Another day, another life threatening, but educational adventure. This time, Vanilla had been with Navy by the beach when a sudden feeling of vertigo came over her. She felt herself falling endlessly into some sort of void. The details were sparse, but it didn't take a Rocket scientist to know that something didn't really add up all that much. Vanilla clutched Proxii in some vain attempt to stop her fall but it just kept going on and on. Eventually they reached an end as she blinked and found herself that definitely wasn't Hoenn.

"Huh?" Vanilla looked all around at the foreign landscape. This was like something out of some nonsensical dream. Stairways and paths looping all around in ways that didn't seem possible. Waterfalls moving up instead of down, and most noticeably, Navy being upside down. "Where are we?" Vanilla asked aloud. Proxii, the ever vigilant Rotom, would pull out a digital map of the area, or he would have if one existed. His screen was crossed out with an error message lacking a signal. "Wherever we are, this definitely isn't Hoenn. I don't even see any map data."

Navy seemed to have been in good health despite their fall while the teen looked up to him, heeding her words once more. "You don't have to tell me that again…" she replied, the gravity of the situation settling in. "There's a way back to Hoenn. We're not going to be stuck here, right?" Vanilla's mind couldn't comprehend this place as much as she thought she could from the first glance. But if they just fell into an open wormhole like this, then how were they going to get back? What about the gym challenge? What about Biscotti? She couldn't stay here forever!

The teen gave off an aura of anxiety, a general uneasiness when faced with the thought of being stuck here. Vanilla's hand went to mess with the jewel around her neck, nails gently digging into the surface of the gem out of habit. "I think we should try and meet up first. Maybe look around and see if we can both get on the same plane. Just be careful about platforms and things here, Navy. "

Michael Navidson

"RIght. There's gotta be a way out of here somewhere. Knowing wormholes, there's probably an exit somewhere." Vanilla felt a little better at his optimism. She'd breathe a sigh of relief while craning her head up to meet Navy's vision while the two stood on parallel planes with each other. They began a slow walk while Vanilla was offered some chance to talk and just be normal for a change. Sure they were stuck in whatever fresh hell this was, but that wouldn't stop Vanilla some. Their footsteps trekked down the beaten path while they walked.

They walked on as she gazed around the sky. Just around them just faintly visible, were orbs that moved as they continued to walk down the path. They almost looked like eyes of some kind, following their target with great interest. It only further put Vanilla on edge and would have had her panic had Navy not been there to get her mind off of things.

"It's been something." she said, beginning her recollection. "Since the gym challenge, I've been to the Safari Zone and catching Pokémon for my team. I got a Charcadet and I might evolve it to match somebody else's. Thomas Benoit." She said while her gaze went to the sky with a smirk. "We met one day when some Rocket thugs had caught Proxii and I fishing. They dumped my bag and threatened me when he came by. We tore through those Rocket grunts together and he's the coolest guy. Maybe as cool as you." Through her recollection, Navy could make out her perception of Thomas. Even if he didn't know the guy, the former Elite Four had left his mark on the girl.

They chatted some more, but Vanilla would begin to grow wary. Her tone softened until she'd go quiet for a moment. Could Navy know what she was feeling? It was something he could have went through before. She spoke up after a while before the teen would look back at him after what felt like a solid minute. "N-Navy, can I ask you something? I know you've dealt with this stuff before, and I was hoping maybe you could help."

Michael Navidson

Vanilla nodded in agreement, casting the Sheriff with a knowing glance. "I agree. He comes off…a certain way, but deep down, I think he’s way more nice than that aura he gives off. At least, to me anyway." Sure, she was a bit biased from him saving her Fuecoco and all of his assistance, but Vanilla did think that Thomas did have a good heart in him. It was just buried underneath a lot of excess baggage that made it hard to see sometimes.

Navy warned her about him as she’d nod her head along and continue down the stroll the two of them were engaged in. They stumbled across a pond that he used to travel over to her side, in a rather confusing way. This place didn’t exactly have all of its laws altogether. It was like watching a Basculegion swim up a waterfall, if said waterfall was half of a donut of her perspective. The man reached her, another weight off of her shoulder. One less thing to worry about. She’d hesitate to open up as he gave the go ahead. A slow breath came out of the teenager as she tried to settle her mind as they walked again.

