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

[Corso 165]

Sorry the image is bigger than expected

[Candy 1688]

From Everland to Reborn ~ A Day in the Forest

As promised, below is a brief summary of Everland lore for those who don’t have stellar memory (aka normal hoomans):

Spoiler

• Timeline (ignore the years, it doesn't necessarily need to be set in the present) : 

• One spoiler-ish thing which isn’t really spoiler-ish (or is it?) is the following sentence taken directly from the “Introduction” on the opening post of the whole thread. Vanilla says, “I'm going to move into Reborn. Not my choice - the result of a dumbass' mistake, but I don't want to talk about that. At least for now, I'm willing to take Candy's suggestion of starting anew in a place no one knows.” The dumbass she’s referring to is herself.
• Everland has the Overworld which is what the majority knows Everland for, and the Underworld which is hidden to everyone and is a place where everyone operates under the rules of survival of the fittest. The people in the Underworld support the Overworld’s extravagance by being practically enslaved to do the jobs nobody wants to do. Food is scarce in the Underworld, so cannibalism isn’t uncommon. The Underworld has several rebel groups collectively known as the Defiance, which cause much trouble to the Everland Policemen who guard the place. Each Defiance group has different goals (some just form the groups in order to obtain more resources by teamwork, while groups like King/Vanilla’s have the ultimate objective of causing a revolution and overthrowing the Queen). Both the Over and Underworlds are under the Everland Queen’s jurisdiction.
• Vanilla (Underground nickname Eterna, 18 years old currently)
  • Looks: albino and has a small body frame. Resting bitch face (lol). In Reborn, she wears her family’s traditional bubblegum dress, which has hidden abilities such as regeneration and infinite stretching.
  • Family: noble family; descendants of Hansel and Gretel, on Hansel’s side.
  • Friends/allies: She was the only albino person of her acquaintance growing up, so she didn’t make many friends.
    • Early childhood to ~12 years old: Candy, Wolfie and Urashimataro/Kame (afterwards left for his family tradition of a perimigrage that lasts 10 years).
    • 12 to 14 years old: Candy (left Everland for Hoenn when Vanilla was 14 years old), Wolfie and Aladdin.
    • 14 to 18 years old: Wolfie, Aladdin and her Defiance group.
  • Background: She lived ignorant of the Everland Underworld (like the vast majority of Everland citizens) until Wolfie and she went down a rabbit hole. There she met King and his Defiance group, and was forced to join. She remained part of the Defiance during ages 14-18. She started off under King’s leadership but was assigned to be leader when King died. She led the group for ~8 months before its dismissal. Candy sent her a letter inviting her to flee to Reborn City, which she did.
• Candy (21 years old currently)
  • Looks: is taller and thicker than Vanilla. Dyed her hair bright pink.
  • Family: also from Hansel’s family tree and is Vanilla’s cousin.
  • Background: left Everland at 17 years of age to have a cool experience she couldn’t have in her home country- a pokemon journey in Hoenn. While she was in Hoenn, she was reunited with Cookie, who is also a descendant of Hansel and Gretel but on Gretel’s side. She cleared the league in a year and became Hoenn champion. She lost to an unnamed boy a year later, and decided to move to Reborn City together with Cookie to launch a daycare business at the age of 19. She married to Cookie soon after.
• Wolfie (18 years old at the time of death)
  • Looks: is a bipedal wolf with white fur but black patches here and there.
  • Family: a distant relative of the Big bad wolf. She lived in Red Riding Hood Forest with her parents. The only relation her family had was with the Leiderhosen family (aka Vanilla and Candy’s) because their castle was located just on the outskirts of the forest, and were on good terms for generations now despite the wide social bias others held against the wolves.
  • Background: Vanilla’s best friend who was also assertive because she was much smarter than Vanilla in school and out of it.
• Aladdin (18 years old currently)
  • Looks: average-looking guy, knows little about fashion (detail not yet written in the story, and might never be who knows).
  • Family: hails from a family of high-ranking mages and witches (not nobles), but his family repudiated him.
  • Background: he grew up as a normal wizard child until the age of 6 when he should’ve shown basic magical abilities. When his family realized that he was born without magical power, they repudiated him and so he grew up with barely any affection from both his father and mother. Fortunately his nanny and other housekeepers were kind to him. At the age of 12, he was transferred to an elite school- his mother hoped that at least he could make up for his failure by studying and becoming a professional. There he struggled to make friends since everyone knew his story, but he eventually became friends with the other “rejects”, Wolfie and Vanilla in his class. At the age of ~14, he developed a crush on Jasmin, the most popular girl in his class. They became a couple when both were 17, but their relationship broke less than a year later. 6 months before Vanilla fleeing Everland, he confessed his feelings for her and became a couple.
• Jasmin (18 years old currently)
  • Looks: is a beauty of long straight hair, which she keeps in one high ponytail.
  • Family: she’s the daughter of the Everland Police chief.
  • Background: she went out with Aladdin for a while. She is now in Everland hunting down Vanilla to bring her back to Everland for a trial.
• The night of Wolfie’s death: one day before Vanilla fleeing Everland, she fell into an elaborate trap which resulted in the deaths of Wolfie and the majority of her Defiance group as well as the arrest of the remaining members of the group. While Vanilla and Aladdin were away to have some peace talks with another Defiance group, the Everland Police, led by Jasmin, somehow broke into their hideout. Wolfie managed to slip out of there, hoping to alert Vanilla before she returned. Wolfie asked Vanilla to take off her Eterna costume (long robe and mask to hide her identity) and wore it instead so that people would think Wolfie was Eterna if anything happened. A surprise attack by a police officer killed Wolfie, but Vanilla managed to revenge kill the officer and escape to the Overworld without witnesses.
• The day after Wolfie’s death: on the next day, Vanilla woke up and the first thing she did was return to the rabbit hole so she could find out what happened and also recover Wolfie’s body. It was all surreal for her, and she felt as though she might have just dreamt it. Aladdin was waiting at the rabbit hole, however, and didn’t allow her to proceed. He warned her that the Police was looking on every corner to find evidence of her involvement with the Defiance.
• Some questions that I hope you’re asking yourself (or let me ask them for you cause I'm a gud candy):
  • Who goes to Underworld and who remains in Overworld in Everland?
  • Why did King choose Vanilla as his successor?
  • Why did Wolfie disapprove of Aladdin and Vanilla’s romantic relationship?
  • Jasmin led the Everland Police when Vanilla was absent from her hideout. How did Jasmin know where Vanilla’s Defiance group hideout was and when to invade it?
  • Aladdin and Vanilla met at the rabbit hole the day after Wolfie’s death. What did they talk about?
  • What happened to Wolfie’s dead body?
  • What happened to Vanilla’s Defiance allies who were arrested by the Police?
  • Candy sent a letter inviting Vanilla to escape to Reborn City. How did Candy get to know about Vanilla’s problem in Everland, if she wasn’t there?

