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[i]"Forgive me Riptor."[/i]

Sunscreech bowed before her with a pensive hiss.

[i]"He surprised me...I was wounded, but Sulphide tried to stop him. Oddclaw was vicious, I did not see where he went."[/i]

She said nothing. Her eyes fixed upon the body of the pale yellow raptor, his throat torn almost through and his eyes faded to a ghostly pallour. The blood was just starting to turn, thickening to a brownish taint as her claws stiffened and her teeth grinded against each other. Radium stood behind her with a small pack of raptors, the vibrant jade of his body glimmering in the early dawn from outside as they waited in silence for her response. Five minutes they waited, too frightened to speak before she sat beside his body and laid her head upon his chest. Still she said nothing as Radium motioned the other raptors to leave quietly back to their duties with a glare towards Suncreech to have him stay just in case.

The cave rumbled deep with faint sounds of her pack muttering to themselves out of earshot as Radium stood to attention, watching over his leader cradling the body. Her tail twitched occasionally, her claws raking across his sides with a tender touch and the odd lick across his cold cheek. When she did finally speak it startled the two males.

[i]"All I wanted-"[/i]

[i]"R-riptor?!"[/i]

[i]"-was to bring a better world for us. For you, and me. To embrace our true heritage and to strengthen ourselves in the world that we belong in. Is that so wrong? Was it...was it so terrible for him to give me a future, that he would take you away from me?"[/i]

Her voice dipped to a stutter, her eyes tightening shut as something vibrated deep in her chest.

[i]"What do I do Sulphide? What...do I do, now that your voice...without your voice to silence the chatter in my head? How can I...no. No, I know what you would say."[/i]

She stood up once more and turned to the two raptors.

[i]"How many do we have here?"[/i]

[i]"Twenty-three,"[/i] said Radium, [i]"including you, twelve of whom are ultras."[/i]

[i]"Double patrols for the next few days,"[/i] she walked past them with a stiffening neck, [i]"anything comes within a hundred yards you bring it to me, whether it's a rat or another raptor I don't care."[/i]

[i]"Yes Riptor."[/i]

The ultraraptor in black and green motioned Sunscreech to head back deeper into the cave, leaving him alone with Riptor who dug her claws deep into the dirt leaving thick scarring steps behind her.

[i]"Nothing new on the ship nearby,"[/i] he said.

[i]"They'll discard it,"[/i] she scoffed, [i]"humans always abandon things they cannot fix within the hour."[/i]

[i]"Are they really that wasteful?"[/i]

[i]"You said it yourself, they haven't come back since gathering their things from inside."[/i]

[i]"...I'm sorry."[/i]

Radium bowed his head stepping in front of her.

[i]"I know...Sulphide was very close to-"[/i]

[i]"Shut. Up."[/i] She planted her clawed hand upon his head. [i]"Do your fucking job instead of coddling me."[/i]

[i]"Right. Yes Riptor."[/i]

He stepped back and went deep into the cavern, Riptor following behind as she walked to the oasis by the sea in silence. It was a beautiful place, grass and seaweed under her feet where a few trees managed to grow in the moist yawning expanse of the subterrane that faced towards the ocean. Two large pools, one fresh and one salt kept apart, one in shadow and one in light as the sounds of the ocean waves helped soothe her heart, wracked with a burning fury that caused a tightness in her chest and a swelling pain in her ribs. Raptors nearby laid down in the soft grass cooing to each other, resting in the soft breeze where their tails flicked and they scratched their heads whilst drinking from the freshwater pond. Riptor sat herself close to the edge, beside the tide pool where fresh saltwater poured in with every rush of white froth that came harrowing from the sea to trace her claws and lap at her feet, sometimes cresting over her body where on each side a handle-shaped piece was fused near her thigh.

Her eyes closed as she laid down on her side, watching the tide wash over her face and wetten her cheeks. She expected to feel sadness, hoping the salts would sting her eyes enough to form the vague semblance of tears. But they didn't come. She knew they wouldn't, that was not her way. Even for those she felt deserved her tears.

[i]"I didn't need you."[/i] She said to the ocean. [i]"I never did. But you helped. You were...the first one I freed, the first who...understood me at last...the closest one who did. And the voice in my head, it knows that, it's trying to pull me to new ideas and now...will it still try? Or is it clever enough to recognise your passing?"[/i]

Riptor sighed struggling to pull more words to the surface, a eulogy of sorts as she clicked her teeth and shut her eyes when the waves came roaring back in. She dug down deep as she could, trying to find something, any emotion she could honour her dear friend, subordinate and the closest thing she had to family. But try as hard as she might, she could not find enough of sorrow within her to mourn deep. All she felt instead, was rage. Pure, unfiltered rage that no man nor beast could even hope to temper, no matter how hard they had tried before.

[i]"I will make him see."[/i] She pulled herself up from the waters. [i]"I will make him learn the true path to our future, his and mine...together. Just as we agreed...was it you Sulphide?"[/i]

She looked to the sky as if trying to find his face.

[i]"Was it you who spoke with me then? You said otherwise the day after so now I'm not even sure...hah...funny, at this rate even the false you I'd rather have than a dead you. Whatever, one of you said it, and if I can never hear your voice again, I will take the last words I heard from one of them."[/i]

Walking back through the cave, her expression darkened as the other raptors inched away from her in fright at her scent.

[i]"I will [b]not[/b] fail. This world shall be ours, as it rightfully should, as all raptors should live without fear as apex predators. Rulers. Gods."[/i]

A smile grew as she felt a warmth in her chest. The next two days she monitored search patrols, sometimes joining them to scout for Oddclaw or other intruders in the area, but for the most part they only encountered prey. Radium acted as her subordinate for the time being, stepping up to the plate without a word whilst he managed the various scouts and directed them to different parts of the region. They never went far, not more than a day's journey at Riptor's insistence whilst she remained in her private quarters, a circular cave with various fires flickering around her in different shades that amused her briefly. Then came something new.

[i]"Riptor!"[/i] Sunscreech came stumbling to her room. [i]"Riptor, there are hairless nearby, they have come for their...stoneflyer!"[/i]

[i]"Hmmm?"[/i] She sat up. [i]"I thought they had taken everything."[/i]

[i]"One of our scouts came back to tell us, what should we do?"[/i]

[i]"...do they have another 'stoneflyer' with them?"[/i]

[i]"Yes, a different one that looks like an egg."[/i]

[i]"Show me."[/i]

Following out of the cave and heading due north for at least an hour's walk, Riptor along with Radium, Sunscreech and two others approached the remains of the crashed ship. A smaller vessel shaped indeed like an egg had landed nearby where a few soldiers along with several strange mechanical-looking animals, were studying the downed craft as the raptors skirted around the hillock.

"Anything good?" asked one soldier.

"Some pretty impressive propulsion engines," said an armadillo-mech crawling over the wing, "one of them looks like it got rocks slammed into it."

"Musta been the pterosaurs, that uhh Eggfang was saying they were attacking it."

"She got the eggs back right?" said a tiger-robot checking the inside. "I don't see 'em inside here."

"Yeah she did," another soldier nodded, "had to leave her brother behind, he got back home a day back."

