FSE

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[i]"Anything?"[/i] asked Moonclaw.

[i]"Nothing yet,"[/i] Leafrunner whined, [i]"our mates went off to ask the bloodfeathers."[/i]

[i]"They'll be back soon!"[/i] cried Sandrunner. [i]"I'm sure they'll find him!"[/i]

[i]"I hope so,"[/i] Barren curled up in the nest, [i]"but, what about the other hairless that Eggfang saw?"[/i]

[i]"I-i dunno, she didn't tell me much!"[/i]

[i]"She never tells us anything!"[/i] snorted Leaf. [i]"She's been super sneaky the past few cycles."[/i]

[i]"She DEFINITELY has a mate!"[/i] Sand sniggered. [i]"She was with this waterjaw an' they got like...something going on between them!"[/i]

[i]"WHAT?!"[/i] The old brown grandmother shot up with a bark. [i]"Eggfang has a mate!?"[/i]

[i]"I mean, maybe?!"[/i]

[i]"Yes or no?!"[/i]

[i]"I-i, uhhh-"[/i]

[i]"She does not."[/i]

The voice of Fishclaw came from the south as he strolled up towards his old family nest, the sounds of raptors caterwauling across the lakeside shore amidst tussling fights and breakfast meals they shared with their children. Barren smiled licking at her son's face, the tribe leader nuzzling her in turn as he sat amongst them.

[i]"I can tell you now Eggfang does not have a mate, she is just scouting."[/i]

[i]"Out with the waterjaws?!"[/i] snapped Leaf bumping his chest. [i]"Why she wanna go to that smelly place?!"[/i]

[i]"Because the waterjaws make good allies, and there is strength in numbers."[/i]

[i]"We don't need no stinkin' jaws!"[/i] shouted Sand stamping her feet. [i]"We're hunters, we're the BEST-A-AAAGH!"[/i]

[i]"And how many of you can swim?"[/i]

He watched her suddenly lift in the air with legs kicking frantically.

[i]"How many of us can fly?"[/i]

[i]"H-HEY, S-STOP IT!"[/i]

[i]"Hunters like us are skilled upon the land, but in the sea or the sky, we are helpless."[/i]

[i]"S-STOP IIIIIT!"[/i] she squealed as his eyes glowed sharper.

[i]"Alright then."[/i]

He dropped his sister with a flump of dirt as Leafrunner cackled, rolling over to give her a playful bite that escalated into a quick fight as Fishclaw remained beside his mother, with Moonclaw sitting opposite as she sighed deep.

[i]"Oddclaw will be fine,"[/i] he assured her, [i]"you know that."[/i]

[i]"I do,"[/i] her ashen-grey scales glinted in the sun, [i]"he even promised to stay with family whenever out hunting."[/i]

[i]"Which is why Eggfang was with him,"[/i] Barren chirped, [i]"glad to see he finally learned."[/i]

[i]"I just worry about the children,"[/i] she looked back to the forest where three shadows wrestled between the trees, [i]"I am glad we do not hunt alone now."[/i]

[i]"I heard what happened with Seaclaw, he is a brave child, but that was foolish."[/i]

[i]"I am just thankful he is safe, and that is because his training with the longstone helped him well."[/i]

[i]"Yeah he's pretty good!"[/i] Leafrunner bounced across the nest. [i]"But I mean they ARE our nephews an' niece!"[/i]

[i]"So of course they'd be great hunters!"[/i] Sandrunner slipped beside her sis. [i]"Didn't you all fight a buncha starbeasts in a cave?!"[/i]

[i]"Oddtooth even got the wound to prove it, like a real hunter!"[/i]

[i]"A real hunter would not have wounds,"[/i] snorted Barren laying back down.

[i]"Wounds just mean ya survived!"[/i]

[i]"The dead have wounds too."[/i]

[i]"Ehh..."[/i] she wavered her head before turning away in a huff, [i]"not like you even hunt anymore mother."[/i]

[i]"I do not have to, my family do that for me, I am slow and old."[/i]

[i]"Not that old."[/i] Moonclaw shuffled close to her. [i]"I am still out there hunting, I am sure you still can."[/i]

[i]"Let me say that again."[/i] She lifted her wattled brown neck showing the necklace of two claws. [i]"I do not HAVE to, my family do that for me."[/i]

[i]"Hmhmhmhm...that is true."[/i]

She gave a gentle lick in mutual surrender, before the sound of clamouring raptors picked up with a shrieking squabble as Fishclaw leapt out of the nest and hurried over to the commotion. The gaggle of predators teemed towards the centre of the nests, as their alpha forced them apart with a gentle push.

[i]"Wh-what, how did you-"[/i]

[i]"HEY-EY get back get back let 'im through!"[/i]

[i]"Please all of you let him be!"[/i]

[i]"H-hey, is that Bloodbark?!"[/i] cried Leafrunner shooting upright.

[i]"A-and Deeptail too!"[/i] screeched Sand. [i]"They're back, they're back!"[/i]

[i]"What?"[/i]

Moonclaw and Barren looked up over the nesting pit as their eyes widened with relief. Stumbling through the herd of raptors all licking and nuzzling him, Oddclaw dragged his feet towards them with two crimson-feathered raptors escorting him, one with faded claws and one with a blackened tail.

[i]"O-ODDCLAW, ODDCLAW, CHILDREN YOUR FATHER IS HOME!"[/i]

[i]"F-FATHER?!"[/i]

The trio of youngsters came rushing out of the woods to greet him. Oddclaw smiled with a saddened look as he fell on his knees and hugged them tight, shivering with a slight sob in his throat as they all kissed and licked his face.

[i]"Wh-what happened?!"[/i]

[i]"Where'd you go?!"[/i]

[i]"Are you okay father?!"[/i]

[i]"I...I-i am fine."[/i] He gulped heavily.

[i]"We found him with our tribe,"[/i] said Deeptail shaking his feathers, [i]"he came to our scouts pleading for help because-"[/i]

[i]"Said he'd been taken!"[/i] cried Bloodbark swishing his tail. [i]"Some other hunters took him or somethi-"[/i]

[i]"Let him speak for himself!"[/i] shouted Barren hobbling up to him. [i]"Are you alright my son?"[/i]

[i]"I-...I-i...can I speak with Moonclaw alone for a moment?"[/i]

[i]"Of course. Children."[/i]

[i]"But, f-father?"[/i] Skyfang nudged his chest. [i]"What...what happen-"[/i]

[i]"Children, please, let him speak with your mother, you can speak to him after."[/i]

[i]"O-okay..."[/i]

[i]"I will tell you everything but first,"[/i] he smooched her head, [i]"I must...I must tell your mother something."[/i]

[i]"Come on Thkyfang,"[/i] Oddtooth tilted his scarred eye towards the woods, [i]"let them thpeak a bit, we can wait."[/i]

[i]"Mmmmm...alright, c'mon Seaclaw."[/i]

The child rubbed his arm looking between them before hugging his father again, squeezing tighter than he could as Oddclaw held him with the struggle not to break into tears from his scent.

[i]"I-i knew you would come back."[/i]

[i]"I know son."[/i]

[i]"I'm sorry, I-"[/i]

[i]"Shhhh...go play with your grandmother, I will speak to you after."[/i]

He wiped his eyes and nodded before heading off with Barren, the blood-feathered husbands taking Sand and Leaf aside with shuffling feet as they clamoured curious for what had happened. Once they were alone Oddclaw sat in the nest with Moonclaw. They said nothing for a moment, but she knew something was wrong, his scent wrapped with sorrows and hatred along with another foreign scent as he twisted his face into a bitter gasp and clutched his head with tears.

[i]"I-i-i am...I-i am s-s-sorry, Moonie."[/i]

[i]"For what?"[/i] she asked. [i]"What...what happened to you?"[/i]

[i]"I-it...it was...h-her. Rumble."[/i]

Her body stiffened with a fearful heart.

[i]"We, Eggfang, Jacob and I we were fighting these hairless, different from our friends and I...I was thrown into the swamp, and...passed out. Rumble found me, said she was the alpha of her tribe, and they called her Riptor."[/i]

[i]"She...wh-what?!"[/i] she shook her head. [i]"She is alive, and she was the ALPHA?!"[/i]

[i]"Y-yes,"[/i] Oddclaw started to rock gently to himself, [i]"she...y-you were right. You were always right, she only wanted m-me."[/i]

[i]"...no. No, th-that, that scent is-"[/i]

[i]"She...h-hoh, sh-she f-forced me, she did s-s-something to me-"[/i]

[i]"Did what? Tell me, please."[/i]

He looked up to her with tears down his cheeks.

