asgardchrysalis | [CLOSED] Am I strong enough

Entry tags:

[CLOSED] Am I strong enough

Who: Rhys Strongfork and Klaus Hargreeves
What: Shit went down and Klaus has a lot of questions.
When: 23 November after this.
Where: Klaus and co's house in Honir.
Rating: idk M bc Borderlands ig

[ Rhys's plan had been ...

Well, actually, he hadn't really had much of a plan when he walked away. Not beyond getting out of there and finding somewhere to hole up. Not like he could stay out of an actual house with a bed forever, but going back to Tyrhaus also isn't a great option. Can't exactly leave the city. Can he?

Only Klaus had other ideas, and Rhys finds himself inside the door of his house that ... isn't only his, but apparently that doesn't matter. And it's not like he has the energy to fight it, because the feeling of his heart beating in every vessel of his face is distracting, and the back of his head is aching and-- Well, his face is aching too. Everything is aching. He's sore and he can't think straight so he just.

Goes along with it. ]

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[to anyone else, it'd be no surprise klaus brought rhys home with him because he's always assumed everyone knew about their... interconnection. (wow, what a way to put it—)

but that isn't an excuse this time. no, this time, he's dragged the guy somewhere safe after gaige had beaten his face in, all while screaming a whole lot of things he didn't understand. or couldn't comprehend during the current moment, even though he's somehow less prepared to ask about it once they're finally inside. he shuts the door behind them, fingers lingering at the knob almost too long; however, his brain reminds his feet to move before it gets awkward.

gotta at least make it upstairs where they'll be home-free first.]

You'll, uh, have to gimme a second. [considering they've stopped at a rather crude makeshift gate blocking the top stair. both hands scrub over his face then he begins clambering over it, balancing one hand on the railing while he does.] I've got new children to wrangle.

Yeah, sure. Take your time.

[ He'll just ... stand here in confusion. After all that, after everything Gaige said (or screamed, rather), and who knows what else she told everyone else before she got pulled off him-- Because, god, Hyperion has done so much crap. So much bad stuff. And he hadn't given a damn at all because, hell, what corporation hasn't? Does it even matter?

He can't think straight. Maybe he should just stop. ]

[hesitating while straddling the barricade is a little awkward; klaus does so anyway, staring long and hard at rhys, studying him for a longer than necessary moment before fumbling the rest of the way over.]

Hey, girls! What'cha do—oh my God. [and he stops dead in his tracks, mouth falling open at the sight of cotton fuzz strewn across the floor. please, god, don't let it have been— as he whips toward his beanbag. blessedly, it isn't, but that is where the shiba inu puppy and cat are currently cuddling together. (oh no, how fucking cute is that!?) r i p to his pillow though, he guesses.

seems like he'll have to get some toys. or make some? either way,] It's fine, you can come in. They're having a nap after destroying my pillow.

[ He raises an eyebrow at the long stare - which hurts, by the way - but doesn't react otherwise. When Klaus sounds so mortified, he leans in to take a closer look at the room.

Uh, is that fur or--?

Oh, okay, it's not.

He shakes his head a little, and carefully steps over the barricade. A little bit unsteady on his feet, but he makes it over without falling on his face, so that's a victory. ]

[well, gosh, it wasn't meant to be offensive! there's so much going through his mind right now, klaus isn't sure where to start with questions.

but thankfully, he doesn't have to focus on that once he realizes how unsteady rhys seems to be. without really thinking about it (and despite what protests his friend might have), klaus moves back toward him, hooks an arm around rhys's shoulders after he's over the gate.]

Come on, [he coaxes, carefully leading the way to the bed since the beanbag seems like it'll be occupied for some time.]

[ He doesn't protest the help. Not that he's necessarily the kind to try to insist that he can do everything just fine, but it certainly doesn't help that he's exhausted right now, and maybe it's kind of nice to be looked after. Strange as it is. Wary as he is of it, just waiting for Klaus to decide that Gaige was right and he just isn't worth it.

As soon as he sits down, he closes his eyes with a deep breath, slumping forward to rest his arms on his thighs. ]

[whenever rhys hunches forward after they've sat, he withdraws the arm, moves both hands to his lap and fidgets rather than attempting to keep the other male upright. eventually, klaus's chewing his lip as well, glancing between his fingers and rhys's head.

lord, all these burning questions, he feels like he's about to catch fire—] Are you alright? Do you, uh... wanna lay down?

[ He shakes his head. ]

I'm fine.

[ Just rattled. The back of his head probably took a harder blow than he first thought, but at this point he's just ... used to hitting his head. He'll be perfectly fine in a little while. ]

... Thanks.

Doesn't seem like it.

[well, he hadn't meant to be that upfront about it, but what's the point in sugarcoating things when shit's already gone to hell? then rhys is thanking him, causing klaus to shake his own head.]

