fuelthefire | Victory Road IC Contact

[Armin hadn't need Jack's post to know the score. He had known what was going on the moment Bailey had landed on his windowsill, looking far more down than he had ever seen the feisty little pokemon. A quick glance at his gear had confirmed the worst.

Or perhaps, not the worst yet. Over time, Armin had grown to like Krieg well enough, even trust him to a certain degree, but it had always been with that niggling itch at the back of his mind that could not help but wonder what Krieg would be like without Angel there. With her there, he was erratic, yes. He yelled about poop transport and nipples and never wore a shirt, but he was, for the most part, harmless. Even supportive in his own way. He took good care of his pokemon, and despite what Jack had said, he hadn't eaten any babies.

But that had been with Angel there, Angel who could always talk Krieg down from any rage, whose very presence calmed Krieg down.

And now she wasn't here anymore.

If Armin knew, then Krieg undoubtedly knew too. Krieg always knew about the things related to Angel first. But how was he taking it? Armin's mind couldn't help but race to the worst possible scenarios, ones of Krieg out of control, enraged, dangerous. And perhaps he was wrong, perhaps he was underestimating Krieg as he had underestimated him before, but Armin couldn't take that gamble.]

Krieg?

[Armin was uncertain what the right tone for this was. Angel, he knew, had always talked to Krieg with sweetness in her voice, soft and kind. But Armin wasn't any good at approaching people like that. He had never been the best at comforting people. It was not that he didn't care, he was just... awkward. In any case, if Krieg was doing what Armin feared he was doing, he was going to need his wits, not his emotions. In the end, his voice comes out mostly neutral, though, with a slight edge, both anxious and grief mixed together.]

[There's a single eye staring into ~~Armin's soul~~ the 'Gear when it flicks on, but it's not Krieg's eye. It's the eye of Zen Doll the Darumaka. It seems the little guy has either appropriated Krieg's 'Gear or he's been left in charge of it. Dolly just blinks and stares quietly, though he's shortly joined by a very, very unhappy-looking 'Dora. The Sylveon's ears and ribbons are drooping, and he peeks over Dolly's shoulder in a mostly disinterested manner before leaning against him and sort of flopping into a sadness snuggle.

Dolly, for his part, just stares at Armin for several moments before he lifts his gaze, and then the 'Gear, which he begins to wave wildly. Armin may get a glimpse of a partially picked-up but mostly disheveled campsite before the 'Gear is handed off, and Krieg finally appears.

His expression is hidden as usual behind his mask, but Armin might be able to see that his one visible eye seems to be very red. When he speaks, his voice is even rougher and more gravelly than usual, like maybe he's been doing a lot of screaming and yelling and now his throat is raw. But he's calm, more or less, as he regards Armin.]

Blondie? What's up?

[Krieg doesn't look, or sound, like he is doing fine, but to be absolutely honest, he's in a better state than Armin expected to find him in. He's talking, and though his campsite had looked dishevelled, if Krieg had taken out his anger on some inanimate objects, that is just fine with Armin.

Really, that is practically the best case scenario here, considering Armin had been worried to find Krieg enraged and returning to more Pandoran ways of deal with that grief and anger..]

I know. About-- about Angel.

[He had been trying to keep his voice neutral, but when he says her name it hitches for a moment cause this hurts. Especially knowing Angel doesn't have anything she is going back to.

He clears his throat, before continuing.]

Where are you?

Mnnngh....[He squeezes his eyes shut tight when Armin says Angel's name and looks away for a long, long moment, dropping the hand that's holding his 'Gear to his side. Armin is then treated to a nice view of Krieg's pants, part of the ground - including the remains of a campfire - and part of a metal tail that looks like it might belong to an Aggron. Eventually he gets ahold of himself well enough to speak again, but he doesn't bring the 'Gear back up to his face. So, uh, enjoy the view of the ground, I guess, Armin.]

Don't remember. One of the islands. Doesn't matter.

Shiro and I would like to come see you. Please. To make sure you are... doing as well as you can under the circumstances.