[i]"Sh-she made me breed her. I-i did not want to, I BEGGED her not to, b-but she...she this, this, this poison she fed me this f-foul water that made my body d-do things a-a-and I begged her, I screamed for you,I begged her not to I am SORRY Moonclaw!"[/i]

[i]"She made you breed her? But...n-no, no you would not do that to-"[/i]

[i]"I DID NOT WANT TO!"[/i] he screamed clutching his head. [i]"SHE FORCED ME, SHE POISONED ME, FORCED ME AS STIFF AS A STONE AGAINST MY WILL, TRAPPED MY LIMBS A-A-AND I...c-could not..."[/i]

Oddclaw grabbed at his mate in a deep embrace, screaming with a cry she had never heard from him until this day. Wracked with sobbing fits, his scent twisted into shame and anguish as she started gasping with a sickened lump in her gut.

[i]"Y-you bred her."[/i]

[i]"I-i-i did not want to, I hated her, I DESPISE HER, sh-she told me she u-used our son to lure me away, th-that was why, the stranger who lead him away, th-the stonetailed raptors, Seaclaw will tell you!"[/i]

[i]"I do remember him speaking of them,"[/i] she trembled confused looking down at him, [i]"but...I-i-"[/i]

[i]"Please, p-please believe me,"[/i] he gasped kissing her chest, [i]"I-i only want you, I only, she said h-horrible things about you, sh-she is a VILE beast who used me and did not even care about our children. H-hoh, Moonclaw please forgive me, please forgive me-"[/i]

[i]"I do."[/i]

She did not smile when he looked up to her.

[i]"I know you. I have known you longer than I have known any other hunter. I know you would never betray me, and I know even more...that that is Rumble's scent upon you."[/i]

Her face darkened with slitted eyes and a creeping snarl.

[i]"This is not your fault. I know you are a kind and dear mate to me, and if you ever wished to abandon me then you could have done so many times before. Where is she?"[/i]

[i]"She...she has a cave,"[/i] he nodded timidly, [i]"the cave we first met her in, the Greatbeast's Spine, not...not far from the Bloodbeasts."[/i]

[i]"I see."[/i]

[i]"Y-you are not...going to-"[/i]

[i]"No, of course not. I just need to know where never to hunt or take our children, because if we ever meet her...I will kill her for harming my mate and endangering my son."[/i]

Oddclaw gently smiled with a nod as he hugged her tight. Moonclaw licked across his head as he weeped against her lap, stuttering sobs as she soothed him with her breaths. From the forest Seaclaw watched hidden in the reeds, his face tightening with a growing shock before his fist clenched with a shaking of fury that thickened in his heart.

[i]"HEY, Theaclaw!"[/i] Oddtooth came rushing up beside him. [i]"Come on grandmother ith waiting-"[/i]

[i]"I have to go."[/i] He stood up dusting his knees. [i]"I need to playfight with Stonevoice."[/i]

[i]"Huh?"[/i] He sniffed over his head. [i]"Are you alright?"[/i]

[i]"Mmhmm."[/i] Seaclaw turned towards the woods. [i]"I just need to fight better, so I'm gonna learn."[/i]

[i]"Ahh, alright, I will let grandmother know."[/i] The grey green-eyed raptor licked his cheek. [i]"You theem angry."[/i]

[i]"I-i'm fine, I just-"[/i]

[i]"Theaclaw, wait."[/i]

He stepped in front of his brother with a solemn look in his eye.

[i]"I do not know what you heard from mother and father, but...remember we never hunt alone."[/i]

[i]"I-i know!"[/i]

[i]"Promith me you are going to learn to hunt better, not to run off and kill."[/i]

[i]"S-so you know, what Rumble did?!"[/i]

[i]"I did not hear everything, but-"[/i]

[i]"Sh-she, I-i thought she was my FRIEND, she...sh-she tried to kill mother a-a-and now she hurt our father!"[/i]

[i]"Fine, but you are here, and thafe, with uth."[/i] He nuzzled Seaclaw's face. [i]"Go train, learn to fight better, but remember, we fight TOGETHER. If we meet Rumble again, we kill her, like a family, like hunterth. Promith me."[/i]

[i]"I-...alright."[/i] He nodded. [i]"I promise, Oddtooth."[/i]

Hugging his older brother, Seaclaw left him be to head deeper into the woods towards the south where he would find Stonevoice sitting by himself, listening for the creatures that stirred in the trees and taking notes of what whispers on the wind brought to him, his hard emerald chassis gleaming in the sun with bronze solar rim upon his head.

[i]"Stonevoice!"[/i]

He lowered his voice seeing his attention focused above. Stonevoice raised his hand in a patient motion before he nodded to let him approach.

[i]"I want to learn with the longstone."[/i]

[i]"Ohh?"[/i] He lifted himself from his seat. [i]"Today is not our usual day-"[/i]

[i]"I know, but...I need to learn-"[/i]

[i]"Wait."[/i]

The machine bent down towards Seaclaw's face, stroking along his cheek with cold metal fingers as he stared deep into the boy's deep red pupils. Something was missing from his eyes, something that once marked him of childish whimsy as Stonevoice understood.

[i]"Let us begin."[/i]

They headed into the forest to their usual place, the old twisted tree full of roots at its base where the boy hid his sword as he clambered up the old bark and snatched it free before leaping back down into the thick-nested undergrowth of leaves strewn across the forest floor. Stonevoice drew his sword as Seaclaw unsheathed his, the long katana versus the hook-tipped blade which shone the light of the sun upon their edges. There was no words between them as they felt the wind ripple through the woods, the raptor bracing himself for the first strike the machine put upon him with a heavy cut he blocked fast, striking the flat of his blade against the vertical chop before Seaclaw slanted his sword diagonal and sweeped Stonevoice's leg. The mantis stumbled with a feigned limp, blocking the child's coming attack with a parrying twist of his sword hooking under Seaclaw's thrust and slide it past his face.

The raptor pulled back before Stonevoice could strike him, dodging beneath the diagonal slash and countering with his own in a rising cut that cracked against the robot's sword, bringing him close for a hard elbow across the metal face then shoving him forwards to make him fall on his back. Stonevoice landed with a flump, keeping his guard strong as Seaclaw came down for his head in a clashing scrape before the mantis parried just as he did, but the boy pulled back when he felt his sword losing tension and spun on his back foot in case Stonevoice lunged for him. His teacher did not take the bait, slowly standing up with hydraulic creak and marching forth with sword primed as he swung sharp in three strikes that the raptor blocked.

[i]"HYAH, NNGH, RAAAGH!"[/i]

[i]"Steady your breath. Control your arms."[/i]

[i]"HMPH!"[/i]

Flaring his nostrils Seaclaw nodded as he tightened his muscles and slashed halfway towards the abdomen, switching his grip to cut the other way and strike against Stonevoice's coming sword when it came for his unguarded side to block in time. Straining against the mechanical arm, the raptor shifted his stance and forced the blade to swipe over his head in a duck-and-cut, bowing his knees and sliding to the robot's side to triple-cut his waist and thigh. The mantis jerked back a little surprised, but immediately countered with a side turning kick that whalloped Seaclaw's head with his steel foot in a stagger, hopping towards him in a low cut that scraped the front of his legs and made the raptor screech as he fell to his knees.

[i]"AAAGH!"[/i]

[i]"Surrender."[/i] Stonevoice raised his sword towards Seaclaw's head. [i]"Do not resist."[/i]

[i]"NNNRARGH!"[/i]

He threw himself onto his back and scooped up a pawful of dirt, slapping it to his opponent's eyes as Stonevoice stumbled back trying to wipe his face. He wasn't blinded, having no retinas to speak of like organics, but he understood how they reacted and to him it was important for Seaclaw to know what to expect when he saw the boy kickjump off a tree and strike upon his head. He blocked him poorly, feeling the boy's sword scar his solar rim before he landed and thrust at his chest before the mantis swerved in an upwards strike to throw Seaclaw off-balance, the boy turning his feet and using the momentum to spin round and cleave through the badnik.

[i]"RAAAAARGH!"[/i]

His blade stopped inches from his chest. Stonevoice gazed down upon the katana that, where he made of flesh, would have carved through his bowels and rend him through as he raised his hand with a gentle nod.

[i]"I surrender."[/i]

He sheathed his blade as the boy stepped back.

[i]"Very good Seaclaw. VERY good."[/i]

[i]"Y-yah?"[/i] he gasped nodding.

