Chapter 31: No Train, No Game
Bryce awoke earlier than normal. He was anxious to start training, so he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep. For half an hour, he just watched Violet sleep. Bryce sighed contentedly.
"I love you so much, Violet." He admired her features in the small amount of light. He loved the warm feeling of her fur against his skin, her warm paws around his back, the beautiful smile, the happiness she radiated… only one thing was missing. Once she opened her eyes, it was there. Those eyes…it was like staring into heaven. The glow in those eyes completed the picture that was the beautiful Lucario in front of him. He just looked at her, smiling.
After a while, Violet looked puzzled. "Are you okay?"
He continued to smile with a dreamy look on his face. "I'm great." Pulling her closer to him, Bryce gave her a long kiss. Then he let his emotion take over him as he kissed her face all over. Violet giggled and kissed back. After a while, she stopped laughing. Then she became worried again. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Bryce stopped disappointedly. "Yeah." He got out of bed and headed for the shower, locking the door behind him.
*Maybe I shouldn't let my emotion guide me…I don't want to upset her…* Bryce thought. The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. He didn't want to lose the only person that meant the world to him. Sighing, he stepped out of the shower. After he got dressed, he walked into the kitchen. Bryce was hungry earlier, but now he couldn't eat. He walked over to the couch and got one of the books off of the shelf and started reading it. Violet walked over and immediately knew something was wrong. Bryce wasn't a huge fan of reading; he would much rather be playing a videogame or something more interactive.
"What's wrong now?"
He looked up with a blank expression. "Nothing. Are you hungry?"
Violet began to focus her aura. "Don't…" Bryce protested, closing his mind. Sadly for him, he was just a little too late.
"Bryce, that didn't upset me. I was just surprised to see you being so affectionate early in the morning."
"I just…didn't want to scare you. I'm here to protect you, and I don't want you to…" Bryce started, but then stopped, realizing how stupid he sounded.
"…to be afraid of you?"
"No, I…don't want you to…not love me after I do something I didn't think through." He choked out.
Violet was near tears. "Bryce, I'll always love you." She embraced him tightly. "No one is perfect, and I'd be a fool to give you up." She kissed him softly. "Nobody will take you away from me…not even you." She smiled.
Slowly, he smiled back. "I love you, Violet."
"I love you too, Bryce."
The two cuddled until the portal appeared for Bryce. "I'll see you soon, beautiful." He teased before walking through.
Bryce opened his eyes to see the room where he was interviewed about his past.
"Welcome back." The same hooded figure spoke from the chair. "There are just a few more things for you to do before starting officially. First, you need your uniform…and before you complain, it's completely up to you how it looks. The only requirement is it will have a small logo visible to other members, should you ever have to go to other worlds. Some retired members might be able to help you."
Bryce nodded. "Where do I need to go?"
"Nowhere. Just imagine what you want to wear for your uniform."
Bryce concentrated for a moment before a ring of light formed around his legs and went up past his head. Bryce was now dressed in a dark purple cape that fell to just above his ankles with violet pants and a violet shirt. The cape also had a hood, but it was off right now, hanging behind Bryce's head.
"Now you will put your abilities, judged by Dwyer, to use." Without another word, the unknown figure teleported Bryce to what looked like a hallway with multiple training rooms. The door on the far left had a sign that said, "Beginners stop here first". Bryce turned the handle and walked in the room and was met with about fifty pairs of eyes. While he didn't expect to be met with all of these faces, his expression didn't convey it all. Quickly looking around, Bryce sat in one of the chairs positioned around the room. As everyone continued to stand or sit where they were, Bryce noticed straight away that no one was talking. There were several species: multiple Pokémon, a few members of what looked like the Cornerian army, a couple of Zoras(1) and Gorons(2), some laguz(3)… but no other humans.
*Somehow, that doesn't surprise me.* Bryce thought.
Another Pokémon walked through the door, and Bryce noticed something out of the corner of his eye. There was a board with a message: "Beginners left: 1"
*It must decrease every time someone walks in.*
As the final beginner, a Sheikah(4), walked in, the message counted down to zero before fading away. Immediately, two figures similar to the hooded figure from the office appeared. They wore the same cloak as the figure as well, the only difference was one wore red and the other blue.
"Welcome to the Legion of Light!" The red figure said happily.
The blue figure cleared his throat. "All right, I'll make this quick. We're going to split you up into groups to work with you individually or as a group of two or three. If you remember, the hallway outside of that door had others like it. Simply find the door with your race and step through. There will be more doorways like it, so keep selecting the category that fits you. That is all; you may head to your doors now."
