<Pandora_n_Friends> <Why'd everything get all heavy all of a sudden?> :<
<Pandora_n_Friends> You hear Pandora from in his box
 Viktor hmphs and keeps walking, his chains jingling loudly around his neck.
<Viktor> "Damn desert." he mutters to himself in german.
<Pandora_n_Friends> :I <Now this is new. You've never been one to sulk, Faust.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Even when you got chased away by an entire country, you always kept your head up.>
 Viktor sighs and sits down on the sand.
<Viktor> "I didn't have much left for me in Germany to begin with. It was kind of an opportunity."
<Viktor> "Guess I have been sort of an optimist though."
<Viktor> "But this..."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Yeah?> D:>
<Viktor> "I can't believe Edmund is letting that swine-hound sits-down-to-piss shyster reel him in like a damn magikarp."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Oh.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Yeah, it is a little odd.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <And here I thought it would be all acolades and platitudes from here on in. "Good job Pandora, you broke he bad evil masterball.">
<Viktor> "And the gall of that crackpot to make himself out like the hero after everything we've been trying to accomplish."
<Viktor> "If it weren't for him being there in the first place we wouldn't have needed to do any of that."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Maybe. A Little girl would have been easier to take the ball from.>
<Viktor> "Yeah, but a lot harder once the jackass lures the poor girl in to be the heir to some dynasty of nutjobs."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Hmmmm.>
<Viktor> "We'd be doing her a favor if we murdered him in his sleep tonight."
<Pandora_n_Friends> :D
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Why Faust I was beginning to think you'd never pull something like that.>
<Viktor> "Don't get your hopes up. No way in hell it's that easy."
<Viktor> "After what he said about our bullets not doing much to him, and the way he recovered from those injuries to his legs without even a scratch..."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Well, he might have a scratch. No way to tell under all that dressing.>
<Viktor> "Not to mention that legendary insists on backing him up, even though he knows he's as crooked as a zigzagoon limping."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <More bandages than Cofagrigus prey.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Ah, Kyurem.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <He's got a long con going that one.>
<Viktor> "Unfortunately I don't really have the patience for that to pan out."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <If you thought the BOSS thought morality was a distraction, you should hear the way the world works from his icy point of view.>
<Viktor> "Really now?"
<Pandora_n_Friends> <His thing is all about balance. If he had his way, nothing would ever grow or change for all eternity.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <But of course, he can't stop it. So instead he makes sure nothing gets out of control.>
<Viktor> "Then he should be all for this."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <All for what?>
<Viktor> "We're stopping that man before he can push the world any further out of balance."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <It sounded like he supports you a lot.>
<Viktor> "He wants to use those master balls all the same."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Who? Kyurem?>
<Viktor> "No, Damascus."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Ah, him.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Well, he's only human.>
<Viktor> "Even Giratina knows it's not a good thing for those things to exist, right?"
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Well, sure.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <And Kyurem too, by the way he acted. Getting involved with the boss usually pisses his kind off. Just talking with the boss usually tips the scales a bit too far for his liking whether you take the deal or not.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <If you was anyone else, I bet Kyurem would have killed you on the spot rather than let you attempt to fight the boss.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <The fact that he didn't try means he must think you're too important to waste.> :B
<Viktor> "But it sounds like if we tried to kill that man now... he wouldn't really take kindly to that."
<Viktor> "Sure he said his betrayal would be inevitable, but boy, I have to tell you. For the first time in a long while? I think I'm actually feeling impatient."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Well, who knows. Maybe that's his plan all along, to push Damascus into killing himself on you guys for his part in this whole fiasco.>
<Viktor> "But if it's not in his plan... just think how difficult that could be. Especially now that he's got edmund eating out of his hand."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Who knows with Kyurems.>
<Viktor> "Plural?"
<Pandora_n_Friends> <:B who wants to know?>
<Viktor> "There's an odd thought. A bunch of those things running around."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Doubt you'll find another one in a million years, but nothing says there can't be two. that Twig guy's got a baby Zapdos, and the Bark-meister is only one of a set.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <So who knows? I sure don't.>
<Viktor> "Coulda fooled me."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <I know there's only one of my boss.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <That's all that matters to me.>
<Viktor> "I suppose so."
 Viktor picks up a handful of sand and lets it run through his fingertips.
<Pandora_n_Friends> <As for the Damascus guy... I dunno. Why do you think Ed is getting so buddy-buddy?>
<Viktor> "Right before I broke that... he asked me, do you think we're the bad guys here?"