 

But today's chapter will be totes unrelated to the story's main timeline, which due to lack of writing skills I didn't know where to place but which I think is a bit important to illustrate who dis mysterious boi Aladdin is. However I don't think not reading it will affect your understanding of the rest of the story so dw if yaw find it boringo and not wanna read it~ btw if it wasn't obvious from the tone, the narrator voice is Vanilla but at 13 years of age (ie before she became Edge Lord^TM).

 

I often went to Red Riding Hood Forest on the weekends to play with Wolfie.

Candy used to be a constant member of the party in such occasions, but she gradually decreased her weekend outings as she got older and had more school work to do. It displeased me, because there was so much two could do, and so our gatherings were becoming repetitive. To make matters worse, there was no one else we could invite given that our friend Kame had just embarked on a spiritual journey - tradition of his family - and wouldn’t come back to Everland for at least a decade. Well, there was Aladdin, I guess, but his was another separate issue.

 

One issue with him was that his family and ours had little connection, and hence we didn’t have much reason to befriend each other outside of school. On top of that, he told us how his parents were disappointed in him for making connection with mundane beings like us instead of with the kids from other wizard families. It made me really mad when he said that, because even if Candy and I are mundane, we are nobles! We were much more important than the mage class, since we were close to the Queen. Wolfie wasn’t a noble, but she was friends with us and that made her all the more important. Somehow, Aladdin’s parents were blind to the advantages in connecting with the Leiderhosen family, but in a sense it may have been for the better. The truth was, I didn’t particularly get along with Aladdin. When we were together as a group, I didn’t mind, but I couldn’t bear the thought of being with him alone. It’s not that he does something weird to make me uncomfortable, but I don’t know, perhaps his parents casted a spell on him to make me want to avoid him. Sounds like a very elaborate plan, if you asked me.

 

In any case, one certain weekend in the summer of my 13th year of life, I headed to the forest alone because Candy had stayed home studying for an exam. I was walking towards Wolfie’s house, listening to the birds chirping and the trees rustling in the wind. It was a sunny but also slightly cloudy day: perfect for playing tag, though Wolfie would probably dissuade me since she would rather read a book than run around. Not that she could convince me.

I had walked for nearly half an hour, for Wolfie’s house was quite deep into Red Riding Hood Forest, when I started hearing an odd intermittent sound mixed in the forestry. The sounds were almost like an owl’s hooting, but not quite- the tone was too high to be an owl’s. So without any doubt, I allowed my curiosity to take the wheel and I walked in the direction of the hooting sounds.

Perhaps it would’ve been irresponsible for me to change course in a forest which was known for its difficulty of navigation. After all, Wolfie’s ancestors had chosen this forest as their abode because any outsider would quickly get themselves lost in the maze and hence they were safe from attacks. However, unlike the average outsider, I had confidence in my navigation skills. After all, I was Hansel Leiderhosen’s descendant, so I’d definitely find my way even if I got lost in the woods.

 

The source of the hooting was close by, so I slowed my walking speed. I most definitely didn’t want to scare whatever bird was making the noise.

However, when I eventually found what I was looking for, I instantly regretted being an irresponsible explorer. I immediately turned around to head the way I had come from, but the damage had already been done.

“Oh, hi,” greeted Aladdin at my back. “Are you headed to Wolfie’s?”

Having already been noticed, I had no choice but to stay. I forced a smile onto my lips, but couldn’t bring my eyes to meet his.

“H-how did you know?” I asked.

Aladdin paused and stroked his chin.

“Well, the only Everlandenne I know that lives in these woods is Wolfie, and since she is your friend, I just assumed.”

“Ah, I see. You’re not wrong,” I replied, afraid to say any more stupid things.

“Are you lost in the woods? Her house is that way,” he said, pointing to the way I had come from.

“I know,” I blurted out.

A long pause ensued as I chastised myself for not feigning ignorance and leaving at once. I still could leave, though, but my mind went high-wire on what kind of farewell to bid so I could leave without seeming rude or desperate. Aladdin’s puzzled look didn’t help either, but at least he seemed to understand that a more desirable action would be to just ignore me entirely. At last he returned to what he had been doing without asking any more questions my way.

He held both of his hands together in front of his mouth, and seemed to blow air into a small opening close to his thumbs. However, instead of the sound of air blowing, the hooting sound I had been chasing came out of the other end.

“So you had been the one making those noises,” I remarked without thinking.

Aladdin lowered his hands and looked at me again.

“Yes, I’m practicing bird language,” he explained, but somehow looked uneasy. “I’m still not good enough, but my teacher told me to keep practicing an hour every day.”

