playthough From Everland to Reborn ~ A fairytale themed run [Last defeated: Adrienn]

[Q-Jei 800]

I don’t know why, but I expected it a bit. Good job @Candy for having Aprilfooled us! And good luck with your exams, Vanilla rocks whatever happens

Edited April 2, 2018 by Q-Jei

[Candy 1688]

From Everland to Reborn ~ Episode 35

Upon returning to the back of the Grand Gates, I noted something off.

“Ah, it’s great to be back,” Adrienn stretched and walked with a fast pace, taking care not to bump into the gigantic rotating gear.

When Xe had exited the gates to the south, all of us that remained looked at each other. Perhaps this would be the first and last time I’d see Radomus looking confused. The motive of confusion, of course, was the same for all of us.

“The Grand Gates! They’re open!” Cain exclaimed.

“I thought the gates had been inoperational for years,” I said, raising an eyebrow without singling anyone out.

“Believe me, Vanilla. It is true,” Radomus nodded. “There is something strange going on.”

“Yeah, I can confirm that hat-guy is telling the truth,” Cain agreed.

Given that there were two witnesses, I chose to believe this to be the case. Anyone who had seen the visions down in the cave, though, probably had at least one clue as to what could be happening.

In any case, the lot of us followed Adrienn’s footsteps and exited towards North Obsidia Ward. The tank-top jerk was still standing on the staircase, xyr look frozen upon xyr surroundings.

“What’s this?” xe asked.

We thought xe was asking about the staircase’s damaged state, though it was curious for xem to ask that since the bombing had taken place days ago.

“It’s the Grand Staircase. Team Meteor blew it a little but Ame’s sending some people to repair it,” Cain explained.

“No. Where am I?” xe now asked.

“We’re in Reborn City. I thought you were familiar with the place?” I said without an ounce of care.

When I said this though, Adrienn’s face became as pale as mine. Xe started pacing around, trying to make sense of whatever was bugging xem. I heard xem mumbling some unintelligible words, but then xe stopped in place and looked back at us.

“T-That’s right, I’ve lived in Reborn City my whole life,” Adrienn blinked hard. “But this… this isn’t it. This can’t be Reborn.”

“The place is exactly as we left it about an hour ago,” Cain said in a low voice, as though e was afraid to disturb Adrienn further.

“That can’t be… I mean, where are the ports? Where is the center? And the lake… it’s… it’s brown!”

I grabbed adrienn by the shoulders and made xem stop pacing.

“Get a hold on yourself,” I told xem. “Don’t go crazy before we find out what is going on. We know some weird stuff is happening here.”

Adrienn, who by now had turned into something like a shell of a human being, at least managed to meet my eyes.

“... Alright.”

I let go of xem, and Radomus carried on with the detective work, even though he was wearing a police officer hat and was still carrying El on his shoulder.

“So, Adrienn. If I recapitulate what you said, the lake as you remember it was more properly colored. Is that right?”

“Not just ‘more properly’, but it was a dazzling azurine color. That’s why we named it Azurine, after all,” xe explained. “This cascade, Celestine Cascade pours into a river that is connected to the lake… and at the corner of Azurine Lake, there’s a beautiful port and my Gym.”

Adrienn seemed to have entered a peaceful daydream until the last thought brought xyr despair back. Xe jumped in xyr place and exclaimed: “My Gym!”, before running off in the southward direction.

Given xyr state of mind, Radomus deemed it wise for us to follow xem for now. We ran after tank-top jerk for what felt like a marathon, until we entered Coral Ward.

Of course. I had already forgotten my Reborn City geography, but now I remembered that Coral Ward was where the inabilitated port was. I quickly sensed that Adrienn would probably faint at the sight, if xyr Gym was indeed that Gym.

We found xem staring, as expected, at the Coral Gym.

“I… This is a joke, right? I must be dreaming.”

Adrienn lowered xyr eyes and clenched xyr fists on xyr sides.

“Were this but a dream, it would be all the easier,” Radomus shook his head. “Judging by your reaction, I can assume you were not expecting to find this building in such a condition. Is this correct?”

“When I left this morning, it was perfectly clean and well maintained,” Adrienn muttered. “Ugh, I don’t feel well.”

Radomus helped Adrienn sit down on a nearby rock, and Cain went into the nearby Pokemon Center to fetch xem a cup of water.

“None of this… this whole city is wrong.”

“This might be hard to assimilate, but it is regardless information you ought to know,” Radomus said. “Reborn City as I know it suffered a series of earthquakes that destroyed most of the city. The condition was much worse than now, I assure you. Ame, leading the restoration project, designated some buildings to remain untouched, and one such building was this Gym. Perhaps she believed its original owner, that is, if I am not wrong, you, would eventually come to take care of it.”

By now, Adrienn didn’t have anymore energy to be shocked but his expression was blank. Xe took the glass of water Cain brought xem and looked at Radomus with knitted eyebrows.

“Earthquakes? What earthquakes are you speaking of?”

“Unheard of to you, as I suspected,” Radomus nodded. “Now, one more piece of information you must know is that, though you earlier mentioned the Gym being in pristine condition when you left it ‘this morning’, but I have known this Gym to be just like you have seen it for years now.”

“Now, will you cut to the results of your investigation?” I asked, my temper almost about to snap. I couldn’t stand watching the dude playing the same game over again.

“There’s no need for haste. In any case, I believe there is only one conclusion that can be reached: Adrienn, you have been frozen in time.”

Even though the conclusion I expected had been the same as the one Radomus said, the idea still seemed as though it were, for lack of a better word, out of a fairytale.

Radomus also supported his conclusion with the fact that the current Grand Gates had been inoperational for about a decade, until only now when we exited the cave with Adrienn, even though Adrienn had always remembered them to be open. Even with all this evidence to back up the case, the idea, as expected, was met with disbelief.

“How does that make any sense?” Cain asked, since Adrienn wasn’t in the spirits to ask xemself. “I mean, if Adrienn was stuck down in time down in the cave, shouldn’t we have been as well? Yet we managed to escape.”

“A logical question, but you forget that we had something Adrienn lacked.”

“The Amethyst Pendant and Ruby Ring,” I muttered to myself.

“Yes, the keys,” Radomus echoed my words. “If what sleepyhead here says is true, then there’s no telling what kind of energy that meteorite might be emitting. It is possible that it has the power to distort time.”

Though I hardly wanted to do so, I recalled the four visions I had while I was down there. I was sure Radomus had had at least one too, but I didn’t want to publicly ask the others whether they had had the same experience.

“So I was down there for a decade, and didn’t even realize it,” Adrienn finally spoke again.

Yes, pretty much, I thought but did not say.

“I am sorry, but the evidence points to this. It must be a lot to take in.”

“My my, this will definitely make a juicy story tomorrow on the show,” Gardevoir commented. “If I may ask, Adrienn, what do you plan on doing now?”

“Well, first I’ll take some time off, but I’d like to repair my Gym. I also want to fix the whole city. This can’t remain like this. I admit the whole thing has hit me hard, but only seeing the city back to its original form will cure me of this nightmare.”

“Fixing the whole city will be no easy task for a pair of hands~ I’d say you should talk to Ame in the Grand Hall, so two pairs of hands can work on it.”

“Alright, I’ll do that,” xe said. “But if you could leave me alone for a while, I’d really appreciate it.”

“Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need help,” Radomus offered, and Adrienn thanked him for the gesture.

“Now, let’s head back to the castle, shall we~?” Gardevoir smiled. “Hang on tight!”

“On where?” Cain asked but we all teleported before anyone gave im an answer.

 

We made it just outside the castle, but way too high on the z-axis. As a result, we fell down from about 1 meter high.