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Hmmmmmmmm.>
<Viktor> "I told him I don't give a rattata's ass about something like that."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <I've got a few different answers depending on who you ask?>
<Viktor> "Maybe he took it personally."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Some of us in here say it was good to act and get it over with. The child was unharmed and the townspeople we met got out with the Mayor's help.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Some of us say you were in the wrong to act so hastily, but at least you made sure to break the ball as quickly as possible.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Some are yelling that you put all those people in danger without thinking.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <And still others are saying you should have made sure nobody survived HEHEHEHEHE.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <But we usually don't follow his advice.>
<Viktor> "Sounds like the jury's out on whether it was right or wrong."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <That's what happens with things like me. I don't have a moral compass, so I have to ask about it.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <And opinions are like horseshoes and horseraces.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> (Ponytaraces :B)
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Everyone's got their own opinion on what they saw.>
<Viktor> "Suppose so."
<Viktor> "It's like they say..."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <I don't care. You did what you did and it ended up with us alive and with the ball broke. WE think a lot of different things, but I think we're all supporting you.>
<Viktor> "The history books are written by the victors, right?"
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Hehehe, yes, that's right>
<Viktor> "Yeah... it did end up like that."
<Viktor> "So why don't I feel satisfied."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Because humans are weird like that.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Never satisfied with what they got, always gotta reach for what they can't have.>
<Viktor> "Even if he's not a threat right now... I still want to make him pay."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <No wonder Kyurem has to reign you lot in.> :B
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Why don't you then? What can you do to get what you want?>
<Viktor> "I could do it, couldn't I..."
<Viktor> "With that power."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Thinking of throwing the fight?>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Just taking the lumps and accepting the boss's help?> :o
<Viktor> "Maybe I am..."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Wooooah Quiet down in there you lot.> D:
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Lots of strong opinions about that.>
<Viktor> "And it would serve him right. Let him taste what it really means to have the power of a legend."
<Viktor> "Humor them! Let's hear some!'
<Pandora_n_Friends> <"YES" "NO" "DO IT!" "Keep your soul, son" "I like tapioca pudding" "Let me at them, you can kill him on your own">
<Pandora_n_Friends> <"Our father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name..." "As long as he likes you you won't suffer in servitude" "Don't get tricked into hell" "Live with friends and family forever and ever my beloved.">
<Pandora_n_Friends> Eventually the voices begin to grow in volume, screaming over one another until it's a cacophony.
<Viktor> "Argh! Enough! Enough!"
<Pandora_n_Friends> You can't even tell what they're all saying, some are just screaming incoherently.
<Pandora_n_Friends> And with that, it stops.
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Always wanted to do that. Says a lot about a person how they react to hearing what the groundling have to say.>
 Viktor shakes his head and smooths out his hair.
<Viktor> "Yeah... it's something allright."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <For what it's worth, and I know that nice words from a Spiritomb aren't usually all that valuable in most people's fancies...>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <I wouldn't mind having you in here with me, cuz' I know I'd miss you when you were gone.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <But I'd want it to be your choice.> :<
<Viktor> "Hehehe..."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Not like some of these guys who I couldn't wait to munch on.>
<Pandora_n_Friends> <You're one of the good ones, Faust.>
<Viktor> "Well thanks, I'm glad at least someone's going to be happy if I say yes."
<Viktor> "I mean, Edmund, Bruce, Char... what am I supposed to do, just walk up to them and say, 'Hey, remember how I was planning on resisting Giratina? Yeah, I decided killing Damascus is more important!'"

<Pandora_n_Friends> Charlotte, you see Viktor sitting in the desert talking with Pandora.
<Pandora_n_Friends> Pandora's got a look on his face, it's probably the closest to looking "Tender" you'll ever see a Spiritomb get.
<Pandora_n_Friends> He and Viktor are speaking to one another in German
 Charlotte hesitates before walking over, Kuma bouncing along at her heels.
<Charlotte> "Ah. Viktor. A moment?"
<Pandora_n_Friends>  :O
<Viktor> "Hah... Edmund, Bruce, Char... Was soll ich tun? Gehen Sie auf sie zu und sagen, 'Daran erinnern, wie ich war auf Widerstand Giratina Planung? Das Töten Damaskus ist wichtiger!'"
 Charlotte didn't understand any of that. :D
<Viktor> "Ein- Ah..."
<Viktor> "Hello, Charlotte..."
<Pandora_n_Friends> <Woopwoopwoopwoop> the Spiritomb retreats back into his box
<Charlotte> "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything?"
<Pandora_n_Friends> You can see his eyes peeking out every now and then.
<Viktor> "I vas just asking for some opinions."
<Charlotte> "Ah."
<Charlotte> "I...Well, if you're busy, we can talk some other time."
<Viktor> "Ah, no, not at all."
<Viktor> "I vould velcome your company."
<Charlotte> "Mmm. Thank you." Charlotte plops down next to him, absently petting Kuma, who is (as usual) very barkbarkbark about the whole situtation.
