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This is her fourth time back in Everworld, and this time she almost feels numb.

It wasn't like the first time where she sacrificed Glacia. She couldn't really understand their words, she couldn't hear what they were saying. But they were willing, and she fought tooth and nail to climb those frozen platforms.

It wasn't like the second trip either. She went out with Marina, refusing to let the Pokemon heroically sacrifice herself like her first all alone. Bouncing headfirst into danger, knowing there would be no way back asides from a trial where she ended up having to create a whole new body from clay while freezing and nearly drowning.

And it certainly wasn't like the third trip where she rescued a Magikarp from the afterlife. She's affectionately grown to call them Tabby, and they're just as feisty as she imagined they would be.

No, this was different from all three past cases.

This wasn't just rescuing her favorite pokemon, or diving into the afterlife because that's what she had to do.

She was rescuing her baby. Glacia called her Momma, and it stuck into her heart like an arrow. After the raid, Laguna didn't even log off. There was no break or celebration party of a victory well fought for. No, as soon as the danger was gone and she watched Glacia's literal spirit fade from Moltres's flames, she went to the Everworld.

"Seta," Laguna spoke, unable to look into the figure's face this time. Or rather, their lack of a face. "Glacia's waiting for me. I promised I would come for her. She- She might have been willing to sacrifice herself, but I'm the one who pulled the trigger."

She'd pause, ever so slowly looking up, dried tears remaining on her face. "Seta... I'm tired of this. Without her sacrifice, we might have lost everything. Moltres lost to corruption, the entire settlement gone, but... I feel selfish. I don't even know if it's painful, I don't know what it's like to be a spirit. I'm sorry I-"

Her hands at her side unconsciously clenched together, tensing up as she paused to take a breath. "Is it wrong of me, to want to convince her to be less heroic? Less selfless? More afraid of death? I don't even know how to handle this, I just- I guess, I'm just scared that sometimes it might be the only answer, and that reality scares me. I know it's not your job to answer my questions, but I don't expect you to say a word."

"Just, please," Tears began to fall once more, despite her best efforts to remain strong. "Take me to my baby. I'll keep her safe, I swear it."

Kneeling down in the water, she'd carefully wrap her arms around any Magikarp that swam in front of her. They were too weak to get out of the way, but if they squirmed in her arms and clearly attempted to fight her holding them, she'd let them go immediately.

The one that wanted to leave wouldn't fight her grip. Or at least, so she hoped. The one that wanted to leave her would embrace her touch, knowing what it was for. A chance to escape, a chance to keep fighting another day and become something greater. There was only one problem with this plan. There were literal thousands, and she sure hope she didn't have to do this for very long. The one that wanted her would come to her, try and find its way to her. But she couldn't even guess which one. They all looked at her occasionally, all kept swimming. It was just, worth a shot.

And so she kneeled and wrapped her arms around another. It squirmed and was let loose. "Hey, sorry little guy," She spoke softly, a soft grin on her face as she tried again.

Another squirmed and let loose.

And another.

Her arms were getting tired, and her eyes were heavy. She had lost track of how long she had done this, and the boredom has begun to set in.

And yet, she kept trying. It had to work at some point, right? One of these Magikarp wanted to go home, it was such a gut instinct, and it was so hard to interpret. This game was great at giving her weird instinctual feelings that weren't easily translated. This VR technology was something else, but she'd never complain about it. Not so long as it gave her legs. Despite her confusion she continued to work, growing more determined by the minute.

It was silent here, asides from the sounds of water swirling in circles. Quiet splashes, Magikarp content to just enjoy their afterlife free of danger and strife. Free from the dangers of the world. But one must not want to be here, she could feel it within her soul.

One of these Magikarps wanted to leave.

Scale against scale, fin against fin, it had her wonder. How would one even leave if they wanted to? With every other carp going in some random direction, was it strong enough to push past the others? Was it able to see her? So many questions, so few answers. At the very least, there was no danger. No rushing chill to freeze her to the bone, no platforms to leap to. Just, tranquility. A place of rest for a Pokemon that deserved so much more than life gave them. Was she doing something wrong by taking one from here? It seemed like heaven for them, why leave?

