Chapter 17: Caught
Now that the pair of them were finally in a room, the slightly off odor that was emanating from the lobby of the vet was thankfully far less prominent. The colors and general feeling of the room however? Those features were simply more of the same. Sure, it was probably best not to have too many distracting elements for any pets brought into the vet, but the very dull green walls and black and white tiles, all cracked here and there from their years of use, were all definitely overdue for a replacement. Still, the staff here seemed to be invested in taking care of animals over all the years Shadow had been brought here.
"...and they'll be right with you." The charge finished, heading towards the door that connected the room to where the staff area was.
Bryce nodded, setting Shadow's cat carrier down on the bench. Unzipping the flap to let Shadow free, the feline poked her head out, examining the unfamiliar territory. Well, unfamiliar since last year, and between now and then, who knew how many animals had come through here? He carefully pet Shadow just behind the ears. Thankfully, she didn't rattle easily, and now that she was getting a bit older, any of the typical nerves that the black feline once had were now mellowed out. A few moments of attention later and she slipped out of the carrier in full. Now able to move the crate down to the floor, the two were able to share the bench. Shadow's eyes scanned the room.
"She's not here, bud. Sorry."
It almost felt like a moment where a parent felt a bit downcast that their child wanted the other parent. Still, it'd be impossible to get Violet here undetected. Bryce may have been Shadow's favorite, but the Lucario in question seemed to be giving him a run for his money.
"We'll head back soon, okay?"
The answer seemed to satisfy Shadow enough that she rested her head on her owner's lap. Of course, no sooner had she done so than the vet came in with a small weight scale. Even though Shadow didn't put up a fight, that was all the more reason to treat her when she did get home. Both owner and pet seemed to understand that the less they resisted, the sooner they could leave. With that notion in mind, it took only a few minutes for the vet to finish everything they needed to.
"...well, I think that's everything. It's a bit remarkable." The vet mused as Bryce let Shadow retreat to the carrier–the one area of space that belonged to her alone. "For a cat her age, she's in great health. Perfect weight, good flexibility and bone structure, muscles look good. Wouldn't believe she's her age if we didn't have it documented."
Noting that it was good to hear, Bryce thanked the vet for checking in on his cat before they headed their separate ways. He wasn't about to torture Shadow any further, so Bryce quickly paid and said goodbye to the receptionist. Luckily, it wasn't too far of a drive from the vet to back home, and only a few minutes later Bryce placed the carrier on the ground of the kitchen. This time, Shadow was all too happy to scamper out, going right to a nearly empty food bowl as Bryce followed. He opened the cupboard above the bowl.
"Fair enough, Shadow. You earned it."
He'd only fed her a little in the early morning, in case travel didn't agree with her stomach, but now that she was back home, safe and sound, a second meal wouldn't hurt. One satisfied cat later, followed by putting the oft unused kennel tucked away in the garage, Bryce checked the backyard. No Violet. He checked his own room. No Violet. Third time lucky, he carefully peeked into her room to see if she was asleep.
Asleep? No. Zoned out? Yes. The mellowed out Lucario was sprawled out on the bed, head plopped on her pillow and eyes closed. Both earbuds were in her ears as she idly bobbed her head to whatever music she was listening to, the only indicator that she was, in fact, still awake. Tempting though it was to mess with her while she was seemingly none the wiser that he was even here, Bryce decided against it, simply watching her relax.
After a few moments, her eyes slowly opened. Violet's gaze settled on the human. "Were you just standing there, watching me?"
Her voice didn't have the usual light, airy tone that came with the end of her daily meditation. It wasn't a playful, teasing question, either…more like genuine curiosity as to what Bryce was doing. Maybe it had caught him off-guard a bit. Rather than come up with a sarcastic response or something playful as well, he answered honestly.
"Yeah. Probably for about a minute or two." He paused. "Sorry for not knocking. Didn't want to wake you up if you were sleeping."
Violet slid over, subconsciously directing Bryce to sit with her. As he did so, she responded.
"Speaking of sleeping, you seem to be sleeping better lately." Violet noted, giving a small smile. "Finally managed to drop the stress of school?"
"School's not really stressful, aside from trying to work around the chaos of other kids." He replied, removing his shoes at the foot of the bed before laying back, arms behind his head for extra support. "But yeah. I guess I have been getting more rest than normal."
