1st Match // [video | action] New Bark Town

[fuelthefire]

[The video feed starts off with an eye.

Just one, surrounded by what looks like a mask. After a moment, the eye pulls away and the rest of the mask, which completely covers the owner's face minus the one eye, is revealed.

The voice underneath the mask is guttural and growling, but perfectly audible despite the barrier.]

Mother said to have fun and be careful.

[He rolls his eye and grumbles a bit, quietly at first but quickly growing louder. As he speaks he changes from his indoor voice to his outdoor voice, barking out the words louder and louder as he brings the camera close to his face again:]

How can I HAVE FUN WITHOUT MY AXE!??

[Somebody mad.]

Comments

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[fuelthefire]

[Well hello there, fellow one-eyed friend. You're right on both counts!

Krieg shakes his head vigorously at that suggestion, though.]

Too small to fight, too soft! Wrong, wrong, wrong!

[Sure, his little fluffy chicken baby can spit fiery embers, and that's pretty awesome, but that doesn't mean it's in any shape to be getting into fights. Krieg may be a psycho, but he's not a monster.]

[cardboard_boss]

Your Pokémon is too small to fight? Hngh. You'd be surprised at what these little guys can do.

[He knew only too well at what his smaller Pokémon were capable of. They were tough fighters and didn't allow their size to detract from their fighting skills.]

You a warrior?

[fuelthefire]

[He shakes his head vigorously again; that's not what he meant.]

Too soft, too good, too nice.

["Innocent" is the word he wants, but he can't spit it out.

He has no experience with the other creatures, of course, but the one he's been stuck with is gentle and peaceful and all it wants out of life is to have tiny chicken adventures in the tall grass and to snuggle close at the end of the day when it's all tuckered out.

He draws back from the device, and thumps his chest with one heavy fist.]

I cause the pain screams, drink the tears, and bathe in the meat chunks.

[A simple "yes" would have sufficed, there, buddy.]

[cardboard_boss]

[It was strange to hear such nice words coming out of this creature's mouth. The word "nice" didn't really fit in with the harsh exterior of the creature's image. Yet, it showed that he had a heart at least.]

Yeah, some of the Pokémon are pretty cute. Don't let their exteriors fool you though.

[Snake knew how dangerous some "cute" Pokémon could be.]

I'm guessing that's a yes. What's your name, soldier?

[fuelthefire]

[That's probably a good point. Gaige and Tina, for example, are both as cute as buttons but he certainly wouldn't actually want to mess with either of them. Unless he wanted to lose a limb or three. Which he typically doesn't.

He'll have to consider that some more.]

Call me Ishmael.

[His voice is a normal, steady volume as he enunciates the quote, but as soon as he's finished he laughs and shakes his head, as if amused by his own whimsy.]

Nahahahahaha...!

It's KRIEEEEG!!

[His voice deepens to a growl as he drags out the syllable of his name.]

[cardboard_boss]

[Snake froze. Those words. "Call me Ishmael." How did this guy know about that? Surely, he couldn't know that Big Boss said that to him back at the hospital all that time ago? When he didn't even know who that guy was....

...

shit. Either this guy was messing with his head or he genuinely was called Ishmael, which was a very scary coincidence.]

No, you- you can't be called that.

[Snake shook his head and closed his eye. PTSD was a bitch. Ishmael was Big Boss; the guy who he was supposed to be. That name just triggered some of his flashback and he had to pull himself together in front of this man.

The hospital.....he was there once more....lost an arm....woman attacked him....she got set on fire.....banadaged man said his name was Ishmael...]

Krieg? That's your real name? Not Ishmael?

[fuelthefire]

[He notices the other seems to be bothered for some reason, but he's not horribly curious as to why. Chances are high he'll forget all about it in a little while, anyway. It's just how these things tend to go.

He nods, a single upward jerk of his chin, and pumps the volume up again just for funsies:]

KRIEG!!

[cardboard_boss]

Right. Krieg. Got it.

[Did the guy enjoy hearing the sound of his own name? Huh. He seemed a strong dude who could flip out at the slightest of things. Maybe he was just excitable. Snake shook his head clear of any past memory and tried to focus.

Ishmael is not here. Big Boss is not here.]

Where are you from, Kreig?

[fuelthefire]

[Excitable. Sure. Let's go with that word. 8')

He draws back from the device a bit, twitches lightly, and tilts his head to one side.]

Panoramic putrescent pretentious parasitic pustule Pandora!!

[cardboard_boss]

Another one of you guys, huh? Seems a lot from Pandora have come here the last few weeks. [Jack, then there was Rhys and Tim, also Athena. So many from Pandora.]

You know Handsome Jack?

[From how Krieg was describing the place he didn't much care for it.]