“I didn’t know mages had to be proficient in bird language,” I commented, and surprised myself at how naturally the conversation was starting to flow.

“Actually, it isn’t a requirement at all,” Aladdin clarified. “It’s just something I wanted to learn, since, you know, I don’t have magical ability.”

I was lost in his thought process, and asked him to elaborate on what learning bird language had to do with his lack of magical ability.

“Bird language is an endangered language, which only half a dozen or so people in Everland can speak,” he started. “Given that I can’t live to the expectations of my parents on the magical aspect, I hoped to impress them by speaking a language very few can.”

“That’s so cool,” I exclaimed. “I think you’re very diligent. I can’t bake for the life of me, which is probably disappointing as a member of the Leidenhosen family, but I never thought I should learn a new skill to compensate for my lack of baking skill.”

Aladdin paused to think for a moment, and then sighed.

“That’s probably because your parents don’t care much for tradition. Mine do, and they never get tired of reminding me what a mediocrity I am.”

“Don’t say that. You aren’t a mediocrity,” I said, but even I knew that just denying a statement wasn’t enough to make it false. I just didn’t know what words of consolation to give.

“Thanks, but I am a mediocrity. My parents even named me after a non-magical being who made a name for himself because he married well. Just because he got lucky. That's how little they expect from me, and honestly it’s embarrassing,” Aladdin said this much, and batted his eyes in realization. “Oh sorry, I don’t know what came over me. Forgive me for venting.”

“Eh, no no, don’t worry about it. It wasn’t a problem for me at all. Keep venting if you’d like. I have the whole morning and afternoon.”

Aladdin smiled.

“That wouldn’t do. I’m sure your friend is waiting for you,” he said.

Only then did I recall that I had been headed to Wolfie’s house. I hesitated, but mustered my courage up to ask him to join us.

“Thanks, but I’ll practice bird language a little longer,” he replied. “If I succeed in finishing the current module, then I’ll join you in the afternoon.”

We then parted ways, but Aladdin never showed up to Wolfie’s house on that day.

[Corso 165]

5 hours ago, Candy said:

What happened to Wolfie’s dead body?

She will return as Mimikyu

 

I predict Aladdin will have Flying type pokemon

[Candy 1688]

9 hours ago, Corso said:

She will return as Mimikyu

 

I predict Aladdin will have Flying type pokemon

Good educated guesses, my fren

Fun fact: What pokemon type + one specific pokemon Aladdin uses was already revealed in the story, but I made it so subtle that y'all prolly didn't even think anything about it.

[Corso 165]

14 hours ago, Candy said:

The sounds were almost like an owl’s hooting

I'd say it's Salazzle

[uberle 203]

And caught up

Again

 

I see you learned the best way to beat Charlotte

The ancient art of throwing rocks

Well done

 

You somehow made Shelly even more adorable 

I love it so much

 

[Candy 1688]

8 hours ago, uberle said:

And caught up

Again

 

I see you learned the best way to beat Charlotte

The ancient art of throwing rocks

Well done

 

You somehow made Shelly even more adorable 

I love it so much

 

Yeees fire is nothing. gotta rocc'n roll them like that with style xD

and Awww I'm glad to hear compliments about Shelly.

I thought she was cute when I first played the game, but wasn't near the top of my favorite characters due to her timid nature. But when I had to think of a "traveling companion" (indispensable in writing, since otherwise you're left with awkward silence while Vanilla travels to and from places which is a lot of the game) to assign to Vanilla, I thought she was the best candidate because 1. she is pretty much the foil of Vanilla (aggressive <-> submissive, blunt <-> sensitive, determined <-> indecisive, etc) which makes for fun interactions, and 2. having her as a main character would allow me to tweak her in ways that would make her development more smooth, and at the same time would provide Vanilla a means for character growth (due to Vanilla turning into Shelly's protector- can't be a protector unless the one to be protected has a weak character).

[Candy 1688]

From Everland to Reborn ~ Episode 53

Yet another episode irrelevant to the fairytale run but hey I've been waiting like half a year to write this part of the story so bear with me okay? Have some  and enjoy some edgy shit :3 Also trigger warning for PTSD and blood but dunno if that is relevant now that I've written so many episodes without a trigger warning rip

 

“You…” I uttered.

“It’s been a while,” he said.

In the silence that ensued, I could almost picture that particular moment, which happened not long ago but felt as if it had been ages since. We were also looking at each other back then, in that one spot in the unending Red Riding Hood Forest.

 

“Vanilla. You must have questions,” Aladdin had said back then. “Only despair awaits you down there, but here I can answer every question you might seek the answer to.”

“My Polaris, what do you mean?” I was intrigued by his phrasing, but also not fully in my senses to connect the dots. “I’m sorry, I... I have to go to the Underworld. I left… I left Wolfie down there…”

I shivered at the thought of Wolfie. Even though I had vague recollections of her death, my mind refused to believe it. I held the hopeless hope that only those walking the thin line between sanity and insanity could dare to hold onto.

Aladdin saw through my deficient facade of calmth, and grabbed both my shoulders when I tried to walk past him to reach the rabbit hole.

“Wolfie is dead, Vanilla. There’s nothing for you to do down there anymore.”

His words felt like shards that slit through my skin. I looked at Aladdin in the eye, but somehow I saw them out of focus even though we were but inches apart.

“That can’t… and my t-team. Wolfie told me our base was…”

“Yes, your base was infiltrated by the Everland Police,” he said. “Even now they’re looking for the few who escaped, including the leader Eterna. They don’t yet know you are, and they’re looking for evidence on every corner. It’s not long until they knock on your door and arrest you.”

My muscles and bones seemed to liquify, and it took me quite the effort to stand still.

“How could this happen?” I asked, and watched as Aladdin closed his eyes and let go of my shoulders.

