"i could."

the knife traces its way to his chest. training within the police force allows him to locate a place in his chest where a stab can be fatal. kyle realizes he needs matias not to drown in his own blood for the finale.

he wants to hear his final words.

"but know that this wouldn't be the worst punishment you will ever be facing from now on."

kyle faces him with a stare of indignation. there's no warmth in being forced to do what he wants, and he doesn't give matias the benefit of seeing one last solemn look of his king.

the dagger plunges between the volatile's ribs straight to his vitals. the soot that snows on them alight in embers, and it will be then that matias will recognize these flames as ho-oh's rather than groudon's.

love.

for an orphan who had to fend off for himself and grew up with absent parents, his definition of it is skewed. much like how matias' looks at it from his own perspective, so does kyle.

"how do you define love?" he asks.

the knife draws blood as it cuts the outermost layer of matias' skin. while his hand may not tremble, reluctance plays a part on being unable to pull the trigger.

kyle spoils matias like his dogs, even if it meant doing the opposite of what he should do.

"if we go by mine, then yeah, i do."

he always had.

"you should realize how many chances i've given you already." to break free. to take it easy and let groudon take the reins. "you can always succumb to the temptation to do what you want. i know you want to end your life not for yourself, but for everyone else."

he smiles fondly at matias' judgement. there's no demand in his tone, leaving only a plea for his only idea of salvation.

and in the same way he reads him, kyle fires back with the way matias would often respond.

"would groudon allow this?" he asks.

there was one answer, and the bond between them, strong as ever for reasons that aren't as optimistic for them, was being challenged by the rayquaza on the horizon.

"do you want to test what happens the moment i plunge this blade in his ideal avatar?"

a smile appears, as if to test fate was to make an innocent gamble on whether it would rain or not. the blade points to matias' throat, which was easier to break through.

"you would just have to accept the aftermath if the worst does happen."

"i'm playing with you," he answers with jest. "there's none."

kyle knows all too well that the concept of redemption was nothing but a bastardization of hope. it lays at the bottom of pandora's box for a reason, and to think highly of it was folly.

"but it's still nice to think that there's a future for you out there."

soot gently falls down from above, covering them with what makes kyle the essence of who ho-oh was. there is nothing sacred about the ash, and, on the contrary, was more than what can be considered as a product of sacrilege.

a knife is taken out. its obsidian hue, dark as it can be, remained discernible to the black and white. he dangles it between his hands, uncommitted as the champion characteristically was.

"do you think i can do this?"

don't revive me.

"cute."

death is mercy. kyle may have been lenient on a lot of things, even as far as failing to condemn a serial abuser of the rules to sate his self-indulgence, but he knows when to keep the train wreck from happening and when to let it happen.

"do you think that's what the people want?"

kyle squats down, getting on matias' level on the ground. he doesn't hold the moral high ground for being an accessory, having had a chance to stop this from happening but looking the other way regardless.

"it doesn't matter. i'm here. we do things my way."

he double checks his radio, making sure that nothing is picked up by the frequencies. batteries are casually taken out in front of matias before stuffing them inside his pockets.

"do you really not want a chance for redemption?"

"i didn't actually realize he was flirting with me!" he tells navy. "i hired him to walk my dogs since he wasn't being direct and it was easy to misinterpret the things he said."

on hindsight, they weren't. kyle just wasn't the type to see things outside of the perspective of those with rose-tinted glasses back then.

he sighs afterwards. a longing smile that wants to revisit the old times paints his expression.

"our relationship isn't really out of the ordinary, but yeah, it's still special."

kyle turns to navy.

"i'm sure you'll get to experience something similar to it too once it actually settles in."

the experience wasn't bad. he would say it has an even better feel than blades&bulwark, though he doesn't know if that was attributed to the way his avatar doesn't resemble as himself there.

pixels start to fade off. the darkness looms as it slowly swallows the world to the void.

"oi, the next time you invite me-" the implication of a next time suggests that kyle has somewhat enjoyed himself despite saying otherwise. "-let's take it easy, okay?"

he wasn't a man of action, that's why he needed the likes of navy.

though he may fumble and fuck it up, he at least stops things from stagnating too hard for them to break the mold. kyle's role was to patch things up to workable levels, but that is only if his help was wanted.

and just like that, the wailord fumbles on maintaining the lead.

he looks around, wanting to make sure if the other contestants were the ones making plays or if his wailord was just that difficult to work with. he might have to think twice for a water pokemon for transport if this keeps up.

"this is, uh, what i wanted, i suppose."

to be at the middle of the pack.

still, he can't lag too far behind. that would go against being at the middle. with everyone else speeding up, he decides to do the same. leaning forward, he whispers a command for the wailord to surf and ride with the waves.

they really can't afford to be behind by too much.

the solgaleo gets off of him as the trainer approaches. he orders him away with a wave of his hand, putting the pokemon on standby.

"matias."

the same carefree expression matias had always been familiar with is the one he sees. there is no worry as seen from the likes of the first responders, nor panic, anxiety and the like. there is only acceptance of the situation.

"this is a pretty big issue. are you going to ask for forgiveness again?"

he talks calmly, an antithesis of volatility.

there should be no reason to be calm, however. the readings don't lie, and even groudon's avatar, himself, has admitted lapses over the control of his own person. everything was going south, and the obvious solution for the problem remains hidden in plain sight.

this is fine, the champion tells himself. this is how everything usually is.

surrounded by dark-types, kyle appears as the final boss for the hero to cull down.

the lord of the castle throws a fast ball, reminiscent of the baseball games he's played before, and turns the mightyena to the same terastalized pokemon as the paradox pokemon. stellar lights refract the light given off by the flashing luster of screens.

"go all out, alpha!" he shouts. "he said he wanted it!"

tera blast fills the room with a flash bang. the burst of energy fires of shock waves that shake the champion's very core, and the clash between the knight and the beast it needs to slay plays out the climax of the story.

the obstagoon and the palafin are soon going to be caught by the blast radius, serving as casualties for the big bang that navy yearns from the champion.

white fills the room, but the ending was already predetermined. there's only destruction-- a conclusion that either of them wouldn't expect anything less from.

he turns. he sees her coming in close, bringing in an illusion from the crystal along with her to his direction.

his expression quickly shifts from indifference to worry.

"sh-shit."

kyle looks at terrakion, who immediately takes action. when kyle recognizes a stance from the pokemon that indicates willingness to fight it directly, he is quick to shift the pokemon's directives.

"we can't fight that! we're running away!"

the terrakion then shifts the direction of the stone edge it prepared. stomping on the ground, rocks jut out from the sides of the canyon, providing a roof that blocks the view of the bird from the sky.

kyle motions with his head to run.