“Not my fault~ We would’ve had a smooth landing inside the castle, if purple boy had hung on tight as I instructed,” Gardevoir said, pointing her lips.

“Well, I thought I’d get kicked if I even tried to hold on to Vanilla, even worse if it’s tightly~”

“You have a working brain,” I complemented.

Radomus opened the door for us, and the first thing that picked my curiosity were the female voices engaged in conversation inside, for we had supposedly left Luna all alone. Upon entering, Radomus swiftly excused himself by walking straight ahead in long strides. I didn’t think much of that, because I guessed he was going to lock El down in a basement or something before he woke up.

The conversation stopped when it appeared that Luna caught a glimpse of Radomus carrying none other than her birth father.

“Ah, Master… that person,” I heard Luna gasp.

“Don’t worry Luna. He’s asleep,” Radomus replied. “Gardevoir is safe. Go meet her at the entrance.”

“Oh, that is wonderful news,” Luna said. She stood up so quickly that her chair made a loud noise, and her frantic footsteps approached us. When she saw Gardevoir, she smiled widely and gently embraced her.

“How I’ve missed you,” she said. “Please don’t go disappearing like that again.”

“I’m sorry I worried you,” Gardevoir replied. “But what’s a girl without a little excitement in her life, hm? Besides, I had my gallade-in-shining-armor come all the way down to rescue me!”

“Master is so wonderful, and I am pleased to be in service to him.”

Just then, Luna’s conversation buddy slowly crept into the small entrance ante-foyer. Nilla, who was flying next to me, brightened up and charged across the small room in a split second. However, unlike her, I was not pleased with whom I saw.

“H-hello, Vanilla and Cain,” Shelly said, while getting her hair all messed up with Nilla flying about and nuzzling her.

“Shelly? What in the world are you doing here?” I said, perhaps louder than I expected. “You should be back in the cove with Saphira.”

Shelly shrunk her neck like a turtle does when it’s been startled.

“Um, I’m sorry. I- Charlotte told me that, um, if I wanted to… that I should c-come here,” Shelly said, with visible trouble breathing and inability to meet my eyes.

“I thought Charlotte could be a guide to you, but I guess I was wrong,” I shook my head sideways. Of course, all those orphaned sisters had only themselves on their minds. What damn would they give about anyone else’s safety?

“Now calm down a little, Vanilla, ‘kay?” Cain told me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s hear Shelly speak. If you keep grumbling, she’ll be too intimidated to speak, right?”

“Fine.”

Both we and the other two who just happened to be there, directed our attention to the trembling bookworm.

“Um, actually, I wanted t-to come,” Shelly repeated the sentence in a more direct way, but with a barely audible voice. “Charlotte h-helped me make up my mind, um, and… and I d-decided to come.”

“Shelly, I have Heather’s Ruby Ring with me, and Radomus is probably retrieving the Amethyst Pendant from El as we speak. I agreed with Saphira’s proposition of carrying the Ring, because it meant I would be able to keep using Team Meteor as a punching bag for my pokemon,” I explained. “But that means I’m a constant target to them as well, and I am not foolish enough to make the same mistake twice.”

“What mistake are you talking about?” Cain asked.

Of course, that was left deliberately unclear. I didn’t want to relive that time when blood bathed everything around me, and I also didn’t want to imply that Shelly could be a blind spot of weakness to me, just like Pikachu had been. That would be a lie.

 

A reply to the question, however, was luckily unnecessary, since Radomus came to join our congregation. He had now changed out of his makeshift police costume, and was now wearing a green hat on his head.

“My gallade-in-shining-armor,” Gardevoir exclaimed.

“I thank you, Master, for rescuing my dear friend,” Luna said.

“Now now, there wasn’t much rescuing involved in this occasion, but I am pretty pleased with the result,” Radomus said, and then, noticing Shelly, addressed her. “Oh so we have a new visitor?”

“Yes, Master. She is Shelly, the Lapis Gym Leader,” Luna explained. “She came to our doorstep while you were out. I was scared to open the door to a possible foe, but even through the door I could hear she was not someone to be afraid of.”

Shelly seemed a little off-put by Luna’s remark, but I had to admit that nothing but the truth had been spoken.

“She’s also one who helped the orphanage Gym Leaders escape~” Gardevoir joined in with her scoops. “And she’s Johto Region’s bug-type Gym Leader, Bugsy’s sister! It’s but a shame that the siblings don’t get along very well.”

Cal’s self-pitying talk about his brother crept on the back of my mind. When I heard Cal telling me about Shelly back at Pyrous mountain, I was too concerned with what him hurting Shelly and simply getting over his battle so I could battle Kiki, but in hindsight… a Cal-Shelly friendship does look quite odd until you add what Gardevoir just said to the equation. I assume that the unlikely friendship might’ve formed thanks to both having sibling issues. Not that it mattered, since I won’t be seeing Cal for a while at least, and I hoped it would remain that way.

“Well, nice to meet you,” Radomus said and shook Shelly’s hand. “I have someone to introduce to all of you, and hope you will be courteous to him.”

Radomus took off the green small hat he had, which now I noticed it had been shaped like a gallade’s comb, and swapped it for a much larger one with a light wine color which matched his clothes.

“Where do you even get those hats from,” Cain said without amusement.

“There’s always the right hat for the right job, haven’t I said it before?” Radomus waved his staff, which he had obviously obtained while I wasn’t paying attention. “Now, come in and introduce yourself, Elias.”

 

Needless to say, everyone was shocked speechless when the gray-eyed supposed enemy entered the room dressed in a black suit and his collar adorned with a bow tie. Along with Radomus, he was the only other person who looked as though they thought nothing was amiss.

“Master, what is the meaning of this?” Luna asked. It appeared that the prank was bewildering even for the girl who plays roles all day long.

“This is Elias, the estate’s new butler. He will be a good counselor for our challengers here present.”

“I am pleased to serve,” Elias, or El, nodded in agreement. “Please do let me know if there is anything I can help you with.”

Luna made a gesture as though she wanted to say something, but was physically unable to.

“My, Luna dear. You look as if you’d seen a ghost,” Radomus said, though I wasn’t sure if it was with genuine concern.

“I don’t like the feeling of that person,” Luna complained and took a step back to hang tightly on Gardevoir.

“No joke,” I said in a loud voice so everyone could hear. “I thought you said you couldn’t brainwash people.”

Radomus shook his head. How audacious for him to do so.

“I believe you are not recalling properly,” he said with a smirk. “I asked how I would do such a thing, but never said I couldn’t do it.”

That was it. I had reached my limit of patience. I’d had enough of this jerk, who had all along hidden his true self under the pretence of a noble gentleman with odd mannerisms.

I jumped to just in front of him and grabbed him by the collar. Evidently, Radomus was much taller than I was, so he had to bend over to look at me on eye-level. For once, the face looking at me seemed as though he had been taken by surprise.

“You get on my nerves. Do you realize?” I asked, but the question wasn’t meant to be answered. “Your stupid hats, your enigmatic language… but that is not even what annoys me the most. It's like all of us are pieces in your game of chess, yet I can’t find a way to escape.”

Radomus closed his eyes, and brought back his arrogant smirk.

“Life itself is like a game of chess. The player with the best strategy is destined to win, dear.”

“Stop it. What right do you have to play us like this?”

“The same could be asked to you or anyone really,” Radomus opened his eyes. “What right do you have to seek success when it angers someone else? Do we even care for such a right?”

I couldn’t think of a response; however I did not let go of the man’s collar despite being persuaded by Cain. Radomus never broke eye contact with me, but since I remained silent, closed his eyes once more and carried on talking.

