Of Love and Death.

The Present Chapter 11: A Snowy Day Pt. 5

      Spryzen was standing in the hallway. His breath was even, which was good. Perhaps the most important thing to do in the minutes leading up to a battle was calm your nerves. Across from him, he could see Shu standing with his eyes closed. Determination came off the fiery blader in palpable waves. You want to win, Spryzen remarked. It wasn't a question. A statement that shared how they both felt.

     With deliberation the blader opened his eyes. Of course I want to win, he replied. There was no need to say "you do too". It was known to both of them in an instant. Like spooky action at a distance. They were falling in sync in preparation for the upcoming battle. Everything about the partners, from their breath to their stance, to how they moved their eyes had become mirror images of the other's movements.

     Yes, Spryzen could see how that could be taken in a negative way. As if he was possessing Shu. To be honest, both of them had feared that was the case in the years after Red Eye. However, that simply wasn't the case. They were using their own personal resonance in the unique way that theirs was supposed to be used. To put their thoughts and feelings close together, to communicate without needing to, but to remain separate.

      Which was good. Spryzen himself was still reeling from what he'd done. It felt like literally more recently than yesterday to him. He knew that, on some level, Shu felt the same. However, now was the time to put that out of their minds. To focus on what was ahead. Any incidents of the previous day with hand holding were put out of mind. Any worries about your partner or best friend acting stranger were put out of the way. Because it was time to go. The lights in the hallway had changed colors from white to red, indicating that it was time for Shu and Spryzen to head out into the stadium.

      Spryzen smirked, and Shu did the same. With a small red glow, not even perceivable by humans eyes, the bey abandoned his ghostly form and returned to his home base. Inside the room with white pillars, green walls, and red decals in the shape of suns, he felt his partner walk forward. He felt all of the determination swirling around both of them. All of the excitement to battle, and all of the hope that this would actually help the national museum. But most of all the knowledge that it was time.

      Time for the partners to face off against their sworn rivals, and best friends. Time for them to prove that they were strong enough to work together. Time for them to prove, once more, that they deserved their place in the blading world. Time for them to show that they had overcome any adversity they may have faced from their bond.

     Time for them to win.

     Valtryek studied the plans her partner had laid out in this pure white space they often met. They were perhaps the most unintelligible thing she had ever seen. It was supposed to be a bey stadium, but it looked like a square. There were a bunch of lines that crisscrossed it, with Japanese and Universal scrawled at random parts on the orange paper. Not that it seemed likely Valt understood he was writing and speaking in two different languages, often oscillating between the two in such a way that made it nearly impossible to decipher. The two circles that were supposed to be her and Spryzen looked like triangles with wings. Worst of all, it was all drawn in red. One color, only red, on an orange background.

      Seriously, was Valt trying to be difficult with this plan?

      More concerning, how much time had Valtryek been spending with her partner that it made sense to her? Yes, she understood that she and Valt had a bond. And yes she understood that they were doubly connected though the force of mind. But seriously. How did any of this monstrosity of a game plan make sense to her? It literally should not have been possible.

     "Well, what do you think?" Valt asked, his brown eyes sparkling blue. He looked especially blue today. Or at least more so than he had a week ago. Which the valkyrie bey attributed fully to the incident with Form. Not that it was a bad thing for Valt to be getting his memories back. Except, oh wait, it was. This had happened four times before, and almost every single one had resulted in an existential crisis of some kind, paranoia, and/or him completely abandoning Fire for about 20 years to keep him from learning the, well, scarring truth. All of which had gone great.

     As a matter of fact, only the second time Mind and Fire had regained their knowledge of their true selves had it not been a dumpster fire. For lack of some better words. And that was only because Cold had just tried something and wasn't coming back for a bit, and they'd already gotten the existential crisis bit out of the way after learning they were reincarnated the first time. Not exactly a track record Valtryek wanted to take a chance with.

      Ilya was right. It was much better for the two of them to live out their many lives in ignorance, and if Cold killed them, she killed them. Unless some danger that could permanently harm Valt came up, Valtryek would not actively encourage his remembering. Although, she wouldn't stop it either. Nor would she stop herself from laughing every time he tried to understand why Venice kept popping up out of nowhere and acting like a brother to him.

     "I think it's a pretty solid idea," Valtryek admitted truthfully. "Yet I know you know that you and Shu basically know all the cards the other holds. This might give you an early edge, but after that not much." As she spoke, she fiddled with the straps of her saddle, making sure that everything was all in order for the battle at hand. She was not taking any chances that she would give Spryzen and Shu an edge. "I don't think there's any real way to plan for the late game against them."

      Leaning back on his arm, Valt nodded. "Trust me, we're both well aware of that." He looked behind him, and for a split second the world flickered around Valtryek. Turning black with an intricately decorated blue door standing behind Valt. Then it was gone. Her partner had decided to wait to delve into the depths of his mind. Probably a good idea. They both knew how to focus, and its importance.

      All of the sudden, the lighting in the white void became tinted blue, reflecting the change in the outside world. The lights in the hallway had flipped. It was time for the battle. Turning around to face Valtryek once more, Valt gave his signature smile, and faded from view. Underneath her helmet, the bey wore a smile of her own. She too could put her fears for her partner out of mind for the time being. Right now, all she had to focus on was crushing Spryzen and his puny ax. Because, obviously, swords were much better. 

Valt dreams about meeting Fire and Mind, and then wakes up and almost opens a blue door in his head. Requiem Project inspiration anyone? However, Valtryek causes him to question if he wants to open it for just long enough for Shu to wake him up, Valt to discover why Red Eye was called Red Eye, and his mom to walk in on him and Shu looking like they're about to make out on his bed. The Kit is with all the magic people and there's an argument about telling Shu and Valt about Mind and Fire, then he recaps more or less what we know about the plot of the first two parts. Then Reina is called by Hyuga and they all go play in the snow. Because it's not concerning that it's snowing, right? Wait it is? Yeah, it is. Shu and Valt hang out because they don't want to play in the snow and Valt leans on Shu for warmth. Venice comes over to talk to them and determines that Valt does not remember he's Mind. Then Shu and Valt hold hands and Valt falls asleep on Shu.

The next morning Venice comes to visit Valt and encourages him to wait until after his battle with Shu to discover the truth about him. Spryzen, right before the battle, reflects on his bond with Shu, their past and their emotions. Valtryek thinks about her fears for Valt and Shu and also how bad Valt is at drawing and expressing plans and WHY DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO HER? 

Okay, so, a few things. First of all, thank you for being patient and waiting. This never would have gotten done to the same level of good work if I had to force it out on Sunday. And that weekend did not need any extra stress, but it went very well, and was fun in the end.

Also, I'll be posting the next chapter the week after I normally would, to not have to have three days of work deleted from my time to write it. After that I should be back on a normal two week schedule. 

Also I think Shu is canonically possessed/Spryzen in definitely the latter half of Surge on but also perhaps even from Burst/Turbo? I will defend this if prompted. But he's just Shu here.

Sincerely, Grayvere.