kind? hearing the word makes him smile.

"you'd be kind to someone who handles your workload too," he teases back.

not that he'd feel comfortable explaining his work life with someone he just met on one occasion before, nor did he think he'd be interested. he wasn't the type to overshare anyways.

still, he'd share something about himself if roy was willing to help him out.

"how about 'take care'?" he smiles, then looks at his baxcalibur. "i think i might need it soon."

given the state of a dragon's aggression, he figures it might be a multi-purpose phrase he should be learning.

"y-yeah, i guess."

he recalls both of his pokemon at the end of the paradox pokemon's limit. no sympathy comes to the metallic pokemon that pushed itself further than it should, but rather, a bittersweet feeling that comes when he finishes a game visits him again.

"this feels weird, you know," he starts. "like this is supposed to be special, but..."

kyle approaches the iron valiant, squatting down to its level to meet its blinking lights.

"-this just feels fun. nostalgic, even."

he hadn't been the most competitive as a kid, nor was he actually a fan of chasing after badges back then as well. still, matches like these were commonplace in his youth, all for good innocent fun that doubles as the first step to his opponent's dreams.

his head turns up to navy.

"that's it. you're a champion." a challenging smile teases the newest member of the hall of fame. "did it actually feel special?"

the scale of their brawl was different, but it did give kyle a glimpse of the past where they would just go hang out, maybe get into a pokemon battle, without a care in the world.

it feels weird to listen to this song. this wouldn't be what one would imagine to be the song of creation's end to sound like, but he can't say he doesn't like it.

perhaps the simulation caters to the challenger's mind.

[player]https://a.tumblr.com/tumblr_qhicqqzTge1z0s6puo1.mp3[/player]

he starts to bop to the song, momentarily breaking immersion when the music plays in his head. he did not expect this reaction from him, but he certainly won't stop it from coming out naturally.

"i will treasure the song you bestowed upon me," he tells the endsinger, "and i will make sure it will have its legacy as the song of creation's end continued."

he's not sure when in the story it will be useful, and what its exact purpose is, but he keeps it in mind that this will be a powerful tool to progress the plot later on.

"indecisiveness, i suppose."

kyle takes out a mega stone from his pockets and hands it over to diancie.

"everyone's too kind. people follow their hearts against their better judgement, and that thing is pretty easy to capitalize on for the other side."

instead of the mega accessory he usually uses, kyle produces a band instead. he fixes it nicely on his wrist, making sure the key stone was properly synced with diancie.

"on the bright side, rockets are also the same. it's just easier for their higher ups to force their soldiers to do what they want. the league's too soft to do the same."

at this point, the diancie starts to glow. kyle isn't diancie's trainer, and the bond isn't as strong as it should be had he been one, but the process starts nonetheless.

"not that my answer helps. everyone's opinion on why the league is losing is different, and it's easier to believe what's convenient anyways." even if it means generalizing the organization as corrupt

hanging on the last shred of consciousness remains to be kyle's biggest feat in terms of effort spent. there are more things needed to be said, but time runs out as quick as the pain of being impaled fading away.

"don't be." reassurance comes with a smile of success in his face. "this is penance for your transgressions."

like striking a match, friction from matias' conflicting emotions will serve as fuel for the fire that immolates the immediate areas. inferno rages through, and it is through the flames of ho-oh that earns the world its colors back.

"you will live as per lopez's will. there is no easy way out for you, nor will there be redemption."

breaking the avatar meant providing a channel to its patron. if arceus can influence the isolated bond between kyle's sygna suit with his smeargle, then so can ho-oh's flames with something as trivial as darkrai's corruption of groudon. ^[1]

"this is not mercy, but a request."

a request to live on.

it may not have worked on kyogre, but kyle knows it will with groudon's avatar. ^[2]. sacred fire's properties were convenient but iffy with restrictions, but that doesn't mean it went unexplored. ^[3][4]

there was only one chance for this, and he has to make it count.

"you're a good piece. keep yourself safe."

the rainbow pokemon's sacred fire burns away at the black and white. immolation comes to consume the two in one final burst of glory before being cooled down with layers of ice violently jutting out spikes of frost from the epicenter of the calamity.

the calamity fixes itself, just like how rebirth ruins the ending of the tragic story written by the soldier and the florist.

blood is coughed up. the smile comes.

although he can produce the ash that was been told by legends to be a cure-all, the purifying flames of the rainbow pokemon needed conditions to be cleared before kyle can conjure them in huge volumes.

the first of the dominos fall, and everything else follows.

"good job."

a hand clears stains of blood from the volatile's face.

"give in-" he coughs again, "to your emotions."

lightning starts striking from above without clouds forming. large bolts rain from above, condemning the peak of mt. chimney to another bout of calamity as destiny's way of shedding tears.

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"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.