Some of the faces smiled in appreciation, others merely rose and headed out the door. Bryce waited for the doorway to clear out so he wouldn't have to fight through the crowd. He did the same thing at school back on earth, and just like earth, it paid off. However, he wasn't the only smart one, as the Sheikah teleported from behind the door to in front of her door.
As Bryce walked down the hall, he watched the others walk through other doors. Finally he reached the door with "Humans" at the very end of the hall. Walking through it, he saw more doors. As he went through the doors that were marked "Male", "Spell caster", and "Mage", he found himself in a predicament. There were doors marked from left to right: Fire, Wind, Thunder, Dark, and Light… but he was supposed to master them all…
Just as he realized this, a golden door formed on the left wall with the word "All". Bryce walked to the new door and turned the handle. Walking into the large training room, he noticed a man in golden robes, similar to the door's color.
"Ah, it's been quite a while since I've had a student. Welcome." His voice was soft, but it seemed to project very well. "Now, I'm going to tell you right now- you and all of the other beginners will be in a contest in a week. The contestants who do the best will have the best assignments in the future…and all of the other contestants who place well on their team."
Even though Bryce was curious to know more about the challenge and teams, he was much more eager to get into training.
"Now, that's enough of that. Let's get into training." He motioned to Bryce, signaling him to follow him back to a set of targets ranging from the size of a car to a baseball. "Oh, and call me Glynn." Upon reaching the targets, Glynn conjured several books in mid-air. There was one green, another yellow, and also a red, black, and white.
"As you already know, these are tomes. These actually aren't required for mages or sages experienced enough, but you'll never be able to unleash magical ability until you touch one at the very least. So, which would you like to start with?"
"It doesn't matter to me." Bryce shrugged. He knew that he'd be practicing with them all. Besides, he didn't know what to expect from using each one.
"Very well, we shall start with Light magic. It is typically the weakest of spells, but also the easiest to handle." Glynn grabbed the book, still floating, and handed it to Bryce. The moment the book touched his outstretched hand, he felt magic course through him.
"Now you should be able to cast a weak light magic attack. Reading the book and practicing will make your magic become stronger, and that works with any spell. Now, let's see you hit the largest target. Each spell requires a different emotion. Light requires happiness, so think of an uplifting thought."
That was easy for Bryce. He thought of the time he watched Violet out above the gorge at his father's ranch, illuminated in a golden light from the sunrise. Instinctually, he extended his hand at the target. As he did this, a ball of light shot from his hand and into the target, destroying it.
"Well done." Glynn said. "Let's see if you can hit the other targets."
Bryce had no problem destroying all of the other targets. Once they were all gone, they reformed and moved back into place. Bryce handed the book back and Glynn swapped it out with the dark magic tome.
"Dark magic is typically the strongest of all spells, however it can be harder to wield and it also has a low accuracy. For this spell, you need to think of something that makes you feel depressed. With this type of spell, you need to release the monster within."
Bryce thought a moment. Remembering all of the times before Violet, when he was alone with no one to care about him…he recalled all of the rage when extending his hand forward. A dark ball of energy shot at the largest target and destroyed it with ease.
"Good. Remember to keep the rage under control. That's one reason that many dark mages and sages in history are evil. They lose control. If you can hold it in, then dark magic is actually a very helpful spell for the side of light as well. Now, aim for the others."
Taking caution not to lose control with the anger built up, Bryce destroyed all of the other targets with spheres of shadow.
"It seems you have a real knack for this. I remember the last student I had, and he missed those last three targets." He shrugged. "Then again, there's usually one type of spell that everyone has trouble with." Chuckling, he handed the thunder tome to Bryce as he took back the dark tome. "This is the one I couldn't control when I started. Thunder spells are the second strongest, but they also have low accuracy. This one requires a thought of anger, not rage. Rage can sometimes seem as if there is no meaning to it, however anger is usually a dislike with reason."
* The thunder that strikes the earth is my anger.(5)* Bryce thought. He remembered the hate against his parents for never acting like they cared. Extending his hand, lightning shot from it and destroyed the target almost instantly.
"That was a powerful strike. You've definitely got good memories to draw on using these spells."
Bryce merely nodded as he obliterated the other targets. Taking the thunder tome back and handing him the red one, he continued to explain the spells.
"Fire. This type of spell is right in the middle in both power and accuracy. If you have a strong love or passion for something, this should prove easy to wield."