“I won’t hide the truth from you,” he said. “I was a spy for the Everland Police. Jasmin and I teamed up to orchestrate your demise.”

“Huh?” I said, and almost laughed at the ridiculousness of the confession. “What are you saying, Aladdin. This must be a joke. This has to be a joke!”

However, when Aladdin did not add a single word to take back what he had said, the half-smile dropped from my face, and my body felt cold despite the sunny weather. I joined his silence, if only to understand everything that was going on right then. Never had I doubted his sincerity, never had I doubted his love for me, and that had been my grave mistake.

“So you’re telling me that you were making a fool of me the whole time?” I said, and as I spoke, I felt the anger building up in my head.

“No,” he replied. “I didn’t have intentions to do so. I only did what was right.”

I couldn’t contain myself after hearing that response, so I lunged forward to slap him, except that he dodged my hand. At the same time, I felt his fist making a hole on my stomach, which left me breathless. Before I lost consciousness, my eyes got one last look at the aggressor.

 

That was the last time I saw Aladdin.

 

Until now, when the stars of misfortune aligned once again to throw me back into my darkest nightmare.

“I had a feeling you had come looking for me with Jasmin,” I said to him, breathing deeply to try to contain my bloodthirst. His image started layering over the police officer who had shot Wolfie, and I was overwhelmed by the unforgettable sensation of a lifeless body weighing down on my arms. When Aladdin spoke next, I don’t think I was even listening.

“Yes, and now I’ve achieved my first goal,” Aladdin nodded. “When I bring you back to Everland, my job will be complete.”

“Like I’d give you that pleasure,” I shouted. My mind could not suppress my body any longer, and before I knew it I launched myself onto Aladdin’s throat. However, he moved his upper body on time, and I missed my mark. I landed on the floor, and instead of his throat I crushed snow in my fist.

“It’s a bad habit of yours to start a fight right as your head is heated and your thought process clouded,” he said. “Don’t you remember the last time we met? How easily I incapacitated you with a single blow to the stomach?”

I hadn’t even understood why I couldn’t remember anything after the pain on my stomach that time, but it made no difference to me nonetheless. Whether or not he had managed to beat me then was irrelevant to our fight now.

“I don’t need my thoughts slowing me,” I shouted. “You didn’t come looking for me. You came looking for your own death!”

So I started fighting with Aladdin, me taking the absolute offense and him the defense. His movements were quick, but not at my level. At one point I managed to yank his thick hair, and smacked his face against the brick wall of the building he had just exited. When he freed himself from my grasp, I tried taking advantage of his incoordination to sneak on him from behind. However, he read my move and used his elbow to strike my abdomen, winding me, much like he had done in the recent past. Still, his aim was not quite precise this time, so I was spared the embarrassment of losing consciousness once again. I recovered, or rather I started to take pleasure being in pain, and sent a kick flying to his chest, which he blocked with both arms.

“P-please stop,” I heard Shelly calling on us.

Gradually, people began gathering around our fight, and started meddling with us. They were adult men and women trying to make us stop, and they persisted in capturing me despite me directing some punches and kicks to them. Eventually they succeeded in their efforts, since four of them hugged me from all sides at once.

“Let go, damn it!” I tried shaking them off, but they were obviously heavier than me. I was pushed to the snowy ground, someone holding both of my arms to my back. When I tried to get rid of this person with my feet, another one or two came in to immobilize them as well.

I glanced at my opponent, and realized that no one held him down like they were doing with me. Aladdin walked up to me and crouched.

“It seems these people won’t allow us to continue fighting to the death,” he said.

“Why are they letting you free? They mustn’t know you’re an assassin,” I shouted, thinking that the people of Ametrine would then immobilize him. However, that didn’t happen.

“Don’t worry. I didn’t come here for the fight to end like this,” Aladdin added. “On the north of this mountain there is open space where we can spar in peace. Come prepared with your pokemon. I’ll be waiting.”

Come prepared with my pokemon? Did he catch and train pokemon just to defeat me and take me back to Everland? Those questions led to others that didn’t surface on my mind until he was out of sight. When did he arrive to Reborn anyways, and what was he doing in Ametrine City of all places? Was he here alone, or was he with Jasmin and the rest of the Everland Police?

 

The people released me and I dusted the snow off myself. The entire front side of my bubblegum dress was now a dark pink due to the snow melting on me. I swallowed my breath, for there was an instant there when my brain short-circuited and thought the dampness was due to blood... Someone slipping away and only leaving a trace of blood.

“Vanilla, um, do you need a hand?” Shelly asked and offered me a hand. It snapped me back to the cold snowy ground I was sitting on, and tried to laugh away the foolish vision I had. I accepted her hand to stand right back up, but almost fell back down when my legs failed to support me on the first try. I didn’t realize it until my anger subsided, but I felt light-headed. It was as if the world was slowly spiraling under my feet. I felt sick, but brushed off Shelly’s concerns. I imagined it was just due to the blood rushing down after an intense workout.

“You’re visitors, right?” asked one of the Ametrine citizens who approached us.

“Yes we are,” Shelly replied for me, since I was honestly not feeling like talking to anyone. I glanced at the middle-aged woman and remembered talking to her earlier. She had been one of the many who refused to give me any information on the Guardian Angels.

“I don’t think I’m alone in making you one request,” she said. “Please don’t hurt Aladdin. He has been with us all through these difficult times, and we have grown quite attached to him.”

“Lady, that man is a murderer,” I interjected because I felt the need to. “You all shouldn’t associate with a piece of scum like that.”

“We don’t know about the specifics that you seem to know, but that is not important to us, for now at least.”

I couldn’t help but snort. I was just telling her that her life and the life of all others in Ametrine were in danger, and she just shrugged it as if that didn’t matter at all.