“My way to capture success has always been to be one step ahead of life. I like to know all the possibilities before irrevocable mistakes happen, so I can choose the action that befits the situation. Granted, I cannot always predict the future correctly,” Here Radomus took a rather long pause, as though he were deep in thought. “But for the most part, once you know how certain people are, you have a good chance of checkmate. Can you tell me that my way is incorrect?”

He opened his eyes once again, and though he didn’t say it with words, I could feel as though he were asking me another question - one which resonated in me like nothing had ever done. Do you not live in the same way?

Instead of an answer, I lowered my eyes and softened my grip on his shirt. My arms flung down as two pendulums would. I felt every fiber of my body relax so much that even lifting a limb would feel like a workout. It reminded me of the sensation I would get from working out almost all night under King’s supervision, but in this case it was worse because the pain of sore muscles was replaced with a sense of hollowness that engulfed all of me.

Radomus fixed his shirt’s collar and cleared his throat.

“Sorry about that, where were we? Oh yes, now I can finally do my duty of battling you as a Gym leader.”

Shelly slowly approached me, but Cain spoke before her.

“Do you feel like you can battle now? I can go first if you’d like,” he said. I guessed my expression was an open box to my emotional state. I shrugged off the concern and tightened my facial muscles. Regardless of how dizzy I was, at least I knew what my ultimate aim was.

 

Since it was my Gym challenge, the others went off upstairs, while I had to enter the large gates of the first floor into a room with a human-sized chess board. The rules, as Radomus and Gardevoir explained, were pretty simple. I had to place the chess pieces in such a way that the opponent’s king were in check, taking infinite turns while the opponent’s pieces could not be moved. I had been assigned a tutor to learn chess after school for a while, so I did know how each piece moved; there was no need for me to go into the side room and ask brainwashed El about the rules. However, I had always been more of a physical type, and hence my tutor ended up giving up on me. I was glad that I didn’t have to, say, face Radomus in a game of chess.

After the chess puzzles that seemed never to end, I was finally in a large room, again set like a chess board, but this time with all pieces cleanly ordered on each side.

“Go Vanilla, kick Radomus’ butt~” Cain cheered from the right side.

“Um, do your b-best,” Shelly said in a low voice.

“Master is a renowned connoisseur of chess. I’m sure his strategy and this chessboard field will pave his way to victory,” Luna said. Her expression and intonation conveyed that she was still displeased with me for not wanting to search for Gardevoir in the beginning and, perhaps, that bit where I said she could be returned to El for all I cared.

“Now, now, there’s no need for deep prophecy,” Radomus said. “After all, battles are one of those things even I cannot accurately predict.”

“Ah, and Vanilla, do stay for a minute after your Gym battle,” Gardevoir remembered something and added at the last minute. “I have a question to ask you, of course~”

“Fine,” I said, and got ready for action.

Spoiler

I had forgotten to check the monitor to extract the Field Effect read-out, but judging on Q of Hearts being much more confident than usual, I sent her in. It turned out that her ability, Queenly Majesty boosted her attacks’ power. When she had a super-effective move, like Play Rough against Radomus’ Malamar, she took them out with great ease, much like a Queen would the opponent’s Pawns. However, much like Luna had predicted, the field worked greatly to Radomus’ advantage. Anna was taken out in one hit thanks to Strength moving a chess piece and it crashing into her with momentum. The same could be said for Wolfie, and this even though Wolfie had no weakness against Rock-type attacks. Gossip Gardevoir was an especially formidable foe, and she alone took out two of my pokemon with one shot each. Luckily she went down to Cinderella’s Phantom Force attack.

 

“I find myself in checkmate,” Radomus said as Gossip Gardevoir hauled herself back to the reserved spot next to her ‘master’. He then gave her an energy drink, which brought her health back, though perhaps he should have given her half the drink so she would be more calm.

“Great work both of you~ That was a battle worthy of broadcast,” Gardevoir smiled. “What? You don’t think we lack hidden cameras recording every bit of juicy activity, do you?”

“I guess it’s to be expected,” Cain scratched is head. “Can’t really be helped when your pokemon is the famous Gossip Gardevoir.”

“That’s right~ and here,” Gardevoir used her telekinetic powers to move Radomus’ badge and TM from the palms of his hands to me. “Now you can proudly say that you beat my dear Master.”

The TM disk contained Trick Room, which seemed like it could come in handy, though I felt that my team’s speed was pretty decent, save for perhaps my two water types.

“Indeed, that was a great battle on both sides. Vanilla battled with more skill than I expected,” Luna said, with perhaps a hint of sarcasm. “I look forward to engaging you in battle myself, for I assume you already know I am a Gym leader of Reborn.”

Gardevoir giggled at her friend, though I wasn’t sure whether she knew why Luna was at odds with me.

“Dear Luna, will you be facing Vanilla here, or will you in Iolia Valley?”

“Oh, I would much prefer it to have it in the valley, if it may,” Luna replied. “The valley’s stones and shadows make such a splendid blackground for a battle. After all, where better than the valley of the shadow of death to stage a challenge upon the most beautiful type: darkness.”

Just at that precise moment, the lights of the castle all went out. Knowing how dramatic and extravagant Radomus was, I at first believed it to be a staged act. In fact, I wasn’t the only one who thought the same, but Radomus and Luna denied it being so.

“Well, I believe the best thing to do is to quit this place,” Radomus said. “Let us meet up outside by the entrance.”

We affirmed in a loud voice, since nods could not be seen.

Cain, Luna and Shelly took the 2nd floor exit to the right, while I had to go through all the chessboard rooms down to the foyer. Nilla led my way diligently by making her firefly tail glow a little.

On my way back, though, I stopped for a minute. Nilla noticed I wasn’t following, and turned to join me.

“Something is not right,” I told her. It was a bad habit of mine to keep talking to pokemon as though they could understand me. “Where’s that religious nut, Elias?”

Nilla buzzed silently, as I tried to form a plan. However, I had to admit that I was not as great a seer as Radomus was. He had the gift to turn everything into his chess game, but I had nothing but improvisation to rely on.

While I braced myself for what could be a trap, I heard some rustling.

“Who’s there,” I asked, but no one replied.

Nilla’s tail glow wasn’t enough to see every corner of the room, so I couldn’t even see the shadow. If only my Anna were not fainted, I could have had a better torch.

Waiting for the possible enemy to reveal themselves was a waste of time, since I heard no more rustling. I told Nilla to stay close to me, and we walked together to the antefoyer, where the action was waiting for us.

 

VANILLA RATES: REBORN CHARACTERS

Spoiler

• Adrienn (+1): 3/10 Xe said xe wanted to improve not only xyr Gym, but the whole of Reborn City, which I have to admit, is a remarkable thought.
• Shelly (-1): 6/10 Irresponsible in coming over to danger.
• Radomus (-1): 1/10 He looked like just an oddball, but turns out he's a jerk.
• Saphira and Charlotte each receive -1 points for allowing Shelly to come all the way here.

 

TEAM RECAP

Spoiler

Ehehe~ 7,000 views and counting Donut worry, my frens, I'll continue this journey until the end, even if it takes me years!

 

QUICK LINK TO NEXT EPISODE

[GenEric 315]

is that a mimikyu over there?

what a coincidence, my run is at radomus's gym too

and i suppose vanilla with her yandere attitude is my fave

[Candy 1688]

1 hour ago, ArcherEric said:

is that a mimikyu over there?

what a coincidence, my run is at radomus's gym too

and i suppose vanilla with her yandere attitude is my fave

there's going to be a mimikyu event in the near future, which might or might not last past the original mirage tower mimikyu event~

hehe actually Vanilla already beat Luna and is at Agate... but details, details!