<Pandora_n_Friends> :D
* Pandora_n_Friends is now known as Pandora_n_BARK
 Viktor smiles and leans forward to pet Kuma. "Hallo hund, Sie sind gut?"
<Charlotte> :D barkbarkbarkabark?
<Charlotte> (or I suppose kamen could say that because he's kuma now but too late)
<Pandora_n_BARK> He leans into the pets, beating his little leg on the ground
<Viktor> "Ja du bist! Ja du bist~"
<Charlotte> (I can get that just from context. :B)
<Charlotte> "Anyway. Damascus."
<Viktor> "Right..."
<Viktor> "What are your thoughts?"
<Charlotte> "Still wouldn't trust him so far as I could throw him. I..."
<Charlotte> "I wish Ed had agreed to let me come along."
<Charlotte> "Seems like not bein' one of the blessed ones means I'm just powerless in a situation like this, though."
<Viktor> "Do you think... Damascus needs to be stopped?"
<Charlotte> "Of course I do."
<Charlotte> "He...I don't know how to say this."
 Viktor frowns
<Charlotte> "It's like he ain't even human any more - or ain't got the thing that makes people decent human beings."
<Viktor> "Und now he wants to send zat child off to be his heir..."
<Viktor> "Treating himself like ze hero... when he is ze reason zat we had to destroy zat ball in ze first place and cause zat maze to collapse."
<Viktor> "Does it not make you feel ill thinking about zat man?"
<Charlotte> "An' I find it hard t' believe he cares nearly as much about th' people here as he pretends to."
<Viktor> "Und yet Edmund seems insistent on defending him..."
 Charlotte sighs.
<Viktor> "Don't you think... it would be best if we ended his life once und for all before he has a chance to escape und cause more damage?"
<Charlotte> "I..."
<Charlotte> "I don't know."
<Viktor> "Hehehe..."
<Viktor> "Another question without a good answer..."
<Charlotte> "Seems the longer time goes on, the less an' less I know..."
<Charlotte> "I'm not as clever as you or Edmund, an' not as perseverin' as Bruce."
<Viktor> "But you have so much heart... it is a wonderful quality of yours."
 Charlotte smiles thinly.
<Charlotte> "Heart don't go too far in a world like this, does it?"
<Viktor> "I suppose I do not know ze answer to zat question either..."
<Viktor> "But you are generous, und a joy to be around."
<Charlotte> "....Thank you, Viktor. That means a lot, comin' from you."
<Viktor> "As for my cunning..."
<Viktor> "Vat has it gotten us..."
<Viktor> "A broken masterball... a town endgangered..."
<Viktor> "Und Edmund eating out of Damascus's hand."
<Charlotte> "...He'll come back t' his senses, sooner or later."
<Viktor> "Und yet I still think I shall not be satisfied... until I ensure zat damascus pays for his crimes with my own hands..."
 Viktor clenches a fistful of sand, some of it spilling out over his fingertips.
<Charlotte> "...So far, he ain't done nothin' but be a horrible person an' try to kill us a few times, though, right?"
<Viktor> "Und try to upset ze very balance of ze world!"
<Charlotte> "'s much as I don't like him, I'd rather make sure Grant ain't in a position to give out more of them balls first."
<Charlotte> "...That's true."
<Viktor> "Heh, who says zere is a limit on ze amount of madmen we are allowed to slay..."
<Charlotte> "...Viktor."
<Charlotte> "I. Uh."
 Charlotte tries to think of what to say next.
<Charlotte> "I ain't sure if killin' 'em is the answer we're lookin' for. I don't know what the answer is, though."
<Viktor> "Vat else is zere to do? A man like zat... is a threat to ze entire world."
<Pandora_n_BARK> <...Excuse me... Miss
<Pandora_n_BARK> Walker...>
<Dynasty> (I thought Kuma was talking)
<Pandora_n_BARK> It's enigma :O
<Charlotte> "...But I've broken so many of the rules to live by, I don't think I could- huh?"
 Charlotte looks around.
<Pandora_n_BARK> <...Sorry to interrupt.>
<Pandora_n_BARK> <...I was hoping to ask you... the child, Cassandra... She needs clothes...>
<Pandora_n_BARK> <...I thought I might ask you if you might make an outfit for her...>
<Viktor> "Is Damascus now trying to stoop so low as to use zat child to garner sympathy from us?"
<Charlotte> "Don't matter either way t' me."
<Charlotte> "If th' poor girl needs clothes an' he ain't gonna provide, I might as well."
<Pandora_n_BARK> <...I care not about what the man in bandages does...  But the child can't go naked in this desert heat...>
<Charlotte> "Right."
<Charlotte> "I'll fetch my bag in a moment."
<Charlotte> "But first."
 Charlotte leans in close to Viktor
 Viktor stares curiously
<Charlotte> "...We ain't got much in this fight, but at least we're in the right, right?"