[Not eating babies and all of that good stuff.]

[The 'Gear remains mostly stationary at Krieg's side, though it does jostle a bit from time to time as Krieg fidgets while ranting. His voice is hoarse and ragged, rasping painfully against his raw throat.]

She died in agony, screaming each time the slag was stripped away, begging us to hurry, to pull the plug, to set her free. We did as she asked and she thanked us for it, but she shouldn't have! She shouldn't have had to! There's nothing for her there, nothing nothing nothing! And she deserves everything! The sun and the stars and the trees and the grass, soft words and good friends who could save her without killing her! She deserved better and we didn't deserve her!

[Sorry, Armin, the Psycho is out of his head at the moment and it's not certain when he'll be back. :(

...but at least he's not eating babies?]

[So much for the hope that he might simply be able to get the answer out of Krieg. And he's never been any good at calming Krieg down. Quite honestly, Armin doesn't even consider himself the best at calmly normal people down, let along someone like Krieg.

Time for plan B. B for Bird that is.]

[Krieg and his little crew won't be difficult to find. He's not sensible enough to try to hide, even if that were in his nature, which it isn't. And anyway, his lonely little camp is right on the beach - the best place to see the stars at night. It's daytime now, of course, and the starlight's given way to sunlight, which will make an aerial search that much easier.

There's also likely to be the occasional sound of anguished screaming, as the reality of Angel's removal from his life fluctuates between unbelievable and unbearable. Maybe not as much screaming as there might have once been, although Gaige - as the only person still left on this planet who would be able to tell - isn't nearby to make note of it.

In any case, even if the echos of anguished rants don't carry across the waves, the large Aggron on the beach should be easy to spot from a distance, and the black Charizard will likely make confirmation that Krieg is at least nearby easy.

Bring on the bird army, Armin.]

[The Aggron and the Charizard are easy to spot. For a ghost, that is. For Haunter, that is. It's not a bird, but hey. Ghosts can fly around just as easily -- if not more, considering how they phase through things like air and friction. Anyways! The dark shape of a Gengar appears overhear, zooming around in lazy circles.]

[Only to perk up! Abruptly! It knows those pokemon!]

[It vanishes. Just as abruptly as it appeared. Only to pop in close enough to its trainer and Skarmory to make the bird jump. Clacking her beak irritably until Haunter manages to get its point across. It found him! It found the big crazy man! Be proud of it!]

[Shiro will be proud of it, after he gets on the 'gear to call Armin. And inform his buddy of one very important thing:]

Haunter found him. Where are you?

['Haunter found him'.

Those are the words Armin has been hoping to hear. So far, he hadn't been having much luck on his side, though he tried to keep focusing on the thought that even though they hadn't found him, they had eliminated many places he could potentially be, making it increasingly likely they would find him.

Which they had.]

To the south. I'll head your way now.

Okay -- I'll wait here until you get here.

[Then they can both meet up with Krieg. And go from there. Hopefully the other man is in shape to talk. Or something. Wrestle something. Anything. He just has to...]

[Just has to be okay, eventually.]

[It doesn't take that long for Armin to join up with Shiro. He had purposely not gone too far, and Skarmory is a fast bird. Both Hilde and Shiro's Skarmory are going to deserve some TLC and a lot of treats after this.]

Shiro! Where is he? Where did Haunter see him?

Over this way -- on one of the beaches.

[He's already guiding his Skarmory in the right direction. Following the looping, dancing shape of the ghost pokemon. Haunter, at least, is making it very clear where it spotted their friend.]

Lead the way.

[Armin will be right on Shiro's tail! Well, Skarmory's tail. Either way, he'll be closely following Shiro, trusting in Haunter to bring them where they need to go.]

[And so, off they go to locate the wayward Psycho. Which should be easier, since, you know, Haunter saw him and all. With the Skarmories on the case, it won't take them long.]