The lady understood the meaning of my laugh and added, “We would be dead already if it weren’t for him. We owe him our lives.”

Suddenly a chill went down my spine, and the slight smile dropped from my face.

“You don’t mean…” I trailed because the mere thought was repulsive.

The woman looked around to makes sure no one was in the vicinity, and lowered her upper body to bring her face closer to both my and Shelly’s.

“Well, I don’t think there’ll be much harm in you knowing it, since it’s not like he has a strict caretaker like in another case,” she prefaced. “Aladdin is, indeed, one of the Guardian Angels that have been preventing our starvation.”

 

I sat down on a large rock to assimilate what the woman had told us, and at the same time digest everything that had happened in the last half-hour.

Shelly came back from inquiring the lady about the other angel’s caretaker, and notified me that she had refused to give any more information. I nodded with a blank expression. She then sat next to me and nervously asked me about Aladdin.

“Is he, um... an a-aquaintance from your h-home region?”

“Technically yes, but more like my misfortune personified,” I made an effort to reply. “In any case, a low life that deserves no introduction.”

“Is that so… and yet, um, he’s a Guardian A-”

“Stop,” I cut her off. “Don't be fooled. He wouldn’t do such thing unless he had an ulterior motive.”

I must’ve been making a horrible face, for Shelly shrunk her neck as she hadn’t done for a long time now.

“Sorry for scaring you,” I apologized. “I know that I’m volatile right now. I wasn’t expecting to meet him here, and seeing him has made me remember too many things that disturb my conscience.”

“No, it’s okay,” Shelly replied quietly. “I, um, think you need some time alone. Um, I’ll be w-waiting in the Pokemon Center.”

I didn’t stop her, and in all honesty, I was glad that Shelly read my mind. I definitely needed a timeout so I could organize my thoughts and return to my usual calmth.

I looked down at my shoes as I tried to pull back the nausea that threatened to climb up my esophagus. The more I tried to push the nightmare to the back of my mind, the more it insisted on being released. I grasped my head and pulled my hair in frustration. Closing my eyes only made it worse. The intermittent flashbacks from the gunshots and Wolfie’s death haunted me as they hadn’t done for a good while now. I could almost see her sliding down from me, and the ever-growing puddle of blood. Everything was too jumbled up to know what was going on.

The sensation of a warm cloth rubbing against my neck brought me back from the nightmares. For the first time since I sat there, I noticed the cold wind which chilled my body covered in sweat. I rubbed my face, and realized I had unwittingly cried. I lifted my heavy arm to see what the warm cloth was, and my hand was welcomed by Pikachu’s friendly headbutt. I hadn’t paid attention that he had remained by my side even after Shelly went to the Center.

I gently caught him in my hands and placed him on my thighs. My eyes went to the fake head first, but remembering that his real eyes are on the bottom half of his body, I shifted my gaze.

“I think my mind is weaker than I want to admit,” I sniffled. “It always pushes the ugly memories to where I can’t reach them. So that I don’t find myself in a constant breakdown. So that I can continue acting out the tough leader of the Defiance.”

I paused to try to slow down my breathing rate and hydrate my mouth.

“But these triggers… I can’t avoid them. I’m not ready to face Aladdin yet. One thing is knowing and another is believing. For now… I want to hide within the illusion, which being away from Everland provides, of the hopeless hope* that Aladdin came to steal from me.”

 

---

* gentle reminder so y'all don't get bamboozled by my subpar writing: hopeless hope in this instance refers to the same phrase coined earlier in this episode, "Even though I had vague recollections of her death, my mind refused to believe it. I held the hopeless hope [of her still being alive] that only those walking the thin line between sanity and insanity could dare to hold onto."

 

VANILLA RATES: REBORN CHARACTERS

Spoiler

• Not a Reborn character, but Aladdin has the lowest rating of everyone, at unrateably-low/10

 

QUICK LINK TO NEXT EPISODE

[J-Awesome_One 1328]

Omg! Are you somehow going to redo the final arc of the Ametrine saga?! Vanilla VS Alladin!? Maybe even Vanilla VS Blake AND Alladin?! Or double battle! Vanilla/Shelly VS Blake/Alladin! What?! WHAT?!!!??!?!?!?!?!?!??!!? Btw, if you can't tell, I'm now double interested into the story now.

[Candy 1688]

14 minutes ago, J-Awesome_One said:

Omg! Are you somehow going to redo the final arc of the Ametrine saga?! Vanilla VS Alladin!? Maybe even Vanilla VS Blake AND Alladin?! Or double battle! Vanilla/Shelly VS Blake/Alladin! What?! WHAT?!!!??!?!?!?!?!?!??!!? Btw, if you can't tell, I'm now double interested into the story now.

Let's say there will be chaos in the mountain xD But I think the turn of events that I'm planning will make sense given the amount of character development I devoted for Shelly.

I'm glad you're enjoying the story portion of the run even when there aren't cool battle videos haha

[J-Awesome_One 1328]

1 minute ago, Candy said:

Let's say there will be chaos in the mountain xD But I think the turn of events that I'm planning will make sense given the amount of character development I devoted for Shelly.

I'm glad you're enjoying the story portion of the run even when there aren't cool battle videos haha

Not every episode needs a Pokemon battle. And if you think about it, we did have a battle! WITH FISTS! BETWEEN BOY AND GIRL/MAN AND WOMAN! (I totally forgot their ages)

[Corso 165]

6 hours ago, Candy said:

Yes, and now I’ve achieved my first goal (which was to find you)

Uh maybe it's because I don't read a lot of books but is Aladdin saying or thinking this part?
And please I think we can remember something written at the beginning of the same episode. 

[Candy 1688]

22 minutes ago, Corso said:

Uh maybe it's because I don't read a lot of books but is Aladdin saying or thinking this part?
And please I think we can remember something written at the beginning of the same episode. 