Part of him wanted to attribute that to working more than normal around the house. Cooking for two, meditating, swimming more often, helping Violet with her gardening from time to time, cleaning the garage and guest room to make them habitable, all of it was a lot. Then again, he'd started feeling better before starting to get the appropriate amount of rest, not before…
"About time. I was beginning to wonder how you lived on staying awake for hours on end." She teased, before her tone turned more genuine. "I mean it, though. It's nice to see you well-rested and happy."
He scoffed, though they could both tell his heart wasn't in the gesture. "Probably best to have more rest before driving a car, after all."
A dodgy answer like that was only going to give him a Pokemon who took out her earbuds, quickly rolling over and pinning him to the bed. Her knees kept his thighs from moving and her paws against his elbows, Violet gave him an unimpressed look, waiting for him to break.
As if he was planning on meeting her gaze and knowing smile after her attempt. Instead, he settled on looking away, rolling his eyes.
"Oh? Not going to fight back, mm?" Violet asked playfully, tail wagging as if she'd just caught her prey.
"Against a Pokemon capable of picking me up and throwing me through a wall like it's nothing? No, thank you."
The pair of them both paused, with Violet seemingly not happy with that answer, either. Figuring she wouldn't let up, Bryce looked her dead in the face, and with a flat expression, stuck his tongue out at her. Childish, yes, but effective.
"Careful where you stick that tongue…"
Not as effective as her retort, though. Bryce coughed several times, seemingly choking on air as he blushed slightly.
"Where in the–"
But his swearing was drowned out by Violet laughing as she let her front paws off of his arms, somehow resisting the urge to fall down onto the unoccupied half of the bed. If that didn't stick with Bryce for the next several days, along with the reminder that there was a bit of a dark side in that Lucario, nothing would. Eventually he stopped coughing, blush disappearing from his face.
Until Violet pressed her forehead against his, eyes closing for a few moments as she sighed.
"Uh…what are you doing…?" He couldn't help but ask after a moment, as much as the human didn't want to disturb his housemate's thoughts.
"Mm? Oh! S-Sorry." Now it was her turn to get flustered, clambering off of Bryce in full. "It's just a Lucario thing…a way of reminding one another that we're close to each other…"
The last part of her mumbling sort of tapered off as she crossed one arm over her chest, grabbing her other nervously.
"Speaking of driving, up for another night around town?" Bryce asked, offering her an out. "Tomorrow my dad will be back for a few days, so we probably won't be able to do much…"
It was an out she was more than glad to take, and one that also did sound like a good way to spend the evening. Several hours went by, including a rather messy dinner in which spaghetti was eventually eaten in full and a subsequent shower. Once the curtain of night had fallen in full, the two headed out.
"I really should try and figure out more stuff we can do, driving around like this." Bryce mused, finishing the last of his meal that they'd grabbed at a fast-food place that stayed open late.
Thankfully it was all too easy for Violet to slip into the backseat and tuck herself out of sight, in part from a blanket that Bryce had wisely brought. Violet herself had already finished her food, still eagerly marveling at the lights and sights around the pair of them.
"Are you kidding?" She beamed. "I could look at this for days…"
As much as it would be at least a little help for her research, Violet definitely needed breaks like these…not to collect data for her job, but to collect memories.
"Can we go back to that lookout for a bit?" Violet asked.
"Sure." A quick reply as Bryce internally chuckled at her eagerness.
A lookout did seem a fitting place for a Lucario to enjoy being, though. Besides, they were already headed in that general direction anyway. Soon they were parked in the same place, car locked as they leaned against the sides of the boulders, looking out at the same glow, varied only in the few lights that had either burned out or been replaced in the short time between their last visit.
"Still a thrill?" Bryce teased, looking over at her.
He didn't get a response. Violet was far too busy looking at the seemingly picturesque landscape, eyes glowing as brightly as all of the different lights combined. Feeling it would be a bit much, even from him, to tease further, he let the Lucario revel in her fantasy. For a moment, Bryce got lost in the scene as well. Admittedly…it was pretty amazing that a dull city could look nice from a distance.
No sooner had the moment been created than it disappeared. Violet's ear twitched, her entire demeanor changing.
"Someone's coming."
She was right. Someone was coming. A single car, winding its way around the bend towards them. Bryce scowled. Violet wouldn't have said anything…unless she felt something was wrong.
"Stay out of sight, but be ready, just in case."
"For?"
"For a fight, and possibly a weapon."