[When they get to the beach Haunter saw Krieg on, it's indeed not hard to spot him. The campsite is a dead giveaway that someone is staying there, and even if Krieg himself wasn't highly recognisable --does any other person in this world have that many pecs? Science says no-- Armin can recognise a few very familiar pokemon on the beach as well.]

That's him. There.

[That is, indeed, him. Right here, sitting on the ground leaning on his Aggron, a droopy, miserable 'Dora flopped in his lap. Dolly is sitting next to him, leaning against Krieg's leg, and Skagbait is sitting on his other side in a similar pose. The only living creature in the campsite paying attention to...basically anything, is Murder Chicken. The Blaziken spies the approaching rescue party and perks up visibly, moving closer to the tide line and squawking a loud greeting to their approach.

Krieg looks up when MC begins squawking, but only watches him for a moment before returning his attention to the Sylveon in his lap.

...Hey, at least MC is happy to see you guys!]

[Haunter swoops down first. Landing on its toes to greet MC with a little twirl and bow. Hello friend!! It brought more friends.]

[Which is about when Shiro and his Skarmory land -- Armin probably not far behind them.]

Hey -- MC. Is everything...? [Are you guys okay? He can see the pile of Pokemon, and Krieg, which is a good sign. Just like he'd told Armin, if Krieg has Dolly and the others, nothing dangerous would happen.]

[Armin lands behind Shiro, gratefully sliding off Hilde's back. He watches Shiro and MC for a moment, before turning his attention to Hilde, stroking her sharp neck carefully.]

While we handle things here, could you go round up the others? They don't need to keep searching now that we've found him.

[Hilde warks, bopping the top of Armin's head with her beak --stay good, soft egg-- before taking off again.

And with that taken care off, Armin steps closer to Shiro, glancing at him, at MC, then at Krieg in the distance, and back at Shiro.]

Should we... go talk to him?

Edited 2018-05-13 21:40 (UTC)

[Murder Chicken's feathers fluff up warmly in response to Haunter's greeting. Hello, friend! He's very glad to see you, and also the friends you brought!

MC gives a sad-sounding little squawk in reply to Shiro's question, his fluffed feathers smoothing back into place as he shrugs and spreads his claws in a very human-like gesture of shit's pretty bad, man.

In response to Armin's question - even though it seemed mostly aimed at Shiro - MC squawks again, a positive, affirmative noise. Please do! Even surrounded by his best monster buddies, Krieg is absolutely miserable, and only really just hanging on because he's afraid to scare Dolly and 'Dora, and he doesn't want to upset Skagbait any further. It would really help to have some human friends who could maybe talk him up and out of his grief.

It's not hard to see where Krieg is sitting from where they're standing currently, but Murder Chicken will still turn and lead the way over to him, the helpful ambassador of goodwill, friendship, and punching sads right in the face with the power of friendship!]

Yeah... yeah, I sort of figured it would be. [He's not MC's trainer, but you'd have to be dead not to be able to read that gesture.] I'm sorry. But I'm glad you guys are here for him.

[Because Krieg wouldn't ... be who they've come to know without them. Krieg admitted as much. He believes in the pokemon, and the man responsible for them, as a result.]

[He looks back and forth between the three of them -- MC, Armin, and Krieg. All right. Then that's what they're going to do.]

Okay. Then that's what we'll do.

[Shiro squares up his shoulders. And starts to approach the big man up the beach.]

[Armin for his part, trails behind Shiro, giving him a bit of room. Shiro is much better at this, the whole talking to people and giving them support and comfort, so he's going to let Shiro take the word. They've all got their strengths, after all.]

[As they approach they'll likely hear Krieg muttering under his breath, a long, quiet litany of grumbled syllables which may or may not be actual words. Skully, now a fully-grown (and very large) Aggron, only moves one bright blue eye to track their approach, all-too aware of her very important job of propping up Krieg, who's leaning heavily against her broad side. Of the three smaller 'mons pressed close around him, only Skagbait the Lucario looks up alertly at the approach of MC and the other two. Krieg doesn't seem to notice, possibly because she's sitting on his blind side, and also possibly because it's pretty apparent all of his attention is focused on the Sylveon in his lap.