[GenEric 315]

3 minutes ago, Candy said:

there's going to be a mimikyu event in the near future, which might or might not last past the original mirage tower mimikyu event~

hehe actually Vanilla already beat Luna and is at Agate... but details, details!

i have a feeling shelly is gonna see vanilla as her senpai

[seki108 1226]

58 minutes ago, Candy said:

“Well, I thought I’d get kicked if I even tried to hold on to Vanilla, even worse if it’s tightly~”

“You have a working brain,” I complemented.

At least Cain knows not to get touchy with a Tsun Tsun until she turns  Dere Dere.  

 

 

I definitely think you nail the Rad-king's character here with his original interactions with Vanilla.  Harsh truths are hard to swallow, Vanilla

[J-Awesome_One 1328]

It's back and WOW! What a way for it to come back. I like the fact that Shelly has returned. (Whenever I get back to my James run, someone else shall be joining the group for a long period of time but I ain't spoiling who) Anyways, nice job. And I feel as though Radomus has just beaten the hell out of Vanilla with just his words. Haha.

[Candy 1688]

1 minute ago, J-Awesome_One said:

It's back and WOW! What a way for it to come back. I like the fact that Shelly has returned. (Whenever I get back to my James run, someone else shall be joining the group for a long period of time but I ain't spoiling who) Anyways, nice job. And I feel as though Radomus has just beaten the hell out of Vanilla with just his words. Haha.

Yup no April Fools anymore hehe~

Shelly had to come back for longer to focus on her character development, and also to give Vanilla a reason to go to 7th street but more on that in the next episode!

Ermagerd I wanna know and also kudos to you for keeping up with so many runs at once (my brain can do one thing at a time rip).

And yes! That's exactly what Radomus did. I'm glad my poor writing still conveyed that

[SilverAngelus 926]

Great job Candy-sama, I really liked episode! <3

I look forward to seeing this Mimikyu event! 

(I wonder if Vanilla will learn a little bit of compassion by accepting this lonely Pokemon?)

[Candy 1688]

3 hours ago, SilverHelio said:

Great job Candy-sama, I really liked episode! <3

I look forward to seeing this Mimikyu event! 

(I wonder if Vanilla will learn a little bit of compassion by accepting this lonely Pokemon?)

Hehe~ I think it'll be a pretty noice event, ngl

Vanilla-chan is getting gradually softer tho (if yaw paid close attention, Cain placed a hand on her shoulder and didn't slap it away lol)

Thx for readingu~

[J-Awesome_One 1328]

So I think it's far enough into the adventure to ask this. Who is Vanilla closest to? Like who would she consider 1 of her good friends from the people she's met so far.

[Candy 1688]

1 hour ago, J-Awesome_One said:

So I think it's far enough into the adventure to ask this. Who is Vanilla closest to? Like who would she consider 1 of her good friends from the people she's met so far.

Good question. She doesn't have any particular character that is her "friend" per say (if you don't count her cousin Candy), but she does have a few that she expresses slightly more tenderness/care towards. While the late Pikachu managed to reach "partner" status in Vanilla's mind, no human characters at this point have reached that level of trust.

Anyhow, Shelly is one of the top recipients of Vanilla's care (because she feels subconscious guilt at having treated her poorly without knowing her background, and part of her kinda sees her like an apprentice). After that, I think Charlotte (who just prior to the last episode had the highest rating), then Cain and Victoria. Though Victoria's rating is stagnant because we won't see her again anytime soon, Cain's rating might be on the rise. She's getting used to his "lecherous" ways, and seeing that below that is a caring and rather mature person.

[Candy 1688]

From Everland to Reborn ~ Episode 36

As I suspected, something was happening, and it was none other than El’s doing. He was reclining on a wall, and even in the dull light that Nilla’s tail glow offered, I could see that he was wearing an enigmatic smirk. I could easily see Radomus superimposed onto him.

“As they say, ‘checkmate’,” El said, standing straight. “But surely you are not surprised? Of course I should not have remained under the swine’s spell for long.”

Indeed. I knew playing with one’s enemy like Radomus did was stupid, but I couldn’t help but wonder, is this also part of Radomus’ plan? Did he know this would happen, and still went ahead and did it? If so… then why?

As though El had read my mind, or maybe he happened to form the same questions in his head, he shook his head and asked.

“And yet, why, knowing this would be the case, should he allow me into his estate?” he paced to the left and stopped. “Perhaps he thought he had brainwashed me as thoroughly as he did my daughter.”

“You know what? I’m starting to believe that too,” I shrugged. “However, I still dislike you more than I do Radomus, so don’t think I’m going to join your stupid cult.”

“There is nothing stupid about glorifying He who must be glorified. As long as Luna remains with blasphemous wretches like you, she will never find the light.”

“I’d believe it was better to remain under Radomus’ spell than to wake up and return to your original brainwashed self.”

“Insolent! Yes, insolent is the word. For Solaris has told me all I needed to know about your impudent meddling with Team Meteor,” El said. “I shall not permit you to interfere with their divine purpose.”

Had he not mentioned Team Meteor, perhaps El would have remained the creepy middle-aged man he had been all along in my mind. However, now things were different. He was no longer a brainwashed religious nut, or a brainless parent who can’t understand his daughter’s rejection of him.

He was my enemy.

“If you are Solaris acquaintance, tell him that I am still looking forward for his head to roll,” I said. Too bad the darkness was such that El could not see my bloodthirsty expression.

El was still not impressed by my words, however. Without a word, he clapped his hands once to summon two Team Meteor grunts, who joined us from behind me.

“We will bring the Ruins below the filthy city to its original glory. To anyone who opposes this divine purpose, judgement shall befall.”

He approached me with quick steps, and I retreated, only to bump into one of the grunts, who caught both my arms.

“Take off your filthy hands off me,” I said, and engaged my foot around his ankle and pulled it so it made both of us trip. I stood up, but El and the other grunt were there waiting for me- only that they (or I) didn’t count on Nilla stepping in too. Nilla bit El’s hand, and made him shout, unsurprisingly without foul language, and to take a step back.

Right then, I felt as though something brushed past my leg, which made me flinch. I didn’t know what it was, but the other grunt behind me started shrieking as though she were in pain. In the darkness, I could not see a thing, especially with Nilla still fighting El and moving her tail in all directions. The thought that it could be a ghost made my heart freeze in trepidation, but I had little time to think about it since now I was engaged in a physical fight against the male grunt.

However, the three-on-three(?) fight was cut short when a huge monster bulged in with a large thud. He quickly took care of the two grunts, who were smashed onto the floor and fell unconscious. Nilla finally released El and came flying back to me, so I could see that the monster was Cain’s nidoking. His trainer followed him and entered the ante-foyer.

“Vanilla, they caught Luna and Shelly,” Cain informed me.

“They should’ve captured you as well,” Elias grumbled, as he tended to his wound.

“Yeah well, I don’t go down without a fight, or at least some sweet talk first~”

“What is the meaning of this El?” I asked. “You wanted Luna. Why did you kidnap Shelly too?”

“My orders were simply to remove any possible threats to the mission, but I guess Team Meteor is not half as competent as I supposed,” the robed man sighed. “This shall change under my guidance, however.”

“You know you are in a worse position, right?” I barked. “Had you stuck to your original plan of capturing Luna alone, you might have had one less pursuer.”

“I will have no pursuers,” El laughed. “For I will fight both of you right now. Do not underestimate my power- my abilities are far superior to the ditto with which you struggled.”

“No, that won’t happen. I know that Vanilla’s pokemon are tired from the battle she just had,” Cain said confidently. “That’s why I will fight you while she leaves this place.”

Instead of a reply, El just laughed with a mocking tone.