No problem, [he murmurs, still fidgeting, still watching despite the urge to look away.] I wasn't going to just. Let you die, y'know?

[ There's a quiet huff. ]

If she had all her stuff, we'd probably all be dead. Well-- Maybe not Dante. Guess if he had all his stuff, he could've probably held her off, unless he was too slow getting there.

[ He's just rambling now. Still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Klaus has to have questions, right? So why isn't he just cutting to the chase and asking them. Damn. ]

Yeah, no, I'm pretty sure Dante would've been alright? But the rest of us... [how about they don't think about that? because there's been enough death lately, they don't need anymore to ponder.

leaping right into the questions just felt wrong, particularly when rhys got his face bashed in and might possibly be concussed. if he's ready for whatever klaus wants to ask, then he'll do it, although part of him doesn't even want to know. maybe he shouldn't—]

What the hell happened, Rhys? [—but curiosity killed the cat, after all.]

[ He laughs wryly. ]

What, she didn't tell you?

I warned you about it. Told you not to tell her what we talked about during that ... competition thing, right? This is why.

[ Finally, he straightens up, with a heavy sigh. ]

Don't know why I didn't just set that vest on fire. I'm an idiot. I wasn't even lying to her, I'm technically blacklisted and not ... part of that anymore. But I guess it doesn't matter.

Was... she supposed to? [his expression instantly creases, yet klaus bites his tongue rather than blurt out something he might regret.]

I didn't say anything for whatever it's worth. [not much since gaige already found the vest and all, but.] I swear.

[and as soon as rhys sits up, he's adjusting his position to lean forward, elbows on his knees, chin in his palms, fingers tapping his cheeks after a slight smile.] I could've told you that. [pretty sure klaus did at some point.]

Give it time. Maybe she'll come around and maybe not? If it's true, I'd hope she would at least consider you've got no reason to toss her bullshit about that.

[ He shrugs. He would expect her to try and talk as much shout about Hyperion as possible, explain just why finding a vest with their name on it was so bad. ]

Definitely didn't think you told her anything. Also don't think she'll come around. It's ... It's personal, for her.

I mean— [he hesitates, clenches his hands, presses his fists harder into his cheeks then sighs.] She mentioned shit about some ‘Handsome Jack’ guy? How he wanted to eliminate everyone on Pandora, how he treated his own daughter and if you trust Hyperion, they'll just kill you without hesitation.

[...more or less, anyway.] Because they killed people important to her, I know, but did you do that?

[ Yeah, that sounds about right, except there's one thing that gets him to pause, turning his head to stare at Klaus for a moment. ]

Wait. His daughter?

[ Jack had a daughter? A daughter he never told anyone about?

Uhhhh.

Wow.

That's suspicious. ]

[as soon as rhys turns toward him, his own head tilts, eyebrows arching with surprise.] I dunno, man, that's what she said.

[loosening his hands and scrubbing them over his face, he shrugs afterward, straightens up, lowers both arms so he's able to cinch the bedsheets instead.] “He poisoned his own kid until she begged us to kill her because she didn't even have enough freedom to do it herself,” is what I remember. [something about this seems off, though—]

You didn't know your boss had a daughter? [like what???]

[ Oh.

Oh, suddenly he feels really. Really sick. His throat closes in on itself for a moment, and he opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out at first. Poison? What does that mean? What kind of poison? His own damn daughter? Really? Why? How?

There's got to be some answer to why. It's Handsome Jack. Even he's not bad enough to do that for no reason. Right? Except-- Except it doesn't even matter, does it? Doesn't matter because what the fuck. ]

He-- He did what? Oh my god ...

[ He buries his face in his hands, but is instantly reminded that he's hurting, and drops his hands with a flinch.

Ow. ]

Look, I don't know. Never heard about her. Maybe it's because he was poisoning her? I feel like even all the idiots that worshiped him like a god, [ including him, ] might've drawn the line there. Jesus ... fuck.

[ Okay. DEEP BREATHS, Rhys. ]

What he always said-- Okay. So he had a ... a vision, right? Pandora's actually the worst planet ever, but there's vaults and this thing called eridium there that everyone wants, so that's kind of why we ever went there at all. So he had this idea that he could ... fix it. Except most people on Pandora have basically lost their minds because, again, worst planet ever. The sun like never goes down, nothing grows there, everything wants to kill you, and the eridium actually, uh ... gets to you. I don't know what it is about it. But he thought, you know, kill everything there that wants to kill you, and you can build something and have a planet where humans can actually ... live.

[if there's anything he can take away from rhys's reaction, it's that he had no fucking idea this handsome jack guy had a daughter he was poisoning. (for some reason? what kind of sick bastard does that willingly??? jesus christ—) he has to stop thinking about it or his own disgust will get the best of him.

and regardless of answer it does not matter, nobody should do something like that to their kid.

unsure of how else to respond, klaus upturns his hands while shrugging again, looking completely at a loss.] Yeah, that's about the same reaction I had when she told me.