Adorababy is beside himself. Although his neat little body is draped loosely and almost carelessly across Krieg's lap, he has two of his ribbon-feelers wrapped tightly around Krieg's left wrist, holding that hand more or less immobile and also in a convenient place for hiding his face. Krieg uses his right hand to very, very gently stroke the long line of the Sylveon's back, the movement slow but deliberate. As long as he focuses on petting Dora, he can lose himself in that simple motion, and not have to think about the reason for it.

Once they're close enough, Murder Chicken squawks, a much quieter, more somber noise than he used to greet Shiro, Armin, and Haunter. Krieg looks up at once with a sharp jerk of his head, stilling the motion of his hand and resting his large palm on Dora's shoulders. He focuses on the Blaziken first, and after a moment seems to register MC's company, his gaze twitching first to Shiro, then to Armin, then to Haunter, before returning to and fixing on Shiro.

He feels like he should be surprised to see them, but somehow, he's not, and that's a weird sensation. He lets his head drop back against Skully's side, as if the effort of holding it up is too much to be bothered with.]

Hey.

Hey, Krieg.

[He keeps his movements steady. Slow. Making it clear where he's moving. How he's moving. He doesn't approach all the way. He stops about three feet from the huddle of Krieg and pokemon, looking Skully up and down, first. She really did get huge. Kind of weird to see an Aggron who isn't Kuro after so long of just being around the big guy. The Lucario isn't one he's seen very often. The one he doesn't quite know how to read.]

[Murder Chicken seemed to think this was best. So he'll give it a shot. Sitting himself on the sand where he was standing. While Haunter waves to the other pokemon in hopes of getting some kind of more cheerful reaction. It's trying its best.]

We heard what happened. And... well. We were worried about you.

[He's just glad he was right about what Krieg would do with the pokemon around. As opposed to what he'd have done on his own. He trusts this man a great deal. And, honestly, hopes Krieg knows that, even just a little.] We've got a bunch of birds...

... and I've got Red. If you feel like wrestling. Or we can just sit here with you. It's your call, man.

[Skully sees Haunter's cheerful wave, and the tip of her long, heavy tail wiggles in response. She can see it's doing its best, and she appreciates it! Murder Chicken moves to sit next to Krieg and Dolly, tucking his long legs underneath his slender body. Once he's settled, he blinks peacefully over at Haunter, also acknowledging the ghost's actions. Haunter is a good friend.

Krieg watches Shiro sit down without reacting, and hears him talking, and he lets the sound of his friend's words flow over him while completely failing to to process the meaning behind them. He doesn't need to hear Shiro say why he and Armin are here. He knows. He knows why they came to him, and he knows he's done nothing to deserve their worry or their concern. He's just a monster who hurt his best friend, and her abrupt departure from his life is all he deserves.

He sits quietly for a long time after Shiro stops speaking, alternately staring at the ground and squeezing his eyes tightly shut. Finally, though, the words come, as they always do, sooner or later, and they're...not great. His voice starts off low and gruff, and only barely increases in volume as he goes on - the sound of painful vocal cords raw from screaming protesting further abuse.]

Feed me a lead salad. Open my veins and let the blood salt the earth. Burn my flesh and scar my bones and leave it all out to rot and fester where it belongs, all alone and far, far away from all the things it shouldn't have and doesn't deserve. She should have lived! She was so bright! And now she's gone, gone, gone, back to the death she begged for, smothered into oblivion, strangled by the hands that should have kept her safe--

[He's interrupted by an impossibly quiet wail from the Sylveon still in his lap. He cuts himself off abruptly and leans forward out of his sprawl against Skully to hunch protectively over 'Dora, doing his best to console the inconsolable. He looks back up fairly quickly though, a sharp jerk of his head, and his uncovered eye seeks out Shiro's face.]

It should've been me. I don't wanna wrestle. I want to die.

Victory Road IC Contact

Video;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Time for some Krieg action, I think

Yooooooo

hey there krieg, it's them ya boys

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)