“I won’t be match for you, but I’m sure I can make a diversion in this mystical darkness,” Cain said, and then added an afterthought. “After all, it’s better with the lights off.”

“Your lecherous implications will not distract me,” El said, as he sent out a pokemon I could not recognize in the dark and the confusion. Cain commanded his nidoking to attack, and shouted for me to leave. However, El, as expected, blocked my way.

“Don’t believe it’ll be so easy,” he said but just as he said this, he shouted in pain out of nowhere.

I wasn’t even touching him, so I had not a clue as to whatever could be wrong with him. Whatever it was, he moved out of the way for a couple of seconds, which was enough for me to slip through the doors. I heard El raging, but no longer in pain, as I shut the door behind me.

 

“Don’t worry, Nilla,” I told the pokemon who had just helped me fight in the dark. “We’ll save your trainer. If only I knew where she was taken.”

I walked into the maze, only to be found escaping by a Meteor grunt… only that his face totally gave off that he was not a real grunt.

“Radomus, what in the world are you doing now?” I asked.

I approached him casually, and once I was in close enough distance, I sent a punch flying directly to the center of his face. However, Radomus managed the impossible and dodged my attack. I had to take a step forward in order not to lose my balance.

“I knew you would try that when you found me,” he smirked. “You must be mad about the spell on El breaking.”

“Of course! You’ve purposefully put us in danger.”

I tried to punch him again, but he also predicted me. How in the world was he doing this?

“That was also expected. Please don’t try to punch me, for I can be of help to you.”

“In what way? And tell me, why should I trust you now?”

“Because you have no choice,” Radomus said and waved for me to walk with him.

We peaked from a corner of the labyrinth, and saw that indeed there were Meteor grunts looking for me, or maybe they got lost in the labyrinth themselves. I could’ve fought them, but my team had yet to be healed.

“I managed to fool them wearing this costume,” he said with much amusement. “Indeed it is always wise to choose the right hat for the job.”

“I don’t have a Meteor grunt costume, and I’ll refrain from asking how the hell you obtained one.”

“You do well not to, though I agree it almost makes me look suspicious. Now follow me, I have a plan.”

“I hope it’s nothing outrageous.”

I followed Radomus to another part of the labyrinth - as it was to be expected, the man knew his maze like the palm of his hand… or so I thought.

“As you saw, Elias may portray himself as a holy man, but actually Team Meteor is not the only shady dealings he has,” he said when we, disappointingly, reached a dead end.

“He is the enemy, and I don’t care whether he has anymore shady dealings.”

Radomus laughed.

“Well, it might do you well to study your enemy, or you will not know where he is planning to take his prisoners,” he said. “I do have a hunch on where Luna and Shelly will be taken to, but for reasons of my own, I must make myself scarce.”

“A mystery, as always,” I grumbled.

“I promise the mystery will not remain a mystery forever,” he said. “Anyway, I suspect they will be taken to 7th Street in Reborn City. Perhaps you will need the aid of someone who is well versed with the more back-alley dealings. Would you happen to know a gang member of sorts?”

A smug face popped on the back of my mind. Aqua gang leader, Archer.

“Hell no, I don’t know anyone of the sort,” I replied.

“I do know that the Magma gang has their headquarters in North Obsidia. Perhaps they might be of help to you.”

“Alright, I think I can deal with that.”

“Now, I beseech you allow me to keep this Amethyst Pendant for a bit,” Radomus said and took out Anna’s pendant from his chest pocket. “I once heard a story about these ‘keys’ being purchased from a traveling merchant, and I’m curious to know who that might have been.”

I doubted for a moment about letting this unreadable, unpredictable lunatic keep one of the four keys Team Meteor is after. However, it was maybe a good idea to keep the keys in separate hands, for the impossible could indeed happen and I might be captured. It would be playing into the enemy’s hands if I ended up supplying two keys at the same time.

“Don’t dare lose it or give it to Team Meteor,” I said with a low voice. “If I find out you betrayed me, I’ll hunt you down to the ends of this planet.”

“Do not worry,” Radomus replied. “I might have said this before, but nothing is black and white, or light and dark. This applied to Elias, me, and maybe even you. Wrong is sometimes right. In is often out. And sometimes, up may be the only way down.”

Radomus stuck a hand into the maze’s wall. Perhaps there was a hidden button or lever of sorts, because the wall that marked a dead end morphed into a staircase.

“Adieu, and good luck,” Radomus nodded and disappeared without a trace. I guessed he was aided by Gardevoir in her pokeball.

I sighed. By now I felt that nothing Radomus did could surprise me, though perhaps that would be a naive thought.

“Let’s go find the stupid Magma gang then,” I told Nilla, who buzzed and struck a pose.

 

North Obsidia Ward had quite a few buildings, but not many alleyways. By the time I found one, I knew it had to be the one.

The place was guarded, like it had been for Aqua gang, by a couple of young gang members. It was a little narrower than Aqua gang’s had been, but also much more hidden away from people’s eyes, since it was located behind a building on the corner of North Obsidia.

“Hey you, what are you doing here?” one of the Magma members asked me.

“I’ve come to ask about a place called 7th street,” I replied.

I figured I should first try being courteous to withdraw information, but if they didn’t accede, I could open their mouths by force.

“Why would we tell information like that to an Aqua gang member?”

“You have your own way of access, so go use that. You have no reason to ask us ours.”

I batted my eyes, for there seemed to be some miscommunication.

“Me, an Aqua gang member? Who is defaming my name like this?”

“Don’t lie. Whatever you’re plotting, we aren’t saying a single word about 7th street to you.”

“You’re Vanilla, the recently recruited albino girl,” the guy crossed his arms. “We know this information from none other than the leader of Aqua gang, Archer himself, so don’t even try dissuade us.”

“Even if you renounced Aqua gang now, you’re tainted. You're not welcome here so go away.”

The other Magma gang members took notice of me and joined the two entrance guards. They all sent out fire type pokemon, who really were not going to give me a chance. I could have easily taken out the first two, but duplicate that number and add their pokemon, and it was plain simple to see that it was wisest to leave.

 

“That piece of scum asked for it,” I whispered under my breath, and with long strides headed over to Lapis Ward’s Aqua gang hideout.

I was planning to kick the two in the entrance in the head, so I could sneak in while they recovered from the impact. Then, I could push him off the edge, which if I remembered correctly, had a pool of water. Perfectly for drowning him in.

However, that was not what happened.

Upon entering the hideout, I found no one at the entrance, and instead a puddle of water rested on the floor. I wondered whether they had gone off to do some evil elsewhere and turned to leave, when I heard Archer and some others’ voices at the end of the alleyway. They were here.

It only took one step forward in the right direction to realize that I had fallen directly into their trap.

The puddle of water moved and in a split second it shot long icy spears which stopped inches from my neck. I was trapped in a cage of ice.

Soon after this, a panpour ran out of the shadows and slipped through the icy bars and climbed up to tie my hands behind my back. I tried slapping the pesky monkey away, but since I couldn’t see anything, the little rascal managed to do his job properly. As though it wanted to make a fool of me even further, he climbed up until he reached the top of my head, and jumped off as he purposefully kicking my forehead.

I saw Nilla trying to helping me, but it wasn’t five seconds since she started bumping into the ice in hopes of breaking it, did the poor firefly get caught in a wave of psychic powers that prevented her movements. The culprit, who was using psychic on Nilla, soon showed himself by walking out from behind of a box.

“A slowbro,” I gritted my teeth. “How about you show yourselves, Aqua gang?”

“How did you like our show, Eterna?” Archer said, walking over from the end of the alleyway, just as I had predicted. “We thought of how best to impress you with our moves. Hope we didn’t disappoint.”