That was the easiest one yet. Just one thought of Violet was sufficient. After all, she was who Bryce was fighting for. With Violet in mind, he held up his hand yet again a gigantic fireball destroyed the target.
"That's a much bigger fireball than a typical mage could produce starting out. Whatever that memory is, never forget it; because that is the strongest fireball that tome can produce."
Bryce smiled. Handing back the red book, he then took the light green tome from Glynn.
"You haven't had trouble yet, but as I said, there is always one type of spell that every mage or sage will struggle with one type, so this must be the one you will struggle with. Wind is the weakest type of spell, but it is the most accurate as well. I'd suggest thinking of something that sets you mind free."
This one took Bryce a moment to think of. Free…when was a time he felt free? Of course…the only time he ever felt free was kissing Violet. He extended his hand and aimed at the target. A strip of wind cut the target in half as if the wind was a sword. Continuing to think of Violet's warm embrace, Bryce destroyed all of the targets…almost. Once he reached the final target, a sudden rush of memory came back to him- this morning when he scared Violet. The gust of wind formed and shot near the target, but it just barely missed it. Immediately, Bryce knew why. He had to trust himself and his memory.
"That's to be expected. I'd tell you how to fix it, but judging by your expression, you already know how."
Bryce nodded. *Maybe I should talk to Violet when I get back.* He thought.
"Well, that ought to do it for today. You may not realize it, but when you start out, that much practice will strain your magical ability. So…" he handed all of the books to Bryce. "I mentioned that reading the spells will increase your power with the spells, so choose one of these and read it in two days. You won't have a class tomorrow, so enjoy the day off."
"Already a day off?" Bryce asked.
"Yes, the Legion has never been known for giving a strict schedule. Plus, I know that you know how to fix the problem with using the wind spell, so I'd suggest getting to that."
"I will." Bryce said as the portal appeared. "Thanks for the help."
"Not a problem. It's been a while since I've got to teach. Now I know why I missed it."
Bryce walked through the portal and back into the living room of the house. Setting the books on the small table in front of the couch, he went to look for Violet to apologize for not trusting her. Turning the corner to the hallway, he was met with a blue blur tackling him and pinning him to the floor.
"Violet, what the-" he started before she kissed his face all over before planting a warm passionate kiss right on his lips. Bryce was too surprised to respond, but then Violet gave him the "you're supposed to kiss me back" look. The two stayed lying on the ground in a passionate kiss for a few minutes.
"I'm sorry-" Bryce began.
"No, I am. I should have realized you were just being romantic. It just caught me off guard." Violet put a paw on his chin and ran it up the side of his face smiling. "I love you, Bryce."
He smiled back. "I love you too, Violet."
Violet kissed him again, with more love she had then ever before. She let her paws roam freely, and quickly Bryce was as well. They hugged and kissed until they were worn. Finally, they broke apart and got up. As they continued their day eating and going to the beach area for a walk, Bryce explained everything as Violet listened with interest.
"…but now I know I can use that wind spell."
Violet smiled. "So you know what memory to use?"
"Yep. This one."
Right as the sun set, Bryce pulled Violet close to him and kissed her, putting his arms around her waist. She rested her paws on the back of his neck and happily kissed back. After breaking apart, the two left the beach and went to bed without another word…because no words were needed.
Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long. It was a mix of FanFiction not letting me update (but that's fixed now) and starting my new story (which if you haven't, you should check it out). I think this delay was worth it though. I'd rather have a good chapter that took a while rather than a quick, sloppy chapter. :) Hope you liked it!
Side Note: Since someone brought it up in a PM, if anyone would like to draw artwork for BrycexViolet, I'd love to see it. Just keep it clean (meaning no sex, perverts :P. Just kidding, you guys are cooler than that). Something like a kiss or them laying out on a chair cuddling would be cute. You don't have too, just thought I'd bring it up if any artists are interested.
(1): Zoras are an aquatic race that serve the Royal Family. They are from Zelda.
(2): Gorons are a race of rock-like creatures that are known for their power. Also from Zelda.
(3): A half human, half animal warrior. They transform into a cat, tiger, hawk, raven, wolf, or dragon. They are from the Fire Emblem series.
(4): Shadow folk who serve the royal family. There is not much known about them. From Zelda.
(5):This is a quote from Flat (part of the dead Royal Family), one of the composer brothers. His brother sold his soul to the devil and he teaches Link the Song of Storms, commenting on how the rain is his tears and the thunder is his anger. From Zelda.