Bryce had no clue how bulletproof a steel-type Pokemon could be, but he'd rather not find out. The incoming car started to slow as he leaned against the side of his own vehicle. Bryce faced away from the road, keeping himself as close to Violet's hidden position as he could manage without looking suspicious. Giving the vehicle a side eye, the human raised an eyebrow. Whoever this was, they certainly weren't hurting for money. It was no luxury car, but definitely newer than most, and well maintained to boot.
As expected, the car pulled up behind him, coming to a stop as the engine was turned off and a man exited the vehicle. If Bryce has to guess, someone in their early twenties, not too much older than him.
"Need some help?" He said loudly, still a bit out of range as he walked closer.
"Nah." Bryce returned, his own voice quieting down a bit as the stranger was only a few feet away by the time he responded. "Just enjoying the view out here is all."
"Thank goodness for that. This'd be a bad place to break down in the middle of the night." He said, head nodding to Bryce's car. "Out here by yourself?"
Yep. Trouble. And the moment he lifted himself off the side of his car in full, the stranger slipped a hand into his pocket, pulling out a knife. The man held it at his side, pointed at Bryce, but kept it relatively concealed, in case anyone else were to drive by.
"Easy now. I'm not gonna hurt ya…unless you do anything stupid. Just give me what ya got and I'll be on my way." Any sort of smile had completely disappeared in favor of a small smirk on one side of his face.
Rather than make some sort of wise-crack about how he could always just remember his assailant's plate number, he nodded slowly. "Fine…don't have much, but it's all I got."
"Nice and slow." The robber mused, watching Bryce gradually slide a hand into his own pocket.
His wallet came out at a similar pace. Slowly, he opened it, not breaking his gaze to look at the few bills he kept on him. Once he'd pulled the money out, he responded. "I'll just set them down and then take a few steps back."
"Heh, kind of you." A rather dark chuckle from a man previously faux-disposition of being helpful and cheery. "No credit card?"
"Not old enough." He responded, shrugging only a bit as he carefully sat the money on the ground, standing back up. "Sorry it's not more."
Not in a sarcastic tone, but still something the man seemed to note. "You think I'm doing this for money?" He scoffed. "All about the thrill."
Bryce took several steps backwards, keeping his hands in full view. Still, even without the supposed control of the situation, he didn't rattle. "To each their own."
Shuffling forward, it appeared he'd still be taking the cash regardless. However, that was his biggest mistake. Violet stepped out behind him without a sound, sweep kicking him clean off his feet. Faceplanting in the dirt, the man coughed, Bryce smirking. "Watch your balance there."
"You–!"
Bryce was hardly the one responsible for taking the man to the ground, but his failed attacker could sling as many insults as he wanted as he pushed himself up back to his knees before swinging around…
…only to find a Lucario standing above him, a fire behind her otherwise expressionless face.
"–the–"
Potentially the only other human on this earth that would see a Pokemon, if only for a flash of a second before Violet swung hard, hooking him right in the face with her paw. A loud 'crack' came from the sound of the impact, likely the mugger's jaw as he crumpled back to the ground, unconscious.
The immediate threat taken care of, Violet looked at Bryce, a bit shocked at what she'd done. Still, they were both aware not only that she was pretty tough, but that Violet had also gone through combat training before coming here in the first place. Bryce grinned back at her, before his face went back to a neutral expression and he put a finger to his lips, then pointed to his head.
What Bryce had meant was 'we need to use our heads', but instead, something far different happened.
'A-are…okay…?'
He blinked, surprised. They'd never discussed telepathy much, figuring that Violet would have taken more time to become accustomed to the world around her. Then, perhaps the energy of the world itself would be able to blend with her extraterrestrial abilities. For now, Bryce simply nodded. They could discuss it later. For now, he opened up the door to his car, pulling out a pair of gloves his dad kept in there for the winter months. Sliding them on, the youth then took some of the napkins from the dinner, handing them to Violet.
She looked at him, confused, but once Bryce grabbed the unconscious man's feet, starting to lift them a bit, she seemed to understand. With the napkins serving as a barrier between her and the man, she lifted him up the rest of the way. Tempting though it was to toss the jackass down the hill, the pair walked over to his car, thankful that the door was still open as they placed him inside as best they could before Bryce carefully closed the door. Once the pair made their way back into Bryce's car, the human scooping his money off the ground along the way, Bryce turned the engine on to bring their car to life. Stepping on the gas a little quicker than he normally would, the two were as quickly away from the scene.
"Okay, I think we're–"
"What in Arceus' name just happened?"
