile a mile wide.

These people were her people.

All the cosplayers, artists, and other people just enjoying it all. It was so fun seeing people dressed up as every character imaginable, the beautiful prints painted from memory, the stunning figurines people had custom made for sale. It was all simply stunning.

She rolled politely up to the next booth after just scanning the Painter Stamp from the Kiosk right next to it, seeing a set of prints that were lovely aesthetic paintings of the shrines in their routes, the pastel colors weaving in with the background, the beautiful background work. It was simply stunning. She didn't even think twice, she needed to hang these up in her new place. Her phone was quickly tucked away, an extremely wide smile on her face.

"I'll take that pack, please!" She swiftly grabbed her purse, paying for the works of art before attempting to them into the backpack hanging off the chair. Storage was rough, already filled with so many other things. There just wasn't room anymore!

"Hmm, this won't do." Abby adjusted her bags, pulling out the fairly large Bergmite plush to just sit on her lap instead, leaving plenty of room in the backpack. "There, better. You can stay there Glacia," She mumbled to herself, gently patting the Bergmite with a smile on her face.

Just before leaving the Artist Corner to go grab a snack, she couldn't help but glance around at the cosplayers again. It looked like there was a whole corner with a group dedicated to cosplaying several high-profile players! It caught her off guard, but she supposed people like orioncayge certainly stood out enough to make a cultural impact on the game like that.

All of a sudden, before she could roll away, her cheeks turned a soft shade of red at the sight of the cosplayer that just came out of the crowd. Wearing a cute blue wig, magical girl outfit, and wielding a wooden spoon like the Round 2 murder weapon, and-

"Oh fuck," Abigaelle mumbled to herself, staring. She was cosplaying her. That lady was cosplaying Laguna. She supposed she had made enough of an impact, such an obvious and admittedly cute design, but it still blindsided her completely. It was an almost surreal experience but she couldn't stop herself from immediately rolling over towards her. Her cheeks darkened considerably, but she just smiled widely.

"Uh, h-hey! Can I take a picture with you, ma'am?" Of course, she didn't need to tell her that she was in fact, Laguna. But Abby was certainly going to treasure this selfie for the longest time.

Maybe putting up with the crowds was worth it after all.

Abby was ready to fire right back, to tease him even further about the Cayge Train being a completely dumb and silly metaphor. She was ready to dive straight into it all, to tease back and forth like they always did. Only for a look of confusion to spread across her face as he began to frown.

And then he outright declared that if she wanted to dance, they'd dance. He'd find a way.

She just stared up at him for a few seconds, unsure what to say, do, or even what to think. Only for her face to slowly but surely become more and more pink. Her cheeks flushed deeply, even to the tips of her ears becoming red. Dancing. The mere idea of being able to actually dance with him, regardless of whatever shenanigans he had in mind to do so, hard her flustered beyond belief almost immediately.

"I- But- Orion!" She groaned, rubbing at her cheeks with one hand, all before just shifting about and putting far more force into her teasing punch this time, slamming it into his shoulder

She had such emotional whiplash, it was hard to think. Joy, sadness, embarrassment, all in the span of under a minute. It was a lot to take in so quickly all of a sudden. But she wouldn't complain. Not too loudly, anyways. It was far better than being stressed, that was for sure. The idea of actually being taken dancing... It was a nice one.

"You can't do that! I mean, come on. My chair takes so much space on a dance floor and- [tangent="Holy fuck"]Saint ciboire,[/tangent] you're serious, aren't you? Like-" She shifted her wheelchair back and forth for a second, spinning back and forth slightly. "This isn't exactly like, some super mobile device here. What's the plan, oh great McGuyver, huh?"

NICKNAME

JIGGLYPUFF	GENDER	NORMAL/FAIRY TYPE	MET AT
BASIC	100 HP	ATK: 20	RARITY (+5)

BASIC MOVES 1-10 Sweet Kiss, Disarming Voice, Disable, Charm, Sing, Pound, Copycat, Defense Curl, Echoed Voice, Covet

OTHER INFORMATION: None

NICKNAME

VENIPEDE	GENDER	BUG/POISON TYPE	MET AT
BASIC	100 HP	ATK: 1d20	RARITY (+5)

BASIC MOVES 1-10 Poison Sting, Defense Curl, Rollout, Protect

OTHER INFORMATION: None

TABBY

BLACK CALICO MAGIKARP	MALE	WATER TYPE	MET AT
BASIC	100 HP	ATK: 20	RARITY (+15)

BASIC MOVES 1-10 Splash EVERWORLD MOVES Very Rare Rarity.

OTHER INFORMATION: Tabby is a fighter, born and simple. They dream of getting stronger, fighting the strongest foes, and overcoming impossible odds. While they might be one of the strongest Magikarp alive, they are still a Magikarp.

NICKNAME

CETODDLE	GENDER	ICE TYPE	MET AT
BASIC	100 HP	ATK: 20	RARITY (+5)

BASIC MOVES 1-10 Tackle, Powder Snow, Growl, Echoed Voice

OTHER INFORMATION: None

NICKNAME

FRIGBAX	GENDER	DRAGON/ICE TYPE	MET AT
BASIC	00 HP	ATK: 20	RARITY (+5)

BASIC MOVES 1-10 Tackle, Leer, Dragon Tail, Icy Wind

OTHER INFORMATION: None

NICKNAME

MR MIME	GENDER	PSYCHIC/FAIRY TYPE	MET AT
CLASS	100 HP	ATK: 20	RARITY (+0)

BASIC MOVES 1-10 Quick Guard, Wide Guard, Power Swap, Guard Swap, Pound, Copycat, Baton Pass, Encore.