[i]"Forceful, vicious yet controlled. You are learning well."[/i]

[i]"Tha-, thank you,"[/i] he bowed sheathing his sword, [i]"I need to learn...to fight better-"[/i]

[i]"I understand."[/i] He placed his hand on Seaclaw's shoulder. [i]"We shall fight to make you stronger, but remember your strength is to protect your family, and your home."[/i]

[i]"Yes. I know."[/i] The child turned west feeling the sun on his back. [i]"Stonevoice? Do you think I'm too nice?"[/i]

[i]"What do you mean?"[/i]

[i]"Is...is that why Rumble, pretended to be my friend? Should I have been...stronger?"[/i]

[i]"No."[/i] He walked up beside the boy and patted his head. [i]"Your kindness is your greatest strength. It is what brought you here, to be stronger."[/i]

[i]"How?"[/i] Seaclaw looked up at him. [i]"I...wh-what if Rumble hurt my father b-because of me-"[/i]

[i]"No. That is not true. Whatever her intention was, you are not to blame-"[/i]

[i]"But if I was stronger I could have-"[/i]

[i]"Killed her?"[/i] He stared down with severe golden eyes. [i]"And what then? What would that have changed?"[/i]

[i]"I DON'T KNOW!"[/i] he screeched. [i]"I-i...sh-she...she hurt my father and I'll NEVER FORGIVE HER, I WANT TO HURT HER, I WANT TO KILL HER!"[/i]

[i]"ENOUGH!"[/i] He grabbed his neck and forced up his chin. [i]"This is not what hunters do. You kill to protect your family, not to make others suffer."[/i]

[i]"B-but she made MY family suffer, what do I DO?! Wh-what...what do I do?"[/i]

His heart started trembling, his chest became tight and a pain burned inside his gut as tears trickled down his face. Seaclaw sat himself on the ground, sword over his lap, trying to focus all his thoughts as the raging storm swirled in his mind whilst Stonevoice sat beside him, a hand round his shoulders.

[i]"I know the pain you carry."[/i]

The raptor looked to the machine.

[i]"The desire to hurt, to wound, to make terrible beasts suffer for what they do to those around you. It is a natural desire, one all beasts have felt."[/i]

[i]"What do I do?"[/i] he asked. [i]"I...I want to protect my family but...I-i can't let Rumble live for what she did!"[/i]

[i]"Focus that anger into protection,"[/i] said Stonevoice rubbing the boy's side, [i]"hold it in your heart, carry it, but do not seek it. When you were hurt, when you were sick, what did your family do?"[/i]

[i]"They...they fed me, kept me warm and safe-"[/i]

[i]"And now your father is hurt. Do you abandon him to kill a beast, or do you keep him warm and safe?"[/i]

The child hunched up his knees and pondered deeper with this, knowing what was right but his heart still hurting with a twitching sneer.

[i]"Your father needs you,"[/i] continued Stonevoice, [i]"let your strength be in protection, not hunting them down but should any of them come to you, including Rumble, make them regret by their own mistakes rather than yours."[/i]

[i]"R-right...mmm."[/i] He slumped against the steel mantis and hugged him tight. [i]"Th-thank you, Stonevoice."[/i]

He stood up and stretched his arms, keeping his sword and scabbard close to him as he walked back to his family nest. Oddclaw sat with the rest of his siblings, his mother and grandmother also huddled around him as he smiled with a forlorn look to his father. Oddclaw spread his arms wide as Seaclaw ran to him in a hug, sitting in his lap as he felt his father's kiss upon his head.

[i]"Father?"[/i]

[i]"Yes, Seaclaw?"[/i]

[i]"...I'm sorry, that she hurt you."[/i]

[i]"S-sorry?"[/i] he blinked at his son. [i]"But, it is nothing to do with you-"[/i]

[i]"No. I know, but..."[/i] he stared up to him with emboldened eyes. [i]"I'll protect you. I'll make sure that...no one ever hurts you again, father."[/i]

[i]"...thank you."[/i] He hugged him tighter as his family pulled closer. [i]"Thank you...you are all the...greatest family I could ever have."[/i]

"We are here," Arnold said clicking off the engine, "how is your leg?"

"S-still hurts," Jacob winced, "agh...I-i don't think I can walk."

"That's fine, I can carry you."

He stood up with a gasp as he felt his back twinge, despite his backpack acting as a cushion. The soldier looked around the sodden beach of dirt-brown silt, nestled beneath a sweltering jungle passage at the far western tip of the Greatbeast's Spine, trapped on both sides by large boulders in a secret little cove. Not even the ocean disturbed the peace of this glade, the waters skimming over the tiny shore as Arnold picked up the yoshi in both hands keeping his leg as straight as he could, stepping out the boat and putting him down gently in the bushes.

"I just need to hide the boat," he said, "give me a moment."

"You think they, haaah, f-followed us?"

"They will, the less of a trail I can leave the more time we'll have."

"I'm sorry," Jacob wheezed clutching his bandaged leg, "I-i didn't mean to get caught, I-"

"It's fine," he patted the boy's arm, "we made it out, that's what matters, let me just put the boat away first then we'll leave."

Pushing the boat up onto the bank, Schroeder tried to angle it behind a large rock that tapered from the mountain range before pulling up some leaves and shrubs to cover over its back and front, forming almost a mud hill out of the jungle debris before walking back to Jacob.

"Alright, let's go."

"N-NNNGH!"

The soldier lifted him up as he walked through the forest, stepping over logs and ducking beneath the vines as the yoshi gritted his teeth.

"Saves me having to carry the guns," said Arnold chuckling, "I was not looking forward to dragging them along."

"Why even bring them then?" Jacob squinted looking up.

"As a peace offering, for your friends."

"That's a f-funny way to offer peace, giving them weapons. Normally a box of chocolates would work."

"Well I didn't have any, just have to make do."

"Hah, sorry mom I couldn't get flowers, but I got this cool knife as long as your body!"

"HAH, hahahaha!" the smiling soldier shook his head and adjusted his grip. "So, I've heard about your father-"

"Y-yeah...um-"

"What about your mother, what's she like?"

"Oh! Well she-a-AAAGH!" he gnashed his teeth as Arnold trudged through a shallow stream. "Sh-she's uh, from the islands, she's a yoshi like me, she's also an electrician-"

"Oh she's a mechanic?" asked Schroeder weaving between trees.

"Yeah well, sorta, she fixes all sortsa machines long as they got like electrical stuff, one time my uncle Koopin's Mailbox 3DS just started blacking out and she just fixed it like, two seconds flat!"

"Sounds a very skilled woman!"

"Yeah...she's awesome."

Jacob turned quiet clenching his fingers together.

"I miss her...and my dad too but-"

"But what?" Arnold slowed down his pace.

"I just...the stuff that Grimm lady said, a-about my dad, and her face, I-"

"Don't think too much about it."

"How?! You saw the stuff she was talking about, she had pictures an-"

"I can tell you now that she was not telling you the whole truth." Schroeder shook his head crunching through leaves.

"So, what, those were fake?" Jacob sneered.

"Well, no, they weren't, but you can tell different stories with the same picture."

"I...I don't know." He clutched his stomach watching the trees go past. "My head's all, kinda mixed up, I know my dad would never side with criminals like Grimm said."

"I don't know what your father's like, but I know what Grimm is like, and she is not above twisting the truth for her advantage."

"Mmmm...alright."

Jacob sighed looking upon himself, his leg still bleeding in its tourniquet with red armband and torn sleeve as the forest breathed around him with chirping shrieks and buzzing rumbles that shook the leaves.

"I'm sorry about your uh...motorbike, armband thing."

"Hahaha, I don't care, I'm burning it once your leg heals."

"Wow, that bad huh?"

"You saw what they were doing, you know how awful these nazis are."

"Yeah but...there's you." The yoshi gestured around him. "You bust me out, you risked a lot and, you're one of them too!"

"I never was, truly. There are others out there like me, forced into this uniform because death is the only other option. But not everyone, in fact I'm pretty certain I'm the only one in the base who was actually forced."

"Why you-nnngh, s-say that?" asked Jacob clenching his teeth.

"Well for starters they all called you some names, that's a warning sign right there."

"Yeaaaah...didn't really know what they meant but I could tell it was pretty bad."

Hiking through the woods, Schroeder took his time in finding a safe spot hidden beneath the trees as they sat for a moment to catch their breath, almost nestled against the mountain as he laid Jacob out against a stone wall. From his belt he pulled out some rations, sharing with the yoshi and taking less for himself as he munched on the packed meats.

"So, what about you?"

"Hmm?" Arnold chewed.

"What about your family?" Jacob asked. "You said your dad wanted you to build stuff?"

"Ah yes, well, my mother was a baker, we lived in a small town on an island, it was pretty dull unless you loved the sea which, thankfully I did a bit too much."

"Yeah?! Cool, one of my friends here has a son, he made friends with a fish and they hang out a lot, maybe you can say hi!"

"A...a fish, like a pet?" Arnold blinked.

"No like a friend, like doing adventures and stuff!"

"Huh...that is nice."

The yoshi smiled slightly tense, his leg still throbbing and the blood soaking deep into the armband as he sighed from the gentle warm breeze.

"I haven't been to the islands in years." Jacob looked around at the palm trees and budding ferns. "Visited my grandma a few times, she works in like an observatory."

"Ohh, a scientist?" Arnold grinned.

"Yeah, studies the stars and such, my mom got into technology cuz she was always in the lab with her and all these machines around her were so cool."