It's like... damn, dude, and I thought my dad was a prick. [klaus huffs a laugh, completely mirthless, which cuts off the moment he sees rhys cringe.] H-Hey now, take it easy.

[rather than interrupt the brief pause (that rhys will fill soon enough), he raises a hand, wiggles his fingers in what he hopes will convey the hint: he'll use magic and heal him again if necessary. that, and it gives him an excuse to reach further out, tentatively resting his fingertips at rhys's shoulder, squeezing with as much reassurance manageable.

a vision. calling it that doesn't make it seem any better when klaus considers how many people would've died (gaige included). yeah, sure, maybe you're trying to do something better with the place but is nuking it and the somewhat decent people still there worth it? no, definitely not.] Y'know, it'd be a nice sentiment... if the planet wasn't inhabited by however many people.

Surely not all of them are a total loss, right? [since there are two pandorans he kinda likes having around asgard.]

[ He just. Sighs. Only a little while ago he might have believed that, insisted that the whole planet was a total loss. Everyone on Pandora is a bandit who's completely lost their minds.

Turns out it isn't that simple at all, but he supposes he should have guessed it.

Not that he was ever that into the idea. He just didn't care. He just wanted to work for Hyperion because it's Hyperion. God, he's pathetic. ]

No. Not all of them.

[ Sasha and Fiona, for starters, are pretty ... good. Scooter too. At least he's not some lunatic screaming about murder or meat. ]

But that's not what Jack wanted his employees to think. Maybe he believed it himself too.

[nothing's that simple and if it were, they wouldn't be having this conversation right now— or at all, really? since something kinda tells him whoever the fuck handsome jack is, he would've blown pandora out of existence had he been given a better chance.

thank god, the bastard isn't alive anymore or else he'd be worrying about that for lord knows how long. and blessedly, klaus isn't about to judge rhys for some poor life choices. everyone he knows has made those, it just matters what they decide to do and where to go from there after they've made the shitty decision.]

See? Knew there had to be a few. [maybe more than that even, although he's not about to assume he knows who's decent and who isn't.]

Of course it wasn't. He'd want everyone to believe he was doing the right thing, doing them all a favor by destroying the place. [and the longer he thinks about it, the harder it is for him to accept such an idea.] And if he believed it, he was a fucking megalomaniac and good riddance to him dying.

Yeah, he was. Charming like hell, too. And terrifying. And the worst part? Everyone on Hyperion wants to be like him. I wanted to be like him. I mean-- If you live in a universe where everyone might decide to kill you, it's kind of appealing to be so scary most people wouldn't try and, if anyone actually was that dumb, powerful enough to squash them under your shoe. You know?

Shit, that makes it even more difficult if he was a charismatic asshole. [he knows... and klaus understands, but that doesn't mean he has to like it.] I know. Not on my own kind of personal level, obviously, but what you're saying makes sense.

[a beat then,] Just... please, tell me you wouldn't blow up a planet like that, too?

No. No. I mean, I don't-- I don't think so, but the thing is I ... I believed what they always said? That everyone on Pandora was just a bandit and not ... worth anything, so maybe I ... I want to say no? Now that I've been there I get that it's not that simple and the people I met are honestly better than a lot of the assholes who work for Hyperion, but I'm not ... I don't know if I'm that much better.

[ He almost buries his face in his hands again, but remembers that it hurt like hell, so instead he leans back on his hands and stares up at the ceiling. ]

Because the thing is, sure, Jack was terrible, but at least he had some kind of idea behind what he was doing. Me? I just wanted money. I wanted power. I wouldn't know if Hyperion is worse than any other corporation in the universe or not because I didn't bother looking. I knew that it was the biggest and the best, and that's all that mattered. Hell, if I actually managed to become president of Hyperion like I wanted, I don't even know what I would have done. How pathetic is that?

[don't think so? that's honestly not too reassuring, but with how rhys is explaining himself, klaus can... at least understand where he's coming from. doesn't have to agree to understand.] Fair enough, I guess. Actually going there and experiencing what kind of place it is for yourself instead of watching from— well, wherever Hyperion was? I'd say you not wanting to blow the place up makes you a little better, at least.

[regardless of his urge to reach out, klaus simply glances toward rhys's nearest hand then averts his gaze again.]

If I'm being honest? Pretty pathetic... and, uh, not the brightest idea, either. Trying to be a president of anything when you have no idea what you're doing or where you might even start, it's— [he pauses another time, turns the words over in his head] —it's not good. You're gonna have a bad time, y'know? But let's say you did become president: would you run it the same way as Jack?

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