One of them must have a fighting spirit.

It was the only thing she could think of. One of them must want to fight, must have that desire to grow, to overcome, to change their fate. They must be furious at their fate, and passionate enough to change it. Perhaps they desired to become that dragon at the top of the waterfall and only needed that helping hand to guide them.

Without a word, she slowly stood up to her feet, and carefully stepped into the waters.

Laguna admittedly had no idea what @alotta was talking about. Did something happen to them? They weren't exactly speaking English and-

Her vision went white.

She was pretty sure it didn't hurt as badly as it would have in real life, perhaps some safety feature of the Worldscreen VR. But she could barely focus as the world slowly came back into focus. She hadn't felt something like that since- Well, she'd rather not dwell on it.

In fact, there was no time to focus on the pain, not as she made the sacrifice and prayer.

The egg beats in a heartbeat, and it's all she can do to shield her eyes from the explosion of rainbow shrapnel and flame.

She struggles to look up at the Moltres as it unfurled its wings, blazing infernos of raw untapped potential and power. This was different. This wasn't Groudon granting them his power like the last raid, this was Moltres themselves coming out of their shell to fight, and the tension in the air was real. Awe overwhelmed her as she imagined if this is what it would be like to stand before a god. If there was one thing UNOVR did right, it made the Legendary Pokemon feel absolutely deific.

And then Moltres began to speak. Laguna's first instinct was to immediately scream vile profanities at the god, but that wouldn't do them any good. Their lives meant so little. Just a sacrifice, like any other. They only cared about fighting, and for a brief moment, she wanted to snap.

And then she saw the pyramid of pale flame, burning brightly as it formed from behind her wings and the tears immediately began to pour.

She seemed so beautiful. Her spirit burned so brightly, passionately, ready to continue the fight no matter what. She was surrounded by a few other spirits, but Glacia was the only one she cared about. Never had she looked so powerful, more capable, more everything. Her prayer had come true. May her spirit join and protect the land, burning just as bright. She should have known better than to think Glacia would ever just give up on the fight.

Laguna swore she could hear Bergmite crying out amidst the chaos, even as Moltres and the other spirits flew towards the greenhouse, burning heat blazing a path towards victory.

Thinking about it, maybe conflict wasn't so bad after all.

"She always was the brightest young soul," Roxanne spoke solemnly and Laguna immediately nodded her head. It was odd, considering Roxanne was younger than Glacia, but oh well. She'd figure out these dynamics later.

Almost immediately, she quickly bounded up the Onix's back and gripped onto the harness that had wrapped around a few of their stones as her Ride Pokemon.

"I don't know about you two," Laguna spoke, the fear, the apprehension, all audible in her voice. But now there was something more powerful in it too. Hope. They couldn't let Glacia have all the fun. "But it's time to let Seta know we're sending him a few visitors tonight! Time to raise some hell." Laguna shouted a battle cry and her two remaining Pokemon charged into battle with her, speeding down the road with an intense rush.

It was chaos on the other side of the battlefield, and everyone was playing their part. Moltres and the spirits struck the corrupted beast, and players began to follow suit. But one thing she wasn't prepared for was all the recognizable NPCs. Bunya, Chadwick, Gothic Bethany, and even some people's Rivals. They were out here risking their lives all the same, and she couldn't help but smile. Everyone was here. Everyone was giving their all. After being so focused on herself, on her Pokemon, and her sacrifice, it felt refreshing. Nobody was alone. Everyone was in this together, and that sense of camaraderie had her soul swell. Even her French friend h0lyn3v1l finally arrived!

"Content que tu aies pu venir, mon ami!" Laguna shouted from atop her Onix as it sped straight into the mess of the fight and right past him. Her face was a mess, covered in blood, bruises, and tears, but she hardly even thought to care about anything like that right now. "Sors d'ici et va botter des culs!" And just like that, she sped past like some fury in the night, with no chance for an extended conversation.

Laguna was much more focused on a bigger threat. Those storm clouds were bad news, and she had a plan for those too. "Sir Hail! Sheer Cold! Send those storm clouds packing with a cold front! Roxanne, Dragon Breath again! Blow them all away with the might of your fury!"