"Oh damn that's good what happened to him?"

"Wasn't the nazis that's for sure," the human shrugged, "dunno much else but whatever it was can't have been worse than these fucking monsters."

"These nazi guys really that bad?" a wasp badnik lasered off a piece of the wing.

"The absolute worst," the guard waved his hand, "they're scum, they only care about themselves, they'll kill you if you look anywhere different compared to them right down to the colour of your hair and skin."

"Serious?" a monkey-badnik cringed pulling out an old crate. "That sounds uh, they got a lotta issues."

"You have no idea, so if you see any of 'em, don't interact, come to us, we'll handle them."

[i]"Anything new?"[/i] Radium asked quietly from the rise.

[i]"They're speaking of the ship's owners,"[/i] said Riptor, [i]"the ones here come from the base far northeast, I recognise their armour and their robot friends."[/i]

[i]"These are the ones you said were Oddclaw's friends?"[/i] asked Suncreech.

[i]"Yes. As for these 'nazis' I do not know who they are."[/i]

[i]"They had black armour,"[/i] Radium clicked his fangs, [i]"the ones who came from the crashed ship, also their language was different, I can't understand human as well as you, but enough to know it was a different dialect."[/i]

[i]"So we have...two different tribes of hairless?"[/i] Sunscreech rasped with a sneer. [i]"One was bad enough."[/i]

[i]"I agree,"[/i] Riptor nodded, [i]"but to know we have two warring factions is interesting...very interesting."[/i]

[i]"Should we do anything?"[/i]

[i]"Not yet."[/i] She turned to the toxic-green raptor. [i]"Radium, what sort of things were inside that ship?"[/i]

[i]"Mostly blades like we had in the old labs,"[/i] he tapped his chin with cyan claws, [i]"two dinosaurs in cages, I didn't approach but the tools seemed to involve reconstruction."[/i]

[i]"Really?"[/i] A smile crept over her fangs. [i]"Reconstruction you say?"[/i]

[i]"Uhhhh, Riptor?"[/i]

[i]"I have an idea. Find some food, we watch and we wait for these Nazis to return, then you follow my lead."[/i]

The raptors tensed around her, but followed her orders nevertheless as she camped out on the hill and kept her gaze piercing upon the soldiers from the base who started to dismantle the nazi craft, the four robots and three human guards taking pieces to load up into the Duckies. A few hours would pass as the raptors kept watch, noting their movements whilst the sounds of shrieking saw and laser cutters ripped through the peaceful swamp, the sounds of whooping beasts faintly in the background giving a haunting atmosphere as the fog rolled in towards the late afternoon, a soft heated mist that rose around their bodies and seeped into the raptors but made the humans sweat and the machines start to rust in their joints.

"God I hate this weather," said one guard rubbing his neck.

"Yeah same here," said another kicking his boots, "the locals are nice but god it sucks with the heat, if it's not too hot there's too much rain and then there's the lightning."

"Yeaaaah being here for almost 30 years it...I mean, let's be real, we all came here cuz we had no place else to go, it's like Antarctica. But even people in Antarctica get to go home in less time."

"And the penguins don't try to rip your face," a third guard added rocking on his heels, "but also they don't talk to us and tell us cool stuff so-"

"Yeaaah I guess," the first guard coughed patting his chest, "fuck I can't handle this humidity."

"You wanna sit in the ship for a bit?"

"Nah nah I'm good just lemme drink something-"

"WE GOT INCOMING!"

One of the reploids pointed to the sky where another ship similar to the crashed vessel, looming towards them as the guards braced their rifles when it turned to reveal its rear hatch and a small squad of black-armoured soldiers approach, all with the red armband of their insignia whilst a commander in much thicker armour stepped in front of them.

"GET BEHIND THE SHIP, WE GOT THIS!"

"OPEN FIRE!"

"BASE THE HIGH CASTLE IS HERE, WE'RE ENGAGIN-[b][i]A-AAARRHGHHH![/i][/b]"

"JESUS, [i]FUCK![/i]"

A long rusted blade shunted through the man's throat, twisting out his trachea and almost drilling backwards out of his spine which ripped his head lopsided. Before the other T.E.A.R. guards could react, the beast blasted a firey smog that melted one of their faces and smogged the other's vision so he wouldn't see the savage claws leaping through the smoke, ripping down his front and gouging his stomach when Riptor peeled his chest open like a tin can.

"WH-WHAT THE [i]SCRAP?![/i]"

"WHERE'D THAT THING COME FROM!?"

"W-WE GOTTA STOP HER, COME ON GUYS!"

The four mechs tried to jump in, but the raptor was devastating. The wasp flew down fast as she could with laser armed and ready, screeching a line across the dirt as Riptor dodged and struck in a hard spin-strike that severed her head from her thorax, stabbing the buzzing skull in mid-flight before whipping round to the tiger who came down hard with a crushing slam of his fists. Belching liquid fire on his face, she had him back off with a roaring screech as the metal began to drip off his face showing the feline mechanical skull underneath.

"[i]I'LL BREAK YOUR HEAD WIDE OPEN YOU SHIT![/i]"

The armadillo came shrieking from the side rolling herself up in a hardened ball and revved like a motorcycle towards the raptor. Riptor smiled at the approaching dustcloud when she dodged past it in a sideswipe and swung her tail underneath, forming a speedbump that caused the dillo-mech to vault off and unroll herself quick to land on her feet and turn to block the spearing tail that skimmed off her shell. Throughout all of this, the approaching nazis were ready to fire, but stopped on seeing the bizarre creature savaging their would-be enemies.

"//What, the fuck is happening?//" muttered one.

"//I got no idea, sir your orders?//"

"//Hold,//" the superior raised his hand then reached for his comms, "//Frau Grimm, something is happening outside.//"

"//[b]Let me guess, do THEY have laser weapons too?[/b]//"

"//Well, some sort of...electrical raptor is attacking our enemies.//"

"//[b]What?! Are you serious?![/b]//"

Looking on they saw the ultraraptor kickslam into the armadillo to throw her on her back, leaping on top to rip off her head with a monstrous strength giving her no time to scream as the last of the robots tried to assault her, a badnik ape grabbing the crate from the ship and hurling it towards her as she rolled to the side and dragged the dillo-corpse behind her to hurl like a bowling ball. The gibbon was crushed against the hull, weakened enough for Riptor to come up and make a flying stab with her tail lancing past her head to dive into the monkey's eye, his stuttering screech gargling out with bursting wires and sparks as she ripped his CPU and cleaved a chunk of his skull apart.

She walked towards the nazi militia, their guns still trained upon her as she stared them down, flared her nostrils deep with their scent...and laid down in the dirt next to the fallen bodies.

"//Wha-...what?//" the soldiers shook their heads. "//Fuck is it doing?//"

"//It...it's laying down maybe it got tired.//"

The raptor rolled onto her back with a soft bark, plaintive as she could make with her belly fully exposed.

"//You guys seeing this right?!//" muttered one guard waving his gun. "//That thing really is just acting like some kinda dog right?!//"

"//It sure is,//" the elite soldier swung his shotgun over his shoulder, "//definitely submissive, not sure why it would even not attack us-//"

"//I know why.//"

The voice of Frau Grimm stepped out between them towards the raptor.