“Shut your mouth and get me out of here,” I barked.

“My, why are you so angry? It was you who didn’t have enough foresight to realize we’d be expecting you sooner or later,” Archer shrugged. “After all, we have way too much information that you might appreciate.”

I felt as though my boiling anger could melt the ice that surrounded me.

“Why did you tell that lie to the Magma gang? You know I have no relations with your stinky group of good-for-nothings.”

“We figured we should take preventive measures. It would be troublesome if you joined Magma and fought us. I don’t know about your pokemon battling skills but you definitely don’t lack in fist fights.”

“Damn you Radomus,” I grumbled. That man was always being a pain in the neck, and now it seemed as though I had a replica standing in front of me.

Archer asked what I had said, but I shook my head.

“Tell me, what do you want? What do I have to do to get out of this cage?”

Archer’s face relaxed into a smile.

“Easy,” he said. “We'd like you to help us get rid of the Magma gang now and for all.”

It was a rather unpleasant thought to have to fight people who were not my enemies alongside my real enemies. However, I was willing to buy it.

Three of Archer’s underlings and a walrein who had been hiding up till now showed themselves and commanded the slowking to let Nilla go and the walrein to break the ice. However, Archer did not untie my hands, saying that it was another preventive measure.

 

We all headed to the Magma gang hideout, and the fourth Aqua gang member joined us on the way. He told me that they had developed a system where there would always be someone down in North Obsidia Ward watching in case I appeared. That was how they were able to prepare themselves to immobilize me.

“We know you’re a sneaky fast fighter,” the guy said. “Razzy told us the details.”

When we entered the Magma gang hideout, the gang members looked at me with an extra layer of hatred. Not surprising, since I had but half-an-hour ago told them that I wasn’t part of Aqua.

“Today, one of our gangs will cease to exist,” Archer announced. “I wonder whose it’ll be.”

While Archer’s four underlings took on the four members from Magma, Archer and I sneaked in further.

“How cowardly of you to come unannounced,” the leader, whose name was Maxwell, spat to the ground. “You’re the new recruit, ain’t you? Were you checking us out when you last came?”

“Think whatever you want, for you’re nothing more than a means to an end for me,” I replied.

Maxwell was not pleased with my answer. Together with his last gang member, he took Archer and me two-on-two on a pokemon battle.

Though it was evident that fire users were in a disadvantage against the leader of Aqua gang, they still held their ground by strengthening their fire and weakening our water with Maxwell’s ninetales’ Drought. The strategy was good, and perhaps Archer would have lost the battle, had it not been for my Wolfie and Prince, who took down the fire types with rocks and earth in no time.

Maxwell was furious, but he did not use his clenched fist for anything other than to contain his anger. He knew when to admit defeat, and for that I respected him.

“We’ve lost, Magma gang. Let us disperse,” he said, and all of them left us alone in the alleyway.

 

When their enemy was gone, the Aqua gang rejoiced.

“Good work, team,” Archer said as he patted everyone’s backs. “And you too, Eterna. I knew you would be an asset for us.”

“Now I hope you’ll untie my hands and tell me where I can find this street called 7th street.”

“But of course,” Archer said. “Let me tell you about 7th street first, so that you might be dissuaded from punching my nose when I untie you.”

“Fine.”

“As you might’ve noticed, 7th street isn’t on the map. That's because it’s a well-hidden black market, and its access is restricted,” Archer explained. “The only entrance we know of is at the intersection of Dahlia and 3rd. I’ll contact the receptionist ahead of time so she’ll know to let you in.”

As promised, Archer untied my hands, and I took no moment to think before sending a speedy punch into his jaw.

“I should’ve expected that,” he said, as he wobbled backwards and adjusted his jaw.

“That’s for the stupid trick you pulled back at your hideout,” I said. “Now we’re even. Hope never to see you again.”

“See you around,” Archer said as Nilla and I exited the now-exiled Magma gang hideout.

 

VANILLA RATES: REBORN CHARACTERS

Spoiler

• El (-1): -1/10 Not only a religious nut, also part of Team Meteor and a disrespectful creep.
• Cain (+1): 7/10 Demonstrated bravery in helping me get away while he remained behind. Hope El doesn't treat him poorly.
• Archer (+1): 3/10 As bad as it makes me feel, I must admit that he's leading his gang pretty well, despite his cop origins.

Credit to J-Awesome-kun who gave me le idea of Nilla doing a hecc'n attacc on El.

 

QUICK LINK TO NEXT EPISODE

[J-Awesome_One 1328]

I gave her that idea almost exactly a month ago. Surprised you remembered. xD But yay! More of this stuff! Sooo I like how you handled El compared to my idea. Probably better that way. And awww. She's like Cain more and more as a friend. Or that's how I take it. Haha. Great job as always. Now, I shall go back to what I was doing which was writing up my Episode for "My Awesome Pokemon Adventure."

[GenEric 315]

shelly is gonna be surprised that nilla has become a bloodthirsty monster

[seki108 1226]

10 hours ago, Candy said:

Credit to J-Awesome-kun who gave me le idea of Nilla doing a hecc'n attacc on El.

Dear lord you two, tone it down.  You'll have PETA raiding the site with that kind of brutality on display.         Nilla and not-Pikachu for MVP's this time, since Kidoking has kind of hogged the spotlight in the past.

 

 

A cunning move by Archer that might have backfired if Magma had a bit more forsight........though we wouldn't have gotten to see Vanilla kick ass while still tied up,so it all evens out.  Magma for life!  Probably an awkward time there, especially convincing her pokemon not to free her/attack everyone, since they probably heard/guessed Archer wasn't an ally.

 

I wonder when Vanilla will snap from getting jerked around from those in the know?

[J-Awesome_One 1328]

Wait... Did NO ONE from the Magma Gang question why 1 of the Aqua Gang members had their hands tied up? I mean I know they hate each other but you'd think they'd question it once. Haha.

[GenEric 315]

vanilla’s ability is iron fist

[Candy 1688]

11 hours ago, seki108 said:

Dear lord you two, tone it down.  You'll have PETA raiding the site with that kind of brutality on display.         Nilla and not-Pikachu for MVP's this time, since Kidoking has kind of hogged the spotlight in the past.

 

 

A cunning move by Archer that might have backfired if Magma had a bit more forsight........though we wouldn't have gotten to see Vanilla kick ass while still tied up,so it all evens out.  Magma for life!  Probably an awkward time there, especially convincing her pokemon not to free her/attack everyone, since they probably heard/guessed Archer wasn't an ally.

 

I wonder when Vanilla will snap from getting jerked around from those in the know?

Pls don't call PETA, promise no Illumise or *ahem* other pokemon and/or hoomans were not harmed in the process. We used ketchup for blood! xD

I usually choose Aqua gang to join, so I joined without thinking much... but afterwards I was like "crap, Vanilla would never join a gang just like that rip ;_;" (which is where that last Vanilla v Archer episode came out from) yet you need to get directions for 7th street from the leader, and for some reason going into the Magma gang and asking Maxwell felt just too easy  

 

That said, I also kinda rushed the 2-on-2 decisive battle because I hadn't originally planned to do this and didn't write down how the heccles the battle went which I think I'll revisit when I go through it once I finish the run (this is as first-draft as it can get). In my mind I had Nilla-chan helping Vanilla choose the pokemon given she's been with Vanilla long enough to remember the names and pokeballs... And Vanilla thinking of cutting the rope with her pokemon if Archer defaults on his promise. I don't think her pokemon would've thought of going against Vanilla's commands of attacking the opponents, since they don't know Archer is who commanded a simipour to tie her up - for all they know, she is fighting two Magma gang mates, so if I were them I would've thought the red guys were the ones who tied her up and Archer (aka blue hooman fighting on same side as their trainer) is actually trying to help her out of the situation lul. Ironic. 