"As you command." "Of course, Auntie."

Laguna slid down the back of the Onix as it let loose a terrifying gust. A strong breeze picked up, blowing past as her Cryogonal formed such an intense freezing wind. Explosions of light and color echoed as the G.A.Y. Beam exploded, bright flames burning up above, Kegglings shredded by the force of everyone working together. In fact, it was only now that she realized people's Pokemon were no longer corrupted, and a smile of intense relief washed over her. Everything would be fine in time.

But for now, it was time to keep fighting with every breath, until the very last. After all, the battle might be close to being won, but the war against corruption was only beginning.

Maybe being a Knight of Mythstar wouldn't be so bad. She could see the appeal.

REACT IN FEAR/AWE TO THE APPEARANCE OF MOLTRES +10
SAY A ONE-LINER +10
INTERACT WITH ANOTHER PLAYER +10
REALIZE YOU ARE NOT ALONE +10

SPOILER: Click to show

{BREAKDOWN}Bergmite 490/500 Sacrificed
Damaged by (opponent) for N/A
Damaged by (action) for N/A


Cryogonal 480/500 Active
Damaged by (opponent) for N/A
Damaged by (action) for (10 HP)
Disrupting the Lightning

Onix 480/500 Active
Damaged by (opponent) for N/A
Damaged by (action) for (10 HP)
Disrupting the Lightning

Laguna was crashed into by Allotta Bambooga, and it was her first instinct to blush at the sight of the large-chested woman. She must look like a mess, red cheeks, her nose bruising, and blood still dripping from it. "H-hey!" She shouted in response, "Careful! You don't want blood on you too." She didn't even want to think about how virtual blood worked, really.

Shadows collided with Light Screens, and she couldn't help but feel at least a little proud of their work at setting up defenses. It wouldn't last forever, however. The Corrupted Pokemon would be here in no time at all, and she was anxiously anticipating the worst. They could use all the help they could get. Idly wondering where her French friend went, she sent h0lyn3v1l a quick message.

"On a besoin d'aide dans le jardin ! Le raid est terrifiant ! Vous êtes occupés?"

Cygnus revealed his G.A.Y Beam, and even she couldn't help but giggle at the sound of it. Oh, developers. They knew what they were doing and totally had fun with that. And sure enough as if on queue, the corrupted pokemon slam into the barrier and it's go time. Laguna grabbed the handles of the cannon and immediately fired the technicolor G.A.Y Beam at her Bergmite, a rainbow-like glow pulsing.

"Alright gang, let's squash some-" Her words instantly died in her throat as she saw the UI popup invade her vision.

Pray or Sacrifice.

Her whole body tensed, suddenly looking at the egg. The Moltres Core. It wasn't a shrine, but it was the very presence of a legendary Pokemon. And it was hurting. The corruption was leaking into it, trying to take over. It was in pain.

Her Pokemon were valiantly defending their charges, Onix had its frozen frame wrapped around Cygnus to protect, and ended up becoming part of the barrier. Cryogonal's Light Screens prove instrumental in defending against the incoming threat.

But her Bergmite stood staring at the Moltres Core. Its tv-static ice spines flicker with soft light in the glow of the core and the G.A.Y. energy.

"... No." It was the only thing Laguna could croak out at first. She knew exactly what was going on inside Glacia's head. That Pokemon had already sacrificed herself once to save them all during the High Tide Raid, and she had fought tooth and nail to bring her back. She had never been in so much pain before in her life, and she swore she'd never let Glacia come into harm's way again.

And yet the Bergmite continued to stare, regardless of their trainer's command. "Berg-"

"I s-said no! No, you're not doing this! I don't care, forget what I said. I said to protect it with your life, but I didn't mean-"

"Berg! Bergmite!" Glacia retorted, now staring down their trainer. Their stubborn expression refused to budge.