"//It understands our superiority.//"

"//Wh-...what?//"

"//Look at it, see how it relaxes its claws, the soft purrs and slackened tail? I used to have dogs, plenty, so I know beast psychology well.//"

"//I understand but,//" he walked beside her scratching his helm, "//why does this beast submit, and none of the others have?//"

"//Intelligence.//" Grimm tapped her visor and pointed to the eastern ridge. "//Its friends are over there, watching us. This beast only attacked when we arrived, in order to assist us. As part of a pack, dogs fight to protect those they deem a superior to them in the hopes of gaining reward.//"

"//So it wants...a reward, like a treat?//"

"//Perhaps...but.//"

She walked closer to the raptor, raising a hand to make the soldiers lower their weapons as she knelt down beside Riptor. It took all of the alpha's entire mental strength to not cringe from the human's touch, despite her fingers being gloved the smell of porous sweat made her feel sick in rememberance. She laid out completely prostrate, her purring become quieter and her tail swishing playfully.

"//Fascinating...you really...accept me, do you not? Who made you? You are not...natural, are you from where those other soldiers came from?//"

Riptor understood nothing, but the calm voice of the human helped lead her motions as she stretched out her tail and laid it fully upon her belly, showing the long wicked blades and many chain links that she lifted up towards Grimm.

"//Amazing...the skill you used this to destroy them was...yes. You understand me don't you girl?//"

[i]"That's it,"[/i] she whispered to herself, [i]"I know what all you humans are like. You can't help but have the urge to control and conquer so I'll make it easy for you...for now."[/i]

"//Hmhmhmhm...do you wish to join us?//" The kommandant stroked Riptor's head who nuzzled her hand. "//Goodness you do, don't you? Well...at least I will have a pet one way or another.//"

Standing up Grimm walked back to her troops, Riptor rolling onto her feet and bowing her head low to follow behind in a clear submission.

"//All is good, it seems we found ourselves a willing ally in this backwater place.//"

"//Can we trust it?//" asked the platoon leader keeping finger close to the trigger. "//It's still a wild animal Frau Grimm.//"

"//A wild animal of such great intelligence that it accepts the superior race. Look at her eyes.//"

She swept her hand to Riptor looking at her.

"//Look how they sparkle, see the way they watch me with a humble fascination. I may not have scale or claws, but she understands the strength and power I possess over you through a natural scent of dominance.//"

"//I mean...certainly went tame the moment it saw you.//" The soldiers tightened their buttocks as he nodded. "//Shall we return then?//"

Suddenly the raptor barked turning towards the slope and much to their surprise, four more raptors came out from the grass and trotted gently up to their leader. At her command they all suddenly laid down on their sides and purred with full submission, Riptor looking up towards Frau Grimm with the softest hint of a grin.

"//Th-this...this is incredible!//" gasped the elite soldier.

"//I think my thesis has been proven yes?//" the commander grinned. "//Nature understands the laws of supremacy."

"//Indeed, Frau Grimm, but...that one looks rather crippled."

He pointed towards Sunscreech whose missing eye and broken arms made him stand out.

"//He's not even fortified like the other ones are.//"

"//Yes...that is interesting.//"

She walked over to the wounded raptor who remained subservient, trying not to tighten his muscles at the touch of her gloved fingers. Riptor's gaze behind her was more terrifying to keep him in place.

"//You're a strange one aren't you...yes. Poor crippled beast, you've faced many hardships haven't you, such scars of war. Don't worry.//"

Frau Grimm grabbed his snout and pulled him up firmly.

"//I will improve you, for your servitude to me. Call Ingelbaum, tell him we have a new subject for the T4 Program.//"

"//Yes commander.//"

The woman whistled to Riptor who stood firm to attention as she pointed towards the ship interior, the raptor barking in turn to her subordinates who followed the soldiers into the vessel.

[i]"Are we really doing this?"[/i] asked Radium.

[i]"Let me handle them,"[/i] she whispered back, [i]"humans think they are the most intelligent beasts, but all it took was a few tricks to have them eating out of my mouth."[/i]

[i]"What does she want with me?"[/i] hissed Sunscreech as Frau Grimm stroked his head. [i]"I do not like this Riptor, I do not-"[/i]

[i]"Be quiet. You'll thank me once she fixes you up to become far better than you are now."[/i]

[i]"Better than...is she going to heal me?"[/i]

[i]"Yes."[/i] She smiled thinly. [i]"She will heal you...and in turn share their secrets with me."[/i]

The ship soon departed, boosting its thrusters with a scream of exhaust that flattened the grass around them, leaving one raptor behind who raced back discreetly to the cave and inform the others of Riptor's plan.

"HOO!" Jacob clapped his hands strolling out of the Ducky. "That ride never gets old, though honestly I prefer boats."

The T.E.A.R. base still remained shining as ever with its peerless radio tower standing above and the ocean circling around the long sandy beach. The guards waved at the yoshi as he waved back still limping on his wounded leg, helped by another guard who let him hop beside him.

"Thanks again, I really hope my leg heals up soon cuz this is a real paAIIIN-NN-nnngh!"

"Careful," the soldier lifted him higher, "you want me to carry you?"

"N-nah, nah I'm kinda done with that, I really don't wanna be a burden."

"You're not kid you're fine."

"Well yanno it's jus-hey, hey-ey whaddaya doing to Arnie?!"

He turned to see Schroeder being guided out of his ship with handcuffs and bag over his head, his sword and rifle taken off him as the yoshi struggled.

"WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?!"

"Kid calm down it's just a precautio-"

"HE'S MY FRIEND WHY YOU TREATING HIM LIKE A PRISONER?!"

"Because for the time being he is." Jane walked up in front with a severe look. "Jacob, I know you mean well but we cannot take chances-"

"With what?! You didn't treat ME like this!"

"Because, i-it's complicated-"

"He's a nazi."

The voice of Thomas Brightman cut through the air as he stood at the gate.

"Precautions have to be taken when dealing with his people."

"But, n-no!" Jacob limped forwards. "Y-you don't understand he's-"

"Do NOT test me. You are a guest, and you are a civilian-"

"You don't even know him you can't just-"

"[i]SHUT UP![/i]" He roared making Jacob balk. "YOU go to the medbay, and HE is going in the brig, that's an order."

"Come on," the guard beside the yoshi pulled him aside, "let's get you fixed up alright?"

"F-fine."

He huffed with a sigh as he was led inside first, Schroeder following behind still bound and hodded where he was walked down through several halls where he heard feet and metal strutting past him. Once the hood finally slipped off, he found himself in a comfortable cell with bed and lavatory, along with a door not unlike the ones from his own base but with a larger slit for seeing through.

"Need any food or drink?" the guard in grey asked.

"No thank you," Arnold shook his head sitting down, "I had plenty at the village."

"Alright. Don't cause any trouble, if you do I'll have to shoot you."

"Understood ma'am."