"Your mother the electrician?"

"Yeah!"

"That's quite a family you have," Schroeder nodded shifting closer, "when you return home, what do you want to do?"

"Mmmm that's...I dunno," he shrugged with a slump, "I did wanna be a guard...but I need my shield..."

"I'm sorry." He patted his head, "if I think of a way to get it back, I will let you know, but I do wonder why they would even want to test it."

"Because it's so cool! My dad and uncle got it for me together, they said it was specially-made from really far away, it's strong against fire, ice and even lightning!"

"Tthat explains it," Schroeder tapped his chin, "they will be studying it for ways to make stronger armour."

"Well they're not getting it!" Jacob slammed his fist. "When I get better, I'm gonna get it back, a guard never leaves his shield, that's what my dad told me!"

"Hah, spoken like a true soldier! Alright, you good to go?"

"Yep, let's go!"

Jacob lifted his arms for Arnold to heave up in his grasp, carrying him further northeast as they soon left the shadow of the mountains and deeper into the dense jungle. Despite the thickness of the trees the sun was out and shining as they marvelled at the strange and tentative beasts, skittering rodents and compsognathi skirting past in small hordes that looked hungry towards Jacob, until the yoshi frightened them with a slap of his tongue against a tree branch when they tried to come closer. Once they found a hillock with a better view, Jacob pointed towards a small ring of silver in the distance where smoke tapered off above it, heading down the valley as Schroeder steadied himself to not start running with a tighter grip on Jacob, his boots crunching against the grassy turf as he skidded and half-slipped before reaching the bottom.

Sometimes they stopped in the midst of their journey, when Arnold became tired and Jacob tried to walk on his own once the blood started to coagulate. He didn't get far before staggering to a fall with a yelp, Schroeder quickly helping him back up to rest for at least an hour in the forest. The soldier kept sharing his rations, a mixture of cold preserved meats as well as his bottle of water whilst they travelled in small journeys across the woods and the plains, the sun setting downwards with each rest they took, the sky fading to a darker golden orange before it was soon the edge of night. By the time they were within a few hours reach of the village, they set up a campsite where Jacob slept first and Arnold kept watch, keeping his hand on his sword to ward off beasts that came too close.

When morning broke, Arnold took a few hours to sleep as Jacob sat up to watch over him, his stomach growling but his leg healing better as he managed to limp somewhat better than yesterday, but the pain was still too great for him to manage more than six steps without collapsing. When the sky turned blue once more, they headed north to the settlement with Jacob still in Schroeder's arms.

"You know any songs?" he asked the soldier.

"A few," shrugged Arnold, "I used to be a big Vera Lynn fan, what about you?"

"I been thinking songs my dad used to sing to me, when I got like scared or having a bad night."

"I heard you sing one of them whilst in Stinkelbaum's lab."

"HAH, hahahaaaa yer still saying that?!"

"Well it's a good joke!"

They cackled in rememberance as Jacob started to sing a few songs, teaching Arnold the words as they walked over the hills and slipped down between the valleys, and with each hour passing their voices grew in a terrible but cheerisome duet, back-and-forth they sang each verse with a graceless off-key whilst the sun kept rising over their heads.

"[i]What would I giiiive, if I could liiiiive out of these waters? What would I pay, to spend a daaaaay warm on the saaaaand?[/i]"

"[i]Betcha on land, they understand! Bet they don't reprimand their daughters![/i]"

"[i]Bright young women, sick of swimming, readyyyy to staaaaaaaand AND ready to know what the people know![/i]"

"[i]Ask 'em my questions and get some answers, what's a fire and why does it, what's the word? Buuuuuurn![/i]"

"[i]When's it my tuuuuuurn, wouldn't I love, love to explore that shore up ABOOOOOOOVE?! Out of, the sea...wish I, could be...[/i]"

"[i]Part of that woooooooorld?[/i]"

The last refrain they sang together, smiling with lungs freed and exhausted from the symphony as Jacob giggled at Schroeder's reddened cheeks.

"Not bad, you kept up pretty good!"

"Thanks, I learned to follow verses pretty well during the forced marches."

"Well your singing sure wasn't forced lemme tell ya! Buuut I think we're not gonna win any contests anytime soon."

"Damn," Arnold sighed looking to the sky, "there goes my dream of being the next Paul McCartney."

"Alright how about a song from you then?" Jacob batted his chest. "Come on you must have something."

"Well speaking of McCartney, there is this song I really liked uhhh 'Mond Mond, Ja Ja', lemme see if I can remember-"

"OH, hey we're here!" The yoshi pointed to the steel village just over the next hill. "Let's take five and get ourselves a drink, aaaand fix my leg, keep that song in your head alright Arnie?"

"Hah, sure thing Jake."

"HEYYYYYY!"

Jacob waved as high as he could towards the guards of the village. Much to Arnold's surprise they were not human in the slightest, but rather tall porcine figures that snuffled their swinging snouts towards them with spears at the ready.

"U-uhhh, what the-"

"No no it's cool they're friends!" Jacob kept waving. "HEEEEY, GUYS-it's cool come on take me in before your arms fall off."

"Well...alright, if you say so."

Taking a cautious step the human approached with his head low whilst the yoshi kept smiling towards the moblins.

"//Hey uhhhh, you again?!//" one asked in Hylian. "//Didn't you like head off with Oddclaw?//"

"Hi, uhhh...oh jeez where's my collar, did I-awww cheese an' crackers!" he clutched at his neck. "Arnie did you see my translating collar?"

"The what?" he cocked his head.

"The, the thing I had on my neck with the crystals!"

"OH! Uhhh...I...I didn't even notice you lost it."

"Awww dangit it musta fell off, it could be anywhere now jeeeez!" he clapped his head. "I'm having the worst luck these past couple days huh, lost my shield, lost my collar-"

"Could've lost a lot more," the soldier shrugged, "can we go inside?"

"Uhhh, yeah um." Jacob gestured to his wounded leg and then to Schroeder. "OW, MY LEG. HE, IS FRIEND, HE HELPED ME."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to communicate!"

"Didn't work when I tried that with Spaniards at Torquay, it's not going to work here."

"//Are you hurt?//" asked one moblin sniffing over his leg. "//You want we get someone to help?//"

"//What about him?//" the other guard pointed to Schroeder.

"//Well I mean, he's carrying one of Oddie's friends, wounded, to us, I think he's cool.//"

"//Alright then, Ade can sort this out.//"

They motioned Arnold to follow them through the gates as he wrinkled his nose at the stench of the swamps, a sturdy miasma from the puddles that washed across the village square where children splashed and paddled in their games whilst adults fought and riposted in their training. Stilted huts stood on all sides within the compound, shining steel everywhere he looked with farms of raised soil being plowed and cultivated as he was led towards the medical hut where a cloaked figure in red and white was mixing plant slime in pots.

"HEY, Adenine!"

"Ehh?!" The hood turned showing a beak from his darkened face. "OH, shit Jacob what happened to you?!"

"I uh, got captured I guess?" he shrugged grinning awkward. "This is Arnold, he helped me escape!"

"Morning," Schroeder nodded, "you have a bed I can put him down on?"

"Uhhh yeah just over there."

The alchemist pointed towards a long cushioned table as the soldier placed Jacob down carefully, sighing from the relief in his arms as he shook them out whilst Ade checked over the yoshi.

"You do this tourniquet yourself?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Pretty good!" Ade smiled as he lifted Jacob's leg. "You a medic?"

"No I, we learned basic medical training."

"Well it's always handy, that's for sure you helped keep him stable, how long ago was this?"

"About, two days back?" he rubbed his head. "Maybe a day and a half?"

"Oof, alright here's hoping we got no gangrene!"

"Wait what?!" Jacob squeaked stiffening his limbs.

"I said here's HOPING!" Ade rolled his eyes. "Jeez have some faith in me, I've handled a lot worse."

Setting up his antibiotics the doctor took off the tourniquet and started to treat the wound properly, smothering disinfectant over the wound after cleaning the dried blood off. Jacob winced and shivered when he felt cold needles prying inside to carefully check for metal shards.

"Alright, good news is the bullet's not in there, can tell from the exit wound but also no shards so this just needs time to heal and a lot of rest. Your tourniquet really helped to not lose anymore blood."

"I know that was important at least," said the soldier nodding, "will he be alright?"

"Yeaaah he'll be fine," said Adenine handing the blood-soaked armband to Schroeder, "is this yours?"

"Yes, but you should probably burn it, medical waste and such."

"Good idea, here's your belt back at least."

Arnold put it back round his pants whilst his armband was wrapped with his former sleeve to be disposed of, sitting beside Jacob as Adenine applied a fresh bandage and pinned it secure.

"It's lucky you didn't get hit in the upper thigh, that shit is nasty."