[fuelthefire]

KNOW him?

[Krieg throws back his head and laughs - hard and loud, from deep within his belly.]

MnahahahahAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[Just when it looks like he may go on laughing forever, he stops abruptly and hunches forward again, shoving his face right up to the device and growling:]

I RIPPED OUT HIS THROAT AND ATE HIS LUNGS!!!

[cardboard_boss]

...

[Ok....so Snake wasn't expecting such a strong response. Or rather, a ferocious response.]

Not a fan, huh? Sorry, buddy, but Jack is still alive last time I spoke to him.

[Should he dare ask what this guy's issue was with Jack? He seemed super pissed.]

Want to tell me why you want to eat his lungs?

[fuelthefire]

ATE.

[It's a small but significant difference - past tense, because it happened.

Well...he didn't actually physically eat them. But Jack was definitely dead.]

Manslaughter, extortion, illegal drilling, theft, arson, bombing, murder, child abuse, tax evasion, destruction of property, insurance fraud, murder, Claptrap, murder, and cyber bullying.

[He lists off all of Jack's various offenses (that he can remember off the top of his head) in a low growl, leaning back gently from the device as he names them off. When he's finished, though, he shoves his face right back up to it again.]

I'll kill him better next time!

[cardboard_boss]

[Shit. This guy claimed he actually ate Jack? But, how was the guy alive when he was brought into the Poke world? It didn't make sense. Did that mean Jack was dead on his own world but then the Poke world brought him in alive? Snake was confused.]

Let me get this straight. You killed Jack back on Pandora? Ate his lungs?

[Snake got that Krieg was listing off all of Jack's past evil deeds. What a long list but it didn't phase the soldier. What he was interested in was how Jack was alive if this guy.....ate him.]

Was Jack dead back on your world? Because right now he's alive here in this world.

[fuelthefire]

Not breathing, bled out, eyes rolled back, mask fell off! Dead as a door nail!!

[Look, guy, he knows a dead man when he sees one, okay? He's seen a lot of dead men.

Also, he has no way to even begin to explain why Jack's not dead here, and he shakes his head vigorously to indicate as much. Better to ask someone whose synapses fire properly and consistently.]

Don't know why he's not dead here, can't explain! Ask Shield Lady.

[AKA Athena. Assuming Snake knows Athena.]

[cardboard_boss]

[Right. So this guy did kill Jack. Why would he make up such an allegation? Besides, Snake didn't doubt that Krieg could kill Jack if he wanted. The guy was built like a tank and had some sort of anger issue.]

That's what I'm wondering. I doubt this place has the power to bring people back from the dead. No one can do that.

[That was creepy shit.]

You mean Athena? [She had to be shield lady, right?]

[fuelthefire]

[He nods, a single upward jerk of his chin.]

Shield Lady, yeah.

[cardboard_boss]

Yeah. I'll speak to her.

[It'll be on her private network of course, since he didn't fancy Jack listening in on their conversation regarding his possible death.]

You and Jack? He piss you off so you killed him? Something like that, huh?

[fuelthefire]

MNhahahahaha, haa...

[He shakes his head - there is way too much complicated backstory here for him to even begin to answer coherently.]

Something like that. Ask Shield Lady that, too.

[cardboard_boss]

[Snake guessed that asking Athena directly would get him better answers than talking with Krieg. The guy was helpful but a little lacking in the speech department.]

What kind of man are you, Krieg? Can't help notice your lack of eye and thirst for bloodshed. [The guy looked like some sort of Frankenstein monster.]

[fuelthefire]

[Oh, nice, finally an easy question!]

I'm not a man, I'm a monster!!

[He's just deceptively man-shaped. Clearly.]

[cardboard_boss]

You're only a monster if you prove to yourself that you are one. Your actions determine who you are and how other's see you. Some could see me as a monster, since I was born to kill. I've ended many innocent lives through being a soldier.

[Was he a monster? Snake thought so. He had to murder his own troops for gods sake. Because they were infected with the disease.]

[fuelthefire]

Soldiers follow orders. I'm reeeeeeeally bad at doing what I'm told.

[There's a bit of unhinged laughter packed into that stretched out syllable.

Krieg ain't no soldier. Maybe once upon a time in his past life, but even that seems unlikely.]

[cardboard_boss]

Right. I kind of guessed you'd be the type of guy to do what you wanted.

[As in murder who the fuck he wanted. The guy was unhinged and Snake was aware of this.]

You're a one man army, huh?

[fuelthefire]

Mnuahahaha...I can be.

[Especially when the bloodlust takes over.]

Guns and grenades come and go, but I do my best work with my axe!!

[Aaaaaand we've come full circle back to the missing axe. Sorry, Snake.]