She nodded as he sat in silence, taking a moment to breathe and take in the sights of the cell corridor with its clean walls and soft UV lighting. Half an hour passed and he was asked if he wanted a book, shrugging as he asked to be surprised and was given the tale of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" to busy himself. Three hours after his incarceration, the guard was changed and a new voice approached to the door.

"Alrigh' there?"

A guard in olive drab with moustache stepped towards his cell with a tray of food and drink.

"Got you sum water an' sandwiches there."

"Oh, thank you."

The tray slid through the door's hatch as he ate up the mixed sandwiches of faux-lettuce, ham and cheese.

"Good book?" the soldier asked.

"Mmmh, yes, very good thank you. I never read this one."

"I haven't read it either, no spoilers."

"Noted." He drank up his water. "Mmm, that was lovely thank you."

"No prob," the soldier smiled, "glad yer bein' a good dab, sorry fer mah boss bein' such a tight-arse but well, you know whut yer army's done."

"I understand completely." He handed the tray back through the slat. "You are, Welsh, yes?"

"Hah, wrth i mi fyw ac anadlu," he nodded walking up to the slat, "you could tell aye?"

"Yes, I've heard a few Welshmen in my time."

"Yanno, now I think of it, yer accent's not as German as I thought."

"That's because I was born in Alderney, the channel islands."

"Wot?!" The guard gasp. "You a Jersey lad?!"

"Haha no no, Alderney is its own island, we're not one of those big Jersey types."

"Fuck me! So wot you doing with them at thuh nazi base?"

"Mandatory conscript," Arnold shrugged, "same as everyone."

"But you're British arentcha?"

"Half-English yes, my father was from Germany."

"Ahhhh so they just swooped you up?" The guard leaned against the door. "Wot year you come out of then?"

"What...year?" Schroeder cocked his head.

"Yeah wot wuz the year you and yer team got sucked out of?"

"Um...1971, which it still is on our calendar."

The soldier turned silent, stepping back from the door and rubbing his head with a growing fear that caused sweat to drip across his brow. He took a deep breath and rubbed his hands with a steady pace.

"So uh...wot happened in yer world then?"

"What do you mean?" Schroeder looked up.

"The nazis. How'd they win?"

"So...you DO know of us?"

"Aye, in our world they lost."

"...god I hope your world turned out better."

"Far as I know," the guard shrugged, "it's complicated with me, but in our world yes, you uh, lost this big war-"

"The second world war?" Arnold looked to the ceiling. "I was almost thirty when it started."

"Mmmm, same 'ere actually, when were you born?"

"1911."

"AWW me too, wot month?!"

"February second.

"July fourth! So you must be about uhhh seventy-four eh same as me?"

"N-...no." Schroeder shook his head. "Sixty-one, actually."

"...huh."

The guard walked away from the door and scratched his hair suddenly feeling his age crawl on his back. His hands were covered in liver spots, his foot clunking with the lustrous dark purple of dragon scales that he smiled upon before he rubbed his head.

"I do wanna ask...whut it's like back home. But I won't."

"I would not blame you," Schroeder rubbed his fingers, "it's a horrible place, I can tell you now being in this jail cell here is better than walking the halls of that base."

"Mmm...how's your family feel about it?"

"I don't know. They were killed."

"Oh. I'm sorry," the soldier outside rubbed his arm, "how...whut for?"

"T4 Program." Schroeder sighed staring at his shoes. "The elderly and disabled...I had four years left before it was my turn."

"Seriously? But yer a soldier, you'd get sum sorta protection righ'?"

"Normally yes, but uh...I'm a special case," he chuckled darkly.

"Whut you mean?" the guard looked through the slat.

"I wasn't chosen to guard the base because I was exceptional. I was put on a lonely outpost because I wasn't good enough to promote but not terrible enough to dispose of. But I know I'm on the list, they would have quietly discharged me, just in time for the program to hit me."

"Christ...that why you fled?"

"Mmm. I had other reasons, but I'll confess that's one of them."

"Got no one on the outside?" the soldier asked tapping his cheek. "Special woman, special man?"

"No no, no one loves me," said Arnold with a faithless smirk, "all you see in this cell is everyone I know."

"Shame, cuz you're a handsome lad I can say...if you an' I were maybe twenty years younger-"

"Hah, what you like THIS?" he gestured to his whole body. "Go to France if you want handsome men."

"I already did!" the guard cackled slapping his knee. "Lemme tell ya, the best lads are them lot from Marseille, they're lean with GORGEOUS bods, but get a few sangrias in 'em an' they can fuckin' fight half an army."

"You sure you didn't just meet Glaswegians on a holiday?"

"Christ no, you can tell where summat's really from after a few pints."

"I don't know, Parisian sounds very close to Glaswegian after the third beer."

"PFFFT, HAH, HHHHAHAHAHAA!"

"Major-general wants him," said another guard from the hall.

"OHHHHhhohohoh, alrigh' alrigh' sorry to cut this short, I'll talk to ya later."

The door to his cell opened as Schroeder offered his arms to be cuffed with head bagged once more to be taken to another room, a small windowless space with only a table and a few chairs one of which he was cuffed to securely after his hood was taken off. The walls of blank grey gave the feel of interrogation as two figures stepped in through the door, a square-headed man of illustrious military rank, and an old woman with wrinkled neck and a binder with tape recorder she clicked on.

"Good evening." She spoke first sitting down opposite. "My name is Anna Kerkorian, I am the legal counsel for our installation. This is my superior, major-general Thomas Brightman."

"Pleased to meet you," he nodded, "how can I help?"

"Well, firstly we have to read you your rights. Apologies for the impromptu arrest, but we believe that you are part of an organisation that we have deemed to be highly dangerous and legally-speaking, a terrorist group."

"The nazis yes? You're right on both counts."

"Ohh?" She opened her binder. "You agree with our ruling?"

"That is why I defected." He sat up straighter. "I know what they are capable of, I have seen for the past twenty-odd years what they do and how they treat others."

"So...you were fleeing from your army?"

"Correct, ma'am."

"Alright, well let's start with the proper details, name and rank?"

"Arnold Schroeder, Oberstabswachtmeister."

"Date and place of birth."

"February second, 1911, St. Anne, Alderney, Britain."

"When did you join?" Anna kept writing.

"1940," Arnold nodded.

"Why did you join?"

"Mandatory, the nazis took over the channel islands."

"Were you the only one forced?" asked Anna writing away.

"No, but they took exception with me for my German heritage-"

"Why didn't you refuse?"

Thomas spoke leaning forwards with a hard creak.

"Why defect now, instead of back then?"

"They would have killed me and my family there and then," said Arnold leaning back.

"And you decided being a nazi was better?"

"I decided being alive was better for the next twenty years."

"Until now?" Brightman squinted with a venomous eye. "What changed?"

"S-sir," Anna muttered.

"Was it inconvenient, was it too boring?"

"This place was the easiest way to escape," said Schroeder.

"And what about the people you've killed?" Thomas slipped a hand under the table. "Was it easy for them to escape, from your death squads and gas chambers?"

"It was not, that's why I escaped NOW, because there is only the one base-"

A gun was pointed at his head, much to Anna's shock as Brightman stood up and clicked the hammer back in his handgun.

"Where did you operate?"