"Sure felt nasty," Jacob clenched from his tightened leg, "hhhhaaaaaah jeez-"

"So who were these guys that kidnapped ya?"

"I-i...Arnold knows 'em more than I do, they just took me in cuz they wanted to like, do stuff on me."

"Nazis," said the former nazi, "they come from another world."

"They were stealing eggs, a-and Oddclaw's friends got kidnapped too!"

"Woah woah wait, wait," Adenine raised his hands, "stealing eggs?"

"Yeah," Jacob nodded, "me and Oddie, and Eggfang, after we left the village there was a ship that crashed and well, they shot at us and Oddclaw heard from one of them flyers that eggs got stolen!"

"Yanno, we did have some scouts out there and they did report some kinda big ship had crashed, but decided to not go near it."

"You were wise not to," said Arnold nodding, "there is nothing there anyways, all the supplies have been taken, but they're still figuring out how to get the rest of the ship back."

"So nobody steals the tech?" Ade scratched his beak. "Makes sense, but the scouts round here said a buncha weird-looking raptors were searching the place out, remember the ones you fought a year ago Jacob?"

"Wait THOSE guys?!" the yoshi gasped. "What are they doing there?!"

"Beats me, we didn't wanna mess with them. What about them nazi dudes then, should I be worried?"

"Yes," Schroeder crossed his arms, "we are both on the run from them, they might come for us."

"Wait, for real? Aw jeez we better tell the chief."

"A-and I lost my translating collar," Jacob cringed his neck, "so ahhh, sorry."

"It's fine we can make more, but uhhh, you." Ade pointed to Schroeder. "I'm gonna need you to come with and explain stuff to the chief, I'll translate."

"Understood," he saluted with hand to his head, "will Jacob be alright here?"

"Yeah we're all friends I got assistants running around, Jacob you don't leave this bed alright? Doctor's orders."

"Yes sir," Jacob saluted in turn, "see ya guys later."

Taking him out of the hut, the chemist walked Arnold across the length of the village grounds towards the tallest hut where a gangly chameleon stood with sweeping feathered cloak, balancing on a piece of bark whilst a small gaggle of half-pint piglets and lizards cackled at him.

"//And then, the hero grabbed his shield and SKATED all the way down the mountain!//"

"//HEHEHEHAHA, NO WAY!//"

"//Sliding round the trees and LEAPING off over gullies, he went allll the way down and then just KICKED it out under him!//"

The lizalfos slapped the wood to skid behind him.

"//And leapt straight on the back of this HUGE Lynel, just galloped across the damn plains it was NUTS!//"

"//YER MAKING THAT UP!//"

"//NO NO, swear to Hylia herself!//"

"//Did he kill it?!//" squeaked one piglet.

"//Oho he sure did!//" said the chief grabbing a stick to his own throat. "//Took him five dozen slashes to the back of the neck but by Din he sure did! Never thought I'd ever see anyone take down a Lynel, it was terrifying!//"

"//S-so Link really is th-that scary?//" whimpered a lizard child.

"//Oh definitely,//" Lizanaich sucked his teeth, "//I mean hero of Hyrule he is, but you do NOT wanna cross him. Alright I got boring stuff to do, I'll tell ya more stories later.//"

"//[i]Okayyyy![/i]//"

The children scattered off as Adenine waved politely with Liz looking over the human in black uniform with half a sleeve.

"//So, I'm guessing that ship that crashed down over there is one of yours?"

"Technically speaking," Arnold shrugged whilst Ade translated, "though I think I'm in the process of desertion."

"//Ahhhh hey same here!//" The lizalfos grinned patting his shoulder. "//I'm Lizanaich, welcome to Mohberrin Village which is FULL of deserters from Ganon's army!//"

"Ohh well, that is fortunate!" he clicked his boots with a grin. "Arnold Schroeder, pleasure to meet you sir."

"//Let's talk inside, any deserter's welcome here.//"

He walked him inside the hut and sat beneath the triceratops skull, padded mats circling around the middle where the remains of a fireplace sat.

"//Schroeder brought in Jacob,//" explained Adenine, "//he got kidnapped by the people from that ship, he's recovering now but I'll need to contact the T.E.A.R. base to bring them both back.//"

"//Alright, well,//" Liz nodded, "//thank you for rescuing that kid.//"

"No problem," Arnold sat opposite him, "I didn't know a deserter village was even here, though I should warn you my former people know about you."

"//Are they gonna do anything about it?//"

"Possibly, I did make a scene when I left, also stole one of their boats and nazis, they like to steal a lot of things from people but they really hate having stuff stolen from them."

"//Well hey, you're among friends here,//" the chief smiled sweeping his arms, "//so, what's the problem with these guys you ran away from?//"

"They are nazis."

"//...kay I dunno what that is.//"

"They are a group who claim for their race to be superior above all others, through subjugating others, exterminating critics and performing twisted experiments on innocents."

"//O-oh...jeez,//" Liz gulped rubbing his gloves, "//that sounds pretty fucked up.//"

"They also tried to steal eggs, from a place called the Birthlands-"

"Wait, WHAT?!" Adenine cried. "O-ohhh no that's, that's not good!"

"Jacob was telling me a friend of yours, Oddclaw was fighting them, that ship that crashed, that was how Jacob got captured. I helped him out because...fuck it, I guess."

"//Hey I know the feeling,//" said the chief clicking his tongue with a wink, "//you don't gotta explain that to me, sometimes you just get a feeling that you're not in the right.//"

"Oh I know I've been on the wrong side for years," Schroeder shook his head, "this is just the first chance I had to escape because back home the nazis control everything."

"//Well if you need a spot to hide out, just say, but you should really check in with the humans.//"

"How did you escape from your bosses?" the soldier leaned forwards. "Did you have any trouble?"

"//I mean, we got transported out here and there was a prison outbreak and well in all the confusion a couple of us rebelled against our boss and uhh killed him!//"

"Ah...I was expecting a more peaceful escape."

"//Nothing about Ganon's ever peaceful, I dunno what your people are like but sometimes peace is not an option...much as I'd like it to be."

"I agree," said Arnold rubbing his hair, "well I should warn you about the nazis that may come, I also brought weapons from the soldiers I killed, they're still in the boat I hid somewhere southwest."

"//We're pretty well-armed so don't worry,//" Liz waved his hand, "//bet our human pals will like that though, how armed are your former buddies?//"

"Well they have two boats and two ships, but neither of them have guns on them, the base is mostly infantry since it is pretty small, but there are a few nasty surprises."

"//Alright I'll get my boys on high alert, Ade you wanna contact the humans?//"

"//Sure thing chief.//"

The chemist nodded as they adjourned their meeting, the soldier following Adenine out into the square as children swerved past him playing silly games with swords made of wood and bark-crusted shields, whilst they thwacked and parried clumsily against each other.

"You want something to eat?" the hooded beak turned to him.

"Actually yes, me and Jacob used up the last of our rations."

"Well my girlfriend makes some pretty damn good stew let's go see her."

Towards one corner of the village they found an open pot being stirred by two black bokoblins, one of whom ran up to Adenine with a big hug to his leg and as he bent down to smooch.

"//Heyyyyy!//"

"//Hey there beautiful,//" he chuckled, "//I got a hungry human here that needs filling up.//"

"//Allllrighty step right up an' take a bowl!//"

She handed him a bowl that was soon filled with meaty stew, the soldier drinking it down gingerly before his stomach trembled in joy at such a hearty gamey soup that warmed his insides thick.

"MMMM! Ohhh my god this is incredible!"

"Hehe, yeah Nette and her mom are real good at this stuff."

"This is wonderful, thank you."

"//Oho no problem dear!//" said Bokorie with a playful bat of her eyes. "//Eat up now, plenty more for a strapping young man like yourself.//"

"I-i am sixty-one, ma'am," Schroeder gulped when Ade translated.

"//Well I am hardly a spring cucco myself but that hasn't stopped me.//"

"//Mom please don't get horny around the new guy,//" her daughter rolled her eyes.

"//And why not?!//" she clutched a hand to her chest. "//You have your darling here I'm trying to put myself on the market!//"

"//You JUST met him.//"

"//Yeah even we took our time,//" Adenine waved his sleeve.

"//Oh I have no time to play around like you two,//" Bokorie rattled her spoon between them, "//if a nice man out there is biting I won't wait for the filet mignon when I can have a thick bass!//"

"//HAHA AHAHA JEEZ simmer down Bokorie!//"

After a small meal they went back to Jacob, Adenine getting out his radio to call the base whilst the soldier offered a bowl of stew to the patient.

"Brought you some."

"Awww thanks!" he sat up to slurp it down. "Mmmmmm yeah that's the good stuff, you tried some of this?"

"Yes it's very good. The chief here was really nice, told me everyone else here was a deserter too."

"Oh yeah that's right, can't believe I forgot that! Mmmmph," he gulped down half the meaty soup, "dang that's good."