"–in the clear." Bryce finished, giving a sigh of relief. "To answer your question, that would be a robber. Not a smart one, but yeah. People resort to illegal acts to do things sometimes." He paused, coming up on the first red light as they were at the edge of the city. "The reason I had us stay quiet and put all that stuff on was just in case he goes to the authorities. No way is he gonna remember seeing you after that punch, but now he's got no fingerprint evidence, and no audio evidence of you, in case big brother decided to listen in."
Violet blinked, unaware of what 'big brother' meant.
"Remember how I mentioned that phones can take what people nearby say and do things like tailor advertisements to cater to the phone's owner?"
"Oh." A pause. "...oh."
"Yeah."
The light turned green as they drove in silence for a few minutes, digesting what all had just happened. At the next red light, however, Bryce continued.
"Well, that was enough fun for one day."
Evidently not, though. Bryce put the car in park just long enough to reach over, giving Violet the best hug he could manage, despite the seat belt restrictions. Violet herself wasn't exactly shaken, but maybe still a little confused about the whole situation and the various feelings swirling between all three of the beings involved in the scuffle.
"...but damn, V, that was one heck of a punch." He grinned at her. "I knew you were tough, but wow…are you sure there's something that you can't do?"
If Bryce had to guess, Lucario were probably a lot more of the type to view their opponents as 'worthy adversaries', but in this instance? Well, he was nothing short of proud of her. Tough Pokemon or not…
"Man, did you kick that guy's ass." He laughed.
Although he didn't enjoy violence, the human also wasn't cool with going after innocent people, either. Particularly so in this case, considering the assailant was doing so for fun.
"Y-Yeah…" She gave a weak chuckle. "...I guess so."
"Well, I know so." He beamed, shooting a wink at her. "I definitely owe you for that show. Anything you like."
"Anything?" She replied, that uncertainty slowly creeping into a playful smirk.
Uh oh. That could mean trouble. But if it was trouble involving Violet?
"Yeah, anything." He smirked back, turning only once the light turned green as they headed home.
Author's Notes: Bet you didn't expect me to update this quickly, did you? Considering the gap between chapters fifteen and sixteen, that's warranted. But I'll be doing my best to update during any November at least once. After all, the 26th of this year will be the two year anniversary of Fantasy's Reality, and a twelve year anniversary of the posting for the original. It's amazing that I've managed to–at least word count wise–do in two years what originally took ten, even if it's realistically not only possible, but probably should be a higher amount. Still, it's a big deal to me, and I'm proud of it.
Another big thing–at least, related to the story, in a way–is dropping tomorrow (November of 2022, for those of you reading in the future) with the release of Pokemon Scarlet…and Violet. Yep, they made a game after–okay, I kid. But I can say my Violet has existed WELL before the actual game with the same name as her did. It's certainly common for the creators of Pokemon to use colors for their titles–see Pokemon: Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed, LeafGreen, Gold, Silver, Crystal, etc. for further details–so having Violet come up was likely inevitable if they were to keep that trend. And yes, Lucario is obtainable in the game as well. Even if not intended at all, it's something I see as kind of sweet. I hope the game is enjoyable, and if it's not, well…let's just say this has the potential to age like fine wine, or like milk. Time will tell!
So, some stuff about the chapter: we'll start with the big thing, that being the confrontation with a mugger. It was an interesting balance that I tried to strike. The 'fight' was designed in such a way that Bryce may not necessarily have needed help, since the robber simply could have taken that money and left without any further incident. I didn't want to leave him as simply a 'dude in distress' who needs to be bailed out by Violet at every turn. That said, I did want to show Violet's strength not only returning, but also that she is physically capable if need be. So perhaps in an alternate universe, one scenario happens over the other. Regardless, it shows that the two can work together, whether it's a physical tag-team or a mental tag-team.
The section afterwards also was meant to highlight that Violet isn't exactly stunned that she had to use her training–particularly given what she's seen in doing her research–but moreso that she has the potential to get lost in her head for doing things that seem outside of her typical comfort zone. It also is a hint towards the fact that she's not the normal Lucario that is used to (potentially) excessive combat. Bryce, however, gets to show off a more supportive side, and also in a way that guys tend to hype up their friends–in short, a way to make him a little more human than he normally acts.
One last little note: that 'be careful where you stick that tongue' is a joke I'll use from time to time, mostly just to catch people off-guard. Always keep 'em guessing, kids. Hope you all enjoy the various end-of-year holidays coming up, as well as the slightly longer than normal update!
Comments are always appreciated, and remember that strength comes in all shapes and sizes. -Delta