 

She did admit that Wolfie, her childhood friend, was the one with the brains. She's more physical/agile so she gets into the traps a lot (think Solaris at Blacksteam factory, and later on with Radomus and this time). Actually the reason why she had to leave Everland is also due to her lack of foresight, but that's another story for I dunno when rip

 

11 hours ago, J-Awesome_One said:

Wait... Did NO ONE from the Magma Gang question why 1 of the Aqua Gang members had their hands tied up? I mean I know they hate each other but you'd think they'd question it once. Haha.

They did notice, but only when they saw her from the back (since her hands are tied on the back), and since they were engaged in battle, they had no time to question it aloud. Since Maxwell saw her from the front, he didn't notice* perhaps until after when he was leaving.

But what would they have done anyway? She is an intruder, and the only misinformation they have is that she's part of Aqua gang. It could very well be a tricc to distract them from battle. I don't think they'd guess correctly and be like "yo, stranger girl whom we didn't believe and pushed out from our hideout half-an-hour ago, turn on Aqua gang now and join us in defeating them" xD

 

*Edit: he noticed afterwards (when Nilla-chan had to help Vanini out) but not when he started the battle. He prolly would've made a snide remark about her being tied up, and she'd have shut him up, but again, some details of le battle which I'll have to revisit afterwards

[J-Awesome_One 1328]

14 minutes ago, Candy said:

They did notice, but only when they saw her from the back (since her hands are tied on the back), and since they were engaged in battle, they had no time to question it aloud. Since Maxwell saw her from the front, he didn't notice perhaps until after when he was leaving.

But what would they have done anyway? She is an intruder, and the only misinformation they have is that she's part of Aqua gang. It could very well be a tricc to distract them from battle. I don't think they'd guess correctly and be like "yo, stranger girl whom we didn't believe and pushed out from our hideout half-an-hour ago, turn on Aqua gang now and join us in defeating them" xD

I would be distracted as hell. Like if I was Maxwell, I'd be trying to battle but then I'd be like "Ok. I know we're enemies and we're in a heated rival but why is 1 of your members hands tied up?" Haha.

[Candy 1688]

1 hour ago, J-Awesome_One said:

I would be distracted as hell. Like if I was Maxwell, I'd be trying to battle but then I'd be like "Ok. I know we're enemies and we're in a heated rival but why is 1 of your members hands tied up?" Haha.

Lol who knows haha, maybe Archer even thought about that possibi-... wait. 

Doesn't get punched + distracts the enemy = holy shité boi is smarty pants!

Tfw yaw as a writer is 1-upped by your own character :sadpepe:

[J-Awesome_One 1328]

1 minute ago, Candy said:

Lol who knows haha, maybe Archer even thought about that possibi-... wait. 

Doesn't get punched + distracts the enemy = holy shité boi is smarty pants!

Hmm. Maybe... But I would have had told her the information at a fair distance and had 1 of the other Aqua Gang members untie her. So maybe not that much of a smarty pants. Haha.

[Candy 1688]

1 hour ago, J-Awesome_One said:

Hmm. Maybe... But I would have had told her the information at a fair distance and had 1 of the other Aqua Gang members untie her. So maybe not that much of a smarty pants. Haha.

Ooo after the battle? Boi is prolly smarty pants but still hooman - was too elated his plan worked so well that he forgot to take precautions  This why you shouldn't let your successes get over your head, for then you might make a mistake (but I'm prolly not the only one to whom this stuff happens... am I?)

[Candy 1688]

From Everland to Reborn ~ Episode 37

Isn't it the first time I don't upload for 1+ week? O well if yaw only knew how ded I was workin' on a damned thesis fam.

Anyhow this one is a filler chapter... and no, Fern doesn't appear this time round

 

“However, it’s already getting dark. I’d advise you to go to 7th street tomorrow morning.”

That had been Archer’s advice, as the Aqua Gang and I went our separate ways. However, soon after that, I found herself standing in front of a regular apartment building. The lit street light shone over the sign that indicated the intersection of Dahlia and 3rd in Lapis Ward.

I heard Nilla let out a low buzz behind me, perfectly communicating concern.

“Don’t worry, Nilla. I am not new to black markets,” I told her and entered the building.

There was a receptionist as Archer had told me. I presumed she would at least confirm my name, but instead she told me that she had been informed to let me in, and opened the little gate for me.

“Press B1 in the elevator,” she said and sat back down.

I shrugged and did just that.

When the doors opened, I was confused for a moment, since the place looked like a small room with old machinery. A storage room. However, it turned out that there was a door on the back of the room, which led to the actual 7th street.

The black market was dark, but it was expected. It would have been rather off-setting if the place had enough money to have the whole place lined with proper lighting. There were quite a few people, mostly men. Some looked like they had not gotten a proper grooming for weeks. Others just looked at me with piercing gazes, as though my mere presence was a nuisance for them. Still others, and perhaps the largest population, were Magma and Aqua gang mates. Neither of the gangs looked particularly happy to see me there, however.

Now, my task was to look for the place Shelly and Luna had been taken to. I looked around aimlessly for a while, but there were just far too many doors and I had way too little patience.

I changed my plan and started asking around… However, the replies were none very agreeable.

“Man in a white robe? Why should I care t’know?” a grumpy old man waved his hand and walked into a worn-out building.

“Even if I knew, I got no business telling a nobody like ya,” a street rat selling junk shrugged. “Everyone do whatever the f*ck they want down here.”

Those comments annoyed me, but they were logical. Had I been one of them, I also would not tell anything about my comrades to a stranger who has just arrived. Ideally, I would have to make connections, but that just takes way too much time. Every second that ticked meant the possibility that El could already have hurt her.

I just had to find the right person in all these thugs. However, instead I found the wrongest person.

“For f*ck’s sake, can’t you get a clue?” a man with sunglasses pushed way too back up his head pushed my shoulder. “This ain’t no place for kids like ye to play house.”

I pushed him back harder.

“Who are you calling a kid? I’m an adult, and have every right to be here.”

Nilla buzzed at me, perhaps advising me against losing my temper.

“You? An adult?” the man laughed and waved his hand. “Enjoy yer childhood as long as it lasts. Adulthood ain’t fun.”

“Are you asking for proof?” I asked, raising both my fists, but instead of using them, kicked him in the stomach.

“Hey, ya girl,” other two men who happened to be close to us called me out. “Didn’t they teach ya manners in school?”

“Or are ya upper-class sl*t who thinks all ovus are scum to treat like trash?”

“He disrespected me first. Will you fight me,” I said, entering in defensive mode.

I felt Nilla tugging on my dress from behind. Others, hearing the commotion over here, came to spectate or to join the mess. Now I was facing five men, much taller and over all bigger than me, plus the guy I’d kicked who had recovered already. Apparently he got lucky and I missed his liver.

It was an impossible fight. I grabbed two of my pokeballs, but I was stopped mid-action.

“Are ya gonna fight us with pokemon?” sneered a new one who had just joined. “Ya got max 6 mons, while we have 3 or 4 each. Can ya beat us, dummy?”

“We shouldn’t scare the lil b*tch so much. She gunna have truma or some shit.”

I returned my pokeballs into my bag’s pockets. Nilla was still pulling on my dress.

Yet, I wasn’t taught to back out of a fight. All the times in the past, I’d either fought a maximum of two people at a time, or had a trustworthy group watching my back.

Hence, the fight did ensue, and needless to explain the details other than that I broke an arm and perhaps would have died unless something unaccounted for happened.