No, it's actually a note i made for me to remember what he meant lol forgot to delete that parenthesis oof

I figured y'all would remember something from the beginning of the episode but I thought you might not have paid attention to that and then be confused as to wtf the hope was xD

[GenEric 315]

aladdin just gonna fight with vanilla since candy doesnt have the time to write scripts :fufu:

[Candy 1688]

3 hours ago, GenEric said:

aladdin just gonna fight with vanilla since candy doesnt have the time to write scripts :fufu:

You're not wrong Q-Jei may have been blessed with script editing skills but I'm as illiterate as hoomans can get rip not that I need it because a Vanilla+Shelly vs Blake+Aladdin fight wouldn't make sense due to Aladdin not being involved with Team Meteor (and Blake prolly hates him for feeding the Ametrine citizens anyway lol).

[J-Awesome_One 1328]

Triple Threat Pokemon Battle!

[SilverAngelus 926]

So....Vanilla vs Aladdin while Shelly and Heather vs Blake at the top of the mountain?

[Q-Jei 800]

That’s quite an interesting plot twist! So, Aladdin is a traitor and had played a major role in Vanilla’s team dismantling... I don’t like his manners at all. Hopefully, Vanilla will go to him again and beat him as he deserves. The Ametrine season is getting more exciting than expected!

 

Nice episode by the way 

 

17 hours ago, Candy said:

You're not wrong Q-Jei may have been blessed with script editing skills but I'm as illiterate as hoomans can get rip not that I need it because a Vanilla+Shelly vs Blake+Aladdin fight wouldn't make sense due to Aladdin not being involved with Team Meteor (and Blake prolly hates him for feeding the Ametrine citizens anyway lol).

Thank you for the compliment! By tinkering with Reborn’s PBS file and seeing how to add Pokemon & custom trainers, you can do wonderful things, I can confirm that! For my part, If I could have got some of your skills in uploading tempo in return, it would have probably been the best deal I would have done so far ^^

[Candy 1688]

8 hours ago, Q-Jei said:

That’s quite an interesting plot twist! So, Aladdin is a traitor and had played a major role in Vanilla’s team dismantling... I don’t like his manners at all. Hopefully, Vanilla will go to him again and beat him as he deserves. The Ametrine season is getting more exciting than expected!

 

Nice episode by the way 

 

Thank you for the compliment! By tinkering with Reborn’s PBS file and seeing how to add Pokemon & custom trainers, you can do wonderful things, I can confirm that! For my part, If I could have got some of your skills in uploading tempo in return, it would have probably been the best deal I would have done so far ^^

"skills in uploading tempo"

Spoiler

the only reason this part of the story is getting uploaded more often is that I literally have been cooking this part of the plot for months now. usually I have to imagine what happens in an episode just before I start writing, which takes time... and not to mention I'm not always in the mood for writing  if I didn't have an exam and a presentation later this week, I'd totes write the next episode right now haha

[Candy 1688]

From Everland to Reborn ~ Episode 54

Behold, the most filler-ish episode in the history of filler-ish episodes, maybe ever! Enjoy a jelly-filled doughnut episode on me

 

Once I was stable again, I went to the Pokemon Center to get Shelly. However, I didn’t find her there. She had left right after arriving according to Nurse Joy, so I went out looking for her, judging she shouldn’t have left the proximity of the Center. As expected, I found her nearby, talking to a boy on the skating rink. She parted ways with him before I could reach her.

“Um, I hope you’re feeling better,” she said.

“I am, don’t worry.”

“Before I forget,” she said, taking out a piece of paper. “I found this and t-thought you might want it.”

She handed the paper to me. I took it and read the writing, which said “Battle Pass: Gravity” in golden bold letters.

“This is for battling one of the Agate clowns, if I remember correctly.”

“I think they’re, um, performers.”

“Same thing,” I shrugged, casually remembering their banters and innuendos. “What were you talking about with the boy?”

“Ah, yes, um, so I was thinking about Heather and putting the p-pieces together. Cain told us that Heather had been taken into the care of, um, Blake, and the w-woman earlier told us that the other, um, Guardian Angel had a strict caretaker. Right now, the boy confirmed to me that the caretaker’s name is Blake!”

“So my conjecture was right,” I wondered aloud. “And do you know where we can find Blake?”

“He didn’t tell me because he feared, um, we might tell him about Heather being the Guardian Angel. I don’t know why, but I get the impression that, um, Blake wouldn’t want Heather helping the Ametrine citizens. Even though the boy told me he is an ex-Gym leader.”

“Is that so? Sounds like a jerk,” I said, and saying that aloud instantly sparked the image of an individual in my mind. “It might’ve been that man… the one with blue hair and a smug attitude.”

Shelly batted her eyes, but soon after her face lightened up.

“Yes... yes, it’s him! I’m really dumb for not putting two and two earlier. No wonder he reminded me of Cal… uh, s-someone I know.”

I remembered Cal, for even though time had passed without a sign of him, he had been protagonist in one of the most impactful scenes since I’d come to the Reborn region.

“I know Cal,” I said. “And now that you mention it, Blake shares similar features with him.”

“Y-you know him? You know Cal?”

“Yes, and in fact he vaguely alluded to the acquaintance with you and how it ended.”

“O-oh.”

Shelly didn't look very happy to know that Cal had told me about her. However, there was one thing I wanted to confirm. It was something I had supposed to be true when I met Cal at the top of Pyrous Mountain.

“It was him I reminded you of, back then when we had just met, wasn’t it?”

Shelly looked downward and her long bangs hid her eyes, but I could still discern a slight nodding motion.

“Um… Cal and I used to be f-friends,” she said. “But I said stupid things, and, um, angered him. I just forgot t-that not everyone sees the world like I do, and so not everyone will, um, admire their older sibling like I do.”

