A Glance into Madness, a Krieg the Psycho one-shot

Loneliness

It was just another beautiful day in the Arid Badlands... If one could call it beautiful. The sun blazed upon the dusty ground with an agonizing heat that could nearly be seen. Skags would be audible in the distance, regurgitating the indigestible items they so gluttonously devoured. The familiar stench of decaying life plagued the air.

Overall, it was quiet-- peaceful even, save for the occasional screech of a Rakk or two. This was the perfect environment for Krieg's mind to go wild. Now, this was a blessing and a curse; being alone with his thoughts was generally not desirable. But, the rather large man strolled along, buzz axe in hand, singing to himself.

"Flesh cup, you're full to the brim with lies... It'll be no surprise... WHEN I TAKE MY JABBER STICK AND TEAR OUT YOUR EYES!" Krieg began laughing, laughing until he reached hysterics. His axe fell to the ground, landing handle-up in the dirt. Following suit, he dropped to his knees, and buried his face in his hands. Slowly, the laughter became muffled, his large shoulders heaving, as the cackles transitioned into painful sobs.

"No... No. You need to stay strong for the tonsil slaughter!" He yelled into his bloodied, bandage-wrapped palms. One clutched his mask, while the other blindly fumbled for the axe. 

Once he found it, he pulled himself to his feet and began to stumble along the endless road once again. 

//Will this ever end? How haven't we died yet? Well, you know the deal we made...// Honestly, the minuscule part of Krieg with a grasp on reality wanted it all to end more than anything. He and his psycho state of being had made a compromise: He could kill as many deserving people as he wanted, but if even one innocent person was slaughtered on a rampage, he would end it all. The end... It was so tempting to the internalized Krieg, the one pushed into the darker corners of his sick, twisted mind... Everything could be over. He wouldn't have to hurt anyone, not even the bad ones. After all, everyone deserved a second chance, right? The psycho's conscience was showing up again. This was not good. 

//I tied you to a chair, I beat you to a pulp, what are you doing here? Get... Out.//

[You know you don't need to carry on. No one needs you. You could end the pain, end the suffering, end the grief, right now,] His so-called conscience replied.

//NO. Grace is gone, but Tina's still out there. I can feel it.//

[Isn't that selfish? You're willing to continue ending lives merely for the hope of seeing your... little one, once again.]

//Get out. Be gone--//

"TINY MAN! CHOP THE SAUSAGE-SPEAK!" Krieg proceeded to raise his axe and beat himself upside the head a few times, until his vision blurred and his staggering grew worse. Following this, the mentally unstable one unleashed an ungodly scream of utter rage and confusion. 

After a minute or so, his vision returned enough to spot a skag in throwing distance. Raising his axe arm once again, he threw his weapon at the ugly, dog-like beast with surprising precision. It split him down the middle, spraying blood and entrails everywhere.

Krieg giggled. "Oh, goody GOODY! THE SOUL SOUP IS BACK FOR MORE! HOW DO YOU DO?"

The oddly proportioned, mutated man lumbered over to the pile of guts to retrieve his beloved buzz-axe. After he did so, he momentarily removed his mask and gave the weapon a lick from top to bottom, ingesting whatever the skag's insides were made of. 

"Oooooh, yuuuum! WELCOME BACK, FRIEND!"

Krieg repositioned his mask and began toward Fyrestone in the distance. Unbeknownst to him at the time, he would reconnect with multiple friends here, some welcomed, some... Not so much.