"I know you said being a trainer isn’t innocent. It’s a cruel world. I know it’s dangerous, b-but just after everything I’ve been through…" Her brows furrowed as her mouth was left agape, struggling to find the exact words for her issue. After a second of thinking, Vanilla began again. "Have you ever talked to somebody who hasn’t gone what you’ve been through? You just…feel weird? I have friends at school and class, stuff every kid has, but when I talk to them I just…don’t feel like a kid anymore. It’s like listening to a baby complain that they didn’t get their favorite snack or something. I don’t know, I just…They don’t know what it’s like to be through what I’ve been through, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I just feel like an alien to them."

Vanilla vented, her gaze lowered in shame. It had gradually lowered until the girl couldn’t make a conscious effort to meet Navy’s eyes any longer. "And the nightmares. I keep having the same one. Just swimming in an endless ocean. I swim and swim and hear people calling out to me, but eventually, I just sink."

She stopped, her emotional dam finally breaking as Vanilla wiped her eyes, the waterworks starting. "I know it’s part of what we do, b-but it feels like I’m just alone with kids my age. I just want it to stop."

Michael Navidson

Feeling the warmth of Navy's arms around her, Vanilla hugged him back with full force. While comforting, it also proved to really drive home how much she had missed this feeling before. The tears flowed down even more as the unfamiliar sensation of a hug had felt so foreign to her. They stood for a moment, but it had felt three times as long. Navy pulled away as she wiped her eyes while in the middle of tears. "Thanks..." she said, her bleeding heart slowly being shoved back into her chest. Navy spoke about her not being alone in this kind of feeling. It was something that was a bit of a surprise to her. It brought a bit of comfort to her as she let out a soft exhale.

But then came that question that made her pause. There was a way to forget all of it? To make sure this wouldn't ever be felt again? It was tempting, although she would frown in thought. "There's a way to forget?..." The teen pursed her lips in thought, fingers twitching. It was tempting, and every ounce of her wanted to push herself towards it. But what if the coast was too great? Vanilla winced in thought, still looking down.

"I don't want to forget." she said through tears still, hiccuping as her head shook from left to right. "I don't want to forget everyone I've met since I started. You, Thomas, some of the Rangers. Even Pokemon and things I've seen. Even if it hurts a lot and I'm alone in the world, I still have something to remember them by. Even her." She motioned to the earring around her neck. The sign of a lost first love that the League had robbed her of. After that, Vanilla managed to pick her gaze from the floor and just walk about.

Michael Navidson

"Navy..." Vanilla listened to the heartfelt words that the Sheriff had knelt down and told her. Her expression lightened into a hopeful smile, the teenager cheering up as Navy told her that she wasn't alone in this journey. The terms were pretty agreeable, and she didn't want to admit it to him, but she was being entirely reckless. When the man finished, Vanilla gave him another short hug, this time squeezing him with all of her might, which probably wasn't much for a worn man. "I promise I'll come to you every time. You look after me and I'll look after you. That's what my Dad always told his Ranger buds."" She released him as he'd talk about the future. It did scare Vanilla a little, not knowing what would happen to the region years from now. But for whatever reason, Vanilla did feel a bit better from that.

"I've been thinking about that a lot." Vanilla said, nodding her head along with Navy. "I don't know if I want to be a Ranger like Dad, but I want to help out in the world. I've met a lot of people and Pokemon in need of help. El Sunderland and I once found a Garbodor stuck in the sewers. Helpless and clogging up everything. Even those missions in Ultra Space. I know I couldn't offer much in terms of helping, but I want to make a difference. I'm damaged already, but I can still help out things. I don't want anybody to go through what Kanto or anybody might have gone through. Hoenn could always use more heroes."

Michael Navidson

Vanilla smiled again, her spirits lifted up once again. Though a bit worse for wear and lost in the world, she felt better to know that it wasn't just her experiencing this. She had talked with some of the Rangers, and while not entirely sure if it's what wanted to do, Vanilla did want to do some good in the world. Her wanderlust was far too great after leaving home now to hang up the coat. "Maybe I'll work my way up to a Sheriff." she joked, grinning wide as the environment around them would begin to fade away back into the real world. Their time in here was up, though she couldn't help but thank whoever had brought them in here for a little heart-to-heart.

But what beat adventure more than ice cream. It caught her attention, the teenager's head going up and down as fast as it could manage. "Sure! What kind of flavor do you usually get? You can probably guess mine." She said as their surroundings were quick to end up back where they once were. The soft ground of Hoenn beneath their feet was probably the warmest return to home that she could ask for. Vanilla looked up to the skies above for a moment, then back onto the road ahead, with the town's entrance just barely visible on the horizon. "Oh, and Navy. You're the best." she winked, then tagging along in search of ice cream.

Michael Navidson