<Viktor> "It... depends on who you ask."
<Charlotte> "But we can't stoop to that man's level."
<Viktor> "How are we supposed to stop zat man..."
<Charlotte> "Somethin' will work out."
<Viktor> "Do you not want to pay him back for what he did to Tathila?"
<Viktor> "For what he nearly did to Edmund?"
<Charlotte> "Of course I do."
<Charlotte> "But I ain't a murderer."
 Viktor sighs...
<Viktor> "This is the sort of thing I mean when I say you have such heart."
<Viktor> "Even after all zis you wish to stay true to your principles..."
<Viktor> "I wish I had your strength."
<Charlotte> "It ain't a matter of strength, really."
<Charlotte> "It's..."
 Charlotte shrugs. "I don't know what it is."
<Pandora_n_BARK> Enigma makes himself scarce as is tactful
 Viktor waits for him to be a bit out of sight.
<Viktor> "Charlotte..."
<Charlotte> "Hm?"
<Viktor> "I have never before cared about being right or wrong... good or evil."
<Viktor> "Two things motivate me... keeping ze order of zis world... and learning its secrets."
<Charlotte> "Hmm."
<Viktor> "Right now... every part of me is screaming to accept zis power... accept ze gifts Giratina has offered me."
<Charlotte> "But you mustn't!"
 Charlotte grabs onto Viktor's shoulders.
<Charlotte> "You can't sell yerself into slavery just t' get some sort of revenge on Damascus."
<Viktor> "It may not be so bad..."
<Viktor> "I vill get to be together with my ancestors. With pandora."
<Charlotte> "Viktor. Please."
<Charlotte> "Think about what you're sayin'."
<Charlotte> "Just because we had a setback here, don't mean you gotta change your mind all of a sudden!"
<Charlotte> "I thought you had more pride than that."
<Viktor> "But my pride also tells me zat I must not let ze injustices of Damascus go unpunished..."
<Charlotte> "An' they won't. We'll cut him off from th' angel balls an' tear his ambitions down."
<Charlotte> "An' we can do that together, without sellin' you out to Giratina."
<Charlotte> "You've still got us, Viktor. All of us."
<Viktor> "With this... it could be so simple... Damascus.... Grant... no creature could stand in our way."
 Charlotte shakes Viktor. >:
 Viktor flails
<Charlotte> "An' doin' things the easy way is worth givin' up everythin? You're soundin' like the sort of person Grant would give one of those balls to."
<Charlotte> "Not carin' about the consequences, not carin' who they hurt so long as they got what they wanted."
<Charlotte> "Listen to yourself!"
<Viktor> "What if... what if more people got hurt... because I vas not powerful enough."
 Kain (DDK@sux-D320B875.jan.bellsouth.net) has joined #WildWestmon
 Viktor puts his hands on Charlotte's.
<Viktor> "People important to me."
 Hope has quit (Ping timeout)
<Charlotte> "Then...then we'll keep fightin', keep tryin'. We can't win everythin', but we can win in the end."
 Viktor starts to crack a smile.
 Charlotte tightens her grip on Viktor's shoulders, clearly having lost her composure somewhere along the line.
<Viktor> "Hehehe..."
<Viktor> "I suppose when I said zat every part of me wanted to accept zis... I vas not being entirely truthful."
<Charlotte> "...Oh?"
<Viktor> "It vas everything... but ze part zat likes you of course."
<Charlotte> "I uh uh wha"
<Charlotte> "I...Viktor?"
<Charlotte> "I ain't sure what's proper to say in a situation like this..."
<Viktor> "Vell... I vould like to say to you, 'Thank you'."
<Charlotte> "Ahaha. You're welcome, even if I didn't really do all that much..."
<Pandora_n_BARK> It's worth noting that Pandora has been leering at you two from the box this whole time.
<Viktor> "Vell... I suppose zat depends on who you ask."
<Viktor> "If you ask me... saving my life, und being ze sole voice of dissent in my conscience..."
<Viktor> "Is more zan I could hope to repay."
 Viktor looks up at her and smiles, "But I vould like to try anyvay."
<Charlotte> "Well, ah, we've got a long journey ahead of us. Maybe you'll think of something." Charlotte grins.
 Viktor puts his arm around Charlotte and looks at her eyes in the light of the desert dawn.
 Charlotte finally lets go of his arms and settles back next to him.
 Viktor leans in and tries to kiss her.
 Charlotte tenses in surprise, then relaxes again, wrapping an arm awkwardly around Viktor and pulling herself closer.
 Viktor embraces her and plants a soft kiss on Charlotte's lips, holding it there for a moment before pulling back and smiling. "Vas that... a good start?"
<Charlotte> "Perhaps."
<Charlotte> "Just maybe~"