OTHER INFORMATION: None

He wanted to find the stamp first, which certainly made sense. But just knowing that he'd check the app and see her right there, had her freeze a bit almost instantly. Her smile slowly fading just a little bit by bit.

She slowly pulled up her own phone to see the app herself as if to confirm her suspicion and sure enough, Cayge_Match was right next to her. Abby had hoped to reveal it herself when she was ready... but technology was forcing her hands. He knew. He had to know. She glanced up at him, back down at her phone, then finally over at the kiosk, letting out a shaky, flustered laugh.

"R-right! Uh, not super picky about where we sit. Considering I am..." She didn't really need to say it, but she just began to roll over towards the kiosk to scan the Gardener Stamp with the app herself. It was quickly detected, and put into the app in the silly collectable inventory.

Turning back from the kiosk, she gently rolled aside finding the absolute closest seats for her to pause nearby.

She had to do this. She couldn't keep delaying the inevitable. It would only make things worse. He was a good guy, he'd understand, but she didn't want to do that to him. Not if she could help it.

Abigaelle let out a deep breath, eyes closing for a moment as she just tucked her phone back into her purse.

"... Orion," She forced a smile to her face, but her nerves were quite obvious once more. Her words caught in her throat, struggling for a brief moment before finally just forcing them out. "I- h-heh. I'm guessing you know, don't you?"

She'd reach up, brushing a strand of hair behind her ears before continuing. "I had- well, I was planning to tell you! Just... It's kind of a lot. I mean, you look exactly like you do in the game! It caught me off guard! And then I-"

Abby paused again, slowly looking away with yet another sigh. "... Laguna is far more confident than I am."

"Oh, uh- yeah. Sort of a new hire?" She'd mumble out, adjusting the lanyard around her neck. "But it's been great so far. Bryan's a good guy." As he motioned for her to go first, she pivoted her chair and gently turned and wheeled out of the elevator. She'd turn to face him again once she left.

He wanted to meet his friends from in the game and her eyes grew wide with worry. What could she do? What even was the appropriate response here? Pretend she didn't realize it was him, somehow? She couldn't do that, she was a terrible liar. He'd inevitably message Laguna on the app, or even just look at it to find her, and then they'd be right back where she started. And the whole situation would be super embarrassing.

He was probably expecting to dance with Laguna when he met with her. That's what she always did in-game, after all.

...She would have loved to dance.

She was startled from her anxiety-driven thoughts as he asked her name, and her face suddenly took on a soft blush. Internally struggling, and failing, to come up with a proper social answer for this whole dilemma.

"I- Uh, Miss Gauthier." She'd reply, a very heavy Québécois accent as she spoke her name. "But, you can call Abigaelle. A-and um, I was heading that way too! You know, a place to relax is nice at these events. I-"

She ends up pausing, letting out a long, awkward sigh and brushing her hair back out of her face. "Sorry. I, umm, admit I don't get out much, just moved here. I'm not used to so many people. Figured the Lounge would be more relaxing, a moment to rest while I get my head together." She rolled her wheelchair gently down the hall, absolutely planning to stick with Orion unless he wanted to go his own way. If they separated and met up later, the whole encounter would just be even more flustering.

"But, you know, I've been wanting to meet my friends too." She speaks softly, almost as if she's not entirely sure she wants to take the conversation down this route. "I apologize for being so, well, flustered and nervous. I promise I'm not usually like this. You never see anyone in a wheelchair in-game, you know? So I'm... a little scared to meet people if that makes sense."

For just meeting him in person, and from his perspective a total stranger, it was almost certainly a wild fear to just drop onto someone like that. And yet, she couldn't help but just spill her thoughts out to him. She trusted him.

Abigaelle had never been at such a loss for words before. There he was, Orion, standing before her clear as day. She didn't have the AR glasses on, nor was she looking through the app.

He was the genuine real deal.

And he had no idea who she was. Why would he? It's not like she ever told anyone about who she really was. It didn't matter in the game. She never even told someone her real name, and she was able to suppress her accent more easily in her head.

In real life, it was a different matter.

She stared straight ahead, struggling not to turn and stare at him instead. This was hell. Orion was the same person. He looked the exact same. Maybe he didn't act the same, but compared to her situation, it was like a kick to the gut. She wasn't the only one to come up with a new look in the game, but right now the only world that mattered was that little, silent elevator.

She almost didn't even realize he spoke for a few seconds, lost in her own little world of insecurities and stress.

"Oh! Uh-" She finally turned to glance at him, briefly glancing up and locking eyes with him before deciding that was a terrible idea. She swiftly looked away, down at his feet. "I, umm-" She let out a shaky breath, before ending up letting out just an awkward sigh. She had to talk to him at some point. She couldn't avoid it.

Nor did she really want to avoid him either.

"Sorry, I'm usually better at this." She'd finally begin, still looking away. Her accent was incredibly thick at first, only for it to slowly fade as she forced herself to suppress it. "I, uh, am really looking forward to learning more about Ostella, but- You know, I kind of want to see all the art stalls."

She finally chuckles nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "I debated trying to have my own booth, but- well, I already work here, so, uh, I'd rather enjoy myself than work the whole time."

She'd grow quiet again, her eyes finally flickering up to look at his as she spoke. "And, what about you?"

The elevator door had reached the next floor, dinging softly, and she immediately felt awkward about trapping him into a conversation. As the doors opened, her hands reached for her wheels on instinct, only to grow confused. Should she leave the elevator first? Should he? In her wheelchair, there wasn't really room for them both to walk out together.

Abigaelle hated awkward moments like this. Her chair always made socializing complicated.

"... Oh! Uh- After you?" She spoke, not even entirely sure herself.