"So what should I expect when we see your friends?" the soldier tapped his boots. "I want to make a good impression as, well, not a nazi."

"Just be yourself!" he patted Arnold's hand. "You'll be fine dude, they're cool people, you worried they won't like you?"

"Well, they'd have a good reason."

"Aw come on Arnie you're a great guy, just, don't think about it too much-"

"I know, you're right, can't do much until we hear back fro-"

"//ENEMY! E-ENEMY APPROACHING!//"

"//GUNNERS READY YOURSELVES!//"

"Wh-what, what's going on?!" Jacob gasped.

"I think your old friends arrived," said Adenine, "Jacob stay here, I'll keep you safe."

"I'm going out to check," Schroeder stood up with hand to his sword, "might as well help since I brought them here."

"U-uh, okay!" the yoshi gasped when he tensed his leg. "Be careful alright?!"

"No promises!"

The soldier grinned with a wink as he stepped out the medical hut to see guards bracing themselves with swords, spears and rifles whilst garbed in steel armours, some with helmets and some without. A black verminous eagle blotted out the sky as Lizanaich stood in armour with the far-taller Mobenheim barking orders across the village. The horn from the lookout kept blowing its siren until every non-fighter was indoors keeping the children safe from the threat.

"//GUNNERS TO THE EAST, SPEAR-WIELDERS STAY IN FRONT, KEEP WATCH ON THE SHIP!//"

"//SWORDSMEN, STAY CLOSE TO THE GATE, HIDE IN THE SHADOWS IF THEY DROP ON US!//"

"HEY!"

Arnold came rushing up to beat his chest, pointing at the ship and shooting fingerguns at it before saluting with a hand to his head.

"//Who is this?!//" barked Mobenheim.

"//A deserter from those guys,//" said Lizanaich, "//he's ready to help us out, gave us the heads-up on them coming.//"

"//Hm, alright, I see you have a sword and gun, go with the gunners, defend them if any attack them!//"

"YES SIR!"

Schroeder understood the moblin's gestures, the porcine commander pointing at the line of rifles held by a mixed group of beasts as the human joined alongside them with a salute and his gun at the ready. They nodded to him with a thumbs up as the ship loomed over the village with cries and shrieks of the locals pointing and yammering to each other.

"//BRACE YOUR ARMS!//" Mobenheim shouted rattling his spear. "//Sir, get inside please-//"

"//Nah nah,//" Lizanaich twirled his harpoon, "//we fight together, whatever happens a chieftain always stands with their people.//"

"//As you wish. ENEMY DROPPING, GUNNERS TAKE AIM SOON AS THEY LAND!//"

The sounds of the ship hydraulics alerted them to the invading force as it floated down close as it could above the village, the wooden struts shivering against the scream of the exhaust that blew in their faces and forced them to squint. The hatch opened as the air suddenly boomed with the voice of a familiar woman.

"//[b]ATTENTION. THIS IS THE BRAUN MEMORIAL BASE, UNDER THE RULE OF THE NEW GERMAN EMPIRE.[/b]//"

"//What are they saying?!//" Liza headed over to Arnold amidst the gunners. "//HEY, WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?!//"

"Uhhh...hmmm," he looked around the village guard frantically, "OH, Adenine! Get Adenine!"

"//YOU, go get Ade, tell him I need a translator!//"

"//Yessir!//"

A bokoblin ran off to grab the medic from his tent, rushing up to Schroeder as he translated to him who in turn translated to Liz.

"//[b]YOU ARE CURRENTLY HARBOURING TWO FUGITIVES AMONGST YOU. SURRENDER THEM TO US, AND WE SHALL BE MERCIFUL.[/b]//"

"//What should we tell them back?//" asked Adenine.

"//Hmmm...alright, uhh Schroeder right?//"

"Yes chief?" the soldier saluted.

"//Tell them this, also someone grab me the horn so they can hear you.//"

One of the gunners brought up a megaphone made from steel-wrapped bark as Arnold relayed the lizalfos' instructions.

"//This is the chief of Mohberrin Village. We have no fugitives here, and we would like you to leave us now since you are already trespassing on our home."

"//[b]DO NOT TAKE ME FOR A FOOL,[/b]//" echoed Frau Grimm from the floating ship, "//[b]ONE OF THE FUGITIVES NEXT TO YOU, A TRAITOR TO OUR REGIME WHO HAS MURDERED SEVERAL GOOD SOLDIERS.[/b]//"

"//You have no jurisdiction here,//" Liz gestured with a sweep of his hand, "//and I'd rather talk face to face than with the back-ass of an ugly ship.//"

"//[b]YOU WOULD NOT WISH TO FACE ME, LIZARD. LET US BE REASONABLE, IF ONE OF YOUR CRIMINALS CAME TO OUR BASE, WOULD YOU WANT US TO BE WORKING WITH THEM?[/b]//"

"//Well, no, but I think you'd have your own ideas for them, like performing experiments on them so I really don't have any interest in what you want.//"

"//[b]WHERE DID YOU EVEN HEAR SUCH THINGS, FROM OUR FUGITIVE? HAVE YOU NOT CONSIDERED HE PERHAPS HAS AN AGENDA TO TARNISH OUR REPUTATION WITH FALSITIES.[/b]//"

"So ARE you experimenting on creatures, and did you try to steal some eggs a few days ago?!"

"//[b]YOU ARE MISSING THE POINT,[/b]//" the ship trembled with her voice grating harder, "//[b]THE POINT IS YOU ARE HARBOURING A CRIMINAL![/b]//"

"//And from what I've heard of YOUR people,//" Liz barked with a pointing thrust, "//you're all even worse criminals so I think whoever's with us is better off!//"

"//[b]SO YOU WILL NOT EVEN ATTEMPT TO DEBATE? PITIFUL, BUT HARDLY SURPRISING.[/b]//"

"//I don't debate with murderers. Now leave this village or we start shooting, I'll give you two minutes to make your choice.//"

The ship's tannoy clicked off as the plane shifted position to move open its rear ramp and lower above the village. Lizanaich ordered his troops to hold until his signal whilst Arnold stepped back with the gunners and Ade hurried back to the medic's hut. With a shuddering plume of thick swamp water that rippled across the square, a mob of black uniforms came out firing with bullets into the village square, pinging off the steel walls and splintering bark from the huts all around them as the civilians screamed covering their ears, hiding the children under beds and a few arming themselves with pots, pans and basic swords for any that came through the door.

Much to the surprise of the nazis however there came a firing squad of lasers, the village armed with their own specialised guns of modified size and trigger guard for their unusual fingers as they took aim and tore through the first wave of soldiers, piercing their armour and slaughtering eight of the invaders. Even more surprising, the bullets did nothing to the steel armour of Mohberrin's citizens which were coated in a lustrous sheen, almost repelling the bullets completely. Arnold was somewhat disadvantaged having only bullets himself, so instead he relegated himself to a backup medic when lesser-armoured bokoblins were shot in the arm or leg and fell screaming into the mud, the soldier covering the wounded and pulling them out of range whilst taking pot shots at the nazis who were suddenly pinned against one of the walls of the village.

"//FRAU GRIMM, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK, THE SAVAGES ARE ARMED WITH LASERKRAFT RIFLES, I REPEAT, THEY HAVE LASERS!//"

"//[b]I DO NOT PAY YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTARY, A FAT-LIPPED GORILLA WITH A BURNING STICK IS STILL A DAMN GORILLA, USE YOUR SUPERIOR MIND![/b]//"

"//GOD, F-FUCK! HEINRICH COVER THE EAST, GET US TO THE GATE ENTRANCE WE CAN FILE OUT THERE!//"

"//YES SIR!//"

The second wave of troops pulled back to try and reach for the village gate, running and gunning towards the firing line across the square, before they were suddenly set upon by a hidden guard of swords and spears that lunged for their chests with sharpened steel, led by an imperial-looking moblin.

"//F-FUCK, FUCK WE'RE GETTING PINNED!//"

"//[i]CHAAAAAAAARGE![/i]//"

The small force of nazis were overwhelmed without warning, clashing against swords with their guns to try and parry as they reached for their knives and truncheons in desperation. One lizalfos was unlucky, his throat slit open by a razor-sharp blade emboldened with swastika, but in turn the soldier was gutted through by Mobenheim and thrust upwards into the air to festoon his corpse upon the lance, the black moblin roaring with a crushing slam of the body upon two more nazis that crumpled underneath. Three bokoblins were shot in the head, screeching a gurgling cry as their commander barked with advancing assault when he crushed against one nazi's rifle and disarmed him with a twist of his staff and kicked him down hard before grabbing another nazi's head and thrusting his spear into a third man's throat, gouging him through before he twisted the head in his arm with a snapping pop as his soldiers kept clashing, striking and thrusting with bold screams of fury.