“If we always saw things through the eyes of everyone, it might save us unnecessary disputes, but it would be quite taxing on the human brain. Don’t chastise yourself, since he’s equally at fault. If he saw things how you see them, he wouldn’t have gotten angry about your supposedly insensitive comment.”

“I’m just scared, just scared of angering people. That’s why, um, you reminded me of Cal. That is, b-because you always seemed to be... please don’t get mad at me... in a foul mood. You both had that aura… how should I describe it... as if you’d lost sight of your way, and were just, um, ambulating through life.”

Shelly was trembling with nervousness, so much so that when I stretched a hand in her direction, she winced thinking that I might punch or slap her. I only placed my hand on her shoulder in an effort to calm her down.

“You aren’t wrong,” I admitted. “Ambulating through life sounds fitting, actually. Ever since I left Everland, ever since I lost my compass, my guide, I’ve only done what I had to do to take my mind off of some traumatic events. In fact, my aim to become stronger and overthrow Everland’s Queen may be nothing more than an attempt to wash my conscience of what really can’t be amended.”

“I don’t want to remind you of, um, traumatic things you don’t want to remember,” Shelly whispered.

“It’s alright. Aladdin already opened that Pandora’s box for you. After that incident and my other slip ups, I don’t think much imagination is needed to conclude that many died under my command, in large part thanks to Aladdin but also because of my lack of foresight. Many people important to me,” I said. “And I could tell you the A through Z of the drama right now, but I’m seeing Blake going into a building right now. I think that’s a more pressing matter.”

I pointed at the blue-haired man walking with exaggerated movement of his upper body. He proceeded, by coincidence, into the building that Aladdin had exited from earlier that day.

 

I waved to Shelly without a word and ran over to the building. We asked the lady at the front desk about the floor Blake lived in, lying that we had business with him, and she told us that he lived in the penthouse.

When we got there, we found Blake already sitting on the floor playing video games. We entered his apartment, and he didn’t even as much as glance our way. I made way for Shelly to pass, since I figured she should be the one to confront Blake after she went the extra mile to find the whereabouts of her friend. She hesitated for a moment, but then walked up to Blake with uneven steps.

“Um, ugh, Blake? You’re Blake, right? Um, we know y-you’re looking after Heather,” she said. “C-can you tell us where she is?”

A couple of seconds of silence ensued, and then Blake replied with a lazy “uh-huh”. That was it. Shelly waited a few more seconds, but seeing as Blake was not talking, insisted upon the matter.

“So, then, um, could you, uh, please tell me now?”

“Yeah.”

I waited a few more seconds until I stepped in. I walked to the TV and switched it off.

“Hey, what’s that for? And what the fuck are you doing in my apartment?”

“You left the door open. All we had to do was take the elevator.”

“And you came in just because you could, huh? Sounds like criminal behavior.”

“Don’t want to hear that from someone who’s abusing a little girl,” I shrugged. “Now, tell us where Heather is, before I snap.”

“Wow scary! Skinny girl in a pink dress,” Blake raised both of his hands up in an exaggerated fashion. “What are you going to do to me? Turn me into cotton candy?”

“Don’t try me.”

I was inches from losing it and starting the fight, especially since I was starting to see Aladdin’s odious face superimposed onto Blake’s. However, Shelly took the lead of the conversation in order to steer it away from violence.

“No please. Let's just t-talk. Yes, talking is good.”

Blake stood up from the cushion and stretched his upper body.

“Fine. Look, there’s no need to mince words here. We already know what sides we’re each on, so let me make you a deal,” he said. “Get me the Ruby Ring, and I’ll tell you where Heather is.”

“The Ruby Ring? Why, you’re one of Team Meteor, aren’t you?” I exclaimed. Suddenly, it all made sense as to why he didn’t want Heather giving out food to the Ametrine people. Team Meteor had blocked their trade route so they would starve, and this guy must have been tasked to see that their objective was crystalized.

“Surprise surprise,” Blake shrugged with the same frivolous tone. “So what do you say, deal?”

“Hell no,” I replied, remembering Charlotte’s recommendation of not giving into the enemy’s terms.

“Eh, but Vanilla. We have to f-find Heather, and he’s the only one who can t-tell us.”

“She’s right, you know,” Blake added. “But ya know what. I’ll throw in an extra prize for you. Here.”

He took out a disk from his pocket, and raised it high for both of us to see it clearly.

“This is the TM for Waterfall. As you can imagine, you can climb and descend waterfalls with it. You were looking for this, isn’t that right?”

“I don’t know, was I?” I asked with absolute honesty.

“Um, Vanilla. R-remember, um, that waterfall… The girl with the red hair, um, and a steel arm.”

Indeed, suddenly Titania’s poker face flashed on the back of my mind. The whole ordeal with Aya getting captured, looking for Heather and Agate’s sleeping signal up here in Ametrine, and then crossing paths with Aladdin had all made me forget that Titania had likely been stuck down the waterfall for days.

“Way to go, kid. Say what now? Deal or no deal?”

“Still a no deal from me,” I replied.

“Please don’t say that. Please, Vanilla,” Shelly begged me, and I felt a tiny stinging feeling in my chest.

“Shelly, Team Meteor has been after the Ruby Ring, which really is Heather’s. I’ve only been guarding it because a certain annoying dragon woman thought it’d keep her sisters safe if I did. It worked in my favor as well, so I’ve been doing just that. If I give this brat the ring, he won’t have any reason to tell us where Heather is... and they might kill Aya.”

