Thirteenth Move

[king_of_flames]

[Video; Action for Olivine City]

[The feed is showing a scene in the Olivine City Gym. Roy is standing in front of the camera, with Jasmine on the other end of the battlefield.]]

I'm ready whenever you are. The sooner we get this battle finished, the better.

[Jasmine says something that's inaudible from the camera's vantage point, and sends out her first Pokémon -- a Skarmory.]

A bird, eh? No problem, I've got the perfect counter!

[But as Roy throws the Poké Ball, something different happens. The usual gym leader music gets overridden, and an extremely triumphant piece begins to play as a Charizard emerges.

Then, all is lost to the camera as the Charizard takes flight and begins blasting fire. Within short order, the Skarmory falls to the ground. Jasmine recalls it and sends out a Magneton. Charizard doesn't slow down, and it goes down quickly, followed by her Steelix.

But even her Steelix can't withstand the might of the flames. It, too, falls quickly.

Ladies and gentlemen, Roy may have just set a record for the shortest gym battle against Jasmine.

Roy calls his Charizard back and accepts his Mineral Badge. As he walks back over, he grabs the camera.]

Six down, two to go!

[Cut feed.]

Comments

[explosivecombat]

My, my; that was a rather nice show indeed, Mustang. Perhaps I'm impressed.

[king_of_flames]

[Unlike the other people praising Roy for his battle, Kimblee gets a rather cool display in return.]

Do I want to know why you're saying "perhaps?"

[explosivecombat]

And why would you ask something like that - should I have expected less of you? Hardly something I'd think you would want to suggest, particularly after a display like that.

[king_of_flames]

Well, if that were the case, when why would you use a term as arbitrary as "perhaps?"

[explosivecombat]

You're reaching.

Ever suspicious, aren't you?

[king_of_flames]

There's about half a dozen stock sayings I could retort with, but I'll spare you the clichés and just say that I think my reasons to be suspicious of you are justifiable.

[explosivecombat]

[...dammit, Mustang, it's moments like this that he almost approves of you.

Almost.

You'll likely crush it five seconds from now.]

Well, as I doubt the reasons have changed any, I would be a bit concerned if you suddenly found them unjustifiable - at least, I'm assuming they haven't changed any. You have a talent for finding new and interesting transgressions to add to the list.

[king_of_flames]

Are you still trying to act like I don't know what you've been up to since you were released from prison?

[explosivecombat]

Please; that would be insulting to both of us.

[king_of_flames]

Then I have nothing to add. Your actions spoke loudly enough.

[explosivecombat]

And what would you like from me? An apology? Do you want to exact your own consequences, instead of what's been dealt by fate? I had no doubt from the beginning that my actions would be seen as heretical at best, Mustang, and that's only from a particularly uncommon point of view. I acted as I believed I should, for reasons that are entirely my own; as such, I don't regret any of it.

We can argue this into the ground, or we can take your seemingly preferred route of acting as though this doesn't exist to one another's faces, while simultaneously keep checking each other's hands for signs of the proverbial knife to be slotted into one's back once it's turned; it matters very little to me in the end. At this point I'm just morbidly curious - at what point would you find yourself satisfied, were it entirely up to you?

[king_of_flames]

I'm not so emotionally driven as to exact my own judgment. I've long shed any desires for revenge, even against people who have affronted me directly. But you want to know when I'd be satisfied? It's when I fully believe that you won't be a danger to people here. You've already proven that you can be; the train incident was all the evidence needed to make that call. But as it is, you are a wild card. That's the one thing about you that's possible for anybody to predict.

[explosivecombat]

Do you really believe my actions to be so random? Call it madness if you like, but there's a definite method behind it regardless.

[king_of_flames]

Random? Far from it. I know all too well that you have your own set of standards. But you're the only one capable of understanding them, so to those like me, yes you are unpredictable.

[explosivecombat]

[...huh. You. May have actually gotten him to shut up for a moment with that one, well done.]

...that's a valid point, I suppose.

[Okay, so he hasn't entirely shut up, but close enough.]