A few of the nazis managed to scatter from the main group and break into one of the houses, two men barging through as a family of four lizalfos screamed and started throwing pots at the invading humans.

"//GET OUT OF HERE!//"

"//YOU'RE NOT WELCOME HERE, GET BACK BEFORE I-[b]A-AAAARGH![/b]//"

"//D-DADDYYYY!//"

The father was dropped with two bullets in the arm, the mother screeched clutching him tight as the children stood up throwing their hands in fearful defiance whilst the soldiers shouted threats.

"//MAKE ONE MORE MOVE AND YOU'RE ALL FUCKING DEAD!//"

"//Think we can make hostages of them?//"

"//Maybe the kids, you grab one each and get outside, I'll keep an eye on the other two-[b]GHRRAARGHHK![/b]//"

"//SH-SHIT, YOU [i]FUCKING SHI-[b]GHARRRGHKH![/b][/i]//"

Behind the soldiers came a harpoon that twisted through one of their necks, ripping one throat in twain before the other two guards were grabbed with ungloved hands as a shining horn beamed above them. Their eyes widened before every muscle in their body spasmed violently to the point of snapping, at least several-thousand volts running through them with such an intensity that their legs crumpled and their faces frothed inside their helmets.

"//In our village, you ask permission before you walk in.//"

The yellow-scaled chief Lizanaich clapped his hands and wrenched out his spear from the nazi's throat.

"//You guys alright?//"

"//Y-yeah,//" the father gasped, "//just, I'll be fine, I can bandage myself up.//"

"//I'll stay nearby in case ya need help, some of these guys think they can outsmart us the poor saps. Stay safe!//"

Heading back outside the leader slinked around the side of the house where he kept in shadow from a few other soldiers that tried to find a cover point to attack the riflers from. The sound of lasers singing across the plaza countered the harsh thunder of bullets in return, pelting across the walls and ripping through huts as Lizanaich waited for two more nazis to come round the other side of the hut. One was gutted deep by the spear twisting in his stomach, whilst the other pulled out a handgun towards the chieftain's face who headbutted him immediately with a weak spark of his horn to shock his skull with a sudden concussion, paralysing him briefly as the lizalfos forced the barrel of his gun under the chin just before he fired. The mess was contained inside the helmet as the nazi slumped over his dying friend as the chief ripped his harpoon out with a twist of stomach lining across the tip.

"//My town, my rules, bitch.//"

Thirty nazis died that day, their bodies strewn across the village grounds as bullets pinged off armour, lasers tore through flesh and steel blades severed limbs to leave a darkened thicker reddish mud that seeped into the swamp. Orders were shouted back and forth but their numbers dwindled against the entirety of the village inhabitants, two-thirds of which were armed as they were cut down in the course of minutes.

"//F-FRAU GRIMM, FRAU GRIMM WE HAVE TO RETREAT, THEY'RE TOO ARMOURED!//"

"//[b]UNBELIEVEABLE,[/b]//" her voice snarled through the tannoy, "//[b]THE ZOO IS BEING OVERRUN BY AFRICANS AND THE KEEPERS ARE TOO STUPID TO CONTROL THEM.[/b]//"

"//THEY HAVE [i]GUNS[/i] FRAU GRIMM, THEY HAVE ARMOURS-//"

"//[b]AND YOU ARE SUPERIOR ARYANS WITH A SUPERIOR INTELLECT! FINE, IF ONE NEEDS TO PUT DOWN MINDLESS THUGS THEN WE MUST EMPLOY VICIOUS DOGS.[/b]//"

The remaining soldiers started to flee understanding her words, backing off to the walls and keeping away from the looming ship that opened its docking hatch once more as a snarling crunching clank came from inside the hull as the Mohberrin troops squinted towards it. Then came a monstrous shadow, a brazen roar that trembled through the air before a crunching smash that sent a shockwave of bloodied marsh water throughout the village.

"//Wh-what...what the SHIT?!//"

"Ohhh fuck." Arnold clapped his head. "I forgot about the panzerhund."

Standing in the midst of the village grounds was a 10-foot tall beast shaped like a ruthless hound, gleaming of pure steel with a thick metal skull devoid of eyes and full of teeth, marked with the swastika on both sides of its body and each fang the size of a leg that shone in the light as it howled with obedient fury.

"//FUCK THEY HAVE A GUARDIAN?!//" cried one shooter.

"//DON'T HOLD BACK!//" shouted Lizanaich. "//Swordsmen hunt down the rest of the soldiers, gunners circle around the beast and take it down!//"

"//YES SIR!//"

Arnold braced himself as he went charging in with the riflers, firing a volley of lasers and bullets that ripped across the panzerhund's chassis as it countered back with a wall of flame that belched from its throat. Three of the gunners couldn't stop running in time as their armour began to melt, their faces wrapped in fires as they shrieked stumbling into the marsh with burning skulls and eyes popping from their heads in a superheated death. Schroeder picked up one of the laser rifles from the melting bodies and strafed around the right of the monster, whilst the others went left to try and cripple the legs. The hound was much faster than they expected for its size when it swung its body round and clobbered the riflers in a single sweeping crack to their heads, launching itself upon one lizalfos to crush her chest with a cracking split and lunging its head towards a bokoblin to crunch and twist his body in its vicious mechanical jaws.

"//A-AAAAAARGH [i]AAAAAAAAIIIIIGH![/i]//"

"//KEEP BACK, ALL OF YOU!//" shouted Mobenheim. "//SPREAD OUT TO KEESE FORMATION!//"

The quartermaster charged to distract the beast, the snarling panzerhund turning towards the black moblin who lashed its head twice with the halberd in a crossing strike as the hound roared in a burst of flame. He dodged surprisingly swift with his body like a whip, grabbing a laser rifle in one hand and firing at the creature's knee to make it buckle in a yelp. But not enough to disarm it when it charged forwards in a headbutting crunch against the moblin's armoured chest, lifting its paws high for a crushing thud as Mobenheim rolled fast out of its path and blocked its jaws with the rifle trapped between its teeth. A brief shake of its head before the screeching crunch of pistons forced the teeth together, flattening the gun which it spat out in pieces as the moblin whistled to riflers in the north who fired across its back, shooting for the legs but not accurate enough as the panzerhund turned with a vicious gallop.

Thunderous claws splashed through the mud, pounding harder to shake the earth as bokoblins stumbled and moblins panicked in a frenzied firing before one was crushed against the steel wall, the monster's head cracking his ribs and squishing his organs in a bloodied splatter left upon the wall and the beastly skull as the moblin slumped glassy-eyed. One bokoblin managed to stumble out of sight, trying to shoot at the legs in a screaming frenzy borne of fear as the hound turned upon it, scarring traces of black as the laser slowly but surely started eating through its armour but not enough for the shooter to stop it. The rifle soon stopped, needing to recharge as the rifler whimpered shaking in her cloven feet and trying to run when it started to gallop. She felt its shadow upon her before someone grabbed her body, rolling her through the mud as she stared up towards a brown-haired human with hazel eyes almost lying on top of her.

"//H-HAAAH, A-A-AAAH!//"

"You're welcome," Schroeder grinned, "now..."

He pulled himself up quick to face the panzerhund that turned towards him.

"I know this is going to hurt, and you're just following orders because you're a dog. But..."

His hand slipped down towards his basket-hilt.

"You know well as I do that was never an excuse."

With sword unsheathed Arnold stepped closer towards the beast, its legs kicking up behind with a brazen bark as it readied to charge him down whilst the bokoblin fled to the safety of a nearby hut. The monster advanced in a furious rush, howling with frenzied rage as Arnold rolled fast to the side and clicked a switch in his sword-hilt, shimmering purple lightning across the blade that ripped through the steel leg and tore up part of its actuator joint. The barking shudder reminiscent of pain emanated from the dog-beast as it turned in a slide and whalloped Schroeder across the head with its long tail, knocking him down hard in the mud as he groaned trying to get up fast.

The monster came upon him with a vile leap as he rolled fast as he could out of its shadow, smothered in swamp as it pounded a fierce shockwave through the village and turned to the soldier just managing to get back on his feet, lunging with jaws wide as he ducked and slashed across the side of its face and sawed through its teeth with electrically-charged blade. The canid yelped in a slight stumble from the burning sting in its metal gums, feeling three of its fangs now shorn off to a dull slant when it bodyslammed Schroeder hard enough to send him rolling and hit his back against a hut. Furious speed possessed the panzerhund as Arnold frantically climbed into the window and grabbed the bokoblin family inside.

"GET OUT, GET OUT NOW!"