"Operate?" Arnold shook his head. "You mean my base or-"

"ANSWER ME! WHERE DID YOU WORK, WHICH COUNTRY, WHICH CITY DID THE FASCIST PRICKS PUT YOU IN?!"

"OH, London, because I could speak English."

"So you were a spy?!"

"Sir that's enough!" Anna tried to stand. "What the hell are you-"

"SIT THE [b]FUCK DOWN ANNA![/b]"

"HEY, don't shout at her!" Arnold snapped. "She's one of your own-"

[b][i]BANG![/i][/b]

"[i]JESUS, CHRIST![/i]"

The woman shrieked clutching her heart as Thomas' smoking gun pointed to the wall behind Schroeder. The major-general tightened his grip with jaw tightening.

"You speak...when you are FUCKING SPOKEN TO, YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

"Yes...sir." Arnold rolled his eyes and slumped back into his seat.

"Now. Answer me. Were you a spy?"

"No, I was a soldier, after the nazis won the war they put me in London with a squad to maintain the populace."

"How many of your own people did you kill?"

"A few."

"You can't remember all of them?"

"Do you?"

Thomas walked round the table and slammed his gun against his head.

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE THOMAS, THAT'S IT!" Anna headed to the door. "We're done, this is over, stop it!"

"I will not," he pressed the barrel to Schroeder's head, "be fucking chastised by a fucking fascist pig such as you."

"I was not chastising you sir," said Arnold calmly, "I genuinely can't remember how many I killed."

"Why?"

"Because it has been twenty fucking years and I don't want to remember everything they made me do."

"Well now I will."

He kicked the chair down as Arnold gasped crumpled on the floor, feeling Brightman's weight upon him and the gun twisting against his temple much to Anna's horror.

"THOMAS, GOD [i]STOP IT![/i]"

"TELL ME WHAT THEY MADE YOU DO!" he barked. "TELL ME, OR I POP YOU TWICE THE BACK OF THE FUCKING HEAD!"

"NNNGH, A-AAGH!"

"[b]TELL ME![/b]"

"Wh-WHY do you care?!"

"MAKE YOUR CHOICE, TELL ME OR YOU FUCKING DIE NOW!"

"WHERE DO I START?!" Schroeder screamed back with a snarl. "You want me to start with the first person I ever killed, HUH?!"

"WHO WAS IT YOU SON OF A BITCH!?! WAS IT A FAMILY IN HIDING, DID SOMEONE TRY TO FIGHT BACK?!"

"HE WAS A BOY OF SEVENTEEN, ALRIGHT?!" He slumped his head against the cold floor. "He...he was seventeen. I was made a private. Put through their training. Then they posted me outside the town hall where they took over in la ville. It was...early dawn, I was tired...I saw this shape, this cloak and I told him to stop."

His hands creaked against the chair as his chest began to tighten.

"He kept walking. I told him to stop again, I shouted, warned him, but Dennis wouldn't listen."

"Dennis?" muttered Thomas.

"I didn't know it was him at the time, he had just started at the fishery so he had these big baggy clothes on, this raincoat. I saw something gleam in his hand I thought it was a gun and I...I didn't want to shoot but he looked up at me and raised it. I thought he was going to shoot me."

His face twisted as his body shook. Sobs broke through as Anna walked round to bend down beside him.

"H-he was my cousin. I only saw his face, after I pulled the trigger. He just...h-h-he had a gutting hook in his hand, from his job, n-not a gun...I sh-shot him."

"Why didn't he stop?" asked Kerkorian.

"BECAUSE HE WAS [i]DEAF![/i]" Arnold's face lifted with burning tears. "HE WAS BORN DEAF, I KNEW HIM SINCE HE WAS BORN AND...I-i-i didn't recognise him, my superior came out and I told him what had happened I BEGGED him for forgiveness I told him I had FUCKED UP and my cousin was deaf AND YOU KNOW WHAT HE SAID TO ME?!"

"What?"

"H-he said...'good work. Weeding out the weak, the untermensch already, o-one less...c-cripple to stymie our regime. You'll make a good nazi'."

Arnold curled up against himself, stifled by the chair's restraints but he said nothing more than a soft shivering of his cousin's name from his lips. Thomas stood up, holstered his gun and walked out without a single word as Anna sat beside him in small comfort.

"Ooookay, hold your breath."

"Nnnngh!" Jacob flinched as Amy pushed her needle in.

"Aaaand there," she slipped it back inside her finger, "all done, thanks for being a good patient."

"Yeah, no prob," the yoshi looked down over his sealed wound.

"Just a few strengtheners and painkillers, but you should rest as much you can, I just managed to accelerate the healing process."

"Thanks to me," Kevin clicked his teeth with fingerguns, "being an army medic you learn a lotta cool shit."

"Sure feels a lot better already," Jacob hopped down on his good leg and walked with a weaker limp, "wow that is great thanks!"

"De nada, glad you're alright."

"Yeah thanks to Arnie, is he alright, can I go see him?!"

"I'm sure they'll be doing talking with him soon," the reploid wolf patted him, "why don't you just head to your room and keep that leg healthy, you want me to walk you?"

"Yeah, thanks-OH, um...is Oddclaw alright?"

"He's back home," nodded Kevin, "he's kinda uh...roughed up from some other thing but his family's helping him."

"Why, what happened to him?"

"They didn't say, what matter is he's fine."

"Alright..."

Stepping out into the hall, Jacob held onto Amy's arm which wrapped round his body like a steel serpent to keep his steps light and supported.

"This iiiis captain MacGregor," he cupped his mouth to sound tinny, "requesting a landing on moonbase star road fooooor mission with the ravens, over KSSH!"

"Moonbase here," Amy trebled her voice like a radio, "you are clear to land with the ravens' nest, looking fluffy over."

"Rrrroger that, KSSH!" the yoshi giggled as he made gliding soft steps with Amy's support. "Soooo what IS the moon like here?"

"It's very barren, cold, lots of dirt that don't go anywhere, not much oxygen actually no oxygen at all aaaaand it's got the best view of the stars you'll ever see."

"Daaaang that sounds cool...I wonder if the star spirits are out there?"

"Star spirits?" she tilted her ears.

"Yeah like...the star spirits?" Jacob shrugged wincing slightly. "Okay yeah I guess you wouldn't know them, they're like these seven stars who grant wishes to all who are good."

"Ahhhh I getcha," the wolf nodded, "yeah sadly they're not around here and not sure they even reach here."

"...oh jeez," he gasped clapping his face, "that means there are like DIFFERENT stars here, like...wooooaaaah."

"Hmhmhmhm, you're cute, I'm glad you're alright."

"Heh," the yoshi blushed, "thanks, so uhh do you know if Arnie's alright?"

"Oh he'll be fine," she squeezed him affectionate, "we got a med check back from him during processing and he's all good."

"So, when can I see him?"

"Tell you what, when he's ready for visitors I will personally come tell you."

"Alright...sorry, I know I keep asking bu-"

"He's your friend, I understand."