Laguna clenched her fist as she spoke, trying to get it through to them. They were stubborn, rash, and above all, weren't even a year old. They deserved better. But Bergmite kept shouting, kept raising its voice, over and over. And she didn't understand them. Growing frustrated beyond all belief, Laguna finally opened up her UI and slammed her first down on one specific setting.

Poke-Speech: Enabled.

"I'm telling you! You're not-"

"I'll be okay Momma, I know you'll come for me."

Laguna's heart instantly broke. It shattered into a million pieces that she could never recover from. Tears instantly began spilling down her bruised and bloody face. "I, wha-"

"I can do this! I've done it before! It's not as scary the second time. I want to help!" Her voice was so sweet, the voice of a loving child, so full of love and endlessly optimistic hope.

Laguna couldn't find it in her to say no, not anymore. She just stood there, broken. The tears continued to pour down her cheeks, heartbroken.

"Madame, I hate to intrude, but the forces of darkness are ever approaching. If we seek to combat this threat, we must strike now before this blight chokes out all life.." A gentlemanly voice suddenly spoke from behind her, startling her as she turned around.

Sir Hail floated behind, its presence now seemingly much more refined with an actual voice to pair with its nature. She wanted to just sob, to scream at Glacia to tell her to not even think about it. But Sir Hail was right, there wasn't any time for this. "I- we, but- Okay."

"But we're going out in style," Laguna spoke up trying to be as confident as possible, and all three of her Pokemon nodded. "Sir Hail, Protect inari 's Chikorita, and lay down an Ice Beam barrage of epic proportions."

"Yes, Ma'am. One frozen laser show, as commanded." He spun off in a flash, beams of ice firing off into the crowd of Corrupted Pokemon as it attempted to draw the heat away from the Chikorita healing the core.

"Roxanne!" Laguna called out, and the massive Onix tilted her head down to look at their trainer.

"Yes, Auntie?" She spoke with an almost sultry tone, smooth and seductive naturally. It was such a strange fit for the Onix.

What happened to her Pokemon, that they all treated her like some extended family? She'd have to ask them questions about it later when their life wasn't in danger. "Protect althaea 's Gothita and Dragon Breath the enemy! Show them we mean business."

The Onix roared in response, body coiling and uncoiling as it stretched, a terrifying gust attempted to shred into the corrupted Pokemon.

"And Glacia-" She paused, tearful eyes glancing down at the Bergmite. Standing tall and proud, practically beaming. "Go and fight while I pray. Ice Ball. I'll call for you." The Bergmite nodded their head, quickly sliding between their legs, and began flinging balls of ice into the crowd.

For her sake, Laguna shuddered as she stared at the core. It took every ounce of her willpower to actually do this. She didn't want to. But what choice did she have? Glacia was willing, she wanted to. She didn't bother hiding the tears that spilled down her broken face as she began.

"Moltres, Hallowed be thy Flame.

May thine own Roaring Judgment purge the world of this Corruption.

Let your Phoenix Wings spread and become Anew, let not our Sacrifices be in vain."

"Glacia!" Laguna suddenly called out, the Bergmite quickly slipping and sliding back through the crowd to clamber up to her side. She immediately picked up the Bergmite, arms shaking from pure fear at what she was about to do.

"Let this Heroic Soul empower you, and join you in Spirit to protect the land. May it burn just as bright."

Her hand shook as she reached out for the Sacrifice button, eventually freezing. She just, couldn't do it. Glacia just nuzzled against the arm that was carrying her, understanding and as sweet as ever, a soft voice coming from her. "It's okay Momma. I'll be waiting for you. I love you."

Her eyes squeezed shut, unable to even look at herself do it as she slammed the Sacrifice Button and felt the glowing presence in her arm fade.

"... Please, we need you."

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

SPOILER: Click to show

{BREAKDOWN}Bergmite 490/500 Sacrificed
Damaged by (opponent) for N/A
Damaged by (action) for (10 HP)
SACRIFICE

Cryogonal 490/500 Active
Damaged by (opponent) for N/A
Damaged by (action) for (10 HP)
Guarding inari 's Chikorita

Onix 490/500 Active
Damaged by (opponent) for N/A
Damaged by (action) for (10 HP)
Guarding althaea 's Gothita