"//WH-WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU CREEP?!//"

"[i]GET THE FUCK OUT NOW![/i]"

Firing his gun at the panzerhund still advancing outside, he frightened the family of three out of their home just before the creature obliterated it, piles of wood flying from every direction in an explosion of earthen copper as Arnold dove out of the crumbling door just in time to avoid its trampling metal claws. A bedsheet twisted under its feet, severed by talons along with two bedposts and the remains of a dresser with clothes inside streaking off its side before it turned and rushed back in a savage adrenal maul, focusing on Schroeder who ran luring it away from the now-homeless family hiding in another hut. He knew he would never outrun it, but he waited for the chance to turn and slide fast with lightning-edged sword to shred through its other leg and dampen its speed with a yelp, the dog stumbling with a stuttering gait as the joint twisted in a soft buckling motion. But not soft enough as it forced itself through the pain and slapped Arnold down with the tail before stepping back with its rear paw looming above his head.

Were it not for the riflers shooting after their guns recharged, he would have been in worse strife as the panzerhund staggered in the constant pelting of laserfire from its side that burnt and tarnished the swastika with blackened welts of heated plasma starting to eat its metal flesh. The monster turned to its new attackers and blasted a roaring flame as they shuffled back, led by Mobenheim whilst Lizanaich rushed to Arnold's aid and pulled him up.

"//Come on up ya get!//"

"N-nnngh, thanks."

"//Follow me I got an idea!//"

"Wait, what?!"

"//This way hurry!//"

As the gunners kept the panzerhund pinned by spreading out and firing from three directions, Schroeder followed the chief towards the farming allotment as he grabbed a flower and made a throwing motion towards the beast.

"//Get this stuff on its skin, you'll cut through it better!//"

"Wait...this...this stuff?!"

"//YES HURRY COME ON!//"

Following his cue the soldier grabbed one stem whilst Liz took another as they ran straight back towards the snarling slavering beast who belched waves of fire and spun with striking tail to keep back the laser fire. The two smashed the flowers into the back of the panzerhund's legs, one stem for each as the polysulfide began to eat away at the metal. The threads of steel tore apart one by a dozen, as the creature's back legs slowly crumbled in a hissing seethe forcing it to fall forwards in a snarling howl, forced to drag its entire body in a furious wild swing across the entire village square as Arnold jumped onto its back. Running along its spine he dragged his sword deep into the metal as the lightning edge ripped deep into its back, splitting a trench down towards its head as he shoved his entire sword through the back of the skull and pierced the canine's brain within.

"[i]HNNNRAAAARGH![/i]"

A stuttering gasp came from the weakened panzerhund, its breaths turning weaker as Schroeder sawed through the skull and pulled out the top with his lightning-heated blade, showing a sparking crevice of wires and grey matter that leaked out of its head. Stumbling off of the twitching mechanical corpse, the soldier gasped with trembling legs and sheathed his sword with a heavy sigh.

"Alright...that...th-that's one less, entry for Crufts this year."

He chuckled panting to himself as he looked up at the ship. He gave them a single middle finger with the biggest shit-eating grin, as it departed without another word in what he expected was a seething misery as the villagers cheered with spears, swords and guns waving in the air with jubilation. The gold-scaled chieftain patted his shoulder with a wide grin.

"//Nooot baaaad!//" said Lizanaich giving a thumbs up. "//Not many can take down a guardian with just a sword.//"

"Are you, alright?" Schroeder gasped. "I'm just, going to check on Jacob, you just check on your people yeah?"

"//Go get some rest, thanks for the help.//"

They both nodded to each other as Liz went to his quartermaster to check on him as he ordered the swordsmen to help repair the houses.

"//What should we do with the dead?//" he asked the chief first.

"//We lay ours to rest first,//" he replied hanging his head, "//how many?//"

"//Nine, sir.//" He swept his hand to the dozens of dead nazis. "//Considering their numbers we were most fortunate thanks to our new armaments.//"

"//Yeah...that fucking guardian took out like six on its own, alright just get our dead first and put them in the usual spot, as for the humans take all their weapons, their clothes and their armour for storage we might get use out of it.//"

"//And their corpses?" the moblin plucked his snout.

"//Well it's a lotta meat,//" the lizalfos grinned tapping his head, "//think we just found a way to make friends with the waterjaws up northeast, I'll ask the T.E.A.R. guys once they get here.//"

"//Yes sir.//"

Saluting to his chief, the moblin quartermaster started carrying the dead villagers and laying them to rest in the centre of the square with sheets over their bodies, the nazis tossed to a pile in a dark-lit corner of the village whilst their weapons were put in storage. Stumbling back into the medical hut Schroeder gasped with a wide grin upon Jacob who smiled back relieved.

"Hey big guy...you uh looking a bit tired."

"Yeah I had to uh...walk the dog a good mile or two," he chuckled with painful wince, "think my head's a bit shite."

"I'll fix that up," said Adenine beside him, "just sit on down and wait for the folks from base to pick you up, they won't be long."

"Thank you."

Sitting down in a chair, Arnold felt the doctor clean away at his headwound before wrapping a bandage round his temple whilst they waited. They sang a few songs, they shared a few stories, whilst the village made time to mourn for their fallen which the two joined in mutual silence from their seats. Forty minutes after the battle had ended, there came the sound of another ship flaring its engines from the east as they stepped out to see two small egg-shaped vessels land just outside the village gate.

"HEY, hey that's them!" Jacob cried.

"Woah woah hold on," Ade stopped him with his sleeve, "you're not that good to walk yet, let someone carry you."

"Awww jeez!" he threw up his hands. "You know how embarrassing it is fer a yoshi to BE carried, that's like topsy-turvy!"

"I can still carry you," Schroeder cuffed his head lightly, "that makes me the yoshi then?"

"HAH, I guess it does!"

Several soldiers arrived of a much different pallour to that of the nazis, dark but not as velvet black as the invading force as the villagers waved with a muted cheer towards the woman that lead the newcomers through, her medium-length hair of chocolate swishing behind with each step to the hut.

"//Jane, JANE!//"

Lizanaich approached her before she reached the doctor's place.

"//Sorry, I really wanna talk-//"

"Are you alright?" she asked looking around the village. "Also what the bloody hell is that thing in the middle of the square?"

"//No idea, some kinda guardian, the guys that attacked sent it on us when we decimated their army, all the bodies are buried over there.//"

"Good good, glad you're alright."

"//I-i wanted to ask um, we got a buncha weapons off them and some armours, but the bodies we...well...//"

He rubbed his neck with a nervous grin.

"//Ya don't mind if we just get rid of the bodies by feeding 'em to the waterjaws, we'll keep the guns and armour-//"

"Yes that's perfectly fine," Jane nodded walking closer to the hut, "were they humans?"

"//Yeah, I wasn't sure to ask cuz of that so-//"

"No, it's fine, good thinking on offering the bodies as a gift but do keep the weapons and armour back."

"Hey Jane!" the hooded alchemist popped out of his hut to wave. "Got your newcomer here."

"Ahh good," she walked through and offered her steel hand to the soldier, "Dr. Jane Addison."

"Oberstabswachtmeister Arnold Schroeder," he shook back, "pleased to meet you, you are Jacob's friend?"

"Yes," she nodded polite. "Can you both come with me please?"

"Iiii uh, I can't walk," Jacob waved, "also hi Jane!"

"Oh god you alright dear?"

"Well, sorta, I got shot in the leg but I'm good thanks to Arnie!"

"Yeah if it wasn't for him," Ade cringed his neck, "well, he'd be a lot less full of juice."

"Well," Jane stepped to the door and motioned them, "thank you Mr. Schroeder, we would like you and Jacob to come with us."

"No problem," he stood up gently lifting the yoshi, "thank you for your help doctor."

"S'all good," he waved his sleeve, "come on back anytime."

Heading out of the village, the humans returned to their small ships as Jacob and Schroeder were put in separate vessels, the yoshi carried by another soldier who put him down carefully on the seats as Arnold waved to him briefly. The moment he was alone with Jane on his ship, a pair of cuffs were slapped upon his hands and he was forced into his seat with a black hood over his head.

"HEY, H-HEY what is this?!"

"My commander has a lot of questions for you," said Addison sitting opposite, "so I would advise you to not be difficult."

"I...I-i understand the cuffs but is the hood necessary?!"

"Just so you don't know where our base is, wouldn't want you telling your little nazi friends."

"Ahhhh...yes," he sighed jangling his wrists, "I understand, alright I will play by your rules Dr. Addison."

"Thank you." She smiled patting her knees. "If you don't try to harm us then we won't harm you, that's as simple as that."

"Considering that panzerhund, I don't blame you."

"Panzerhund?"

"That thing in the village made of steel," he gestured his head, "the dog thing?"

"Ah. Hm, alright well, since it'll be a while until we reach base, why not tell me how you came to know Jacob?"

"Well...let's see it, started about three or four days back..."

He told her as best as he could whilst the ships flew through the air, skimming over the hills and lifting sharper above the remains of the crashed nazi ship still in the marshen field a little ways south of the Skylands. Two raptors with steel backs looked up with intrigue before turning to the mountain range further south and making their way back.