The last bit of my speech surprised even myself. To think that I was now basing my decisions on the life or death of someone outside my Defiance team! However, it should have been obvious all along. I may have started this fight against Team Meteor when Florinia proposed it to me as an efficient way to train up a team of Pokemon as my new team of the Defiance, but somewhere down the path my goals intertwined with that of the Gym leaders who wanted to protect their region from the terrorists. I wondered if Florinia had tricked me, knowing from the very beginning that I would eventually have no choice than to care for the people I was fighting with. If that was the case, I knew not whether to fear Team Meteor’s leaders or Florinia the most. Thankfully, it had been quite a while since I saw her last, and I didn’t look forward to falling for her manipulation anytime soon.

“Oh, and by the way, I got Heather locked up in a small hut without heating, if that helps change your mind,” Blake said, bringing me back to the moment.

“How could you do that! You’re awful for making Heather, um, suffer like that,” Shelly cried. “Please Vanilla. I don’t want Heather to d-die… the cold up here is h-harsh. Please.”

With Shelly in tears begging as if it were her own life that depended on it, I just could not keep my cool. I was ashamed of my weakness, but I also considered that we could still take the ring back sometime later. Even though it gave me no pleasure to remember, it was also somewhat of a consolation that wherever he was, Radomus was keeping the Amethyst Pendant, and he was on our side, as far as I knew. Aya’s life would perhaps still be spared as long as the pendant did not fall into Team Meteor’s hands.

“Deal. Give me Waterfall and tell me where you have Heather, I’ll give you the ring,” I sighed.

“You have it here right now?”

I took the ring out of my bag and showed it to him.

“I see. I’d been told that the fire bitch had it, but guess their report was wrong,” Blake shrugged, and then added as an afterthought, “Ah, that was probably vague. I meant the fire bitch that isn’t related to me.”

“Don’t call C-Cal or Charlotte like that,” Shelly said, in as angry a tone she could produce.

“Whatever. Here, have the TM. Give me the ring.”

We exchanged items simultaneously, and I blocked the way to the exit so he wouldn’t dare escape on us until he told us Heather’s whereabouts.

“Heather’s down a secret path,” he said, pressing one of the buttons on his game controller, which automatically slid a shelf sideways to reveal the way. “That’s all folks. Now get out of my way.”

I allowed him to pass, and he pressed the elevator’s button.

“One more thing,” I said, remembering Agate’s sleeping signal a little too late. “Where’s the origin of the sleep signal? We know it’s in Ametrine.”

“My job here’s done, and if you really want to know, I frankly don’t know or care about any of that,” he said. “I take orders from Team Meteor, I execute them. I don’t care what others are ordered to do or what the group's ultimate goals are. They’re all a bunch of nutjobs anyway.”

The elevator came, and Blake disappeared from out sight. I knew asking him about the signal would accomplish nothing, but it was worth a shot given how lazy he was.

“Well, I guess you got what you wanted,” I told Shelly. “Let’s set your friend free.”

 

VANILLA RATES: REBORN CHARACTERS

Spoiler

• Shelly (+/-1): 8/10 she was honest on what she spoke about Cal, even though it must've been difficult for her to come to terms with it. however, her begging made us lose the Ruby Ring, though I am partially to blame for that.
• Blake: 0/10 no comments, just hate his guts
• Florinia: (-1): 4/10 I have a feeling she's a master manipulator

I hope it was at least a yummy doughnut! Also, linking those events (Florinia convincing Vanilla to fight Team Meteor, Cal talking about Shelly on Pyrous Mountain) almost brought me to tears. It's been so long since I started this story, and it makes me happy to see how far we've come story-wise and character-development-wise. Thanks to all who reads this because although I'd write the story because I care for it, it also gives me strength to keep it up

 

QUICK LINK TO NEXT EPISODE

[J-Awesome_One 1328]

I was totally expecting Vanilla to not give the ring to Blake no matter what but that's surprising she did. Again, as always, you've done a great job on this.

[Candy 1688]

2 minutes ago, J-Awesome_One said:

I was totally expecting Vanilla to not give the ring to Blake no matter what but that's surprising she did. Again, as always, you've done a great job on this.

I was highkey forced to do it because if you choose not to give the ring, Blake takes the ring from you like he was taking candy away from a child. So I asked, "which is more improbable: Vanilla getting the ring robbed by Blake, or Vanilla giving him the ring because of Shelly's nagging?" And I replied, "Vanilla would break Blake's nose before he could try to steal the ring from her, so that ain't happening bruh." Hence why I made Shelly extra-adamant about giving him the ring xD

[J-Awesome_One 1328]

1 hour ago, Candy said:

I was highkey forced to do it because if you choose not to give the ring, Blake takes the ring from you like he was taking candy away from a child. So I asked, "which is more improbable: Vanilla getting the ring robbed by Blake, or Vanilla giving him the ring because of Shelly's nagging?" And I replied, "Vanilla would break Blake's nose before he could try to steal the ring from her, so that ain't happening bruh." Hence why I made Shelly extra-adamant about giving him the ring xD

Ok. That makes sense. Honestly, I thought he was gonna sneakily steal it from them when the 2 were talking to each other what to do.

[SilverAngelus 926]

11 hours ago, Candy said:

I was highkey forced to do it because if you choose not to give the ring, Blake takes the ring from you like he was taking candy away from a child. So I asked, "which is more improbable: Vanilla getting the ring robbed by Blake, or Vanilla giving him the ring because of Shelly's nagging?" And I replied, "Vanilla would break Blake's nose before he could try to steal the ring from her, so that ain't happening bruh." Hence why I made Shelly extra-adamant about giving him the ring xD

Looks like Vanilla's not getting the Shiny charm anytime soon.  

[J-Awesome_One 1328]

6 minutes ago, SilverHelio said:

Looks like Vanilla's not getting the Shiny charm anytime soon.  

I mean it's not like she catches any new Pokemon in the region. I mean, even Pikachu AKA Mimikyu isn't technically owned by her. Unless I missed a scene where she used a Pokeball on it.