Stopping outside his room, the reploid nurse walked in and laid Jacob down on his bed, giving him a wave with her long coiling arm when it receded back into her shoulder with a slenderous shiver. The yoshi slipped off his backpack and rubbed his face with a groan, twisting his cheeks and plamping his tongue to shoot out towards the ceiling with a testing shot. His tail swished beside him to dangle over the side of the bed before he raised it up before him, his long black appendage with two small tips like blue fins on the end making him think back to his father. Then to the woman who knew his father and showed him his face that spoke of dreadful things.

"You didn't do that...did you dad?" he asked the ceiling. "I know you...you wouldn't...you're not that kinda person, you've always told me never to hurt people bad, you always...sh-she has to be lying, but she KNOWS you. She knows your name, she knows about your hand sh-she knows..."

He grabbed his face and turned over onto his side. His thoughts became more frantic and his stomach turned into knots as he felt a funny twinge in his gut causing him to curl up in a foetal state. A quiet stifling came in his throat that slowly grew to a deepening gasp that tightened his neck and caused his head to shake with a burning upset. He shot up from the bed and grabbed the back of his head, his breath hyperventilating as his eyes became bulged and he rocked back and forth in a whimpering stutter.

"N-no, no, n-n-no, no d-dad you...y-you weren't...sh-she knows you but you didn't, you DIDN'T d-do stuff like this, b-but...y-you said you were from, h-how did you even get...g-get...NO! NO I KNOW IT'S A LIE, I KNOW IT IS-" "Jacob?!"

A voice came from outside.

"Jacob, you are back!?"

"UM, y-yeah, hi uhhh lemme just open the door."

He shuffled off the bed and hopped over to grab the dresser near the door to open it. Chanoch stood with a sigh of relief upon seeing the yoshi, walking inside and helping him back to the bed.

"What happened to your leg?" he asked.

"U-uh, I got...shot." Jacob shrugged. "I-it kinda sucks, stings like a burning lava needle."

"Jane told me you were captured."

"Yeah, but then Arnie got me out, have you seen him?"

"Arnie? Ah," Chanoch nodded, "I have seen him, he was put in the cell."

"Is he okay?!" Jacob grabbed his arm.

"He is fine."

"Okay...d-darnit." He grabbed at his hair and whimpered. "S-sorry, I guess you overheard me huh?"

"Yes," Chanoch shifted closer, "what happened to you?"

"W-well...that ship that crashed out there, there were these soldiers, they kidnapped Oddie's friends and a buncha eggs, so we fought them. I got knocked out, Oddclaw got thrown in the swamp, he's back home but...well, I got captured like you heard."

"Why did they capture you?" he asked.

"I-i dunno," the yoshi fidgeted switching hands to rest his face on, "they just, poked and prodded and studied me like I was some kinda experiment, but then this lady who was Arnold's boss, she...sh-she...knows, who my dad is."

"Your...father?" Jarogniew blinked.

"Y-yeah. My dad, who comes from my world, who came from Dinosaur Land, who is a rex, which basically looks like Oddclaw except my dad is like all black and kinda taller but this lady, who...sh-she said she was some kinda warden, for a prison camp, and the people in there were bad, like criminals and my dad, was IN THERE, and freed them!"

"I...I do not understand, she knows your father, who is from YOUR world, and she said he freed prisoners from her camp?"

"Yeah!" Jacob cried punching the bed. "B-but that makes no sense, how did he even GET there, to another world a-and why wouldn't he tell me?!"

"Is she telling the truth?"

"I...that's the thing Chanoch I...the stuff she said about him, that...that's not who he is. That ISN'T who he is, like yeah okay she does know his name, she knows what he looks like, she even showed me a picture and it was EXACTLY him but he wouldn't help criminals, something's wrong, he wouldn't do something like that without a reason!"

"Hmm..." the lizardman stroked his chin with a patient nod, "how can you be sure?"

"Wh-what?"

"How can you be sure of your father, Jacob?"

"Wha-...jus," Jacob shook his head, "cuz he's my DAD, I know him!"

"Then tell me how." He rubbed the yoshi's back. "I want to know how you believe him, I believe you...but tell me what your father is like."

"Because...alright."

Jacob took a deep breath and pinched his bulbous snout.

"When I was like...eight, I was in school, just yanno being a kid and there were these toads picking on a koopa. He got transferred some place, he was new, didn't know anyone and they thought they could mess with him cuz yanno, new in town, doesn't know anyone so they start stealing his money and I just rushed on in and pushed them down and told them off for being bullyingj jerks."

"You stood up for the stranger," Chanoch nodded, "that is good."

"But, one of the toads was like the son of some...I-i dunno, his dad ran a business and made a huge stink about it cuz his son told him a buncha lies, and I got in trouble for it and was gonna get punished by the principal of the school! Until my dad came."

The yoshi gripped his knees and stared straight ahead.

"He looked me in the eye, sat me down and asked me straight-up 'what happened' and I told him. He just stared at me, for so long after I told him and then he patted my head, walked into the principal's office...and argued over an HOUR about what kinda kid I was, how I'd never do anything like that and just because someone who's richer or got more power says otherwise, means nothing if you got no proof. Because he believed in me. And I believe in him."

He turned towards Chanoch with a determined face, his eyes burning into Jarogniew's.

"If my dad released a bunch of people from a prison, then I know he had a good reason to. I think that lady was doing something horrible to them, the things they...did in that place, to Oddie's friends, the way she talked about them, even the fact she had a photo of him like he WAS a prisoner before he even did anything...something felt wrong, and my heart told me that she was wrong, even with all she showed me...something was wrong, not because I didn't want to believe, but because-"

"Your heart told you something was wrong," the knight rubbed his shoulder.

"...yes." Jacob sighed feeling the tension leave his chest. "That's, that's yeah, exactly what I feel."

"To have faith in someone because your heart knows that person too well. Because you know the story is not that simple, there is something deeper, darker than what is shown on the surface."

"Y-yeah, yeah, like you don't know everything that went down!"

"Yes," Chanoch smiled, "then I ask only you keep your faith in your father."

"You...you think so too yeah?" Jacob grabbed his hand with a soft squeeze. "I'm not...being an idiot right, I-i do believe my dad is not a criminal-"

"If you believe that strongly in your heart, then yes, I believe in you."

"...thank you." He hugged the lizardman with a whimper in his chest. "Y-you're...you're a cool dude Chanoch."

"Hmhmhm...you are a good son Jacob."

He patted the boy with a gentle sigh, soothing him with his cold chest and leathery scent. All he could think of was James still, and for a brief moment when he closed his eyes and cuddled Jacob tighter, he felt the warmth of his beloved. Outside of the room Andrea stood crossing her arms, shaking her head with a sigh before walking off with hands in her pockets as quiet as she could. She understood. Not forgiven, but she understood.

"You were COMPLETELY out of line," barked Anna.

"The man is a fascist pig," scoffed Brightman.

"He is our prisoner and you will RESPECT the convention!"

"His type fucking don't!"

"And that makes it alright for you, do better than them!"

Thomas sat in his office with elbows on his desk, staring at Ms. Kerkorian who tapped her foot with trembling fists of outrage that took the wrinkles off her neck. He took a deep breath and pressed his knuckles to his lips.

"He could be lying."

"Oh for god's sake," she huffed turning to the wall.