What was that something unaccounted for? I honestly don’t know.

The only things I know are that after fighting to the best of my ability, I was dealt a direct blow to the head, and fell down. Everything I heard sounded muffled, and my vision, already impaired from how dim the lighting was, was also slipping away. However, if what I heard was not an illusion, the men shouted something about a “white ghost”, and some started falling down like rocks to the floor. I must have lost consciousness then, because I only managed to see two guys fall over.

 

When I woke up, it was still night time. Nilla was there looking at my face with knit eyebrows, hair tail glowing to illuminate my surroundings. She was a little cheered up when she saw me open my eyes, and let out a happy buzz and nuzzled my cheek.

“Did you help me out of there, Nilla?” I asked her, caressing her head and antennae. “I owe you one.”

The firefly trembled under my touch and shook sideways, but I wasn’t sure what she was trying to say.

Right then, I heard someone call my name. I looked at my left, but the darkness didn’t allow me to tell who was running towards me.

“My goodness, Vanilla. What happened to you?” I recognized her voice, and her identity was made clear when she entered Nilla’s light’s radius. It was Candy.

Candy crouched next to me and pulled out a handkerchief. “You’re covered in blood. We have to take you to treat your wounds.”

I looked down at my pink clothes. I could see some spots that were smudged dark red from the blood. I touched the back of my head, where I could feel a throbbing pain, and my fingertips were returned wet and shiny in the dim light.

“This is nothing,” I said and tried to move, but the pain all around, especially in the left arm, almost knocked me out again.

“Don’t move, I’ll do first aid here first. Then we’ll go to the pokemon center, alright?”

Candy sent out a Leavanny and a Florges.

“Daisy and Lily, please help me tend to her,” she said. “Daisy, make gauze with your sticky web. Lily use aromatherapy and help me wrap Vanilla’s wounds.”

Both pokemon happily agreed and started working. The florges’ aromatherapy smelled so pleasant, and worked wonders to block the sensation of pain. Without meaning to, I slipped into sleep again.

 

I once again woke up in a room where Audino was using Heal Pulse on me.

The pain had mostly subsided, but my left arm was carefully wrapped in a cast. Of course, the pain was insufferable because I had broken a bone. However, I didn’t see my shoulder bag anywhere, and my clothes had been changed into a white robe.

“Ah, you are awake already,” Nurse Joy came in to check on me. “Wait a moment while I call your friends.”

She brought Candy and Nilla to where I was already sitting upright. Candy was holding my belongings, but notified me that she had to send my bubblegum dress for washing. Apparently I had bled the entire back side of the dress.

“I’m sorry for worrying you,” I told her while scratching my head, which hurt so I stopped. “I just got into a stupid fight. Meant to cut haste but I guess I managed to waste even more time than I should have.”

“Oh, you weren’t knocked out for long if you’re worried about time,” Candy reassured. “You sure are tough.”

She winked, and I knew she was avoiding saying stuff that might raise the nurse’s suspicion. She of course knew my toughness was all due to my being part of one gang that constituted the Defiance.

“Can we please go back to Lapis Ward? I have to help a friend out of a tough situation.”

Candy’s face radiated with bliss.

“A friend? I’m glad you are already making Reborn your home,” she said in a high pitch. “Alright. It would be best if you kept resting for a while, but if you’re in a hurry, I won’t stop you. Let me help you out, though.”

I nodded, and she lent me a shoulder to stand back up. Not the most stable footing, but at least my legs were rather spared in the fight, so I could walk with minimal difficulty.

 

We were walking towards the intersection of Dahlia and 3rd, when Candy recounted how she knew to come help me out. The chances that she’d be walking around Lapis Ward by herself at night were just too slim to let the thought slide.

“Ah, right. I was really surprised when your friend pachirisu bulged into my breeding shop,” Candy smiled. “The little thing acted so restless, I knew something had happened to you.”

I stopped midway, which also halted Candy who was walking next to me, lending me a shoulder still.

“My what? My pachirisu?”

“A very odd pachirisu with its fur changing colors every now and then,” Candy said. “I thought it was your pachirisu, since I don’t know other pachirisu-owners. The little squirrels aren’t native to this part of the region.”

“Candy, that can’t be,” I said, feeling dizzy all of a sudden.

“What’s wrong, Vanilla? Are you feeling ill? Please don’t push yourself too hard,” she said, touching my face. “If you need me to rescue your friend in your stead, you know I will do it.”

“No,” I shook my head. “I’m fine. I’m just saying that couldn’t have been Pikachu.”

Candy blinked twice.

“I mean, it’s also true that just when I found you bleeding, the little squirrel ran away. I wonder what that was about.”

“Unfortunately, Pikachu is dead, and I confirmed it with my own two eyes.”

Candy gasped, and apologized.

“Don’t. I’m fine. One must move forward with a clear mind, or one will be bound to make the same mistake.”

We walked a little more in silence, and reached the wretched intersection. There were still some stains of blood where I had been sitting. Candy assured me that the cleaners would notify a company to take care of the stains, so I needed not worry.

“Is your business nearby?” she asked.

“The thing is,” I coughed and whispered at her ear about 7th street being located underneath Lapis Ward and about the shady robed man who kidnapped Shelly and Luna.

“Oh, you want to go there,” Candy smiled. “That’s fine. Let’s go in then.”

Candy went into the correct building and passed the receptionist without raising an eyebrow. It was a surprise, to say the least.

“Candy, you know about 7th street?” I blurted out in the elevator.

“But of course,” she shrugged. “What can I say? When you have a shop and make friends with your clients, they can tell you the most outrageous of things.”

I cursed my fate for making me humiliate myself in front of Archer, when I could have gotten the same information from my trusted cousin.

 

Not only that, but Candy instigated a different reaction from the thugs in the black market.

“Hello, Candy, how’d ya do?” greeted one of the jerks that had fought me earlier, but upon locking eyes with me, retorted backwards. “You! What ‘re ya doing back here?”

“Oh, you already met my cousin?” Candy asked.

“Meet ‘er? For f*ck’s sake Candy. That lil shit can’t be your cousin,” the guy said. “Girl wounded two of my comrades before finally going down. That ain’t human, I tell ya.”

“My, how lively you all,” Candy laughed. “Please forgive my cousin’s short-temper.”

“I don’t need forgiveness,” I spat. “You thugs broke my arm.”

“We’d have broken all yer skinny limbs hadn’t we been attacked by somethin’ else,” the guy shook his head. “But Candy, what brings ya here today? Wanna buy something? I’m sure I can interest ya in something.”

“Maybe another time, we’re in a hurry actually. Do you happen to have seen a white-robed man with white hair around here?”

“Ya mean the religious nut that insults us when he’s worse than us? Man gotta get a life.”

“Yeah, that’s the one,” I said.

The guy told Candy the directions, but sent me sharp gazes from time-to-time. I doubted he was telling us true information, but all we had to do was to check out the space down a small opening behind the wall, to know we were in the correct place. The crumbling walls and floor led the way into a clean, empty hall with several pillars.

“Well then, thanks Candy. I wouldn’t have found the place without your help.”

“You can give me thanks after we rescue your friend,” she said with a prankster’s smirk and led the way. “Let’s go.”

I sighed, and followed the crazy girl together with Nilla.

 

VANILLA RATES: REBORN CHARACTERS

Spoiler

• No one new and by definition Candy is 10/10 xD

Yoo thx for le 8,000 views y'all~

 

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[J-Awesome_One 1328]

Hey! This is back! Yay! So a Pachirisu had somehow gotten Candy to Vanilla huh? Hmm. Interesting. But I liked the filler episode! Fights! More mysteries! More Candy! And more broken bones! xD Good job as always.