Post by vastrix on Dec 20, 2022 0:13:31 GMT -5
We find Armand von Krauss sitting in a lawn chair of all places with several speakers next to him playing German techno of all things. He is smoking an Egyptian cigarette though he has something of an orange glow to his front that flickers.
Armand von Krauss: Oh, Donzig. How many times are we going to play this game, you and I? You have said that my wife and myself are two of the most untrustworthy people in all of the Network. I argue that we are the most honest. I have never told you that you were going to be around my side forever. You have said yourself that we use people until they are used up and then discard them like trash. Have we been anything other than up front about this? Have we told you that you, out of all the people that we have used and discarded, that you are one of us? No. Have you seen my other henchmen that have stayed the course? All of them are horrors from beyond your imagination…except for Sir Monocle. I don’t know why he is in my employ.
Armand flicks ashes onto the ground next to him and turns down the music a little with his smartphone. Sirens play in the background with red lights flashing through the area.
Armand von Krauss: You think you embody Oblivion. You think that you are the Void. I have seen the beings that represent such things and trapped them within a cage of souls that I helped wrest from innocent beings that come to my Kharnival. I am bound to the cage and it to me and we share the power invested into it. You think that you can stop me? You stand before the tsunami, my friend. There is no way for you to win.
We pan back a little to see fire engines and police cars in the street and Armand’s henchmen battling against firemen and police officers to prevent them from doing their job.
Armand von Krauss: Donzig. You attempted to destroy my second airship not long after it was built. My pride and joy. My choice of ominous travel across the world. I have chosen to fight back. I have chosen to hurt you outside of the squared circle. I have chosen to do this in addition to hurting you in the ring. I don’t know what exactly my wife sees in you to want to prevent me from simply killing you and sending you straight to your sweet oblivion that you so desperately crave.
We pan back a little more to see that Armand is sitting on the sidewalk in front of a burning house. It is totally engulfed in flames while more and more firefighters and police arrive on the scene to try to get by the evil clowns and fight the fire before it spreads to the neighboring houses.
Armand von Krauss: Your ancestral home, here in Philadelphia. You have probably grown beyond this hovel. All of your best stuff is probably in your Pittsburg home, but this is not the point. The source of you, before you were the Scourge. Before you were tainted by oblivion, you were once a man. I have severed this last connection to your humanity. All those pictures of your parents, your childhood, your former loves before you became a monster. Everything.
Armand flicks his spent cigarette toward the house and claps his hands. Sticky the Clown, Tarrasque, Sir Monocle, Hehehe, Hahaha, and an army of clowns gather around him and allow the firefighters to start fighting the fire. A policeman walks up to Armand, pushing his way through the clowns who allow him past.
Policeman: You are going to be arrested for this! You and all of your clowns!
Armand reaches into a pocket, which gets a gun drawn on him.
Policeman: Hand out of your pocket! Do it nice and slow or I will shoot.
Armand von Krauss: Just getting my phone, my friend. Here…you want to dial your mayor or should I?
The policeman narrows his eyes, but accepts the phone and dials the number for the mayor’s office.
Policeman: I’m with an arson suspect. Yes, Armand von Krauss. I know him from television. What do you mean let him and his crew off? They fucking burned down someone’s house and prevented firefights from doing their jobs for hours!
The policeman sighs and Armand sees this and grins in triumph.
Policeman: I’m sorry, sir. I don’t mean to use such language. It’s just that…there’s a lot of crimes being committed here. Wait…he did WHAT? You realize that this isn’t the Robocop movie. He can’t just buy the police department and fire department from the city of Philadelphia! Fine!
The policeman hangs up the phone and hands it back to Armand.
Policeman: I guess you’re the boss now.
Armand von Krauss: I am, but fret not. You can manage yourselves and I will simply throw money at the departments to be able to take them into the future to better do your jobs. The only exception is that this house burns to the ground. You might soak the neighboring houses as they are not part of the sanction.