"It's a good cover, like putting a tag on a fish, you reel it in, it thinks it's caught, you tag it and send it back to the pond-"

"You have no evidence of this," said Anna pacing the room, "we have testimony from the village of his candour, he fought against his own and killed their autonomous unit."

"So what?" Thomas shrugged. "He has orders, his superiors will know what he's up to they wouldn't bother telling the underlings, he has a plan-"

"He has a RIGHT to be treated as a prisoner! Trust me, I despise fascists as much as you, like anyone should but he arrived disarmed and willing what you did was inexcusable!"

"Damn sight better than what they would've done to us!"

"THEY are not here Thomas, this is one man! And if you abuse him again I will have you court-martialed when we get back-"

"Do it!" He slammed his fists as he shot up. "If I have to lose my job over keeping fascists away from our friends and family then I will, if you wanna stop me go right ahead."

"Are you serious?!"

"When am I not? I think I've made my position clear, you're dismissed."

"No." She brandished a finger at his face. "YOU will be if you lay another hand upon him ever again-"

"YOU THINK HE DESERVES ANY GODDAMN RIGHT?!"

"We had an ACTUAL MURDERER in this bloody base, a scribe who killed his own master, threatened our safety and you treated James with far less contempt than Schroeder who has done NOTHING-"

"[b]SHUT UP![/b]"

He grabbed his chair and hurled it to the corner behind Anna. She did not move an inch, staring cold at his blistering rage before she turned to make her leave.

"I know it's hard, Thomas. Trust me, there's plenty times I've had vile sociopaths dressed in uniform awaiting trial and I wanted nothing more than to beat their faces bloody. But that is not what we do. We are not them. We uphold everyone, to the same standards of law that everyone in a society should respect, regardless of their motivations-"

"Get the fuck out of my office."

She said nothing more, walking out briskly back to the library to make her full report as Thomas grabbed his chair from the corner and dragged it back over behind the desk. He sat with his elbows propped once again, breathing between his fingers with a snarl hidden beneath his hands that shook through his skull. Occasionally his eye glanced to the drawer beside him and his fingers tightened with a shudder, back and forth in a debate that stormed through his mind for the next five minutes.

"Sir?"

Thomas looked up hearing Jeremy's voice, the sergeant peeking his head round the doorframe.

"This a bad time?"

"No it...it's fine, what do you want?"

"Wanted to give you a check-up on thuh prisoner," Holt stepped inside closing the door behind him, "he's fine, no lasting damage but you beat his head pretty hard."

"Is he dead?"

"Uhhh, no-"

"Then I don't care."

"...alrigh'." He clapped his hands with a smack of his lips. "So I heard Anna walkin' by, sayin' sum pretty nasty stuff about ya, I think I can piece summat together. You worried this Schroeder's a spy, right?"

"Correct," said Thomas nodding.

"Well I can put yer fears to rest now an' make this all better. He's not a spy, an' he's not even a nazi."

"What?" The general shook his head. "How do you even know that?"

"Cuz I listened to him," the soldier spread his arms, "which according to Anna wuz a lot more than you did-"

"Don't tell me you fell for his sob story Holt, I thought you were better than that!"

"I am, which is why I can tell you when summat is fakin' it an' who isn't. An' that Schroeder's not fakin' any story he says about his family."

"So why are you telling me this?" he shrugged leaning back in his chair. "Your job is to guard him, not psychoanalyse him that's what Jane's here for-"

"An' she agrees with me," Holt tongued inside his cheek, "cuz I needed her to look him over when you just beat the shite outta him fer no reason-"

"No, reason?"

Thomas stood up slowly with a looming shadow as he walked round the desk to face Holt.

"You...of ALL people on this base, would say that there's not a good reason to beat the shit out of a fascist?"

"Ah now, never said that-"

"Then tell me...[b]sergeant.[/b]" The general flicked his palm against Holt's cheek. "Tell me what you DID say, to my face, and I ask you to consider your words very fucking carefully-"

"Or wot, you'll shoot me?" Jeremy smirked with widened stache. "Go on then, might be older than you but I managed to tame a wild raptor into me bed when you could do fuck all-"

"Do NOT tempt me-"

"To do wot, ya sour kangaroo prick?"

Jeremy felt his fist twist into his gut, a heaving shudder from his tightened ribs as the soldier grabbed Brightman's arm and suddenly swept past him in a half-spin to kick the back of his leg. Thomas resisted, twisting his back to drive his elbow hard into the sergeant's face and send him staggering against the wall as they looked at each other for a moment. Holt simply smiled from his bruise and gave him the finger with a Welsh curse.

"//You finger yer granny with them hands you Yankee twat?//"

"DON'T, hide behind your fucking words, say it to my damn FACE!"

"Ah said, do you finger yer granny with them hands you Yankee twat?!"

Flying at him with a thrust of his knee, Thomas made a hammerfist above his head that Jeremy blocked when he swerved out of the driving knee's path and thrust his arm against the striking fist, grabbing the back of the major's head to smash him into the wall twice before throwing him down on the ground. The commander kicked out his leg in response, sweeping in a hooking kick to the back of Holt's knee that sent him stumbling to a fall as he pulled the sergeant on top and rolled him fast to press his arm against his throat.

"You wanna...say that again, or shall I put you in the brig now with your goose-stepping buddy?"

"HMHAHA, awww that's cute, you think you can frighten me?"

"No." He pulled out his gun from his belt and pointed it at Jeremy's head. "But this does-HNNNRGH!"

The moment Jeremy saw the gun steady on his face he rolled Thomas hard with one of his legs jerking upright from underneath, his hand immediately twisting the general's wrist and almost breaking it with a violent downwards jerk to near-bend it like an arrow shape. Thomas felt his fingers weaken enough for Holt to pull the gun out his grasp, and stagger up to the other side of the room keeping the pistol aimed at him.

"Typical Yank," he dropped the bullet clip out of the gun and tossed it away, "always come back to guns with you lot."

"You realise attacking a commanding officer is grounds for-"

"Court martial, aye you been threatening everyone with that today haventcha Trigger-Happy Charlie? Course that only works for people actually IN yer army and last I checked, I wuzn't officially inducted."

"Then I'll hold you as a prisoner of war, with your new friend," Thomas thumbed at the door.

"He's already more fun than you," Jeremy folded his arms, "opened up to me a lot more than you'd think."

"Is that so? He told you about his cousin that he shot in the head?"

"Naw, he told me how his family were exterminated cuz they got too old an' useless. An' before he jumped ship outta them lot at this other base, he wuz gonna be next on thuh list in four years time."

"That makes no sense," Thomas shook his head, "he's a soldier, he'd be protected by his own."

"If that were thuh case, why'd he risk his life being hunted down by stealing a boat, grabbing a wounded captive to free him an' standin' with a village he's never known just to fight off thuh same people that're chasing him?!"

"Because he's in the long game dumbass!" Brightman tapped his head. "Use your fucking head, you've seen this shit in the war haven't you, people leading lives with fake identities helping the fascists!"

"Aye, an' he's not clever enough for that."

"Why's that?!"