Policeman: Sanction?
Armand lights a new Egyptian cigarette and gives a predatory smile that makes the policeman uneasy.
Armand von Krauss: A turn of phrase. It’s my understanding that Donzig’s parents have long been dead. Well, if they were not and they were in the house. Well, Donzig will have lost more than the memories attached to this house. Won’t he?
Policeman: You think that someone’s parents could have been in the house? I should shoot you!
Armand just shrugs.
Armand von Krauss: I just set up the possibility in your mind. My henchmen went through the house and made sure it was empty before setting the fire. No reason to murder anyone today. Carry on and do your job in knowing that I pull at the strings. What other vital government service will I buy next? Who knows?
Armand blows smoke into the air as the disgruntled policeman leaves to help with traffic flow. Armand looks at the bright burning blaze that Donzig’s house even with the streams of water to try to fight the fire. Paint on nearby houses has started to bubble and peel and siding has started to melt from the intensity of the blaze.
Armand von Krauss: What shall I take from you next, Donzig? I could take down your enemies one by one, showing you that I can do what you cannot. I could take down your allies again, one by one to show you that your friends are not safe from me. I could find your future Donzig, yes I have heard about the young man who thought he could take your place. Your past, your present, and your future will be destroyed by me. Your legacy will be wiped from the face of the earth.
A side table is set up by Sir Monocle who does so with a bit of a shaky hand that had been reattached not too long ago. He pours Armand a single barrel malt whiskey that had been long aged. Armand flicks ashes to the ground and takes a sip of the deep flavors in the old whiskey. He smiles.
Armand von Krauss: I don’t intend on ruling the world, Donzig. I don’t intend on destroying it either. I just intend to keep on doing my job and enjoying the power that it gives me. Donzig, I know Esmeralda feels like she should be like a mother to you, but that time has past. If I don’t finish you at Oh Violent Night, then the next event at Wrestle: UK will be your end as we get into the elimination match.
Armand goes back to watching the fire, drinking his whiskey, and smoking his cigarette as the fire is being fought and police keep bystanders out of the way.
Armand von Krauss: Oh, Donzig. How many times are we going to play this game, you and I? You have said that my wife and myself are two of the most untrustworthy people in all of the Network. I argue that we are the most honest. I have never told you that you were going to be around my side forever. You have said yourself that we use people until they are used up and then discard them like trash. Have we been anything other than up front about this? Have we told you that you, out of all the people that we have used and discarded, that you are one of us? No. Have you seen my other henchmen that have stayed the course? All of them are horrors from beyond your imagination…except for Sir Monocle. I don’t know why he is in my employ.
Armand flicks ashes onto the ground next to him and turns down the music a little with his smartphone. Sirens play in the background with red lights flashing through the area.
Armand von Krauss: You think you embody Oblivion. You think that you are the Void. I have seen the beings that represent such things and trapped them within a cage of souls that I helped wrest from innocent beings that come to my Kharnival. I am bound to the cage and it to me and we share the power invested into it. You think that you can stop me? You stand before the tsunami, my friend. There is no way for you to win.
We pan back a little to see fire engines and police cars in the street and Armand’s henchmen battling against firemen and police officers to prevent them from doing their job.
Armand von Krauss: Donzig. You attempted to destroy my second airship not long after it was built. My pride and joy. My choice of ominous travel across the world. I have chosen to fight back. I have chosen to hurt you outside of the squared circle. I have chosen to do this in addition to hurting you in the ring. I don’t know what exactly my wife sees in you to want to prevent me from simply killing you and sending you straight to your sweet oblivion that you so desperately crave.
We pan back a little more to see that Armand is sitting on the sidewalk in front of a burning house. It is totally engulfed in flames while more and more firefighters and police arrive on the scene to try to get by the evil clowns and fight the fire before it spreads to the neighboring houses.
Armand von Krauss: Your ancestral home, here in Philadelphia. You have probably grown beyond this hovel. All of your best stuff is probably in your Pittsburg home, but this is not the point. The source of you, before you were the Scourge. Before you were tainted by oblivion, you were once a man. I have severed this last connection to your humanity. All those pictures of your parents, your childhood, your former loves before you became a monster. Everything.
Armand flicks his spent cigarette toward the house and claps his hands. Sticky the Clown, Tarrasque, Sir Monocle, Hehehe, Hahaha, and an army of clowns gather around him and allow the firefighters to start fighting the fire. A policeman walks up to Armand, pushing his way through the clowns who allow him past.
Policeman: You are going to be arrested for this! You and all of your clowns!
Armand reaches into a pocket, which gets a gun drawn on him.
Policeman: Hand out of your pocket! Do it nice and slow or I will shoot.
Armand von Krauss: Just getting my phone, my friend. Here…you want to dial your mayor or should I?
The policeman narrows his eyes, but accepts the phone and dials the number for the mayor’s office.
Policeman: I’m with an arson suspect. Yes, Armand von Krauss. I know him from television. What do you mean let him and his crew off? They fucking burned down someone’s house and prevented firefights from doing their jobs for hours!
The policeman sighs and Armand sees this and grins in triumph.
Policeman: I’m sorry, sir. I don’t mean to use such language. It’s just that…there’s a lot of crimes being committed here. Wait…he did WHAT? You realize that this isn’t the Robocop movie. He can’t just buy the police department and fire department from the city of Philadelphia! Fine!
The policeman hangs up the phone and hands it back to Armand.
Policeman: I guess you’re the boss now.
Armand von Krauss: I am, but fret not. You can manage yourselves and I will simply throw money at the departments to be able to take them into the future to better do your jobs. The only exception is that this house burns to the ground. You might soak the neighboring houses as they are not part of the sanction.
Policeman: Sanction?
Armand lights a new Egyptian cigarette and gives a predatory smile that makes the policeman uneasy.
Armand von Krauss: A turn of phrase. It’s my understanding that Donzig’s parents have long been dead. Well, if they were not and they were in the house. Well, Donzig will have lost more than the memories attached to this house. Won’t he?
Policeman: You think that someone’s parents could have been in the house? I should shoot you!
Armand just shrugs.
Armand von Krauss: I just set up the possibility in your mind. My henchmen went through the house and made sure it was empty before setting the fire. No reason to murder anyone today. Carry on and do your job in knowing that I pull at the strings. What other vital government service will I buy next? Who knows?
Armand blows smoke into the air as the disgruntled policeman leaves to help with traffic flow. Armand looks at the bright burning blaze that Donzig’s house even with the streams of water to try to fight the fire. Paint on nearby houses has started to bubble and peel and siding has started to melt from the intensity of the blaze.
Armand von Krauss: What shall I take from you next, Donzig? I could take down your enemies one by one, showing you that I can do what you cannot. I could take down your allies again, one by one to show you that your friends are not safe from me. I could find your future Donzig, yes I have heard about the young man who thought he could take your place. Your past, your present, and your future will be destroyed by me. Your legacy will be wiped from the face of the earth.
A side table is set up by Sir Monocle who does so with a bit of a shaky hand that had been reattached not too long ago. He pours Armand a single barrel malt whiskey that had been long aged. Armand flicks ashes to the ground and takes a sip of the deep flavors in the old whiskey. He smiles.
Armand von Krauss: I don’t intend on ruling the world, Donzig. I don’t intend on destroying it either. I just intend to keep on doing my job and enjoying the power that it gives me. Donzig, I know Esmeralda feels like she should be like a mother to you, but that time has past. If I don’t finish you at Oh Violent Night, then the next event at Wrestle: UK will be your end as we get into the elimination match.
Armand goes back to watching the fire, drinking his whiskey, and smoking his cigarette as the fire is being fought and police keep bystanders out of the way.