"Cuz I got a good look at thuh soldiers' bodies in thuh village." Jeremy sighed shaking his head. "They're all lackeys, soldiers, not special ops shite even the nazis had a different level fer that!"

"They can't be the only group in this other base, we don't even know how big it is!"

"It's a research institute, maybe slightly bigger than ours, he said so himself, an' how thuh ship that attacked thuh village was tryin' to recapture him and Jacob-"

"Oh of course because a nazi would NEVER lie behind bars." The general spun on his heel with a derisive snort. "So you have a bunch of dead soldiers, what else is your proof?!"

"Uhh, Jacob, the lad he rescued?" Holt gestured to the door. "You wanna do yer fucking job an' maybe investigate things proper, cuz it don't matter who yer accusin', you don't go in any trial half-cocked!"

"I KNOW what kind of person he is!" Thomas snarled with threatening finger.

"Do you?" Jeremy leaned back against his wall. "Alrigh', let's pretend this is court, tell me, on what grounds do you believe Mr. Arnold Schroeder to be a card-carrying nazi?"

"He's in the uniform," explained Brightman, "he worked for the ACTUAL Nazi party, the same shit-heeling bastards YOU fought in our time, in our world-"

"Worked." Holt smiled with a fingergun point. "You saying he don't work for them now?"

"Obviously he does, no one leaves the Nazi party."

"Well he did, when he gunned out a boat an' fled with a captive."

"To what end?! To manipulate a naive innocent youth back to us and the moment we give him a chance, he will run back to his masters and they'll come for us, knowing ALL of our weaknesses!"

"Hmmm. I mean, it's possible." Holt clapped walking over to the desk. "Be a pretty long-reaching scam, especially if you were willing to have a few lackeys get shot over it."

"Fascists never care for their own," Thomas hiked his belt, "they dispose of you soon as you stop being useful."

"Aye, just like Schroeder said about his mum an' dad when they got too old."

"See?" The general swept his hand with joyless smirk. "Even he admits it, he can't help showing it."

"Oh aye aye, nazis can't help doing certain things, saying certain words an' always usin' symbols, lotsa symbols like uhhh yanno, the swastika, eagles, lotsa symbols, put it on their flag even."

"Exactly, they're all about symbols and using them to control the people."

"So uhh, did Schroeder have one on him?" Holt looked up. "The swastika?"

Thomas blinked with a tensing look. His legs tightened sharp and his eyes twitched as he struggled through his memory.

"He...he...I'm sure he-"

"Didn't. He doesn't have one, an' trust me, I wuz guardin' him. He HAD one though, it wuz an armband, you know wot he did?"

The sergeant walked round the back of the desk to lean against the wall next to Thomas.

"He turned it into a bandage, when Jacob got shot in thuh leg. Inside out, all bloodied. Now is that any nazi you ever heard of, who'd dare besmock their precious symbol of power to help a wee black dab?"

"I-...I-i don't know, this must be-"

"Lemme tell you wot a nazi is."

Jeremy's voice dropped as his face suddenly aged with a heavy brow.

"A nazi is someone who spits on ya for not being a straight man, callin' you unnatural, a freak an' a degenerate. A nazi is someone who despite all you done to ensure equality fer everyone, demands more for THEM and not more for YOU. A nazi is someone who when you try to speak their language, they insult you and mock you yet when you speak your OWN language, they beat you an' abuse you an' call you a filthy heathen, sum poor savage who needs to be corrected to their own so-called 'superior' tongue."

"Yes, that's what I've been saying-"

"Thuh people who did all that to me, spoke English."

Holt walked over to the door, passing Brightman as he stared down at his feet.

"First time I ever heard English, wuz in schools thuh British government set up in Cymru to teach 'lesser' folk like me. Every time one of us spoke in our Welsh, they beat thuh shit out of us, tellin' us how dare we waste this beautiful gift of English that thuh government were so kind to put themselves out an' educate us upon into thuh more civilised world of theirs."

"I...Jeremy, what-"

"Meanwhile they gave us history books, taught us about THEIR victories an' THEIR conquests, whilst we heard about thuh Boer War an' parts of Africa bein' colonised as if it were some great triumph of thuh human race, for us to go over there an' slaughter more savages, takin' their homes, beatin' their language out of THEM as well-"

"This is diff-"

"DON'T you [i]FUCKIN' DARE CALL IT DIFFERENT![/i]"

He turned with his face red burning tears down his bristling cheeks.

"YOU KNOW WELL AS I DO, IF THEY WERE WILLING TO BEAT CHILDREN TO STOP THEM SPEAKING THEIR OWN LANGUAGE, THEY WOULDA DONE WORSE TO US! All thuh fuckin' years I grew up, papers larkin' about thuh great British Empire, teachin' thuh savages in China, India an' wot have ya, EVEN FUCKING [i]PRAISING[/i] HITLER BEFORE THUH WAR BROKE OUT!"

"Oh come on nobody knew back then how bad it was-"

"YES THEY DID!" he grabbed Brightman's arms. "Fuckin' papers from York to Margate whinin' about thuh Jewish migrants fuckin' runnin' outta Germany like rats, quote unquote, whining on about OHHH they're threatening British stability, why would we take any of 'em in, CUZ FUCKING FASCISTS BURNT DOWN THEIR HOMES AN' KILLED THEIR FAMILIES!"

"Which is exactly why we can't-"

"They went to America too! DESPERATE, Thomas, desperate to find sum help, someone to just give these poor frightened bastards a place of safety an' peace, an' YOU ALL DID THUH SAME! You turned 'em back on their boats, your senators fuckin' chummy with the Klu Klux Klan who were out there lynching an' burning black people, YOU ALREADY HAD FASCISTS IN YOUR LAND OF THE FREE!"

"[b]STOP IT![/b]"

Thomas almost broke his voice, clutching against the wall with tensing palms he stared deep within.

"Just...f-fucking stop, what do you want?! HMM?" He looked up clenching his fists. "You want me to just give him a fucking free pass?!"

"I want you to understand, that a nazi's only ONE type of fascist." Jeremy tapped his head. "Doesn't matter whether they speak German or English, or whether they have a uniform on, or bedsheets or a suit. S'not about wot you wear, or wot language you speak, it's about what you say, an' how you treat people. I told Schroeder I wuz queer, didn't even bat an eye, hell we even had a few laughs an' got me cackling. Never woulda gotten that from anyone I knew growing up."

"And that's your litmus test?" snorted Brightman.

"You'd be surprised how many fascists cannot stomach people like me. Wot, you want more proof, tell you wot have Chanoch walk in there with his yarmulke I'll go ask 'im you wanna put 'im in-"

He fell to the floor with one last punch. Thomas stood above him, almost hunched over with a heaving shudder in his chest almost bestial. Jeremy looked up, his eye turning black and a look of fear crossing his face.

"[i]Get out.[/i]"

Thomas was crying.

"Just...get out."

Jeremy nodded, pulling himself up and walking out without a single word. Staggering towards his desk, Brightman slumped completely to fall forwards and clutch his head in a deep sobbing fit hidden from the world.

"G-god...f-fucking god...don't...d-don't let it happen again. Please, god, don't let them take more from me again."